Editing Go (section)

==How to Suck Less at Go==
[[File:Animu_Go.png|200px|thumb|right|Whenever you play Go against an online opponent, there's no evidence that they aren't a big tiddy anime girl. Change my mind.]]Go is a fucking old game and most of the people who play it know it inside and out. As if that wasn't scary enough, most of them are Asian. You're going to get your dick pushed in when you start, no matter what you do. If you get tired of losing as a beginner and don't know what you're doing wrong, here's a couple of things to think about while playing.

Following these tips won't let you suddenly start winning games, but they will help make your losses less embarrassing.
* Start out the game by making "big" moves. Your first stones should be placed to give you control of lots of territory. The first four moves of almost all high level Go games begin with taking the four corners. Though don't put your stone on the actual corner itself, put it a couple lines out so you can turn that space into points later.
* Don't let your opponent split up your stones. Most of the time when a group of your stones is taken it's because your opponent split them up earlier on.
* By extension, if you see an opportunity to split up your opponent's stones, go for it. Divide and conquer is the fundamental tactic of Go.
* Don't hand control of the game's momentum over to your opponent. Ideally, every move you make should either be so big that your opponent has to respond or threaten your opponent so badly they have to respond. In reality, your opponent is going to be trying to do the same thing to you, so you'll have to spend a lot of time defending yourself. But when you do have the opportunity to pressure your opponent, try and find a new way to break their knees every move.
* Don't get tunnel vision. Getting control of one corner is good; great even. It's a lot of points. But if your opponent gets the other three corners while you secure your one you'll lose and lose badly.
* If your opponent is focusing too much on one area of the board, that's good for you. Don't be afraid to play away if you have better options in other parts of the board. Sometimes your opponent was hyper-focused for a good reason and they knew or noticed something you didn't, but sometimes you've realized something they haven't too.
* If you ever find yourself without a clue for what move you should play, there's a great trick to find a good move that almost always works. Put yourself in your opponent's shoes and ask yourself what move you would make if you were your opponent right now. Your opponent's best move is usually your best move too.
[[Image:Go_rules.png|thumb|right|Everything you need to know, but were too gwai-lo to ask.]]
* If you can only remember one of these tips, remember this one: '''Never give up.''' Go doesn't end until you agree to let it end. When a Go player realizes they're losing against a beginner and can't possibly win, but currently have a point lead, they'll usually do a horrifically dirty trick; they'll propose to end the game then and there. A lot of beginners will accept because they don't understand the game or the point scoring rules enough to realize that they have a win on the board if they just stick it out. Don't fall for it. Remember: when your opponent proposes to end the game, they just passed their turn. Even if your situation is bad, you just got a free move. One free move is huge in Go; it can easily turn a whole game around if you use it right. If your opponent is really stubborn they might pass two or three times in a row. No matter how bad the board is or how bad you are at Go, with enough free moves you can turn almost any situation around. And if your situation actually was so bad that you couldn't have changed it, you still don't lose anything by trying. Losing by one point and losing by thirty points are the same thing in Go. Persevering to the bitter end is also the best way to get better at the game. In short: never surrender in Go unless you're absolutely certain you have zero chance of victory.
*If you ever have the option of picking your color, ''always'' pick black before the other player can.