Go Fundamentals

by Shigemi Kishikawa, Shigemi Kishikawa

Go Fundamentals is the easy-to-follow guidebook explaining the fundamental principles of the ancient Asian game of Go, the oldest game in the world.

Go is a game played by two contestants. The game is played with black and white "stones" on a checkered board. The players are usually classed as strong and weak, based upon degree of knowledge and skill. The stronger player takes the white stones and the weaker player takes the black stones. Handicaps are given to the weaker players by mutual agreement before commencement of the game. The game of Go may be one of the most difficult to learn, but this fact makes the game highly interesting. Once techniques are mastered, the beginner will find it difficult to put the game aside.

From the basic rules of play, the author leads beginner-level players in easy stages to the more advanced techniques and strategies of gameplay. Over one hundred diagrams, with twenty problems and answers, a glossary of terms as well as other resources for strategy, make this a complete introduction to one of the most fascinating and rewarding games in the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Games, Go

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2009

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice guide to get you beyond the basics, but as the author says, just reading the book won't make your Go game strong-you have to play.Check it out.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

267 - 2020

Jadi baca ulang manga atau nonton ulang anime Hikaru no Go...

[Ramsey Rashelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting way to play.

[Rashelle Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Newbie

Interesting concept to understand as a beginner. The back has problems and solutions that help build up skills. Definitely understanding

[Chun Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's pretty good for a 'fundamentals' book.

To demonstrate a series of moves, the different states are shown on the same 19X19 board, but with rotation and reflection. Perhaps it was intentionally done this way to show that the concepts are independent of rotation, reflection and translation, except for cases where the relative position of the edge and other seeds matters. While it is not impossible to visualise the rotation/reflection, it is a (necessary/unnecessary?) hurdle for a beginner (at least for me) who only wants to understand a particular concept. It may be trivial to a more advanced player.

Perhaps this method of presentation is prevalent in Go books. One way to overcome the visualisation difficulty is use a physical Go board and stones, or a Go software that allows one to place seeds.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those looking for a decent book on Go fundamentals, this will satisfy their needs. It covers all of the basic elements of the game, and includes a problem and solution section in the back of the book.

There is one thing that I found "disturbing". For some reason many of the examples are flipped and mirrored on the board... which proved to be distracting. I'm not sure why the original orientation couldn't be maintained, and have separate diagrams, instead of placing the examples on the same board. For a book geared towards a beginner, this layout proved to counterintuitive.

[Mladen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read for anyone who needs a quick and short introduction to the game. Contains a small number of examples and basic tactics for playing. Some examples are clearly a bit artificial and I have a feeling they don't appear often in real-world games. Also contains a small set of problems near the end of the book which are not that challenging. Either way, a good introductory text if you never played Go before.