Go Book Reviews 2001-2003
Go Book Reviews 2001-- 2003
This page contains reviews of books, software and equipment that were published in The American Go E-Journal between 2001 and 2003.
1971 Honinbo Tournament, The (2/19/01)
2002 Go Yearbook (11/04/02)
The ABCs of Attack
and Defense (4/21/03)
AIGO 1.3.0 (04/22/02)
Art of Capturing Stones
(1/06/2003)
Attack and Defense
(Elementary Go Series, Vol. 5) (2/12/01)
Beautiful Mind, A
(2/11/02)
Beyond Forcing Moves
(9/26/01)
Book of Go, The (04/08/02)
Breakthrough to
Shodan, The (1/7/02)
Cho Hun-hyeon's
Lectures on Go Techniques, V. 1
(01/22/02)
Compendium of Trick Plays, A (12/16/02)
Counting
Liberties and Winning Capturing Races
(11/03/03)
Cross-Cut Workshop (07/01/02)
DieOrLive software
(11/05/01)
EZ Go (5/7/01)
Fighting Ko
(3/19/01)
First Kyu
(10/1/01)
Five Hundred and One Opening Problems
(11/11/02)
Five Hundred and One
Opening Problems (12/23/02)
Galactic Go, Vol. 1
(02/04/2003)
Get Strong at
Attacking (04/15/02)
Get Strong at
Invading (5/29/01)
Get Strong at
Tesuji (4/2301)
Get Strong at the Endgame (05/06/02)
The Girl Who Played Go
(07/15/2003)
Go as Communication
(03/31/2003)
Go
Elementary Training & Dan Level Testing CD
(9/10/01)
Go
Elementary Training and Dan Level Testing CD
(10/8/01)
Go for Beginners
(4/30/01)
Go Player's Almanac,
The (6/12/01)
Go Player's
Almanac, The, 2001 edition (10/22/01)
Go Player's
Almanac, The, 2001 edition (04/15/02)
Go World (the
magazine) (6/25/01)
Gogod Database
(8/20/01)
Golden
Opportunities by Rin Kaiho (1/29/01)
Graded
Go Problems for Beginners (Vols 1-4)
(3/5/01)
Graded Go Problems For Beginners: Vols. I-IV
(08/26/02)
Great Joseki
Debates, The (6/4/01)
Handbook of Star
Point Joseki(05/19/03)
How to Play Handicap
Go(04/28/03)
In the Beginning
(5/14/01)
Intermediate
Level Power Builder, Vol. 1 (8/13/01)
Intermediate
Level Power Builder, Vol. 1 (9/22/03)
Introduction to Go; Rules and
Strategies for the Ancient Oriental Game
(09/16/02)
Invincible: The Games of
Shusaku (12/10/01)
Jungsuk In Our Time
(8/06/01)
Kage's Secret
Chronicles of Handicap Go 4/11/01
Kan-zufu (03/04/02)
Learn to Play Go (four
volumes) (5/21/01)
Learn to Play Go, Vol. I; (11/25/02)
Learn to Play Go,
Volume IV: Battle Strategies (5/26/03)
Leather Pente or Go Game
Set (10/16/02)
Lessons in the
Fundamentals of Go (3/12/01)
Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go
(02/25/02)
Life and Death,
Elementary Go Series Vol. 4 (2003)
Life and
Death: Intermediate Level Problems
(06/17/02)
LiveOrDie Software
03/25/02
Magister Ludi: The Glass
Bead Game by Herman Hesse (10/21/02)
Magnetic Go Set
(Kiseido MG25) 3/27/01
Making Good Shape
(03/24/2003)
Many Faces of Go Joseki
Dictionary (Palm OS Edition)
(2/26/01)
MasterGo, software (09/23/02)
Master of Go, The
(7/10/01)
Monkey Jump Workshop (09/02/02)
The Nihon Ki-in
Handbook Volume 4, Handicap Go (03/17/03)
The Nihon Ki-in
Handbook Volume 4, Handicap Go (11/03)
One-Thousand and One
Life-and-Death Problems (08/19/02)
Opening
Theory Made Easy (01/28/02)
Palm SGF (11/2003)
Pro-Pro Handicap
Go, edited by the Nihon Ki-in (2/5/01)
Positional
Judgment: High-Speed Game Analysis
(03/11/02)
Purpleheart Go Board
(10/20/2003)
Restless Directed by Jule
Gilfillian (1/29/01)
Sabaki, How to
Manage Weak Stones (2003)
Sabaki, How to
Manage Weak Stones (07/28/2003)
Segoe Tesuji
Dictionary(2003)
Split; a play
(09/30/02)
Tesuji and
Anti-Suji of Go 4/17/01
Tesuji, Elementary Go
Series Vol. 3 (6/6/2003)
Tesuji Made Easy CD
(8/28/01)
The
Thirty-six Stratagems Applied to Go
(1/20/03)
Tournament Go 1992
(11/19/01)
Treasure Chest
Enigma, The (12/24/01)
Understanding
How to Play Go (9/4/01)
Understanding
How to Play Go (10/15/01)
Understanding
How to Play Go (4/2/01)
Utilizing
Outward Influence (2/04/02)
Way of
Play for the 21st Century,A
(11/26/01)
Word Freak, by Stefan Fatsis (09/09/02)
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<p><b><a name="1971_honinbo_tournament"></a> The 1971
Honinbo Tournament (2/19/01)<br>
By Kaoru Iwamoto, 9-dan<br>
(The Ishi Press 1972)<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 15K</b></p>
<p>"Presence" is a word we often
attribute to a powerful personality.
Presence may also imply our attendance
at an event. Great events are usually
sparked by strife between powerful
people. A tournament battle for a
prestigious title can capture both
meanings of the word.</p>
<p>The 1971 Honinbo Tournament was rich
with presence in every sense of the
word. Rin Kai Ho, Honinbo, seemed
invincible. Whatever challenger might
rise from the Honinbo League must be
truly a remarkable player to have a
chance. "The 1971 Honinbo Tournament"
tracks the ascent of Yoshio Ishida to
his destiny. The author, Kaoru Iwamoto,
feels this exceptional presence in his
bones. His words transport us straight
into the tournament. They give us
pictures of the contestants, the
conditions, the stakes and the
high-voltage tensions of the games.</p>
<p>In my first reading of the book I
drank the atmosphere, and I
meticulously worked my way through a
game or two. In my second reading
(having improved a bit) I was able to
appreciate more of the wonderful
annotations Iwamoto provides. Enjoying
the games makes the narrative all the
more vivid.</p>
<p>This is a book of two great virtues:
"Presence" is one, the historical
chronicle. Incredibly fine go with
superb annotations is the other. In my
third reading, which will surely
happen, because this book is one of the
cornerstones of any enduring go
library, I expect to feel more acutely
the presence of mythic 1971 and the
battle of these great warriors.<br>
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<p><b><a name="2002GoYearbook"></a>
2002 Go Yearbook<br>
Published by Korean Baduk
Association<br>
Waller's Go Books, $40<br>
Reviewed by Les Waller</b></p>
<p>The Korean Baduk Association (KBA),
in addition to their Baduk Monthly
magazine, also publish the Baduk
Yearbook, which mainly consists of
Korean and international tournament
games over the past 12 months. It
includes 24 color photographs of
various Korean professional go players
and the text is entirely in Korean.<br>
The 343-page book is divided into four
sections, the first covers 15 Korean
professional tournaments and includes
250 games. The second section has 11
international and foreign professional
tournaments and includes 101 games. The third covers
four amateur tournaments and includes
16 games. The fourth is an appendix
which consists of a collection of
various types of interesting plays
within the tournament games; a KBA handbook; a list of internet sites; an
address list of Go Associations
around the world; brief descriptions
of title holders from Korea, Japan,
and China.<br>
The prior year's yearbooks would take
a game and spread it over a couple of
diagrams. This year all the games
within the book are placed in one
diagram each. If anyone has taken a
game and tried to put it into sgf
format or play it on a board, then they
know how difficult it can be looking
for a numbered stone in a game with
over 200 moves. There are only about 12
pages of advertising in the entire book
and they are mostly confined to the
front pages along with the color photos
of the players, which are nicely
done.<br>
This book is probably better for
senior ranking players than it is for
lower kyu players. I'll spend more time
going over the commented games I
receive from this newsletter than I
will all these yearbooks I have sitting
on my shelf already.</p>
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<p><b><a name="ABCsOfAttackAndDefense"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>The
ABCs of Attack and Defense<br>
By Michael Redmond 9P<br>
Published by Slate and Shell<br>
Translated by Steven Bretherick,
Edited by William Cobb and Gordon
Fraser<br>
Reviewed by Michael Turk (Australian
10k)<br>
April 21, 2003</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This
book features an all-too-rare
combination, an author who not only a
strong player but a good teacher, too.
Based on four principles - two of
attack and two of defense, "ABCs" is
designed for weaker middle-level kyu
players. Chapter 1 illustrates four
basic principles of attack and defense
in relation to the sanrensei (three
star points in a row) formation.
Chapter 2 applies these principles to
handling the two-sided two-space-high
and the two-space-high and knight's
move double approaches. The basic
principles are clearly reinforced and
some supplementary principles are also
expounded. Chapter 3 demonstrates the
movement of the stones in accordance
with the four basic principles when
black uses a pincer within 4-stone
handicap games, again reinforcing the
basic principles. It also briefly looks
at building a moyo. The final chapter
looks at 3-stone handicap games and
illustrates the use of miai. And,
again, the basic principles are
reinforced with examples of fighting.
One of the skills that I lack at my
level is the ability to fight
effectively or consistently,
particularly against stronger players
in a handicap game. This book is a sort
of fighting primer. It contains
examples from illustrative games and
various joseki and tesuji for attack
and defense. The emphasis is on
understanding rather than memorization.
I am looking forward to surprising my
regular opponents in the Sydney Go Club
and on kgs with an improved ability to
fight in the next few months as the
result of applying the principles
contained within this
book.<br></font></p>
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<p><b><a name="AIGO"></a> AIGO
1.3.0<br>
by A. lizuka<br>
Shareware. Available for download at
www08.u-page.so-net.ne.jp/rf6/iizuka.
License US $8<br>
Reviewed by Stephen Charest,
23k</b></p>
<p><br>
As a beginner whose real life gives me
far less time to play Go online or in
person than I'd like, I searched for
software that would run on my trusty
Handspring Visor so that I could use
the time on airplanes, in hotels,
waiting for judges, and so forth. I
didn't just want a game recording
program, either, but something that
could play at least as well as I play
now (not a difficult feat for a
23k!).<br>
AIGO seemed to fit the bill, the only
actual Palm OS software I found that
will play the game, even if it's at a
fairly basic level.<br>
The technical aspects of AIGO are
pretty good. The software isn't huge
(151k), so it doesn't take up a lot of
space. The program will play 9x9,
13x13, or 19x19 games, with the player
selecting whether the computer plays
white or black. You can also set your
own handicap level, up to 9 stones.
There's also a game recording mode,
where you (or you and another human)
use the software to play each other.
Finally, you can set the software to
play itself.<br>
The biggest advantage AIGO has is its
convenience as a PalmOS system. It
really is handy to be able to whip out
your Palm Pilot and zip through a 13x13
game while killing time. It's much
easier than doing so on a laptop. The
display, especially at the 9x9 and
13x13 level is pretty good and is quite
readable at night, using your
PalmPilot's illumination. Display at
the 19x19 level is a little small, and
you must be very careful where you put
your stylus to make your move (unless
you're in the 2-step move mode). This
is one place where the take-back (an
improvement in the 1.3.0 version) comes
in handy. The program will count your
score on request or at the end of two
passes (Japanese counting), and gives
you an opportunity to cross-check its
counting.<br>
The SGF save function is handy, if a
bit cumbersome. To save a game, you tap
the "Save" function in the menu, which
then saves the game in the "Memo Pad"
function of the Palm Pilot. You must
then hotsync your PalmPilot to your
desktop or laptop, then rename the
saved game (the name AIGO gives it is
the full text of the game!) and use an
SGF editor to open the game.<br>
The real question is "How well does it
play?" The answer is, well enough to
break you of basic bad habits like
closing up your own eyes. If you make
such a silly mistake, the program (like
most other players) will jump on it. On
the other hand, if you're looking for a
palm-sized Ing-Cup contender, this
ain't it. Quite honestly, I'm not sure
there ever will be one -- PalmOS does
have its limitations. It isn't
difficult to fool the software into
letting me get away with building eyes
under circumstances that a human player
of 15K or higher would thrash me over.
Oddly enough, the game seems to be best
(or perhaps I am worst) at 9x9 games.
Still, I have a winning record against
it. With a 23k rating on KGS, that
tells me that this program probably
plays about the 20k level. (As a
reference, I've read that programs such
as ManyFaces or WuLu, both past winners
of the Ing Computer Go Cup, play around
the 15-10k level).<br>
The program does seem to have a
limited self-teaching function: it
doesn't often make the same mistake
twice. However, I've discovered certain
patterns (again, especially in 9x9
games) which will almost always result
in a pass by the computer. On the other
hand, it seems to be learning how to
invade open territory in areas that,
when I first started using it, it would
have treated as my territory.<br>
If nothing else, AIGO is fun and a
good way to pass time. It's also great
if you meet someone while traveling and
don't have a board handy. And for
beginners like me, it's not bad to help
break us of bad habits. However, like
any other computer software, it still
can't replace a human player. I'd like
to see some joseki patterns or maybe
some life or death problems to load and
solve using AIGO; then it would be a
much better teaching tool. Still, if
you keep in mind that humans won't act
as predictably as the software, AIGO is
worth the eight bucks just to practice
some basic functions.</p>
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<p><b><a name="ArtofCapturingStones"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Art
of Capturing Stones<br>
by Wu Dingyuan and Yu Xing<br>
Published by Yutopian<br>
Reviewed by Steve Fawthrop<br>
January 06, 2003</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This is
a delightful book of problems. It
concentrates on two themes,
ishi-no-shita (under the stones) and
nakade (big eyes), and offers 91
wonderful problems to get you thinking.
It must be admitted that many of the
shapes are unlikely to occur in a game
(although very few are so artificial as
to appear contrived) but that does not
detract from the beauty of some of the
sequences. I found myself smiling with
pleasure over and over when a problem
was solved. Without doubt, there is a
lot to be learned from this book, but
it is not for the beginner. A sound
knowledge of basic tesuji is required
to appreciate it. You will probably
have a thrill of excitement the first
time you use one if these techniques in
your own games. I would recommend it
for high kyu and above.<br></font></p>
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<p><b><a name="attack_and_defense"></a>
Attack and Defense (Elementary Go
Series, Vol. 5) (2/12/01)<br>
by Ishida Akira, James Davies, 256
pages (September 1997) Kiseido
Publishing Co.<br>
Reviewed by Barry C. Willey, 12K
(NNGS)</b></p>
<p>This is a valuable book is an
excellent introduction to the middle
game for go players who know the
basics. It takes for granted that you
are familiar with some basic openings
and begins at that point. Focusing on
the strategy and tactics of large scale
fighting, the authors use the balance
between territory and influence to show
the reader how to best attack an
opponent's stones while defending one's
own framework. This book helps novice
players develop workable and potent
strategies utilizing influence and
teaching defense against common
attacks. Middle to high kyu players
would easily benefit from this
volume.</p>
<p>I first read this book when I was
about 19K and found it immensely
helpful. It sets out basic ideas on how
to choose a successful strategy during
the middle game. With those principals
in mind it gives you specific tesujis
or techniques to help put that strategy
in play. Next it teaches a few
essential defensive moves and three
fundamental principals on reducing and
invading frameworks. This book helps
the novice player place priorities on
moves during the chaos that starts to
grow during the middle game and
encourages players to use their
creativity to find their own moves.<br>
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<p><b><a name="BeautifulMind"></a> A
Beautiful Mind<br>
by Sylvia Nasar</b><br>
<b>$16, Simon & Shuster</b><br>
<b>Reviewed by Chris Garlock</b></p>
<p>Any book with no less than six
references to Go in the index is a
must-have for the serious player. When
the book in question is also the basis
for a major motion picture with not one
but two scenes featuring the game, it
becomes required reading.<br>
Sylvia Nasar's "A Beautiful Mind" is a
riveting story of genius, madness,
love, and, ultimately, the incredible
fragility and strength of our very
humanity.<br>
The true story of the life of math
genius John Nash is considerably more
complicated than the film version now
playing in a theater near you, and the
book makes for rewarding post-film
reading.<br>
Of special interest to Go players, of
course, are Nash's encounters with the
game of Go, which began in his first
year at Princeton in 1949. "There was a
small clique of go players led by Ralph
Fox, the genial topologist who had
imported it after the war," writes
Nasar. Fox got strong enough to be
invited to Japan to play and invited
Fukuda to play him at Princeton.
Fukuda, naturally "obliterated Fox" as
well as another local player by the
name of Albert Einstein.<br>
Go figures in the tale of Nash's
descent into madness, as well. At one
point, "he imagined he was a go board
whose four sides were labeled Los
Angeles, Boston, Seattle and
Bluefield," writes Nassar. "He was
covered with white stones representing
Confucious and black stones
representing Muhammadans." Later, Nash
"was thinking of another go board whose
four sides were labeled with cars we
had owned: Studebaker, Olds, Mercedes,
Plymouth, Belvedere. He thought it
might be possible to construct 'An
elaborate oscilloscope display...a
repentingness function.'"<br>
And the game theory that won Nash the
1994 Nobel speaks as much to the game
of Go as to other applications: the
possibility of mutual gain rather than
zero-sum games where one player's gain
is another's loss. Nash's insight,
writes Nasar, "was that the game would
be solved when every player
independently chose his best response
to every other player's best
strategies."</p>
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<p><b><a name="beyond_forcing_moves"></a> Beyond
Forcing Moves, Understanding Kikashi
and Tactical Timing<br>
By Shoichi Takagi 9D, Translated by
Brian Chandler<br>
Reviewed by David Dinhofer</b></p>
<p>In my never-ending quest for
advancement to dan-level play, I
stumbled upon this text. The title was
a very attractive one, one that implied
that, as a kyu player, I have only
scratched the surface of this game's
complexity. And indeed, this book makes
that clear. I look at joseki and I am
beginning to see that a joseki is
really a fluid sequence meant to change
with the "mood" of the game.</p>
<p>Shoichi Takagi has carefully chosen
about twenty games to demonstrate the
art of kikashi (making a defensive move
with the best return) and sabaki(making
good shape with the most efficiency in
a difficult situation). As a 1-2 kyu
player, I am not sure I would have
considered the possible sequences and
variations mapped out by Mr. Takagi.
