My Go Proverbs

Some of these proverbs are half-serious, some plain jokes. It's up to you to decide which is which.

(Note that I add proverbs to the end of this list every time I come up with something new.)

• When fighting a ko, remember that most ko-threats are ajikeshi.
• Corollary: The best ko-threat is one which is not ajikeshi.
• A gote which isn't a reverse-sente is double-gote.
• There is no death in the double-hane.
• Filling your own empty triangle will not make it an efficient shape.
• A sente move is sente only if your opponent agrees.
• A gote move is sente if your opponent answers to it.
• Two eyes are worth a thousand liberties.
• The one who first plays at tengen will win.
• Corollary: Playing at tengen is never wrong.
• Learn the reverse-gote tesuji.
• Learn the nigiri tesuji.
• The larger the moyo, the less territory.
• If your moyo is larger than half the board, you are thinking it backwards.
• Sometimes a sente move is just a disguised gote.
• If you have to think about a cut, don't do it.
• There's death in a cutting point.
• Gote is not always wrong.
• Cash is better than potential.
• A large moyo calls for an invasion.
• Don't chase a weak group unless you know what you are doing.
• Honte is slow. But slow is not always wrong.
• When in the middle of a heated fight, tenuki. (Strong players do that a lot, so it can't be wrong...)
• When your opponent thinks he has done a sente endgame move, tenuki. (Strong players do that as well...)
• Remember: Killing is usually gote.
• You can't win by resigning.
• The stronger you get, the more you'll have to play white.
• A ladder which passes through tengen is better than any other ladder.
• An empty triangle is not inefficient if it makes an eye.
• The most obvious move is not always the best move.
• Inside every kyu there's a shodan wanting to come out.
• Learn to feel the flow of the stones.
• If a move looks too easy, double-check it.
• If two dragons fight each other, the bigger one usually wins.
• You can't win games with just wishful thinking.
• The favorite move of very strong players is tenuki.
• Territory is usually smaller than it looks.
• Fear is usually a bad reason for making a move.
• Don't try to outread a 9d; you'll get crushed. (Personal experience.)
• Force before killing. (Seen in many high-dan games.)
• Connect two weak groups and you get a bigger weak group.
• Tenuki is better than making a bad move.

Famous quotations that could be applied to go:

• "Give me liberty or give me death."
• "Death before dishonor!"
• "This is a good day to die!"
• "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."