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Commented Games |
Fundamentals:
Strength and Weakness
by
Robert O'Malley
I have heard it said that beginners get the most benefit out of studying the
opening game. And the same was said about strong players (except they
also get about the same benefit from studying the end game). But
middle strength players will often overcome errors in the openings through
fighting, and so they should study attack and defense. Attack and
defense is about strength and weakness.
Your perception of what is strong and what is weak guides the
development of the middle game, and it helps formulate your aims.
Attack your opponent's weaknesses and let the ensuing fight build your walls
where you want them (which usually means surrounding territory). Once
you start getting the hang of it, then you can start getting sneaky.
You want to attack the upper left-center group? But it has a way to
run away ? Can you launch an attack on the group it would connect
with, effectively building a wall to cut off that potential escape route?
If so, do that first, then attack the upper left-center group.
Patience is nice, but patience coupled with planning is downright deadly.
But, you say, you don't know what is strong and what is weak ? You
might know more than you think you do. The extreme translation of
strong is "alive", so start with that. Is your group alive ? No
? Maybe you should defend it ! Likewise, the extreme translation
of weak is "doesn't even have one eye" :)). Start looking for those
places, and you'll get the hang of it. Both for yourself and your
opponent.
Classic advice is "don't play near strength"
followed by "either your opponents, or
yours". Again, take this to the extreme for beginning
players: don't bother with moves near live groups when there are other
places to play. That group is already alive, it's strong! so play
somewhere else. Play near something weak.
Notice, however, there is a flip side to the "don't play near strength",
which is "push your opponents towards your
strength". For example, suppose black has the star point in the
upper left, and white approaches from the side; a simple joseki
follows. White also has the star point on the upper right, and we'll
give black sente now. You want to approach the upper right; but
do you do it from the top, or the right side ? Assuming nothing has
developed yet on the right side, push white towards
your strong black formation on the upper left. Try it! |