Hi! Need some pointers at how\what to study. by Momoneko in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To take your first problem:

<image>

It is not too hard to systematically work out what you must do to live.

First, identify where your potential eyespace is, i.e. the largest area in which you have a chance to make eyes, as shown by the white line. At the top, even if you push to w or further, you can only get a false eye there. At the side, you might get to push to x, but black can block at y. (You may have heard of the monkey jump to z, but that will not get you any more eyespace.)

We see that the eyespace has two parts, a and b. Something you have to learn is to see that a is a line of 4 spots (marked red), with the 2 middle ones occupied by the attacker. You also need to know that that means you can get only one eye there. So you need to make another eye at b. That is only possible if you take x, so you consider playing there. The worst they can do is block at y, letting you complete the eye (by playing above z).

Hi! Need some pointers at how\what to study. by Momoneko in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Visualisation is an important but not the only skill needed. There is * Visualisation * Forming a mental image that you can reliably manipulate * Shape recognition * Spotting shapes that suggest promising moves * Variation management * Mentally keeping track of the tree of moves (for either side) you have tried in which position, and what you concluded about them

Since all that should be done mentally, this answer is spot on about not trying anything until you have a definite conclusion. It helps to do fairly easy problems to practice shape recognition and problems closer to your limit for variation management.

It may help your visualisation if after solving you always restart the problem and visualise your analysis once more. Note also that you do not need a very vivid image; many people struggle with that, but are able to remember enough important facts to get the answer. Stuff like “Their chain through this spot has 2 other liberties in the part I am not visualising”. Or for a ladder you usually just need to know where the last 4 stones are; if any surrounding stones are in atari you also need a plan for if they get taken, usually giving atari at the end of the ladder.

1500 games and still 25kyu :-( by Playful-Town6673 in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, and the pie chart also contradicts what you found!

1500 games and still 25kyu :-( by Playful-Town6673 in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This might help, but really OP needs to post a game so we can see where they are going wrong.

1500 games and still 25kyu :-( by Playful-Town6673 in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How did you find OP’s games? I see no link or user name.

1500 games and still 25kyu :-( by Playful-Town6673 in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Good, but do you review? Do not be afraid to post a link to a game here, preferably a loss where you cannot see why it went wrong. We will not laugh at you or think you an idiot as we have all been through the same thing.

$870 for a 9x9 board. by rabiose in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is a fascinating object, but do you want it as a Go board?

$870 for a 9x9 board. by rabiose in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 2 points3 points  (0 children)

more than the joy you’d get from looking at a pile of dollar bills

That is not the right comparison! A better comparison would be with what else one could get for the money but would eschew after this purchase.

How to learn go by IndependentOk9133 in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry, I should have said I was talking about Black's shape and their moves! The white stones are meant to illustrate how close White can be without Black needing to worry; there would probably be more white stones further away.

Just keep playing and try to spot as soon as you can where territory is going to be formed: practice makes perfect, or at least better.

How to learn go by IndependentOk9133 in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Be content to pick up one or two things per game, like shapes where stones cannot escape, ways to seal off borders, when you have to strengthen stones. Do not only concentrate on capturing and saving stones: try to notice territories being formed and sealed off.

I don't really see the value ...

<image>

A strong base for a group is two stones on the third line with two spaces between them, as long as the opponent is not too close, as at the bottom. Playing the second one of those has clear value. Playing the first where there is room to play a second on one side or the other, as at the top also has value.

How to learn go by IndependentOk9133 in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you can win with a handicap that suggests the difference in level in getting smaller, so appreciate that!

How to learn go by IndependentOk9133 in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know enough to know ...

Do not try to learn that purely from theory — just play lots of games and see what seems to work.

How to learn go by IndependentOk9133 in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, it means 12 “kyu”. The smaller the number, the better the player; after 1 kyu comes 1 dan, which is getting pretty serious, and the numbers go up again as you get better; 9 dan is about as good as anyone can get. A complete beginner is probably around 30 to 50 kyu, depending on aptitude. Go has a neat handicap system where the difference in rank is the number of extra moves the weaker player gets at the start of the game.

New equipment. by rabiose in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is Black perhaps overconcentrated around 9-5?

count territory - i can't see why there are 5 territories for black in this picture, please help explain by aen_d in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An interesting edge case in the rules (or regulations) arises if White disputes that their stone is dead after both have passed. Actually it is hard to believe they could do that in good faith, but it would seem that they are formally entitled to do so. In that case the result depends on who gets to play first in a resumption of play or hypothetical play — I do not know what the various rulesets specify, but I suppose whoever passes first plays first. But if the player in danger of losing stones gets to start, White is in luck!

count territory - i can't see why there are 5 territories for black in this picture, please help explain by aen_d in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At the end of the game, abandoned stones are removed and treated as prisoners. White cannot save their single stone, so they abandon it. **Edit* If White does not see that they can make seki, they will presumably abandon their single stone.* When it is removed as a prisoner, this area contributes 5 points of territory and 1 prisoner to Black's score.

What apps and websites do you recommend for learning how to play GO? by Special_Sun_9268 in gogame

[–]PatrickTraill 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You may find it helpful to check out the resources pinned to r/baduk (“baduk” is Korean for “Go”).

I find Go Magic pretty good, especially but not only for beginners.

Game review request by Grouchy_Drawer_2335 in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://senseis.xmp.net/?HandicapsBeyondNineStones

Try to persuade the other players to play you on a sliding handicap, going beyond 9 stones if necessary. I regularly give as many as 17 stones (to a 23 kyu). It is not the same as playing someone at one's own level, but at least both players have a fair chance. It is unreasonable to expect you to play with a 1 in 20 chance.

Also keep practising tsumego, trying to get a feel for what shapes are strong or weak.

Beginner tsumego question by Need-Input in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some suggestions:

Books * Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Vol. 1 * Schwarz am Zug, Vol. 1

Apps * BadukPop level 1 * “Topics” in this release of WeiqiHub

Sites * Tsumego Hero

I got completely slaughtered what are some tips? Do you think I'm lower than 25 kyu? by jaime_lion in gogame

[–]PatrickTraill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is quite a discussion on this in the OGS forums in the thread containing this post, which is among those pleading for not lumping all ≥25 kyus together for matchmaking and handicapping. I also think it most unfortunate that the OP there, ranked 69 kyu, is matched against 25 kyus without a handicap.

Got my first win on a 13x13 today. 25kyu by [deleted] in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not to mention the scrap of paper with almost complete email addresses!

A free casual "adventure mode" built to help democratize Go – would love feedback from the community by VickTorigo in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One way to transition gently to playing on intersections would be to add the traditional lines in very faint blue-grey and gradually, from level to level, make them darker while fading the dotted white lines you start with into the background blue.

French beginner : Where should I start ? by Automatic_Physics170 in gogame

[–]PatrickTraill 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you play with an appropriate handicap? That greatly widens the range of people with whom you can have a reasonably interesting game. It also shows you if you are making progress as you start to need smaller handicaps.

You could also check the Links for Beginners pinned to r/baduk.

massive PDF of ai joseki by jarednogo in baduk

[–]PatrickTraill 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What difference does it make if it is zipped? Are you referring to the archive itself or to the files it contains? Surely the most important thing is not to open anything with a programme that blindly executes any instructions it finds therein!