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I'm a beginner learning the game, so I'm not really sure if this is a stupid question or not, but...
What strength should your opponents be in order for you to become stronger faster?
Should you play against those who are equal to you (or only slightly stronger), or should you, if given the opportunity, play against the strongest person you can find over and over?
It seems playing against the strongest player would be like a weakling trying to lift 500 lbs...
On the other hand, playing against inferior opponents might cause you to develop bad habits that must later be undeveloped, right?
What strength should your opponents be in order for you to become stronger faster?
My belief is, the stronger the better. OTOH, as the difference in strength increases, the less it matters.
It seems playing against the strongest player would be like a weakling trying to lift 500 lbs...
Go has a wonderful handicapping system, where the weaker player plays first or places stones on the board before play. It's like the weakling lifting 25 lbs. while the strong man has to lift 500.
On the other hand, playing against inferior opponents might cause you to develop bad habits that must later be undeveloped, right?
You bet.
I have always thought that one reason for my rapid advance in my first year of play was that I always played much stronger players. My main opponents were a 5-kyu and a 2-dan. They both gave me insufficient handicaps, but I didn't mind getting crushed. ;-)
Also, get your opponent to go over the game afterward if you can. That is very helpful. If you cannot, go over it yourself. Try to figure out the game losing mistake.
Good luck!
Bill
Bob McGuigan: There is a piece of folk wisdom that says you should play against people two or three stones stronger for optimal improvement. I think you can learn from people much stronger than you if it is a teaching environment. The key is that the stronger player's goal is to teach, not just to win the game by any means. You might also try playing much stronger players on smaller board sizes, such as 9x9. Finally, get stronger players to review your games. The Go Teaching Ladder is a good way to do this.
True, playing against stronger opponents is great for learning. But, playing equal opponents is great for enjoyment. Sadly, I have seen many a beginner get pounded repeatedly by the stronger players (no matter the handicap), and eventually quit in frustration. When this happens, it is a tragic loss for us all. When possible, I always try to arrange for two beginners to learn together: playing each other mediates the feeling of futility which so often besets new players. And of course, with the various internet Go servers, there is a wealth of ready opponents of any strength. So, by all means, play some even games too!
Also, as you improve, playing with weaker players is important too. We must pass on the favors stronger players have granted us. Besides which, sometimes you don't know how much you have improved until you play someone weaker: all those losses in 9-stone games can hide real progress. A helpful anti-futility exercise is to teach a new player and pit him against a newbie with a month or so experience. The newbie quickly finds out how much he really has learned.