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Advice from Top Amateurs on How to Get Stronger

"Think for yourself, play your own game, and make your best effort." That was the advice Kikou Emura (left) of Japan gave to amateur players who want to improve their game, in response to a question from E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock at the Saturday afternoon press conference at the World Amateur Go Championship. "You must love go," said China's Yuqing Hu (second from left), adding "and try hard." Korea's Hyunjae Choi (third from left) said that "Studying and playing a lot helps." Ilya Shikshin (second from right) of Russia agreed that "you must love go and play a lot, but also I think you must never give up. There's always another way to learn, even when you get frustrated." And Malaysia's Low Khin Su (right) said that "The important thing is to enjoy the game and always make an effort to improve." The players also shared their favorite players. For Emura, it's Fujisawa Shuko and Sonoda Yuichi; for Yu, Fujisawa Shuko; Choi's favorite is Cho Chikun, Shikshin's is Go Seigen and Su's is Ohashi Hirofumi. In other comments, Shikshin said that "I know many in Europe are expecting a good performance from me, and I will do my best despite disappointing results at the European Go Congress earlier this month," while 32-year-old Yuging Hu acknowledged that "the majority of strong Chinese players (are) in their 20s" and said that "This is all the more reason to take this competition seriously and work harder." - includes reporting by John Richardson; photo by John Pinkerton.