Go Books

A collection of eleven masterpieces by some of the great players of the post-war era. An exhaustive commentary accompanies each game. Starts with the atomic-bomb game between Iwamoto and Hashimoto, Takagawa’s dominance of the Honinbo title, the rise of Sakata and Fujisawa Shuko, Fujisawa Hosai and his imitation Go strategy, and more.

This book provides a vast number and a large variety of opening problems for the inexperienced player. Explanations are brief, with emphasis being placed on principles to give the reader a feeling of what a good opening move is. To this end each problem is presented by stating an opening principle that can be used to solve the problem. By seeing how these opening principles are used in games, your intuition in the opening will become highly developed.

This book provides a large variety of tesuji problems. Tesuji are skillful moves that accomplish some clear tactical objective, such as capturing stones or a group, rescuing one of your own groups, linking up your stones, separating your opponent’s stones, making good shape, etc. There are about 45 different kinds of moves that make up tesujis. Some of these tesujis occur quite frequently in games, while others are seldom seen.

This book presents examples of every kind of tesuji. The more common ones occur in numerous problems, but even the less common ones will be represented a number of times. All of these different tesujis are scattered throughout the book. Just as in a game, one never knows what kind of tesuji will appear. It may be easy to find it, but often it is hard; it might be a quite common tesuji, but it could be one of those that rarely occur. Going through the 501 tesujis in this book will be like getting a tesuji experience in 501 games. However, in a game, many tesujis will go by unnoticed; in this book, each problem will be a learning experience.

Killing isolated groups or finding a way to make two eyes for them is an important technique that every Go player must acquire. Although this is first and foremost a problem book (containing 230 problems), the explanations of the main topics make it useful as an introduction to life and death and it should be accessible to players who have read an introductory Go book and played a few games. Divided into three parts, the first part systematically covers the basics of life and death, starting with the fundamental concept of eye space. Next, the three essential tesujis used to kill groups are introduced: the hane, the placement and the throw-in. In another section the reader is shown when it is appropriate to expand his eye space and when he should fall back and play on a vital point. Part Two contains 100 life-and-death problems of positions that arise from josekis and their variants. The final part contains 64 problems for the reader to review and practice the principles learned in the first two parts.

How do you win a won game? How do you win a lost game? Study the endgame! More specifically, study this book and you will really get strong at the endgame.

The book starts out with a 42-problem test. Unless you’re already strong at the endgame, expect to do badly, but after studying the 120 endgame-tesuji problems in Part Two and the 101 endgame-calculation problems in Part Three, you should have no problem scoring close to 100%. The 28 problems on 11x11 boards in Part Four illustrate the interplay between different-valued endgame moves in realistic situations.

Understanding and recognizing good shape will help you become a strong player and develop the intuition that will instantly guide you to find the strongest moves in middle-game fighting. Includes chapters on the efficient placement of stones, on standard shapes (both good and bad), and 245 problems to practice your ability to find the shape move.

All About Ko is a book that simplifies the difficult subject of ko by breaking it down into 19 easily digestible chapters. Each chapter concentrates on one particular aspect of ko, with ample examples, so that the reader fully understands the concept being studied. The book ends with 122 problems and eleven example games designed to hammer home the concepts introduced in the first part of the book.

In handicap games, the handicap stones are high on the star points and are not efficient in securing territory. The correct strategy for Black in handicap games is to place priority on building influence and to use this influence to relentlessly attack. This way of playing might seem to be unreasonable against a strong opponent, but it will actually make your handicap games less complicated and your strategic goals more clear. It also leaves your opponent with fewer options in his responses. It is the aim of this book to teach the principles and techniques that you must know to play this kind of game.

The first edition of this book has been out of print for more than 20 years. This edition has been extensively revised and rewritten.

Aji, kikashi (forcing moves), and sabaki are the most important concepts of go. They imbue the game with strategic subtleties unmatched in any other game. Without an understanding of these concepts, no go player can hope to attain a high level of skill. Besides these concepts, it is also necessary to understand the shape and distribution of stones and how they influence other parts of the board, determining which stones are important and which stones can be sacrificed, and which stones must be strengthened before playing large-scale strategic moves. The aim of this book is to bring together these ideas and to show the reader how they interact.

Kiai is a concept that has received scant systematic attention in the go literature, even though it is often referred to in game commentaries. In go, kiai means coming up with innovative and creative moves. Such moves not only have a global perspective, they also take into account local situations and they need to be backed up by deep and accurate reading. They are moves that cause other pros sit up and take notice.

This book contains 16 fighting games, analyzed in depth and played by some of the world’s strongest players from Korea, China, and Japan. However, this book is more than just a game book; it is also a problem book, posing questions at crucial points throughout each game. This is a book that will change the way you play and think about go, and will shatter many of the mistaken notions that amateurs have about go strategy.

Attacking and Defending Moyos starts out by laying down 13 basic principles of moyos (frameworks of potential territories) with examples from the games of Takemiya Masaki, Yi Ch’ang-ho, Sakata Eio, Go Seigen, Rin Kaiho, Ishida Yoshio, among others. The second chapter presents detailed analyses of games played by top pros, showing how they build and defend moyos and how they attack them. The final chapter presents 151 whole-board problems in which the ideas presented in the first two chapters can be applied.

This book brings together all the strategic and tactical principles of go. The 100 principles presented here can certainly be found scattered in the thousands of go books that have been published, but nowhere are they found collected in one place. All the go proverbs that have some concrete relevance to strategy or to tactics are included, and each principle is supplemented with as many examples as the principle warrants. With all these principles contained under one cover, a go player can embark on a systematic study of them. Once all 100 principles have been firmly implanted in your mind, you will instinctively and intuitively recall the relevant principle when they arise in your games through pattern recognition.

Most go players know that the best way to improve one’s tactical and reading skills is to solve live-and-death and tesuji problems. This book is a systematic introduction to life and death for beginning players. Part One starts out by presenting all the basic eye spaces. It then shows how three basic tesujis (the hane, the placement, and the throw-in) are used to reduce the eye space of a group to one eye, then to kill that group. The second part is a life-and-death dictionary that presents 177 basic positions that often arise from josekis or common middle-game skirmishes in the corners and along the sides. As such, it is an invaluable reference work that deserves a place in every go players’ library.

A straightforward introduction to the game. The ten basic rules are clearly explained in just a few pages. Problems are interspersed throughout the book to drive home the concepts being presented. After the rules are thoroughly explained, there is a section on opening strategy, followed by a section on tactics. Everything that is essential to playing the game is included with ample references to resources that will aid you in continuing your study of this ancient and profound game.

The lessons learned in playing with a nine-stone handicap are more than tactical. A lot of strategic principles are learned, such as the importance of separating and confining your opponent’s stones and the value of building thick walls that project influence into the center and along the side. You will learn how to use your handicap stones to build thick positions, then turn the influence of these positions into territory.

By studying the Sanrensei Opening next, where the black player starts out by occupying the three star points on one side of the board, you can then use the principles and sequences learned in handicap games. Moreover, the basic strategy of playing for outside influence used in handicap games is the same strategy a player uses in the Sanrensei Opening. This is the natural way to make the transition from handicap to even games. By studying the opening as outlined in this book, the kyu-level player can lay a solid foundation for the study of other opening systems and opening theory in general.

Get Strong at Attacking covers an often neglected phase of go: attacking in the middle game. Accurate analysis, spotting tesujis, and killing or rescuing stones are the backbone of middle-game strength. But creating or finding vulnerable stones, then attacking them correctly is an equally important technique and one that many amateurs are deficient in. A thorough study of the 136 problems in this book will develop your overall sense of go strategy. If combined with a study of tesuji and life-and-death problems, your quest to become a dan-level player will be that much easier.

After the players have mapped out their spheres of influence in the opening, invading these areas is a basic technique of the middle game. Here are 171 problems systematically covering the standard invasions on the side and the corners, attacking corner enclosures, and erasing large territorial frameworks.

Reading this book will set the novice who has just learned the rules on the right track to becoming a strong player. It instructs the reader in the proper way to plan strategy and how to attack the opponent’s weak groups to turn influence into impregnable territory. It covers every aspect of the game — the opening, joseki, handicap go, middle-game fighting, life and death, tesujis, good and bad shape, ko fights, and the endgame.

Along with fighting a ko, sabaki is one of the most difficult concepts to put into practice, as it involves a variety of high-level techniques, such as sacrificing stones, making good shape, calculating complex variations, using forcing moves (kikashi), and good style (for example, avoiding the elimination of aji). The numerous examples and 122 problems taken from professional games will introduce the readers to all the techniques that may be required to achieve sabaki in almost any position that might arise in their games.

From agehama to zoku-suji, this dictionary explains both English and Japanese terms used in the game of Go. It was originally published as a chapter in The Go Player’s Almanac 2001. Over 200 explanatory diagrams illustrate the 841 dictionary terms.

