Go, Igo, Weiqi, Baduk. Kaz's original Igo-advice & fundamentals of Igo

You don't have to learn the latest joseki or a newly
developed fuseki. If you like to learn them more than
your favorite food, then please do so.
But you don't have to do so.

Your goal is to become a strong Go player,
not a master of a new joseki or a new fuseki.

Keep in mind that Cho U Kisei (張栩 棋聖, 王座 in 2012)
never studied some fuseki variations, which would not
appear in his games since he was an insei.

He only kept examining his favorite fuseki and tried
to be a master of it.

Amateur players don't have time to study all kinds
of joseki and opening variations. When your opponent
tries a new joseki or fuseki, almost always you have
a way to avoid it.

Otake Hideo 9 dan (大竹英雄) doesn’t like an
"avalanche" joseki and almost always avoids it; he has still
won many games.

I always think that new joseki and new opening variations
are like fashion. They can come and go. Keep in mind
that pros come up with a new joseki every day.

Even pros in Japan have a hard time keeping up with new
josekis in South Korea and China. Japanese top pros once
avoided playing an "avalanche" joseki with Korean and
Chinese pros. When it comes to an "avalanche", if when
you make one mistake, you lose a game immediately.

I recommend that you learn basic josekis, which have been
around for the 30 or 40 years. You could find them in
my website ( http://www.kazsensei.com/ ).

For example the attach-and-extend joseki has been around
more than 50 year, and is likely to remain as joseki for
the next 30 or 40 years.

The attach-and-extend joseki is good because it is applicable
to so many situations. That's because it's so basic and
important.

That's a classic example of a basic joseki, and I think that's
what you should learn.

One of the reasons you should learn joseki is to acquire
basic tesuji and good shape, so you can apply to ohter
situations.

Also if you learn the meaning of each move of a joseki,
you can remember the joseki for a long time. (my website
explains the meaning of each move, tesuji, and shape of
some basic josekis as well as how you can apply them
to other situations.)

I also have to mention that a new joseki or a new fuseki
may not exist in the next 50 years. No one really knows
which new joseki is going to stay for the next 10 years.

So your effort to learn new joseki or new opening may not
be paid off. Thus unless you're a pro or a top amateur,
you don't have to study the latest joseki or fuseki.

Instead you should learn basic stuff such as life-and-death,
tesuji, and shape, which could also help you face a new
joseki or a new opening.

It's because whether you know new joseki or new fuseki variations,
you always have to face new fight. And when it comes to fight,
the more you know tesuji and shape, the better you can fight.
And the more you know life-and-death problems, the more likely
you make life or kill the enemy groups.

Learning or memorizing a new joseki or a new opening, on the
other hand, may not help you fight well if you encounter a
completely new joseki or a new opening.

This is why I state that unless you're a pro or a top amateur,
you don't have to learn them.

To conclude I recommend learning the most basic joseki, which
have been around for many years.

I’d like to tell you my experience, too.

I went to America to go to university. I stayed in the US
more than 5 years and never studied or played go seriously.

After I went back to Japan, I played the 4 major amateur
Tokyo tournaments, and without knowing the most fashionable
josekis, I could still get about 85% winning ratio.

When my opponent tried a new joseki, I just avoided it.
When my opponent tried to make the Chinese fuseki or the
Kobayashi fuseki, I played White 4 approaching Black 3
to avoid it. After that, my opponent and I had to face a new
situation, and whoever stronger was going to win.

I often recommend that you have your favorite
opening.

The reason is:

1. You can learn neither all josekis nor all
opening variations. If you try to learn as
many openings as possible, you may not be
good at any opening. Keep in mind that
Takemiya Masaki 9-dan(武宮正樹), known as the
famous "cosmic style" of Go, has been playing
the 3 star point oepning for many decades
and still plays different games.

2. If you have your favorite opening and keep
playing it, you can get better at it. So the
possibility of winning ratios may very well increase.

I've recently read a book written by Cho U Kisei
(張栩 棋聖, 王座 in 2012). In the book he says he never
studied the opening which would not appear in his games.

(Come to think of it, Cho U pro often came up with
a new opening. I assume that he created them intenationally.)
It's better to play an opening, which he knows very well,
and his opponents don't know much about it. When he takes
the lead in the opening, he could more likely win a game.
You can apply his strategy to your games.

3. If you keep playing the same opening, you often play
the same or similar joseki. This means that you may
very well retain josek and build more. It's hard to
retain joseki if you don't use them. Use it or lose it.

4. Even if you stop playing Go for a while, as long as you
studied one fuseki deeply, you may very well get them back
rather easily.

