Hi - I can really identify with what you’re saying. When I was between 25 - 20 kyu I found it really frustrating that there were very few resources for beginners which tried to answer the questions you’re asking.
It seemed like most of the resources available fell into two categories
- very basic explanations of the rules / tutorials on how to play, puzzles and exercises that explored one small aspect of of a much larger game
- resources for people who already understood the game which allowed them to get better
and very little in between. How do people go from taking their first baby steps, to really figuring out all the game mechanics - I mean besides losing your first 1000 games quickly, as the old saying goes
With that, I really tried my best to fill in those blanks, and started the 19x19 FOR BEGINNERS series here on OGS. Rather than trying to comprehensively tackle ALL the information, I tried to explain the big pieces, which all have to be understood and grasped individually, before you can begin to understand how they all interlock together to form a coherent whole.
All in all, it’s probably somewhere around 200+ pages of content (it’s hard to count, because so much of the space is taken up by images)
Introduction: Making Sense of Go
Part 3: Playing a Balanced Opening
Part 5: The Stages of the Game
Take your time, please make sure to play through all of the included demo games, and enjoy. I hope this addresses some of what you were talking about.