From Beginner to Shodan
Which books to read to become an expert go player
Essential Books for the Beginner
The following four books will set the beginner on the right path to becoming a dan-level (expert) player. They will provide the novice with a firm grasp of the rules along with the basic tactics and strategies of the game.
*Go — A Complete Introduction to the Game
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/go_books/K50.htm
Go is normally played on a 19x19 grid. This can be overwhelming for the beginner who is trying to work out a strategy over a playing field of 361 points. But this book is unique in that it introduces the basic rules and concepts with four games played on 9x9 boards. Through these games the reader quickly learns how territory is formed, how to determine the final score, how to capture stones, what are the conditions for a group of stones to live and not be captured, and how to fight a ko. The book goes on to cover the basic opening principles and tactics. Interspersed between chapters are short essays on the history of the game, professional tournaments, go equipment, computer go, and other topics.
*Graded Go Problems for Beginners,
Volumes One & Two
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Begin.htm#K46
These two problem books should be studied in conjunction with Go — A Complete Introduction to the Game. The 239 problems in Volume One and the 327 problems in Volume Two will drill the reader on all the elementary tactics of go, such as capturing stones, ladders, snapbacks, life and death, capturing races, etc. After working through these three books, the reader will have a firm grasp of the fundamentals of the game.
Planning strategy and tactics
*The Second Book of Go
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Begin2.htm#K31
This book presents various winning strategies for handicap and even games and how to turn influence into secure territory. It also covers all the tactical aspects of the game, such as life and death, tesujis, shape, ko, and the endgame.
If you study the above four books and regularly play games with a variety of opponents, you will have built the foundations for becoming a dan-level player.
A game of Go goes through three stages: the opening, the middle game, and the endgame. Within each of these stages, there are numerous topics that need to be mastered.
1. The Opening (Fuseki)
The opening consists of two main topics: fuseki and joseki. The fuseki is the stage in which the players stake out their spheres of influence, usually occupying the corners, then playing along the sides. The following book will provide you with everything you need to know about the fuseki.
Opening Theory Made Easy
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Begin2.htm#K36
This book has been praised in many forums as the best introductory book on opening theory (fuseki). Starting with corner enclosures and extensions along the sides, it presents 20 principles that will give you a firm understanding of opening strategy.
Reviewed by BenGoZen at http://bengozen.com/book-review-opening-theory-made-easy/
Also recommended.
*501 Opening Problems
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/master.htm#K71
Each problem is introduced with an opening principle that can be used to find the correct move.
Josekis
Sharp skirmishes, called josekis, can suddenly arise when a player attacks one of their opponent's corner stone.
There are thousands of josekis, so it is unreasonable to expect a novice, or even a dan-level player to memorize even a fraction of them. It is enough to remember the ones introduced in the six books cited above. Moreover, since about 2017, because of the AI program known as AlphaGo, there have been great changes in the josekis played in contemporary games. Most of the complicated large-scale josekis that used to be popular have fallen by the wayside and have been replaced with simplified versions. You can find a summary of these changes in the following two books by Shibano Toramaru 9-dan:
*Fuseki Revolution—How AI has Changed Go
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Other.htm#K89
and
*Joseki Revolution—Overturning Conventional Wisdom
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Other.htm#K90
Another change in opening theory that AI has introduced is invading a star-point stone with a 3–3-point move early in the game. This has become known as "direct 3–3". A summary of these josekis can be found in the appendix of
*Opening and Middle-Game Problems for the Kyu player
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/road.htm#K86
You will often find yourself caught up in unfamiliar josekis. A handy reference work in such cases is
The 21st Century Dictionary of Basic Joseki, Volumes 1 and 2
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/K41.htm
By referring to these two volumes at such times, your joseki repertoire will gradually increase. However, do not spend too much time memorizing josekis. The stage where games are actually won or lost is in the middle game.
2. The Middle Game
In the middle game, you are looking for ways to exploit the vulnerabilities in your opponent's position as well as eliminating vulnerabilities in your own. There are many techniques used to exploit these vulnerabilities. They are called tesujis.
What Are Tesujis?
Tesujis are moves that accomplish some clear tactical objective, such as capturing stones, killing or rescuing a group, linking up your stones or separating your opponent's stones, making good shape, etc. Depending on how they are classified, there are about 45 different kinds of moves that make up tesujis. To raise your fighting technique to the level of shodan and above, awareness and mastery of these tesujis is mandatory. The following books contain nearly 2,000 tesuji problems.
*Tesuji
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Begin3.htm#K12
This is the best introduction to tesuji. It systematically presents the tactical objectives that might arise in the middle-game fighting and the tesujis that are used to achieve them. Contains over 300 problems and examples.
*501 Tesuji Problems
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/master.htm#K74
This book is the ideal complement to Tesuji. In this book, all of the 45 different tesujis are presented in random order, so the readers must find the appropriate tesuji, just as they would in their own games.
Get Strong at Tesuji
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Strong.htm#K56
This book contains 534 tesuji problems divided into three levels of difficulties: easy (25- to 10-kyu), intermediate (10- to 5-kyu), advanced (5- to 1-kyu).
From the Graded Go Problems for Dan Players series
300 Tesuji Problems, 5-kyu to 3-dan
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/dan.htm#K62
300 Tesuji Problems, 4-dan to 7-dan
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/dan.htm#K65
Life and Death
The fighting in the middle game is where victory or defeat is usually decided. The player who can accurately read ahead more moves than his opponent will usually come out the winner. The tried-and-true way to develop this ability is by regularly solving life-and-death problems.