Now, on my second reading, I am
beginning to make some sense of it.</p>
<p>Master Takagi breaks up the book
into three sections; Basic Concepts,
Putting the Concepts to Work, and
Masterstrokes. Each section has
examples that clearly demonstrate the
concepts with alternate sequences that
a kyu level player might make(at least,
ones I probably would have made). When
I learn the alternatives, I think to
myself that I don't know if I will ever
remember them in times of stress.</p>
<p>But I also can't help thinking about
the alternative that I would not have
thought about before. The book is well
organized with good diagrams. Brian
Chandler's translation is clear and to
the point. Summary portions of this
text have good descriptions and
definitions.</p>
<p>I think the weaker kyu player will
not learn as much as the weaker dan
players. But both will gain insight
into the complexity of the game. I plan
on rereading this book at least once a
year to understand a little better that
which was completely incomprehensible
the year before.<br>
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<p><b><a name="The_Book_of_Go"></a> The
Book of Go<br>
By Bill Cobb<br>
Sterling Publishing, $14.95 128
pages<br>
Reviewed by Terri Schurter</b></p>
<p><b><br></b> Bill Cobb's "The Book of
Go" is an excellent introduction to Go
for the rank<br>
beginner. It comes complete with a set
of stones and a reversible 9x9 and
13x13 board. Aside from the audience
for which it is intended, The Game
of Go is also a "must read" for anyone
considering the capture game as a
method of instruction, and also for
collectors of Go literature.<br>
The first half of the book is spent
explaining the rules of Capture Go
and offering strategies for play. Problems
for Capture Go are also offered, and
sample capture games are analyzed.
After a thorough, clear, and
interesting explanation of Capture Go
the reader is introduced to
full-fledged Go. Concepts such as the
rule of ko, establishing connections,
and life and death are clearly covered.
The life and death problems are easily
solved, as they should be in a
beginners' book to make them
accessible, and to build confidence in
the reader.<br>
Basic strategy and tactics are covered
next including ladders, nets,
snapbacks, and throw-in sacrifices. Go
proverbs, study problems, and a list of
recommended go books round things
out.<br>
Readers are left wanting more and
knowing where to find it. The chapter
on "Go on the Internet" points readers to
the right resources including links
to KGS, IGS, the American Go
Association, and my own archive of
E-Journal articles about online Go.<br>
"The Book of Go" fills a glaring gap
in existing Go literature; there are
beginners' books such as Go for
Beginners, which are fine for those who
actually have someone to play with
after the reading is over. However, The
Game of Go is the only book I have seen
that is truly aimed at the uninitiated,
and offers a means to begin learning about Go
without the help of an experienced
player. Two Go newbies could open this
book and accomplish some serious Go
learning on their own.<br>
"The Book of Go" is a strikingly well
designed book that will attract
attention in bookstores, where it is
already available. The timing of this
book is excellent since it comes
quickly on the heels of the release of
the hit movie "A Beautiful Mind" which
has piqued the interest of the general
public in Go. Bill Cobb and Sterling
Publishing have pulled off a brilliant
tesuji with the publication of this
excellent beginners' book.<br>
Available at
http://www.sterpub.com/home/home.asp</p>
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<p><b><a name="breakthrough_to_shodan"></a> The
Breakthrough to Shodan<br>
by Naoki Miyamoto 9-dan<br>
Translated by James Davies<br>
Reviewed by Christopher
Shelley</b></p>
<p>Go books in general suffer from two
flaws: they are narrow in scope (many
times by necessity), and they are
written in a flat style, often by
someone other than the purported
author. The Breakthrough to Shodan has
neither of these flaws. Because it was
taken from a set of lectures
transcribed into magazine articles, it
rings with the author's voice in a
lively prose. In addition, the book's
scope is broad enough to appeal to any
kyu level player.</p>
<p>"Breakthrough" is divided into
sections that deal with low handicap
games. Within these sections, Miyamoto
describes "Strides," or principles, by
which black can rid him or herself from
negative attitudes. By taking the
reader through five-, four-, and
three-stone games, Miyamoto deals with
negative attitudes and complex
joseki.Miyamoto shows how dan-level
players often hoodwink weaker players,
even those who are strong fighters. His
treatment of the Taisha Joseki
exemplifies this: the Third Stride in
Chapter 7 is "Know the Taisha, but
don't play it." After reviewing several
complex variations, demonstrating the
pitfalls, he shows the reader a simple
variation that stresses thickness. It
is an easy variation to remember, but
what makes it so important is that it
works with the power of the starpoint
stones.</p>
<p>Miyamoto does this with many popular
joseki: shows how black tends to get
into trouble with complications,
squandering the influence of the
starpoints, rather than playing
perfectly serviceable joseki that
compliment influence. Starpoints are
about influence, and influence favors
fighting. But without sensing the
direction a wall made from handicap
stones exerts power, fighting can
degenerate into who is the best reader.
(Hint: against a dan, it's rarely the
kyu.) Therefore, fighting should take
place, but in an arena where black has
the advantage. The Breakthrough to
Shodan shows the reader how to create
this arena, how to see through white's
false threats, and to trust the power
of influence to create territory
naturally, through a positive
approach.Each chapter ends with two
whole-board problems that test the
reader's positional judgment.</p>
<p>The end of the book is a set of
problems derived from the
large-knight's extension from a
starpoint, and here Miyamoto shows the
techniques white has used over the
years to terrify and bamboozle
kyu-level players, and the correct
refutations.Since the book never really
moves past handicap go, it should
perhaps be called The Breakthrough to
One Kyu. But this is quibbling.
Miyamoto's philosophy of "You don't
need to be fancy to win at handicap
go," shows again and again how to find
attacking moves that work with
thickness and take territory. This book
was worth four stones to my go
strength, and any kyu-level player can
gain from its expansive approach and
clear thought.</p>
<p>Available from Ishi Press:
http://www.ishigames.com/intermed.htm<br>
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<p><b><a name="Cho_Lecture_Vol_1"></a>
Cho Hun-hyeon's Lectures on Go
Techniques, Volume One<br>
Translated by Sidney W. K. Yuan<br>
Edited and diagrammed by Craig R.
Hutchinson<br>
Yutopian Enterprises, paperback, 220
pp. $17.50.<br>
Reviewed by Neal L. Burstein, Ph.
D.</b></p>
<p>Cho Hun-hyeon 9-Dan came to Japan to
study Go at the age of ten. He won many
tournaments with clean 3-0 sweeps, long
dominating Korean Go. His lectures help
the intermediate player to answer
attacks by building secure shape and
structure for the endgame. For example,
the connection of two stones to form a
"full" triangle after a hane is often
seen in strong games. Cho shows us by
example why this is essential to
prevent problems later. When two stones
touch on the third line, do you play up
or down, extend or hane? Cho
demonstrates the preferred sequence of
moves that will stand to the endgame
and shows why other results are
inferior. The problem sets are, like
joseki, fighting patterns analyzed to
obtain a good result.<br>
The book format is brilliantly
designed. Each topic comprises a set of
clearly numbered diagrams to illustrate
weak and strong play. Each diagram is
supported by a caption and brief
explanation. There is no other text to
confuse the reader. The brief
introductory chapter illustrates
connects, cuts, shapes, and hanes in
detail. Problem sets comprise the bulk
of the book, each answering situations
that arise in play. Each problem is set
on a right-hand page with a handful of
stones already in correct position. The
possible solutions follow two per page,
clearly captioned, to show good and bad
responses for each side. The diagrams
save 1000 words in illustrating correct
stone placement relative to those
already in position. What else is Go is
about?<br>
This book is ideal for players of
10-24 kyu. Strong players might review
for fundamentals missing from their
game. Writers, translators, and Go book
editors would do well to study and
utilize the clear format.<br>
Available at www.samarkand.net.</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="CompendiumofTrickPlays"></a> A
Compendium of Trick Plays<br>
Edited by the Nihon Kiin<br>
Yutopian Enterprises<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 12K</b></p>
<p>Don't buy this book if you think it
will arm you with dozens of dazzling
swindles with which to win games
quickly. Buy this book if you are a
student of joseki, tesuji and shape -
in other words, a student of go!</p>
<p>If you study joseki, you'll find
here many trick plays that could foil
your joseki efforts if you were to face
them for the first time in a real game.
If you study tesuji, then you'll see
plenty of them here - trick plays are
all about setting up tesuji. And if you
study shape, you'll see how adhering to
the principles of good shape can save
you from trick plays and how mindlessly
reacting with "natural" moves can
sometimes destroy your shape.</p>
<p>There's a mixture of material here:
basic trick models, historical
examples, theory of trick play, pop
psychology, slippery places in joseki,
and even some cartoons. The crown of
the book is a section of 25 problems by
Maeda Nobuaki 9 dan. Solving them will
enhance your practical skills.</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="CountLiberties"></a>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Counting
Liberties and Winning Capturing
Races<br>
By Richard Hunter<br>
Published by Slate & Shell<br>
Reviewed by Dennis Hardman<br>
November 3, 2003</font></b></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This
book deals with the rather narrow (but
valuable) techniques of winning
localized life-and-death fights
occurring between groups of stones
where it is a race to see which group
lives and which group dies. The book
describes the basics of what actually
counts as a liberty, categories of
liberties (e.g., inside vs. outside),
how these liberties figure in the
fight, and the types of fights that can
occur (Type 1, Type 2 with a Ko on the
outside liberties, etc.). It provides
the reader with "formulas" for
evaluating a fight without having to
explicitly read out every line of play.
The trick is to correctly count the
number and type of liberties to
determine the type of fight so that one
can ultimately apply the "formula".
Later chapters show how the techniques
are used in realistic fighting
situations, and provide about 50
problems and several commented
professional games to drive the
concepts home. Well written and nicely
laid out, I would recommend this book
to players of all strengths,
particularly those with a mid-kyu
ranking. However, this book should be
valuable to even the strongest player
because, as the preface points out,
"Many players, even quite strong ones,
have a poor grasp of these
fundamentals."
http://www.slateandshell.com/<br></font></p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="CrossCutWorkshop"></a>
Cross-Cut Workshop<br>
by Richard Hunter.<br>
Slate and Shell, $10.<br>
Review by Barney Cohen, IGS
7k*</b></p>
<p>Caught in a cross-cut? Then extend!
Or at least so goes the famous proverb.
Unfortunately (or fortunately,
depending on how you look at it), Go is
rarely that simple. After studying a
large number of next move problems,
Richard Hunter observed that the
extension was rarely the correct
solution to a cross-cut problem. His
suspicions were apparently confirmed by
watching advice from two professionals
on Japanese TV. Consequently he
undertook an extensive study of
situations in which cross-cuts arose in
actual play. This research led Hunter
to identify nine (yes nine) basic
patterns that frequently arise from
cross-cuts, depending on the presence
or absence of other friendly or
opposing stones in the vicinity.<br>
The results of Hunter's study, which
was first published in a series of
articles in the British Go Journal has
now been pulled together in the form of
a slim book, entitled Cross-Cut
Workshop, the latest offering from
Slate and Shell Press. The material in
the book contains the original articles
plus a dozen new problems for
additional practice. The depth of
presentation is suitable for Kyu-level
players, although low-level Dan-level
players may wish to review it.<br>
I recommend this book highly. Hunter's
approach is wonderfully didactic: He
presents the nine basic patterns in two
parts. For each pattern, he shows you
how to handle the cut correctly and
what can happen if you play
incorrectly. Problems are provided
along the way to test your
understanding of the material. And
additional problems are included at the
end to reinforce the lessons.<br>
Apart from the immediate lesson of how
to handle a cross-cut, the book shows
Kyu-level players the importance of
being able to look at a situation and
mentally work through several different
patterns. It is not enough to simply
come up with your next move (i.e.
extend -- more of the time wrong
anyway). Hunter demonstrates how you
must adjust your strategy to the
presence of surrounding (friendly and
opposing) stones and be able to work
out an entire sequence of moves before
playing the first stone. Learn that
lesson, and the one afternoon that you
spend reading this book will be repaid
many times over.</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="die_or_live"></a>
DieOrLive software<br>
By Lyu Shuzhi<br>
http://www.szsoftware.com/<br>
$29.95<br>
Reviewed by Chris Garlock, 1d</b></p>
<p>Ask any pro how to get stronger and
the first words out of his mouth
invariably are "Study life and
death."</p>
<p>The problem (pun intended) is that
studying life and death (tsume-go) is
hard and, let's be honest, boring. I
love these elegant little problems but
until a couple of weeks ago five a day
on the subway each morning was all I
could find the time for. Forget about
cracking the book on weekends.</p>
<p>Now, thanks to Lyu shuzhi's
'DieOrLive' software, I'm solving more
than 20 problems a day, seven days a
week. DieOrLive makes life and death
studying so easy, fun and addictive
that it may well become the go crowd's
"Minesweeper."</p>
<p>The tsume-go student's dilemma is
whether to cudgel your brains until you
solve the problem or to give it your
best shot and move on. DieOrLive solves
the dilemma by speeding up and easing
the process of solving over 1,000
problems, grouped as basic, beginner,
intermediate or advanced. You match
wits against the program, which
responds instantly to each move. Solve
the problem successfully and you're
rewarded with a "success" message; if
not, you get a "failed" message.</p>
<p>Either way, the instant response and
easy interface proves remarkably
addictive. Success spurs you on to
solve more problems while failure sends
you back to take another crack at it.
The software itself doesn't care: you
can drop in at whatever level you like,
re-do problems you already worked on or
try out new ones.</p>
<p>The astonishing thing is that after
just a few days I found myself
instantly spotting successful sequences
where it would have taken me several
minutes before in a book, if I'd even
had the patience to keep trying. And
the proof of the pudding is that none
of my opponent's groups are safe
anymore. Try DieOrLive and your
opponents will soon be calling you
"killer" too.<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><b><a name="ez_go"></a> EZ Go<br>
by Bruce & Sue Wilcox<br>
Ki Press, 1996<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 15K</b></p>
<p>When we start playing go, reasonable
mastery of the game seems very distant.
One technique to determine the position
of a distant point is called
"triangulation." Triangulation involves
taking a bearing on that distant point
from two rather widely separated
sites.</p>
<p>Bruce and Susan Wilcox have written
a book based on concept as opposed to
inculcation. It camps a far distance
indeed from the problem books. EZ Go --
based on a series titled "Instant Go"
that ran in the American Go Journal in
1977 and 1978 -- covers all the basic
concepts from making shape to attacking
weak groups. It offers some useful
original ideas, like sector lines. It's
also full of proverb-like rules of
thumb.</p>
<p>I don't suggest that anyone start
with EZ GO, but after working hard in
the traditional forms, you might
benefit a great deal from the
concept-based, metaphor-driven approach
offered here. As you read EZ Go, the
material covered in traditional books
may gain an extra level of meaning.
Likewise, EZ Go's concepts will
resonate more strongly. That's the
benefit of triangulation.<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><b><a name="fighting_ko"></a>
Fighting Ko<br>
by Jin Jiang<br>
(Yutopian, 1995, original Chinese
version February 1987), 146pp<br>
Reviewed by Clayton Wilkie, 1D</b></p>
<p>This is a handy pocket sized book
that relies mainly on teaching by
example. It amounts to a thorough
survey of how ko situations can arise,
how they fit into the overall logic of
the game, and what the effects of
avoiding them would be. Most of the
book is suitable for middle to high kyu
players, but the final chapter and
concluding problems move up to the
dan range.</p>
<p>Fighting Ko contains a few pages
dealing with capturing races, including
the best explanation I have seen of a
basic principle governing them.
Unfortunately, it is presented with no
special emphasis, right along with the
less satisfying rules of thumb you have
probably seen elsewhere. Further, this
section should logically lead to a
discussion of capturing races involving
ko, but the only related topic, on
approach move kos and the like,
precedes the capturing races.</p>
<p>What the book does not provide are
hints on how to find ko threats, and
how to play so that when a ko arises,
you do not find yourself devoid of ko
threats. There are only a few examples
of effective ko threats in the book.
Study of this book should help a wide
range of players to recognize
ko possibilities in their games, but
it will not help you fight them.<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><b><a name="first_kyu"></a> First
Kyu<br>
By Dr. Sung-Hwa Hong<br>
Good Move Press/Samarkand<br>
Reviewed by Chris Garlock</b></p>
<p>One of the best go books has a scant
handful of diagrams and very little on
tactics or strategy.</p>
<p>"First Kyu," the novel by the late
Dr. Sung-Hwa Hong, is the story of
Young-Wook Kwon, a young Korean student
who abandons his career and family in
pursuit of the life of a professional
go player. Anyone who's been even
lightly bitten by the go bug will be
entranced by this slim yet substantial
novel, packed with fascinating details
of the rocky road to professional.</p>
<p>Dr. Hong's premature death recently
at just 51 robs us of not only a
charming man and strong go player, but
of a great teacher, as well, for "First
Kyu" is much more than just the tale of
one go player's trials and
tribulations. The novel, which clearly
has a strong autobiographical flavor,
explores the conflicts between duty and
dreams, and the difference between
desire and determination.</p>
<p>Of most interest to go players, of
course, is the window "First Kyu"
provides into the game as a way of life
that does not yet exist in this
country. In Korea, in addition to the
select group of players who earn a
living as professional players, it is
also possible to eke out a life as a
club pro or as a gambler in go games
called "bagneki" where players and
spectators wager large sums based on
the margin of victory.</p>
<p>The lure of the easier way, then, is
another theme in "First Kyu," as Wook
must choose between gambling and the
purity and rigor of studying the
masters in the quest to become a
professional. Of course, it is in this
study that we, along with Wook, learn
the real lessons of go and life. Give
up a little to gain big. Slow down,
beware of speed. Greed for a win takes
the win away.</p>
<p>"Every book will reveal its truth if
read one hundred times." This Confucius
quote refers to Wook's review of
collections of master games, but it
applies to "First Kyu" as well. Just 98
more times and I can write a better
review.<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><b><a name="501_OpeningProbs"></a>
Five Hundred and One Opening
Problems<br>
Mastering the Basics Vol. 1<br>
By Richard Bozulich and Rob van
Zeijst<br>
Kiseido Publishing Company; 2002; 256
pages<br>
Reviewed by Peter Shotwell</b></p>
<p>Cognitive Psychologists say that the
clearest measurable difference between
novices and expert Go players is that
experts turn visual patterns into
verbal principles, and novices do not.
