Basic Strategy

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Basic Go Strategy

Most of Go Strategy will only be truly developed from experience, but there are quite a few sound principles that will help beginners develop strategies that will at least allow them to play with a focused goal, making moves to achieve specific aims.

Influence and Territory

Go is fundamentally a game of balance, where both players strive to create as much territory as possible, thus winning the game. However, a player may decide that instead of trying to create territory early on, their time will be spent generating a large amount of influence over the board, that can be later turned into territory. Balancing this whilst trying to keep as efficient a shape as possible makes the difference between any two go players.

Efficiency and Flexibility

Efficiency is a vital concept, and consists of achieving as much as possible with as few stones as possible. If you can create as influencial and strong a shape with 3 less stones than your opponent, then you have effectively gained yourself 3 free moves elsewhere. Improving efficiency once again requires a strong understanding of the principles of shape but will result in a tangible improvement in performance.

Flexibility is a term given to being able to adapt to changing situations. Playing moves that leave a number of options open depending on what your opponent plays leaves yourself much less open to being forced into positions favourable to your opponent.

Thickness, overconcentration, heavy groups and thin play

Deciding when a group needs defending or when a small section of the board can be abandoned for more influence elsewhere is, once again, a skill that is developed largely from experience. However, similarly to other areas of the game, there are some principles that can help understand some of the weak points in our play.

Thickness is a term given to a strong formation of stones, without any obvious defects or weak points to attack, that radiates influence outwards towards the middle of the board.

Beginners often confuse thickness for Overconcentration, which is the opposite of efficiency. In overconcentrated shapes, too many stones have been played for too little effect, largely as a result of a lack of understanding of the best way to develop shape.

A heavy group is one that, due to the position on the board, is too important to sacrifice, but requires so many stones to adequately defend that in doing so will result in a considerable loss of territory or influence.

Finally, light play is normally used to refer to being willing to play stones that are not important in themselves (to the extent that you are willing for them to be sacrificed) but can be used to exert influence on nearby areas you may wish to play in more strongly.

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