I like playing go, but I also really enjoy spectating, so when there’s a title game I never move from in front of the TV or my computer. When I see the players spending 30 minutes or an hour or more on a move, I can’t help wondering what professionals are thinking about at such times. If they are reading ahead, how many moves ahead do they read? Or are they thinking about something else? I would appreciate it if you could let me know. Consultation Two: by Mr.Matsunaga Hello, Mr. Matsunaga. Thank you for your question. I’m glad to hear that you enjoy watching go as well as playing yourself. There are individual differences in the way professionals use their time allowance, so let me tell you about myself. I’m a slow thinker, and in a game in which I had a 5-hour time allowance I spent close to one hour on just one move. Recently, there are more and more 3-hour games, so one has to be careful with one’s time, but even so I sometimes take 30 minutes on one move. What do I think about? The first thing is to check that there are no problems with the move that I have thought of instinctively. If there are, I look for another move. Putting it like this makes it sound simple, but, as you know, the difficult thing about go is that one doesn’t get clear answers. I formulate strategies based on the instinctive move and other moves and produce definite shapes in my head, but how to tell which course is the best? Almost all of one’s time on a slow move is spent agonizing over which is actually the better strategy. Quite often, one is unable to reach a conclusion and one just plays the instinctive move one first thought of. Concerning the number of moves, if you count the different variations that branch out from one shape, the total is probably about 100. The other thing is that one is thinking about the game when it’s one’s turn to move, but it’s the opponent’s turn, one’s mind wanders and one thinks about what to have for lunch, if it’s in the morning, or one takes a look at the other games . . . I really should try harder to concentrate! I hope that you continue to enjoy go, both as a player and as a spectator.