Life In 19x19

Have you ever looked at tsumego or a game that was complicated and rationally without reading you didn't know the proper move at a glance but the go board tells you where to play. They say to you in your in head, play here play here; and lo and behold it is right!

You could call this experience, intuition, or go wisdom but it is sometimes quite spooky.

Does this often happen to you?

It's Sai.

Yes. But just as often the move it suggests is wrong.

Usually when there is a move that jumps out at me it is something that looks like a vital spot or clever tesuji. And sometimes that is the answer. But sometimes tsumego are tricky and when you read it out, the thing that looked good doesn't work in this particular case. Regardless, I start with that move and try to read it out. If it doesn't work I move on to something else.

I wouldn't call it a voice but I feel drawn to a certain spot.
I suppose like those glowing dig holes in animal crossing.

I used to hear voices... but then I realized my neighbors had the TV on really loud.
Slightly OT maybe... sorry.

Sure, except behold, it isn't right.

A friend of mine was much better at reading than me and I asked him how he did it.
He said he just stares blankly at the board until one the intersections starts to glow faintly.
Then he plays.

The solution to the voice problem is noted.

Your friend has been watching Hikaru no go.

Randy Orton hears voices in his head...

But yeah, I've had this happen to me. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes not so much.

I ask myself a lot, "What would stronger players say I should do in this position?" Unfortunately, the answers I hear must not be the stronger players' answers because they don't seem to be the right ones.

"The voices in my head told me to kill that group"

You always know the answer, however the voice is trying to teach you something so it tells you the wrong move.

As you read on you notice the move isn't correct but beacause of it you get stronger so one day you realize that the voice is you, and now you get all the moves correct.

Intuition... the more games you play, the more recognition of positions/patterns in your memory.