During the opening stages of the game the players stake out positions and more or less divide the board. Normally each player wants to win and take just over 50% of the board. This usually involves a balance between safety and risk; that is, making a safe and non-invadable extension or an extension that is slightly farther and limits the opponent’s territory. The drawback of the latter is that the position now becomes invadable. This usually means that when an invasion takes place, the invading stones do not have enough space to make an extension that guarantees life. That, in turn, means the invader has to run away. However, running away is not always the best strategy as it is one-sided — that is, it allows your opponent to harass the run-away stones while securing territory and building influence. Often it is far better to make the beginnings of eye-shape — to breathe life into the invading stones — before running away. In other words, ‘to make sabaki.’ The numerous examples and 122 problems taken from professional games, will introduce the readers to all the techniques that may be required to achieve sabaki in almost any position that might arise in their games. 201 pages

In Joseki Revolution, Shibano focuses on local exchanges, in contrast to the predominantly whole-board focus on fuseki strategy of his previous book, Fuseki Revolution. Even so, Shibano's analysis always maintains a global view, as the basic nature of go is such that without whole-board judgement, there is no local judgement. Even when you are evaluating a joseki in a corner, a whole-board viewpoint is always essential.

Of particular interest in Joseki Revolution is his treatment of the taisha, the avalanche, and the magic-sword josekis. Shibano shows how, thanks to AI, these extremely complicated josekis have been "swamped in a wave of simplification."

In Chapter 3 Shibano discusses the merits and demerits of the four corner enclosures based on the 3-4 point. He investigates the reason why the small-knight enclosure has declined in popularity and why the previously shunned two-space enclosure has become so popular.

The book consists of 35 themes divided into four chapters as follows:

Chapter 1. Changes in basic josekis

Chapter 2. The transformation in opening strategies

Chapter 3. Up-to-date information about corner structures

Chapter 4. Looking at the most up-to-date josekis

In an appendix, Shibano examines some unconventional moyo-oriented fuseki strategies and gives some advice on how to handle these large-scale moyos. The appendix also contains a section on the revival of the high Chinese Opening and explains why this opening strategy is strategically sound.

Essential Go Proverbs is the ultimate guide to mastering the ancient game of go. Written by the author of Invincible, this book compiles a comprehensive collection of the most important go proverbs, distilled from centuries of wisdom and experience from the game's top players. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned player, these proverbs will deepen your understanding of the game and improve your play. Each proverb is accompanied by detailed explanations and examples, making it easy to apply them to your own games. With Essential Go Proverbs, you'll develop a more intuitive sense of the game and learn how to make strategic decisions with confidence. This book is an indispensable resource for any go player looking to take their game to the next level.

What you will find in this book:

104 proverbs with 431 examples and 258 problems in 522 pages.

* These examples and problems will not only deepen your understanding of the proverbs but also the strategy and tactics of the game itself.

* 45 years in the making, this is the largest and most comprehensive collection of examples and problems focussed solely on the go proverbs ever published in any language.

* Not only does this book analyze the proverbs in detail, it also shows the relationship between one proverb to others.

* Contains many interesting and profoundly original games in which these proverbs were applied.

This book is both test and training. It will not only help you to assess your skill level, but also to identify your strengths and weaknesses in the game of Go. In a total of eight chapters, you are asked to solve the exercises within a given time limit. With the help of the evaluation tables you will be able to determine where you are roughly located within the kyu and dan ranks. In addition to the classification into the rank ranges, your results will reflect in which areas you are particularly strong and where may still be room for improvement. 116 pages

As go players we all study the game in our own way, be it leisurely or with near-scientific precision. We attempt to distill the moves and find their essence in recurring, understandable patterns. But every once in a while we are struck by a move we have never seen before. A move that is so out of the ordinary that we cannot help but marvel at it. A move to remember. This book is a collection of such moves: the weird and wonderful of go. The first volume bundles together highlights from professional games. Our main selection criterion was that the moves had to surprise: sometimes a move shone at us like an undiscovered gem and other times a sequence looked so bizarre that it made us laugh. Another prerequisite was that the moves were played by humans. Our aim for this book is to share the beauty of human creativity. 246 pages

En dehors de l'intérêt des parties, ce livre est le récit d'une des plus grandes sensations de l'histoire du go moderne. En 1970-71, un jeune joueur de 22 ans, Yoshio Ishida, tout nouveau 7-dan, se qualifie pour le tournoi Honinbo. Commençant par une défaite contre l'autre jeune du tournoi, Masao Kato, il aligne ensuite six victoires pour gagner le droit d'affronter titre en jeu le déjà légendaire Rin Kaiho. Sa victoire en six parties (la dernière par un demi-point) fera de lui le plus jeune Honinbo de l'histoire. Ce livre vous fera revivre, commentées très en profondeur par Kaoru Iwamoto, 9-dan, les treize parties historiques. Un grand livre.

La réédition très attendue d'un des grands classiques (ou plutôt d'un classique majeur, l'ouvrage fêtant prochainement ses 18 ans) de la littérature de go. Abordant l'ouverture à travers 20 principes stratégiques de base illustrés chacun de plusieurs exemples montrant les bonnes et les mauvaises façons de jouer, ce livre reste un modèle de clarté et d'élégance pédagogique sur un sujet difficile mais indispensable. Et histoire de faire la liaison avec l'ouvrage suivant, précisons qu'un tiers du bouquin (6 des 20 principes) est consacré au problème de la forme... Vous savez ce qui vous reste à faire !

Moins radicale que le sanren-sei, l'ouverture chinoise a conquis en relativement peu de temps une grande popularité. Avec ce livre, vous n'ignorerez plus grand chose à son sujet.