It’s been five years since I got into gaming. So, I thought I’d share some tips that I think are useful for beginners, especially those who mainly play online and don’t have professional help from teachers.
Common mistakes, or what not to do
- Don’t get stuck on 9×9 games.
Don’t spend a long time playing on a 9×9 board, especially if you don’t know the basic rules.
- Don’t quit a game before you finish it.
Sometimes, without finishing the game, a person simply quits without explaining why. I confess, I did that too at first, but then I tried to finish all my games or surrender.
- Don’t ignore training in solving problems.
- Remember: Anger and fear lead to the dark side of the Force (Star Wars) .
Don’t get angry if something doesn’t work out for you or your opponent exploits your weaknesses; don’t be afraid to lose a few stones or a small territory, because you can gain more in return; don’t be afraid of losing or fear that you won’t be able to improve your game — these are all unnecessary worries that won’t do you any good. Fight your fears and anger, as they cause you to make foolish, ill-considered moves or rush into unnecessary battles that are doomed to failure
After all, every game is an opportunity not only to gain experience, but also to communicate with interesting people, learn something new by observing your partner, and notice your own and others’ mistakes.
- Don’t use bots instead of yourself in online tournaments
There is a bad, and I would say low, way of playing in online tournaments using bots instead of yourself. Unfortunately, I forgot what it’s called. The point is that one of the opponents starts a game with a bot on their computer in parallel with a game on the Internet with a real person and plays as if they were playing themselves.
I can totally get behind this for practice and learning, but there’s basically no benefit to playing like this. Tournaments are meant for you to compete and test your skills.