Go Proverbs

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Chinese: 格言 ge2yan2
Japanese: 格言 (kakugen)
Korean:

Go proverbs summarize wisdom in easy-to-remember phrases. The proverbs apply surprisingly often and are regularly used in game comments.

But be warned: Although proverbs often can help, one must always evaluate whether or not they apply in a particular situation. Often there's more than one proverb which applies. Sometimes they are even contradictory. Therefore, one proverb says Don't follow proverbs blindly. [1] Common sense must still be used.

Also enjoyable are great quotes and fun go facts.

dnerra suggests a paraphrasing of a proverb. [2]

Proverbs for all situations

Life-and-death proverbs

Tactics proverbs

Strategy proverbs

Military proverbs

Meta Proverbs

Meta? Proverbs

Modern proverbs

(for those that don't believe that all wisdom comes from the past)

Other proverbs (that may apply to Go)

  • Song Titles as Go Proverbs
  • Song Lyrics as Go Proverbs
  • Rice eaten in haste chokes.
  • If you want to catch a tiger, you have to go into a tiger's cave.
  • Though the heavens fall, there will be a hole to escape through.
  • Butcher the donkey after it finished his job on the mill.
  • Distant water won't help to put out a fire close at hand.
  • When you want to test the depths of a stream, don't use both feet.
  • You can't win a fight without attacking
  • It's all in the mind
  • Fear stops the anxious
  • Kill two birds with one stone
  • A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
  • Never wrestle with a pig - you'll both get dirty, and the pig will love it.

Fun

Links to more Go proverbs

Books

Other links


[1] aLegendWai: You may treat the following as a humor or a lesson of logic. Correct me if wrong.

  • Proverb A says we should do XXX.
  • Proverb B says we should do YYY.
  • Proverb C says we should do ZZZ.

Now one person feels the proverb is not trustworthy. So it creates Proverb D:

  • Proverb D says, "Don't follow proverbs blindly."

Person A: Yes, Proverb D is right. I should not follow proverbs blindly. So I am not going to follow any proverb at all.

Proverb D tells people not to trust proverbs (without hesitation), but it is a proverb itself. ^-^


[2]

Paraphrasing dnerra on ThereIsNoTerritoryInTheCenter:

A proverb is a proverb, and a truth is a truth. I've always more or less automatically tried to translate a proverb into something more meaningful. Examples:

  • "There is no territory in the center." means "Most amateurs overestimate the territorial value of center moves."
  • "If there are less than 15 stones in danger, play tenuki." means: "Well, if a group of you is in danger, and it is a burden to defend it, and it is less than 10 stones, than you should at least consider for a moment whether it might be better to surrender it, maybe trying to get influence while the opponent is busy capturing it."
  • "Ikken tobi is never wrong." means: "If you have a weak stone, and you have to run away, the default move you consider is an ikken tobi. But of course look for special circumstance which might favor other moves."

aLegendWai: I am doing the same when I understand the proverb. Instead of trying hard to remember the proverb (and its behind meaning. I simply rewrite the proverb. The following examples are my ways to understand them.

Forget this proverb! Remember this instead: A connection against a peep is one of the common responses. But it is not the absolute answer. Other reponses can often be seen. (Note: You connect because you can't protect from being cut, or you can't afford being cut.)

Forget this proverb! Remember this instead: Any move can be a ko threat if the opponent has to respond in order to prevent from loss/damage etc. There are ko threats in the opening, but their value cannot be accurately assessed.

[3] Could this be considered: Five Liberties for Tactical Stability? --Patrick Taylor

[4] Could this be linked to line of victory? --Patrick Taylor



This is a copy of the living page "Go Proverbs" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2007 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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