Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Go/to do

To be merged with this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_strategy_and_tactics

Three Elements
The strategy board game Go is a game of perfect information. The three elements of go are strategy, timing, and your reading ability.

Strategy
Your strategy is how you will reach your over-all, large scale goal. Strategic moves are most important at the beginning of the game. Unlike Chess, the go board is so large (19 by 19 or 361 points) that after making a loss in one area one may find compensation of equal (point) value in another area or corner. Moves involving more points are bigger moves of higher priority.

The following eight strategies are from Strategic Concepts of Go by Nagahara, 5-Dan:

Miai are "two points which are related in such a way that if one of them is occupied by a player, his opponent can handle the situation by taking the other." "Two points are miai if they repesent two independent ways of accomplishing the same thing, so that if the enemy deprives you of one of them, you can always fall back on the other of them." This is the "either/or" flexibility that makes Go superior to chess, is embodied in Taoist philosophy, and relates to the timing of one's moves. In the opening play "the san-ren-seis are miai." "They develop the corner handicap stones most effectively." "Don't let the enemy play both stones of a miai applies not only to the opening, but to life and death, (and) the endgame---everything. The reverse is to 'play both stones'" when possible.
 * Miai (seeing together)

Aji is the latent, lingering potential in a group of stones for future plays. It should be observed and studied as the game develops. Aji is like the reserve army held in the rear. It should not be used immediately. Hence, aji keshi (elimination of aji) is bad play.
 * Aji (taste)

"A kikashi is a forcing move played to produce an effect. That is, a kikashi is a play which must be answered, usually in just one way; the exchange of the kikashi and the answer being useful in some way to the player of the kikashi." Hence, "timing is important in playing kikashi."
 * Kikashi

A strong formation of stones facing the center or facing along a side. "A group of stones is thick if it contains few or no weak points and is not vulnerable to attack." This is a good quality for a group because you are free to attack and you have an advantage in ko fights. page 31. James Kerwin (1-Dan pro) stresses "that one seeks a balance between thickness ("power") and territory, right up to the end of the game. American players want to grab their territory too quickly." "He defines power as a) a large preponderance of stones in an area, and b) an absence of defects, or cutting points." Four closely related principles in the use of thickness:
 * Atsumi (thickness, power, strength)
 * Don't approach thickness!
 * Don't use thickness to make territory!
 * Use your thickness to attack!
 * Drive your opponent's stones in the direction or your thickness!

One strategy is called the running attack where you can make territory while you push the enemy group toward your thick group in sente because they are threatened with not being able to make a living group.

"This term refers to a configuration of stones which is over-concentrated, ... not being used to their maximum efficiency." In contrast, one should aim to play the ideal shape.
 * Korigatachi (frozen shape)

When in a dangerous situation play to escape or make living, eye-shape, i.e., play in a quick and light (skipping spaces) manner to escape, and in a flexible manner to have more possible ways to live. Thus, you are leaving the original group (the tail) behind, as a sacrifice. Furthermore, that tail end group may still have some aji to exploit later.
 * Sabaki (development)

This is an exchange of territory (actual or potential) where one player takes territory that belonged to the other player while giving up territory of his own. Or where both players enter virgin territory and divide it up.
 * Furikawari (exchange)

Yosu-miru is a probing technique which forces one's opponent to fix the shape of his stones. Since one wants to maintain flexibility, reducing the opponent's flexibility can have advantages.
 * Yosu-miru

Timing
Timing is about who chooses to play on that spot first. Deciding when to play elsewhere (tenuki) is an important skill.

Reading Ability
Reading ability is the mental imagining of a sequence of moves played out to a conclusion as would be player by both players, including variations that may lead to a tactical success for either player, then finding a successful sequence and rejecting the failure. Reading is the mental process of considering the possible future moves leading to a successful sequence in a local area for that player and reading the sequences that could be successful for the opponent. Completely reading out the moves is twice as much work as one would expect because you must read out the strongest moves and responses for both players.

Group Status
"Serious life-and-death problems may arise only a few times in the course of the average game, but when they do arise, they deserve to be read out carefully." "What you have to do during actual play is to work out the status of each group that comes into question." Is the group settled or unsettled?

First, a settled group is alive or dead as it stands. No more stones need to added. You are free to play elsewhere. If the opponent plays to attack the group then you must answer to keep the group alive. This pair of moves is often used in a ko fight.

Secondly, you need to know if a group is an unsettled group, one that can live or can be saved, or can be killed and captured but that this status is not yet determined. Additionally, the sequence to accomplish this needs to be known or read out anew.

