My level if 4-kyu and I enjoy playing on Pandanet. One of the things I find difficult about go is the relationship between profit and outward influence. Even if I am able to build a wall in the middle game, I have trouble making effective use of it. If, on the contrary, I go for profit, my opponent builds large outward influence and I lose the game. Can you tell me what the knack is of using outward influence? Consultation Two : Mr. Fujimaki Hello, Mr. Fujimaki. Thank you for your inquiry. The relationship between profit and outward influence is difficult. There are many times when I don’t know how to assess it myself. At the same time, I feel that it is one of the profound elements of go. Since you mention that you want to make skilful use of walls am I right in assuming that you like thickness? I always try to play a well-balanced game, but I like attacking, so perhaps I belong to the thickness school. It’s no good to go all out for profit, and it’s also wasteful if you build outward influence but fail to use it effectively. While you are playing you have to try to picture to yourself how the game might develop and whether building thickness in a certain area will work well. As for a study method, how about playing through the games of professional players who like thickness? I myself often play through the games of Takemiya Sensei and I often find his play very moving. The other thing is to play lots of actual games. I hope that you can play your own distinctive style. I’ll be cheering you on.