We all must do it right? In order to get stronger.

I did read that tsumego should be treated as something not related to go, like a crossword puzzle or sudoku.

So I have used many apps and websites that offer different tsumego puzzles, even downloaded those famous Cho Chikun life and death problems and bunch of other books on tsumego.

The problem is it is simply not fun for me and I find it not only hard and stressful but after a while it starts to bore me.

I know I will not improve much if I don't study life and death and tesujis, so I am looking for help. How do you make it a fun activity and not a chore?

Yes, but unless you're planning to become a pro there is nothing saying that you must become stronger


Easy problems, lots of them.

Because they are easy I know I can solve (i. e. read every sequence, not just find the vital spot) them so I stick to it.
And since they are easy I can solve them in a rather short amount of time which means that I do not spend too much time on each problem. Variety helps keeping the exercise fun.

I agree with doing easy problems - that can be fun.

OTOH, getting strong is something special since it is not easy for everyone to do. If doing tsumego and getting stronger were easy, everybody would be strong... so nobody would be strong. It would not be special.

If you want a special result, you should do some special effort, right?

So I would say, you "force yourself" by observing that unusual effort leads to unusual result (average effort should lead to an average result, right?).

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be immersed

It helps to start with good quality books and tsumego. What are you trying to do?

My tips for enjoying tsumego:

• Only work through high quality collections of problems. Problems with an uneven quality are frustrating. This often means that paying for a decent book or e-book is worth the cost.
• Find problems at the appropriate skill level. Too easy and they're boring, too hard and they're frustrating.
• Collections of tesuji problems also train your reading and are sometimes more fun than life and death problems. Even if you have trouble solving a particular problem, you can often learn a new technique that opens your eyes to future problems in the game.
• Find life and death problems in your own games and play through variations until you're satisfied there was a better solution (or not) than what you played in the game.
• Try out different formats. Working problems on a computer, in a physical book, or on a phone all have a very different feel to them. They also can put you in a different mindset (It's harder for me to be truly attentive when I'm playing on my smartphone; it's a device designed for distraction.)

I disagree with this. At the very least, tsumego are a way to enjoy go when you're unable to play a full game.


Go problems are probably one of the most efficient ways to get stronger, but at our level they certainly aren't the only way. Since this is a hobby, we have the luxury of taking a more leisurely path to improvement than professionals. If you truly don't like doing them, find another way to study.

I have been doing general L&D and tesujis.

Free booklets written by Cho Chikun, Intermediate Tesuji
for the Aspiring Kyu Player, and Get strong at Tesuji book.

There are no free booklets by Cho Chikun. There is a copy of an old MS-DOS program onto PDF that is around. I don't know the aspiring one. Get Strong at Tesuji could be good but may be above your level? I would recommend starting with Graded Go Problems for Beginners and work up from there.

https://tsumego.tasuki.org/

I was thinking about this.

Get strong at tesuji is actually easy, Intermediate Tesuji
for the Aspiring Kyu Player is where I am mostly having a hard time.

Yes, that link is the PDF copy of the MS-DOS program.

I still suggest Graded Go Problems For Beginners.

I'm also KGS 5K, and graded go problems for beginners volume 3 is a good collection, and on the east side. Volume 4 gets quite challenging about halfway through.

Depends, but I would say the answer is: NO. How strong do you intend to become? I can attest that it is possible to get to 5d without doing virtually any formal tsume-go. This does not mean you don't solve problems - but the problems you solve are the ones in your own games. Or in the games of your friends when you discuss with them. Or in pro games which you analyse.

You heard it said that you need to do tsume-go to improve. It is not true. It works for some people, others can get the with other means. Everybody is different, and I think such cookie-cutter advice is often more harmful than productive.

Same with me. I hate doing tsume-go. So, since Go is supposed to be fun, I never really did them. Oh, I tried as a kyu player... but like you, I quickly realized how boring they are. And so I stopped. I play Go for fun. If something is not fun, why do it? Its like saying that reading the encyclopedia from cover to cover teaches you the most. Might be true, but its a torture. You can learn what you need by other, more enjoyable, means. Reading fun books instead. Or analyzing games. Or talking to people and learning this way.

Get involved in your own games more. Think harder, and longer. Same things as tsume-go... trains reading and concentration.

My opinion is that if something is fun, it teaches you the most and you retain the most. If something is a chore, you can force yourself to do it, but your mind wonders, you have no fun, and you don't get much out of it anyways.

So just have fun. Skill will come naturally in its own time.

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- Bantari
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WARNING: This post might contain Opinions!!

Thanks, I will try your advice.

In the meantime I got my hands on graded go problems for beginners and volume 3 is quite enjoyable.

However one thing I like to do even more than playing go is analyzing pro games. For example now that I have Relentless I will study it with joy.

However wouldn't most pros tell you that doing tsumego is the most important and unless you are a strong dan player you shouldn't study pro games at all?

Tsume-Go has the advantage that you can study many (different) shapes in a short time.
Repetition matters (i.e. pattern recognition).

This kind of time efficiency is impossible when studying complete games (either yours, or from professionals).

But whatever road you try to becoming stronger, it is very important to walk this selected road with joy !!!

When replaying professional games, it will help your progress to ask yourself about the meaning of the moves. This is possible even if you do not have a commented version.
Your explanation does not need to be the "correct" one. "Thinking" is what matters, even if it is at a Kyû-level.
If you have a commented game, much the better. You will be able to compare your thinking with the professional one .

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The really most difficult Go problem ever: https://igohatsuyoron120.de/index.htm
Igo Hatsuyōron #120 (really solved by KataGo)

Perhaps the answer to this topic is embedded in the topic question itself?
'... force ...'
Forcing does't always work.