This is most obvious in the opening,
where 'intuition' must be used to find
what is important.<br>
Each of the 501 problems are
introduced with one of 25 different
principles, such as: 'Take profit while
attacking your opponent's weak
stones!'; 'Push back the border of your
opponent's territory while expanding
your own!'; and 'Rob your opponent's
stones of their base, then attack
them!'<br>
The book is meant for all levels of
players. The problems are taken from
amateur and professional games, so that
all kinds of opening shapes are
considered.<br>
It is easy to agree with the authors,
who advise, 'If you have to find the
same kind of move in similar patterns
over and over again, spotting that move
in a game will become second
nature.'<br>
Richard Bozulich is a 5-dan amateur
and editor of Go World. Rob van Zeijst
is the legendary Dutchman who has
beaten 6- and 7-dan Korean pros.</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="501_OpeningProbs_2"></a>
Five Hundred and One Opening
Problems<br>
By Richard Bozulich<br>
in collaboration with Rob van Zeijst
(Kiseido)<br>
Reviewed by Barney Cohen, IGS
4k*</b></p>
<p>"The fool doth think he is wise, but
the wise man knows himself to be a
fool." Touchstone, As You Like It, Act
5, Scene 1.</p>
<p>In "Lessons in the Fundamentals of
Go," Kageyama Toshiro advises us to
practice the fundamentals if we want
to get stronger. In the same way
that ceaseless practice enables
professional baseball players to
field
ground balls effortlessly, go players
should practice Go fundamentals
until it becomes second nature for
them to spot certain key moves,
punish their opponents' overplays, and
instantly kill commonly occurring
corner patterns. Practice, practice,
and more practice. And in go, that
means spending time doing mental
gymnastics, working one's way
through
problem books of all descriptions.</p>
<p>For Kyu-level players like myself,
Richard Bozulich's new series:
"Mastering the Basics," is
indispensable. The second book in the
series:
"Volume I: Five Hundred and One
Opening Problems has just been
published." (Volume II: One Thousand
and One Life and Death Problems
was released earlier this year and was
reviewed in the August 19th issue
of the E-Journal). The current book is
designed to develop your
intuition and feel for the opening,
consisting of little more than page
after page of opening problems. In a
brief introduction, co-author Rob
van Zeijst explains the importance of
playing urgent moves before big
moves. He also suggests how to
properly evaluate opening moves
that either strengthen your own stones or
weaken your opponent's. These basic
ideas are illustrated and reinforced
over 250 pages of problems compiled
by Richard Bozulich based on positions
he's collected from professional
and high-level amateur games.</p>
<p>The book's central thesis is that by
correctly applying a rudimentary
set of basic go principles one can
fairly easily identify the most
important point to play in the
opening, which later will tilt the
game
in your favor once the serious
fighting begins. Many players simply
love
to fight and the temptation for us is
to launch full-steam ahead into
premature invasions or other such
maneuvers just to initiate>
confrontation. This superb book
encourages us to practice careful
consideration and calm, qualities that
all strong players certainly
possess.</p>
<p>Consistent with an emphasis on the
simple and powerful, the book's
layout is elegantly straightforward,
with four new problems on each
right-sided page and the solutions on
the back of that page, which means
you never have to go hunting in the
back of the book for a solution.
There's also a helpful hint beneath
each problem; I suppose the authors
must have grappled with where to place
these hints - either underneath
the problems or in the solutions. My
personal preference would have
been to have them under the solutions
and my strong recommendation is
that the reader cover up the hint when
attempting a problem the first
time.</p>
<p>None of the problems are devoted to
the first dozen or so moves in the
game, so if you're looking for basic
opening lessons check out Janice
Kim's books or "Get Strong at Go
Volume 1: Get Strong At The
Opening,"
before delving into this book.</p>
<p>While the positions that arise in my
own games rarely resemble anything
remotely like the positions that show
up in professional games, this
book does a terrific job of hammering
away at some very fundamental
concepts of opening strategy that will
definitely serve kyu-level
players well as they look for the
right move in their own games. I am
sure Kageyama Toshiro would
approve.<br>
- available at
http://www.kiseido.com/</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="GalacticGoVol1"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Galactic
Go, Vol. 1<br>
by Sangit Chatterjee and Yang
Huiren<br>
Published by Yutopian<br>
Reviewed by Steve Fawthrop<br>
Feburary 04, 2003<br></b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The aim
of Galactic Go isn't clear. The title
certainly gives no indication -- what
exactly is "Galactic Go"?</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">From my
reading, it appears that Galactic Go is
an effort to explain middle game
fighting in 3-stone handicap games. The
chapters, however, are organized
according to the opening joseki moves,
and not according to middle game
principles. Since it also contains long
sections on obscure joseki which would
be more at home in a joseki dictionary,
perhaps the intent is to explain the
choice of joseki in a 3-stone game. I
couldn't tell.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">But
that's not the biggest problem.
Galactic Go is rife with errors.
Diagrams are missing stones and labels,
text sometimes does not correspond to
the diagram, and, at times, the
explanatory text is simply
confusing.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">For
example, one diagram declares failure
for black because a ladder does not
work when, if fact, black gets a good
position by a simple geta capture. In
one chapter, the diagrams switch back
and forth between a joseki and its
mirror image, making the sequence hard
to follow. In another, the text
alternates between two different
threads without explanation or
transition.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Diagram
explanations are sometimes far too
spartan. There are long series of
diagrams in which the text essentially
adds no more than "Black did this.
White did .that. What should Black do
next?" It makes for dry reading.
Moreover, several interesting moves are
passed over completely.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">When
moves are examined in the text, the
level of detail varies so widely that
it is hard to know what level the book
is aiming for -- I would guess about 7
kyu to 2 dan.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I was
left with the impression that Galactic
Go was put together quickly without
much planning and analysis. The
mistakes I found make it hard to trust
the remainder and so call into question
the validity of the book as a
whole.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The
authors say there will be three more
volumes in the series. I hope that more
effort is put into the remaining
three.</font><font color="#993300" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
<br></font> <a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="GetStrongAtAttacking"></a> Get Strong
at Attacking<br>
Published by Kiseido<br>
Reviewed by Peter Shotwell</b></p>
<p>At first glance, Kiseido's 'Get Strong' series looks like other problem
books that are based around simple principles. For example, Vol. 10, 'Get
Strong at Attacking,' shows how one theme, 'Attack from Strength,' is
usually used in the middle game, but in a handicap game, it is correct for
Black to attack early on. Another principle is that to attack by capping
or using knight's moves should mean 'Do Not Try to Kill.'<br>
The series is unique, however, because after doing some of the problems, one
begins to feel there is a reason for the order they are presented in, and
trying to figure this out seems to lead to a deeper and more-lasting level of
personal understanding. Is this perhaps because the Right-Brain -- the original source of Go's appeal -- is more used since there are few words to explain
that order until you supply them?</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="get_strong_at_invading"></a> Get
Strong at Invading<br>
by Richard Bozulich<br>
Kiseido Publishing Company, $15 US.
150p.<br>
Recommended: 20k-2d interested in a
random assortment of invasion
sequences.<br>
Reviewed by: Paul Thibodeau</b></p>
<p>"Get Strong at Invading" is one of
the early volumes ('95) in the 'Get
Strong at Go Series', and it shows.</p>
<p>The back cover 'guarantees' it will
increase a weak kyu's invading ability
by as much as 6 stones, but will also
'fill in the gaps' for a 'strong dan'.
It is divided into three sections,
Invasions on the Side (65 problems
mainly covering 3 and 4 point
extensions between two stones, Invading
Corner Enclosures (84 problems), and
Invading Large Territories (not
actually about invading large
territories, but reducing large
frameworks (moyos).</p>
<p>The last section is the best,
running 46 pages for 22 problems. The
first two sections have a variety of
useful patterns, but generally the
treatment is poorly organized and
scant, and this is where the book
really suffers. A kyu player will learn
more, and learn it properly, by
studying "Attack and Defense" by Ishida
and Davies, while a dan player can't do
better than "Enclosure Josekis" by
Takemiya and "Reducing Territorial
Frameworks" by Fujisawa.<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><b><a name="get_strong_at_tesuji"></a> Get Strong
at Tesuji<br>
Richard Bozulich, $15, Kiseido.<br>
Reviewed by David Goldberg, 7k</b></p>
<p>The next best thing to having a
personal teacher is a problem book.
After I try a problem, I can flip to
the answer and get immediate feedback.
As a relative beginner there are a
couple "theory" books that have helped
my game (Lessons in the Fundamentals of
Go, Opening Theory Made Easy), but it
is mainly the drill of problem books
that have raised the level of my
play.</p>
<p>"Graded Go Problems for Beginners"
were my favorite problem books when I
first started playing. I could find a
volume that was hard enough so that I
learned something, but not so hard as
to be frustrating. If, like me, you
found those books useful, I strongly
recommend "Get Strong at Tesuji".
Similar to the Graded series, it's
simply a list of 534 problems and their solutions. If you
are comfortable with problems at the
level of Graded Volume III then you
should find Get Strong at Tesuji
useful, too.</p>
<p>Unlike Graded, it has some problems
that simply ask for the best move, and
don't tell you what you're supposed to
do (kill stones, live, connect two
groups, etc). I found this to be an
especially nice feature. It also rates
the difficulty of each problem,
although I didn't make much use of the
ratings. If you like drilling yourself
with problems, I highly recommend Get
Strong at Tesuji.<br>
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<p><b><a name="GetStrongAtTheEndgame"></a> Get Strong
at the Endgame<br>
by Richard Bozulich<br>
Kiseido Publishing Company, 1997, 200
pp., $15 U.S.<br>
Reviewed by Paul Thibodeau</b></p>
<p><br>
Get Strong at the Endgame is one of
the best books in the 'Get Strong
At' series. It contains a total of 291
endgame problems, followed by an
appendix comparing a 3d amateur's and a 6D
professional's playing of the same
full-board endgame position against a
pro 7-dan. The amateur loses by one
point, the pro wins by 7, a pretty big
swing of eight points.
The book begins with 42 problems to
test your endgame skill, thirty-six
on
11x11 and six on 9x9, almost all from
Kano Yoshinori's 'Endgame
Dictionary'.
The author recommends writing down the
moves and final score of each
problem
without looking at the solution,
proceeding directly to the tesuji
and
calculation problems, and then
returning and redoing the test to
compare your answers. While this method will
show you what a big improvement the
book makes in your endgame, most may
simply want to work through the
solutions the first time, without
losing any advantage.
The 120 tesuji problems illustrate
various local situations where you
can
reduce the opponent's territory
anywhere from one point to total
devastation
compared with ordinary looking endgame
moves. The 101 calculation problems
give you practice in knowing how many
points an endgame move is worth, in
sente or gote. The final section
contains twenty-eight 11x11
'practical
endgame problems', again composed by
Kano. These help put all the skills
together in complicated endgame
situations.
This book is nicely crafted and well
thought out, with good
explanations,
suffering only a little from the
series' general problem of a lack
of
instructional material. It does a good
job of noting the different value
of
sente and gote moves, for example, but
one could still miss the forest for
the trees without caveats like that
from Ogawa and Davies: 'A player
who
could not count at all, but understood
the difference between sente and
gote, would have the advantage over an
opponent suffering from the reverse
affliction.'
Nevertheless, 'Get Strong at the
Endgame' is well done enough as a
problem
book that in my opinion it would be
fine as a challenging first endgame
book
for players stronger than 4 kyu.
Players at the low dan level will find
it
just about right. Players less than 5
kyu will probably get more from
Ogawa
and Davies' excellent Elementary Go
Series book: 'The Endgame'. Learn
these
skills, and you will be amazed at how
many times you find yourself coming
from behind and winning the game.</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="GirlPlayedGo"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>The
Girl Who Played Go<br>
by Shan Sa<br>
translated from the French by Adriana
Hunter<br>
280 pp.<br>
published by Chatto and Windus of
London, a division of Random House<br>
Reviewed by Roy Laird<br>
July 15, 2003<br></b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In The
Square of The Thousand Winds, a Chinese
girl plays go. Serious go, toppling
opponent after opponent. The time is
the early 1930's and the Japanese are
invading. Hearing that "terrorists"
from the Chinese Resistance meet at the
Square to plot their next moves, a
Japanese soldier visits the square in
disguise, to spy on them. Instead he
falls into a game with the girl who
plays go. They meet at the square day
after day to continue this strangely
compelling game. Meanwhile, we watch
their lives converge toward a startling
climax.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The
award-winning author seems to know her
Asian history and literature, and even
fills us in with footnotes when the
characters participate in major
historical events, or discuss history.
Attention to detail is so "granular"
that the Chinese girl depicted on the
cover is even holding authentic Chinese
stones! (Chinese stones are flat on one
side.) The writing is sprinkled with
thoughtful little gems, but seems
mostly halting and disjointed, and the
occasional intrusion in the translation
of Britishisms like "chivvying" is a
bit jarring. Most of the chapters are
only a few paragraphs long -- just when
we're beginning to immerse ourselves in
a scene, it's over. Nonetheless, as
often happens with good books, I am
left with vivid memories and images,
and thoughtful questions about the
meaning of war. You have to admire the
author's ambition. Through these
gradually intertwining lives, one
Chinese, one Japanese, she seeks to
illuminate a dark era of occupation,
torture and violent death, and to some
degree she succeeds.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As a go
player, I was happy to see the game
presented as in a compelling, dramatic
way. The Japanese lieutenant goes to
the Square on a mission for his country
and the Emperor, but finds himself
hopelessly seduced by go. He confesses
to his Captain, who shows his
understanding by quoting the Chinese
philosopher Zhuang Zi: "When you lose a
horse, you never know whether it is a
good thing or a bad thing." In the end,
the game becomes the means by which two
minds meet in a profound, life-altering
way.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This
novel takes its place in a growing
lexicon of "go stories". The ongoing,
periodically adjourned game that
progresses through most of the book
invites comparison with Kawabata's "The
Master of Go," which won the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 1968. After the
degrading portrayal of women in
Sung-hwa Hong's tough, dark "First
Kyu", it's nice to see a woman who is
not just the central character, but
clearly the master of a her fate -- and
a strong go player to boot!</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Most of
all, "The Girl Who Played Go" brings to
mind the classic film "The Go Masters",
a historic Chinese-Japanese film that
has been called "an Asian 'Gone With
the Wind.' " Unfortunately, "The Go
Masters" is not commercially available
at the present time, but if you go to
ftp://ftp.hikago.flirble.org/pub/Misc/
with a high-speed modem, you can
download a 300 MB .avi file and view
this incredible masterpiece</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I
ordered my copy of "The Girl Who Played
Go" from amazon.com at for about $20,
it makes a good read, and a great
gift.</font><font color="#993300" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br></font></p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="GoAsCommunication"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<b>Go as Communication<br>
by Yasuda Yasutoshi 9-dan<br>
Slate & Shell<br>
Reviewed by Simon Goss<br>
March 31, 2003</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"Am I
the only one who feels that people,
children and adults alike, look tired?"
So writes Yasuda Yasutoshi 9-dan in the
preface to Go as Communication.
Yasuda's attention had been caught by a
news report of the suicide of a bullied
school child, and he had become "...
obsessed by the notion that I had to do
something about the social problem in
addition to simply popularizing Go."
The first part of Go as Communication
describes Yasuda's visits to
kindergartens, schools, homes for the
mentally disabled, day care centres for
the elderly and a school for the deaf.
Almost all those he writes about have
some kind of difficulty communicating
with others. Many are, to a greater or
lesser extent, socially excluded as a
result. In the second part of the book,
Yasuda gives advice on how to teach go
to children of different ages in large
groups, and how to teach it in the
other kinds of institution he has
visited. Part three gives a brief
account of similar work that has been
done in the Netherlands, Romania, the
Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and the
USA. Yasuda is well known as the
inventor of Capture Go, and what he
says about it came as a bit of a
surprise to me at first. I had always
been led to believe that Yasuda's main
aim was to popularise go, and that
beginning with Capture Go was basically
a technique to lead people to it
gently. Nothing could be further from
the truth. "Popularizing Go" is a
phrase that is used occasionally in the
book, but it isn't the objective.
Yasuda states his objective in terms
such as "help change society" and "do
something about the social problem". He
teaches Capture Go as a game in its own
right. He recognizes that a few people
will move on to regular go, but doesn't
get excited about it. If most people
stick with Capture Go and enjoy it,
that's fine with him. Indeed, he
explains that some of the mentally
handicapped people he meets will
probably never understand even the
capture rule, but will anyway enjoy and
benefit from the even simpler game of
just placing go stones on
intersections, and that's just fine
too. Will this book do anything for
you? Well, if you want to improve at
tesuji or joseki, definitely not. It
contains a basic explanation of the
capture rule, but if you're any
stronger than 36-kyu it will teach you
nothing at all about the game. If you
want to teach go to bright people who
are able and willing to give you ten
minutes of their attention, it may not
help you much either. If you want to
teach go to large groups of people with
low or mixed abilities and/or
motivation, then it will certainly give
you food for thought and may even help
you. But the people I'd really like to
see reading this book aren't go players
at all, but school teachers and care
workers. If you can think of a person
like that to whom you could give a copy
of this book, I think you'd be doing
them, and go, a huge service. (A longer
version of this review originally
appeared in the British Go Journal,
#129, Winter 2002)<br></font><br>
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<p><b><a name="go_elementary_training_atkins"></a> Go
Elementary Training & Dan Level
Testing<br>
A CD-ROM edited by Yu Bin and produced
by Jiang Jujo<br>
People's Posts &
Telecommunications Publishing House<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 14K
(9/10/01)</b></p>
<p>Interactive learning produces
superior results when compared with
static (i.e. "book") learning. If you
don't have a teacher, or even if you
do, this CD may hasten your acquisition
of go skill. The problems range from
the 17 kyu level to amateur 5 dan
level.</p>
<p>The user interface of this program
is annoyingly amateurish, but the
organization of material is excellent.
The program offers two formats.</p>
<p>"Promotion" consists of 150 steps of
20 problems each. You get ten tactical
problems, five corner pattern (joseki)
problems, and five whole board
problems. 90 points (18 correct
answers) are required to advance from
one step to the next.</p>
<p>It's possible to cheat yourself with
brute force iterations until the
solution is found. Not good. But if you
play straight through and fail to reach
90points, you start over from scratch.
This kind of iteration is good. It
drums the patterns into your brain.</p>
<p>"Test Your Level" lets you declare
your strength (Beginner, Middle or
High) and then choose from the three
problem categories provided in
"promotion."</p>
<p>Go Elementary Training & Dan
Level Testing is a terrific tool that
can be played a bit every day. Working
an interactive element into your study
regimen will pay off in many ways.<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><b><a name="go_elementary_training_dinhofer"></a>
Go Elementary Training and Dan Level
Testing<br>
by Yu Bin 9 dan and Jiang Jujo 9
Dan<br>
Reviewed by David Dinhofer
(10/8/01)</b></p>
<p>It has been hard for me to find a
book or program that fits my particular
style of learning go. I particularly
enjoyed the books by Phil Straus and
Yi-lun Yang. I have liked the books by
Jim Davies but I found that even with
these excellent texts I have not moved
ahead very much in the tournament
circuit.</p>
<p>Then I saw "Elementary Go" listed on
the Samarkand web site and immediately
liked the idea of a program that could
both rate and teach me. Of course, I
was also attracted to the "Up to 5 Dan"
in theadvertisement. The price was also
reasonable.</p>
<p>I had no trouble installing it into
my Toshiba (4005CDT) laptop, a
refurbished Satellite running Windows98
on a K6-2 processor at 350 MHz with 32
Megs of RAM and an active matrix
display. I had tried to install it into
my CTX desktop computer but there was a
conflict with the video drivers that I
was unable to fix without changing the
settings on my display which I didn't
want to do. So my Toshiba became my
default computer for "Elementary Go,"
which came in particularly handy
because when I first got the program, I
was traveling a lot on business.</p>
<p>I first tested myself and found "Go
Elementary Training" to be extremely
accurate, ranking me between 3k and 1D,
which mimics my tournament play. The
program breaks down teaching and
testing into three sections; life and
death problems, joseki problems, and
whole board problems. Your score is
based on 5 points per problem with
partial scores given on the whole board
problems.</p>
<p>There are a few glitches.
