Lately I’ve noticed that I seem to have trouble finding time to play ranked games. On the other hand, whenever a friend asks to play a game, I always manage to scrounge up the necessary time to play. After some thought, I believe it is for any of the following reasons:

1. With ranked games, I have this subconscious fear of not playing my best and losing.

2. When playing against friends, the burden of playing to win is lifted from my shoulders. As a result, even though the games take just as long as a ranked game normally would (or even longer), I’m at ease playing them because I don’t have a problem resigning the game if anything were to come up.

3. Continuing with that idea, I think part of me is fearful that I will be unable to complete a ranked game in its entirety. In my defense though, I have lost a game on time before because I was interrupted and needed to take care of some things. So the idea of losing a ranked game because of anything other than skill makes me shudder.

Also, I’m at this weird point in my growth where my abilities are directly proportional with how much time I spend thinking about a move. Although this may sound common sense to many, I have heard that there are a number of players who can think all day long but will still come up with the same types of moves regardless. An obvious example of this would be joseki. Some players play joseki faithfully by the book because it says that the result is even. For me, it seems that the longer I spend thinking about a move, the more likely it is a better move than what I thought of previously.

Recently, I have found myself spending more and more time in the opening trying to figure out how certain moves or potential responses will affect the game as a whole. As a result, I am finding myself in byoyomi even as early as the middle game sometimes. Since it’s such a new way of thinking for me, it is a very laborious and intensive process that takes a while for my brain to trudge through. Can’t wait till it becomes more innate and engrained into my go…

Overall Rating: 4.5 / 5 Ponnuki

Basic Information

• Title: The Power of the Star-Point - The Sanren-Sei Opening
• Author: Shukaku Takagawa, Honorary Honinbo (translated by John Power)
• Publication Date: July 1988
• Page Length: 134 pages

Synopsis

• This is a fantastic book for players who want to be exposed to lots of different concepts without being inundated with dense diagrams and explanations.
• The book covers a very broad range of material that makes it a valuable purchase for those who have a difficult time with some of the other more dense material.
• Appropriate for 12 kyu and stronger.
• Recommended for serious players and above.

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In the Beginning

Description: In the first volume of the Elementary Go Series, Ishigure covers some basic principles and methods in the opening of the game. While a great overview of the beginning as a whole, this book is more suited for intermediate to advanced players as opposed to beginners.

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Overall Rating: 5 / 5 Ponnuki

Basic Information

• Title: Opening Theory Made Easy
• Author: Hitake Odeo, 9 dan
• Publication Date: October 1992
• Page Length: 170 pages

Synopsis

• The best introductory book to opening theory.
• Concise, easy to read, and easy to carry.
• Appropriate for 15 kyu and stronger.
• Recommended for any player with an interest in understanding the opening.

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