Hello! A beginner looking for a teaching game!

Hello there!

I am a beginner of Go and a new comer to OGS and I am looking for 19x19 teaching games in correspondence mode!

To describe my situation:

Through beginner books I know the rules of the game. I understand basic concepts like “corner first, side next, center later”. I know basic terms like tiger mouth, shoulder hit, hane, net, ladder, etc - I can make use of them if I am solving Go problems, but I am not good at noticing them or making practical use of them during a “real match”.

I know 2 eyes live and what is a false eye. I solved some life and death problems too, but when on a real board I struggle at how to form a plan to make my stones live asap when I had just few stones to begin with and my opponent is playing approach moves to challenge it (instead of almost finish shape in problems where you just need to add a few stones to live or kill).

Oh and joseki is just so BIG to learn :smiley:

I played some 9x9, 13x13, and 19x19 bot games on my phone & tablet and some very casual over-the-board games with friends and family who are also absolute beginners.

In short I think I just “know” things in my head but is not good at the when and how of using them.

What a long thread :slight_smile: anyone interested to offer me 19x19 correspondence teaching game? I can play multiple correspondence in parallel too and will probably ask a lot of questions in chat!

Much appreciated!

Sounds like youve done quite a lot already :smile:. The theory will help you advance faster than trial and error alone would, so id say youre off to a good start.
I will send you a challenge for a teaching game :slightly_smiling_face:.

The 19x19 board is so big that it isn’t really necessary to live asap. There is plenty of room to make eyes if you just spread your stones and avoid being surrounded.
On the other side: if you mind too much of making eyes and be unconditionally alive, you play slow moves and your opponent will take the rest of the board for himself.
Go is a game of balance: your moves mustn’t be too slow nor too fast.
This is a good thing to learn for beginners. :slight_smile:

I never did a teaching game before, but if you like I can send you a challenge.

thanks kickaha! i have accepted your challenge!

1 Like

thanks for the advice lysnew. I think I should clarify my thinking: I understand I don’t need to make every group live with 2 eyes right away, but having no general / high level “plan” or “direction” in my mind to make that happen in the future makes me worry and panic.

A teaching game challenge is always welcome! Thanks in advance!

1 Like

Challenge sent. :slight_smile:

challenge accepted lysnew! thank you

and a shout out to the whole OGS community: thanks for the warm welcoming here! i received quite a few teaching game offer and challenges! looking forward to enjoy my time on OGS and in Go for general!

1 Like