Don't rush your play
We make our biggest mistakes when don't take our time to think (especially online, players play more quickly).
Always take a few seconds to refocus or to adapt your plans to a board change.
Look at the whole board
When your opponent places a stone, think if it is better to respond to his move or better to place a stone somewhere else.
Always look at the whole board before you decide something. Maybe there is some opportunity somewhere.
If you follow your opponent all the time, you will lose the game. This is a common mistake among beginners.
Gain Territory
The gaining of territory is far more important than the capturing your opponent's stones.
And always remember to have at least two eyes inside your bigger territories to keep control of them.
In Go, you have to think about creating something and not about destructing something.
Play in the biggest areas
Playing in the big open areas is the most beneficial in Go.
The biggest areas on the board are the corners, then the sides, and the center last.
Corners and sides require the least amount of moves to surround.
Don't give up against better players
Don't worry if you don't know how to win or gain control.
You learn the most from your mistakes. Be grateful to your opponent for taking you down as it is an opportunity to learn something new.
If you approach the game with such an attitude, you will also play better and focus more.
Watch your back
While having your own game plan, always try to look what your opponent is doing or trying to do.
You need to get inside his head and see his plan.
The better you know his intentions, the better you can prepare yourself and the more calmly you can play.
Remember also that it's not always good trying to oppose everything. Sometimes it might be good to just cooperate.
Watch your front
Depending on your skill level and experience, everyone has different capacity for seeing the different possibilities on the Go board.
Visualizing how the board will look several moves ahead is important for becoming stronger at the Chinese game go.
Reading out moves is what will help you weigh up the pros and cons of different choices.
It is important that you improve your skill in visualizing the board several moves ahead to beat stronger players.
Stay connected
You should try to have never more than 4 separate groups on the board.
If you have too many groups, it will become too difficult to prevent all groups from dying.
Connecting your stones look often very slow, but it is crucial to do.
Always question the state of groups
If one of your groups looks like it might die, then protect the group.
If one of your opponents groups looks like it might die, then attack it.
While this is obvious, it's very common that players don't pay attention to all the groups on the board.
Keep it simple
Most of the time, the simple option is the best.
While you have to keep your eyes open for opportunities, for most of your moves, you should just aim to play solidly and consistently.
It is also much easier to read ahead (visualise) when you do simple moves.
If the simplest move produces a good result, stick with it.
It is not needed to play spectacular and doing special combinations.
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