Beginners play atari

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The Go proverb "beginners play atari" is much like the chess saying "patzer sees a check, gives a check". Beginners often find it difficult to resist the urge to give atari, even when the atari helps their opponent. In particular, one should beware of situations in which an atari may be aji-keshi or a thank you move.

Don't do something just because you can. Have a reason for doing it. And, no, "to capture the stones" is not enough of a reason. Why do you want to capture those stones?

The Japanese from which this proverb is probably derived is アタリアタリはヘボ碁の見本 ("atari-atari wa hebo-go no mihon"), which has a nuance vaguely different from "beginners give atari", something closer to "atari-atari is bumbling go at its best". A variant is アタリアタリのヘボ碁かな ("atari-atari wa hebo-go ka na", "see too many ataris, smell a bumbler").


See also Atari Atari.


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