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Too Much Thinking
Path: BadHabits   · Prev: ResignRightBeforeTheDameAreFilled   · Next: RelyingOnTrickPlays
    Keywords: Culture & History

Some people play quickly. Some people think a lot before each move. Of course, this is fine -- Go is a thinking game.

But some people (especially weaker players) spend ages on each move, hemming and hawing and staring at the board.. and then make the wrong move anyway.

Lots of reasons why this is bad, but I think the most important might be this: much of Go is about feel, and weaker players need to develop this intuitive approach to the game. You need to know what to think about before you can start thinking! There's a proverb that I've heard: "A beginner should lose the first 50 games as quickly as possible."

    -- Matt Noonan

I think it's important here to distinguish various types of games. If one plays a tournament game, or another serious game, one usually has a certain amount of time available, and there's nothing wrong about using it (although I would prefer you don't - I get bored too easily). However, in a friendly game for fun, things are different. In those games, one should not be using so much time that one is boring one's opponent. Instead, be prepared to not make the best move you can come up with every now and again. -- Andre Engels



Path: BadHabits   · Prev: ResignRightBeforeTheDameAreFilled   · Next: RelyingOnTrickPlays
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