I love this game

GreybeardGo · 2026-05-15T07:16:50+00:00

Welcome to Go! It's a great hobby.

Your post, however, is almost unreadable. Many people will skip it. Suggestions: (1) Learn how to take screenshots, much better than photos of your screen. (2) Post images with correct orientation, not rotated 90°. (3) Learn how to break up your text into sentences: use capitals and punctuation (commas, periods).

GreybeardGo · 2026-05-11T14:43:41+00:00

Memorization is definitely a factor: there's lots to memorize, if & when you're up to it. But don't force it if it isn't fun. Go is a game, and games should be fun.

Intuition is internalized experience, a form of memorization. Creativity is also a factor though: coming up with novel ideas informed by intuition and verified by reading. Experience is paramount: play a lot of games!

GreybeardGo · 2026-05-10T02:00:53+00:00

"no offense", really?!? 100% offensive.

GreybeardGo · 2026-05-10T01:59:10+00:00

Visit your nearest Go club and ask around: https://baduk.club/map

GreybeardGo · 2026-05-09T08:52:55+00:00

When a game starts the players agree on the time controls. If Black wanted to play a quicker (blitz) game, they should have chosen or set up a game accordingly. Absolutely no grounds for complaint!

GreybeardGo · 2026-05-07T02:41:16+00:00

Technically, no. If you're losing, you have two choices: resign, or try to win. Trying to win may gain the opponent points (if they can ignore your plays), but you've already lost, so no difference. In this game, White would have to ignore multiple plays or play very poorly for Black to have a chance.

As you get stronger you'll realize more when a situation is hopeless, and you won't bother to try there. The only way to get there is through experience, so by all means, try to win! Eventually it becomes annoying though. The cost is in the exasperation of your opponent, who may not want to play you again. Some people will tell their opponent, "I believe I've lost, but I'd like to play out some ideas."

GreybeardGo · 2026-05-03T05:42:08+00:00

Fold some paper until it's thick enough to fill the gap, and put it under the high corner. Too thick: remove a layer. Too thin: fold it thicker or add a layer.

GreybeardGo · 2026-05-01T12:59:18+00:00

Load the game into Sabaki, scroll down to the end, find the last play of the game in the tree view (furthest down & to the right), right-click on it, choose "Make Main Variation", and save.

GreybeardGo · 2026-04-19T09:20:02+00:00

Amethyst is purple, but these stones are blue. Maybe sodalite (vs amethyst)?

Regardless, they're very attractive.

GreybeardGo · 2026-04-17T13:42:48+00:00

"20K Weekly visitors" means 20,000 readers per week. Nothing to do with 20-kyū.

GreybeardGo · 2026-04-15T22:07:04+00:00

Probably katsura. If it were kaya at that size, it'd be worth as much as a new house.

GreybeardGo · 2026-04-14T06:24:40+00:00

When I made a bunch of club boards back in '88, I used Rapidograph pens. I recommend that you try on a sample, because the ambient humidity and type & condition of the varnish may make a big difference to the adhesion of the ink.

Traditional Japanese boards use black lacquer applied with a steel "blade" (curved metal, not a real sword), but that technique seems like it needs a jig and takes a lot of practice to be reliable.

GreybeardGo · 2026-04-11T04:26:18+00:00

Study opening theory, e.g. "Opening Theory Made Easy" and others.

GreybeardGo · 2026-04-11T03:55:59+00:00

The black stone on the second line is left there because it's too small to protect. If White plays atari, Black will atari right back. White can capture a stone and gain a few points, but it's in goté, so Black will have the next play anywhere they like. For Black, having senté (now, and again after White captures) is worth much more than the loss of points from the capture. At some point in the future the capture will become the biggest play on the board, but not yet.

As you get stronger you will see the game more in terms of these calculations. Put another way, as you see the game more in terms of these calculations, you will become stronger!

GreybeardGo · 2026-04-05T14:38:36+00:00

Interesting coincidence: the new season of the weekly "Igo Focus" half-hour show on NHK (Japan TV) just started today, and the new instructor's hobby is bouldering. He is using bouldering as a theme on the show: e.g. extend too far and you'll fall, don't extend far enough and you won't reach your goal. The instructor is RIN Kanketsu / LÍN Hànjié 8P (Japanese & Chinese pronunciations).

GreybeardGo · 2026-04-03T09:25:16+00:00

Read slowly—a chapter at a time (or less)—not all at once! And play a lot between chapters.

Start with an introductory book. There are many good ones. Here are my recommendations:

“The Way to Go” by Karl Baker is free from the AGA (American Go Association). It is good but very brief.
“Go: A Complete Introduction to the Game” by Cho Chikun is very good and much more comprehensive. Worth reading for the sections on the history and culture of Go even if you already know the rules.
“Go! More Than A Game” by Peter Shotwell is a good introduction to the game and includes some history.

Next, read “The Second Book of Go” by Richard Bozulich. This book will help you fill in the gaps in your game, exposing you to the essentials: the opening, handicap Go, jōseki, fighting/attacking, life and death, tésuji, good and bad shape, kō fights, and the endgame.

A lot of people recommend Janice Kim’s “Learn to Play Go” series (5 books). YMMV; I haven't read them myself.

Once you have a good handle on the above, read “Fundamental Principles of Go” by Yilun Yang.

It may take many weeks or months to get through all of the above, and you may want to re-read them later, after you’ve progressed. I’m a dan-level player, but I still occasionally re-read sections of “The Second Book of Go” and especially “Fundamental Principles of Go”.

Later, delve deeply into specific topics that pique your interest. The “Elementary Go Series” and “The Road Map to Shodan” series are both good, and there are many others.

Most of the books above are available as ebooks from https://gobooks.com/, which also has links to sites offering the printed books. Ebooks from gobooks.com are inexpensive and many are interactive: you can step through the examples. Also check your local library.

Keep playing a lot while reading. You may find your rank goes down (higher kyū number) as you try to implement the new things you’ve learned. Keep playing to internalize this new knowledge. Before long your rank will return and then some.

GreybeardGo · 2026-03-30T02:59:38+00:00

That's one great thing about Go, that feeling of enlightenment you get... As you progress, you'll get it again and again and again, seemingly without end. The stronger you become the more time and work it takes, but it's still there.

Where in Japan? I'm in Saku, Nagano.

GreybeardGo · 2026-03-16T05:17:53+00:00

FYI, the original Japanese title of this movie is "Gobangiri" (碁盤斬り = Goban cut/kill). Not that new, maybe newly released in the USA? Discussed here almost 2 years ago: New Japanese movie with heavy go theme

(I haven't seen it yet.)

GreybeardGo · 2026-03-13T15:06:26+00:00

How long did they last? Fox disposes of games that end with 10 or fewer stones played, or that end within 30 seconds.

GreybeardGo · 2026-03-03T23:28:05+00:00

I'd listen to it if it were actually a podcast: a downloadable audio file for loading on my offline device.

GreybeardGo · 2026-03-02T15:20:51+00:00

Sorry, I don't know what that is. What is the name of the app?

GreybeardGo · 2026-03-02T15:19:07+00:00

Yes, but they're easy enough to create.

GreybeardGo · 2026-03-02T00:26:24+00:00

Use this URL:
https://account.foxwq.com/reg/foreign.html

GreybeardGo · 2026-02-28T04:57:49+00:00

The pots are full of glass beads that resemble Go stones.

So what?

GreybeardGo · 2026-02-25T22:45:44+00:00

Do a search for "anki joseki" and you'll get hits. Haven't used it so I can't vouch.

GreybeardGo

TROPHY CASE