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The Third Directive |
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"Do not surrender framework links lightly!" If you can positively decide that an opponent move has truly destroyed a framework link, then it is legitimate to give up the link in order to better maintain the others. But this is tantamount to confessing that your previous plays were suboptimal. A framework link cannot suddenly become disconnected by the addition of a single opponent stone - after all, for each stone your opponent places you get to place one of your own! More often than not, the framework link can be maintained but you just cannot see how to do it. Nevertheless, ask the relevant question and try very hard to find the answer because this is how you will improve! Launching out on a sequence that you consider might or might not work is often a bad idea, but in the context of maintaining framework links such an adventure is actually quite sensible. Given adherence to GCS in previous moves, it is highly probable that there exists a valid sequence and even more likely that, should the attempt to connect fail, there will be some sort of compensation. Do not try to limit yourself to sequences that you believe you can definitively read out. Do not expect to foresee every last possibility because in go the possibilities are legion! As practised by the very best players, you are better advised to develop and to trust your intuition. With the knowledge that there is a legitimate line to be found, and with the use of a little bit of logic, finding the first move is not so difficult. Then after the opponent's response, the exercise can be repeated until the position becomes easier to comprehend. If, after a game, you find that your bravery was unrewarded, it is important to review why that might be so. Was it because of mistakes made in the subsequent moves? Was it that you didn't quite manage to play the correct connecting sequence? Or was the objective of connecting itself unreasonable? If the latter case, the logic encapsulated in GCS dictates that prior moves, either individually or accumulatively, were positively negligent! Discover the real reason for the failure so that you can significantly improve in subsequent games. ¨Framework link negated? |
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