In the Beginning

Rating:
Summary: Great start!
Review: After learning Go I could only really enjoy the tiny boards because I didn't grasp how to start a big game off right. This book cuts the opening down into little parts and shows you the ideas you need to begin to form a strong opening game.

Rating:
Summary: Great start!
Review: After learning Go I could only really enjoy the tiny boards because I didn't grasp how to start a big game off right. This book cuts the opening down into little parts and shows you the ideas you need to begin to form a strong opening game.

Rating:
Summary: Ishi Press Elementary Go Series, Vol.1
Review: As in many creation stories, we have darknees, and then light. So it is from the very first stone of a game of Go. Ishigure takes us on an exploration of these beginnings, my favorite time of the game, Because of it's open and abstract qualities, it is by it's very nature difficult to teach with authority, simply because there is none. There are very many approaches to the opening game, the basic structure and strategies of which have evolved over time. I find it fascinating, and a tribute to the flexibility of the game itself, that for as many thousands of years as Go has been played, there have been significant new developments in opening style in just the past hundred years alone.

In addressing the Beginning, Ishigure is giving us a philospohy of the game as a whole. He handles the subject matter with skill. He shows us how to build solid bases from which to attack and pincer. We see different shimari and kakari, but instead of an emphasis on joseki, Ishigure stays true to the nature of this time in the game by focusing on a broader context. We are shown the values of diferent areas, relative to position. There are problems throughout the text, and in their own section as well.. All of this leads us through nine Concepts which will help guide us through developing our own style of opening. These are principles of balance, on which every rank of player needs to act.

Reading this book has given me more insight into the state of mind required to play Go well. This of course brings more appreciation of the game; and also of the cultures which have embraced it.

Rating:
Summary: Ishi Press Elementary Go Series, Vol.1
Review: As in many creation stories, we have darknees, and then light. So it is from the very first stone of a game of Go. Ishigure takes us on an exploration of these beginnings, my favorite time of the game, Because of it's open and abstract qualities, it is by it's very nature difficult to teach with authority, simply because there is none. There are very many approaches to the opening game, the basic structure and strategies of which have evolved over time. I find it fascinating, and a tribute to the flexibility of the game itself, that for as many thousands of years as Go has been played, there have been significant new developments in opening style in just the past hundred years alone.

In addressing the Beginning, Ishigure is giving us a philospohy of the game as a whole. He handles the subject matter with skill. He shows us how to build solid bases from which to attack and pincer. We see different shimari and kakari, but instead of an emphasis on joseki, Ishigure stays true to the nature of this time in the game by focusing on a broader context. We are shown the values of diferent areas, relative to position. There are problems throughout the text, and in their own section as well.. All of this leads us through nine Concepts which will help guide us through developing our own style of opening. These are principles of balance, on which every rank of player needs to act.

Reading this book has given me more insight into the state of mind required to play Go well. This of course brings more appreciation of the game; and also of the cultures which have embraced it.

Rating:
Summary: There was Darkness, then Light
Review: Ishigure takes us on an exploration of the Opening, my favorite time of the game. Simply by the nature of this stage in a Go game, it is difficult to teach with authority, simply because there is none. There are very many approaches to the opening game, the basic structure of which has evolved with the strategies over time. I find it fascinating, and a tribute to the flexibility of the game itself, that for as many thousands of years as Go has been played, there have been significant new developments in opening style in just the past hundred years alone.

In addressing the Beginning, Ishigure is giving us a philospohy of the game as a whole. He handles the subject matter with skill. Included are examination of different shimari and corner positions, at leasr 20 specific problems, as well as nine general Concepts to guide us through developing our own style of opening.

People often assign differnt ways of thinkning to different parts of the world. In teaching opening strategy, this book provided me insight into not only the spirit of the game of Go, but into Eastern thought, as well.

Rating:
Summary: There was Darkness, then Light
Review: Ishigure takes us on an exploration of the Opening, my favorite time of the game. Simply by the nature of this stage in a Go game, it is difficult to teach with authority, simply because there is none. There are very many approaches to the opening game, the basic structure of which has evolved with the strategies over time. I find it fascinating, and a tribute to the flexibility of the game itself, that for as many thousands of years as Go has been played, there have been significant new developments in opening style in just the past hundred years alone.

In addressing the Beginning, Ishigure is giving us a philospohy of the game as a whole. He handles the subject matter with skill. Included are examination of different shimari and corner positions, at leasr 20 specific problems, as well as nine general Concepts to guide us through developing our own style of opening.

People often assign differnt ways of thinkning to different parts of the world. In teaching opening strategy, this book provided me insight into not only the spirit of the game of Go, but into Eastern thought, as well.

Rating:
Summary: What is between josekis and empty board
Review: Very good information about the first few moves of the Go game. Principles are gone through one by one and are enligtened by analysis of example games. At the end of the book is ten problems in format where is not only sole right answer, but indication of how good 20 or so best choices as the problem answer are on scale up to 10 points. This book is fast to read unlike many other books in this serie. Only down side was the fact that this book doesn't make the reader comprehend the early game presicely, but that is more due the nature of the early game than fault of this book.