Invincible. The Games of Shusaku
By John Power
Cover show/hide
Details show/hide
| Title | Invincible. The Games of Shusaku |
|---|---|
| Author | John Power |
| Publishers | Ishi Press, Kiseido |
| Codes | h1, K1 |
| Date | 02/82, 08/96 |
| ISBN | 4906574-01-7 |
| Pages | 420 |
| Dimensions | 10 1/8. x 7 1/8. - 25.7cm x 18.2 cm |
| Publishers's URL | http://kiseido.com/Game.htm#K01 |
Blurb show/hide
THE SAINT OF GO: Shusaku was the leading player of the golden age of go in the mid 19th century. He has become know to later generations as the Saint of Go (kisei or gosei) and is recognized by modern players as one of the greatest geniuses in the history of the game. His victories over his contemporaries in a number of matches contributed to his reputation, but its main foundation is his perfect record, not even approached by any other player, of nineteen successive wins in the annual castle games played in the presence of the shogun.
INVINCIBLE: Shusaku's record in the castle games
1. (1849) Shusaku (black) defeated Yasui Sanchi 7-dan by 11 points.
2. (1849) Shusaku (black) defeated Sakaguchi Sentoku 7-dan (resigned after 131 moves).
3. (1850) Shusaku (black) defeated Sakaguchi Sentoku 7-dan by 8 points.
4. (1850) Shusaku (black) defeated Ito Showa 7-dan by 3 points.
5. (1851) Shusaku (black) defeated Hayashi Monnyu 7-dan by 7 points.
6. (1851) Shusaku (black) defeated Yasui Sanchi 7-dan (resigned after 151 moves).
7. (1852) Shusaku (white) defeated Inoue Matsumoto Inseki 5-dan by 2 points.
8. (1852) Shusaku (black) defeated Ito Showa 7-dan by 6 points.
9. (1853) Shusaku (black) defeated Sakaguchi Sentoku 7-dan (resigned after 121 moves).
10. (1853) Shusaku (white) defeated Yasui Shanchi 7-dan by 1 point.
11. (1854) Shusaku (white) defeated Inoue Matsumoto Inseki 5-dan (resigned after 130
moves).
12. (1856) Shusaku (white) defeated Ito Showa7-dan (resigned after 154 moves).
13. (1857) Shusaku (black) defeated Yasui Sanchi 7-dan (resigned after 141 moves).
14. (1858) Shusaku (white) defeated Sakaguchi Sentoku 7-dan by 3 points.
15. (1859) Shusaku (black) defeated Ito Showa 7-dan by 9 points.
16. (1859) Shusaku (black) defeated Hattoru Seitetsu 7-dan by 13 points.
17. (1860) Shusaku (white) defeated Hayashi Yubi 6-dan by 4 points.
18. (1861) Shusaku (white) defeated Hayashi Monnyu 7-dan by 14 points.
19. (1861) Shusaku (white) defeated Hayashi Yubi 6-dan (resigned after 142 moves).
SHUSAKU'S REPUTATION: Shusaku is considered the best model for aspiring professional players
to study, especially his games with black. He was unexcelled in his complete master of the
strategic principles and the practical techniques of go. His games are a treasure house of all
the varied elements of the game, from the fuseki to the endgame, but in particular they provide
amateur players with ideal material for studying the art of fighting in the middle game.
'Shusaku simplified the complexity of go, concealing his great strength and profound analysis beneath the smooth surface of his game... It is not an exaggeration to say that all the principles and all the techniques of go are embodied in concentrated form in Shusaku's go.' - Segoe Kensaku 9-dan
'The speed and forcefulness of Shusaku's play with black are like lightning striking the go board; his skill at finishing off his opponent once he took the lead is unrivalled.' - Hayashi Yutaka, go historian
'Shusaku would read out all the possible variations, then play straightforwardly, making the simplest move, if he thought it ensured a win. This way of playing is only possible if one has a clear understanding of the principles of go and is blessed with superb positional judgement, and it also requires considerable self-confidence. On those rare occasions when he got into a bad position, he would display tremendous strength in fighting his way back into the lead. The castle game with Ito Showa in 1850 is a good example of a game in which he reveals his latent strength... Another feature of his go is his flexibility and willingness to experiment. Modern go is still far from surpassing Shusaku.' - Ishida Yoshio, former Meijin, Honinbo
Contents show/hide
| Preface | ...viii |
| The Four Houses & Holders of the Office of Meihin Gokokoro | ...ix |
| Chronology | ...viii |
| Statistic's of Shusaku's Career | ...ix |
| Glossary | ...viii |
| Part One | |
| Chapter One: Go in the Edo Period | ...3 |
| Chapter Two: The Life of Shusaku | ...15 |
| Chapter Three: The Shusaku-Style Fuseki | ...28 |
| Chapter Four: Shusaku's Debut | ...33 |
| Chapter Five: The Encounter with Gennan Inseki | ...98 |
| Chapter Six: Heir to the Honinbo House | ...119 |
| Chapter Seven: Sanjubango with Ota Yuzo | ...219 |
| Chapter Eight: Unvanquished | ...305 |
| Part Two | |
| Other Games | ...379 |
| Bibliographical Note | ...420 |
Reviews show/hide
Review by Steve Dowell (AGA) show/hide 10/12/2001
| Review Author | Steve Dowell (AGA) | Reviewer Strength | 6k |
"Invincible" is a massive book with about 120 games. 80 are full commentaries with detailed analysis. The games here are magnificent struggles with large scale fighting being the norm. However Shusaku demonstrates his mastery of the positional features of the game and in every game he demonstrates his superb positional judgment.
The book contains thousands of lessons and is a great way to see the 3-4 point in action. These games are timeless and playing through them is like listening to great classical music or seeing a great artist in action before your very eyes. Invincible's lessons are supplemented by the history it presents along with every game and with a well-written introductory chapter (about 25 pages) documenting the history leading up to and including Shusaku's career.
If you love great games you will love this book. This book is well suited to anyone who is able to learn from professional games, although weaker players may find this book a struggle. Invincible is great at teaching through exciting struggles but its real strength is teaching and fostering a love for go and its culture.
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 collection of games of Shusaku. It has information about Edo go, a biography of Shusaku, a section on the Shusaku fuseki, eighty games with reasonably lengthy commentary (averaging a little less than 5 pages/game), and about 60 more games with minimal commentary (typically 2 games/page).
It's a great book, and has as good a claim as any to being the best go book in English. Shusaku may have been the best player of all time, many of the games here are classics, and you'll enjoy playing through the games and learn a lot from doing so. I read through it as a 2 kyu, and I thoroughly enjoyed doing so and thought (or hope!) that I learned something from it, even though I didn't study the commentaries in detail; I expect that any mid-kyu or stronger would learn from it. (If you haven't read any other game commentaries, you might want to start with Ohira's Appreciating Famous Games, though.) This book is attractive, well thought-out, and a lot longer than any other go book out there, so you're getting a lot of stuff with it.
Kiseido was originally formed to publish this book, I think. The original version is in hardcover, with the pages about the size of Go World pages, and was distributed by Ishi. There were plans to do a whole series of such books on great Japanese go players, but they never materialized. (The book cost $75, so it wasn't a big hit; after it went out of print, though, a lot of people were left wishing that they had a copy.) Fortunately, Kiseido in its new incarnation has reprinted the book in paperback for $35, which is a good price considering how much more material there is in this book than in your typical go book.