Reviews►Books

Book Review: Level Up 8

Level Up 8 Cover

Level Up 8

Description: Level Up 8 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 8
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, 978-89-90965-88-2
Length, 168 Pages

Table of Content

  1. Glossary
  2. Learn Baduk and IQ-Development
  3. Capturing Techniques
  4. Opening Sample 1
  5. Play Dansu (Atari) and Then Capture Stones
  6. Opening Sample 2
  7. Play Dansu (Atari) and Then Capture in Net
  8. Life and Death (Review)
  9. Opening Sample 3
  10. Connection
  11. Opening Sample 4
  12. Cut
  13. Opening Sample 5
  14. Using Paired Moves (Miai)
  15. Vital Point First
  16. Starpoint Pattern (Joseki) 1
  17. Next Move
  18. Opening Sample 6
  19. One Eye Versus No Eye
  20. Make a Living 4-Point Eye Shapes
  21. Korean Professional Tournaments
  22. Snapback (Review)
  23. Opening Sample 7
  24. Continuous Dansu (Atari) Review
  25. Opening Sample 8
  26. Extension - Open or Closed Door
  27. Starpoint Pattern (Joseki) 2
  28. Opening Sample 9
  29. Life and Death, Capturing Race (Review)
  30. Opening Sample 10
  31. Living and Capturing by Pae (Ko)
  32. Endgame
  33. How to Answer
  34. Level Tests

Synopsis

  1. Even though I may be a solid 5 kyu, I started slipping up on some of the problems.
  2. Really enjoyed how joseki was integrated into the lesson plan.
  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 7 was starting to really test my reading abilities, so I will continue to tread carefully with this one.

My Review

What did I enjoy about the book?

  • They are unrelenting with the training on ladders and nets.
  • Introduces joseki in a fun and easy way to help the reader remember the proper sequence along with how to respond to unorthodox responses from the opponent.
  • Continues to drill away at the reader to improve their life and death and capturing race abilities.

What did I gain from reading this book?

  • Continued polishing of my reading abilities.
  • Better understanding of why certain star point josekis flow the way they do.
  • Gained more familiarity and comfort with my fundamental life and death skills along with capturing races.

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 25th, 2013