10 Great Habits for Children Playing Weiqi

[Drew]

Came across this Chinese article yesterday and thought some of you might enjoy it: 少儿下好围棋的10大好习惯

My so-so translation follows:

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10 Great Habits for Children Playing Weiqi

If you follow the ten habits below, you will contribute to positive weiqi play, and through weiqi you will gain happiness and friendship.

1. Greetings. Before you begin play, smile and nod towards your opponent and exchange greetings (hello!), then decide who will play which color. When the game is over, thank your opponent for the match.

2. Respect your opponent. Don't blather during the game, for example by saying "hurry up!" or "why would you play there?". Playing against someone is a form of companionship. If you need to step away from the table, first ask your opponent if that is ok (ex: excuse me, may I step out for a moment?).

3. Study your opponent's strengths. Don't forget that weiqi has two players. Frequently consider the board from your opponent's point of view. At the same time, study other people's strong points.

4. Place stones decisively. You shouldn't take back a move. Don't tap your stones against the board. Don't remove a stone from the bowl until after you've decided where to play, and once you decide where to play do not hesitate or waver. How you place a stone reflects your confidence. Don't play with your stones, don't leave your hand in your bowl rattling around your stones.

5. Concentrate. Seriously focus during the game. Do not look around or chat with other people. Don't walk over to other boards and give other players suggestions. With every stone you should consider several steps, consider what options you have, consider how your opponent might respond. If you don't seriously contemplate you will never play at your best level, and you will not be able to anticipate your opponent.

6. Don't Over-think. Maintain your sense of time. For each stone you should concentrate with all your ability, but once you decide on a course of action you should take it. Don't make your opponent exclaim "keep thinking, I'm going to take a nap!"

7. Play Calmly. Respect your opponent, but don't let your opponent's attitude influence your own mindset. Carefully consider each move so that you play at your best, but don't be afraid. Don't let worry over winning and losing influence your judgment. Playing the best move is your goal, not winning. Winning is the natural result of good play. (This is my translation of an idiom from Daoism: 水到渠成. There are probably more poetic translations but that's basically the meaning.)

8. Believe You Will Win. Believe 100% that you can play well and will be victorious. You mustn't play timidly. Do not play timidly or weakly due to fear of failure. Only through vigorous, brave play can you achieve victory. Only through confidence and certainty in victory can your best level come out.

9. Review the Game Upon Completion. Through a review you can study your opponent's decision-making and analyze your own mistakes. After the review carefully put away the stones and board.

10. Playing Weiqi is a Happy Thing. Playing weiqi is not only about winning or losing, it's also a form of entertainment. Victory should not make you complacent, defeat should not make you depressed. Regardless of result, it was just one game. Finding great moves, playing brilliant sequences, and being happy through weiqi are most important. In this way you will also gradually become a stronger player.

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This article caught my eye because it contains both very basic guidelines that you would expect to give children (put away your stones!) but also rather deep wisdom for a child (水到渠成).

I hope you enjoyed it!

[Anzu]

Here are some more, for adults

- Offer tea
- Turn the lights on
- Don't smoke
- Turn off the phone
- Let them pick the chair
- Ask if they want to play by a window
- Don't yell at your wife in front of them
- Compliment their wardrobe
- Eat before the game, not during
- Give them a blanket if they are cold,
or some wine if you can spare some

(list goes on forever)

[Gotraskhalana]

Nice list, I think that I follow these habits with two exceptions:

Don't remove a stone from the bowl until after you've decided where to play,

I really like to hold a stone in my hand (without rattling, of course) and I don't feel that it contributes to playing more quickly. If I don't do that I play with my hair and then some strands end up on the board.

8. Believe You Will Win.

I generally do that, except for when I play teaching games against very strong players where I know that I cannot win.

[Gotraskhalana]

(水到渠成)

I tried to use google translate on this.

The English translation was "a matter of course", the German one, "a drainage into the water"

Now, I am curious what it means exactly.

[Drew]

(水到渠成)

I tried to use google translate on this.

The English translation was "a matter of course", the German one, "a drainage into the water"

Now, I am curious what it means exactly.

The English translation is OK, but somewhat vague. The German one is wrong.

Look here: http://www.chinese-tools.com/chinese/ch ... 22207.html

[daal]

(水到渠成)

I tried to use google translate on this.

The English translation was "a matter of course", the German one, "a drainage into the water"

Now, I am curious what it means exactly.

The literal meaning is: "where the water flows, a canal is formed." The implication is that a natural course of events brings about a good outcome.

[Pio2001]

Thank you, Drew, for the translation.

I really like to hold a stone in my hand (without rattling, of course) and I don't feel that it contributes to playing more quickly.

I tend to avoid that for another reason : if I do that with black glass stones, the stone I play is shiny and wet while the others are matte and dry... oops !

8. Believe You Will Win.

I generally do that, except for when I play teaching games against very strong players where I know that I cannot win.

