Get Strong at Joseki I
By Richard Bozulich
Cover show/hide
Details show/hide
| Title | Get Strong at Joseki I |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Bozulich |
| Publisher | Kiseido |
| Code | k52 |
| Date | 1995, 2002 |
| ISBN | 4-906574-052-1 |
| Pages | 173 |
| Dimensions | 8 1/4. x 5 3/4. - 210mm x 147mm |
| Series Info | Get Strong at Go Volume II |
| Publisher's URL | http://kiseido.com/Strong.htm#K52 |
Blurb show/hide
This book is part 2 of the Get Strong at Go Series
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 ( komoko ) 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. This format is an ideal way to study joseki. Instead of memorizing variations, your attention is focused on an important joseki move or idea. Memorization then comes effortlessly, making this the perfect joseki books for all players.
Get Strong at Joseki 1 is the first of a three volume series on joseki. Volume 2 deals with the 5-4 point ( takamoku ) and 5-3 point ( mokuhazushi ) josekis, and Volume 3 with the 4-4 point josekis.
Contents show/hide
| Preface | ...iv | ||
| Introduction | ...1 | ||
| Part One | ...14 | ||
| Joseki Variations | |||
| Problems 1 - 99 | |||
| Part Two | ...81 | ||
| Choosing the Right Joseki | |||
| Problems 100 - 124 | |||
| Part Three | ...117 | ||
| How to Play After the Joseki | |||
| Problems 125 - 178 | |||
Reviews show/hide
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/ |
These volumes consist of joseki problems. Each volume starts of by presenting one or two basic variations of about 10 different joseki; the volumes then each have about 175 problems about those joseki. The problems are designed to show you other variations in the joseki or why certain moves aren't joseki. Each page has three problems on it, and long variations are broken up across multiple pages so that, for example, the middle problems on four consecutive pages might present successive stages in the same problem.
It seems like a well-designed series of books, and studying joseki by reading these books will doubtless help you much more than trying to memorize joseki. I tried to read volume 1 and didn't get much out of it, but I think that's more because I wasn't really paying attention than because of any flaw in the book. A book like this can be really mind-numbing after a while if you're not careful.
Volume 1 covers the 3-4 point; Volume 2 covers the 5-3 and 5-4 points; Volume 3 covers the 4-4 and 3-3 points. Volumes 2 and 3 were written with Furuyama Kazunari.
Review by Tim Hunt show/hide
| Review Author | Tim Hunt | Reviewer Strength | British 2kyu |
| Author's Email | T.J.Hunt@damtp.cam.ac.uk |
Although Get Strong at Joseki is presented as a problem book you have to remember that 'solving' the problems by working out the next move from first principles is beyond most amateurs. Instead the aim must be to learn the joseki.
The way I use these books is as follows. I go through some of the problems, say the first 10-20, doing my best but not worrying too much if I can't find the right answer. I do, however, make sure that I understand the answer given. I then go back to the beginning and do the problems again and I keep doing this until I get (almost) all of them right. I may end up doing each problem 4 or 5 times, or maybe even more. Then I go on to the next batch of 10-20 until I can remember those. Eventually I go back over the first set of problems again and find I have forgotten some of it but it is surprising how much I can remember. Using the books this way I have managed to learn a lot of different variations.
What makes this approach work well is the the problems in the book are well selected. The problems focus on the key moves of the joseki so you concentrate on learning those. It also takes you through different variations where the positions look very similar but the correct moves are different. Finally, some of the problems which show how to punish mistakes have wonderfully crushing sequences as the answer.