Original(?) endgame problem #1
My image folder contains a huge number of problems that I have encountered over the years. Most of them I have seen at professionals’ study meetings and are originally from existing problem collections, but I also have a habit of taking photos of game positions that could be shaped into new problems with a bit of fine-tuning.
This problem is probably of the latter group – I cannot remember because it has been a few years already – but the shape is simple enough for somebody to come up with by accident.
Black to play; find the best result for both players.
Fifteen Shades of Nobi
The nobi is a common Japanese go term that is usually translated as ‘extension’, or more rarely as ‘stretch’. It denotes a move played directly next to one’s own stone, usually with the intention of increasing its liberties.
Although ‘extension’ is a viable translation for the Japanese term, ‘nobi’ is still sometimes heard in English go jargon. This is possibly …
How to make hard decisions?
We face multiple hard decisions in our games. What to do after opening? How to play when winning or losing? What if I mess up? This video is helping you to answer these questions. Streamed originally on Twitch. Streams every Friday at 6pm Helsinki time.
Money v. Health
It’s not all about the money, not even on a go board. Health of the groups should always come first! Streamed originally on Twitch. Streams every Friday at 6pm Helsinki time.
NGD online league restarted
From June 2020 on, we are reinstating the ngd online league. Our core service remains the same, but we have made a few modernisations:
- KataGo analysis (on 200 playouts) is provided along the ‘human comments’, and
- our lectures are changed to video format and are open to everybody, even non-participants.
We hope that the change to our lecture format will help attract more new people to the game. Also, since we have reduced the amount of ‘exclusive’ content, we have lowered our two-month participation fees to €40 and €80 (from €50 and €90). We are confident you will not find more cost-efficient professional go teaching anywhere on the internet!
For more detailed information, please check out our online league page.
How to limit cheating in online go?
The last 1–2 years have seen a sharp increase in cheating in online go, especially on higher dan levels. I, personally, have almost completely quit online go, as it not only takes a considerable amount time to find an opponent of similar level, but also the chances of the opponent’s consulting an ai are high. If I want …
On the challenges of English go terminology
When I first became insei in 2011, I found that there was a wealth of Japanese go terminology that I needed to learn to study the game. My teacher had set me up with an ideal study setting: once a week, I met with young Japanese professionals in a study meeting where I learned how to play …
Why do I play go?
Recently I noticed that Vit Brunner, who hosts several classic tsumego collections on his website, posted a questionnaire on why people play go. After giving it some thought, I decided to elaborate on my own reasons here on the NGD website.
Usually, when somebody writes on the topic, they give what I would call the ‘standard list of benefits’, …
Endgame’s third dimension
Endgame theory books generally focus either on move value calculations or endgame tesuji. While these both are of course important – calculations for figuring which move to play first and tesuji for cultivating a sensitivity to key moves and weak points – they miss out on a third aspect that I feel is just as important.
During an actual game, you …