This book covers all the techniques of attacking and defending weak groups. Each of the first nine chapters starts with a few examples of the technique under study, then continues with a few problems showing how that particular technique was used in a professional game. The tenth chapter presents additional problems whose solutions draw upon the techniques studied in the preceding nine chapters.

Most books on joseki list endless variations, leaving it up to the readers to fend for themselves in applying these josekis to their games. This joseki book is unique; not only does it show you the most important 3-4 point josekis that are likely to arise in your games, it also shows you how to apply them in actual situations, which joseki to select, and how to continue the joseki in the middle game.

The material is presented as a series of problems: instead of memorizing variations, your attention is focused on an important joseki move or idea. Memorization then comes effortlessly, making this the perfect book for all players. Volume 1 contains 178 problems on josekis arising from playing the first corner move on the 3-4 point.

Most books on joseki list endless variations, leaving it up to the readers to fend for themselves in applying these josekis to their games. This joseki book is unique; not only does it show you the most important 5-3 and 5-4 point josekis that are likely to arise in your games, it also shows you how to apply them in actual situations, which joseki to select, and how to continue the joseki in the middle game.

Volume 2 contains 172 problems arising from playing the first corner move on the 5-3 point and 5-4 point.

Most books on joseki list endless variations, leaving it up to the readers to fend for themselves in applying these josekis to their games. This joseki book is unique; not only does it show you the most important 4-4 and 3-3 point josekis that are likely to arise in your games, it also shows you how to apply them in actual situations, which joseki to select, and how to continue the joseki in the middle game.

Volume 3 contains 194 problems arising from playing the first corner move on the 4-4 point and the 3-3 point.

This book presents 200 problems of positions that regularly arise in the opening and middle game. Some of the topics covered are fighting inside spheres of influence, neutralizing thick positions, using thick positions to attack and make territory, the direction in which to attack and the direction in which to build walls, invading thin positions, defending and attacking weak groups, and matching the joseki to the overall position. The difficulty ranges from 15- to 20-kyu in the beginning of the book to 1-kyu by the end of the book.

As a bonus, an exhaustive exposition of the early 3—3-point invasion josekis is presented in an appendix. These josekis have come to dominate the openings in professional and amateur go since they were played by the artificial intelligence program known as AlphaGo, and should be studied by every ambitious kyu player who hopes to rise to dan level.

Aji, Kikashi und Sabaki sind wichtige Konzepte im Go. Sie bereichern die strategischen Feinheiten wie in keinem anderen Spiel. Ohne diese Konzepte verstanden zu haben, kann kein Go-Spieler erwarten, ein höheres Spielniveau zu erreichen.

Überdies verlangt das Go-Spiel ein profundes Verständnis von Form und Verteilung von Steinen. Ein Spieler muss erkennen wie die Steine und ihre Anordnung andere Regionen des Bretts beeinflussen. Er muss erkennen und bestimmen, welche Steine wichtig sind und welche geopfert werden können, und welche Steine gestärkt werden müssen bevor groß angelegte strategische Züge ausgeführt werden.

In acht Lektionen und mit 101 Übungen gibt dieses Lehrbuch dem Leser eine hervorragende und ebenso anregende Einführung in die Grundlagen der Strategie des Go-Spiels.

In life-and-death situations and during the sharp skirmishes that arise in the middle game, brute-force analysis is usually required. However, intuition also plays a role in your ability to instantly find the key move that turns the position in your favor. Those key moves are called tesujis. There are about 45 different kinds of tesujis that a dan-ranked go player should be familiar with. If a player has solved many problems that involve a certain kind of tesuji, he or she will immediately recognize — almost unconsciously — positions in their games where that tesuji is applicable. This is called ‘pattern recognition’. Of course, the player must confirm that it is indeed the required tesuji by the brute-force reading out of the continuation after the tesuji is played.

The aim of this book is to make the high kyu-level player aware of the various tesujis that can arise in their games. It presents more than 40 basic tesujis that arise in the game of go. After an example of a tesuji is presented and explained, three to 12 problems follow, showing the various ways that it can be applied. In all, there are 182 problems.

In the opening, reading is next to impossible. The go player must rely on his intuition. Professionals and high-dan amateur players have a large number of principles which they instinctively know that guide their intuition in the opening and middle game.

In this book, 20 basic principles are presented. Each principle is accompanied by numerous examples and each section is followed by problems in which the application of these principles is required to solve them. The intuition of the novice player who studies the principles, examples, and problems presented in this book will quickly rise to the level of shodan (1-dan).

The opening (fuseki) should be the foundation of all the games you play. If you come out of the opening at a disadvantage, you will have an upward struggle for the rest of the game. This is why professional players usually spend such an extraordinary amount of their allotted time thinking about the first 20 or so moves.

The best way to get strong in the opening is to develop a sense of which direction to play your stones. This book, with its 178 problems, will help you accomplish this goal. Most of the first 90 problems are based on four of the most common opening patterns: the niren-sei, sanren-sei, the Chinese opening, and the Shusaku opening. If you seriously think about these problems and remember the key moves, you will never be at a loss as to how to play in these openings. The last 85 problems are of a more general nature and are presented in order to develop your positional sense in the opening.

A fundamental technique that every go player must learn is how to use thickness to make territory, and the fastest way to master this technique is to study handicap go. This is because the handicap stones on the star points are influence oriented, so you must play for thickness and central influence instead of immediately going for territory. Moreover, your initial advantage as black in a handicap game makes it easy to build thickness and, since White will have weak stones, you can use your thickness to attack them while making territory.

Get Strong at Handicap Go is the book that will show you how to do this. The problems are taken from actual games and there are two to four problems for each game. In this way you can see where Black went wrong and how White took advantage of Black’s mistakes. For this reason these problems will be useful even for stronger players who want to improve their ability in giving handicaps. All the standard handicaps are covered, from nine to two stones, so whatever your strength, you will find the material in this book invaluable.

This book contains four games analyzed and explained by Yuan Zhou. Zhou is especially adept at clarifying what is happening in pro games so that even relative beginners can benefit from studying them.

This e-book is a selection of commentaries on professional games from two print books by Yuan Zhou. There are two of the fourteen games in Master Play: The Styles of Seven Top Pros and two of the fourteen in Understanding Pro Games.

This book will have a revolutionary impact on any kyu player who reads it. Zhou clarifies common kyu level misunderstandings that hold kyu players back from reaching dan level. He explains that the skills needed to reach shodan are not things like a thorough knowledge of josekis or an ability to read out long sequences, but rather the elimination of some common confusions about how the game should be approached. The principles involved are not difficult to understand, and Zhou clarifies them by giving detailed analyses of how they are being ignored in three different games between kyu level players.

In this book, Yuan Zhou looks at common kyu-level mistakes in tactics as well as in strategy. His commentaries on six games played by single-digit kyu players point out and explain both mistakes and good moves. Earlier versions of these commentaries were included in the American Go Association E-Journal; the commentaries have been significantly expanded for this publication. This is a great follow-up to How Not to Play Go, elaborating and illustrating the principles discussed there.

If you liked the first volume, you’ll love the second volume. Yuan Zhou discusses kyu-level mistakes in another six games.

This book contains two famous pro games that are annotated in an unusually thorough way. Almost every move is explained and critiqued. The aim is not only to give readers a full understanding of what is happening in the game, but also to encourage readers to study the games properly by thinking about how they would continue before looking at the next diagram. Frequent queries about what to do next are intended to remind you to do this. You will be surprised to discover how much more fully you understand these games as a result of the unusually detailed commentary.

This second volume adds three famous pro games that are annotated in an unusually thorough way. Almost every move is explained and critiqued.

This second book in Yuan Zhou’s series on the playing styles of top pros deals with the famously difficult style of Go Seigen, the greatest player of the 20th century. Most amateur players are completely mystified by Go’s play. Zhou makes clear what he is up to. Having a better understanding of a particular style, even a very difficult one, will help you to develop your own.

The first in a series of books on the playing styles of top pros by Yuan Zhou. This series is aimed at helping amateurs to understand what it means to have a consistent style of play and to develop their own. In this book, Zhou uses a very thorough analysis of two of Lee Changho’s games to clarify why Lee’s style is called “calm and solid” and why it is so effective.

The third book in Yuan Zhou’s series on the playing styles of top pros explains the intricacies of Takemiya Masaki’s famous “cosmic” style that aims at building a moyo. While Takemiya is one of the most popular pros among amateurs, most fans do not realize how challenging it is to play moyo-style. Zhou makes it all clear, as usual, and in the process helps readers to gain a much better understanding of how to handle games where one player is aiming at a moyo.

The fifth volume in Yuan Zhou’s series explains and clarifies the territorial styles of Kitani Minoru and his famous student Cho Chikun. Kitani makes his position early and depends on later attacks, while Cho leaves his positions unsettled longer, which gives his games an interestingly different feel. The territorial style seems natural to many amateurs; Zhou makes it clear what you need to focus on to play territorial style effectively.

