Life In 19x19

billywoods wrote: Doesn't everyone already do this? Isn't it really difficult? I'm still struggling to see where this "new", "simple" tool is.

if you already do this, then no, its not new.

but if you watch very many beginners play, it becomes quite obvious that they are not mindful of their various groups on the board -- at all.

for many of us who also do it (to one degree or another), we've probably never thought about it or tried to verbalize it in such simple terms -- that makes it new (or at least fresh)

Like Billy, I am struggling to appreciate this as a powerful innovation. When I was a kyu player I found Shygost's lectures on KGS very helpful and one of the key ideas of his "List" is to go round your and your opponent's groups to see if they are ok.