How to study shape?

[jts]

Hey guys... I suck at Go. How should I study shape?

[Dusk Eagle]

You should spend your time reading pointless arguments on forums... the time you put into Go is all the same anyway.

[Bill Spight]

How keshi is my aji!

[jts]

You should spend your time reading pointless arguments on forums... the time you put into Go is all the same anyway.

Ah, but sometimes the arguments that seem not to make any points turn out to be very thick.

[tchan001]

If I had neither hardware, I'd definitely prefer purchasing a CD reader to access something like GoGOD compared with purchasing an IPad/iPhone to access smartgo books.

[Strief]

Just a random comment ...

<sidenote> I've been putting off a "real" tablet purchase forever but my sister finally hinted to me that I should "get a library card" before Christmas and she had a Kobo under the tree for me this year from her and her husband. I hadn't realized that libraries rent you e-Books now (in Canada on a system called overdrive). It's great and seems to handle content rights, expiration, and even waiting lists on a new book very well.</sidenote>

So to the real comment ... as DRM technology gets more and more sorted out, hopefully we see more Go titles in these distribution formats. If a government institution like a public library is embracing e-book technology and has sorted out DRM issues ... we can safely say the ball is rolling.

William or other others, if you make your titles available on the Kobo store or another venue for purchasing Adobe .epub files I would be delighted to see you directly benefit from the purchase by buying it there.

Just in case ... here is a link where authors can go through the steps of submitting their manuscripts to the store and apply DRM to the files:
http://www.kobo.com/writinglife

[Aidoneus]

I know that this is a really old thread, but after downloading GoGoD, for $15, I was a bit surprised to discover it only contains sgf games. No big deal as the price was so low, but after reading this thread I thought that I would be getting a copy of Shape Up!

[Abyssinica]

I think shape is dependent on context; in one of my games I could've killed a group by playing an empty triangle, but instead I rejected that notion because "Hurr empty triangle is bad" and played a hane instead, giving him two eyes.

I can try to dredge up the game to verify if anyone's not sure about what Mr.Dan told me. It does sound suspect.

[EdLee]

I think shape is dependent on context; in one of my games I could've killed a group by playing an empty triangle,
but instead I rejected that notion because "Hurr empty triangle is bad" and played a hane instead, giving him two eyes.

Yes, Abssinica, you learned an important lesson. Of course, everything depends on the context.
If the empty triangle was the best move for that board position, then it's correct!

Its appearance doesn't matter; what matters is its function.
If it works, good! If it doesn't, it's no good!

The blanket idea that "the empty triangle is bad" is a trap, like all other proverbs. Congrats, an important lesson for you.

[SmoothOper]

Keep in mind that in Go, often times there are very strong strategy and tactics, so strong that they may not actually occur in pro games, because your opponent will prevent you from doing these things, often times pros have to win ugly, though they may have used good shape as a tactical threat through out the game. I think this concept confuses many beginners when studying concepts in fuseki and shape, which don't have an obvious dead group on the board.

[skydyr]

I think shape is dependent on context; in one of my games I could've killed a group by playing an empty triangle, but instead I rejected that notion because "Hurr empty triangle is bad" and played a hane instead, giving him two eyes.

I can try to dredge up the game to verify if anyone's not sure about what Mr.Dan told me. It does sound suspect.

I won one memorable five stone game as black after butchering the opening by starting a big fight with the ugliest shapes imaginable. I killed one group with a tombstone tesuji and kept it surrounded with a square of 4 stones on one side and an empty triangle on the other, because they were the shapes that worked, and 'pretty' ones didn't. Don't knock it if it works. On the other hand, if there's another alternative that works as well, it's often (but not always) better than the bad shape move, so you should look for it at least.

[daal]

I know that this is a really old thread, but after downloading GoGoD, for $15, I was a bit surprised to discover it only contains sgf games. No big deal as the price was so low, but after reading this thread I thought that I would be getting a copy of Shape Up!

Before T Mark's death, the GoGoD disk included quite a bit of content besides the .sgf files, among other things, Shape Up! - but it also used to be more expensive. If you just want to read Shape Up!, an authorized copy can be found here: http://www.badukworld.co.kr/biz/lesson2 ... shape.html.

[Bantari]

Is there any ways to get the old content still?
Even if it is not updated anymore, it is still a ton of very valuable stuff, and it would be a pity to no have it accessible anymore. I mean, the programs can probably be found somewhere, but the data, like the essays, encyclopedia, etc...

[Aidoneus]

daal: Thanks. If anyone is interested, I got a copy of Shape Up! after subscribing to GoBase.org to get more sgf files.

EDIT: After reading the first three chapters, this book already has helped shed light on why certain relationships among stones are more resilient, whether in fights or creating eyes. IMHO, Mathews writes in a clear style that is accessible to a beginner, or DDK. Maybe I am predisposed to his writing, as I started with a library copy of his Teach Yourself be a Master at Go.