The fourth volume in Yuan Zhou’s series on the playing styles of top pros compares the surprisingly different styles of two famous fighters. While Kato Masao creates solid positions to use as a base for fighting, Seo fights by keeping everything unsettled as long as possible. Zhou makes clear what it means to play a fighting game and provides two more models for you to consider in thinking about your own playing style. Given the prevalence of fighters among today’s top pros, this book is particularly enlightening.

This book is a good companion to Zhou’s popular How Not to Play Go, which discusses the problems with the way kyu-level players think and play. In this book Zhou explains what is different about the way dan-level players think and play in their games as compared with weaker players. It clarifies the alternative ways of seeing the game that enable players to reach dan level by close study of the games Zhou played in the Korea Prime Minister’s Cup in 2009, an international tournament with representatives from 68 countries in which Zhou placed fifth.

The Chinese Opening is popular among both amateurs and pros today, but many amateurs do not have a good understanding of the meaning of this opening. In this book Yuan Zhou provides a full explanation of the best ways to use and to respond to it. He discusses the origins of the opening and the evolution of players’ understanding of it using famous games as illustrations, from a game played by Honinbo Dosaku in 1683 to one between Cho Chikun and Chen Yaoye in last year’s international Chunlan Cup. Most amateurs have only a few out of date ideas about this opening; this book will correct that problem.

Lee Sedol is one of the top current players in terms of international titles won, but his play is oddly enigmatic. He demolished Gu Li 9 dan, whom many consider the best Chinese player, in a ten game match in which Gu won only two games, but Lee also sometimes loses to weaker opponents in early rounds of tournaments. Zhou clarifies how Lee plays and what makes his style difficult for opponents through a thorough analysis of three of his recent games.

Yuan Zhou explains how handicap go is different from regular go and gives clear guidelines for how to play handicap go at every level. In this revised and expanded second edition, he discusses ten of his handicap games, ranging from two to nine stones. Zhou, an AGA 7 dan, includes general strategic guidelines for both White and Black in playing handicap go, as well as step by step analysis of what is happening in the games.

This latest volume in the Master Play series analyses the playing style of Iyama Yuta, who is on the verge of being the first pro ever to hold all seven of the top Japanese titles in the same year — he has won each of the seven individually several times. Iyama has been dominating the Japanese pro world for some time now and has also had some impressive international successes, defeating both Lee Sedol and Gu Li in a fast play tournament. His style is a combination of a traditional focus on territory plus very impressive fighting skills.

The professional go world is suddenly being overwhelmed by teenage and twenty something Chinese players who are winning both international and Chinese national titles—virtually all current world title holders are Chinese, and several of them were born in the 1990s. Most of these players are not yet well known in the west, which is what prompts Slate & Shell to bring out a collection of the games of some of these impressive young go masters. This book has four fully commented games involving eight of them, and we plan to publish more soon. Their style tends to be more territorial than you might expect, but, as Yuan Zhou makes clear, they find amazing moves.

The match between AlphaGo and Ke Jie 9P was the last time a human played the computer program. Yuan Zhou gives a thorough and insightful analysis of the three games in the match and reflects on the significance of AlphaGo for the go community.

The AI program AlphaGo Zero has introduced several new ideas about how to play in the opening of a game of go. Yuan Zhou, a popular go teacher, discusses several of them and shows their use in several pro games.

There are different styles of play: traditional territorial style, fighting style, and what can be called ‘moyo’ style, that is, aiming for a large center territory. Recently, professionals have been moving toward a new version of territorial style, which differs from the traditional territorial style by incorporating deliberate center fighting in the middle game. Players with Black have been doing very well with this new style.

Prolific author Yuan Zhou analyses the early 3-3 point invasion that has become popular among pro players. After reviewing the various ways in which the invasion can be handled, he reviews a substantial number of pro games in which the invasion is played. As always, his aim is to help you understand this tactic so that you can use it effectively in your own games.

AlphaGo’s tactic of making a two space rather than a traditional one space corner enclosure from a 3-4 point stone has become very popular among pro players. Zhou explains the significance of this tactic and the variations involved in using it. A large number of illustrative pro games are presented with commentary on the tactic and its consequences.

A review of the games of the two best (human) go players in the world with an emphasis on their contrasting playing styles: Ke Jie is an aggressive fighter, while Park Junghwan prefers more solid, territorial plays. They trade being declared the best in the world back and forth.

Yuan Zhou thoroughly analyses the three game match in which Lee Sedol again wins a game against a strong AI go program. Most game diagrams have only one or two moves to aid study.

In his very thorough analyses of these three games by the world’s strongest human players, Yuan Zhou gives special attention to the impact of the AI programs on their play.

In this second volume of Recent Top Pro Games, Yuan Zhou continues his very thorough analyses of recent games by the world’s strongest human players, with special attention to the impact of AI programs on their play.

Shin Jinseo 9p is the number one player in South Korea and many consider him the best human go player in the world now. He quickly rose to the top after AI became a major part of the go world. Shin is such a devoted student of AI that his nickname is “AI Shin”. His winning percentage has been very high as a pro, over 70%, recently he has reached 90%. These three games reflect his playing style, which is heavily dependent on AI in the opening and tends to be relatively aggressive.

Yilun Yang is justly famous among his many devoted students for his remarkable guidelines about how to play Go. These basic principles cover virtually every situation and enable a player to find the best play with a minimum of reading. Now, for the first time, he has consented to allow the publication of a book containing a broad selection of these principles, focusing especially on the opening and the early middle game.

This is Slate & Shell’s most popular book.

This small book (originally created by the Wings Go Club) is based on lectures by Mr. Yang. Ninety-five pictures with succint comments show how to destroy and preserve territory, with focus on how far to extend and where to invade in a wide variety of positions.

In the normal course of a Go game, you’re eventually faced with managing a weak stone. Knowing how to handle the situation adroitly may mean the difference between winning and losing. This study guide presents a discourse about sabaki techniques, written in the typically lucid and hard-hitting style of Mr. Yang, 7-Dan professional. Following his discourse are a dozen practice problems to help you determine if you have absorbed the material.

Don’t be deceived by the small size of this book. It’s packed with applicable information and likely will require several readings to fully master. But, as you apply the techniques and develop your judgment, your regular opponents will be in for a surprise as you demonstrate your newly acquired flexibility and lightness.

In his workshop lectures Yang guides players through the special approach to thinking about and playing the game that he has worked out during many years of teaching. He believes that play should be guided by applying easily understood principles rather than by memorizing common patterns and sequences. Yang argues that there are too many variables in Go to make memorizing set patterns very efficient, but there are a relatively small number of easy to understand precepts that can effectively guide players’ reading and play in every situation that arises.

The three lectures in this book present some of these guidelines that are especially applicable to the opening stage of the game: When to Tenuki in the Opening, Choosing the Direction of Attack, and Playing Complicated Joseki.

This volume is based on five lectures:
• How to Invade shows how to invade large areas your opponent is trying to surround.
• Choosing the Correct Pincer and Side Extensions in the Opening provide guidelines for choosing a pincer or extension in different situations.
• Playing a Territorial Game and Playing a Moyo Game show how a consistent style of play will yield better results.
All five lectures reflect Yang’s emphasis on understanding general principles rather than memorizing patterns.

Rescuing and capturing stones are two vital techniques in the game of Go. These two techniques are introduced in depth through 80 exercises.

Tricks in Joseki teaches the reader how to apply joseki flexibly and to avoid pitfalls. The techniques are introduced in depth through 80 exercises.

Volume 3 of this popular series contains five lectures:
• Playing the Opening shows how to apply Yang’s opening principles in some common situations.
• Developments Around the 4-4 Point discusses common situations with a 4-4 corner stone, especially double approach moves.
• Punishing Weak Groups Directly explains how to tell if a group is weak, and how to attack it if it is; this lecture also covers Yang’s basic guidelines for fighting.
• Using Forcing Moves explains when to use forcing moves and when to hold them in reserve.
• Handling Weak Stones discusses how to defend weak stones.
As always, Yang emphasizes the importance of understanding general principles rather than memorizing particular patterns.

Volume 4 of this popular series contains four lectures:
• Good and Bad Shape lays out guidelines for making good shape and avoiding bad shape when opposing stones are in contact.
• When to Play Fast or Slow covers when to play fast moves and when to play slow moves in the opening.
• Playing a Fighting Opening completes Yang’s analysis of how to play the three basic types of games: territorial, moyo, and fighting. Lectures on the first two are included in Volume 2 of The Workshop Lectures.
• Destroying Large or Nearly Completed Positions shows how to severely damage positions that your opponent was probably already counting as territory.
As always, Yang emphasizes the importance of understanding general principles rather than memorizing particular patterns.

Volume 5 of this popular series contains three lectures:
• Choosing Areas in the Opening looks at the relative potential each player has in a given area to help decide whether and how to play in that area.
• Handling Unusual Opening Moves discusses how to deal with unusual opening moves by your opponent.
• Protecting a Position talks about how to protect a weak position.
As always, Yang emphasizes the importance of understanding general principles rather than memorizing particular patterns.