I need to explain 4. more.
Amateurs often stop playing Go for a while because they
get very busy working, taking care of the family, starting
other hobbies and activities, etc.

I’ve met many people who stopped playing Go for a year,
five, years, or even twenty years. They used to be an avid
Go players, so they eventually come back to play Go.

But if they had studied many opening and joseki variations,
then the chances are that they don’t remember any of them.

Ideally, though, you never stop studying Go.

Regardless of how busy you're, as long as you keep studying
Go even for 5 or 10 minutes the chances are that you may
not forget a lot of what you have learned.

How do you do that? For example you could leave your Go books
in a bathroom and read it once or twice a day.

The reason I say this is that one day I realize the following:

Rather than studying Go intensively for 6 months and not
studying for another 6 months, it seems better to study
for a year continuously even if the study is not intensive.

Some of my language talented friends have told me that
there are similarities between learning Go and languages.
And I have read some books and articles written by language
specialists who can speak several languages.

They all say that you should learn a language for a certain
period of time continuously. If you try to learn it
intensively in a short time and stop using it, it will
escape from you very quickly.

A person who speaks six languages once told me that
human brains work in such a way that brains tend to
forget things if a person stops learning or playing.

This means that if you stop playing Go, then your
brain thinks that the brain doesn’t have to retain
your Go knowledge and experience and starts inputting
new information in your head. It makes a lot of sense to me.

(This topic “Learn your favorite opening, master it,
and keep learning move!” relates to the next topic
“You don’t have to learn the latest joseki or the
latest fuseki (opening)".

As is known, concentration is a key to learning
quickly as well as to playing a good game.

By the way, generally speaking, how long how long
is it possible for humans to concentrate at maximum?

The answer is probably 3 hours.

As an insei, I learned this number from a book
written by Serizawa Hirobumi (芹澤博文) 9 dan Shogi
pro (Shogi (将棋) is Japnaese chess game) and also
a 5 dan amateur Go player.

Serizawa and Fujisawa Hideyuki (藤沢秀行, Shuko
is also known as his name) both loved drinking, and they
drank together often; they were like brothers. (I have
an intriguingstory of them at the end.)

Serizawa Hirobumi wrote in his book that once he
thought of a move for a long time and played it.
When he saw the time, he spent 3 hours for that move.
Then he felt that natured called him; he went to pee,
and pee and blood came out. He concluded that a human
being could continue concentration 3 hours at maximum.

(I also read the same kind of story somewhere; someone
concentrated for 3 hours and peed with blood. But I don’t
remember which story that was... Sorry! But I do remember
the number “3 hours”. )

Later I learned that Fujisawa Hideyuki Kisei(棋聖)
also thought of one move for 2 hours and 57 minutes
and played an unbelievable killing move against
Kato Masao (加藤正夫) 9 dan in the 5th game of
the 2nd Kisei best-of-seven title match.

Kato challenged Fujisawa’s Kisei title and won
three games and lost one game. All he needed was win
just one more game to get the Kisei title.

But Fujisawa’s tenacity to kill the group in the
5th game overcame Kato. After this game, Fujisawa
was completely and utterly exhausted and couldn’t
move for a while.

But because of this winning, Fujisawa revived!

He won the 6th and 7th game and defended his Kisei
title. (This 5th game is shown in my website:
http://www.kazsensei.com/ ).

So this means that you can improve your concentration
up to 3 hours. (I haven’t. :(

Whoever concentrates his/her study can learn quickly.
And whoever concentrates a game better than the opponent
is likely to win.

Pros often say in a Go magazine that“I lost my
concentration momentarily and made a mistake,
which turned out to be the losing move.”

So concentration IS important in order to win.

Pros are usually an expert at concentration.

They have built the ability to concentrate for a long
time. But this ability didn’t come overnight. Years
of training as a childhood has made them build such
an incredible concentration.

Amateurs can improve Go as well as concentration if
they don't have one, yet. They just need some training.

The problem is that unlike children, many adults don’t
have much time to study Go; they have to work and
take care of the family, etc.

So even if you have only 15-minute study time every day,
I think it’s a good idea to create an environment in
which you could completely absorb yourself in Go.

Using a timer is one way to improve your concentration
when you solve Go problems. You may think that
"studying only 15 minutes" doesn’t help me much.

But in fact concentrating 15 minutes is not an easy thing,
I think. Being able to concentrate for 15 minutes anytime
anywhere is not easy, either. I mean can you concentrate
your study or work in an ear-splitting construction site?

But if you could do that, you could learn Go anywhere
anytime. So you could become stronger faster than other
people.

If you have trouble concentrating even for 15 minutes,
that’s a good start. When you get used to it, then
you can increase the time little by little.

If you really want to become a strong Go player,
you should use your time efficiently as well.

