Honinbo Shuei (1852 1907) is the go player that masters of the calibre even of Go Seigen and Takagawa Kaku professed to admire the most. Many consider him the Meijin of Meijins, and in his late years no-one could play without a handicap against him. Yet he achieved his dominance only in middle age, having several times disappeared from the mainstream go world for months on end. He lived at a time of enormous upheaval and uncertainty in the Japanese go world, seeing tragedy strike his father, his brother and his mentor. His own life was marred by a debilitating disease. But he compounded his...

Yasui VII Senkaku (1764 1837) is famous as the "Father of Modern Go" even though relatively few of his games remain. This book presents commentaries on six of his Castle Games, plus a selection of other games to provide a rounded picture of an innovative player who was able to combine the virtues of old go and modern go. The commentaries are by Kato Shin (1891 1952), who may justifiably be styled the "Father of Modern Go Writing." He combined being a top pro with an ability to write on a wide range of topics in days when the fledgling amateur go audience had to be found and nurtured. Kato was...