Volume 6 of this popular series contains four lectures:
• Entering the Middle Game discusses the transition from opening to middle game.
• Attacking Severely is about how to make your attacks more effective.
• Dealing with a Moyo explains the best way to both build and reduce a moyo.
• Playing With and Against the Sanrensei presents the best strategies for both players when Black starts with the sanrensei.

This volume contains the first 110 of a collection of some 200 life-and-death problems designed and developed by Sensei Yang. By studying these wonderful and intriguing puzzles one can greatly improve one’s reading and fighting abilities, and also develop an appreciation for the beauty of the game. Moreover, one gets the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest and most well-respected masters in the Go world.

This volume contains the last 90 of a collection of some 200 life-and-death problems designed and developed by Sensei Yang. By studying these wonderful and intriguing puzzles one can greatly improve one’s reading and fighting abilities, and also develop an appreciation for the beauty of the game. Moreover, one gets the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest and most well-respected masters in the Go world.

Every game involves counting liberties in capturing races, from huge game-deciding battles to small-scale questions of whether a cut works or a defensive move is necessary. How many times have you been surprised to end up one liberty short? Losing a capturing race can be disheartening, but winning one can be exhilarating.

Starting with beginner-level basics, this book provides a systematic coverage of how to count liberties. It guides you through numerous simple examples and presents general principles that you can apply in your games. For dan players, there are more advanced topics, challenging problems, and professional game commentaries. The book includes over 50 interactive problems ranging from easy to hard.

This book covers two important topics related to life and death: inside moves and under the stones techniques. Starting with beginner-level basics, it provides a systematic introduction to the principles. Building on this foundation, it progresses to more advanced aspects useful for stronger players. Most players pay too little attention to these techniques and overlook opportunities to use them in their games. The book includes 41 interactive problems ranging from easy to hard.

“Cross-cut? Extend!” Perhaps you know this proverb. But that’s not the end of the story; it’s barely even the beginning. Proverbs are simply guidelines designed to help beginners, but many stronger players seem unaware that this one is often inappropriate. There is a lot more to the cross-cut. This book introduces nine basic patterns, explains the types of positions they suit, and presents problems to test your understanding.

Have you had trouble with the monkey jump? Most people do at some time. This book tells you everything you need to know about the monkey jump in endgame positions and in life and death positions. It introduces concepts, presents basic patterns, sets review problems, provides challenging problems, and gives numerous examples from professional games. Suitable for both kyu players and dan players, this SmartGo Book is a completely rewritten and greatly expanded version of Monkey Jump Workshop.

To read and enjoy go material written in Japanese, you only need to learn a very small number of kanji (Chinese characters). Of course, that number will not let you understand every word of a discussion book. But most go problems and game records use standard titles, headers, and diagram captions, containing a limited set of kanji. This book introduces the most relevant kanji, one small step at a time, building from ground level, up to a basic practical level. It is suitable for readers with no knowledge of Japanese at all, as well as for readers who already know some Japanese. Key vocabulary is introduced, and then practiced through go problems and game records.

Learn to read and understand Japanese go books. This series guides you from knowing zero Japanese to understanding the text of go problems and their answers, and extracting key information from game records. Volume Two is a direct continuation of Volume One. Divided into five sections, it methodically introduces vocabulary found on book covers and in headers, captions, and diagrams. It is aimed at go players of all abilities with a fairly wide range of interest in Japanese.

Learn to read and understand Japanese go books. This book methodically introduces the grammar found in books of go problems, one small step at a time starting from scratch. Examples are taken from go books and are presented with diagrams. This unique approach avoids irrelevant vocabulary and grammar. Written as a standalone book, it does not require you to have read the previous volumes. It is aimed at go players of all abilities who want to get more out of Japanese go books without years of traditional study. You can enjoy go books however little Japanese you know, but the more you learn, the more interesting it becomes.

This book is aimed at readers who have either worked through Just Enough Japanese volume 3 or have otherwise achieved a good grasp of the basics of Japanese grammar. It presents my recent studies and explains topics that can be hard to look up and understand. If you are stuck at the intermediate level, it should help you to break through to greater understanding and enjoyment.

This book is aimed at readers who have either worked through Just Enough Japanese volume 3 (JEJ3) or have otherwise achieved a good grasp of basic Japanese grammar. It lays the groundwork for the series to build upon, so if you already have RUJ2, then RUJ1 is still recommended. It has three sections. Section One reviews and demystifies the basics via a highly recommended course on YouTube. Section Two discusses freely accessible go problems. Section Three discusses the different written texts in books presenting the same problem.

This book completes the series. It is aimed at readers who have worked through volumes 1 and 2 or have otherwise achieved a good level of reading Japanese go problem books.

It expands the scope of Japanese to include reading other types of go books and written materials, listening to spoken Japanese related to go and unrelated to go, and finally reading and listening to ordinary Japanese unrelated to go.

A collection of eleven masterpieces by some of the great players of the post-war era. An exhaustive commentary accompanies each game. Starts with the atomic-bomb game between Iwamoto and Hashimoto, Takagawa’s dominance of the Honinbo title, the rise of Sakata and Fujisawa Shuko, Fujisawa Hosai and his imitation Go strategy, and more.

Understanding and recognizing good shape will help you become a strong player and develop the intuition that will instantly guide you to find the strongest moves in middle-game fighting. Includes chapters on the efficient placement of stones, on standard shapes (both good and bad), and 245 problems to practice your ability to find the shape move.

All About Ko is a book that simplifies the difficult subject of ko by breaking it down into 19 easily digestible chapters. Each chapter concentrates on one particular aspect of ko, with ample examples, so that the reader fully understands the concept being studied. The book ends with 122 problems and eleven example games designed to hammer home the concepts introduced in the first part of the book.

Kiai is a concept that has received scant systematic attention in the go literature, even though it is often referred to in game commentaries. In go, kiai means coming up with innovative and creative moves. Such moves not only have a global perspective, they also take into account local situations and they need to be backed up by deep and accurate reading. They are moves that cause other pros sit up and take notice.

This book contains 16 fighting games, analyzed in depth and played by some of the world’s strongest players from Korea, China, and Japan. However, this book is more than just a game book; it is also a problem book, posing questions at crucial points throughout each game. This is a book that will change the way you play and think about go, and will shatter many of the mistaken notions that amateurs have about go strategy.

Attacking and Defending Moyos starts out by laying down 13 basic principles of moyos (frameworks of potential territories) with examples from the games of Takemiya Masaki, Yi Ch’ang-ho, Sakata Eio, Go Seigen, Rin Kaiho, Ishida Yoshio, among others. The second chapter presents detailed analyses of games played by top pros, showing how they build and defend moyos and how they attack them. The final chapter presents 151 whole-board problems in which the ideas presented in the first two chapters can be applied.

Most go players know that the best way to improve one’s tactical and reading skills is to solve live-and-death and tesuji problems. This book is a systematic introduction to life and death for beginning players. Part One starts out by presenting all the basic eye spaces. It then shows how three basic tesujis (the hane, the placement, and the throw-in) are used to reduce the eye space of a group to one eye, then to kill that group. The second part is a life-and-death dictionary that presents 177 basic positions that often arise from josekis or common middle-game skirmishes in the corners and along the sides. As such, it is an invaluable reference work that deserves a place in every go players’ library.

The lessons learned in playing with a nine-stone handicap are more than tactical. A lot of strategic principles are learned, such as the importance of separating and confining your opponent’s stones and the value of building thick walls that project influence into the center and along the side. You will learn how to use your handicap stones to build thick positions, then turn the influence of these positions into territory.

By studying the Sanrensei Opening next, where the black player starts out by occupying the three star points on one side of the board, you can then use the principles and sequences learned in handicap games. Moreover, the basic strategy of playing for outside influence used in handicap games is the same strategy a player uses in the Sanrensei Opening. This is the natural way to make the transition from handicap to even games. By studying the opening as outlined in this book, the kyu-level player can lay a solid foundation for the study of other opening systems and opening theory in general.

In the opening, reading is next to impossible. The go player must rely on his intuition. Professionals and high-dan amateur players have a large number of principles which they instinctively know that guide their intuition in the opening and middle game.

In this book, 20 basic principles are presented. Each principle is accompanied by numerous examples and each section is followed by problems in which the application of these principles is required to solve them. The intuition of the novice player who studies the principles, examples, and problems presented in this book will quickly rise to the level of shodan (1-dan).

These two volumes feature the historic match between Gu Li and Lee Sedol, two players who have dominated go in the first decade of the 21st century. Both are famous for their severe attacks and their fighting skills. Gu has a thick style accompanied by an exquisite feeling for the opening from which he often emerges with an advantage. In contrast Lee plays a fast, profit-oriented game, leaving behind thin positions. This means that his groups often come under attack. Most players would collapse under Gu’s relentless attacks, but this brings Lee’s game to life and he creatively finds the best possible way to settle these groups. This contrast in style and especially Lee’s daring strategies in the middle game are what make the games in this book especially fascinating and give birth to innovative moves and spectacular fights. The games are analyzed in great detail so the reader can understand the thinking behind each move.

