For this post we are going to use this position from move 88 of this game as a launch pad for a discussion:
Then we are going to ask:
What should you do on each move of a Go position to decide where to move?
Should you use the Clossi approach?
Should you use the ROSE method?
If neither of these what is your exact and precise discipline for each move of a game to decide on your best move?
Being systematic not fun, but it is necessary
If I dont have a rigorous discipline for each move, then I tend to make emotional, irrational move selections. What I am aiming for is a rational discipline.
AHA! I think I got it.
The goal of Go, the ORIGINAL goal, before the Japanese watered down the idea of Go, was: to make life for as many stones as possible. This is why coordinating your stones in an attack is good. It’s why playing “a big move” is good (at certain times). But if you keep your mind on the BIGGEST PICTURE, which is to make life for as many stones as possible, then it becomes clear what to think about on each move.
AHA! AHAH! Shape
Someone from my twitch stream on the game I mentioned just linked me to a true classic: Dsaun’s Shape Lecture. That and Shape Up! by Charles Matthews are the best resources on shape I’ve come across.