A stylish way to play your stones

Hold the stone between your index and middle fingers.

How do people actually hold the stones when they play Go? You often see a beginner holding the stones between his thumb and index finger.

This is not vitally important, but there is a more elegant way of holding the stones.

First, take a stone from the bowl with your thumb and index (or middle) finger, transfer it to between the index and middle fingers, then place it on the board.

(Grip the stone with your middle finger on top and the index finger underneath.)

With the fingertips stretched out straight, this looks stylish. Not only does this elegant way of holding the stone look good, it's also said to have a good effect on the brain.

A smooth, confident way of playing the stones makes the player look strong. There are some technicians who try to deceive their opponents by a stylish or perhaps even a purposely strange grip that belies their real strength, but usually you can tell someone's strength by the way they hold the stone.