Thanks for clarifying. I didn’t know exactly what I was supposed to do.
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I figured I would try to break down an example puzzle, to show you what elements are involved. FWIW - this was originally presented by the site to myself as a puzzle for 13 kyu players, however - for some unknown reason - it is now showing as a 2 kyu level puzzle
https://onlymove.net/?id=01b87c90
I have replicated it in this DEMO BOARD so you can play around with it.
This particular puzzle tests the players abilities to determine
- which groups are alive or dead CONDITIONALLY or UNCONDITIONALLY
- how many capture moves are needed to capture those groups which appear dead
- whether White can create a situation where Black runs out of liberties and cannot capture the groups which appear like they should be dead
So, I will confess that I “fell for the trap” and failed this puzzle the first time I tried it.
The site was telling me that the correct move was for Black to capture by playing at the spot marked O (A10)
I wrongly assumed that both of White’s right side groups (marked with Δ) were unconditionally dead and that I could play elsewhere because even if White captured the stone at A12 it still couldn’t make a living group in the upper left - I was wrong, but not in the way I expected.
The problem is - two of Black’s groups (marked with X) are vulnerable to a shortage-of-liberties situations, and if Black DOESN’T capture those White stones at the top right on this move, White can create a situation where it captures one or the other - many moves down the road.
So yes, as a test for players who already have fairly high level skills, this is an excellent site.
As a way for beginning players to learn about those skills? I’d guess it would be quite confusing. My 2 cents.
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This leads me to ask: What are the concepts or strategies that I should be studying as a 30kyu to win my first game?
- Sente and Gote - based on the current board position, do you need to respond to the last move urgently? Or - if the last move is not threatening enough - can you initiate a more profitable move in another area?
- Settling your Stones - you’ve played some stones in an area - but did you leave obvious weaknesses that will get you in trouble if you don’t fix them right away? Should you keep playing in a given area or grab a bigger opportunity on a different part of the board? (when to TENUKI)
- Shape - how to keep your stones connected when challenged, or make eye-space when threatened - also teaches you how to damage your opponent’s connections and eye-space - also the crucial question of ARE YOU GROUPS ALIVE? What will you need to make them alive?
- Playing a Balanced Opening / Early Midgame - learning to see the value in un-claimed parts of the board, and grabbing them in the correct order so your opponent doesn’t grab a huge lead during Opening / Midgame
- Stages of the Game - some parts of the board are more valuable than others because they are easier to enclose - make sure to grab them in the order of Corners > Sides > Middle (in 13x13 and 19x19 games) - how to gauge the value of un-claimed parts of the board throughout the game
- Joseki - these tips for getting your share of a given corner are quite easy to learn, and help you understand the interplay of sente / gote better
You’re not trying to assassinate a king (i.e. chess) - you’re not killing and capturing. You’re building castles that will slowly enclose the land within their borders, and connecting them together into a network - AND making sure you get a bigger % of the Island than your opponent. Good luck!
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That’s quite helpful, thanks.
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Where do you play your games by the way? I cant see any on your Ogs profile. Would be nice to see the games you played yet.
Lastly - rather than studying - the best thing you can do is to PLAY - just play and play and play.
The old saying “lose your first 500 games quickly” is a double-edged joke - yes, it’s a bit of a dig at the expense of the beginner, preparing you for the concept that you’re going to lose a lot at first.
But - it’s also saying that Go is an EXPERIENTIAL game - meaning some things just aren’t going to make sense until you go out and have these experiences - of enclosing territory - of saving a group - of losing a corner and dying because you thought you could make life and suddenly realized you were captured. All of these experiences eventually become the new vocabulary for the concepts that you will be learning.
If you have the time, play live human games against other beginners (OGS makes it very easy to make custom games so that only opponents +/- 5 kyu of your current rating can join, etc).
If you’re not ready to play rated games against humans, play some bots on OGS.
If you don’t want to play bot games on OGS, download the GnuGO bot and play on your computer.
If you don’t want to download anything you can play against the Cosumi bot or the Katago bot online.
If you are lucky enough to have a Go center or Go club in your area - show up in person and play a game of Go on the board against another human being - and maybe have them show you a few pointers.
But yes - don’t worry about studying the right way or playing to win - just play.
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Hi, I’m in a correspondence game with a human. The bots you mention look like they could be helpful. I just installed KaTrain. Might be over my head, not sure. Take care.
“Cut/connect”, “counting the liberties” and “use the edge of the board” are your first concepts before anything else.
Thanks for your input.
I like C bot very much. Such a straightforward interface.
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the object of the game is to get the most stones on the board, don’t think of territory in the traditional sense
wei chi means the surrounding game, so not only do you capture stones by surrounding them, but you also hurt groups by surrounding them, and yes that means even in the corner too
if they took the corner but have no escape, they have been encompassed, they have been wei chi’d
wei chi means hug in chinese, like envelope
play wei chi, try to get the most stones on the board
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A good memorable summary.
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