Go Books

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Go begins with virtually unlimited possibilities on an empty board. Here a 9-dan professional Go player explains how the game takes shape, bringing correct modern opening technique within the reach of all players. Elementary in its approach, In The Beginning illuminates depths of Go strategy that few amateurs understand well.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Go ist ein sehr komplexes Spiel. Wahrscheinlich hat sich jeder Go-Einsteiger nach dem Lesen der Regeln oder eines Einführungsbuches gefragt: ”Und jetzt?“ Sicher, es gibt weiterführende Literatur. Doch diese umfasst meist nur bestimmte Aspekte des Spiels und setzt einige Erfahrung voraus. Diese Erfahrung möchte der Autor mit Hilfe dieses Buches vermitteln. Es ist ein Buch für diejenigen, die die Spielregeln bereits kennen oder ein Einsteigerbuch gelesen haben und nun wissen möchten, wie es weitergeht. So wird die Lücke zwischen Regelkenntnis und weiterführender Vertiefung geschlossen.

Das Buch beinhaltet alle grundlegenden Themen des Go-Spiels: • Eröffnung - wohin die ersten Steine der Partie setzen? • Standardabspiele - die wichtigsten Joseki in den Ecken kennen lernen. • Angriff und Verteidigung - Wo sind gute Angriffs- und Verteidigungspunkte? • Leben und Tod - Wie man gegnerische Gruppen fängt und gegnerische Angriffe abwehrt. • Endspiel - Standardfolgen für die letzten Punkte. • Auszählen - Formal das Ende der Partie feststellen und das Ergebnis bestimmen.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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 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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

As go players we all study the game in our own way, be it leisurely or with near-scientific precision. We attempt to distill the moves and find their essence in recurring, understandable patterns. But every once in a while we are struck by a move we have never seen before. A move that is so out of the ordinary that we cannot help but marvel at it. A move to remember.

This book is a collection of such moves: the weird and wonderful of go. It bundles together highlights from professional games. Chapters include: miraculous tesujis that resurrect dead groups; ladders that do not work but are played out anyway for strategic purposes; dragons that bite their own tail; impossible looking invasions; endless loops to escape defeat; and rare sequences that look so bizarre they make you laugh. If you want to study professional play and marvel at the creativity of human go, you will enjoy this book.