A guide to go for kyu players by Des Cann (rec.games.go)

[cau sados]

A guide to go for kyu players.
Des Cann 20/9/99


Remember the L-group is dead.


If I could offer you only one tip for the future, remembering the status
of the L-group would be it. The status of the L-group has been verified
by professionals whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more
reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice
now.


Enjoy the power and conviction of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will
not understand the power and conviction of your youth until they've been
destroyed by playing stronger players. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll
look back at games you played and recall in away you can't grasp now how
much possibility lay before you and how fabulous your ability to play
fast and confidently really looked. You are not as weak as you imagine.


Don't read too far ahead. Or read ahead, but know that reading more than
five moves ahead is about as effective as picking up good shape by
learning Japanese. The real blunders in your game are apt to be things
that never crossed your furrowed brow, the kind your opponent springs on
you in the yose when you're in overtime having idled through the middle
game.


Play one move every game that scares you.


Smile.


Don't be dismissive of other people's wins. Don't put up with people who
are dismissive of yours.


Count.


Don't waste your time on jealousy of your opponents territory. Sometimes
you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end,
it's only with yourself.


Remember the good moves you find. Forget the blunders. If you succeed in
doing this, tell me how.


Keep your old trophies. Throw away your old game records.


Learn some kanji.


Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do in the opening.
The most interesting players I know don't know what to do until a fight
starts. Some of the most interesting fighters I know still don't know
what's happened until the fight is over.


Learn plenty of tesuji. Play good shape. You'll appreciate it when
you're attacked.


Maybe you'll make shodan, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll win tournaments,
maybe you won't. Maybe you'll be a double figure kyu player at 40, maybe
you'll get promoted to seven dan on the 75th anniversary of learning the
game. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate
yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.


Enjoy playing. Play every day you can. Don't be afraid of having your
own style or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest game
you'll ever play.


Play through professional games, even if you have nowhere to do it but
on a plastic go mat.


Ask for advice, even if you don't follow it.


Do not read debates on the rules. They will only make you feel stupid.


Get to know your local strong players. You never know when they'll be
gone for good. Be nice to your fellow learners. They're your best link
to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.


Understand that opponents come and go, but a precious few you should
regard as permanent rivals. Work hard to bridge the gaps in aptitude and
style, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew
you when you were really weak.


Play on the net, but not so much it makes you hard. Play friendly
handicap games, but not so much it make you soft. Enter tournaments.


Accept certain inalienable truths: Joseki get more complicated. Older
players will rip you off. You, too, will get old. And when you do,
you'll fantasise that when you were young there were only 38 joseki, kyu
players were patient, dan players were noble and all players respected
their betters.


Respect your betters.


Don't expect anyone else to run a local club. Maybe you have an
enthusiastic friend. Maybe you have a local pro. But you never know when
either one might move on.


Don't mess too much in a won game or by the time you've reached the end
it will be a lost one.


Be careful which books you buy, but be patient with those who supply
them. Books are a form of nostalgia. Writing them is a way for authors
to fish the past from the rubbish bin, wipe it off, paint over the ugly
parts and recycle it for more than it's worth.


But trust me on the L-group.

[kiseki]

My favorite:

Play one move every game that scares you.

And a close second:

Ask for advice, even if you don't follow it.

Fun list

[Chariot]

I haven't heard this song in so long
sunscreen... yeah

[Koosh]

Fun philosophy. Thanks for posting it :!:

[xed_over]

Originally Posted by Chariot

I haven't heard this song in so long
sunscreen... yeah

Baz Lurhman, http://www.generationterrorists.com/...sunscreen.html