Alejo's Tenuki

During the last few months, I’ve been teaching go to a couple of newbies. Actually, one of them is improving quite fast, so I might not be able to call him newbie in a few months… However, observing his development and its similarities with mine I realised there is some sort of pattern when it comes to go self-esteem and the actual level of go.

When we learn the rules of go, our esteem is risen by the fact of learning a challenging and interesting game. A few minutes later, we’ve already realised that our reading ability and our innate capacity to predict the opponent’s move is… suboptimal, so to call it.

After a few games, our reading ability starts to improve. Not much, but being able to read 2-3 moves at the beginning seems like a major achievement and we start to feel more comfortable while playing. Reading ability is improved and becomes natural after a few dozen games and the proverb “Lose your first 100 games as soon as possible” suits perfectly to this phase. Sooner or later, we happen to reach a level around 15-17k, a level where our reading has improved over the 5 moves barrier in certain positions and we can read 2-3 moves in almost any situation. Victories start to flow and our opponents’ stones are massacred if their reading ability is just slightly worse.

On the other hand, when a 16k player faces a 13k player, the weakest one realises Go it’s not about killing and capturing. There is something more on the board. 12k moves aren’t directly attacking its opponent, but rather far away. From the point of view of the weakest player it doesn’t really make sense during the first games, till he realises that 12k players chase territory and it behaviour is completely different. While the weakest player may hold up to its rival on a corner fighting, the general result of the game is settled by another factor the 16k player still lacks: strategy.

Improving strategy is one of the toughest parts of learning go. Basics are easily grasped: making a base, extending from walls, shimari facing and the corners, when to pincer… and they are easily played during the games. Extending from a wall, creating big moyos without fighting… both of these strategy concepts give a boost to players’ self-esteem.

During our training, eventually we happen to watch dan games. But it is only when you reach SDK level, that players realise the huge amount of josekis available, the subtle difference between placing a stone one line above or below, further or closer a wall… the flow of tenukis all over the board from dan game crash against the SDK concept of go. SDK player self-esteem collapses as it realises the huge difference that 3 stones make at a SDK.

“These people are nuts!” and “They play something different, with the same rules, but a different game” was my reaction to the first pro game I saw. I guess I still haven’t got over it.

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