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Balance
Path: Harmony · Prev: · Next: GreedyGo
Keywords: Strategy
A game of Go is a contest for territory. At all stages of the game, both players keep track of the amount of territory they have secured. We say that they assess the balance of territory: who has the most territory so far? However there is a second balance to consider: the balance of power. The question analysed here is: who has the stronger positions on the board at this stage? Although it is not easy to quantify, the relative strength or weakness of a player's positions is known as the concept of thickness. In order to win your game, it is important you don't fall behind in either balance[1]. If both players have equally strong positions, the one who is ahead in the balance of territory has the better chances to win. That much may be obvious. But if both players have accumulated the same amount of territory, the one who is ahead in the balance of power has the better chances to win. That is less obvious, and let's be clear: the winner is the one who is ahead in the balance of territory at the end of the game, period. There are various techniques to convert a power advantage into a territory advantage. Examples are using the position of strength to set up an attack, or using it as a support position to invade a territorial framework. If one player is ahead in the balance of territory, and the other in the balance of power... well, that makes for an interesting game then :-) This situation occurs very frequently in games between opponents of equal strength. Bob McGuigan: These over-all balances determine the flow of the game but balance is important on a smaller scale, too: balance between fast and solid moves, high and low moves, near and far moves, etc. And it occurs to me that many large-scale shape issues could also be viewed as balance issues. [1] Alex Weldon: I disagree with the statement above that one should avoid falling behind in either balance during the game. This is impossible, unless you and the opponent have very similar styles, or you are significantly better than the opponent. Go is a game of trade-offs, so if you have an influence-oriented style, it is to be expected that you will fall behind in the balance of territory early on, in return for getting ahead in the balance of power. This should not cause undue concern, since that's what you were aiming for in terms of joseki choice, etc., but you must keep in mind that you will have to, at some point in the middle game, seek to restore your balance, using that power in order to catch up in territory. Path: Harmony · Prev: · Next: GreedyGo This is a copy of the living page "Balance" at Sensei's Library. ![]() |