Learn to Play Go Volume I
By Janice Kim, Jeong Soo-hyun
Cover show/hide
Details show/hide
| Title | Learn to Play Go Volume I |
|---|---|
| Authors | Janice Kim, Jeong Soo-hyun |
| Publishers | Samarkand, Good Move Press |
| Code | l1a |
| Date | 98,99,00,01,02,03,04 |
| ISBN | 0-9644796-1-3 |
| Pages | 176 |
| Dimensions | 9 1/4. x 7 3/16., 180mm x 235mm |
| Series Info | Learn to Play Go Vol I |
| Publishers's URL | http://www.samarkand.net/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=L1A.html |
Blurb show/hide
- Rules and Techniques - know before you Go
- Historical and cultural notes put the game in context
- Designed for speed and ease in learning
- Try-it-yourself section in each chapter
- Suitable for children, demystifying for adults
- Learn Go from scratch or brush up on the fundamentals
- Covers the ground from beginner to 15gupin one book
- First in a series that takes you, step by step, all the way to the master levels
- Listing of associations around the world
- Go set with reversible 19 x 19, 13 x 13 and 9 x 9 boards included
Contents show/hide
| Preface and Acknowledgements | ...i | |
| Introduction | ...vii | |
Part I: Fundamentals |
...1 | |
| (1) | What is Go? | ...2 |
| The Board and Stones, How the Game is Played | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...10 | |
| (2) | Capturing | ...12 |
| Liberties, Capture, Atari, Capturing More Than One Stone | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...17 | |
| (3) | Connecting and Cutting | ...20 |
| Connecting, Cutting, The Diagonal | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...25 | |
| (4) | Where You Can't Play | ...28 |
| The Point Without Liberties, Gaining Liberties by Capturing | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...32 | |
| (5) | Life and Death | ...34 |
| Life, Death, Conditions for Life, False Eyes, A Special Form of Life | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...44 | |
| [] Go Strength | ...44 | |
| (6) | Ko | ...48 |
| What is Ko? The Rule of Ko | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...50 | |
| [] The Many Names of Go | ...53 | |
| (7) | Territory | ...54 |
| Conditions for Territory | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...57 | |
| [] Go In Cyberspace | ...60 | |
| [] Go For Kids | ...61 | |
| (8) | A Real Game | ...62 |
| [] Go Stars | ...74 | |
| [] Go in the U.S.A | ...77 | |
Part II: Basic Techniques |
...79 | |
| (9) | What is Go? | ...80 |
| Double Atari, Pushing Towards the Edge, The Ladder, The Net, The Snapback, The Pin | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...99 | |
| (10) | Connecting Techniques | ...104 |
| Conditions for Territory | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...115 | |
| [] Handicap Go | ...120 | |
| [] Go Etiquette | ...121 | |
| (11) | Life and Death Techniques | ...122 |
| The Center, Eye Shapes, Life and Death Situations | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...132 | |
| (12) | Capturing Races | ...136 |
| What is a Capturing Race? Predicting the Winner, Blocking Liberties | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...141 | |
| [] The History of Go | ...143 | |
| (13) | Capturing Races | ...144 |
| Ko Threats | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...147 | |
| [] Go and Computers | ...152 | |
| (14) | Ending and Counting | ...154 |
| When the Game is Over, Filling in Neutral Points, Disposition of Dead Stones | ||
| ^ Try It Yourself | ...160 | |
| Sample Openings | ...166 | |
| Appendix A - Go Associations | ...170 | |
| Index | ...174 | |
Reviews show/hide
Review by Steven E. Polley show/hide 25/11/2002
| Review Author | Steven E. Polley | Reviewer Strength | n/a |
This book, part of a four part series is a nearly perfect book for the new player of go. Written in a simple, straight-forward manner, with illustrations for almost every concept discussed, the book allows the student to learn at his on pace, and is ideal for a quick review of any rule or concept. Regardless of the facet of the game being presented, the authors first give the simplest examples, and then build each chapter with increasingly advanced ideas- so that each aspect of go is completely discussed in an easy to understand, step by step approach.
The book is divided into two parts, covering fundamentals and basic techniques. Part I consists of eight chapters dealing with topics such as capturing, connecting, life and death, and ko. Part I also contains, in chapter 8, the score of an actual 19x19 game that the reader can follow, with excellent annotations, move by move. After the reader has learned "the basics," Part II, in six chapters, cleverly builds on that foundation with topics such as: capturing techniques, connecting techniques, capturing races, and ko fighting.
In addition to this excellent introduction to Go, Learn to Play Go, Vol. I also has two extra features that make it an outstanding book for the novice player. The first is that each chapter is followed by a section called "Try it Yourself" which amounts to a section of problems that test the ideas presented in the preceding chapter. The second is ten "extra sections", with from one to three pages, that are dispersed throughout the text, and give the reader more of a "feel" for the game. For example, one section explains go etiquette, another go strength, i.e. the rating system. One gives information about go on the Internet, and still another introduces the reader to some of the more famous players of the game. Another unique feature of this volume is that each copy comes complete with a reversible 19x19, 13x13 and 9x9 board, so that the reader can start playing immediately. The 'stones" are paper and can be difficult to use, but still a nice addition to the book, which is highly recommended for anyone from 30 to roughly 25 kyu.