Kao.

ru Iwamoto
Go for Beginners
P.an1heon Books, New York
(;QpytiSht o l '172 du: h hi
A:tleric-l n l,nt(o,duction t916 by Rando m
H'Jcus.c;. Inc.
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tsbta1)' oj:CS:o11grm (u Publltatil)lt
lw;amuto. 1902-
Go for Beginners.
Bibliogr-.1phy; pp. J-i?-48.
l. Go (Game) I. Tide.
GV145?.52.L881\176 794 76-45790
I!BN 0;394-413}2..{)
ISBN 0.3?4-73331-2 pbk.
M:.1iuf3cru.rcd inch..- United Sull'$ of A.merie2
30 27 2.6 25 24 23 22 21 20
Contents
Pref.l<;c
lut,rodudic,ln b:y John. C. Stt pllcctSon. t>resident,
Amcric:m Go Assodadou
Part I: Tlte Rules of Co
Chapter I: Demonstration GOllll.C
Chapter z: Caprure
Libtrlies
$Ctlidlf Comudetf'.StMrt.s
Sui,i.Je. is JUegnl
Ko
Lf/(: Dtntlt
Faist Eyes
$eke'
Part II: Eleme!lfory Tactics Strategy
Chapter:;: At clJcEdgc of the Doard
"Ciuprcr 4: Shicho
Chapter s: Get> l!ld Loose Shicho
Cluprer 6: Semeai
Cluprcr 7: Snap-back and Sho<Ugc of Liberties
Chapter 8: Life and Death
Eye Shop<
Tl1e Deorlr Blow from Wit!JI11
Tile f.?cotlr Btcnv from WftiJout
POiuis
7
8

>3
.,
28
JS
)8
44
SI
6t
64
66
7)
77
Tl
So
Sr
82
6 Contents
Tllfow-i" Playt
M A.rl M MJJirl
Bttll r<qUr 01t CtJmtr
Cluprer p: General Srnrcgy
l"J1c C4mtrs tut lmporltnl
Shrmrul
Exttrulr>rrs
K.Jorri
n.t ;-J l'fiJrl Invos/""

Mkt Tmilllt)' IYbik AltocliJrg
Tlritlcntu
Chapter 10: 1\onlu and fhndicops
Inrpr .. m, Ott<' 1 Plqing A6illly
Clupt<r 1 1: Enmple <Ames
Appendix: The n111cs of Co
Glos,ary
N:uional Go Assod:ations
American Co Cont3Ct List
Dibliogr>phy
About the Aut hot
83
84
ss
93
93
94

