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Elementary Go Series #5
Attack and Defense
The middle game of go often appears chaotic, but there is order in the chaos, as this book plainly reveals. The result of a joint effort by a tournament-winning Japanese professional player and an experienced American go writer, Attack and Defense lays down a few clear principles, then goes through a wealth of examples, problems, and case studies from professional play. The reader emerges with a thorough grasp of how to choose strategy, how to execute dual-purpose attacks, how to defend with contact plays, how to force his opponent into submission or cooperation, how to invade and reduce territorial frameworks, and when to fight a ko. This is knowledge that no player can afford to be without.
254 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 16, 2016
I'm continuing with my program of brushing up on my Go in preparation for the AlphaGo-Lee Sedol match next month. This book had been lying around on my games shelf for several years; it turned out to be pretty good.
The authors assume you know the basics, and do a nice job of introducing you to real strategy: not just thinking about the next few stones (can I kill this group? can I make a connection here?), but the global flow of the game. In chess terms, it's like levelling up from I take him, he takes back, I play check! and win to I exchange bishops and fix the kingside pawn structure to leave him with chronic light square weaknesses. Go strategy is at least as difficult as chess strategy. There's always a bunch of different things going on simultaneouly on that roomy 19x19 board, and the challenge is to link them together into a coherent plan.
At the end of the day, you win by surrounding more territory than your opponent - but only playing to surround territory in Go is as stupid as trying to take every pawn that your opponent offers in chess. When you have a local fight, usually one player ends on the inside and the other player ends on the outside. The guy on the inside has taken territory, but the guy on the outside has influence towards the rest of the board. If a new fight starts nearby, the person with the outside influence will be at an advantage. So if you have influence, you want to make it count by starting a fight where it will be useful; conversely, if your opponent has influence you want to "reduce" it - create a living group nearby, so that influence won't be useful any more.
The authors make it seem like common sense, but they also show you how fiendishly complicated the details are. A strong Go player is always thinking about dozens or even hundreds of potential sequences in different parts of the board. He has to keep them all simultaneously in his mind, and wait for an opportune moment to use them. In most cases, choosing one sequence means that others become impossible. You can play an attacking move towards the center, forcing your opponent to answer on the inside so that you in effect get an extra play; but this means you no longer have an opportunity to win eight points of free territory in the ending. After a while, you start to see why masters can think a whole hour over one move.
Looking for material on Go history, I found another interesting page in Sensei's Library which lists the "Ten Golden Rules of Go Strategy", originally formulated by Ji Xin Wang in the T'ang dynasty, about 1300 years ago. They're still pretty good advice, and they all appear in this book in one form or another. It's humbling for chess players to think that most of the principles of chess strategy weren't discovered until the 19th century or later. I must get back to Go again.
The Ten Golden Rules
Tān bùdé shèng （贪不得胜)
Greediness is not victorious
Rù jiè yí huǎn （入界宜缓)
Be unhurried to enter opponent's territory
Gōng bǐ gù wǒ (攻彼顾我)
Take care of oneself when attacking others
Qì zǐ zhēng xiān （弃子争先 ）
Discard stones to gain sente [initiative]
Shě xiǎo jiù dà （舍小就大）
Abandon small to save big
Féng wēi xū qì （逢危须弃）
When in danger, sacrifice
Shèn wù qīng sù （慎勿轻速）
Make thick shape, avoid hasty moves
Dòng xū xiāng yìng （动须相应）
A move must respond to the opponent´s
Bǐ qiáng zì bǎo （彼强自保）
Against strong positions, play safely
Shì gū qǔ hé （势孤取和）
Look for peace, avoid fighting in an isolated or weak situation
The authors assume you know the basics, and do a nice job of introducing you to real strategy: not just thinking about the next few stones (can I kill this group? can I make a connection here?), but the global flow of the game. In chess terms, it's like levelling up from I take him, he takes back, I play check! and win to I exchange bishops and fix the kingside pawn structure to leave him with chronic light square weaknesses. Go strategy is at least as difficult as chess strategy. There's always a bunch of different things going on simultaneouly on that roomy 19x19 board, and the challenge is to link them together into a coherent plan.
At the end of the day, you win by surrounding more territory than your opponent - but only playing to surround territory in Go is as stupid as trying to take every pawn that your opponent offers in chess. When you have a local fight, usually one player ends on the inside and the other player ends on the outside. The guy on the inside has taken territory, but the guy on the outside has influence towards the rest of the board. If a new fight starts nearby, the person with the outside influence will be at an advantage. So if you have influence, you want to make it count by starting a fight where it will be useful; conversely, if your opponent has influence you want to "reduce" it - create a living group nearby, so that influence won't be useful any more.