Occasionally, if there are two
solutions because of miai, the program
will only allow one solution. It
occasionally locks up or doesn't allow
a move. Fortunately, only the current
session is lost. You also have to put
up with a annoying voice telling you,
"Better luck next time," when you screw
up and the usual, "Congratulations,"
when you pass the next level.</p>
<p>Each time you finish a promotion
level, you must log in again. This is
time-consuming and tedious.</p>
<p>Recently, I installed WindowMe on my
portable computer and found that there
is a problem installing Go Elementary
Training into WindowsMe. I was able to
run the program fine on my Toshiba
Satellite with both Windows98 and
Windows98 Second Edition. When I
brought this to Janice Kim's attention
(I had purchased this product from
Samarkand), she was extremely helpful
and checked into it. She found that it
could be loaded if it was run directly
from the disc. Of course, this has but
a big damper on my usage since I have
no intention of reloading the old
system software onto my portable again.
Janice has since come up with a patch
for WindowsMe.</p>
<p>The good news is that if you can get
it up and running on your computer, you
are likely to see a big difference in
your play. I have moved up on IGS from
7k to 6k with a solid winning streak
continuing. Some of this is very likely
due to the cumulative effects of all of
my efforts but nothing else has made as
big a difference.</p>
<p>This program is clearly not for
everyone. There is no commentary but it
is easy to go through large numbers of
problems in a relatively short period
of time. I would call it the generic
version of go teaching. All in all,
Elementary Go is an excellent way to
examine and learn lots of materials
with little fanfare. I am hoping that
Jujo will come out with an updated
version in the near future.<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><b><a name="go_for_beginners"></a>
Go for Beginners<br>
by Kaoru Iwamoto<br>
Published by Pantheon Books, 1977
[$12]<br>
Reviewed by Matthew Burke, 15k</b></p>
<p>I taught myself and several of my
friends how to play Go from this book,
and I suspect many other people can say
the same. The book's clarity and
thoroughness indicate why Iwamoto was
so successful at promoting Go in the
West.</p>
<p>Go for Beginners is divided into two
parts. The first part explains the
rules of go. Rather than simply listing
the rules and giving examples, Iwamoto
walks us through a 9x9 game, presenting
rules as necessary. I remember finding
this to be a most compelling way of
drawing me into the game. After leading
the reader through playing and scoring,
Iwamoto steps back and fleshes out the
details of liberties, ko, seki, and
other important concepts in the second
chapter.</p>
<p>The second part of the book presents
an overview of techniques including
life and death, ladders, and
extensions. The book ends with good
advice on how to improve and two
example professional games.<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><b><a name="go_players_almanac"></a>
The Go Player's Almanac<br>
edited by Richard Bozulich<br>
Published by Ishi Press; $30<br>
Reviewed by Steven Robert Allen,
1K</b></p>
<p>People are attracted to go for many
reasons. It's fun. It's excellent
mental aerobics. It's also an ideal
springboard for philosophical
speculation about life and the
cosmos.<br>
A particularly seductive aspect of the
game is its extraordinary culture and
past. One of the most exciting things
about go is that its millennia-long
history is filled with colorful stories
and equally colorful personalities.</p>
<p>The Go Player's Almanac, unique
among go books in English, provides a
detailed look at the game's culture and
history. The book contains no lessons,
no theory, no advice for improving
go-playing skills. What it does provide
are well-written essays and reference
sections covering the history,
philosophy, culture and personalities
which make go so fascinating to so many
people.</p>
<p>The book covers go history from
ancient times to the present. It also
contains biographies of all the most
significant players, living and dead.
One of the book's finest features is
its extensive glossary of go terms.
Another nice feature is its survey of
go equipment, the collection of which
is a fetishized pastime in itself. If
that isn't enough, The Go Player's
Almanac also describes: the manner in
which players become professionals, the
tournament system in different
countries, the various rule sets, why
go computer programs are so difficult
to create, and more.</p>
<p>Every serious go player will
eventually want to have this book.
Though The Go Player's Almanac is
currently out of print, it's available
at several Internet vendors of go
equipment. An updated edition is
rumored to be in the works.<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><b><a name="go_players_almanac_2001"></a> The Go
Player's Almanac, 2001 edition<br>
Kiseido, Edited by Richard
Bozulich<br>
June 2001, $30, Paperback 378pp<br>
Reviewed by Robert Jasiek</b></p>
<p>Everybody calling himself a serious
player should already have this
reference work so the following
discusses only the differences to the
1992 edition. The chapter on
Mathematical Go is omitted, otherwise
prior chapters have either tiny changes
or considerable updates.</p>
<p>Noteworthy revisions concern:</p>
<ul>
<li>A Brief History of Modern Go: A
short summary of the recent
international development has been
added. There are also a few black
and white pictures of famous
players.</li>
<li>Who's Who in the World of Go:
Sincere extensions for China and
Korea and a list for Taiwan are
offered.</li>
<li>Tournament Go: Considerable
amendments concern international,
Korean, and Chinese go. European
and American tournaments are
skipped.</li>
<li>Go Records now include some
entertaining komi and rules-related
statistics.</li>
<li>A Dictionary of Go Terms: some
new entries of Japanese and a few
English terms including - not for
completeness but more for fun -
molasses ko.</li>
</ul>
<p>The book includes some new
chapters:</p>
<ul>
<li>Go in the Classics: A
discussion of the difficulty of
pursuing the origin of go seems to
kill the myth of a 3000 or 4000
year-old game, states rather secure
sources, and partly can't resist
the temptation of minor
speculation.</li>
<li>Some Senryu of Go: Some popular
sayings.</li>
<li>Go in Europe in the 17th
Century, Go in the West in the 18th
Century, Speculations on the
Origins of Go: These three chapters
are quite interesting, although
older versions previously appeared
in GoWorld.</li>
<li>Go and Art: Besides a few
colored pictures the text should be
the more important part.</li>
<li>The Last Problem is a tiny
anecdote.</li>
</ul>
<p>What is missing? Obviously, this
work is broad rather than deep so one
cannot reasonably expect extensive
details. However, some omissions are
noteworthy: Western go, Korean and
Chinese go terms, the actual life of a
professional, teaching, and scientific
go. Also it is hard to understand why
some prior parts have been omitted.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the new chapters and
the revisions make the new edition
useful for players who felt the earlier
one was incomplete. The new edition of
the Almanac is not flawless but it's
certainly an improvement.<br>
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<td>
<p><b><a name="GoPlayersAlmanac2001_2"></a> The Go
Player's Almanac (2001)<br>
Kiseido, Edited by Richard
Bozulich<br>
June 2001, $30, Paperback 378pp<br>
Reviewed by Peter Shotwell</b></p>
<p>Despite its $30 price, every Go
player should have the 2001 edition of
"The Go Player's Almanac" This most
extraordinary compendium of Go
information is largely unavailable
elsewhere in English.<br>
John Power tells the stories behind
the explosions of modern Chinese
and Korean Go and the Who's Who and
tournament sections record these
recent changes. Julie Lamont has a long,
intriguing and profusely illustrated
overview of the role of go in the Eastern arts.
In addition, there are major revisions
and lengthenings of several old Go
World articles - by myself on the
origins of Go in China, and by Jaap
Blom on descriptions and the consequent
intellectual influences of go in Europe
in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some of
the best articles from the original
Almanac, published in 1992, are also
included and the only flaw is that the
treatise on computer Go could not be
updated before press time.</p>
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<p><b><a name="go_world_magazine"></a>
Go World (the magazine)<br>
Published quarterly by Kiseido ($28
for 5 issues)<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 15K</b></p>
<p>Imagine the excitement of unearthing
buried treasure - gold doubloons,
jeweled goblets, silver daggers. I've
discovered buried Go treasure; not
precious metals but a wealth of wisdom
in every issue of the magazine Go
World.</p>
<p>Go World (subscriptions available at
www.kiseido.com) is truly a hoard of
goodies. Number 91, hot off the press,
features an article on Takemiya ("A
Player with Heart"), a column by
Michael Redmond on the opening,
annotated games from current title
matches - complete with reports on the
players, four special sections for kyu
players, and an article on Go in the
West in the 81th Century.</p>
<p>The buried treasure is found in back
issues, many of which are in stock. At
the Kiseido site I marvel at the cover
graphics. The covers are historical art
involving Go. All are interesting and
some are of striking beauty.</p>
<p>Back issues of Go World contain an
informal course of study for kyu
players seeking to improve. The 5x5
endgame studies, for example, are ideal
for demonstrating specific techniques.
In the back numbers I also found the
best illustrations of sabaki I've run
across, problem solutions that tell you
how to refute moves that most books
leave to the student, little quizzes on
joseki and endgame counting, a
compilation of the favorite tsume-go
problems of Japanese pros, and many
other jewels. Of course, the annotated
games are superb; the background
material invaluable. No matter what
your rank, you'll find good things in
Go World.<br>
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<p><b><a name="gogod_database"></a>
Gogod Database<br>
Reviewed by Charles Matthews</b></p>
<p>Game collections aren't really a
novelty. Student pros in Japan used to
be sent away to play through the games
of Shusaku, the dead master taking the
weight off the shoulders of the
living.</p>
<p>In the PC era, you can collect up
game files in the standard SGF format,
click through them, or even get a
screensaver to do that work for you.
Going further and applying the
computer's power as research assistant
is the object of the Gogod Database
bundle under review. It comprises
around 12,000 games from the whole
historic and geographical range of
high-level go, including a high
proportion of the most interesting and
significant records around. It also
comes with a number of software tools
on the CD-ROM.</p>
<p>I have spent the most time using Go
Library, which is a versatile program
for searching the collection to match
data or positions. This would afford
practical help with study for any dan
player.</p>
<p>There is also John Fairbairn's
massive index to names of players from
all eras, providing fascinating
historical background to the games, and
a special tool for finding instantly
variations in the avalanche opening. I
have spent most time using Go Library,
which is a versatile program for
searching the collection to match data
or positions. This would afford
practical help with study for any dan
player. It's a tidy single screen,
written in Delphi, with all commands
self-explanatory icons or buttons. One
can enter a pattern stone by stone on
one board, have the machine match all
occurrences in a period of years (say
1980-1989), and in a range of moves
(say the first 50 of a game) and then
play through the corresponding games on
a second board. This allows easy
tracking of full scale opening
patterns. To look at corner openings in
context, one uses the very useful
'rotations' facility: enter a pattern
once, and the search will apply the
16-pass examination of games to check
for its occurrence in all symmetric
places, and with either colour.
Searches may be saved for later use. I
have applied this tool for studies of
fuseki, joseki and middlegame
techniques around corner enclosures, as
well as to select games of particular
players.</p>
<p>Ordering: the database is currently
available exclusively from Gogod.</p>
<p>tmark@gogod.demon.co.uk, dollar
price $55 including charges.<br>
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<p><b><a name="golden_opportunities"></a> Golden
Opportunities<br>
by Rin Kaiho (1/29/01)<br>
(Yutopian, 1996)<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 15K</b></p>
<p>Life, like go, presents many
opportunities for success, yet all too
often our eyes fail to see the gold. In
"Golden Opportunities," Rin Kaiho, 9
dan and raconteur, serves up a
fascinating stew of go tactics and
historical anecdotes. Rin doesn't
lecture; he dramatizes in stories that
provide a setting in which to envision
go positions as theatre. The stories
draw from both east and west. They aid
the student's memory. A basic principle
in each story foreshadows the correct
go action. Aimed at the mid-kyu player
in need of fresh perspective to advance
but sure to be a joy for players of any
strength, this book has great practical
value. It mixes well with dry problem
collections and joseki texts. It
illustrates obvious moves that are
really failed tries, develops the
cognitive collisions that lead to
enlightenment, and examines all the key
variations. Get "Golden Opportunities"
for fun and profit.<br>
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<p><b><a name="graded_go_problems_for_beginners"></a>
Graded Go Problems for Beginners (Vols
1-4)<br>
Nihon Kiin, 1990<br>
Reviewed by Jean G. DeMaiffe,
7K</b></p>
<p>Graded Go Problems for Beginners is
a four-volume set of books that takes
the reader from an absolute novice to
"Advanced" play (defined as 15-kyu or
stronger). The books are compilations
of go problems, divided up by level of
difficulty and by subject matter. For
instance, Volume One has lots of
problems on how to capture one or more
stones and how to avoid being captured.
The "Level Two" problems in Volume One
include ladders, snapbacks, ko, and how
to play in the opening and in endgame.
Each succeeding volume continues to
explore these main themes. Some of the
problems in the third and fourth
volumes will challenge American players
stronger than 15-kyu (myself included),
probably because, unlike Asian go
students, our study of go has been
almost entirely self-directed and
without any structure. This four-volume
set provides a excellent grounding in
the basics of go at an early stage and
can't help but prove helpful to any
double-digit (and at least one
single-digit) player willing to take
the time to study them. They are also
excellent teaching tools for go
kids.<br>
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<p><b><a name="graded_go_problems for beginners2"></a>
Graded Go Problems For Beginners: Vols.
I-IV<br>
Kano Yoshinori Pro 9d<br>
Kiseido Publishing<br>
Reviewed by Marc Willhite, 10k</b></p>
<p>One often hears a more experienced
player telling newer and
intermediate level players that there are "leaks in
their game." This could refer to
the opening, middle game, ending, tesuji,
invasions, or any other area of Go
play. What they mean is that there are
fundamental concepts that these
less experienced players have not yet fully
grasped, and until they do, it will
be a long and difficult road to
improvement.<br>
Any regular Go player knows the game
can be very bewildering when you first
discover it and attempt to learn. As
you gain experience and your game
improves, especially when the "trial
and error" approach is taken, studying
Go problems becomes an amazing way to
plug the leaks in your game and leap to
new heights of understanding.<br>
I consider "Graded Go Problems For
Beginners" essential to every Go
player's library because the books
will indeed help plug these leaks.
Volume I is aimed at those who have
just learned the rules of Go. Large
diagrams with simple positions help the
beginner learn the techniques of
capturing and defending stones,
connecting and separating stones, life
and death, basic opening problems, and
more.<br>
As you make your way into the more
challenging concepts presented in the
later volumes, you will see a
noticeable improvement in your play.
The life and death problems alone
should keep any persistent reader busy
and, at times, frustrated. Probably the
most rewarding thing about working your
way through the problems is going back
to an easier volume only to find the
material is now a permanent part of
your Go vocabulary. The claim that
these books will "thoroughly drill the
reader in the fundamentals of the
game . . . thus laying a solid
foundation for his future progress"
could not be more exact.<br>
"Graded Go Problems For Beginners"
will benefit all kyu-level players. Get
these books and start solving!<br>
$15 each plus s/h at
http://www.kiseido.com/</p>
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<p><b><a name="great_joseki_debates"></a> The Great
Joseki Debates<br>
by Honda Kunihisa, 9-Dan<br>
Translated by Jim Davies and David
Thayer; Ishi Press, 1992<br>
Reviewed by David Dinhofer</b></p>
<p>It is hard to find joseki books that
aren't dry and mechanical. The
sheer number of variations on the subject
make it difficult to make it
interesting. Honda Kunihisa has managed
to make the joseki interesting and
lighthearted with his style and
approach.</p>
<p>In this reprint of several articles
from Go World, Honda Kunihisa,
approaches each joseki problem as if
there are three scholars presenting a
different strategy and makes us think
about which we would chose. He does
this in a comical way as if the each of
the scholars feels he has the only
answer. Then he goes on to explain why
one of the three is the best choice
based on the whole board outlook.</p>
<p>Kunihisa reiterates the same warning
in each discussion: "Since josekis work
effectively in a certain direction, it
is necessary to examine the positions
along the adjacent sides and in the
adjacent corners when choosing a joseki
for a particular opening." I'm sure he
repeated this warning to emphasize its
importance. This is one of the things
that I found so helpful in the two
joseki books by Yi-lun Yang and Phil
Straus. Honda Kunihisa gives only as
much follow up as is necessary for even
mid level players.</p>
<p>I found this book easy to read and
wound up wanting even more problems. I
expect that even low Dan level players
will find this an interesting review as
well as kyu level players.<br>
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<p><b><a name="HandbookStarPoint"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<b>Handbook of Star Point Joseki<br>
Edited by the Nihon Kiin<br>
Yutopian Enterprises<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 12k<br>
May 19, 2003</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A
wonderful resource for any player, this
very thorough dictionary of star point
joseki is invaluable for the beginner
starting to think beyond the simple
handicap joseki we first learn.
Aggressive and tricky tries by White
are analyzed to reveal White's goals
and Black's best responses. A generous
helping of diagrams shows the
underlying reasons for plays, without
confusing the reader with too many
moves. For one to improve at go,
understanding the 'why" is more
important than memorizing the "what."
Two aspects of the book are especially
good. The many double approaches
against the star point (when black
plays elsewhere) are systematically
discussed, and a section called
"supplemental joseki" provides other
perspectives into each major division
of joseki. Kudos to Yutopian for
publishing this gem, and to Craig
Hutchinson (editor and layout master)
and Robert Terry
(translator).</font></p>
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<p><b><a name="HowPlayHandicapGo"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<b>How to Play Handicap Go<br>
by Yuan Zhou<br>
Slate & Shell<br>
Reviewed by Bob Barber, 1k<br>
April 28, 2003</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The main
thrust of this book is teaching how to
play White in a handicap game, but the
analysis is so thorough (60 diagrams
per game!) that Black learns as well.
Beautifully designed, with two diagrams
per page, some show only one move,
allowing clear explanation. Think AGA 5
dans are pretty savvy? Here we see them
lose their way taking three stones.
Often, the reader gets a chance to play
like an 8 dan and find the next move.
Eight of the games show Yuan Zhou
giving from three to seven stones as he
exposes the mistakes of dan-level
players (though 3d Haskell Small wins
praise for "a good job of keeping White
busy.") The final game, by two hapless
kyu players, is fine example of how NOT
to play as White. I am pleased to
report that in a recent rematch, after
reading this book, White was not
bamboozled.</font></p>
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<p><b><a name="in_the_beginning"></a>
In the Beginning<br>
by Ikuro Ishigure<br>
Kiseido, 151 pp.<br>
Reviewed by Jason Baghboudarian,
10k</b></p>
<p>As in many creation stories, we have
darkness, and then light. So it is from
the very first stone of a game of go.