For example many people watch games on the internet
and on TV Go program in Japan. It's fun, a lot of fun.
But are they really concentrating? Are they thinking
about next moves and reading moves as much as you
play a serious game? If the answer is "no", then
you may have to find a better way to study Go.

I also sometimes think that watching a strong player's
game on the internet may not be the best use of time.

Let me give you an example.

Suppose you're a 10 kyu player. Does watching a game
between 5 dan amateur players help you learn?
I'm not sure if that's helpful.

1. How do you know that those strong players have
solid basic foundations? If they are full of
common amateur mistakes, then the chances are
that you're learning common amateur mistakes.

2. Suppose those two 5 dan amateur players have built
solid basic foundations. In that case you can learn
something.

But what if they started playing an "avalanche" joseki?
Is it going to be very useful for 10 kyu players?
Isn't it better for them to learn at their own level?
It’s very likely that they are learning
something way advanced, which may take you 3 or 4
years or possibly longer to understand.

If you're a 10 kyu player, you can't tell how easy
or difficult a game is. Is it better to solve
life-and-death problems at 10 kyu level than
watch a an "avalanche" joseki? It's up to you to
decide.

By the say, I have already written on my blog that
it is important to "Find a book or problems at your own level"
( http://kazsensei.seesaa.net/article/251502535.html).

I must say that my advice is often for adults, especially
those in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, since a more than
half of my Go students are at those ages.

If you’re a child or a teenager, then you could become
5 dan from 10 kyu in a few years if you study hard;
in that case learning an “avalanche” joseki may by okay.

But for adults I think it's wise to know that you could
avoid an “avalanche” joseki and can still become a strong
player. To become a storng Go player, you need to build
basics foundations, not an "avalanche" joseki.

Pros have developed an incredible concentration when
they were teenagers.

This is one of the biggest reasons that many pros
often learn other subjects, different from Go, very
quickly and become good at it.

For example cosmic style Takemiya Masaki(武宮正樹) 9dan
is known as an expert in golf, backgammon, mah-jong,
and singing. He even made a record debut once as a singer.
He also won a backgammon title once.

By the way, here is an intriguing stroy about Serizawa
Hirobumi (芹澤博文) 9 dan Shogi pro and Fujisawa Hideyuki
(藤沢秀行, Shuko 9 dan.

Suppose a god of Go knows Go 100. How much do you know of Go?

Fujisawa and Serizawa once drank and talked about it.
They decided to write down on a piece of paper and handed
it in. Fujisawa’s answer was 6, and Srizawa’s was 7.
Fujisawa liked his answer, and Serizawa was embarrassed
by his answer because his number was higher than Fujisawa.

(Serizawa, by the way, was a talented shogi player,
but never got a major title.)

Reviewing your game is also important.

I’m aware that many people have a hard time
remembering a game, and that’s fine. It takes
a lot of time and training to remember your game.

In order to record your game I highly recommend
playing on the internet because a game is automatically
recorded.

It's also a good idea to review your game right
after you play. If you review it, you may not
remember why you played your mistakes.

(By the way, many, many amateur players have told me
that they don't remember their thoughts after they
played a game. So for those people I always give comments
during a game. )

Pros review their game 3, 4, 5 hours or 8 hours
if they have time. Top pros review their games
until they are satisfied.

Amateurs, of course, don't have to review one game
for many hours. And if you review the most important
part just for 15 minutes, that will be wonderful.

Ideally you ask a pro or a Go teacher to give
commentary on your game. It’s because unless
you’re a 5 dan or stronger, you may not find
your own mistakes and proper moves easily.

If you have never asked a pro or a Go teacher
to review your game, I highly recommend it.
You would be surprised by how much you can learn.

I’ve been teaching Go for many, many years.
Usually I teach the same people for a long time...
3 years, 4 years, 5 years, and longer.

Based on my experience some people learn more from your
games than from playing with a pro or a Go teacher.
The reason is that some amateur players play with
peers completely differently from playing a pro
or a Go teacher.

It’s like "Jekyll and Hyde".

They change their Go personality drastically.

I’ve taught people like that. One day I realized
that I should teach them differently.

By the way, I should mention that you don’t have
to review all your games. Even if you get a game
commentary from a pro or a Go teacher once a month,
and if you go over it for a while, that will help
improve your Go.

How much you can improve depends on how much you review.

If you get 100 game commentaries and don’t have time
to review any of the games, then it’s better to get
one game commentary and review it many times.

The important thing is to review continuously.

It takes time to learn.

One of my Go students got my lessons and keeps
reviewing it at least once or twice a year, depending
on how busy he is at work. But every time I meet him,
he has been improving.

