Larger than 9x9: Game starts: B: 4-4, 3-4, or center W: 4-4, 3-4, or attack B stone 3rd turn: take a side or attack After the "big points" on the board are taken you either: take territory from your opponent, exchange territory, or reduce enemy territory(not increasing your own). Efficient learning should be: Memorize>Apply>Understand You cant' expect to improve without knowing the basic rules of the game. And like every strategy game, you need to 'read ahead'. Foresight is one of the most important (if not the most important) skill for Go. Some important things that you should know are: Ko Rule Life and Death Seki (mutual life) Sente Sacrifice (a concept many fail to grasp) Reducing Joseki Ladder (shouldn't be hard to understand) My rule of thumb: Any stone(s) that is not critical to a bigger group is expendable. So don't hesitate to sacrifice a couple of stones in order to profit locally or elsewhere.