Comfortable on 19x19

Like the title says, I am now comfortable playing on a 19x19 board. At first it seemed very big and intimidating. I had no idea what a good opening moved looked like, so it was uncomfortable placing a stone on a big empty board. I picked up the habit of playing on a star point (4-4) or a 4-3 point since it seemed a lot of other players do that. I still do - and for the most part it is due to convention rather than wisdom. You too can play those openings without a lot of background into why they are considered good. (If you want to dig into openings, there is a ton of info on where to start and why. Search for joseki or openings...)

Beyond the fear of an empty board, there is a need to get familiar with general whole board strategy. Looking at a board with 10 or 20 stones and having a basic understanding of what each player is trying to do helped make me comfortable. There are only a handful of basic strategies players seem to follow during the opening:

• Claim a corner - invade the other player's corner
• Build a base/framework/moyo on the side and try to get 2 eyes - stop opponent's base from getting eyes
• Run to the center in case a group on the edge can't make 2 eyes using the edge alone - block opponent from running
• Expand your influence (by putting stone in open areas near your other stones) - invade opponent's territory

The strategies in orange above don't require any contact with opponent's stones. Both players can pursue them for a bit before needing to start combat. Often though, at least 1 player will be looking for battle right away! The invade/block/stop side of the opening will generally lead to contact fighting.

So, understanding your basic options and being able to read what your opponent is thinking makes 19x19 less stressful.

Everytime I log into KGS it is like going to a big swimming pool. At first I don't want to "get in the pool" - I look around, hope someone else will put up a perfect game for me, check a few players stats, maybe view a game in progress - but eventually I end up setting up my own custom game. Playing with consistent time controls helps as well - I like the default 30 minutes each + 30 second byo yomi.

19x19 is big enough that you have to seriously commit to playing. A full game with the above time controls can take over an hour. That 1 hour of play usually gives me a few hours of analysis and review as well. I like to look over some other games my opponent has played, look at their rank graph, review the game and see what I did well and where I was weak, etc. 19x19 is the real game. It shouldn't take too many tries before it changes from seeming huge, to seeming to be a good size!