Ishigure takes us on an exploration of
these beginnings, my favorite time of
the game.</p>
<p>Because of its open and abstract
qualities, the opening is by its very
nature difficult to teach with
authority, simply because there is
none. There are many approaches to the
opening, the basic structure and
strategies of which have evolved over
time. I find it fascinating, and a
tribute to the flexibility of the game
itself, that for as many thousands of
years as go has been played, there have
been significant new developments in
opening style in just the past hundred
years alone.</p>
<p>In addressing the opening, Ishigure
is giving us a philospohy of the game
as a whole. He handles the subject
matter with skill. He shows us how to
build solid bases from which to attack
and pincer. We see different shimari
and kakari, but instead of an emphasis
on joseki, Ishigure stays true to the
nature of this time in the game by
focusing on a broader context. We are
shown the values of different areas,
relative to position. There are
problems throughout the text, and in
their own section as well.. All of this
leads us through nine concepts which
will help guide us through developing
our own style of opening. These are
principles of balance, on which every
rank of player needs to act.</p>
<p>Reading this book has given me more
insight into the state of mind required
to play go well. This of course brings
more appreciation of the game; and also
of the cultures which have embraced
it.<br>
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<p><b><a name="intermediate_level_power_builder"></a>
Intermediate Level Power Builder, Vol.
1<br>
By Wang RuNan<br>
Published by Yutopian Enterprises,
1997<br>
$14.00<br>
Reviewed by Barry C. Willey, 12k
KGS</b></p>
<p>Aimed at the mid kyu player, this
book does a wonderful job at covering
basic concepts, strategies and
techniques. The first volume of this
series in progress covers basic joseki
and fuseki in openings, but in a method
that integrates a global view. The
author also spends a chapter discussing
"oba" or big points and how they arise
in openings.<br>
Starting with a survey of common
openings, such as the Chinese, three
and four point openings, various
strategy and tactics are discussed in
the context of these openings. Next the
author spends several chapters on the
best ways to invade them.</p>
<p>One of the best aspects of this book
is the method of presentation. The
author uses a lesson format in which he
asks a question and the students give
their answers. The best solution is
explained and then the weak point in
the student's answer is examined. I
found that very helpful when comparing
my thoughts with the explanations in
the book. It should also be noted that
many of the games on which comments are
made are taken from various
professional games. I hope that
Yutopian plans on publishing the next
installment in this series soon.<br>
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<p><b><a name="intermediate_level_power_builder2"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Intermediate
Level Power Builder, Vol. 1<br>
by Wang RuNan, 8 dan<br>
Reviewed by Ethan Baldridge<br>
September 22, 2003</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This
slender volume from Yutopian
Enterprises is aimed at 19-13th kyu<br>
players. It mainly teaches about
opening and fuseki issues, and how
to use and deal with a moyo built on star
points. The problems are
enjoyable to solve and presented in an
interesting style where three
imaginary students make suggestions
and comments on the likely courses
of action. I thought this was an
interesting way to teach, although
I'm
not sure whether it affected my
retention at all.<br>
<br>
The last chapters of the book deal
with invading, and the final
chapter
is dedicated entirely to joseki from a
3-3 point invasion where a 4-4
stone has already been placed. I felt
this was a great help as it showed
me how to play for side influence when
the corner isn't as important.<br>
<br>
I would recommend this book for any
mid-level kyu player who wants a
quick strengthening of their
game.</font></p>
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<p><b><a name="IntrotoGo"></a> An
Introduction to Go; Rules and
Strategies for the Ancient Oriental
Game<br>
By James Davies & Richard
Bozulich<br>
The Ishi Press, Inc. Tokyo, 1989<br>
Reviewed by Phommasone Christopher
Inthiraj</b></p>
<p>This small hand-guide is what
started it all for me. Or rather, I
should say a small little manga series from
Japan is what got me into Go.
However, it was this book that really taught me
how to play. I enjoyed reading this
book very much, and as a beginner, it
appealed to me very much.
The greatest thing about this book is
that it's geared towards beginners
and amateurs alike. It teaches many
'Go'-only terms, as well as giving
examples of every rule and aspect of
Go. Not only that, it also has several
example games that demonstrate these
elements as well as a section on the
'you'll probably never see these'
special-shape rules. As a beginner, I
didn't really need to look at it, but
I'm sure it will come in handy later
on.<br>
Another great thing about this book is
the size. It is very small, and fits in
pockets, purses, jackets, etc. It's the
best pocket-guide Go book I have come
across and I used this almost all the
time as I was getting down the
rules.<br>
The book's only drawback is that is
does not go very deeply into much of
anything. It shows just enough of a
rule or aspect to let you know what it
is, gives a few examples, and moves on.
It makes up for this drawback by
putting in a few example games which
are quite nice to observe and try out
on your own, however. You can learn Go
with this book, but do not expect to
learn a plethora of different shapes and
possible moves.<br>
This is a book for beginners and
novices, small enough to fit your
pocket and carry around for your
all-purpose Go needs. I especially
recommend it if you need a pocket guide
to refer to while on the move.</p>
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<p><b><a name="invincible"></a>
Invincible: The Games of Shusaku<br>
Compiled, edited and translated by
John Power<br>
Kiseido Publishing Company, 442 pp;
$35<br>
Reviewed by Steve Dowell, 6k</b></p>
<p>"Invincible" is a massive book with
about 120 games. 80 are full
commentaries with detailed analysis.
The games here are magnificent
struggles with large scale fighting
being the norm. However Shusaku
demonstrates his mastery of the
positional features of the game and in
every game he demonstrates his superb
positional judgment.</p>
<p>The book contains thousands of
lessons and is a great way to see the
3-4 point in action. These games are
timeless and playing through them is
like listening to great classical music
or seeing a great artist in action
before your very eyes. Invincible's
lessons are supplemented by the history
it presents along with every game and
with a well-written introductory
chapter (about 25 pages) documenting
the history leading up to and including
Shusaku's career.</p>
<p>If you love great games you will
love this book. This book is well
suited to anyone who is able to learn
from professional games, although
weaker players may find this book a
struggle. Invincible is great at
teaching through exciting struggles but
its real strength is teaching and
fostering a love for go and its
culture.</p>
<p>Order from Samarkand at
www.samarkand.net or Kiseido at
www.kiseido.com<br>
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<p><b><a name="jungsuk_in_our_time"></a> Jungsuk In
Our Time: Somok (3-4 point Jungsuk)<br>
Seo Bong-Soo (9P) & Jung Dong-Sik
(5P)<br>
Translated by Nam Chuhyunk (1P)<br>
Published by Hankuk Kiwon ,Korean
Baduk Association. 351 pp.<br>
Reviewed by Michael Turk, 10k</b></p>
<p>Jungsuk is the Korean word for
joseki. This book provides a
well-commented treatment of 3-4 joseki
in a form that is readable by middle
strength and stronger kyus. The book is
rich in information and I expect that
it will also provide useful information
for stronger players. All conference
attendees at the recent 1st
International Baduk Conference (Baduk
is the Korean word for Go) received a
copy from Chiyung Nam when they visited
the Hankuk Kiwon. Until recently the
English-language go literature has been
dominated by translations of Japanese
works, but recently works of Chinese
and Korean authors have become
available, a welcome trend that I hope
continues.</p>
<p>Jungsuk claims to be the first
Korean book on baduk translated into
English, but I believe that Jeong
Soo-Hyun's and Janice Kim's superb
"Learn to Play Go" series lays true
claim to that honour.</p>
<p>The book is structured around 113
"Primary Patterns". These represent the
major variations of the commonly used
3-4 joseki as practiced in Korea today.
Many of these are presented within a
'whole board' context and the emphasis
is on current or modern variations.
Secondary sequences related to these
primary patterns are used to explore
well-commented interesting variations.
Most variations are extended into
'after joseki' and 'unreasonable play',
'modern play' and 'old variations are
mentioned.</p>
<p>The authors encourage their readers
to "learn ... and then forget" their
joseki and to consider joseki choices
within the game context. They use
korean terms sparingly (sunsoo for
sente etc) and provide a glossary at
the back for terms that Western readers
may not be familiar with. The book is
beautifully bound with a high quality
cover, it is well printed and well laid
out with very readable diagrams and
clear explanations.<br>
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<p><b><a name="kages_secret_chronicles"></a> Kage's
Secret Chronicles of Handicap Go<br>
T. Kageyama, 7-dan<br>
Translated by James Davies<br>
Ishi Press<br>
Reviewed by Terry Fung, 1k
NNGS</b></p>
<p>What can one learn from studying
low-handicap games between two
professionals and a professional
against a strong amateur? The list
could be pretty long, including corner
joseki, whole board fuseki, direction
of play, middle game technique, sente
and gote, honte moves and overplays.
But the most important thing that I
learned from this book is how
professionals deal with over-aggressive
moves and unreasonable challenges. This
book helps weak players like me to
build up confidence when playing
against stronger players. It should be
a great book for players between AGA 9k
to 2d.</p>
<p>The book includes nine
fully-commented real handicap games
from 2 to 5 stones. While the two
professionals were playing against each
other, they engaged in lively and
entertaining conversations. When one
professional plays against an amateur,
both professionals comment after the
actual game and they often have
different ideas about an identical
position. Last but not least, this book
has a feature that I enjoyed very much:
there are about 7 to 8 questions per
game to test your strength, and you can
only find the answers after flipping to
the next page.<br>
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<p><b><a name="Kanzufu"></a>
Kan-zufu<br>
Published in Japan under the auspices
of Maeda, 9p<br>
Reviewed by Douglas M. Auclair</b></p>
<p>The Kan-zufu is a classic Chinese
book of life and death problems used to
school Go students seeking professional
rank. It has the original Chinese
introductory text and a translation
into Japanese. Following that are the
problems: two to a page with hints in
Japanese, and the answers to those
problems immediately on the reverse
side.<br>
Of all my problem books, this is the
one I turn to most often. Sometimes I
get the solution in a flash, sometimes
it takes weeks of struggle to find the
answer. I never turn the page, though,
until I'm sure I'm correct. Nothing
beats the feeling of my solution being
vindicated. However, on rare occasions,
I receive a shock that my solution was
wrong; obviously wrong as the answer
shows (usually my attempt reversed the
order of correct play, giving the
opponent the vital point). At any rate,
when I study the problems, I feel a
sense of wonder and gravity, as if I'm
participating with the Go sages in
their study.<br>
As the Kan-zufu text is in Japanese,
some readers may be put off. I found,
on the other hand, the hints a little
too helpful exposing the theme of the
problem at hand. Readers of the
American Go Journal may recall an
article by Janice Kim, 1P, which
mentioned an encounter over this book
on her daily commute, how she would
study a problem, sometimes for days.
This echoes the story in The Treasure
Chest Enigma by Nakayama Noriyuki, 7p,
of Suzuki's sensei scolding an insei:
"Don't get a stone from the bowl until
you know where to play!" I've found
studying the Kan-zufu has given me an
edge killing or saving a group against
my peers on the go board.<br>
Although not currently listed by any
of the vendors, I've found that they
are often willing to find ways to
procure a copy of rare books.</p>
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<p><b><a name="learn_to_play_go"></a>
Learn to Play Go (four volumes)<br>
by Janice Kim and Jeong Soo-Hyun<br>
Published by Good Move Press; $17.95
(vol. 1); $14.95 (vol.2-4)<br>
Reviewed by Steven Robert Allen,
1k</b></p>
<p>Experienced go players sometimes
deride this series, suggesting it's
overly simple. With go books, though,
as with go itself, simplicity is very
often a virtue. Containing large
diagrams, witty asides, and plenty of
interesting go history and trivia, this
series is perfect for those who are new
to the game. Later volumes contain
information that even mid-level players
will find useful.</p>
<p>The first volume starts at the very
beginning by explaining the rules and
outlining some rudimentary strategies.
In the back, a paper board with stones
is included. (This is somewhat
difficult to play with because the
pieces are so small.)</p>
<p>The second volume, "The Way of the
Moving Horse," goes a couple steps
beyond the most basic strategies. The
third volume, "Dragon Style," contains
some go aphorisms and a few analyzed
sample games. The fourth volume,
"Battle Strategies," contains more
"advanced" strategies.</p>
<p>Of all the books out there, these
seem to me to be the very best for
introducing beginners to go. Volume
one, in particular, makes a perfect
gift for someone approaching the game
for the first time. The series will
eventually include nine volumes. The
fifth volume, The Palace of Memory, is
expected shortly.<br>
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<p><b><a name="LearntoPlayGoVol1"></a>
Learn to Play Go, Vol. I (2nd ed.)<br>
A Master's Guide to the Ultimate
Game<br>
by Janice Kim 1P and Jeong Soo-hyun
9P<br>
Good Move Press, 176 pages $17.95<br>
Reviewed by Steven E. Polley</b></p>
<p>This book, part of a four part
series is a nearly perfect book for the
new player of go. Written in a simple,
straight-forward manner, with
illustrations for almost every concept
discussed, the book allows the student
to learn at his on pace, and is ideal
for a quick review of any rule or
concept. Regardless of the facet of the
game being presented, the authors first
give the simplest examples, and then
build each chapter with increasingly
advanced ideas- so that each aspect of
go is completely discussed in an easy
to understand, step by step
approach.</p>
<p>The book is divided into two parts,
covering fundamentals and basic
techniques. Part I consists of eight
chapters dealing with topics such as
capturing, connecting, life and death,
and ko. Part I also contains, in
chapter 8, the score of an actual 19x19
game that the reader can follow, with
excellent annotations, move by move.
After the reader has learned "the
basics," Part II, in six chapters,
cleverly builds on that foundation with
topics such as: capturing techniques,
connecting techniques, capturing races,
and ko fighting.</p>
<p>In addition to this excellent
introduction to Go, Learn to Play Go,
Vol. I also has two extra features that
make it an outstanding book for the
novice player. The first is that each
chapter is followed by a section called
"Try it Yourself" which amounts to a
section of problems that test the ideas
presented in the preceding chapter. The
second is ten "extra sections", with
from one to three pages, that are
dispersed throughout the text, and give
the reader more of a "feel" for the
game. For example, one section explains
go etiquette, another go strength, i.e.
the rating system. One gives
information about go on the Internet,
and still another introduces the reader
to some of the more famous players of
the game. Another unique feature of
this volume is that each copy comes
complete with a reversible 19x19, 13x13
and 9x9 board, so that the reader can
start playing immediately. The 'stones"
are paper and can be difficult to use,
but still a nice addition to the book,
which is highly recommended for anyone
from 30 to roughly 25 kyu.</p>
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<p><b><a name="BattleStratagies"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<b>Learn to Play Go, Volume IV: Battle
Strategies<br>
By Janice Kim and Soo-Hyun Jeong,<br>
Published by Samarkand<br>
Reviewed by Lawrence Ku, 11k<br>
May 26, 2003</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This was
the first English go book my parents
bought for me, so I have a special
feeling for it. In comparison with
other go books, "Learn to Play" uses
large pictures to demonstrate many
variations and provides explanations of
many go terms that will be very useful
for a beginner. When I received this
book, I was 21 kyu and it gave me a
systematic view of attacking
techniques, helping me a lot in my own
attacking skills even though I could
not fully understand all of the
material in part 1, which covers middle
game techniques such as invasion and
reduction, battle strategies, how to
attack, and how to take care of your
stones or how to make good shape. While
the second part of the book, which
covers life and death and ko fighting,
was a bit too easy for me I recently
re-read "Learn to Play" and found Part
1 still very useful.</font></p>
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<p><b><a name="LeatherGoSet"></a>
Leather Go Set<br>
Viking Trader, $55-$75<br>
Reviewed by Andy Kelly<br>
<br></b> While reading The Master of Go
by Yasunari Kawabata last summer, I
became interested in the game and
started looking for an affordable
entry-level set. I ended up buying a
leather one from Viking Trader, which I
got for less than retail on eBay.<br>
The board is made of soft suede
leather that is about 20"X 20" (the
edges are rounded and irregular), and
the playing grid, burned into the
surface, is 13.5"X 13.5". The stones
are black and white glass roughly 2 cm
in diameter. It comes with two leather
pouches for the stones and a larger
leather bag that can hold the set.<br>
Although these are not the traditional
materials for a Go set, this one
captures the idea that textures are
important. The contrast between the
warmth of the leather and the cold
smoothness of the glass makes playing
on this board a much richer experience
than using the wooden boards and
plastic pieces of other low-end sets.
The pieces are also heavy enough so
that removing captured stones doesn't
scatter the remaining ones. It's
marketed as a Pente set for the SCA and
Ren Faire folk, but for me, all of this
leather gives it an appealing
cowboyishness, a Wild West meets Far
East feel (think Shanghai Noon or Red
Sun, but better).<br>
My only complaint is that the hoshi
(handicap) points aren't on the board.
I was surprised to see how much I had
come to depend on them for orientation,
even though I had only been playing for
a short time. I ended up drawing them
on with a brown Sharpie.<br>
Despite the one drawback, I have been
extremely happy with the set and
recommend it to anyone who is just
starting out or looking to upgrade
without dropping hundreds or thousands
of dollars.<br>
Available at
http://www.thevikingtrader.net/penteset.htm</p>
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<p><b><a name="lessons_in_the_fundamentals_of_go"></a>
Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go<br>
by Toshiro Kageyama, 7P<br>
Translated by James Davies, 1978<br>
Published by Kiseido, 1996 [$15]<br>
Reviewed by Tom Boone, 9K</b></p>
<p>Anyone 12k or stronger can benefit
from this book. Kageyama, a
professional teacher and lecturer on
Japanese television, observed four
levels, starting around 12K, where his
amateur students seemed to hit
roadblocks. His book prescribes the
same remedy at each level. Review the
fundamental principles until practice
and experience give you the confidence
to make sound moves without hesitating.
Repeat as needed.</p>
<p>For example, you'll have a much
easier time finding the best move if
you know at a glance whether or not the
ladder works. You won't have to look
for alternatives to an obvious move,
even though it seems wholly uninspired,
if you can see how effectively it
settles an urgent area. "Lessons" holds
up well under repeated browsing. It
comes in particularly handy when you're
looking for something to help you warm
up for the next tournament.<br>
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<p><b><a name="LifeDeathElementryVol4"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Life
and Death, Elementary Go Series Vol.
