Principles of Yose

The principles of yose are actually the same as of the rest of the game. In yose (the endgame) they become crystal clear though.

• Play the largest move (or most urgent move) first.^[1]
• Don't reply automatically everywhere. More specifically, learn and apply the concept of mutual damage.
• Keep sente.
• Play to get tedomari. (Contradicts playing the largest move and keeping sente.)
• Learn how to calculate the value of a move and the value of a position (no hurry, take a few years for it).

[1] Bill Spight: This statement needs a big qualification.
Normally the biggest play is the best play. However, there is a proverb: Urgent plays before big plays. While that applies more often in the early stages of the game, it really means that some plays are bigger than they look, and that can be true at any time.
But the biggest play is not always best. Sometimes it is worth making a smaller play now so that you can get tedomari and leave your opponent with much smaller plays, or even dame, later.