Get Stronger

Build Experience

Go is the opposite of many well known games like chess. We play on the lines, not in the squares, Black goes first instead of White, the board starts empty and becomes full, the pieces never move once they are played. In the beginning you will be confused about where to play next; your opponent's move will completely confound you; you won't even be sure when the game is over. As you play more, you will begin to understand the mechanics and realize what an exciting game it is.

Play quickly. If you don't know what to do, just play a stone. If you can't figure out whether a move works, see what happens.

Don't get bogged down. If you can't understand why something happened, don't worry about it, move on. Focus on what you are learning; the other stuff will come up again.

Assume a humble attitude. You are taking your first steps on a path that others have trod for millennia. You may not win many games at first. You will meet some players who are so strong that you have to place extra stones on the board to even things out. They can teach you a lot. Be determined, not discouraged.

Some people enjoy practice games against the computer, especially when learning the basics. Go servers make it easy to meet others, play, watch and study. You'll also want to meet other players. These three areas are discussed below.

Get Stronger

"To learn Go, lose 100 games as quickly as possible."

Go will totally bewilder you at first. You will have no idea what to do next. You won't even know when the game is over! This is not a bug, it's a feature. It teaches a valuable life lesson, how to act decisively when you have no idea what to do. Once you have played 100 games, whether online or against a human or computer, perhaps you have glimpsed a bit of its depth, the challenge the game presents. Now you're trying to figure out how to get stronger -- like the rest of us! Just playing game after game may not be enough. Here are four suggestions to improve your play.

Play Stronger Players Find the strongest player who will give you a game, put some handicap stones on the board, and carefully study how White accomplishes the result.

Review Your Games Figure out where you went wrong in the games you lose, and how you achieved your victories. Ideally, you will review the game with your opponent, or with a strong player or Go teacher, but self-review is also useful.

Study SmartGo Books is a one stop shopping site, stocking almost 200 books from twelve different publishers, many in virtual format. It can overwhelming. A good place place to start is Kiseido, which has been publishing Go books for fifty years. Start with The Elementary Go Series (seven volumes), then move on to The Mastering the Basics Series, with problems illustrating the principles shown in the Elementary series. Then you will be ready for The Get Strong at Go series (ten volumes). When you understand everything in these books, you will be a master level players. You can supplement your studies with other problem books, starting with Graded Go Problems for Beginners, which is more advanced than the title suggests.

Review game records Playing through pro games, with or without commentary, is a good way to get a "feel for the stones." Don't try to understand everything, just get some general impressions. One outstanding resource is the Go World archive, with thousands of annotated game records and articles published by Kiseido between 1977 and 2010. try before you buy - you can also check out a sample issue and dozens of free sample articles. SmartGo Books also caries many game-focused books, including recent analyses of what AI can teach us.

Useful Links There are hundreds of sites devoted to various aspects of the game, everything from game collections and tournament coverage to art galleries. Here are a few "mega-links" to get you started:

Sensei's Library A go-theme Wiki with more than 26,000 articles.
The AGF Library Links to many fascinating articles on history, culture, literature, and other aspects of Go.
GoGoD A huge compilation of articles and game records. Paywall alert.
GoBase Dozens of interviews and essays of historical and cultural interest.
Bugcat's Links A large list of useful Go links.

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