The Yasui House was one of the four houses of Go during the Edo period of Japan. It “died out” in 1903, but is now resurfacing here on OGS under the headship of mark5000 1d. Who knew?

Yasui House is for double-digit kyu players who want to get stronger at go. Double-digit kyu players who join become disciples and will enjoy free GAME REVIEWS and ADVICE to get stronger at go! There will be periodic tournaments against the disciples of the other houses. Discipleship ends when you reach 10k (and with it Castle games), but you may feel compelled to stay and help current disciples improve their go if you like.

INTERNAL GAMES

Disciples are encouraged to join the group 19x19 ladder below. This way you can challenge other disciples, and you can also secure a teaching game with mark5000 or other friends of the Yasui House.

GAME REVIEWS

As head of the Yasui House, mark5000 is happy to review a game (preferably one you lost). Just send a private message with a link to the game and any questions you might have about it. In return, you must be intentional about integrating at least one new idea into your future games.

Stronger players are welcome to join and assist the disciples too. Y-A-S-U-I

More details can be found here: https://online-go.com/group/329

HOW TO IMPROVE AT GO

PLAYING

Play as much as you can, trying to apply your knowledge.

This is the most important element. You just can’t improve without playing. If you want to improve a lot, you’re going to have to play a lot. However, JUST playing isn’t enough. It’s important to be exposed to new concepts and to work at APPLYING those concepts in your games.

LIFE AND DEATH

Read out life & death puzzles.

Reading ability is the single most important element of go strength. Strong play requires an intuition for the vital point and knowledge of common shapes. The first two you can only get from practice, but the second two you can get from flipping through go puzzles - giving each just a minute of thought. Try this collection to start: https://online-go.com/puzzle/5

MASTERS’ GAMES

Replay pro games.

Traditionally, a staple in the aspiring professional go player’s course of study is to study the games of the old masters. Try replaying the commented games at GoGameGuru. https://gogameguru.com/get-better-at-go/commented-go-games

ATTITUDE

You MUST struggle to review the concepts and lessons you’ve been learning from books and stronger players and play as if you believe and understand them. Eventually, you WILL understand them and get stronger at go. But it’s a process!

Final tips:

1. Before every move (even in the middle of a fight), figure out what the biggest area of the board is. Then try to figure out what the best move in that area is.

2. Don’t make any empty triangles.

3. Don’t play a move that can be easily cut by your opponent.

Finished Tournaments