Have You Ever Had an Experience Like This?

You achieved a great victory in a local battle, capturing several of your opponent's stones, only to realize later that you've fallen behind in the overall game situation.

The framework you meticulously built was easily reduced by your opponent, leaving you with nowhere to exert influence.

You felt reactive throughout the entire game, being led by the nose by your opponent, making the experience incredibly frustrating.

If your answer is, "Yes, often!" then congratulations—you've encountered a bottleneck that almost every Go player faces: a lack of whole-board perspective, often referred to as "tunnel vision" mode, where you see only the local situation but not the entire board.

Don't worry—a whole-board perspective isn't an innate talent but a thinking habit that can be developed through deliberate practice. Today, we’ll share three simple and practical habits to help you gradually build a visionary "God’s-eye view."

Habit 1: Ask Yourself One Soul-Searching Question Before Every Move
Before you touch a stone (or click the mouse), force yourself to pause for a second and ask:

"Where is the most valuable point on the board right now?"

This question effectively pulls your focus away from the immediate skirmish.

What does it mean?

• It could be the "Ten-gen" point, crucial for the expansion or reduction of both players' frameworks.

• It could be a highly valuable corner enclosure or approach move.

• It could be a distant, yet globally influential, reducing move.

Habit 2: Develop an "Investment" Mindset, Let Go of "Micromanaging"
Many enthusiasts tend to "fight for every single point," going all out over a mere ko fight for a single point. Try to think of playing Go as an exercise in asset allocation.

What is "investment"?

• Securing large points is like investing in premium real estate—it has immense future potential.

• Building influence is like investing in growth stocks—short-term gains may not be visible, but it could yield huge returns later.

• Solidly securing territory is like investing in blue-chip stocks—stable, but with potentially limited returns.

How to apply it: When you’re about to commit significant resources (several moves) to a local area, ask yourself: What is the "return on investment" here? Is there another area where I could achieve higher "returns" with fewer "moves"? Learn to sacrifice local "small gains" for global "big plays."

Habit 3: Regularly "Look Up and Check the Road"—Set Strategic Checkpoints
Strong players don’t rely on deep calculation for every move. They have a "rhythm": calculate a few moves, then pause to take a macro look at the entire board.

You can set a few strategic checkpoints for yourself:

• After the opening phase: Ask yourself, "Is my global formation harmonious? Are there any obvious weaknesses?"

• When a local fight concludes: Immediately disengage from the battle and ask, "After this exchange, where has the global focus shifted?"

• Upon entering the mid-to-late game: Quickly assess the situation: "Should I continue attacking, or simplify the game and head into the endgame?"

Cultivating this habit will help you avoid "going down a dead-end road" and keep you sensitive to the flow of the entire game.