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Go Bibiliography

I use the following system for rating books:
A - dan level, B - high kyu, C - mid-kyu, D - low kyu, E - introductory, X - all levels
5 - highly recommended, 4 - recommended, 3 - neutral, 2 - not recommended, 1 - don't bother unless you just want to complete your collection.

This is a delightful book of problems. It concentrates on two themes, ishi-no-shita (under the stones) and nakade (big eyes), and offers 91 wonder problems to get you thinking. It must be admitted that many of the shapes are unlikely to occur in a game (although vey few are so artificial as to appear contrived) but that does not detract from the beauty of some of the sequences. I found myself smiling with pleasure over and over when a problem was solved. Without doubt, there is a lot to be learned from this book, but it is not for the beginner. A sound knowledge of basic tesuji is required to appreciate it. You will probably have a thrill of excitement the first time you use one if these techniques in your own games. I would recommend it for high kyu and low dan players.

This book has so many problems it is hard to come up with a good recommendation, although it must be admitted that, without those problems, it would fill a good niche in the literature. The biggest problem is the numerous errors thoughtout the book, the most common being missing stones and labels on the boards and text which does not correspond to the diagram or is confusing. One diagram declared failure for black because a ladder does not work when, if fact, he gets a good position by a simple geta capture. In one chapter the diagrams keep switching between a joseki and its mirror image, thus making it hard to follow. In another, the text keeps switching between two separate threads without explanation, again making it hard to follow.

It is not clear exactly what the aim of this book is. The title certainly gives no indication (what exaclty is Galactic Go?). I would guess that it is an effort ot explain middle game fighting in 3-stone handicap games, but there are long sections on obscure joseki which belong more in Ishida. The ordering of the chapters is sequenced according to the opening joseki moves, not according to middle game principles, so perhaps I am wrong. Long series of diagrams saying nothing much more that "Black did this, White did that, what should Black so next" lead to dry reading. Moreover, several interesting moves are passed over completely, while the level of the moves looked at in detail varies so widely it is hard to know what level it is aimed at -- I would guess about 7k - 2d.

All-in all, I was left with the impression of a book which was put together quickly without a lot of planning and analysis. The mistakes I found make it hard to trust the remainder and so dilute the validity of the book. The authors claim that this is volume one of four. I hope that more effort is put into the remaining three.

This is an excellent book which I thoroughly recommend. It is ideal for anyone who has reached the mid-kyu level. Being an encyclopedia it is more of a reference book than a study guide but it can server that purpose also. All standard opening sequences are given and explained briefly but adequately to allow the reader to get a good feel for the significance of fuseki moves.

I would not, howver, recomend it as the first fuseki book you read, unless you are on a limited budget and only plan to buy one. Try reading "In the Beginning" (for up to about 7k) or "Opening Theory Made Easy" first, then tackle this one.

This book might perhaps be more appropriately entitled "Embarrasing Games for Pros", but as it was written by a professional that might be a little too much to expect. It is an easy and enjoyable book to read, the sort that you might keep on a bedside table for light reading.

Most of it consists of two-page examples of a blunder or an oversight in a professional game. The first page presents the situation and you can try to find the solution before turning the page to find what the pro did and what he should have done. I read it more as an entertainment without trying to solve the problems but it could be used as a study book if you are so inclined. I found it amusing to see, in more than one game, a reference to white playing a certain way because of the large komi. This book is a translation of a Japanese text originally written in 1973 so the large komi referred to it 5.5. Now, of course, komi is 6.5.

If you are on a limited budget then you can pass on this and not miss anything but if you enjoy reading go books for entertainment in addition to study then it is worth buying.

These two series, the second still in progress, cover essentially the same thing. Although the formats are somewhat different they are are basically nothing more than glorified problem books. Some of the books in the series contain additional descriptive chapters but anyone buying will be doing so because of the problems. For anyone who needs a good problem book to work on for a specific topic they are recommended. I rate the "Mastering the Basics" series higher only because they tend to contain more problems and therefore give better value for money. Unless you are a book collector you do not need both.

The one thing I have against these book is that they are not easily used for classification study like the much early "Elementary Go Series". These books tend to jump around from one topic to another which, in itself is not bad because that is how things come at you over the board, but that does not make it easy to use if you want to master a particualr pattern.

I found very little in these books which surprised me and the majority of the problems I could solve at a glance. However, any one below about 3d will find useful study material and they will be a wealth of study for any mid- to high-kyu player. Low kyu players might want to hold off until they have finished the "Graded Go Problems for Beginners" series. Refer to my page on how to study Go problmes.

This is not an easy book but it is well worth the effort for anyone who has reached the high kyu level. I would not recommend it for anyone weaker than 5 kyu, maybe even 3 kyu. It is a well-organized presentation of the various types of kos and covers everything which anyone but the strongest of amateur might need. The problem section is not for the feint-hearted -- is contains some of the toughest problems I have seen and anyone who can solve them all within a reasonable time is a high dan player at least. It is a small book (4.25in x 6.75 in, 146 pages) and so is suitable for study in small doses while travelling. The only thing I would have liked to see more of is examples of whole board thinking before initiating a ko fight. There are examples of this but, given the high level required to master the book, this seems like it would add a lot of value. All-in-all I recommend this book highly for the serious student of Go, but it is not light reading.