Part One contains games one to five of the series.

These two volumes feature the historic match between Gu Li and Lee Sedol, two players who have dominated go in the first decade of the 21st century. Both are famous for their severe attacks and their fighting skills. Gu has a thick style accompanied by an exquisite feeling for the opening from which he often emerges with an advantage. In contrast Lee plays a fast, profit-oriented game, leaving behind thin positions. This means that his groups often come under attack. Most players would collapse under Gu’s relentless attacks, but this brings Lee’s game to life and he creatively finds the best possible way to settle these groups. This contrast in style and especially Lee’s daring strategies in the middle game are what make the games in this book especially fascinating and give birth to innovative moves and spectacular fights. The games are analyzed in great detail so the reader can understand the thinking behind each move.

Part Two contains games six to eight of the series, as well as two games Gu and Lee played in other tournaments while the match was in progress.

This book contains four thoroughly commented games from Go Seigen’s matches with Fujisawa Kuranosuke. Because Fairbairn draws on numerous sources not available in English, the discussion is unusually illuminating.

These four games are selected from the print book 9-Dan Showdown, published by Slate & Shell. The print book contains thirty games with extensive commentary as well as a great deal of historical and biographical material. In the e-book version, only the game commentary, with colour notes (slightly abridged), is included.

Have you ever wondered what pros think about during a game? This book gives you a unique opportunity to find out and you will frequently be surprised. The book follows a game between two teams: Go Seigen and Kitani Minoru (the young hot-shots) versus Segoe Kensaku and Suzuki Tamejiro (the established top players). The members of the teams were allowed to consult with each other in another room between moves, and a reporter made notes on what they said and what they did on the practice board. As a result we have an incredible record of what the players were planning and hoping for, what they thought their opponents were doing, and what they decided not to do as well as why they made the choices they did. There could not be a more thoroughly commented professional game.

NOTE: This is the edition originally published by Slate & Shell. John Fairbairn has released an updated and much expanded version that’s available as a print book on Amazon and at gogodonline.co.uk/books/.

This book provides a full-length biography of Honinbo Shuei, detailed commentaries on 79 of his games, and a collection of Shuei’s commentaries. Honinbo Shuei is still esteemed as the best model for even modern professionals to follow. A must-read for every serious Go player.

This book combines all six books previously published on the Kindle: Life, Games (four volumes), and Commentaries. A vast improvement in readability, and a bargain to boot.

The 1347 Chinese go classic Xuanxuan Qijing, or Gengen Gokyo by its Japanese name, is the most significant go book ever produced. It has become the foundation for virtually every problem book since. Gateway to All Marvels brings together every problem and every variant from perhaps every subsequent edition, and discusses how the almost 500 problems and their solutions have evolved and varied, and also how even modern professionals often disagree on the correct solutions.

This is an account of the lead-up to and progress of the (shortened) ten-game match between Go Seigen and Karigane Junichi in 1941~42. Biographical details of both players are given, all the games are commented, and an appendix also contains a commentary of another game involving Karigane. The account of Karigane includes extensive details about the Keiinsha.

Honinbo Shuho’s 1882 classic book on “New Ways in Go” (Hoen Shinpo) shows how he brought go to amateurs on a large scale for the first time - through an explanation of openings from four stones through to even game - and how he advanced the then immature art of commentary, with notes on twenty of his own games against Shuwa and Shusaku. One new feature was the inclusion of psychological insights.

This is a complete translation of a book that ranks high in the list of go classics. The translation is enhanced with notes, a detailed timeline for Shuho, and a selection of games in which he gives handicaps, to show how he practised what he preached.

The great Inoue Inseki Meijin, the 17th century author of the famously hard-to-impossible problems of the Igo Hatsuyoron, produced other, easier tsume-go works. One was the Yoshin Teiki, most of which is now lost. But the portion that survives gives a fascinating insight into how he worked on his problems and (presumably) taught his pupils. The surviving sections, given here in full, are eminently suitable for beginners, but even strong players can learn amply from the way the Meijin used his mind, and be severely challenged by the hardest problems.

The full 1910 edition of Honinbo Shusai’s minor tsumego classic Shikatsu Myoki, with an introduction by the editor. It includes 120 problems (with solutions), most original and many taxing and ingenious.

The Honinbo Tournament is go’s oldest annual tournament. By trial and error it set the standards for every tournament since. This book describes in detail how it came about, and goes carefully through each of the early years in the 1940s and 1950s, and each year’s changes. The games of each title match up to and including Term 6 are given with rich commentaries (32 games), showcasing also the most famous players and anecdotes featured in the highest level of go.

This book examines the famous game in which Go played his first three moves on the 3-3 point, the diagonally opposite 4-4 point, and the center point. In addition to the very complete analysis of the game, the book contains information about the background of the players and the game, a discussion of the development of the theory of New Fuseki, and a number of examples of it from actual games at the time.

This workbook is for players who have just gotten in touch with the game. It provides exercises to help deepen and ingrain the understanding of the rules. You will learn about the correlation and dependencies of the stones to each other, and thereby be able to improve your games. The first exercises are very easy, gradually increasing to moderate difficulty as you progress through the book.

This workbook is dedicated to players who have gathered experience on the 9x9 board and want to learn more about tactics. The exercises introduce new shapes and techniques which help to deepen your understanding of the interdependency of the stones. Training with these elements will help you to improve your strength and make your games more fun.

This workbook is dedicated to players who have taken the first hurdles and now want to step into the game seriously. The exercises cover almost all important topics: starting with capturing stones and semeai, via tesuji, life and death, and finally the endgame. This book provides you with exercises to train your focus on local positions and to improve your strength.

This workbook is dedicated to players who now want to study Go more intensively. The exercises focus on fundamental topics: opening, semeai, life and death, tesuji, invasions, and endgame. This book provides you with exercises to train your focus on local positions and to improve your strength.

This workbook is dedicated to players who can’t let go of their fascination with go and want to work towards a better understanding of the game. The degree of difficulty of the tasks is thus beyond a beginner - here begins the training.

This book is the last in the series ‘Black to Play’, which will accompany you on the way to Shodan, the first master rank. The level of difficulty of the problems is accordingly challenging. In addition, more of the problems now involve the entire board of the game. Hence you do not train solving local problems only, but also apply various topics such as life & death and capturing races in exemplary game situations.

The ”Beautiful Treasure Island Namhae Shin Jinseo vs Park Junghwan Baduk Super Match” has been a highlight in the go world, not only in Korea but also worldwide. Korea’s top two players, 1st ranked Shin Jinseo 9p and 2nd ranked Park Junghwan 9p, have been seeded to play a match of seven games. Each of these games were played in selected locations around the beautiful Namhae island, a county in South Gyeongsang Province. This event was characterized by the combination of scenic and cultural landmarks and the highest level of Korea’s human go players.

With his 7-0 win against Park Junghwan in the Namhae Super Match Shin Jinseo established himself as the “Number One” in terms of win record and rank. This book tells the story of these seven games.

Tesujis are the tactics of short range combat in the game of Go. This volume presents over three hundred examples and problems of them, aimed at training the reader to read and spot the right play in all sorts of tactical situations. It covers a wide range of material while concentrating on fundamentals; its problems manage to be both hard enough to challenge and easy enough to solve, and there are enough of them to keep the most avid busy.

Following the general pattern of its predecessor Tesuji, this book organizes over two hundred life-and-death problems and examples into thirty-six short chapters. The problems are grouped around common tesujis (throw-in, placement, etc.) and standard shapes (the one-, two-, and three-space notchers on the sides, the corner L groups, etc.). This makes Life and Death an excellent text to learn from, then an invaluable reference work to come back to.

The middle game of Go often appears chaotic, but there is order in the chaos, as this book plainly reveals. It lays down a few clear principles, then goes through a wealth of applications: examples, problems, and case studies from professional play. The reader emerges with a thorough grasp of how to choose strategy, how to execute dual-purpose attacks, how to defend with contact plays, how to force his opponent into submission or cooperation, how to invade and reduce territorial frameworks, and when to fight a ko. This is knowledge that no player can afford to be without.

38 Basic Josekis cuts incisively through the labyrinth of josekis to give the reader a solid grounding in the subject. Working steadily out from the 3–3 point to the 4–5 point, it surveys the principal variations of the 38 most common corner patterns, pointing out the key ideas in each and showing the reader how to choose and use josekis in relation to other stones on the board.

The endgame tends to be the neglected side of the game of Go. This is strange indeed, for it also tends to be where the outcome is decided, and frequently accounts for about half the stones played. This volume seeks to rectify this situation by setting forth the basic tactics, strategies, and counting techniques needed in the endgame. Everything from the smallest local tesujis to the global macroendgame is covered with numerous examples and problems, many of them drawn from the Japanese author’s professional games.

A straightforward introduction to the game. The ten basic rules are clearly explained in just a few pages. Problems are interspersed throughout the book to drive home the concepts being presented. After the rules are thoroughly explained, there is a section on opening strategy, followed by a section on tactics. Everything that is essential to playing the game is included with ample references to resources that will aid you in continuing your study of this ancient and profound game.