The authors make it seem like common sense, but they also show you how fiendishly complicated the details are. A strong Go player is always thinking about dozens or even hundreds of potential sequences in different parts of the board. He has to keep them all simultaneously in his mind, and wait for an opportune moment to use them. In most cases, choosing one sequence means that others become impossible. You can play an attacking move towards the center, forcing your opponent to answer on the inside so that you in effect get an extra play; but this means you no longer have an opportunity to win eight points of free territory in the ending. After a while, you start to see why masters can think a whole hour over one move.
Looking for material on Go history, I found another interesting page in Sensei's Library which lists the "Ten Golden Rules of Go Strategy", originally formulated by Ji Xin Wang in the T'ang dynasty, about 1300 years ago. They're still pretty good advice, and they all appear in this book in one form or another. It's humbling for chess players to think that most of the principles of chess strategy weren't discovered until the 19th century or later. I must get back to Go again.
The Ten Golden Rules
Tān bùdé shèng （贪不得胜)
Greediness is not victorious
Rù jiè yí huǎn （入界宜缓)
Be unhurried to enter opponent's territory
Gōng bǐ gù wǒ (攻彼顾我)
Take care of oneself when attacking others
Qì zǐ zhēng xiān （弃子争先 ）
Discard stones to gain sente [initiative]
Shě xiǎo jiù dà （舍小就大）
Abandon small to save big
Féng wēi xū qì （逢危须弃）
When in danger, sacrifice
Shèn wù qīng sù （慎勿轻速）
Make thick shape, avoid hasty moves
Dòng xū xiāng yìng （动须相应）
A move must respond to the opponent´s
Bǐ qiáng zì bǎo （彼强自保）
Against strong positions, play safely
Shì gū qǔ hé （势孤取和）
Look for peace, avoid fighting in an isolated or weak situation
September 25, 2017
From the first few pages, the book already teaches me a super important concept in playing Go: the balance of territory and the balance of influence (power). As the game develops I usually focus either locally or the whole board, trying to figure out the next move without knowing that calculating the balance of territory and influence can help to shape my strategy better.
The author gives a broader definition of attacking. “One must not let oneself become obsessed with killing and capturing”
I especially like how he stresses on the severity of an attacking move (must hit the enemy where it hurts) as well as contrasts attack and defence:
- It takes four moves to capture one stone but only one move to defend it
- While contact plays, or near-contact plays are mostly avoided in attacking, they are generally strongest move for defence.
This is also a Go book that multiple re-reads are recommended once in a while after you level up!
The author gives a broader definition of attacking. “One must not let oneself become obsessed with killing and capturing”
I especially like how he stresses on the severity of an attacking move (must hit the enemy where it hurts) as well as contrasts attack and defence:
- It takes four moves to capture one stone but only one move to defend it
- While contact plays, or near-contact plays are mostly avoided in attacking, they are generally strongest move for defence.
This is also a Go book that multiple re-reads are recommended once in a while after you level up!
March 13, 2016
This is a brilliant book, a continuation from beginner-level Go texts.
The authors go through various small- and large-scale attack techniques, and run through basic invasion point on standard shapes and their sequences.
The writing is clear, and there several problems are included.
I recommend this text after you have a grasp of the basics; no doubt I will be returning to it.
The authors go through various small- and large-scale attack techniques, and run through basic invasion point on standard shapes and their sequences.
The writing is clear, and there several problems are included.
I recommend this text after you have a grasp of the basics; no doubt I will be returning to it.
November 17, 2013
This should be considered the definitive guide to attacking and defending in Go. There is a wide variety of material presented within - for both the beginner and the intermediate player. Clearly a book that should be read multiple times. I had taken this out from the library, but I will certainly be looking to obtain a copy for myself. Highly recommended!!
August 31, 2016
Amazing! There is so much to learn in here!
A 5d friend of mine gave me this, Tesuji, and Kageyama's Fundamentals. He said that I can basically keep re-reading each and they're all I'll ever need. While I've read numerous other books, I do think that these three have been the most enlightening and helpful books I've read.
I first worked through this cover to cover from 14-10k, and then again from 7-6k. Every time I read parts of this, I learn something and will continue to revisit it!
A 5d friend of mine gave me this, Tesuji, and Kageyama's Fundamentals. He said that I can basically keep re-reading each and they're all I'll ever need. While I've read numerous other books, I do think that these three have been the most enlightening and helpful books I've read.
I first worked through this cover to cover from 14-10k, and then again from 7-6k. Every time I read parts of this, I learn something and will continue to revisit it!
May 11, 2020
A very practical book for a 10k - 15k player. As a player who's only played 1 month of Go in 9x9 and 13x13 board, this book gives me a good direction and guidance on what to consider on the larger board.
The attacking moves on Chapter2 and Chapter3 are especially exciting to learn. The 3-space extension moves of Chapter 8 are very practical too.
The attacking moves on Chapter2 and Chapter3 are especially exciting to learn. The 3-space extension moves of Chapter 8 are very practical too.
December 31, 2018
Really enjoyed this book. It helped illuminate new ways of thinking when moving to attack. My only complaint with it would be that some diagrams contain too many moves. So it’s difficult for less experienced players to mentally follow the moves.
