Playing Go/1

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LESSON 1: THE FLOW OF THE GAME

Introduction
Dr. Norman Wildberger introduces himself and his love of Go. His goal is to teach the way he wishes he'd been taught. His goal is to be strategic, not tactical.

Introduction
Stones are placed on intersections and don't move. They can be captured, and therefore, removed. Points are gathered by surrounding territory and capturing enemy pieces. Our opening move might be for Black to play at Q4. White might approach by playing at R6, in which case Black would extend by playing at O4. After a couple of moves, Black has got a loose hold on some territory in the south, and White has a loose grasp on some lang in the east, both relative to the southeast corner.

Dr. Wildberger emphasizes these are all generally "good" moves. A tighter, different approach begins in the northwest, with Black playing at C17. White might go for a more traditional move of Q16 in the northwest, and then Black tries an irregular D3, a half-enclosure. Black responds with a bit of a pincer at C8. White responds with a 2-point jump at E5. Norm admits he hasn't told us yet how a lot of things work, but at this stage, the goal is to get the flow of the game.

Over and over again, it is difficult for Westerners to appreciate the patience, long-suffering of the game. Go is a very different kind of feel from chess, which many more people are used to. The need to fight, to win, to clamor is largely absent from Go and should be brought in to the game. Respecting the initiative of the other player, not forcing options to land too soon, and an overall "long haul" perspective are hard for new players to achieve, yet are crucial to the game.