In order to become a better Go player, reviewing a
game is essential. Otherwise, you keep making the same
mistakes over and over again.

But I think it’s the same as chess and other mind
sports, and physical sports such as baseball, soccer,
Olympic sports, too. And I bet reviewing is necessary
for business and investment. I don’t think any company
lets workers keep making the same mistakes and lose
money over and over again.

When it comes to Go, even if you don't review your
games, you never lose money. But if your goal is to
become a better Go player, then you should fnd the
more efficient way of improving, and one important
study is reviewing.

If you study very hard, then you can become stronger,
but without a reviewing process, your improvement
would be slower, not efficient.

If you don’t study Go and don’t review, but only play
many games, then you may very well keep making the same
mistakes, which are going to be ingrained in you.
The longer you keep making the same mistakes, the more
they become a habit. When the same mistakes become second
nature, it's going to be very hard to get rid of them.

After that, even if you try to learn basics, it's not at
all easy because your mistakes prevent you from learning basics.

I can tell you this because of my teaching experience.

In Japan I have taught so many amateur players who never
studied basics for 10, 20, or 30 years.

One day they started taking my lessons, but I have always had
a hard time making them stronger because getting rid of
their common amateur mistakes takes 2, 3 or 4 years.
At the same time they also learn basics.

But it’s much faster to learn basics from the very beginning.

Sadly they eventually give up learning basics.

For amateurs I think it’s important to get basics
as soon as possible before you land in common amateur
mistake syndrome.

It takes adults much longer time than children.
So adults have to study basics much longer time than
children if they want to become stronger.

Reviwing is one important way to prevent you
from making the same common mistakes.


The following is an unusual pro case; just FYI.

When Yamashiro Hiroshi(山城宏）challenged
Kobayashi Koichi(小林 光一) Kisei(棋聖)
of the 16th Kisei best-of-seven title match, the
score was 3-3.

They played the last game to determine the winner.

In the final game Yamashiro was winning by half a
point in the endgame. Interestingly during the game
both Yamashiro and Kobayashi thought that the Kisei
title was going to move to Yamashiro about the same time.

But at the very end, Kobayashi found a move to gain
one point and turned around the game. As a result,
Yamashiro not only lost the title, he also
lost the glory and about $600,000.

After his loss, he kept studying the game for almost
3 month in Nihon Kiin.

(Like I said, this is just FYI.)

I’m not encouraging any amateur players to do this.

Life-and-death problems are the one of the
most important if you want to become a strong
go player. Even if you study the opening,
the middle game, and the endgame, if you
make one mistake in a life-or-death situation,
you would lose a game.

Also most Go players I taught always lack the
ability to solve life-and-death problems.

For example when I taught adult kyu players,
they often had a hard time recognizing a false
eye. So they didn’t realize that their big
group was dead until the end.

In fact this happened to me and others when
they and I were dan players… Oops! In other
words, recognizing a false eye may not be as
easy as you think. I think it’s partly because
in a real game many stones are so mixed up that
things don’t look as easy as life-and-death
problems.

(That is why I’ve been making many false eye
problems in my website: http://www.kazsensei.com/ )

If you don’t know what to study, I would recommend
life-and-death and tesuji rather than any other study.

This is because
1. life-and-death can often determines the winner,
2. studying life-and-death and tesuji will definitely
help you become strong whereas reading Go books
on some abstract concepts
such as moyo may take a long time to understand,
3. when you learn tesuji, your fighting skill
improves significantly. In fight if you make a
mistake, you may lose many stones.

So whoever knows more tesuji is more likely to win a
fight, thus more likely to win a game. Additionally
if you learn tesuji, your shape becomes beautiful and
strong. Tesuji can also appear in the endgame as well.

So learning tesuji helps you throughout a game.

(That is why I’ve been making a lot of life-and-death
problems, tesuji problems, and shape problems in my website:
http://www.kazsensei.com/ )

Ideally, of course, you study everything if you have time,
but still you shoud focus on life-and-death problems.

Pros who are good at life-and-death problems often become a top.
This also proves how important life-and-death is.

Cho U (張栩先生) has been making records of the fastest
winning ratios, getting more titles, etc. He is famous
for being good at solvinh life-and-death problems as well
as making great life-and-death problems.

Sha Imin (謝依旻先生) has been getting more women's titles
in Japan than any other women. Her most favorite study
is life-and-death problems.


By the way, solving them once or is not good enough.

I always recommend that amateur Go players solve many
easy problems over and over again.

I emphasize "over and over again" more than "many problems."
Reviewing problems once or twice is not good enough. 10
times, 20 times. The more, the better...

You don’t have to repeat every day. You could repeat
it over a year or some years.