Go advice (short and sweet)

What is the single best piece of advice you ever received regarding Go?

Mine personally was:
Wall + Extension = Efficiency

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“Expect your opponent to play the move you least want them to play”

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I can well imagine this turning into a Go Proverbs thread :smiley:

But this one:

… wouldn’t it be possible to break it down to the (proverbial) “Wall + 1 = Extension”?

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give to your stones the most liberties.

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I like Baduk doctor’s proverb: the value of stones is always changing.

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Best advice for beginners: when you have won the game, pass,

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Almost the same but with different wording: “always assume that your opponent will play the best possible move”

Another good one: “even a bad move does something”

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“Don’t let them pierce your keima and pierce their keima when you can.”

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

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This is a proverb, but one of my favorites:

“Don’t go fishing when your house is on fire.”

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“Your opponent is allowed some points as well”

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Two of my favourites are

“Your opponent’s best move is often yours”

  • meaning, if your opponent didn’t play where you thought they should have, there’s a good chance you should

And

“Always break the bamboo joint”

  • meaning, the bamboo joint is usually so strong, it’s worth taking away the final piece from your opponent
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Ah. Or could you rearrange the equation to read:
Efficiency - wall = extension? :smirk:

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So 2 Wall + 1 = Efficiency?

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If you don’t have any weaknesses you are playing inefficiently.

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Uhm… that’s getting too complicated for my pea-size brain :smiley:

I was referring to this here:

For extensions from a wall, or extensions in general, the following rule of thumb applies:

From a wall, the best extension is the number of spaces of the height of the wall, plus one.

It is also embodied in the following proverb:

From one, two. From two, three.

This rule can be applied to walls of heights one to four, and in rare occasions, five. Extensions of more than six spaces are very rare because an invasion is likely to succeed.

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Have fun. It’s just a game.

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Thanks for this.

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You are too modest.

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—Akira Ishida, Attack and Defense (Elementary Go Series, Vol. 5)

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Thank you, @jlt!
I knew already that the mus species is capable of empathy, but it is so nice to see it in action :heart: :smiley:

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