Life In 19x19

I usually hold a go stone the proper way with my index and middle fingers, but sometimes I would just use my thumb and index fingers which is supposed to be the 'wrong' way. Does anyone do this too even if it's just from time to time?

Does anyone hold a go stone with one's index and ring fingers beneath the stone and the middle finger on top of the stone? I have seen it being done this way, but I guess it's not common. Is it proper though?

I am so conditioned to hold the stone with my middle finger above and index finger below that when I pick some potato chips out of a bag I automatically pick them out in the same manner.

I think I do it occasionally, too, quite possibly because I play with a lot of kids who don;t really care about any 'correct' way to hold the stone.

I got started with Hikaru No Go, of course, so I started practicing the correct way to hold a stone right after episode 2/3...which was hard to do considering I owned no real Go equipment at the time.

Does anyone know if it is proper to hold a go stone with one's index and ring fingers beneath the stone and the middle finger on top of the stone?

DrStraw wrote:I am so conditioned to hold the stone with my middle finger above and index finger below that when I pick some potato chips out of a bag I automatically pick them out in the same manner.

You can also pick up coffee in your cup that way.

I have been known to stick two fingers in my tea.

pragmaticleas wrote:Does anyone know if it is proper to hold a go stone with one's index and ring fingers beneath the stone and the middle finger on top of the stone?

Hi pragmatic, maybe you got the impression from HnG, when they animate a close-up view of all the fingertips.
I think the ring finger just happened to 'tag along' near the index finger;
it's not actually touching the stone.
( Unless the fingers are very tiny, like a child's, it's not easy to hold up a stone with all three fingers. )

EdLee wrote:

pragmaticleas wrote:Does anyone know if it is proper to hold a go stone with one's index and ring fingers beneath the stone and the middle finger on top of the stone?

Hi pragmatic, maybe you got the impression from HnG, when they animate a close-up view of all the fingertips.
I think the ring finger just happened to 'tag along' near the index finger;
it's not actually touching the stone.
( Unless the fingers are very tiny, like a child's, it's not easy to hold up a stone with all three fingers. )

Hi EdLee, you are correct about where (end of episode 3 of Hikaru no Go) I got the impression from.

But, but, but... I thought I was seeing both Touya Koyo and Hikaru picking up a stone each from the bowl with the ring finger as well. Especially in the case of Touya Koyo, if the ring finger wasn't there to support the right side of the stone, it should fall. (Just want to note another incident in the middle of episode 12 where Touya Koyo used the same technique.)

But yea, I tried using three fingers to hold a go stone, and it's quite difficult compare to with just two.

Thanks for catching where I got the reference from.

The point of using two fingers instead of a finger and a thumb is to make it easier to place the stones into a tight position without disturbing the surrounding stones.* Using three fingers to hold the stone would largely negate that advantage (and seems very awkward), so I can't imagine it being done regularly.

* While this should be the main reason to hold the stones "properly", some may also use a person's grip of the stones as a way to identify those who belong to the super secret society of go players. Hikaru no Go certainly dramatizes its use as a way to identify a "real" go player.

Hi pragmatic,

When we pick up a stone from the bowl,
usually anywhere from two to four fingers are touching the stone.
( Thumb + index + middle + ring; counting the thumb as a finger )
By the time the hand is about to place the stone,
usually only the index and middle fingers are holding it up.

Numerous pro games are available for us to observe their techniques.

jeromie wrote:The point of using two fingers instead of a finger and a thumb is to make it easier to place the stones into a tight position without disturbing the surrounding stones.* Using three fingers to hold the stone would largely negate that advantage (and seems very awkward), so I can't imagine it being done regularly.

EdLee wrote:When we pick up a stone from the bowl,
usually anywhere from two to four fingers are touching the stone.
( Thumb + index + middle + ring; counting the thumb as a finger )
By the time the hand is about to place the stone,
usually only the index and middle fingers are holding it up.

These points make sense.

Thanks.

Hi pragmatic,

I tried this handicap experiment on my own hand --
if you "disable" all your fingers except for only the index & middle,
try to pick up a stone from the bowl and place it:I found that it's much more difficult than natural --
this means my thumb and/or ring finger is/are also working to transfer the stone to just before the moment of placement.

Hi pragmatic,

As a bonus experiment, you can also try to "disable"
only your thumb and pinky -- see letter 'W':

Hi pragmatic,

Advanced tesuji: disable only your ring finger

EdLee, those all make picking up a go stone a bit more difficult. It's true that the other fingers have to work together for the two primary stone holding fingers.

there's no such thing as a "proper" way to pick up and hold a go stone.

there is tradition.

I've seen many very strong player hold and play their stones in various different ways. The oddest was was one guy who used his thumb and index, holding and placing it sideways. Seemed a bit awkward, but he played every stone that way.