Life In 19x19

Knotwilg wrote:

Uberdude wrote:

Knotwilg wrote:It's not wrong to invest in pro games once in a while. But it should not take a major part of the time spent learning Go.

Tell that to Lee Sedol's dojang in Seoul.

I wasn't talking about aspiring professionals. Those don't come to L19 to ask what they should do with their limited time.

And this is why there is really no answer to this question. We all play Go for fun, and so whatever is fun to us, we should do. It is very personal to each individual. If a beginner has fun replaying pro games, he should do that. If a beginner thinks its a drag, he should not. The best we can do is advise to tray many things and see what is the most fun.

Maybe the most fun will have nothing to do with Go at all...
But maybe it will be replaying pro games, who knows.

Regular replaying of pro games would be for those that want to improve in earnest. Occasional replaying of a pro game is for the one who is looking for a bit of inspiration. Those who play Go for fun and do not always play to win can consider replaying pro games just one of several options.

Personally I want to improve in earnest. (Of course I can never become a pro; there is just too bloody much for me to learn ) So I was thinking whether it is best for a novice to begin learning Go by first replaying a few pro games before learning the rules and playing on a big board or small board,. Of course many say here that replaying pro games is a waste of time since a novice can never understand the reasoning behind moves made by those who practically live and breathe Go.

To me this would sound like saying that it's no use for the Association football novice to watch, let's say, Bayern Munich vs. Manchester United or Real Madrid vs. Ajax Amsterdam because the way the players on these teams apply their knowledge of the game is much too advanced, especially for one who's never seen a football match before.

That being said, of course I lack the background knowledge needed to understand a game between, let's say, Piao Wenyao and Park Jeonghwan, but I can simply replay one of their games and enjoy seeing it unfold move by move. Even if it will be a long while before I have even a shade of a pro's understanding of Go, I get to see how Go is played between two competent players.

Go and football are two very different things. I'd say you could learn more as a go player from replaying pro games than as a football player to watch professional football. In Go, the brain is at work both times. In football, the brain is at work watching but the body is not, and muscle memory is an important part of physical skills. So while I think professional go games are marginally useful to your skill, pro football games are even worse.

It's all a matter of efficiency. With unlimited time, of course you can watch or replay as many pro games as you want. If you can study go in a daily regime, 10+ hours a day, under professional tutelage, then certainly pro games are part of the diet.

But here you are, on your own, with a bunch of far away forum pals of varying strength, trying to find players online and locally, who will be of your strength. However earnest you are, you can probably reach 5d at the very best. You'll have to work up your way to that level, slowly. If you start out with watching professional games, without anyone to guide you through it, and your own games showing a very different rhythm, in my opinion that's a recipe for frustration.