Quick winning principles
- Play tenuki when local moves lose sente or when a bigger point exists elsewhere on the board.
- Good shape: bamboo joint, table shape, and one-space jumps are efficient; empty triangles waste liberties.
- Influence points (4-4, 3-4, 5-4) build framework; corner enclosures secure territory.
- Read two moves ahead minimum in life-and-death — check snapback and shortage of liberties.
Ideal strategy
- 1
Tenuki: leave a local sequence when the follow-up is gote or when a shoulder hit, approach, or invasion elsewhere is bigger. The 10-point rule: if two areas differ by 10+ points in value, tenuki.
- 2
Shape: prefer kosumi (diagonal), keima (knight's move), and ogeima (large knight's) over clumsy jumps. Recognize heavy stones — overconcentrated groups that lack eye space.
- 3
Influence vs territory: early game build moyo (framework); convert to territory with invasions at the 3-3 or shoulder hits. Don't fill your own territory — play on the boundary.
- 4
Life and death: learn L-group, J-group, and carpenter's square kills. Two eyes in the corner need specific key points; on the side, bent-four in the corner is dead under Japanese rules.
- 5
Fighting: don't atari automatically — check if it strengthens the opponent. Use thickness to attack, not to make territory directly.
- 6
Endgame: count territory and komi; 1-point gote endgame moves add up — reverse sente is worth 2 points.