What Are Baduk Problems and How Should You Train With Them?

Baduk problems are short, solvable positions — usually life-and-death or tactical situations — that you read out and answer without playing a full game. They go by several names: go problems, baduk problems, weiqi problems, or tsumego (the Japanese term most often used for life-and-death). The point is not to memorize answers but to train the reading and calculation you need during a real game. You should train with them if you want to improve your ability to judge whether a group lives or dies, spot tesuji (clever tactical moves), and calculate sequences accurately under time pressure.

What counts as a baduk problem

A problem gives you a fixed board position and a goal: kill the opponent's group, save your own, capture a race, or find the best local move. You read out the variations in your head, choose a move, and get feedback. Because the position is small and the goal is clear, you can focus entirely on calculation instead of the whole-board strategy a full game demands.

The main categories you'll encounter:

• Life and death (tsumego) — can a group make two eyes, or can it be killed? This is the core of most problem sets.
• Tesuji — finding the sharp, often surprising move that works where the obvious move fails.
• Capturing race (semeai) — two adjacent groups fight to capture each other; you count liberties and find the winning order of moves.
• Snapback — a sacrifice that lets you recapture a larger group.
• Ladder (shicho) — reading whether a ladder works, including ladder breakers.
• Cutting and connecting — whether stones can be separated or joined.
• Joseki and fuseki — opening and corner patterns, which are more about shape and choice than a single correct kill.

On GoProblems.com these categories appear as collections you can work through, with counts shown for each — for example, Semeai / Capturing Race, Connect, Cutting, Snapback, Ladder, and Squeeze Tesuji are all listed as separate collections, alongside an "Encyclopedia of Life and Death - Easy" set.

How to train so it actually transfers to your games

The trap with problem training is solving hundreds of puzzles while your actual play stays the same. The fix is a loop: read, check, repeat, and apply.

1. Start at your level, not above it

Problems are ranked by kyu/dan level. GoProblems.com shows a "Problems of the day" set split by strength — for example 30 kyu Beginner, 19 kyu Easy, 9 kyu Medium, and 1 dan Hard. If you're a beginner, start at the beginner tier even if it feels easy. Accuracy at an easy level builds the reading habit; struggling at a level too high just teaches you to guess.

2. Read before you move

Commit to a full calculation before you play the first move. If you can't see the whole sequence, that's information — it tells you the problem is at the edge of your ability, which is where learning happens. Only then check the answer.

3. Repeat your mistakes

A problem you got wrong is worth more than ten you got right. Redo it a day later without looking at the solution. The goal is that the shape becomes instantly recognizable, so in a real game you don't have to re-derive it from scratch.

4. Use timed and daily modes to build consistency

Regular short sessions beat occasional long ones. GoProblems.com offers a "Problems of the day" set and a Time Trial with several modes — 3 min, 5 min, and Untimed — and tracks your best score in each (the page shows sample bests like "3 min 28 · 5 min 21 · Untimed 22"). A few minutes daily keeps the reading muscle sharp. The site also runs Tournaments (for example a "Solving royale" format) if you want competitive practice.

5. Apply the shapes in real games

After a session, watch for the same shapes in your own games — a snapback you just drilled, a capturing race you now count correctly. This is the step that converts problem skill into rank. If you never connect the two, you'll solve puzzles well and still lose the same fights.

A simple weekly routine

Common sticking points

• Guessing instead of reading. If you click moves to see what happens, you're not training calculation. Read first.
• Only doing easy problems. Comfortable problems maintain skill but don't raise it; push slightly past your level.
• Skipping review of wrong answers. The correction is where the learning is.
• Never applying it. Problem skill that stays in the problem set won't show up in your rank.

If you want a structured place to start, GoProblems.com organizes problems by level, theme, and collection, with daily sets, timed trials, and tournaments, so you can pick a level and a theme and begin immediately.