August 27, 2023
Se trata de un libro de Go centrado en el medio juego, tratando tanto la estrategia como la táctica. Me ha resultado bastante útil, sobre todo por sus ejemplos, que son muy ilustrativos. Vale bastante la pena leerlo e interiorizar bien las nociones que se exponen.
March 17, 2019
I am not a good player, but you do not have to be good to realize how useful and deep this book is!
December 25, 2020
A fantastic book on the middle game and it's tactics. Some of it felt like a bit much for me at about 10 kyu. I will definitely be rereading this one!
April 18, 2021
Excellent take on key positional ideas in the middle game. Would recommend.
November 13, 2022
An essential for single-digit kyu players.
January 20, 2022
Very good book! I really enjoyed the various subjects approached by the book, and the problems that came with it.
I can tell already that my game has improved after my first reading.
I can tell already that my game has improved after my first reading.
August 21, 2009
"Attack and Defense" covers the middle game, where the potential territory that was sketched out in the opening starts to solidify. This book is about the struggle to hang onto what you have, while grabbing what your opponent has claimed.
The first four chapters are worth the price of the book for a beginning player.
Chapter 1 introduces the concept of territory versus power. A player who has never heard of this is going to be blown away. It's something that new players can understand, but it's unlikely that many players would ever come up with this on their own. This chapter clearly explains the concept and sets the foundation for the rest of the book.
The next three chapters cover the basics of attack and defense strategy and tactics, with a lot of explanation and some problems thrown in to see if you've been paying attention.
After that, it gets dense in a hurry. That's not a knock against the book, it's just that the difficultly level ramps up at the midpoint. There's a skill gap that needs to be crossed before the end of this book will make much sense.
At 9 kyu, I'm just now starting to understand the concepts in the back half, like large framework reduction and invasion. I find myself referring to this book often, reading and rereading 1 chapter at a time.
The first four chapters are worth the price of the book for a beginning player.
Chapter 1 introduces the concept of territory versus power. A player who has never heard of this is going to be blown away. It's something that new players can understand, but it's unlikely that many players would ever come up with this on their own. This chapter clearly explains the concept and sets the foundation for the rest of the book.
The next three chapters cover the basics of attack and defense strategy and tactics, with a lot of explanation and some problems thrown in to see if you've been paying attention.
After that, it gets dense in a hurry. That's not a knock against the book, it's just that the difficultly level ramps up at the midpoint. There's a skill gap that needs to be crossed before the end of this book will make much sense.
At 9 kyu, I'm just now starting to understand the concepts in the back half, like large framework reduction and invasion. I find myself referring to this book often, reading and rereading 1 chapter at a time.
Read
January 17, 2016GO
September 30, 2016
Very well written and complete.
May 25, 2022
A must read book for any english speak who wants to be 1 dan or more.
Read
January 8, 2017This book comes from an earlier era of go writing where the expert player's experience and philosophy are offered to the reader without condescension or compromise, and the reader, no matter how baffled or aggravated by the battery of new concepts and terms, must do his best to abandon his own way of learning in favor of one insisted by the authors.
Perhaps this is the best way to learn go, and certainly gives the impression of being a time-honored one, but in this day and age when Google's cybernetic Turk casts a long shadow over the yin and yang of this ancient game, it is an extremely difficult one to fully embrace.
Why don't the authors let their suggestions play out more completely? Why don't they explain their ideas quantitatively, showing how certain moves affect territory or position later in the game? Why don't they defend their tactics by citing professional play and how popular or unpopular certain approaches are?
The contemporary reader, accustomed to computers and statistics, is at frequently out to sea.
But this is also the problem of being a beginner. To the go novice, everything about the game is rife with ambiguity and uncertainty. But to the advanced player, the advantage or disadvantage of even very early moves is often quite clear. The ambiguity dries out as skill increases. This is part of the beauty of the game.
Attack and Defense comes from another era, and it has a certain romance to it thanks to this. It's hard work improving your go game from this book. And the authors wouldn't have it any other way.
Perhaps this is the best way to learn go, and certainly gives the impression of being a time-honored one, but in this day and age when Google's cybernetic Turk casts a long shadow over the yin and yang of this ancient game, it is an extremely difficult one to fully embrace.
Why don't the authors let their suggestions play out more completely? Why don't they explain their ideas quantitatively, showing how certain moves affect territory or position later in the game? Why don't they defend their tactics by citing professional play and how popular or unpopular certain approaches are?
The contemporary reader, accustomed to computers and statistics, is at frequently out to sea.
But this is also the problem of being a beginner. To the go novice, everything about the game is rife with ambiguity and uncertainty. But to the advanced player, the advantage or disadvantage of even very early moves is often quite clear. The ambiguity dries out as skill increases. This is part of the beauty of the game.
Attack and Defense comes from another era, and it has a certain romance to it thanks to this. It's hard work improving your go game from this book. And the authors wouldn't have it any other way.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews