What Are Go Tsumego? Recommended Free Sites/Apps and the Benefits of Solving Them

What Are Go Tsumego? Recommended Free Sites/Apps and the Benefits of Solving Them

You may have heard that “solving tsumego is important for improving at Go.”

In fact, many professional players and strong amateurs improve their strength by solving lots of tsumego.

In this article, we’ll clearly explain everything from the basic knowledge of tsumego to free websites and apps where you can study them, as well as effective ways to practice.

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What Are Go Tsumego? First, Understand Their Importance

Tsumego are problems where you think about how to secure two eyes to keep your stones alive, or how to remove the opponent’s eyes and capture their stones.

By repeatedly solving tsumego, you develop essential skills needed throughout a full game—life and death, vital points of shape, tesuji, and more.

In particular, life and death is a major factor that can decide the outcome of a game.

If you regularly solve tsumego, you’ll gain the ability to turn the tables by capturing the opponent’s stones even from an unfavorable position.

On the other hand, if you avoid tsumego, you might play well and stay ahead until the endgame, only to have your stones captured at the critical moment and suffer a painful comeback loss.

Steadily solving tsumego to build fundamental strength is the quickest path to improving your win rate.

3 Recommended Free Sites/Apps for Solving Tsumego

You can study tsumego for free.

You can choose what fits your lifestyle—websites you can start casually in a browser, or apps you can use on the go.

Here, we’ve carefully selected three especially recommended services. Try whichever seems like the best fit for you.

PlayGo.gg

PlayGo.gg is a comprehensive Go platform available both as a website and an app.

New tsumego are delivered every day, making it easy to turn tsumego study into a habit.

Also, because there are huge numbers of problems finely categorized by strength level, it’s possible to reach a fairly high level using PlayGo.gg alone.

Tsumego you get wrong are automatically saved, and you’ll receive notifications to review them periodically.

By solving them repeatedly, even your weak areas will be more likely to stick.

There is also a mode called “Puzzle Run,” where you solve tsumego in a time-attack format.

You can develop the ability to solve problems quickly and accurately under time pressure.

In this way, it’s a recommended service for anyone from beginners to high-dan players who want to improve their tsumego skills effectively.

Register for PlayGo.gg here⇒

Android: PlayGo.gg

iOS: PlayGo.gg

Igo Kuma Tsumego

Igo Kuma Tsumego is an app specialized in tsumego.

A key feature of this app is its large number of problems you can choose from by level, from beginner to advanced.

You can start with easy introductory problems and gradually increase the difficulty.

Its easy-to-understand user interface is another major appeal.

It’s designed so that even people encountering tsumego for the first time can study comfortably without getting lost.

You’ll be able to make good use of commuting time or breaks to solve tsumego.

Android: Igo Kuma Tsumego

iOS: Igo Kuma Tsumego

Tsumego no Mori

Tsumego no Mori is a popular tsumego app that supports everyone from beginners to pros.

The strength of this app is that it has a step-by-step learning curriculum.

You can start from your current level and reliably level up with a well-structured system.

It also has a feature to record your accuracy rate, allowing you to visualize your progress.

Because you can work on it easily on your phone, you’ll be able to use small pockets of time each day to study tsumego.

Android: Tsumego no Mori

iOS: Tsumego no Mori

Three Benefits You Can Gain from Tsumego

By making a habit of solving tsumego, you can gain benefits that help improve your Go strength.

Let’s look at each one.

You Can Train Your Reading

By repeatedly solving tsumego, you can strengthen your “reading,” which can be called the basic physical fitness of Go.

At first, you may find it difficult to solve tsumego using only your mind.

However, by steadily working on them over and over, the board in your head will become clearer and your reading will become more accurate.

When solving tsumego, it’s not enough to just find a move that’s convenient for you.

If the opponent’s response is not also the best, it will be marked wrong.

Therefore, solving tsumego builds the habit of thinking through the best sequence for both sides.

Reading is always necessary throughout a game, from the opening to the endgame.

So, if you train your reading through tsumego, you’ll build fundamental strength and it will greatly contribute to improving your Go strength.

You Become Stronger at Life and Death

The most basic—and most important—judgment in Go is “life and death.”

As a beginner, it may be hard to understand which shapes are alive and which are dead.

By encountering many tsumego problems, you’ll gradually become able to tell life and death.

Life and death greatly affects the outcome of the game.

Whether to convert a winning game into a sure win, or to gain the power to come back from a losing position, becoming strong at tsumego is essential.

You Can Learn a Variety of Tesuji

By working through many tsumego, you can efficiently learn a wide variety of “tesuji.”

Tesuji are the most efficient ways, locally, to make your stones work.

By repeatedly solving tsumego, you’ll learn tesuji with your body and become able to apply them in real games.

Tesuji gained through tsumego will show their power not only in life and death, but also in fights and yose—any crowded position where stones are entangled.

How to Practice Tsumego

To get the most out of tsumego, we recommend solving problems using the following steps.

Let’s look at each in detail.

1. Solve the Problem

First, try to tackle the problem as much as possible on your own.

Even if you’re not sure, it’s important to think it through in your own way.

That’s because when you check the answer, comparing it with what you had in mind changes how well it sticks.

That said, if you spend too long when you don’t understand, you might start to dislike tsumego.

If you still don’t know after thinking for a while, move on to the next step.

2. Check the Correct Answer and Variations

After you’ve faced the diagram for a while, next check the solution.

We recommend checking not only the correct answer, but also failed lines and variation diagrams.

Because it’s an opportunity to learn why that move is best and what other variations exist.

Sometimes tesuji are hidden even in failed lines, so look through everything with the intention of absorbing it all.

3. Return to the Original Diagram and Review

After checking the correct line and variations, be sure to return to the original diagram.

You may think it’s a hassle, but this is an important step.

From the original position, try to replay the correct line and variations you learned in your head. You can confirm whether the tesuji you learned has really stuck.

Furthermore, because you’re imagining stones from an empty board, it also becomes very effective reading training.

Please give it a try to maximize the benefits of working on tsumego.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Tsumego Study

Here are some common questions and answers for getting started with tsumego study.

Should beginners do tsumego too?

Yes—definitely give it a try.

In the beginning, the top priority should be playing real games to gain experience, but you should also work on tsumego in spare moments and learn life and death.

By repeatedly solving easy tsumego problems for beginners, you can systematically learn basic life and death, commonly appearing shapes, effective techniques, and more.

Because you build fundamental strength, your rate of improvement will also increase.

How much tsumego should I do every day?

Since continuing is the most important thing, we recommend studying within a reasonable range.

Using an app or a book, it’s fine to solve just 2–3 problems during travel time or short breaks.

By responding flexibly—doing more on days you have time and just a little on busy days—solving tsumego will become a habit.

Rather than solving many problems in a short period, it’s more effective to continue every day even if it’s only a little.

Is it better not to look at the answer until you solve it?

As approaches to tsumego, there are two methods: not looking at the answer until you solve it, and checking the answer right away if you don’t know. In conclusion, either is fine.

It’s best to proceed in the way that suits you.

Even professional players are divided on this point.

If you like thinking through problems, it’s good to take your time.

However, if you find it painful to keep thinking when you don’t understand, we recommend checking the solution sooner, understanding it, and then moving on.

What’s important here is to keep going without starting to hate tsumego.

Try different things and find the method that fits you.

Summary

So far, we’ve explained basic knowledge about tsumego, recommended free services, effective ways to practice, and common questions.

Tsumego is training that builds solid fundamental strength by learning life and death and vital points, strengthening your “reading,” which can decide the outcome of a game, and helping you pull off comeback wins.

If you use free tools that fit your lifestyle—such as “PlayGo.gg” with daily delivery and time-attack features, the beginner-friendly “Igo Kuma Tsumego,” or “Tsumego no Mori” with its step-by-step curriculum—you can study steadily without overdoing it.

Also, by following the three steps—“solve the problem,” “check the correct answer and variations,” and “return to the original diagram and review”—you can truly make the tesuji you learned your own.

The most important thing in tsumego study is not pushing yourself too hard in a short period, but continuing little by little every day.

Beginners too should start with easy problems that match their level, and use spare moments to work on them without pressure.

By continuing steadily, your strength will surely improve, and the enjoyment of Go will expand even further.