Das Mittelspiel im Go stellt jeden Go-Spieler vor bedeutende Fragen: Wie entwickelt man nach der Eröffnung einen aktiven Plan? Wie geht man gegen ein Moyō vor? Wie verteidigt man gegen eine Invasion?

Dieses Buch gibt Antworten auf diese Fragen – und noch einige mehr. Die Autoren, ein japanischer Profi-Spieler und ein renommierter Go-Autor, haben ein klar gegliedertes und prägnantes Lehrbuch zu Strategie und Taktik des Mittelspiels erarbeitet. Sie zeigen auf, wie ein Angriff vorbereitet und ausgeführt wird, wie schwache Gruppen verteidigt werden und wann dies notwendig ist. Auch fortgeschrittene Techniken wie Kikashi und Induktion werden anhand anschaulicher Beispiele erläutert.

Dieses Standardwerk ist voll von wertvollen Erklärungen und enthält ebenso viel Anschauungsmaterial aus dem professionellen Go.

The award-winning first book in the Learn to Play Go series. Takes the complete beginner step-by-step all the way to playing real Go in fourteen chapters that can be read in 10-15 minutes each, each with a try-it-yourself section at the end. Suitable for kids, demystifies the learning process for adults.

By far the clearest introduction yet to be published in English. — Game Magazine

Second in a series that takes you step-by-step to stronger Go playing — field-tested theory for the modern practitioner of the ancient art of Go. Self-test chapter to check your progress. Requires only a basic knowledge of the rules for comprehension. Helpful for beginners, or more experienced players who feel ‘stuck’.

Learn the secrets of professional Go playing from two top masters of the game. Seven Go dangers — learn what to avoid. Eight secrets of winning play. Real games — even, high, and low-handicap — analyzed in depth.

The essential principles and techniques of good fighting: Battle strategies for invasions, reductions, running battles, contact fights, identifying key stones and expendables, capturing races, and ko fighting.

Professional player Janice Kim reveals the fundamentals of shape and guidelines to correct opening and endgame play learned at the world’s top Go training ground, the Korean Go Academy.

Are you struggling to handle complex situations and losing points because of it? Or have you hit a wall and feel like you can’t improve anymore? In the endgame, experienced players may find themselves with little room for improvement without putting in significant effort in the earlier stages of the game. On the other hand, the best endgame players may not need to improve much to win. That’s where Vital Endgame comes in – we offer a complete, self-paced course to guide you through endgame strategy and tactics. With our guide, you can confidently play in any endgame situation and come out on top.

The most difficult of all Go problems, created by Inoue Dosetsu Inseki (1646 - 1719), has still not been solved by professional Go players. The long-standing collaboration of three amateurs from Germany and the United Kingdom has now found the answer!

This book celebrates the problem-collection’s 300th anniversary and is the most comprehensive collection of information about this stunning problem. The book discusses what the authors believe to be the solution to the problem, including an in-depth treatment of the failed lines. All move sequences are explained in great detail. The same is true for the additional work on theoretical issues that are fundamental to the problem (e.g. hanezeki, approach-move liberties, and ko).

The most difficult of all Go problems, created by Inoue Dosetsu Inseki (1646 - 1719), has still not been solved by professional Go players. “How do you eat an elephant?” is the usual management consultant’s reply when being asked how to manage a huge project. This book presents this difficult problem in 120 slices. Each aspect of Igo Hatsuyōron 120 is explained using relatively simple individual problems, so you can understand the entire puzzle. Enjoy a journey through time — look over the shoulder of Dosetsu and get a picture of how he composed his masterpiece.

Did you ever complain about Go problems that are much too difficult for you to solve? And probably lost courage? Inoue Dōsetsu Inseki’s advice — written down over 300 years ago — is to study shape. This book helps you do that and overcome your current weakness in the beautiful field of tsume-go.

Study over 300 problems — based on 47 corner patterns — that are analyzed in great detail. Absorb numerous hints that direct your gaze to previously unrecognized vital shape points.

This book tries a novel approach in offering an important intermediate step between the main problem diagrams and the respective solutions. Alternative approaches as well as failures are presented as separate problems to be solved individually.

Did you ever complain about Go problems that are much too difficult for you to solve? And probably lost courage? Inoue Dōsetsu Inseki’s advice — written down over 300 years ago — is to study shape. This book helps you do that and overcome your current weakness in the beautiful field of tsume-go.

Study over 400 problems — based on 44 side patterns — that are analyzed in great detail. Absorb numerous hints that direct your gaze to previously unrecognized vital shape points.

This volume is a successor of “Tsume-Go Strategy 1”, but can be studied independently.

This workbook is designed especially for beginners — each of the over 1000 problems only requires you to think ahead a single move.

The problems in this collection are ordered by shape. Repetition matters, so each shape provides as many slightly different problems as possible. While each problem is explained in detail, readers can choose whether to simply continue with the next problem, or switch to the detailed explanation of the main solution, side variations, failures and the analysis of the problem’s shape issues. (This significantly revised second edition adds over 300 problems.)

Usually, side variations and refutations of failures are more complicated than the main path of the problem’s solution. While studying these additional variations — again at the reader’s own choice — the reader will be gently and subtly guided to more complicated issues in the beautiful field of tsume-go, preparing for the next step in study.

This workbook is designed especially for players who have left the beginner’s stage and feel able to think three moves ahead. Each of the over 400 problems only requires you to think about one preparatory move, setting the scene for one successive final blow.

The problems in this collection are ordered by shape. Repetition matters, so each shape provides as many slightly different problems as possible. While each problem is explained in detail, readers can choose whether to simply continue with the next problem, or switch to the detailed explanation of the main solution, side variations, failures and the analysis of the problem’s shape issues.

This book is a successor of “Workbook 1: One-Move Life and Death Problems”, but can be studied independently.

The award-winning first book in the Learn to Play Go series. Takes the complete beginner step-by-step all the way to playing real Go in fourteen chapters that can be read in 10-15 minutes each, each with a try-it-yourself section at the end. Suitable for kids, demystifies the learning process for adults.

By far the clearest introduction yet to be published in English. — Game Magazine

Second in a series that takes you step-by-step to stronger Go playing — field-tested theory for the modern practitioner of the ancient art of Go. Self-test chapter to check your progress. Requires only a basic knowledge of the rules for comprehension. Helpful for beginners, or more experienced players who feel ‘stuck’.

Learn the secrets of professional Go playing from two top masters of the game. Seven Go dangers — learn what to avoid. Eight secrets of winning play. Real games — even, high, and low-handicap — analyzed in depth.

The essential principles and techniques of good fighting: Battle strategies for invasions, reductions, running battles, contact fights, identifying key stones and expendables, capturing races, and ko fighting.

Professional player Janice Kim reveals the fundamentals of shape and guidelines to correct opening and endgame play learned at the world’s top Go training ground, the Korean Go Academy.

Shuko’s Dictionary of Basic Tesuji is one of the most famous Japanese go books, now translated into English. This first volume deals with tesuji that are useful for attacking; later volumes cover tesuji for defense, as well as tesuji for the opening, capturing races, and the endgame.

Tesuji are highly efficient plays, a knowledge of which is the key to getting stronger in the tactical dimension of go. Fujisawa presents particular situations and shows effective ways of dealing with them, along with the problems caused by ineffective ways of playing. This book will open your eyes to possibilities you never dreamed of.

Shuko’s Dictionary of Basic Tesuji is one of the most famous Japanese go books, now translated into English. This second volume deals with tesuji that are useful for defending.

Tesuji are highly efficient plays, a knowledge of which is the key to getting stronger in the tactical dimension of go. Fujisawa presents particular situations and shows effective ways of dealing with them, along with the problems caused by ineffective ways of playing. This book will open your eyes to possibilities you never dreamed of.

Shuko’s Dictionary of Basic Tesuji is one of the most famous Japanese go books, now translated into English. This third volume deals with tesuji that are useful for the opening, capturing races, and life and death situations.

Tesuji are highly efficient plays, a knowledge of which is the key to getting stronger in the tactical dimension of go. Fujisawa presents particular situations and shows effective ways of dealing with them, along with the problems caused by ineffective ways of playing. This book will open your eyes to possibilities you never dreamed of.

Shuko’s Dictionary of Basic Tesuji is one of the most famous Japanese go books, now translated into English. The fourth volume deals with tesuji that are useful for life and death situations and for the endgame, including techniques like using ko to live, exploiting shortage of liberties, killing with sacrifices, breaking in, scrambling for sente, and double attacks.

The So You Want to Play Go? series is a step by step course that begins with the bare basics for beginners in the first level, to more advanced topics in level 4. Great for total beginners or even experienced veterans, the So You Want to Play Go? series is aimed at teaching the principles and fundamentals of the game in a fun and interesting way, so that Go is enjoyable for everyone.