In fact, it depends on the teacher.
I once played a teaching game with Fan Hui, with nine stones. During the review, he asked "why did you tenuki here ? You could kill white.
-I had lost hope...
-What ? It's me who should have lost hope here. Black is so strong ! I cannot make life."

Also some teachers adapt their strength. For example, after a game with In-Seong Hwang, he explaned to me "here, I purposely left a weakness open to see if you would invade. You did, but too late. You should have invaded two moves earlier, before this exchange..."

Being a good teacher is very different from being a good player. And if I have the rare chance to play with a good teacher, I don't want to spoil it. I play my best, so that he, or she can see my real mistakes, not faked ones.

[Bonobo]

Thanks, Drew, that’s awesome!


And this:

Here are some more, for adults

- Offer tea

or coffee (“real” or decaf), or hot chocolate … I like to offer my Go guests several options. Some prefer green tea over black, some prefer herbal tea.

- Turn the lights on

YES!

- Don't smoke

Well, sometimes all people present at our “Go evening” are smokers, so … in that case we do smoke. But if only one person present is a clean-air breather, everybody else has to go outside for a puff.

[..]
- Let them pick the chair

Well, since I am the host of our regular “Go Evening”, I like to sit in the chair most close to the door so that I can quickly go to the kitchen for tea (or whatever), welcome new arrivals, etc.

[..]
- Don't yell at your wife in front of them

Uhm, pardon me: how can you be so sure that your audience is male? (And just in case: Yes, I’m aware that it could be a same-sex partnership ) And what about yelling at men? And what about yelling AT ALL? Mh…

(I appreciate the overall attitude, though!)


<edit>
Oh, and this:

I really like to hold a stone in my hand (without rattling, of course) and I don't feel that it contributes to playing more quickly.

I tend to avoid that for another reason : if I do that with black glass stones, the stone I play is shiny and wet while the others are matte and dry... oops !

SO MUCH THIS!

I’m even convinced that the cold-sweat of fear carries stress pheromones that could affect the next player using these stones, so they should actually be cleaned after every game
</edit>

[Bill Spight]

If you offer tea, don't stick your fingers in the tea bowl while reaching for a go stone.

[Bonobo]

If you offer tea, don't stick your fingers in the tea bowl while reaching for a go stone.

LOL, elsewhere in this forum I have written about all the possible permutations of …

- Fingers
- Go stones
- Bowls
- Lids
- Board
- Mouths
- Ashtrays
- Cigarette(s) (butts)
- Mugs
- Ashes
- Rice crackers/Wine gums/etc.

You imagine any possibility – we’ve seen it (well, most of ’em at least)

[Nyanjilla]

Nice list, I think that I follow these habits with two exceptions:

Don't remove a stone from the bowl until after you've decided where to play,

I really like to hold a stone in my hand (without rattling, of course) and I don't feel that it contributes to playing more quickly. If I don't do that I play with my hair and then some strands end up on the board.

I've been told off repeatedly by pros for doing that, with a very sensible-sounding reason for avoiding that habit (apart from it being annoying). A stone in your hand is sending you subconscious signals on the lines of "Play me. Now!" Wait until you see where the next move should be, and only then pick up and play the stone. If necessary, sit on your playing hand between moves.

[EdLee]

I've been told off repeatedly by pros for doing that...
A stone in your hand is sending you subconscious signals

Sequence of events:
- The mind is undecided.
- Subconsciously (or consciously) the mind instructs the hand to grab a stone (even though the mind is not ready to play).
- The body follows the mind.
- The above negative feedback loop continues.

See avatar.

[Gotraskhalana]

I've been told off repeatedly by pros for doing that, with a very sensible-sounding reason for avoiding that habit (apart from it being annoying). A stone in your hand is sending you subconscious signals on the lines of "Play me. Now!" Wait until you see where the next move should be, and only then pick up and play the stone. If necessary, sit on your playing hand between moves.

I have heard that before but it simply isn't true for me, especially as I *always* take the stone into my hand, it just isn't a signal to play, it is a signal that it is my turn. I don't see why I should sit on my playing hand because other people play too fast if they hold a stone.

And why is it annoying? I make no noise, I am just holding the stone and you can see that I will play it when I move my hand to the board. I suspect that it is just annoying to you because you have learned that it is wrong.

[Nyanjilla]

We-e-e-e-ell.... if you firmly *believe* it doesn't affect your play, that's all right then.

It is annoying, because all too often the person picking up the stone early doesn't just pick it up, he plays with it and hovers over the board with it and puts it back with a rattle and sighs and picks it up again. But again, if you don't do that, it's OK.

Akkerchally, maybe a *really* strong player wouldn't get annoyed by it, he'd take it as evidence that the opponent isn't concentrating 100% on the board and just smile internally.

[Gotraskhalana]

hovers over the board with it and puts it back with a rattle and sighs and picks it up again. But again, if you don't do that, it's OK.

Thanks, I really would never do the things I cited here and they would annoy me as well.