A key part of the Us Them chapter of the Way of Go tells how best to improve either at Go or anything else. It's a timely prescription for Go players at the US Go Congress.

For the last three days, I've witnessed some surprising behavior with regard to getting one's games reviewed here at the Congress. Despite the offers of stronger players and pros, many people don't want their games reviewed. The top reasons:

- "I know what I did wrong"
- "I won"
- "I lost"
- "It was just terrible, there's nothing to learn from that game"

I cringe when I hear these remarks. While reading books, attending lectures, and watching stronger players play are all good supplements, reviewing your own games is the single greatest way to improve. A review of your own game is individually tailored to you. Your mistakes, your predilections are exposed and examined in a new light. Invaluable.

What's frightening is that stronger players seem to want to review more than weaker players do. Of players that sought to review their games the most, 6-dans, near the top of the amateur heap, were the most frequent seekers. The players most likely to give one of the above excuses for not reviewing their games, mid-level kyu players, or those closer to beginner ranks. Even adjusting for their total numbers, the trend is telling.

If you're less than 6-dan in strength and are in the I-don't-want-to-review-boat, please know that 6-dan amateurs are weak players. Each review with a pro Go player or even with other lowly 6-dans, a player can find innumerous mistakes, missed chances or wrong thinking. No 6-dans are so arrogant to think that another set of similar or stronger strength eyes cannot find a single problem with their moves across an entire game.

Whether in Go or not, review can be painful, but its individual prescription is the right medicine.