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Book Review: Level Up 7

Level Up 7 Cover

Description: Level Up 7 is part of the Level Up! Series that serves as a workbook in private go schools in Korea. Though designed for children, the content and practice provided is invaluable for adults and children alike.

Book Details

Title, Level Up 7
Series, Level Up! Series
Author, Lee Jae-Hwan
Translators, Lee Seong-Geun & Daniela Trinks
Supervisor, Yoo Chang-Hyuk (9P)
Publisher, Baduktopia
Published, “April 29th, 2009”
Language, English
ISBN, 978-89-90965-86-8
Length, 168 Pages

Table of Content

  1. Glossary
  2. In Einstein’s Footsteps (1)
  3. How to Reduce Liberties
  4. How to Increase Liberties
  5. Avoid Ladder Breakers
  6. Diagonal Move Net
  7. Capturing and Saving Key Stone
  8. Making a Living 4-Point Eye Shape
  9. Stretching Haengma
  10. Next Move
  11. Opening Sample 1
  12. Various Capturing Techniques (Review)
  13. The Tiger’s Mouth Vital Point
  14. Approach, Enclosure & Extension
  15. Opening Sample 2
  16. Snapback: Reducing Liberties from Behind
  17. Continuous Atari at the Dead Line
  18. In Einstein’s Footsteps (2)
  19. Blocking Move
  20. Life & Death (Review)
  21. Opening Sample 3
  22. Punishing an Overplayed Cut
  23. Living or Capturing by Ko
  24. Open & Closed Territory
  25. Endgame
  26. How to Answer
  27. Level Tests

Synopsis

  1. Starts to dive into proper moves and overplays.
  2. Continues to train the reader on their ladder and net abilities.
  3. Continues to live up to the quality of problems and content you come to expect of the series.

Before I Read This Book…

My Abilities

  • A mid to high SDK (single digit kyu) kyu who has read his fair share of go books and has a pretty strong foundation in the basics and teaching go.
    My Perspective

  • Level Up 6 started to make my brain work (especially with the endgame), so I am planning on being a little more careful with this next one.

My Review

What did I enjoy about the book?

  • I really like the fact that they devote time to training the reader to recognize key stones.
  • I also really liked the fact that they subtly show proper use of the “empty triangle.”
  • Once again, they do a great job with life and death by training even the most basic skills like “Making a Living 4-Point Eye Shape.” It might seem easy, but unless it’s second nature, players might actually miss it in their actual games.
  • They really try and break down the flow of moves for you. For example, the different types of blocking.

  • They start teaching how to punish overplay cuts and whether or not you should cut! mind blown
    What did I gain from reading this book?

  • Continued polishing of my reading abilities.

  • Better understanding of why certain moves are considered “proper responses.”

  • Gaining a higher comfort with nets and ladders.
    What style of teaching does the book use?

  • Curriculum Style

    *   Content is organized into lessons, topics, or themes in order to facilitate learning.

  • Primary Learning Mechanism:

    *   Practice problems

  • Other Learning Mechanisms:

    *   Cute and entertaining comics to teach and/or reinforce lessons.
*   Simple explantations that are accompanied by equally simple diagrams.
*   Samples of openings from professional games to further acclimate the reader to full games on a 19x19 board.

What aspect can be improved on?

  • No complaints here!

Is this book easy to read?

  • Yes. Other than the occasional article, the explanations are very easy short and easy to understand.
  • Though the series is designed for kids, both kids and adults alike will be able to learn everything they need to know about playing go in a fun and entertaining way.
  • People who enjoy learning things in an easy to understand format and lots of opportunities to reinforce what they are learning.

Where Can I Buy It?

  • Yellow Mountain Imports - $13.00 USD (shipping and handling not included)
  • Baduktopia - E-mail them at info@baduktopia.com for more information.

Other Books in This Series…

Last Updated on July 23rd, 2013