Go is played on a very large board, consisting of 361 playing points. During the opening phase, there will be perhaps 50 to 100 candidates for a plausible move, and, for each of these candidates the opponent's many possible responses must also be considered as well as your responses to each of these responses, and so on. An exhaustive brute-force search for finding the best move is clearly impractical. Clearly, a go player needs some principles to guide him. After the opening phase ends, difficult decisions must still be made in the middle game -- which groups should be attacked and which...

This book features the first five games of the historic ten-game match between Gu Li and Lee Sedol (the remaining games are featured in Part Two of this series), two players who have dominated go in the first decade of the 21st century. For years, these two have been rivals, competing for the top spots in numerous international go tournaments. Both are famous for their severe attacks and their fighting skills. Gu has a thick style accompanied by an exquisite feeling for the opening from which he often emerges with an advantage. In contrast, Lee plays a fast, profit-orieented game, leaving...

This book features the first five games of the historic ten-game match between Gu Li and Lee Sedol (the remaining games are featured in Part Two of this series), two players who have dominated go in the first decade of the 21st century. For years, these two have been rivals, competing for the top spots in numerous international go tournaments. Both are famous for their severe attacks and their fighting skills. Gu has a thick style, accompanied by an exquisite feeling for the opening from which he often emerges with an advantage. In contrast, Lee plays a fast, profit-oriented game, leaving...

This book is the third volume of the series The Road Map to
Shodan. Part One is intended as an introduction to the topic of life and
death, aimed at players who have just learned the rules. However, it should
also be useful for players up to 5-kyu or for any amateur player who needs
to review the basics of life and death. It is also a prerequisite for Part Two
of this book.

The fundamental concept of life and death is that of eye space. Once
this concept is fully grasped and the properties of various eye spaces are
understood, the...

In life-and-death situations and during the sharp skirmishes that arise in the middle game, brute-force analysis is usually required. However, intuition also plays a role in your ability to instantly find the key move that turns the position in your favor. Those key moves are called tesujis. There are about 45 different kinds of tesujis that a dan-ranked go player should be familiar with. If a player has solved many problems that involve a certain kind of tesuji, he or she will immediately recognize -- almost unconsciously -- positions in their games where that tesuji is applicable. This...

In the opening stages of the game, territory and influence are equally important. However, if you concentrate only on making territory and ignore influence, the chances are you will find yourself at a disadvantage later on in the game. In handicap games, the handicap stones are high on the star points and are not efficient in securing territory. It is therefore natural and strategically correct for Black to emphasize influence. However, kyu-level players lack the ability and the confidence to play an influence-oriented game; instead of taking chances on positions in which the territorial...

This book is a continuation of Volume Three of this series. It contains 300 joseki
problems that will test and expand your understanding of josekis and your ability to deploy
them effectively as part of your opening strategy. It is divided into two parts, each
containing 150 problems. The first part analyzes joseki from the local perspective. In the
second part, openings, taken from professional games in which the first moves of the
joseki have been played, are presented. You are asked to choose the variation of the
joseki that is best suited to the...