When novices see go for the first time ...

By Rob Van Zeijst

When novices see go for the first time, they often want to try their hand at it without understanding the cultural and historical aspects of the game. Therefore, if you already know how to play go, teaching a beginner the basics of the game is beneficial to both teacher and student. In fact, I ask my students to teach beginners the game even if they can only spare a few minutes. So what can you teach in a few minutes?

First, instead of the standard 19x19 board, use a 9x9 board. Introduce concepts in a clear and logical order, starting with where stones should be placed. Next, show what a liberty is by using stones and indicating with your fingers. As a rule, don't say too much. The more the teacher talks, the less the student will learn and remember. Instead, ask questions. By asking the right questions, you can guide the beginner and he will gain insights into the game.

Diagram 1: First, show how the stones are put on the intersections. Then give your student a few stones and ask him to place them on the board. Often he will ask if it is possible to play on the edge and at the corner. If he does not, ask him what he thinks of playing at those places. The idea behind asking questions is to establish rapport and get feedback, which helps you to become a more effective teacher. Put a stone somewhere in the middle of the board and indicate its four liberties. Next, put a stone on the edge and ask how many liberties it has. Finally, ask about the number of liberties the stone in the corner has. The A's, B's and C's indicate the number of liberties in each case.

Diagram 2: Next, put some white stones on a few of the points A, B and C as shown. Ask how many liberties the black stones have in each situation. The student should answer one at A and C and two at B.

Diagram 3: Explain that a stone without liberties cannot live and must be removed from the board. Ask your student how this can be accomplished in each case. Let him put the white stones on the board. He should play white 1 in each case but he also must play white 2 to capture the black stone at the edge.

Diagram 4: Now play a game that will lead to the capture of a stone. Whoever captures the first stone wins the game. It is best to have beginners play each other, but if there are just the two of you, throw your ego out of the window and let him win easily a few times. This will encourage him to go onto the next stage. A sample game is shown here in which Black (the novice) captures a stone. Black 7 ends the game because the stone at 2 is captured after losing all its liberties.

Solutions to last week's problem

Solution 1A: Sooner or later, a beginner will be ready for more challenging situations involving multiple stones. A good teacher will know when a beginner is ready. Last week's problem could be used in this respect. We asked how many liberties the black stones at A and B have. The answers are six and two, respectively. Next, ask the student how many liberties the C group has. If he gives the correct answer (one), ask where white should play to capture that group. It is also important for the student to remove the stones from the board (see Solution 1B).

Solution 1B: The A's show Black's six liberties, while the B's show Black's two liberties. The situation on the right illustrates the result of White capturing six stones and removing them from the board.

Problem 1: Teachers should always pose as many questions as possible that have definite answers. The four situations A through D provide examples of increasingly difficult problems. In each situation, Black plays the first move. The object is to capture at least one white stone. Ask such questions as "How can Black capture one stone?", "How can Black take away White's liberties?" and "How can Black restrict White's movement?"

Van Zeijst is a four-time European go champion and European representative at the Fujitsu World Championship.