The Basic Principles of the Opening and the Middle Game

Description: “In this book, 20 basic principles are presented. Each principle is accompanied by numerous examples and each section is followed by problems in which the application of these principles is required to solve them. The intuition of the novice player who studies the principles, examples, and problems presented in this book will quickly rise to the level of an expert go player.”

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Basic Techniques of Go

Description: This book can be considered a broad coverage of the following: opening principles, lots of handicap go advice, brief survey of tesujis, and a brief survey of endgame. The material is quite dense and contrary to what many descriptions say about this book, I vehemently disagree with the recommending this book for beginners. It is suited for intermediate to advanced players. Beginners steer clear of this book!

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Earlier today, I was reading Otake’s Secrets of Strategy by Hideo Otake 9P when I stumbled upon an interesting quote:

In the opening there are no predetermined shapes. - Otake 9P
I know that it might seem terribly obvious to some of you, but it struck me as rather profound when I read it.

Otake was discussing the fact that many amateur players play joseki faithfully believing that since they are joseki it can’t be that bad. He considers this a huge flaw with our rationale because joseki are only as good as the position it was meant to be used in. So when he said that “there are no predetermined shapes” in the opening, it opened my eyes as to how unimaginative I have been with my openings lately.

Perhaps this quote will cause me to start playing some very odd experimental games where I lose and drop rank; but if it means that I’m developing my own creative style as I play, I have a feeling it will be an enjoyable journey: win or lose.

The Workshop Lectures (Volume 6)

Description: The Workshop Lectures Volume 6 is part a series of lectures given by Yilun Yang (7P) at workshops in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The topics covered include: “Entering the Middle Game,” “Attacking Severely,” “Dealing with a Moyo,” and “Playing With and Against the Sanrensei.”

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The Workshop Lectures (Volume 5)

Description: The Workshop Lectures Volume 5 is part a series of lectures given by Yilun Yang (7P) at workshops in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The topics covered include: “Choosing Areas in the Opening,” “Handing Unusual Opening Moves,” and “Protecting a Position.”

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Get Strong at the Opening

Description: In the first volume of the Get Strong at Go Series, Bozulich presents 175 problems on the opening (fuseki) ranging in difficulty from easy to difficult. The problems begin with an analysis of the Chinese, niren-sei, sanren-sei, Shusaku, and tatsuki (diagonal) fusekis as well as other important opening strategies while the remainder of the problems are designed to hammer home to the reader the basic principles of the fuseki.

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The Workshop Lectures (Volume 1)

Description: The Workshop Lectures Volume 1 is part a series of lectures given by Yilun Yang at workshops in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The topics covered include: “When to Tenuki in the Opening,” “Choosing the Direction of Attack,” and “Playing Complicated Joseki.”

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Overall Rating: 8 / 10 Ponnuki

Basic Information

• Title: The Chinese Opening
• Author: Yuan Zhou
• Publisher: Slate & Shell
• Publication Date: 2013
• Page Length: 184 pages

Synopsis

• A great introductory book to the Chinese Opening.
• Explanations are kept at a high level and thus allows for easy reading.
• Appropriate for 10 kyu and stronger.
• Recommended for serious players.

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Overall Rating: 9 / 10 Ponnuki

Basic Information

• Title: The Chinese Opening: The Sure-Win Strategy
• Author: Masao Kato (translated by Steve Lloyd)
• Publisher: Kiseido
• Publication Date: May 1989
• Page Length: 145 pages

Synopsis

• An in-depth explanation of the Chinese fuseki.
• Covers a lot of various scenarios that players might encounter when trying to play the Chinese fuseki.
• Appropriate for 8 kyu and stronger.
• Recommended for serious players.

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Overall Rating: 4 / 5 Ponnuki

Basic Information

• Title: Mastering the Basics, Volume 1 - Five Hundred and One Opening Problems
• Authors: Richard Bozulich in collaboration with Rob van Zeijst
• Publisher: Kiseido
• Publication Date: August 2002
• Page Length: 256 pages
• Number of Problems: 501

Synopsis

• A great basic book about opening problems that utilizes proverbs as directions instead of vague statements.
• Appropriate for 10 kyu and stronger.
• Recommended for serious players.

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