Solving problems is like practicing the piano. The more problems you solve, the better your technique becomes. However, the problem-solving practice you get from playing games is limited. Fortunately, the vast number and thematic variety of life-and-death (and tesuji) problems you will find in Kiseido's books provides a concentrated source of more than 3,000 problems for improving your problem-solving ability. Spotting the key moves in your games will eventually become instinctive.
Here are some life-and-death problem books that every kyu player should study.
*Life and Death
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Begin3.htm#K13
A systematic listing and analysis of the basic life-and-death shapes that often arise in the corners and along the sides. Contains more than 200 problems.
*1001 Life and Death Problems
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/master.htm#K72
The 1001 life-and-death problems in this book provide ample material for months of problem-solving practice. The problems range from very easy to moderately difficult.
*Graded Go Problems for Beginners,
Volumes Three & Four
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Begin.htm#K46
These two problem books contain more than 800 basic life-and-death and tesuji problems.
From the Graded Go Problems for Dan Players series, some challenging problems.
Graded Go Problems for Dan Players, Volumes One & Four
300 Life and Death Problems, 5-kyu to 3-dan
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/dan.htm#K61
and
300 Life and Death Problems, 4-dan to 7-dan
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/dan.htm#K64
*Get Strong at Life and Death
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Strong.htm#K58
Contains 230 life-and-death problems, 78 of which arise in josekis.
*The Basics of Life and Death
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/road.htm#K84
Part One is a systematic introduction to life and death.
Part Two presents 177 basic positions. This is not a random collection of life-and-death problems. Rather, it is a systematic collection of positions that arise from josekis and common middle-game skirmishes in the corners and along the sides.
Middle-Game Fighting
Middle-game fighting is all about indentifying weak groups, then attacking them. This is how strong players secure territory — find a weak group, attack it, and force it to run away. While that group is escaping and struggling to make eyes, the attacker will be securing territory or building influence. Here are two essential books on this topic:
*Attacking and Defending Weak Groups
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/master.htm#K88
In the nine chapters that are the core of this book, all the various techniques of attacking are presented. Among the topics discussed are the creation of weak groups, in which direction to attack, leaning attacks, and splitting attacks. After a detailed exposition of each technique, a number of problems, taken from positions in professional games, illustrate how pros apply these techniques.
256 Opening and Middle Game Problems
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/dan.htm#K67
In the skirmishes that erupt in the opening, it quite often happens that a group is left without eye shape. If left unattended, it can come under a severe attack. Making eye shape for such groups takes precedence over all other moves. Omitting the reinforcement of a weak group is what often leads to a lost game. This is the idea encapsulated in the go proverb "Urgent moves before big moves."
Shape
The way the stones of a local group are configured determines whether they are working together efficiently to make eye shape (good shape) or are just a clump or a string of stones struggling to make two eyes (bad shape). Knowing how to make good shape or forcing your opponent into making bad shape is an essential technique when attacking or defending. Here are two essential books related to shape.
*Making Good Shape
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/master.htm#K73
This book provides an extensive theoretical introduction to shape. It begins with the efficient placement of stones, then goes on to illustrates the various techniques for making good shape. Finally, it presents 245 problems in which the reader must find a way to make shape in various positions.
Reviewed by BenGoZen at http://bengozen.com/book-review-making-good-shape/
*Sabaki — The Art of Settling Stones
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/master.htm#K87
When invading an opponent's sphere of influence, the invader will be at a disadvantage. The invader must settle his stones as quickly as possible by making good shape. This book surveys the various techniques used to accomplish this with 122 problems.
Fighting a Ko
*All About Ko
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/master.htm#K76
Ko is a difficult subject to master, but this book simplifies it by breaking it down into 19 short and easily digestible chapters. Each chapter concentrates on one particular aspect of ko, with ample examples, so that the reader fully understands the concept being studied. The last part of this book contains 122 problems, which start with easy ones and gradually become more difficult.
Reviewed by BenGoZen at http://bengozen.com/book-review-all-about-ko/
"Best explanation for determining the value of a ko that I've seen thus far."
3. The Endgame
The endgame is the part of the game that players tend to ignore. One of the reasons is that the endgame involves difficult calculations that are mentally exhausting. This can't be helped, as go is not an easy game to play well. However, if you are willing to put in the hard work, you will rewarded with an increase in your winning percentage by enabling you to eke out a few points in close games. These two essential books on the endgame will make your task of mastering the endgame easier.
*The Endgame
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Begin3.htm#K15
This book is a basic introduction to the endgame. It includes such elementary topics as the proper way to count territories, the interplay between sente and gote, and endgame tesujis. Included are 29 full-board problems taken from professional games. In each problem you are given a choice of up to five possible endgame moves. In the answer section, all these moves are compared to show why the correct move is superior to the others.
*Get Strong at the Endgame
https://www.kiseidopublishing.com/Strong.htm#K57
This book covers all the important topics related to the endgame.
1. It present the most common endgame tesujis in 120 problems. Knowing these tesujis will enable you to eke out crucial points in a close game.
2. It shows you how to calculate the value of 101 basic endgame moves that arise from josekis and skirmishes along the sides.
3. The book ends with 28 problems on 11x11 boards, illustrating the interplay between different-valued endgame moves in realistic situations. Studying these problems will help you understand when to forgo sente moves for gote ones and when to go on the initiative with a sente move.
* Books marked with an asterisk are also available in digital form from SmartGo at https://gobooks.com