An Introduction to Go
By James Davies, Richard Bozulich
Cover show/hide
Details show/hide
| Title | An Introduction to Go |
|---|---|
| Authors | James Davies, Richard Bozulich |
| Publisher | Ishi Press |
| Code | g30 |
| Date | 1984 |
| ISBN | 4-87187-030-3 |
| Pages | 91 |
| Dimensions | 7 3/16. x 5 1/16. - 183mm x 128mm |
Blurb show/hide
Some four thousand years ago in China a board game was invented that so superbly combined beauty of form with depth of strategy that it thrives essentially unchanged today. It has been played professionally in Japan for over 350 years, but there are no signs that the possibilities of the game have been exhausted. Opening are not set and the player relies more on logical principles and intuition than on memorized variations. We know the game its Japanese named - GO.
The book presents the riles of GO in a simple, clear and concise manner so that the beginning GO player can start playing games in the shortest possible time. In addition, elementary tactics and strategy, as well as the fundamentals of the life and death of groups are covered. Example games give the reader a feel of the flow of a game of GO. The final chapter deals withhandicap GOto show the reader what kind of strategies to adopt when he starts to play his first games of GO.
""Contents show/hide
| Preface | ...iv |
| Chapter One: Introduction | ...1 |
| Chapter Two: The Rules | ...2 |
| Chapter Three: Example Games | ...10 |
| Chapter Four: Elementary Tactics and Strategy | ...17 |
| Chapter Five: 19 x 19 Example Game | ...38 |
| Chapter Six: Handicap Go | ...49 |
| Chapter Seven: How to Improve at Go | ...77 |
| Suggested Reading | ...79 |
| Go Associations | ...84 |
| Appendix: Rules for Special Positions | ...87 |
| Glossary | ...91 |
Reviews show/hide
Review by Steven Robert Allen (AGA) show/hide 12/06/2001
| Review Author | Steven Robert Allen (AGA) | Reviewer Strength | 1k |
People are attracted to go for many reasons. It's fun. It's excellent mental aerobics. It's also an ideal springboard for philosophical speculation about life and the cosmos.
A particularly seductive aspect of the game is its extraordinary culture and past. One of the most exciting things about go is that its millennia-long history is filled with colorful stories and equally colorful personalities.
The Go Player's Almanac, unique among go books in English, provides a detailed look at the game's culture and history. The book contains no lessons, no theory, no advice for improving go-playing skills. What it does provide are well-written essays and reference sections covering the history, philosophy, culture and personalities which make go so fascinating to so many people.
The book covers go history from ancient times to the present. It also contains biographies of all the most significant players, living and dead. One of the book's finest features is its extensive glossary of go terms. Another nice feature is its survey of go equipment, the collection of which is a fetishized pastime in itself. If that isn't enough, The Go Player's Almanac also describes: the manner in which players become professionals, the tournament system in different countries, the various rule sets, why go computer programs are so difficult to create, and more.
Every serious go player will eventually want to have this book. Though The Go Player's Almanac is currently out of print, it's available at several Internet vendors of go equipment. An updated edition is rumored to be in the works.
Review by David Carlton show/hide
| Review Author | David Carlton | Reviewer Strength | 1 kyu |
| Author's Email | carlton@bactrian.org | website | http://www.bactrian.org/~carlton/ |
This is a book for people who don't know anything about go. It starts by presenting the rules, gives 6x6 and 9x9 example games, gives some elementary tactics and strategy, a professional game, sample handicap games at 9, 7, and 5 stones through the first 40 or so moves, and some suggestions for further study.
It's a nice little book (92 pages); it's emphasis on sample games would probably work well for some people. It's out of print, though, and there's no reason to go out of your way to look for it. It wouldn't be a bad idea for Kiseido to reprint it, but with The Magic of Go available, I suppose that there's no real need.