The So You Want to Play Go? series is aimed at teaching the principles and fundamentals of the game in a fun and interesting way. Level 2 of the series is aimed at double-digit kyu players and goes into more detail on the opening, middle game, life and death, and tesuji.

The So You Want to Play Go? series is aimed at teaching the principles and fundamentals of the game in a fun and interesting way. Level 3 takes single-digit kyu players on the road to 1 dan.

The So You Want to Play Go? series is aimed at teaching the principles and fundamentals of the game in a fun and interesting way. Level 4 is intended for 1 to 4 dan players.

Graded Go Problems for Beginners are the ideal books for players who have just learned the rules of Go, bridging the gap between a beginner’s book and some of the more ‘advanced’ elementary books.

Volume Two of this series adds 327 elementary level problems.

Volume Three of this series adds 421 intermediate level problems covering all phases of the game.

Volume Four of this series adds 390 advanced problems covering all phases of the game.

大模様を張るのは夢があって楽しい、と思う人には三連星がぴったりの布石だろう. 本書では実際にプロの実戦で使った三連星の必勝法を解説します。第一章では本書で提案する三連星の六つの基本パターンを解説します。 第二章は自戦解説20局です。丁寧な解説で読者に三連星の特徴と魅力を伝えるのが本書の狙いです。

マイケル　レドモンドは西洋人で唯一の囲碁九段です。レドモンド九段本人が作り上げたコンテンツと、見やすさと使いやすさを重視したSmartGo Booksの特有の工夫が合わさって、三連星の布石を打ちたいと考えている人、または白の対策を研究したい人にも貴重な一冊になると信じます。

From the historic AlphaGo-Lee Sedol showdown in Seoul in March 2016 to the release of AlphaGo Zero in November 2017, Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock have had a front-row seat, commenting, analyzing and reporting as AlphaGo upended thousands of years of human history. Since then they’ve released a comprehensive series of videos and game commentaries analyzing all phases of the AlphaGo phenomenon. In Volume 1 of a planned 4-volume series on AlphaGo, Redmond and Garlock take an in-depth look at the March 2016 showdown between AlphaGo and Lee Sedol 9P, with new insights into the match and each game, links to videos and commentaries, and photos, including some never previously published.

These two volumes feature the historic match between Gu Li and Lee Sedol, two players who have dominated go in the first decade of the 21st century. Both are famous for their severe attacks and their fighting skills. Gu has a thick style accompanied by an exquisite feeling for the opening from which he often emerges with an advantage. In contrast Lee plays a fast, profit-oriented game, leaving behind thin positions. This means that his groups often come under attack. Most players would collapse under Gu’s relentless attacks, but this brings Lee’s game to life and he creatively finds the best possible way to settle these groups. This contrast in style and especially Lee’s daring strategies in the middle game are what make the games in this book especially fascinating and give birth to innovative moves and spectacular fights. The games are analyzed in great detail so the reader can understand the thinking behind each move.

Part Two contains games six to eight of the series, as well as two games Gu and Lee played in other tournaments while the match was in progress.

From the historic AlphaGo-Lee Sedol showdown in Seoul in March 2016 to the release of AlphaGo Zero in November 2017, Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock have had a front-row seat, commenting, analyzing and reporting as the AlphaGo AI upended thousands of years of human history. In this unique 4-volume series, they’re providing a comprehensive record of this astounding development, with extensive game commentaries, personal insights, photos, and videos.

Volume 1 covered the AlphaGo-Lee Sedol match in detail; Volume 2 explores the thrilling series of games that occurred in early 2017 when the mysterious player Master appeared and easily defeated dozens of top players, in a classic man vs. machine challenge. Delayed by the pandemic, this latest volume provided an opportunity to more closely review these remarkable games as AI continues to embed itself ever more deeply in our everyday lives.

This book has been widely acclaimed as a masterpiece on one of the greatest Go players who ever lived. The SmartGo Books edition of Invincible includes the complete text, games, and diagrams of the print edition, painstakingly converted to digital format. Even if you already own the print edition, we are confident that you’ll get much more out of reading and studying this digital edition.

Fujisawa Shuko was one of Japan’s top players from the 1960s. Among his contemporaries, he ranks with Go Seigen and Sakata Eio for his creativity and the depth of his understanding of Go. His two greatest achievements were becoming the first tournament Meijin in 1962 and winning the first six terms of the Kisei title from 1977 to 1982. Shuko won this title against Hashimoto Utaro at 52, an age at which most pros are washed up as title contenders. He went on to defend this title against challenges from the young stars of the day who were dominating all the other titles: Kato Masao, Ishida Yoshio, Rin Kaiho, and Otake Hideo.

This book presents all 40 games that Fujisawa played in the Kisei title matches, including the seven in which he was dethroned by Cho Chikun. Most of these games were first published in Go World, but two against Hashimoto never appeared there and one had only an extremely brief commentary. John Power has provided new commentaries for these games to make this volume complete. Studying and playing through these games will give you an appreciation of the profundity of Go and the genius of Fujisawa Shuko.

Essential Go Proverbs is the ultimate guide to mastering the ancient game of go. Written by the author of Invincible, this book compiles a comprehensive collection of the most important go proverbs, distilled from centuries of wisdom and experience from the game’s top players. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned player, these proverbs will deepen your understanding of the game and improve your play. Each proverb is accompanied by detailed explanations and examples, making it easy to apply them to your own games. With Essential Go Proverbs, you’ll develop a more intuitive sense of the game and learn how to make strategic decisions with confidence. This book is an indispensable resource for any go player looking to take their game to the next level.

What you will find in this book: • 104 proverbs with 431 examples and 258 problems. • These examples and problems will not only deepen your understanding of the proverbs but also the strategy and tactics of the game itself. • 45 years in the making, this is the largest and most comprehensive collection of examples and problems focussed solely on go proverbs ever published in any language. • Not only does this book analyze the proverbs in detail, it also shows the relationship between one proverb to others. • Contains many interesting and profoundly original games in which these proverbs were applied.

The middle game of Go often appears chaotic, but there is order in the chaos, as this book plainly reveals. It lays down a few clear principles, then goes through a wealth of applications: examples, problems, and case studies from professional play. The reader emerges with a thorough grasp of how to choose strategy, how to execute dual-purpose attacks, how to defend with contact plays, how to force his opponent into submission or cooperation, how to invade and reduce territorial frameworks, and when to fight a ko. This is knowledge that no player can afford to be without.

Das Mittelspiel im Go stellt jeden Go-Spieler vor bedeutende Fragen: Wie entwickelt man nach der Eröffnung einen aktiven Plan? Wie geht man gegen ein Moyō vor? Wie verteidigt man gegen eine Invasion?

Dieses Buch gibt Antworten auf diese Fragen – und noch einige mehr. Die Autoren, ein japanischer Profi-Spieler und ein renommierter Go-Autor, haben ein klar gegliedertes und prägnantes Lehrbuch zu Strategie und Taktik des Mittelspiels erarbeitet. Sie zeigen auf, wie ein Angriff vorbereitet und ausgeführt wird, wie schwache Gruppen verteidigt werden und wann dies notwendig ist. Auch fortgeschrittene Techniken wie Kikashi und Induktion werden anhand anschaulicher Beispiele erläutert.

Dieses Standardwerk ist voll von wertvollen Erklärungen und enthält ebenso viel Anschauungsmaterial aus dem professionellen Go.

From the historic AlphaGo-Lee Sedol showdown in Seoul in March 2016 to the release of AlphaGo Zero in November 2017, Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock have had a front-row seat, commenting, analyzing and reporting as AlphaGo upended thousands of years of human history. Since then they’ve released a comprehensive series of videos and game commentaries analyzing all phases of the AlphaGo phenomenon. In Volume 1 of a planned 4-volume series on AlphaGo, Redmond and Garlock take an in-depth look at the March 2016 showdown between AlphaGo and Lee Sedol 9P, with new insights into the match and each game, links to videos and commentaries, and photos, including some never previously published.

From the historic AlphaGo-Lee Sedol showdown in Seoul in March 2016 to the release of AlphaGo Zero in November 2017, Michael Redmond 9P and Chris Garlock have had a front-row seat, commenting, analyzing and reporting as the AlphaGo AI upended thousands of years of human history. In this unique 4-volume series, they’re providing a comprehensive record of this astounding development, with extensive game commentaries, personal insights, photos, and videos.

Volume 1 covered the AlphaGo-Lee Sedol match in detail; Volume 2 explores the thrilling series of games that occurred in early 2017 when the mysterious player Master appeared and easily defeated dozens of top players, in a classic man vs. machine challenge. Delayed by the pandemic, this latest volume provided an opportunity to more closely review these remarkable games as AI continues to embed itself ever more deeply in our everyday lives.

Most books on joseki list endless variations, leaving it up to the readers to fend for themselves in applying these josekis to their games. This joseki book is unique; not only does it show you the most important 5-3 and 5-4 point josekis that are likely to arise in your games, it also shows you how to apply them in actual situations, which joseki to select, and how to continue the joseki in the middle game.