4<br>
By James Davies,<br>
Published by Kiseido Publishing
Company<br>
157 pages, $13.00<br>
Reviewed by Lawrence Ku, AGA
11k</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This
book is one of the Elementary Go series
published by Kiseido. I don't know why
this book is Vol. 4, as I think it
should be Vol. 2 since I'd prefer to
read it right after Vol. 1 'In the
Beginning'. If you want to study life
and death, this book is a great one to
start with. It begins with the simplest
'three-space' shapes and gradually
moves to four-space, five-space, and
more complicated shape such as, L+1, J
and carpenter's square. Not only does
the book discuss the life and death of
those different shapes, but also
teaches you how to make eyes, what are
false eyes, how to attack, defend, and
throw-in. Divided into 36 sections,
there are a few problems to help you
practice the new techniques at the end
of each section. I read this book when
I was 16k and found that while
two-thirds of the material was easy,
the rest was very challenging. "Life
and Death" is excellent for both
beginner and mid-level kyu
players.</font></p>
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<p><b><a name="Fund_of_Go"></a> Lessons
in the Fundamentals of Go</b><br>
<b>by Toshiro Kageyama</b><br>
<b>Kiseido K28</b><br>
<b>Reviewed by Rodrigo Alonso
Perez<br></b><br>
The Japanese word for "fundamentals"
is kiso. Luckily for go trivia, part of
the kanji for kiso is a slight
variation of the character for igo,
with the particle ishi (stone) added at
the bottom. This "founding stone"
reflects nicely the idea of
fundamentals in any activity; from
karate to cooking and from baseball to
Go. A fundamental is a basic rule for
performance, distilled from the
experience of generations, whose
dismissal leads to poor results.
Kageyama's book follows the
fundamentals of good exposition; full
of witty remarks about life and the
competitive go scene, it stays focused
on its basic purpose: To convince
readers of ANY rank that faithfulness
to Go fundamentals can only enhance
their enjoyment of the game. Instead of
endless sequences of joseki, Kageyama
teaches how to profit from correct
joseki study. He clarifies the essence
of thickness, sente and good shape and
finds time to enlighten us with wisdom
regarding tesuji, life and death
problems and yose guidelines. As a
final gift, he explains how to beat a
Meijin. I can only make mine the
author's advice: "If you want to get
stronger, read this book."</p>
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<p><b><a name="LifeandDeathInterLevelProblems"></a>
Life and Death: Intermediate Level
Problems<br>
by Maeda Nobuaki, 9 Dan.<br>
Reviewed by James Bonomo<br>
Slate & Shell; $14.00<br>
<a href="http://www.slateandshell.com/">http://www.slateandshell.com/</a></b></p>
<p><br>
As the back of this little book says,
Maeda was known as "the god of life and
death Go problems". These problems,
like many of Slate & Shell's
offerings, were originally published in
Go Review, the first serious Go
magazine in English. It's good to have
them widely available again.<br>
The book follows the format of the
magazine articles, which is both a
strength and a weakness. Each of the
magazine articles presented ten life
and death problems of increasing
difficulty. In a magazine, this allowed
most players to cruise through the
problems until they reached their
level. And indeed, a wide range of
readers would find challenging problems
in the book. There is a problem in
simply reproducing these cycles of ten,
though. A reader might quickly run
through the start of each cycle, but
then become stuck on a hard problem.
Repeating this cycle eleven times, for
the 110 problems here, could become
frustrating.<br>
The problems in each cycle cover a
reasonable range of difficulty. I'm an
AGA 1 kyu who enjoys life and death
problems. The first five or so in each
set seemed very easy to me, often being
obvious; but, by the last one or two, I
had to think longer than would have
been reasonable in a game. The book
claims a range from about 7 kyu to 2
dan, which doesn't seem far off except
for the very easiest problems.<br>
Physically, the soft-cover book is
small and perfect-bound. It is well
edited. I only found two noticeable
mistakes: Problem 19 should say White ,
not Black, to play and kill, but few
would be confused; Problem 41 more
seriously omits the edge of the board
on the right hand side, which may
confuse some. The book is small enough
to be carried in my briefcase or a
large pocket, providing a source of
short problems to read in my odd free
minutes. While certainly not my
favorite life and death book, I will
reread it several times.</p>
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<p><b><a name="LiveorDie"></a>
LiveOrDie Software<br>
By Lyu Shuzhi</b><br>
<b>http://www.szsoftware.com</b><br>
<b>Review by Bull Hudson</b></p>
<p>I just received my first Go Journal,
the Fall 2001/Winter 2002 issue and
find it well put together, very much
informative and enjoyable reading.
Having recently started playing Go,
anything and everything I can find to
help my game is welcome.<br>
From the start, the term "Life and
Death" stood out. Each Go book I read
would stress the need to master Life
and Death problems. In the first couple
months at our local Go club the murmur
through the onlookers was, "You need to
learn Life and Death." Yes, I said, I
will do that, and went on the search
for solving this Life and Death
situation.<br>
In the months that followed it seemed
that solving this problem of making
Life was eluding me. I was though
making lots of Death, and it was mostly
my own. Playing on the Internet I could
feel the kibitzers running from their
monitors screaming, "He doesn't know Life and
Death!" At this point the best thing
I thought I could do would be to travel
to some remote place on this
planet,dig a deep pit and bury my game.<br>
But now perhaps not all was lost, as
in hand I had my new American Go
Journal and I was off to read it
poolside in hopes of finding some bits
of wisdom. The front cover read, "PRO
SLAYER" in bold red letters with a
picture of Jie Li 7 dan. Wow, to be
that good.<br>
Poolside I read, reclining in a lounge
chair, basking in the Arizona sun. I
thumbed through it looking at the game
review with mouth-watering
anticipation. Then I came to Go
Review, Resources for Go players. Here
I find DieOrLive software. I read the review
and almost jumped out of my lounge
chair to run inside to buy it. Had I finally
found the solution to my Life and Death
ailment?<br>
I was re-reading the review when I
noticed the wasp. It's on my lounge
chair with its angry-looking wasp eyes.
It's big. It's yellow. And it's looking
at me.<br>
Interesting how the small things in
life can bring such fear. I think to
myself, "I'll move and you can have the
lounge chair." Bad escape move on my
part. The wasp tries to attach. I do a
knights move, Go Journal in hand
extending. The swish of pages in the
air. The wasp moves and gets good aji
but I leap from my lounge chair with a
tesuji and build a bigger moyo.<br>
"Swoosh, swoosh" the Go Journal cuts
the air. The wasp hanes but the Go
Journal cuts the air again. Then
suddenly "Yose." The wasp now does a
little zig-zag in front of me, really pissed,
then goes for a kikashi. I answer,
but with one of those plays that you think
will be the end of you. "Swoosh"
goes the Journal and it slips from my hand,
64 pages whirling through the air
at high speed right at the wasp. What
would happen now, with my only
defense gone? Luckily, my move turned out to
be the death-dealing tesuji.<br>
The Journal's journey through air and
across the pool deck left it torn and
tattered. Figuring this must be a Life
and Death lesson, I went in to buy the
DieOrLive software. It is everything
Garlock promised, and I can feel I'm
getting stronger at reading these
problems. This is the solution to the
aliment that I was having, and I would
recommend it to anyone wanting to learn
about Life and Death.<br>
Thanks, American Go Journal for your
saving pages. In more ways than
one.</p>
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<p><b><a name="magnetic_go_set"></a>
Magnetic Go Set (Kiseido MG25)<br>
Retailed by Kiseido
(www.kiseido.com)<br>
$130 (MG20 is $100)<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 15 K</b></p>
<p>At 36 x 34 cm, this magnetic set is
large enough to play a comfortable game
on, yet still small enough to use for
study. The metal of the board wraps
around at the center seam. It's
possible to gently fold the board
closed and have stones on the tenth
line maintain their grip when I put the
board away on a shelf (standing upright
on its 1.9 cm edge). The designer knew
that games and study are sometimes
interrupted while the table is put to a
more pragmatic use, like dinner.</p>
<p>The playing surface features a
wood-grain print in light yellow-tan,
like Katsura. My first reaction as the
set was opened: "How can magnets stick
to wood?"<br>
The plastic stones measure 1.7 cm in
diameter. Their magnets are glued
snugly into a recess in the base, so
that nothing but smooth plastic ever
touches the board's surface. Unlike
with my first magnetic set (a rather
small artifact), the surface of MG25
remains unscratched.</p>
<p>The bowls are black plastic. They're
shallow and broad, which makes them a
bit unwieldy to screw open and closed.
Getting the knack of it took me a few
days.</p>
<p>The set has a nice carrying case,
and the bowls are wide so they pack
well into the case, which must reflect
the dimensions of the folded board. (I
made a cork template to hold the bowls
more firmly during travel. Otherwise
they bump around.)</p>
<p>This high-quality set is worth the
expense for its combination of utility
and elegance. Kiseido also offers MG20
(32 x 30 cm), which I am guessing is
the MG25's little brother. I'm sure
they'll be glad to tell you if you
contact them.<br>
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<p><b><a name="MasterGo"></a> MasterGo
software<br>
Distributed by Slate & Shell<br>
$100 from
http://www.slateandshell.COM<br>
Reviewed by Chris Garlock</b></p>
<p>Every so often something comes along
that changes everything. The internal
combustion engine. The personal
computer. The 4-slice toaster.<br>
The arrival of MasterGo fuseki
software is a huge breakthrough in Go
technology: properly used, it could
single-handedly raise the level of
amateur Go-playing throughout the
world.<br>
MasterGo is a deceptively simple piece
of software, basically a database of
professional Go games. But what a
database! The current release has over
12,000 games, with plans to add
thousands more each month.<br>
The games span the breadth of Go
history from Shusaku's famous Castle
Games to the post-war New Fuseki on up
to recent modern masters. If MasterGo
simply made such a broad collection
easily available it would be useful.
But the genius of the software,
developed by Chuck Robbins, is that the
entire game database is instantly
searchable using a powerful search
engine created by Peter
Danzeglocke.<br>
What this means is that you can now
have a professional Go player in your
computer. Instead of wondering where
move 16 should have been, you can
instantly find out where a professional
would play. When you search the
position in MasterGo, you'll not only
see where most professionals would
play, but you can then look at the
actual pro games in which the position
occurred and see how the play
developed. You can search by player and
color and date, enabling you to find,
say, all of Rin Kaiho's games on White
against Kato Masao.<br>
The implications are staggering.
Little wonder that pro 9-dan Michael
Redmond has endorsed MasterGo, saying
that he uses it to prepare for
tournaments. I have already used
MasterGo to explore my favorite
openings in greater depth and plan to
import my own collection of amateur
tournament games so that I can prepare
for common patterns.<br>
While the speed and depth of MasterGo
are dazzling, the user interface could
still use some tweaking. A great deal
of effort has obviously been expended
to simplify a huge, complex program,
but navigating through MasterGo is not
yet effortlessly intuitive. The brief
manual is worth a quick read, providing
helpful guidance on optimal use of
MasterGo's powerful features, or go to
http://www.mastergo.org and check out
the FAQ section.<br>
Also included in MasterGo is a joseki
dictionary, which, in conjunction with
the fuseki search abilities, makes it
possible to evaluate josekis based on
real-game positions. The only thing
missing is a similarly extensive and
powerful life-and-death utility and
then MasterGo could truly claim to be
the Go world's killer app.</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="Monkey_Jump_Workshop"></a> Monkey Jump
Workshop<br>
by Richard Hunter<br>
Slate & Shell<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 12K</b></p>
<p>We all recall our first encounter
with the monkey jump. An overplay!
Well, an annoyance. Errr, looks like
big trouble. How the blue blazes can he
get away with a move like that?<br>
So, in some book or on some Web site,
we find a short piece on the Monkey
Jump. Armed with our new-found
knowledge we await our nemesis and make
The Magic Reply. As our opponent's
stone slips through the defense and
ravages our territory, we make a note
to revisit the mystery. It seems the
Monkey Jump must be handled differently
in different contexts.<br>
Richard Hunter has produced a
masterful text on the Monkey Jump, its
variations, its point valuations, its
sente/gote considerations - and even
such things as when the one-point jump
may be superior or when the Monkey Jump
can be safely ignored. This book
contains a ton of MJ problems and 19
game records illustrating the MJ in
real life. Get it. Arm yourself with
knowledge. Don't be made a monkey of in
the future!<br>
Available at:
http://www.slateandshell.com</p>
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<p><b><a name="nihonkiinvol4_1"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<b>The Nihon Ki-in Handbook Volume 4,
Handicap Go<br>
Nihon Kiin Editor Fujisawa Kazunari,
Translated by Robert J. Terry<br>
Published by Yutopian<br>
Reviewed by Michael Turk, Australian
10k<br>
March 17, 2003</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">What a
find for us weak/middle kyu players! If
you are weaker than 9 kyu and you play
in a club dominated by strong kyu
players and dan-level players, you
probably spend most of your time
playing handicap games. If this is so,
this book will be very useful for you.
Although it is called a "Dictionary" it
does not provide simply brief catalogue
of handicap joseki and tesuji like many
of the other dictionaries - it actually
explains fundamental principles of
handicap play in terms that weaker
players can understand. The book is
written from Black's perspective. Each
handicap level - from nine stones down
to two is covered. Most diagrams have
only seven or eight moves. Each diagram
has comments on the key concepts
illustrated. The nice thing is that one
can actually develop an instinct for
the shape of the stones and how they
move. The book is designed for you to
see what moves are possible and the
reasons for their choice - with a
consistent strategy in mind. It not
only shows the 'good' variations, it
also shows some 'weaker' variations and
explains the difference. I suspect that
the book is written for players in the
15-10k AGA range. I am sure that study
and application of the principles
within the book, (with the view of
understanding rather than memorization)
will result in you becoming a stronger
player.<br></font></p>
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<p><b><a name="NihonKiinVol4_2"></a>
The Nihon Ki-in Handbook Series, Volume
4: Handicap Go Nihon Ki-in Editor:
Fujisawa Kazunari<br>
Translated by Robert Terry <br>
Edited by Craig Hutchinson <br>
Yutopian Enterprises, 2001 <br>
Reviewed by Bob Felice<br>
<br></b> Handicap Go analyzes typical
White openings in 3 to 9 stone handicap
go. The book shows Black's best
responses, but there is much here for
White, too. Many of the patterns
covered were new to me, and I will want
to try them when I give stones in a
handicap game. Each handicap is
accorded a full chapter, which begins
with a series of diagrams showing the
principal patterns the chapter will
cover. I hope future editions of the
book will add a cross-reference to the
diagrams, so the reader can jump
directly to the proper page to study a
particular pattern. Each chapter starts
with an overview entitled "Guidelines
for x Stone Games." These overviews
summarize the key concepts for this
type of handicap game. The overviews
are brief, averaging only about half a
page, and leave me hungry for more. I
feel the overviews are one of the
book's strengths, since this material
is accessible to players of all levels.
Handicap Go is not a book for
beginners. Single digit Kyus and Dans
will find many patterns to study. But
some of the presented sequences are
long, or complicated (or both!) Weaker
players will occasionally find
themselves lost after reading the
chapter overview.</p>
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<p><b><a name="palm_many_faces"></a>
Palm OS Edition of the Many Faces of Go
Joseki Dictionary<br>
Version 1.04<br>
Joseki Library by David Fotland<br>
Palm Programming by Bob Felice<br>
Reviewed by Kirby Huget, 8K</b></p>
<p>PDAs have become popular among Go
enthusiasts to record and review games.
A new application can now put an
extensive joseki dictionary in the palm
of your hand.<br>
The Palm OS Edition of the Many Faces
of Go Joseki Dictionary contains a
library with more than 50,000 moves in
standard corner sequences. Moves can be
played in any corner. Joseki and trick
plays are displayed along with
responses to bad moves. It is ideal for
study at all levels. A single stylus
stroke allows pass and retraction for
easy navigation through the library
while a "tutor" mode hides hints to
test the user. This is a wonderful tool
that can be carried and used almost
anywhere. Developers Fotland and Felice
are quick to point out that their
program is a study aid, not a cheating
device. They have included a "beep"
accompanying each move to remind users
to disable the program during
tournament play.</p>
<p>The program can be used on any
handheld device running Palm OS 2.0 or
greater (Palm, IBM Workpad, Handspring,
Sony CLIE) and is approximately 79k
bytes. There are a couple of
limitations worth noting. Once a corner
is chosen, all subsequent plays are
made in that corner. Additionally, if
the first move is a pass, only the top
left corner joseki are displayed.</p>
<p>A free trial version can be
downloaded at www.smart-games.com. The
trail version enables only 5-5 joseki
and disables some navigation features.
Registration is $20.00 and well worth
the investment. Registration unlocks
all dictionary functions and entitles
the user to free future maintenance
releases.<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><b><a name="MagisterLudi"></a>
Magister Ludi, The Glass Bead Game<br>
by Herman Hesse<br>
Published 1943 (Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1946)<br>
Reviewed by Bill Phillips</b></p>
<p>Go players are quick to see patterns
on the board and then to explore how
those patterns are similar to and
different from other patterns. In his
novel "Magister Ludi: The Glass Bead
Game", Herman Hesse tells the history
of a future culture which has created a
refined and isolated academic community
of game players. Their calling in life
is to explore the patterns in every art
and science. The parallel and
harmonious patterns in mathematical
proofs, Bach Fugues, historical
weavings and every other human endeavor
are then linked, documented and
annotated in a set of Mega-patterns -
The Glass Bead Games.<br>
Isolated in their monastery like
academic communities the players have
been elevated to a high cultural
status. The novel is the "historical"
story of one of the foremost
practitioners of the Game. After
exploring his young life where he
becomes one of the masters of the game,
it follows his career as one of the
leaders of the community the Magister
Ludi and finally with his struggle
regarding the separation of the
community from the world and the
separation rest of the world from the
joys and beauty of the Game.<br>
Although there is no direct evidence
that Hesse played Go, he did have a
familiarity with Japan so it seems
likely he was aware of the game. The
Glass Bead Game can be considered an
extension of the path that Haskell
Small took when he showed us a way to
combine the visual beauty of the game
with the audio beauty of a piano
piece.<br>
While this book is not about Go per se
it is about that larger quest that we
all share when we strive to find common
patterns in the world. Enjoy!</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="MakingGoodShape"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<b>Making Good Shape<br>
By Rob van Zeijst and Richard
Bozulich<br>
Kiseido Publishing Company<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 12k<br>
March 24, 2003</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This new
book is the missing piece of the
puzzle. Yes, empty triangles are bad
and dumplings are horrible, and never
get split apart - but isn't all that
rather obvious? After reading endless
game comments stating that "Black makes
good shape" or "White has bad shape,"
but never why, finally I am given rules
and many examples concerning
shape-thought. Following the section on
theory and practice come 245 problems
to pound the concepts into one's skull.
Reasons and alternatives are provided
with the answers. This is real
teaching. The problems are a delight to
work out. I set them up on a board and
try various lines until I understand
how to handle the situation. Many of
the problems were encountered in other
books, but never were explanations so
lucid and valuable. The final section
contains two games buttressed with very
thorough commentary. Again, the "whys"
are emphasized. This is terrific study
material.<br></font><br>
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<p><b><a name="master_of_go"></a> The
Master of Go<br>
by Yasunari Kawabata<br>
Published by Vintage Books; $12<br>
Reviewed by Steven Robert Allen,
1K</b></p>
<p>A game of go is much like a story.