James Kerwin (1-Dan) "pointed out that one cannot fully estimate the state of the game without taking both power and territory into account.  ...approaching the game in this way makes reading easier.  ...once the state of the game is understood, 90% of the apparent moves can be eliminated. Then one's concentration can be focused on the remaining 10%.

Shape
[] Having good shape refers to (1) the efficient use of stones in outlining territory, (2) the strength of a group in a prospective fight, and (3) making eye shape so that a group may live. Some good shapes are descriptively named: ponnuki (where four stones capture one stone), mouth shape, bamboo joint, one-space jump, and sen-ryo magari (the thousand dollar turn). This turn is valuable because radiates influence into the center and one side of the board. By using its thickness, one can easily make eye-shape.

Bad shapes are inefficient in outlining territory. Some bad shapes are dango (dumpling, a clump of stones) and empty triangle (three stones facing only one intersection). Bad shapes are heavy. Heavy groups cannot easily make eye shape and are therefore good targets for attack.

Tactics

 * amarigatachi A shape where a player may feel he has made good moves, when in fact he has accomplished little.


 * haengma (Korean concept for the way the stones move or forward momentum) The term is used to describe various connections and their implications. Some connections are strong but move (project that strength) across the board slowly. That is, they do not develop forward momentum very quickly.


 * honte (the "proper" move)


 * kikasare


 * kikashi


 * tedomari The very last move (in a certain sequence of "good moves").


 * tenuki (to play elsewhere) Thus to ignore the opponent's last move.


 * yosumiru

Heuristics (rules-of-thumb)
Two trade-offs: (1) to build or reduce territory, (2) the life or death of groups. In the game of go there are two trade-offs to consider in choosing a move, (1) where to build your territory or reduce the enemy territory, (2) how to connect your groups and make them live or to cut and capture the enemy groups.

Where to Play: "When you look at the board and see your stones, ask yourself, 'Who needs help?'. Then give them some help." To get stronger look at the whole board and make good shape, not just to play near the last click, the last move played by the opponent. "Keep taking the big points." Usually it is better to play at the other end of the group where the opponent just played.

Learn to run in tandem with your opponent. Give white one big territory. Cultivate a sense of direction. Jump in a direction that has some value. Make good shape. In the opening "balance your play on the 3rd and 4th lines."

Choice: For a group to have the choice or flexibility in life or death fights it needs three ways to live, so that, if the opponent takes one away, there are still two ways to choose from. If you only have one way to live, then you have no choice.

When making mutual walls one player gets one side and the other player gets the other side for territory or for influence (potential territory).

What move is good for black is also good for white. --- Go Proverb

Books

 * Strategic Concepts of Go, Yoshiaki Nagahara, 5-Dan, with Richard Bozulich, The Ishi Press, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, 1972. 140 pages.
 * The Breakthrough to Shodan, Naoki Miyamoto, 9-Dan, translated by James Davies, The Ishi Press, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, 1976. 159 pages.
 * Tesuji: Elementary Go Series, Vol. 3, James Davies. The Ishi Press, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, April 1975, September, 1977. 200 pages.
 * Life and Death: Elementary Go Series, Vol. 4, James Davies. The Ishi Press, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, December 1975, March 1978, September 1985. 158 pages.
 * Vital Points of Go, Takagawa Kaku, Honorary Honinbo.
 * Reducing Territorial Frameworks: Attacking and Defending Moyos, Shuko Fujisawa, 9-Dan, translated by John Power. Tokyo: The Ishi Press, 1986. 200 pages.
 * Making Good Shape: Mastering the Basics, Volume 3, Rob van Zeijst and Richard Bozulich. Tokyo: Kiseido Publishing Company, 2002. 205 pages.
 * Go Proverbs Illustrated, Segoe Kensaku, translation by John Bauer, Tokyo: Nihon Kiin, 1960. 43 basic proverbs.

Comments
Yes, well, Strategic Concepts is hardly the last word. Bozulich's explanations are not specially good, in some cases. Examples, such as those for yosumiru and kikashi, can be questionable if not taken directly from pros. And there are some things left out, for example amarigatachi.

Also we now know that the whole 'thickness' discussion that was sold to us in the 1970s is in some ways misleading. And that haengma (a Korean concept) is pretty much essential to become strong. These matters are discussed on SL.

I'd object to using some parts of the older texts in English as sources for these concepts: there is a reliability issue.

Charles Matthews 13:48, 22 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I am honored to have an author read my page. I have expanded it. Perhaps you could contribute a concise summary on good shape. Larry R. Holmgren 07:10, 25 February 2007 (UTC)