Volume 2 contains 172 problems arising from playing the first corner move on the 5-3 point and 5-4 point.

Most books on joseki list endless variations, leaving it up to the readers to fend for themselves in applying these josekis to their games. This joseki book is unique; not only does it show you the most important 4-4 and 3-3 point josekis that are likely to arise in your games, it also shows you how to apply them in actual situations, which joseki to select, and how to continue the joseki in the middle game.

Volume 3 contains 194 problems arising from playing the first corner move on the 4-4 point and the 3-3 point.

How many troubles have you detected? And how many of them did you read through to the end of the sequence? I believe that being able to sense trouble is just as important as solving it on the board, considering that only 30% of problems are found in amateur games. With these brand-new Life & Death and Tesuji problems, you can develop your ability to detect problematic areas, which will provide you with one of the greatest joys of this game. And it is simply enjoyable! It’s similar to playing a “hidden picture puzzles”, but it can only be seen by the eyes of Go players. Therefore, practice, have fun, and become a Trouble Master!

How many troubles have you detected? And how many of them did you read through to the end of the sequence? I believe that being able to sense trouble is just as important as solving it on the board, considering that only 30% of problems are found in amateur games. With these brand-new Life & Death and Tesuji problems, you can develop your ability to detect problematic areas, which will provide you with one of the greatest joys of this game. And it is simply enjoyable! It’s similar to playing a “hidden picture puzzles”, but it can only be seen by the eyes of Go players. Therefore, practice, have fun, and become a Trouble Master!

This book analyzes how and when to invade common positions as well as how to defend against such invasions. The book deals with situations that arise regularly in actual games; the analysis is very practical and the guidance it offers will make a lot of common situations much easier for you to handle.

‘Reductions’ is the companion volume to Iwamoto’s book ‘Invasions’; it thoroughly examines both how to reduce and how to defend against reductions of many common positions. Studying these books will significantly increase your knowledge and confidence in dealing with this important part of go in many common situations.

This book concerns common joseki mistakes, why they are bad, and how to take advantage of them. Each mistake originates in a real game where an amateur made a real mistake. Joseki books typically concentrate solely on the correct line of play, with perhaps lip service paid to mistakes whose subtlety eludes all but the most advanced of players. The faulty lines are dreamed up by the author, a professional Go player, and do not reflect the mistakes of astounding simplicity that amateurs routinely commit. Showing only the mistake is insufficient: an opponent of equal skill will often fail to take advantage of these mistakes. Therefore, a thorough discussion of the mistake is necessary to truly learn its nature.

We have chosen games reflecting many of the most common joseki mistakes committed by amateur players, most of whom fall between 3 kyu and 4 dan. Although some of the specific mistakes contained in this book are unlikely to be precisely duplicated in the reader’s games, the concepts behind them will prove an informative study for players of many levels. Consider this a practical guide to learning joseki sequences and the ideas that govern them.

The idea for this book arose from the interaction of Jiang and Guo in giving joint lectures on the Kiseido Go Server, beginning in 2004. They have known each other since they were pros in China, where Guo was at one time a pupil of Jiang’s.

The mistakes in playing joseki sequences and in selecting joseki for particular game situations that are the subject of this book are all taken from actual games played by amateurs, many of them dan level players. A print version of this book is available from Slate & Shell with the title All About Joseki.

How strong are you? Here is a book that will test your perceptiveness in the opening, middle game, and endgame.

Miyamoto has selected 50 situations that might arise in typical games. In each he poses the challenge to find the best of 5 points. Will your answer be the best play or the worst? Regardless, you will find a clear explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of the move. As you work your way through this book, you will discover the strengths and weaknesses of your own game, and you will gain an understanding of how to increase your playing strength.

You will gain an indication of what your rating may be, but, more important, you will exercise your Go judgment, so that you can avoid bad moves and find powerful plays in your own games.

In this unique treatment of low-handicap go a 9-dan professional sets out to change your whole approach to the game. Step by step he shows you how to take the initiative, how to attack, how to handle the corners, and how to keep the game simple, all the while relentlessly hammering away at the negative mentality that keeps players from advancing. Absorb what he has to say, and the opponents you once feared may soon have to fear you.

A key feature in the Go books Neil has written is an evaluation of the intention behind each and every move played. The vast majority of game reviews on the Internet and in traditional books have sparse move commentary. Beginners and many intermediate players are thereby sold short—they have to guess why most moves were played.

In this book, Neil analyzes six double digit kyu games. He illustrates shortcomings in the reactionary and localised, small-scale thinking that characterizes play at this level. Every move is evaluated, with variations showing the effect of better moves. By commenting this way, the reader is made to think about each move - the repetition reinforces better thinking, much as repeated Go problem solving sharpens your reading.

These game commentaries should help players tidy up their play, make them more efficient, and start to see new ways of appraising positions, moving them towards single digit kyu level.

This book is the result of research and thinking about the nature of play by Go players with ranks from 9 kyu up to 1 kyu. More precisely, about the barriers in thinking that make the step up to dan level seem insurmountable for so many. The kyu-dan boundary quite consistently represents a fundamental change in thinking, a quantum leap in the way that kyu and dan players see the board. This book helps you recognize and correct the limtations of kyu thinking.

Go-playing AI programs have changed the very nature of professional go. In the half-decade since the emergence of AlphaGo in 2016, the conventional wisdom of go has been transformed. Opening patterns previously favored by professionals of all levels have lost popularity and some have disappeared altogether. Large moyos have lost out to the thoroughgoing preference of AI for actual territory and its skill at reducing moyos. Josekis have been transformed, with ‘standard’ moves disappearing and their place being taken by new techniques invented by AI. Even some moves that were previously considered taboo, as being crude or ineffective, have been reassessed by AI and have earned places in the standard repertory.

In this book, Shibano Toramaru, one of the top players of his generation, gives his own take on the fuseki revolution. He focusses on changes in the contemporary way of thinking about go strategy: the reasons why popular openings declined, changes in conventional wisdom and new sets of values, and revolutionary new josekis invented by AI.

This book is a sequel to Shibano’s Fuseki Revolution. In contrast to the predominantly whole-board focus on fuseki strategy of his previous book, Shibano focuses on new josekis that have been inspired by AI go-playing programs. He also shows why a number of old discarded josekis have suddenly become mainstream and why some recently popular josekis have now been rejected.

Of particular interest is Shibano’s treatment of the taisha, the avalanche, and the magic-sword josekis. He shows how, thanks to AI, these extremely complicated josekis have been ‘swamped in a wave of simplification.’ Required reading for all serious go players.

Von Ninja und Zen. Über Selbstverteidigung und invasives Miai. Wie man Keima zerlegt und die Richtung spürt. Von der Magie der Freiheiten ...

Dieses Buch stellt ausgewählte Go-Probleme vor, die sich von der Masse des klassischen TsumeGo unterscheiden. Es sind die Stellungen und Situationen, in denen die Profis ihr wahres Können aufzeigen, denn die guten Züge sind meist nicht die erwarteten. Sie sind ... etwas anders.

Mit pointierten Beschreibungen wird der Leser eingeladen, die Stellungen selbst zu analysieren und in Ruhe nachzudenken. Die oft überraschenden Lösungen sind klar dargelegt und so lassen sich die kunstvollen Züge und Sequenzen nicht nur genießen, sondern sie geben auch neue Inspirationen.

Viktor Lin lernte im Alter von zwölf Jahren Go und zählt heute zu den stärksten europäischen Go-Spielern. Er organisiert die EGF Academy und schreibt lehrreiche Beiträge für die Deutsche Go-Zeitung.

Von blinden Flecken, bösen Überraschungen und dramatischen Semeai. Wie man nach dem Weg fragt und wegläuft. Über Treppen und Ploppen. Und noch mehr Ninja ...

Dieses Buch stellt ausgewählte Go-Probleme vor, die sich von der Masse des klassischen TsumeGo unterscheiden. Es sind die Stellungen und Situationen, in denen die Profis ihr wahres Können aufzeigen, denn die guten Züge sind meist nicht die erwarteten. Sie sind ... etwas anders.

Mit pointierten Beschreibungen wird der Leser eingeladen, die Stellungen selbst zu analysieren und in Ruhe nachzudenken. Die oft überraschenden Lösungen sind klar dargelegt und so lassen sich die kunstvollen Züge und Sequenzen nicht nur genießen, sondern sie geben auch neue Inspirationen.

Viktor Lin lernte im Alter von zwölf Jahren Go und zählt heute zu den stärksten europäischen Go-Spielern. Er organisiert die EGF Academy und schreibt lehrreiche Beiträge für die Deutsche Go-Zeitung.

Haengma is a Korean word that is difficult to translate. It represents the way the stones move (literally it means moving horse) and how they make use of the momentum. The term is not only used to describe various basic combinations of stones and their implications but also covers more intricate moves that are close to tesuji.

In this book Yoon Youngsun 8p uses 36 positions from pro games and joseki to analyze haengma and discuss old and new ways to play.