It has tension, drama and conflict. If
you win, the story has a happy ending,
if you lose, a sad one. This inherent
drama is one reason the prize-winning
novelist Yasunari Kawabata was able to
take a particularly momentous game of
go and transform it into one of the
greatest Japanese novels of the 20th
century.</p>
<p>"The Master of Go" is a fictional
account of fact. As a budding writer,
Kawabata was commissioned by a
newspaper to report on the 1938
retirement match between Shusai (the
last hereditary Honinbo) and Kitani
Minoru (given the fictitious name
Otak‚ in the novel). Because of
Shusai's failing health, the game
extended over six months, and was
played in over a dozen different
sessions at various locations around
Japan. After the war, Kawabata
transformed his newspaper accounts into
this extraordinary novel, eventually
winning the Nobel Prize for Literature
in 1968.</p>
<p>The game itself plays a central role
in the book. Game records are sprinkled
throughout along with detailed analyses
of the match. Yet this novel is much
more than just an elaborate game
record. The Master of Go, like much
post-war Japanese literature, maps the
rough and difficult terrain between
traditional Japanese society,
represented by the Master (Shusai), and
contemporary westernized society,
represented by Otak‚. As such,
the book is as much about Japan's
defeat in World War II and the waning
of traditional Japanese culture and
values as it is about the match. It's a
sad but intensely beautiful story,
filled from start to finish with
tragedy and pathos.</p>
<p>The Master of Go holds a special
place in the hearts of go players not
only because it focuses on the game we
love, but because it incorporates that
game into a work of the highest
literary art. Every go player should
read this book. Most, if they are
serious about the game, will read it
many times.<br>
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<p><b><a name="1001LifeDeathProb"></a>
One Thousand and One Life-and-Death
Problems<br>
Mastering the Basics Series, Volume
2<br>
Compiled and Edited by Richard
Bozulich<br>
Kiseido Publishing Company, $15<br>
Reviewed by Patrick Bridges</b></p>
<p>Kiseido's first published book in
the new "Mastering the Basics" is a
book of life and death problems,
consisting of 1001 life and death
problems, primarily taken from the
Nihon-Kiin's book"1,2,3 de Tokeru<br>
Tsume-go 1000 Dai".<br>
The book is divided into three
sections, the first containing 400
"one-move problems" evenly split
between black to play and black to
kill. The second and third sections are
300 three-move problems and 301
five-move problems, again split evenly
between black to play and black to
kill, with the extra (1001st) problem
being a five-move black to kill
problem. Problems range in difficulty
from<br>
simple nakade shapes to moderately
difficult shapes. The book is laid out
like the "Get Strong At Tesuji", with
the odd pages containing 8 or 9 life
and death problems and the overleaf
even-number page containing the correct
answers. Refutations of incorrect
answers are generally not given and
figuring out the refutation of your
incorrect answers can be good exercise
all by itself.<br>
I'm really enjoying this book.
Life-and-death, reading, and
concentration are areas I've been
trying to improve lately, and this book
seems to be helping. The problems are
mixed up nicely, with easier and more
challenging problems scattered
throughout. Even some of the one-move
problems can be relatively challenging.
While the correct answer is indeed one
move with a relatively simple
continuation, the challenge can come
in seeing the 5-move sequence that
refutes the incorrect answer which
leapt to mind.<br>
The book is most useful for low-kyu
and dan level players who want more
practice with life-and-death and
reading, for example after having
completed at least the first three of
the Graded Go Problems for Beginners
series. For less experienced players,
the graded Go problem books would
probably be a better time investment,
though this book would still be
useful.</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="Opening _Theory_Made_Easy"></a>
Opening Theory Made Easy<br>
by Otake Hideo 9P<br>
Ishi Press; $12 U.S.<br>
Reviewed by Marc Willhite</b></p>
<p>I traded chess for go in May of this
year. I played in my first tournament
here in Colorado the first weekend of
November and managed to score three out
of four points, which put me in the
10-12 kyu range.<br>
Although this elementary masterpiece
is "officially" out-of-print, I was
able to track down a copy from the
British Go Association website
[http://66.39.78.200/bgabooks/bgaprices.html].<br>
Presented in three loosely assembled
sections with the headings, "Fuseki
Fundamentals," "Good Shape," and
"Strategy," Otake brings his twenty
principles to life with very basic,
easy-to-read diagrams and commentary
that is clear and understandable for
the beginner. His discussions on
extensions and pincers as well as
dealing with invasions gave me insights
I'd been searching for since I started
playing the game. He not only explains
which moves are fundamentally sound,
but why.<br>
You'll be introduced to concepts such
as "family feuds," "pushing the cart
from behind," and also shown the power
of a ponnuki and building "box-like"
moyos. Otake's main objective is for
the reader to commit these principles
to memory like proverbs so they become
second nature and are ready to use when
you encounter similar situations in
your own games.<br>
What's more, there is a sharp wit
lurking deep in many passages which
makes the book a real pleasure to
read.<br>
If your experience with this book is
anything like mine, you'll be playing
the opening with a new sense of
understanding and confidence, keys to
playing a better game of go.</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="PalmSGF"></a></b>
<b>Palm SGF<br>
http:://www.palmgo.com<br>
Reviewed by Zeke Tamayo<br></b><br>
The sole reason I purchased this
program was because it is fully SGF
based and is the only reader I've found
with that ability. I've also used
PilotGOne, Pilot Go, and AIGO. Palm
SGF's major advantage is that it can
read SGF files from my SD memory card
rather than from the "Notepad"
application. The drawback is that a 3rd
party utility is required to copy SGF
files to the SD card, as the basic
"hotsync" application refuses to copy
SGF files to my Tungsten|T. However,
this is a minor issue compared with cut
and pasting the entire SGF file to
notepad on the palm desktop in order to
put the file onto my palm pilot.</p>
<p>There are a few issues with the
interface on Palm SGF. The graphics
allow you to change the board color,
stone color, and blink speed but the
comments field is unruly. You cannot
view the whole field at once, and the
only way to scroll the field is to
click a small arrow with your stylus.
The website says "jog dial" support can
move the comment field, but this is on
the Sony Clie and there isn't any
equivalent on the Tungsten.</p>
<p>The file chooser is fairly good.
There are no problems getting to a
file, and you can see basic info about
the file (event, filename, date, and
players). The only thing I think could
be improved is a way to sort the files.
They don't really seem to have any
sorting at all and folders are as
likely to appear at the top of the list
as they are somewhere in the middle of
the list.</p>
<p>By far, the best function has been
the "play through" one. If you load an
SGF file (a pro game or tsume go set
perhaps) you can play the next move. In
other words, if black to play, you can
search around until you make the
correct choice and white's next move
will be shown. This is wonderful for
Tsume go!</p>
<p>Overall, Palm SGF is a significant
improvement on older PDF go programs
and has become my primary reviewing
utility.</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="Positional_Judgement"></a> Positional
Judgment: High-Speed Game
Analysis</b><br>
<b>by Cho Chikun</b><br>
<b>Ishi Press, 1989, 179 pp</b>.<br>
<b>Reviewed by Paul Thibodeau</b></p>
<p>"Game analysis is the process of
estimating fairly accurately the
relative territorial prospects of each
player at key stages throughout the
game, including a correct
interpretation of the weak and strong
positions," says Cho Chikun, pretty
much summing up the theme of this
book.<br>
The book's first section covers how to
count definite territory, moyos, and
thickness, followed by six practice
problems. Here the reader develops a
good sense of how to accurately judge
territorial prospects, "based on the
minimum area that cannot be further
reduced". These are visually outlined
with x's throughout the book, a great
aid to learning these skills. The
second section applies them.<br>
Chapter 3 contains ten diverse
illustrations of how an accurate whole
board judgment leads to a correct
winning strategy, followed by eight
multiple-choice problems that clearly
exemplify the direct role of
territorial estimation in forming
strategy. The final chapter contains
two of Cho's games illustrating his
analysis. The first I found to be a
particularly good example.<br>
This book doesn't have the smooth and
polished feel of Cho's "The 3-3 Point:
Modern Opening Theory." More a
collection of study material, I had to
put the book down frequently and come
back to it, but half the problem may
have been false expectations. Except
for one paragraph on pp. 113-114
suggesting comparing territories
directly to quickly assess who is
ahead, (this territory is about double
that, those two are about the same, so
I am ahead), one will search in vain
for any mention of 'high-speed'
analysis, the main reason I got the
book.<br>
This method is actually given better
coverage in the first chapter
'Territory and Power' of Davies' and
Akira's Elementary Go Series book:
'Attack and Defense'. If one comes to
the book expecting it to be an
extension of that discussion, (even
better, reading that section first
before beginning the book), he or she
will probably get settled in much more
quickly.<br>
That said, estimating territory is so
fundamental to sound analysis that this
book will significantly increase the
strength of almost any player who
doesn't already incorporate estimations
in their analysis.<br>
Most of the examples are at the
amateur dan level, so stronger players
-- 1 kyu or above -- will get the most
out of it. Players less than 4 kyu may
benefit more from 'Attack and
Defense'.<br>
Available from Kiseido Publishing
Company, $15;
http://www.usgo.org/resources/books.html</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="pro_pro_handicap_go"></a> Pro-Pro
Handicap Go, edited by the Nihon Ki-in
(2/5/01)<br>
(Yutopian, 1997)<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 15K</b></p>
<p>How does a strong professional play
if given three, four or five stones by
another pro and asked to demonstrate
victory with clear, straightforward
moves? How much could you learn given
access to the pros' thoughts as their
game unfolded?</p>
<p>Three complete and deeply annotated
games are the heart of Pro-Pro Handicap
Go. Eight additional games carry
through to about move 50. The book is
visually striking. The main diagrams
take up most of the 7" by 8" pages, and
no diagram gives more than a few
moves.</p>
<p>If you're like me and take handis
more often than you give them, or if
you want to glimpse professional
thinking on the white side - this text
is great. Unless you're stronger than
9-dans like Ishida Yoshio, Takemiya
Masaki and Cho Chikun, you'll learn
something. The book has many bonuses.
Try forecasting key moves. Learn
skillful plays from the pros in sidebar
diagrams. Enjoy photographs of 22
well-known professionals. Get
stronger!<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><a name="PurpleHeartBoard"></a>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Purpleheart
Go Board<br>
Made by Carol Dufour<br>
Reviewed by David Bogie<br>
October 20, 2003</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I
first noticed Carol Dufour's
woodworking on eBay about six
months ago because his go boards
kept showing up in my searches.
They were unusual, made of oak
and butternut. When he offered a
truly unique go board made of
purpleheart, I ordered it
immediately for $200, including
protective packaging and shipping
from Canada. Purpleheart,
Leguminosae Peltogyne, grows in
South America and is not
endangered. The wood is
incredibly dense and is difficult
to work, quickly dulling edged
tools. The breathtaking purple
calls to the wood artist. You
have seen it in wood sculptures,
pool cues, marquetry, flooring,
and in custom tools for the
discriminating woodworker. Carol
is an expert cabinetmaker; his
knowledge and skill are evident.
Eleven sticks were machined and
planed, carefully aligned and
matched for color and grain, and
pressure-clamped to form the
slab. As the wood ages, movement
will be balanced by the opposing
orientation of the grain. The
grid looks silk-screened but was
hand-applied using a gabarit, or
drawing gauge. Several undercoats
of varnish ensured the ink could
not bleed. The lines are a bit
thick but laser-straight. My
board is 1-5/8" thick, the feet
make it a nice 2-1/2", and it
weighs a hefty 30 pounds. The
board plays beautifully with a
pleasant sound and plenty of eye
appeal. The striking purple color
contrasts sharply with warm shell
while complimenting cold slate
creating a unique visual
treat.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Visit
Carol Dufour's site at
http://www.boardgamego.com</font></p>
<p><br>
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<p><b><a name="restless"></a> Movie:
"Restless" DIRECTED BY Jule Gilfillian
(1/29/01)<br>
Arrow Features; 98 minutes<br>
Reviewed by Roy Laird</b></p>
<p>Leah is adrift, restless. Landing in
Beijing after a string of flights from
failed romances, she falls in with
other expatriates. A chance encounter
with a young weiqi master she saw on TV
leads to . . . well, let's stop there
and not spoil it. Let's just say that a
few twists and subplots later, we learn
what Dorothy . . . er, Leah is really
looking for. (Hint: There's no place
like it.)</p>
<p>Along the way, we see weiqi on TV,
on the street, in a club, at home. On
TV, Master Sun (played by Asian Jimmy
Smits clone Geng Li) teaches how to
"attack from a distance." With an
inevitability that Sidney Sheldon would
love, the insight Leah gains enables
her to turn the tables on the cad who
jilted her, and jilt him right back.
Catherine Kellner plays Leah with Sarah
Jessica Parker-like insouciance.</p>
<p>Restless is the first
English-language film made in modern
Beijing, and the first US-China
cooperative filmmaking venture. Don't
look for any scathing indictments here,
just a basically lighthearted look at
some young people falling in and out of
love in China while trying to "find"
themselves. Watch for a nice subplot
about Leah's Asian-American friend, a
hunky bimbo delivering his
grandfather's ashes who gets more than
he bargained for in return.</p>
<p>It's a pleasure to see weiqi in an
attractive setting, even without so
much as a brief reference to the actual
nature of the game. (An uninformed
viewer could leave with the impression
that weiqi is a "variation of chess,"
as The New York Times mistakenly
reported.) Pi, the recent cult hit in
which the monomaniacal main man
discovers the secret of the universe on
the go board, gave the game a lot of
visibility, but didn't leave people
wanting to learn more about it.
Restless, on the other hand, is a film
you can recommend to your friends on
its merits, and after they see it they
may well ask you some interesting
questions about weiqi.</p>
<p>If you're looking for a truly great
film about weiqi, turn to The Go
Masters, the first (and thus far only)
joint venture between the Japanese and
Chinese film industries. If you can
find this out-of-print 1982 sprawling
saga of World War II and the Japanese
invasion of China, you are in for a
once-in-a lifetime treat. Think of it
as Go With the Wind. If you find a
copy, let me know.<br>
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<p><b><a name="Sabaki_Weak_Stones_1"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Sabaki:
How to Manage Weak Stones<br>
Yang Yi-Lun<br>
Compiled and Edited by John C.
Stephenson<br>
Reviewed by Barney Cohen, 4k*
IGS</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This
slim little book is based on material
presented by Mr. Yang during a recent
"Yang workshop" in New Jersey. It is
available via the Wings Across Calm
Water Go Club web site. The book
consists of two parts, the first
illustrating important concepts and
techniques necessary for creating
sabaki (a flexible, light position) and
the second a review of essential sabaki
guidelines followed by sample problems
and solutions.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This is
an extremely slim volume for such a
huge subject. Nevertheless, it should
prove a useful addition to many
player's go library. With so many books
on various aspects of go now available,
it is truly astonishing that this is
the first book ever to be devoted
solely to the subject of making sabaki
(at least in English). Not only does
this book provide the reader with a
clear analytical framework for
assessing sabaki situations, it
introduces a number of important
concepts not well discussed elsewhere.
Even with this book, there is still a
huge hole in the literature for one of
the major publishers of go books to
develop a much larger treatment on the
topic with many more examples and
practice problems. In the meantime,
this seminal volume should enjoy a wide
readership. The last time that John
Stephenson transcribed material from
one of Mr. Yang's lectures, (How to
Destroy and Preserve, 2000), it rapidly
disappeared from print. This book is
even better and more useful than the
last.<br></font><br>
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<p><b><a name="Sabaki_Weak_Stones2"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Sabaki,
How to Manage Weak Stones<br>
By Yi-Lun Yang, 7P<br>
Lecture notes compiled and edited by
John C. Stephenson<br>
Published by Wings Across Calm Water
Go Club<br>
Reviewed by Kenneth Berg<br>
July 28, 2003</b></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A
prolific teacher, author, and regular
attendee of the US Go Congress, Mr.
Yang is well known to the American go
scene. “Sabaki” is based on
lectures given by Mr. Yang during one
of the annual 4-day intensive workshops
held each June by the Wings Across Calm
Water Go Club. For those familiar with
Mr. Yang’s other excellent works
(such as the Whole Board Thinking in
Joseki series and his Ingenious Life
and Death Puzzle series), this little
tome will get right to the heart of the
topic. In section 1, Mr. Yang begins by
discussing the importance of managing
weak stones. He presents the reader
with a series of questions to help
evaluate weak stones and decide which
course of action is appropriate. The
following 78 diagrams and explanations
illustrate the principles of sabaki in
real-game context, with examples of
good, bad, and
“insufficient” play to show
when to run, live quickly, or
sacrifice. The remainder of the book
covers practice problems, beginning
with six sabaki guidelines, followed by
12 “black to play”
half-board problems. While sabaki is
important to all levels, this material
presented will be most accessible to
mid-kyu through dan level players.
Higher kyu players can benefit if they
approach the book as a tool to help
improve their overall judgment relative
to handling of weak stones, rather than
getting bogged down in some of the more
intricate sequences.
“Sabaki” is available as a
limited numbered first printing for
$12.75 per copy plus $2.25 per order.
Orders can be placed online using
PayPal / creditcard from the Wings
Across Calm Water Go Club website at:
http://www.wingsgoclub.org/ , by going
to the section on books. Checks can
also be sent directly to John C.
Stephenson, 446 Lincoln Ave., Wyckoff,
NJ, 07481.<br></font></p>
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<p><b><a name="SegoeTesuji"></a> Segoe
Tesuji Dictionary<br>
reviewed by Dr. Fumitaka
Hayashi</b><br>
<br>
Although more and more
English-language go books are published
each year, the numbers of English
language go texts still pale in
comparison to the numbers of such texts
in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.<br>
<br>
One classic text which is not
available in English is the Segoe
Tesuji Dictionary. Written by Segoe
Kensaku, and co-written by Go Seigen
(who was a student of Segoe at the
beginning of his career), it is
currently published in three volumes.
The Segoe Tesuji Dictionary is arranged
like a tsumego collection. There are 25
sections spread over the three volumes,
each dealing with a particular type of
tesuji (such as hane, oki, oiotoshi,
etc.) that is critical in the solution
of the problems presented. Each problem
is accompanied by a short text (in
Japanese of course) that briefly
describes the problem and a hint about
the correct solution. Each diagram
shows the problem arranged on one-half
of a go board. The correct solutions
are located in the second half of each
book, and again each solution is
accompanied by a short paragraph of
explanation. The problems are
categorized as 'A', 'B', or 'C',
denoting the difficulty of the problem.
'A' problems often have solutions that
span multiple diagrams. To facilitate
reading the questions and the answers,
the book has not only one, but two
bookmark ribbons that are frequently
bound into the spine of Japanese
books.</p>
<p>My own Japanese reading ability is
limited, but I have no problem
deciphering the meaning of much of the
text. The format of this book is such
that it is possible to learn from the
problems themselves without necessarily
being able to read the text. A few
minutes of browsing should familiarize
the reader with the kanji for 'white
first' and 'black first'. Each section
face page includes two diagrams
demonstrating the type of tesuji
highlighted in the section, so you
don't have to know how to read Japanese
to know the contents of each section.
