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Benefits from following GCS for the beginner |
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Without any increase in skill or judgement, merely by following GCS directives, the beginner can immediately improve their standard of play, typically by around five grades. The reasons for this dramatic improvement are that, in order to follow GCS, the beginner is forced to look at the crucial stones, thus improving perception, and, by following a single strategy across sequences of moves, rewards are reaped from the consistency of play. For initial games, careful self-prompting is necessary in order to check framework stones at each and every move. However, with practice, players can train themselves to automatically follow the full set of GCS directives without conscious bidding. |
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The beginner often plays many games having to accept a full nine handicap stones from the stronger opponent. Without a strategy such as GCS, these stones are normally of very limited use. But with GCS the beginner can provide a real challenge to the opponent, and also contemplate games with stronger players who would otherwise be out of range. |
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GCS contains a complete set of directives that allow a seamless progression from taking a nine stone handicap through to playing even, and onward to giving nine stones. |
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By setting understandable sub-goals, GCS provides the vehicle for reliably analysing one's own games. Without GCS, the kyu player is best advised not to rely solely on their own judgement when attempting to analyse their recorded games, lest they get better at implementing the wrong ideas. |
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Following GCS directives fosters improvements in "global" perception of the board leading to insights not usually obtained until nearer achieving |
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GCS concentrates on connectivity, a concept largely passed over in go literature, partly because it is wrongly assumed by stronger players as obvious or less important than other attributes. In attempting to perceive and change the connectivity of stones in line with GCS directives, beginners will automatically train themselves to become proficient in this area. |
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The GCS adherent should rarely, if ever, lose before the endgame phase. Although not directly concerned with the endgame, which is largely a matter of tactical issues on a local scale, at the onset of endgame, GCS ensures that the player has set up a good platform from which to proceed. |
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Following GCS gives the beginner a single clear path to follow rather than be buffeted by well-meant but potentially conflicting and damaging advice proffered by stronger players. |
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If combined with the acquisition of basic skills, GCS can greatly accelerate a beginner's progress. It is said that it takes a thousand (19x19) games to reach 1dan. A small survey indicates that it usually takes a lot longer in the West. GCS promises to cut the time considerably even when compared with that claimed in the East. Although relatively simple, GCS is not a simplistic method. It does not pander to quick fixes that later on cause an improving player to become stuck. Inevitably a player does reach a plateau but only due to the limitations of the player's knowledge, experience, and character, rather than due to the inherent limitations of inferior ideas. |
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