Which openings should DDKs learn and how to learn them?

Teaching
9

I feel like DDKs would benefit the most from focusing on the classic opening priorities

  1. Corners
  2. Enclose your own corner or approach your opponent’s corner
  3. Create large extensions or disrupt large extensions
  4. Create small extensions or disrupt small extensions
  5. Make vertical moves away from the edge into the middle

And then see all of the available joseki options as a tool for helping their groups work together across the board, regardless of what variations their opponent throws at them.

I feel like many beginners try aggressive openings too early - pincer attacks, crosscut games etc - before they really understand direction of play, or how to gauge whether one area of potential on the board is more valuable than another.

Where more advanced players start fighting within the first 10-15 moves, I often feel like it would be better for DDKs to avoid lengthy life-or-death fights in the Opening, settle their stones as quickly as possible, and use their sente moves to tenuki and grab unclaimed potential rather than pursuing local fights.

I feel like being able to grasp the whole-board implications of local moves, and be flexible in seeing big moves across the board can help beginners “grow new eyes” and get a better understanding of the game than drilling down into more complex contact fights.

My 2 cents anyway. I wrote a lot more about it here:

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