What's the most important factor to play Go well?

What's the most important factor to play Go well?


Somebody asked me this question.


Stunned with the sudden question, I didn't really know how to answer, so I told her there are many.


And I gave a few examples.


But it is really true that there is no such thing as "most important" when it comes to playing Go.


You need a combination of many different factors in order to play it well.


In my opinion, here are some of them:




1. Reading Ahead


In its very essence, Go is all about reading.


It's a competition to see who can read faster and deeper.


To see who can find out the best move in different situations.


It is very hard to improve in Go if you do not make the effort to read ahead before playing them out.




2. Organising Thoughts


Just reading out the variations alone is not enough.


After reading each variation, you need to organise them properly.


You need to judge which one is better, or which one has a higher chance of winning.


You may have thousands of ideas when playing, so it is important to cut down to the correct ones which are more likely to gain you an advantage.


What if the opponent doesn't respond the way you want?


That's something you need to consider as well.




3. Memory


Go is probably a game which requires more memory work than other board games.


No matter how strong your reading is, it is impossible to read out every single variation on the board.


There are some things which are harder to find out through reading also.


Either you know, or you don't know.


Hence, it is important to spend some effort to remember certain ways of playing in certain situations.


These are commonly known as "Joseki".


These are also the what the great players of the past and modern have found out through research.


Learning them is akin to reading through research papers.


You can only gain, not lose.


Of course, common shapes and tesuji are important as well.




4. Creativity


Just like many subjects, other than memorising those important stuffs, you need to have your own idea as well.


This is not really compulsory.


But if you want to make the game more fun, you should have your own ideas and try them out.


There are also many hidden good moves that are out of common knowledge.


So a little bit of creativity will be useful in finding them.




5. Instinct


This is not really something that can be trained.


Rather, it can only be built with many years of practice.


Some people have better instincts than others.


Just continue playing and doing problems, and your instincts will come naturally.




6. Willingness to Learn


Just like many other things, it's very difficult to improve when you are not willing to learn.


Always have a learning attitude, and never be proud just because you attained a certain level.


Review every game with your opponent, and listen to what stronger players say.


Of course you can have your own ideas, but you won't lose out by listening to other people's ideas.




7. Patience


Go is a game which requires a tremendous amount of patience.


The size of the board is 19x19, and there are 361 coordinates on the board.


Of course you don't have to fill up the whole board, but it's still a very long process from the beginning to the end of the game.


If you rush the game, then the chance of you making mistakes are much higher.


This is especially the case when you are losing the game.


It is important to always be calm and patient throughout the game and wait for chances.


You never know when it will come.


And trust me, it's not easy to do that for the whole game, hence you have to start by doing it consciously.




8. Stamina


After reading all the above points, I'm sure you know why Go requires a lot of stamina.


A typical game of Go usually lasts from 1 hour to 3 hours for amateurs.


For professionals, they can last longer, from 5 hours to even 2 days.


And during all that time, you need to constantly be reading out variations, organising them, and judging whether they are good or bad.


The moment you loosen your brain is the moment you lose.


That's why, if you want to play Go well, get a strong body and build up your stamina.


You are definitely going to need a lot.