In my latest attempt to break my several-year barrier, I decided to concentrate mainly on mentally solving simple tsumego, along with reading elementary textbooks with help of board and stones.

I wonder if the reason that we are frequently advised to solve easy tsumego is similar to the rationale behind the typical GM's advice to chess amateurs to study endgames. That is to say, I surmise that studying the fundamental patterns repeatedly may give one a better understanding of how go works.

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c Example Problem (Number 127 in Tasuki's collection)
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | . O . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | X X . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | O X . X O . . . . , . . . . . , . . .
$$ | O O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[/go]

I have considered various ways for Black to play, and for a while this was the best that I could find:



This seems to be a situation in which the best either side can do is a disadvantageous ko (a for Black, b for White).

However, what if Black tries to live outright?


White can refute this try and both of Black's plausible defences.


At first glance, the second one looks like seki, but it is not.



Unless Black wants to start a dangerous ko at 4 all he can do is pass until White makes a bent four in the corner.

However, going back to the first try, I noticed another resource for Black:

Producing a seki.

However, I took another look:


I am not convinced that the answer is a thousand-year ko, and I will doubtless come back to this problem, but I feel I have learned quite a lot about the potential shapes that lurk beneath even a fairly simple-looking situation, and that is surely the real benefit. It is not so much about visualisation (and I have a near-photographic memory, such that I can easily see a position in my head after a glance), but about grasping and working with relationships.

Anyway, I thought I would share this. My dream one day is to be able to say "Yes, I am several stones stronger" and then "this is how I did it", so that you can do the same; but in the meantime, you'll have to be content with speculation and entertainment.

Addendum

While I think of it, I notice that I use very simple exercises both in my own practice and when I am teaching singing. I find it invaluable for building up the technique that enables one to tackle difficult music. Make of that what you will.

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Learn the "tea-stealing" tesuji! Cho Chikun demonstrates here:

You need to proof read. You missed all the [/go] tags.

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

Sorry about that. I've not done this very much recently. I've fixed it now.

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Learn the "tea-stealing" tesuji! Cho Chikun demonstrates here:

Yes, you're quite right. In fact I did see this variation in my attempts, but misjudged the status at first. ---- And that only goes to show the great value in doing these things!

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Learn the "tea-stealing" tesuji! Cho Chikun demonstrates here:

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$c Example Problem (Number 127 in Tasuki's collection)
$$ ---------------------------------------
$$ | 4 O 2 X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | 6 X . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | X X . X O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | O X X X O . . . . , . . . . . , . . . |
$$ | O O O O O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |[/go]

This diagram looks like it has a mistake at some point, as black could just play at the 3-2 point to make an eye before he's short of liberties.

No mistake in the diagram, only in my assessment of it. Again, it shows that I really do need to work hard on these exercises!

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Learn the "tea-stealing" tesuji! Cho Chikun demonstrates here:

If I'm unsure about my reading, what I do is follow these steps:

1.Assess the area of relevance to the tsumego in question. Always cast this net slightly too wide!
2.Build a tree of every move possible within the area of relevance. (use something like cgoban if your memory isn't good enough to hold the entire tree)
3.Assess every single node of that tree.
4.???
5.Profit!

It's a bit dull, but I've been able to solve and understand problems which make no sense at all otherwise.

You'll come across lots of stuff which otherwise makes no sense at all to you this way. It's not the gentle, easy road though. It might just bore you to tears.

Let me hail your project and your thoroughness.



White has let Black make two moves in a row before replying.

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The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

There is a technique called "1-2-3 reading" in the AYD.

Instead of randomly trying variations, the idea is:
1. Try the simplest way first (eg. from the outside).
2. If it works, great. If not, what was the opponent's refutation?
3. Try playing the place your opponent refuted first!

It doesn't work all the time, but it's a little more directed than random attempts.

So after your thorough analysis, the last diagram you posted was:


From this, you can think:

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be immersed

There is tsumego and there are real games. Correct play may differ.

Tsumego:

Living > ko > dying. So this is the answer.



Real game:

Tenuki is an option. The local temperature often drops before the end of tsumego play.

Sente and gote matter.

Kos may be better than seki or not. Ko threats matter.

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The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

That was brilliant, Bill. Many thanks.

It has been very interesting to see both the mistakes that I made (thank you to all who pointed out things I got wrong) and the many possibilities that exist in this elementary exercise, and to see how they may be treated in the context of a real game. There is so much about go to be learned from such tsumego, in just the same way that chess endgame studies teach players the essence of handling pieces correctly.

_________________
Learn the "tea-stealing" tesuji! Cho Chikun demonstrates here:

Thanks for the compliment, Tami.

What it was was playing around with the position and trying to understand it.

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.