These factors make the Segoe Tesuji
Dictionary somewhat more useful to
non-Japanese readers compared to
another standard Japanese tesuji
reference, the Fujisawa Tesuji
Dictionary. In the Fusijsawa
Dictionary, much of the content is in
the form of explanatory text
accompanying the diagrams. Not
understanding the text seems to me to
lose more of the content of the
Fujisawa work compared to the Segoe
work.<br>
I highly recommend the Segoe Tesuji
Dictionary, even if you do not read any
Japanese. ISBN numbers: Vol.1
4-416-70300-7; Vol.2 4-416-70301-5;
Vol.3 4-416-70302-3</p>
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<p><b><a name="SplitThePlay"></a>
"Split"<br>
A play by Michael Weller<br>
Reviewed by Beverly Leffers</b></p>
<p>The ads for the play "Split" promise
that "The breakup of the 'perfect
couple' stuns and unsettles their
immediate circle of friends. Toss in
one overly complicated Japanese game, a
couple of married swingers and a few
obscure frog references and what you
have is a serious comedy about life's
salad."<br>
As it turns out, this play was
originally presented 20 years ago as
two separate one-act plays, which are
now being shown together. One play,
which has become Act I, involves the
repercussions of the breakup on the
circle of friends. The other, which is now Act
II, is a two-person play showing the
married couple and their relationship
shortly before the breakup.<br>
Unfortunately, the two segments are
insufficiently tied together.
Furthermore, there seems to be little
purpose in the reverse chronology. Act
II, before the breakup, is by far the
stronger of the two; perhaps it comes
second so that the audience leaves
happy.<br>
Go plays a small part in the
production. In Act I, a friend of the
splitting couple says, with a roll of
her eyes, that her husband is learning
how to play Go. Sure enough, the
husband later tries to recruit someone
else to the game by showing a position
and quoting a Go aphorism which may or
may not have been a real one. The other
couple turns out to be the promised
"married swingers" and Go reappears in
the story when the couple, in a private
discussion in their home, over a Go
game, they get into an argument about
the swinging. The argument ends when
the woman actually sits on the game, an
act that, in my experience, would
inflame an argument, not end it. All in
all, the play is amusing but not
great.<br>
"Split" appears through 10/20 at New
York City's Lion Theatre in the new
Theatre Row Studios at 410- 412 W. 42nd
Street. (btw.9th and 10th)<br>
http://www.brokenwatch.org/split.htm</p>
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<p><b><a name="tesuji_and_anti_suji_of_go"></a>
Tesuji and Anti-Suji of Go<br>
By Sakata Eio<br>
Published by Yutopian; $17.50<br>
Reviewed by Mike LePore e-mail:
mike_lepore@timeinc.com</b></p>
<p>Weaker players often think of tesuji
as the killing moves stronger players
make against them. Yet often tesuji
(strongest local moves) result in no
killing at all and can have profound
whole-board relevance. Sakata Eio's
book, while loaded with death, shows
that implementing a tesuji can also
mean getting to live in sente, or
giving up stones in return for
unconquerable influence, or turning an
awful situation into a slightly less
awful situation.</p>
<p>There are three reasons this book is
a valuable learning tool. First, each
of the more than 60 problems is
accompanied by not only the correct
solution but also by the incorrect
solutions (anti-suji), as well as
detailed explanations. Second, some
problems arise from joseki or
deviations from joseki and, where
applicable, Sakata shows how the
problem developed. Third, in many cases
the problems build off each other. A
certain problem may be almost identical
to a prior problem with, say, an extra
stone. Sakata shows how such subtle
differences on the board can
dramatically affect one's ability to
employ a tesuji.</p>
<p>The presentation style of the book
gives the reader more than just an
ability to recognize a tesuji in a
contrived example. One learns to
recognize the rationale behind the
tesuji and not simply the tesuji
itself; a rationale that can be applied
to much more than just the 60 examples
in Sakata's great book.<br>
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<p><b><a name="tesuj_Elem_Vol3"></a></b>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
<b>Tesuji, Elementary Go Series Vol.
3<br>
by James Davies,<br>
Published by Kiseido<br>
Reviewed by Lawrence Ku, 11k<br>
June 6, 2003</b><br></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">One of
the Kiseido's "Elementary Go" series,
"Tesuji" is divided into 16 chapters,
each consisting of several sections
focusing on one tesuji or technique. At
the end of each section, there are
several questions to answer and at the
end of each chapter there are review
questions on the whole. The final
chapter poses a series of challenging
problems, all with answers and some
with more than one variation. The book
is very easy to follow, with clear
diagrams covering more than 50 tesuji.
While some are fairly easy, some are
very challenging. I read this book when
I was 14k, and there are chapters where
I can answer all of their questions,
but there are a few chapters where I
only can answer half of the questions.
"Tesuji" will improve your strength by
at least one to two stones if you are a
low or middle kyu player, although
players of all strengths will benefit
from reading it. Available at
http://www.kiseido.com/</font></p>
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<td>
<p><b><a name="tesuji_made_easy_cd"></a> Tesuji Made
Easy CD<br>
Copyright 2000, Jiang Han, distributed
by Yutopian Enterprises; $50<br>
Minimum Requirements: 486 or higher,
Windows 3.1 or higher, approx. 5 Meg HD
space<br>
Reviewed by Paul Thibodeau</b></p>
<p>Tesuji Made Easy is computer
software with a huge collection of go
problems (2440), illustrating a diverse
range of technique in subcategories
such as ko, shape, sacrifice, reducing
or extending liberties, and sabaki,
under six main themes: Life (425),
Death (618), Attack (259), Defense
(325), Capturing Races (217), and
Endgame (596).</p>
<p>About 30-40% of the problems are
from classic texts, mainly
"Guan-Zhi-Pu". They are graded from 1
to 5 stars in difficulty, with most
between 3 and 5 stars, too difficult
for low kyu players. You set the number
of guesses you allow yourself for a
problem, and your rank is then adjusted
depending on whether or not you solve
it. The quantity and quality of
illustrated variations vary greatly.
For some problems there are few or
none.</p>
<p>The shortcomings of the program
itself are extensive. By far the most
serious is the inability to place
stones to explore variations. No
analysis is possible, if the move is
not in the database a 'Lost!' dialog
box appears and the problem resets. You
can't take back or undo a move, or
reset a problem. You need to switch to
another problem and come back.</p>
<p>The program is slow, taking several
seconds to switch between problems on a
486-100 with Windows 98. If you change
problems while the program is
illustrating a variation it will hang.
A distracting red square appears on the
star-point to allow cursor key entry,
and almost always covers one of the
stones in the problem. It can be moved
but not taken off the board altogether.
The 'number of guesses' option is off
by one (if you put 2, you will get
1).</p>
<p>The grading feature doesn't function
properly. After solving only one or two
problems the software will promote you.
It keeps promoting you for resolving
the same problem, which you may easily
find yourself doing if you look at
problems more than once. If you want to
restart the ranking you need to edit
the score file, which causes runtime
errors. Each problem is identified by
either 'have solved', 'not solved', or
'wrong answer', but are misidentified
even when the program is first
installed. A DOS-era style program
window that won't fit at 640x480
resolution and won't fill to 800x600, a
unique Pokemon-like picture associated
with each rank that can't be removed,
and corny sound events round out the
amateurish presentation. There are also
some errors in the variations. In a
subvariation of Problem 1, 'Capturing
Stones/Destroy Opponent's Eye Shape',
Black puts his whole group into atari
instead of starting a ko, while in
Problem 5 of 'Endgame Moves/Invade',
White appears to needlessly connect
after blocking the monkey jump.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that this program
really seems to still be in beta.
Nevertheless, if all you want is for it
to display a Go problem and the correct
solution, you will probably be happy,
anything else and it will be
disappointing. Beginners less than 10
kyu will definitely want to give this
one a wide berth, picking up books like
Tesuji, Life and Death, Attack and
Defense, and Endgame from the
Elementary Go Series to cover the same
ground at a challenging level for about
the same price. High kyu and dan
players may be willing to tolerate the
program's shortcomings to have access
to such a large number of classic
problems, but will have to resign
themselves to setting up many problems
on the board.<br>
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<p><b><a name="36stratagems"></a>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The
Thirty-six Stratagems Applied to Go<br>
Ma Xiaochun, 9P<br>
Yutopian Enterprises, $16<br>
Reviewed by Andrew Cseh<br>
January 20, 2003</font></b></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ma's
interesting book explores the
resemblance between warfare and go
tactics and strategies, based on the
ancient Sanshiliu Ji [The Thirty-six
Stratagems]. The stratagems, structured
in six sets of six schemes each, are
illustrated in the same number of
brilliantly selected and commented
games. Briefly explaining the meaning
of the military stratagem, Ma continues
by presenting a selected game that
illustrates a similar go tactic,
accompanied of course by thorough
strategic and tactical analysis and
explanation. Although the traditional
maxims of go cover the tactics and
strategies of the game, this book
succeeds in bringing a completely
unique and new approach that might be
closer to our thinking and is one of
the most entertaining go books I have
read. In addition to learning a lot,
it's also a real pleasure to
read.</font></p>
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<p><b><a name="tournament_go_1992"></a>
Tournament Go 1992<br>
compiled and translated by John
Power<br>
Power Publications<br>
Reviewed by Danny Dowell, 10k</b></p>
<p>This book stunningly presents 50
games from top Japanese title matches
and top international competition. All
the analysis and variations in these
books are by top professionals.</p>
<p>Unlike the dry commentary sometimes
found in other books, "Tournament Go"
book brings the games to life with
descriptions by both the players and
high-ranking observers. This book
spreads out the game and includes many
variations, doing full justice to the
games.</p>
<p>Matches include: Cho Chikun's
incredible fight-back for a three game
deficit, Kobayashi Koichi and Otake's
struggle in the Meijin, and a fierce
clash between Shuko and Kobayashi
Koichi in the Oza. "Tournament Go" also
contains Lee Chang-ho's defeat of Rin
Kaiho to become the first teenage world
champion. All players above beginner
will find this book useful but stronger
players will find more even "gems" in
this magnificent book.<br>
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<p><b><a name="treasure_chest_enigma"></a> The
Treasure Chest Enigma<br>
by Nakayama Noriyuki, privately
published by Nakayama Noriyuki, Japan,
1984. (ASIN 487 187 1029)<br>
by Bob McGuigan (4-dan)</b></p>
<p>This classic is a treasure chest of
stories, game commentaries and problems
by the well-known Japanese pro (5-Dan
at the time of publication, now 6-Dan),
prolific writer of go books for himself
and for many famous professionals, and
peripatetic teacher.</p>
<p>John Power and Richard Dolen
translated the material in this book
from the original Japanese. There are
seven essays regaling us with stories
of historic episodes in Japanese go,
tidbits of go culture, and the life of
Japanese professional players. For
example, there is the story of a
life-and-death problem that perplexed
strong professionals but was easily
solved by an amateur 9-kyu player. Then
there is the essay on how one can
become stronger by learning how to
resign at the right time. The book is
graced by the inclusion of haiku poems
which Mr. Nakayama's father, a noted
haiku poet, wrote when shown the
essays.</p>
<p>There are also three very detailed
commentaries on fascinating
professional games, in which we can
share the atmosphere in which the game
took place as well as the character of
the players. Finally, the book
concludes with 20 wonderful whole-board
problems with solutions, including
several of Mr. Nakayama's trademark
long ladder problems and finishing with
one by the great Dosaku (or perhaps his
disciple Inseki, Meijin) in which Black
captures 72 stones but can't make two
eyes. This is not an instructional
book, but you will probably read it
more times than any other go book in
your library. Reading and savoring it
will immensely increase your pleasure
in playing go. Many of us thank our
lucky stars that we could buy a copy
from Mr. Nakayama himself at a go
congress, or from Ishi Press, which
sold them for a while.</p>
<p>Currently, availability is limited,
since the book is out of print.
Yutopian www.yutopian.com advertises
copies for sale at $60.00. The website
http://rarebooksinjapan.com/index.html
lists a copy for sale autographed by
the author, for $50.00 (look under the
heading Japanalia 5: Books about Japan
(in English)). Finally, Amazon.com will
look for a used copy, quoting a price
estimate of $27.50. Speaking for
myself, the book is cheap at twice
these prices.<br>
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<p><b><a name="understanding_how_to_play_go_atkins"></a>
Understanding How to Play Go<br>
by Yuan Zhou<br>
Slate & Shell<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 13K
(4/2/01)</b></p>
<p>Often I play over a recorded game
between strong players, but the
thoughts of the masters are not
terribly accessible to a go apprentice
like me. I want one of the players to
magically appear and explain some of
the mysteries to me.</p>
<p>The folks at Slate & Shell must
understand my dream. A main goal of
theirs is publishing good material to
help kyu level players improve. Yuan
Zhou's excellent book is subtitled "an
AGA 7-dan explains some of his games."
His annotations of the seven games in
this book are both copious and
accessible.</p>
<p>Zhou describes the thoughts behind
both strategy and tactics. He tells why
the big points are big points. He
points out the trick moves. He makes it
clear when and why he varies from
conventional lines of play. Really nice
are the many sidebar diagrams that show
alternative ways of playing or the
consequences of blindly following
reflex moves.</p>
<p>Playing through these games has
helped me a lot. Even if I knew a
concept, the author's clear manner of
expression reinforced the lesson. I
imagine the revelation of Zhou's
thought processes would be interesting
to dan as well as kyu players.<br>
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<p><b><a name="UtilizingOutwardInfluence"></a>Utilizing
Outward Influence<br>
by Jin Jiang and Zhao Zheng</b><br>
<b>Yutopian Enterprises</b><br>
<b>Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 13K</b></p>
<p>The first time I approached this
book, I knocked at the gate of learning
and was turned away. A year later,
after reading a column called "A Taste
for Thicknesss" in some old Go Worlds,
I realized how painfully sketchy was my
understanding of this fundamental way
of thinking. Returning to Utilizing
Outward Influence was a logical
step.<br>
This time the book, which admittedly
is not written in as lucid a style as I
might wish, began to slowly yield its
secrets. Chapter 1 is entitled "The
Basic Concept of Outward Influence." It
sort of plows the ground. The problems
in Chapter 2 plant the seeds of
understanding. They show the fruit of
contrasting approaches to specific
situations where outward influence can
be developed or exploited. See the
right way, then the wrong ways, and let
the differences sink in. I am not yet
ready for the advanced problems, which
claim to be dan level. The elementary
problems are hard enough for me.<br>
Chapter 3 says that good players seize
control of the center. It deals with
whole board thinking in the use of
influence. By beating my head
repeatedly against the examples, I am
gaining a bit of happy knowledge. If
you too are happy after struggling hard
to gain new knowledge, then this may be
a good book for you.<br>
Available at yutopian.com for $14.00 +
$1.50 s/h.</p>
<p><a href="#top">[Return to
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<p><b><a name="way_of_play_for_the_21st_century"></a>
A Way of Play for the 21st Century<br>
by Go Siegen<br>
Whole Board Press<br>
Reviewed by Lon Atkins, 13k</b></p>
<p>Diagrams -- large, clear,
easy-to-read diagrams -- occupy
two-thirds of the page surface within
this book. The text is also clear and
easily read. With too many go books I
find myself paging back and forth,
wading through digressions embedded
within a discussion of technique, and
left with cryptic evaluations of
alternative lines of play. Go Siegen
(and the translator and the layout
artist) have done an excellent job of
avoiding these traps.</p>
<p>The material comes from Go Siegen's
study group over the years 1994-1997.
The master takes as his starting point
standard joseki, then he infuses them
with new ideas and best play as he sees
it for both sides. He examines
everything from the whole board
perspective (so you see at least four
joseki unfolding). This way of thinking
is absolutely vital to his analysis. As
a beginner, I am hungry for teaching
that relates the whole board to the
lesson at hand. Go Siegen provides that
nourishment.</p>
<p>Perhaps most valuable are the many
diagrams detailing alternative lines of
play. The author not only shows the
plays, he talks about their rationale
and why white or black rejected them.
Learning from mistakes is as old a
school as exists. Comparing in diagram
form the right way and the wrong way(s)
is highly educational.</p>
<p>A Way of Play for the 21st Century
repays careful study with many fresh
insights.<br>
<a href="#top">[Return to Top]</a></p>
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<p><b><a name="WordFreak"></a> Word
Freak<br>
By Stefan Fatsis<br>
Reviewed by Chris Garlock</b></p>
<p>"If you put too much stress on
winning and losing you won't last.
You'll burn out. You can only make the
best play you can make at any time.
That's all you can control."<br>
It's not a big surprise that one of
the best books ever written about a
board game is written by a sports
writer. The surprise is that the board
game is Scrabble and that Go players
may find a lot to learn about their
fascination with their own game in
"Word Freak" by Stefan Fatsis, now out
in paperback.<br>
Competitive Scrabble bears about as
much resemblance to the game played in
millions of American living rooms as
Othello goes to Go. For one thing, like
Go, competitive Scrabble is strictly a
one-on-one game. For another, unlike
most casual "living room" games of
Scrabble, tournament play involves
extensive word knowledge and a grasp of
both tactics and strategy.<br>
When Wall Street Journal sports writer
Stefan Fatsis set out to become a
competitive Scrabble player, he had no
idea he was about to enter an arcane,
obsessive subculture, much like those
of us who innocently picked up a Go
stone for some now-forgotten reason and
who can now be found puzzling over
obscure variations in the Avalanche
joseki.<br>
Fatsis starts out playing for fun in
New York City's Washington Square Park,
but soon moves onto the local club
scene and from there it's a short but
irreversible step to the tournament
scene. Intending to write a book from
the start, Fatsis finds his
journalistic objectivity quickly
overwhelmed, first by his competitive
desire to graduate from the "blue-hair"
division, and then by his growing
appreciation for a challenging and
captivating game.<br>
Anyone who's studied josekis will nod
in grim recognition as Fatsis grapples
with memorizing the "twos, threes and
fours," -- the thousands of two-, three
and four-letter words that all serious
Scrabble players know cold, only to
realize that the fives, sixes and
sevens -- like 30-move josekis -- are a
key to improving.<br>
A terrific writer and spellbinding
storyteller, Fatsis' tale of his
journey into the "heartbreak, triumph,
genius and obsession in the world of
competitive Scrabble players" is
impossible to put down as we follow his
ups and downs, learn the fascinating
history of a truly American game
(invented during the Depression by an
out-of-work New York City architect)
and meet the bizarre but lovable
characters who inhabit a strange but
compelling world that Go players will
find all-too-familiar.<br>
"Word Freak" won't make you want to
switch board games, but it may help you
find inspiration on those days when,
like Stefan Fatsis, frustrated with yet
another tough day on the board, you ask
yourself "What was I trying to
prove?"<br>
- published by Houghton Mifflin,
available at bookstores everywhere.</p>
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| Copyright © 2004
American Go
Association Email the AGA at aga@usgo.org Email the Journal Team at journal@usgo.org Last updated on October 5, 2004 |