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WhenInDoubtTenuki

 

When to Tenuki
   

Recently, the phrase "When in doubt, tenuki!" has been referred to so many times here on SL, that it probably has acquired the status of a Go proverb. Why this is reasonable advice has been summarized by Bill Spight in comments to the teaching game 53:

" [...] in general, it seems to me that kyu players often miss good plays because they didn't even see them. They did not think about throwing stones away, they did not look for dual-purpose plays, they did not consider the whole board.

As for tenuki, I say, when in doubt, tenuki. Sure, you will make mistakes, but when in doubt, you are going to make mistakes anyway. The reason for my advice is psychological. Most people, myself included, tend to get overly involved in the local situation. To the extent that I have been able to find errors by pros, failing to tenuki is a common one. Even they are not immune. Besides, if tenuki is wrong, the refutation is likely to be impressive, whereas, if it is not, then the refutation just looks like the next big play, and the error may go unnoticed."

I fully agree with this advice! I'd say in a typical nine-stone handicap game, I may well catch up around 20 points in the endgame just because my opponent answers my moves too submissively. Instead he/she should sometimes take sente to play elsewhere. And I certainly include myself in the list of people that may get overly involved in a local fight.

But then, I also disagree, and that's why I created this page. (Probably I disagree not so much with the advice itself, but with the way it sometimes gets applied... I would believe -- maybe I should say, I hope -- that our most-respected sensei around here would actually agree with the revisions of his advice. I would be glad about comments!)

If your opponent has just invaded your territory -- please, please, attack him! (Not to kill, but to benefit from the attack, of course.) If your opponent just played an attachment -- please, please, react! In any situation where an additional move makes a huge difference shapewise for both side -- please, take the good shape! If you have a weakish group, and your opponent has one nearby, too -- go and turn the balance of power to your favor immediately!

So how do you know when to tenuki? I'd suggest to rephrase the statement a little:

If you are in doubt, and if it is just about points -- then rush to tenuki!

So if it's about getting superior shape, or about two running groups, chances are you shouldn't tenuki.

Probably I should add examples here, but instead I will begin by discussing this on various game pages where this issue has shown up. See the links listed on the left below "Referenced by" for such discussions.

--dnerra


Bill: Nice page, Dnerra! :-)

I think we are largely in agreement. :-)

On Tenuki is always an option I give some concrete indicators of when to consider playing tenuki.




This is a copy of the living page "When to Tenuki" at Sensei's Library.
(C) the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.