"Presence" is a word we often attribute to a powerful personality. Presence may also imply our attendance at an event. Great events are usually sparked by strife between powerful people. A tournament battle for a prestigious title can capture both meanings of the word.

The 1971 Honinbo Tournament was rich with presence in every sense of the word. Rin Kai Ho, Honinbo, seemed invincible. Whatever challenger might rise from the Honinbo League must be truly a remarkable player to have a chance. "The 1971 Honinbo Tournament" tracks the ascent of Yoshio Ishida to his destiny. The author, Kaoru Iwamoto, feels this exceptional presence in his bones. His words transport us straight into the tournament. They give us pictures of the contestants, the conditions, the stakes and the high-voltage tensions of the games.

In my first reading of the book I drank the atmosphere, and I meticulously worked my way through a game or two. In my second reading (having improved a bit) I was able to appreciate more of the wonderful annotations Iwamoto provides. Enjoying the games makes the narrative all the more vivid.

This is a book of two great virtues: "Presence" is one, the historical chronicle. Incredibly fine go with superb annotations is the other. In my third reading, which will surely happen, because this book is one of the cornerstones of any enduring go library, I expect to feel more acutely the presence of mythic 1971 and the battle of these great warriors.

Ishida seems to have a very balanced and straightforward style that is probably a good model to copy. I found it very hard going, and didn't really understand a lot of the commentary, never mind the uncommented stuff. Nevertheless when I started it I was a weak 5kyu. When (exhausted!) I temporarily gave up my slog through it, halfway through the final match, it had taken me every spare moment for a fortnight. I had improved to a solid 4kyu.

This book is a report on the 1971 Honinbo Tournament, which was won by Ishida Yoshio. It contains all of the games in the final, all of Ishida's games in the Honinbo League, and Ishida's last game in the preliminary tournament, all commented. The commentaries are extensive, running to as many as 24 pages, so you get much more information than you do from reading games in Go World.

I don't have a lot to say about this book, but I do recommend it. The games are good, the commentaries are good, and some of them are very thorough indeed.