99
101
IOJ
104
lOS
109
114
117
IJS
137
1)9
141
147
149
Preface
This is a book on the game of go for complete beginners. It is
divided into two paru. The first part contains an introduction,
a brief enmple game and a clear, leisurely explanation of the
rules. The second part deab with tle simplest tc:ehniques of
good play which all players need to lcnow. Many easy and
some more difficult problems. which I hope the reader will
try to woa:k out for hlzrudf, are induded u illUStrations. A
conci<e lin of the rules = be found in the appendix, and a
glossary gives the meaning and prD:Iunciations of the more
common tt:chniul go terms.
Go is a wonderful gome, ond I have devoted a lifetime to
playing it and reaching it. I am h?PY to <ee it becoming
popular in the western world, where I hope it will Boutish u
it has in Japan, Korea and Chino.
I wish to C. "J'5S my thanks for the considcr2blc hdp
furnished by the staff of uhl Press iu the preparation of this
manuscript.
Tokyo, s March 1972 K ... ORU IW ... MOTO
Introdrlction
You hold in your hand an excellent beginner's go
book. The author, Kaoru Iwamoto, 9 Dan, is well
known in Japan for his go achievements and is
in the Weste.rn world for Iris efforts to popu-
larize this most and profound game. The
superiority of tbis book is no .small cotltribution in
that direction. Mr. fwamoto goes beyond a clear ren-
dition of the rules; by adding a thorough imroduction
to fundamental go strategy, he guides the neophyte
toward a more complete understanding of the game.
Co is a contest between two players who compete
to secure territory. The territory consists of 361
points formed by the intersections of ninct<'Cn vertical
and nineteen horizontal lines drawn on a wooden
board. Players use lens-shaped discs, called stones, to
mark off their territory. One opponent plays black
stones, the other wlrite, in alternating turns. The
board. which is em)Jity in the beginning, gradually
fills as the players place their stones. Contrary to
most Wes1ern games, motion in go takes the form of
adding to what is already in place rather than tl;)oving
the position of the pieces. Once put on the board,
go stone is stationary unless captured. The player
controlling the largest total area at the end of the
gan1e is the victor.
The intellectual enjoyment of go is enhanced by
good playing equipment. Ideal go stones arc made of
Introduction 9
shell and slate, although for economic reasons glass
a1.1d plastic are most commonly used. The
stones arc known as yuki grade shell.
d1sttngu1shcd by their perfectly parallel grain lines
and completely color. The quality of go
stones IS also detcrmmcd by their thickness. Thick
stones, often up to ten millimerers,are preferable. Go
arc customarily grasped between rhe index and
mtddle fingers . They are placed on the board with a
quick, dec!sivc action that creates a snapping sound.
Tlus IS SQ valued as part of the charm of go that
emhusaasts prefer thiCk ka ya-wood boards with a
chamber cut out on the underside to increase reso-
nance. The stones arc generally stored in handsome
wooden bowls, called go kc, made of chestnut. mul-
berry. teak, or rosewood. The covers of the go kc
arc used to store enemy prisoners taken during the
struggle for territory.
In Japan, where go is a national pastime, it is more
than a game. Go is taken quite scriqusly, as demon-
strated by the fact that a strict system of ranking is
used and that there arc over four hundred profcs-
stonals-:-mcn who earn their living by teaching go and
evaluatmg other players. Shodau, or first dan, is the
rank awarded a playef wh0 has mastered all the fun-
cjamentals of go. such as proper shape, usc of influ-
ence, .. cffcetivc fighdng techniques, vital points, and
counttng. Ky" ranks arc awarded to. novice players in
different of development. Wlrile a tenth kyu
pJayer ts a bcgJnncr, a first kyu player would be only
one step away from Shodan. The highest rank is Pro-
fessional9 Dan.
IO Go for Begitmers
As the beginner progresses up the kyu ranks
toward the first dan level, he becomes increasingly
aware of both the aesthetics an:! the struggle of a go
contest. The unfolding geometrical patterns, the
interaction of the basic clements of line and circle
'
stone and wood, and the meshing of grand-scale
opposing strategies make go an 'artful game. But at
tournament level, the protracte-d struggle brutally
strains the players. The energy drain caused by long,
intense concentration; by continually searching for
elusive ltsujis, or exquisite tactical moves; and by ever
tightening a winning grip on the position leave the
players physically and memally exhausted. One year
at a state tournament, the rc:giting United States
champion weighed himself before and after the two-
day bout. He.discoveted he had .lost five pounds as a
result of the extreme effort in the match.
Don't let this mislead you imo believing that go is
so complex as to be impossibb to master. Nothing
could be further from the truth. Go is simplicity
itself, really a child's game. In Japan children often
learn to play go at the age of five. Gifted youngsters
have been known to defeat O?poncnts many years
senior. may be se,eral facets of go rhat
WJIJ tax the patlcncc of a Wtstem beginner; however,
those who persist arc amply rewarded for their efforts
with 3 lifetime of enjoymenc. The more you develop
your go skills, the more yoJ can appreciate the
beauty of the game.
Although go is just beginning to grow in popular-
ity in the United States, it has had an interesting one-
hundred-year development on American soil. Go
l11JroJuc#on 1 I
was played by Japanese immigrants in the pier
along the West Coast during the late 1800s. In those
rough-and-tumble days, money was often wagered
on go games. It was not unknown for disputes to
occur, and sometimes even a murder resulted.
Legend ha:; ir that the cut out :::cction on the under-
side of the go board was not originally carved for
improving resonance bm for containing rhe blood of
a decapi tated kibitzer's bead victimized by the
samur.ai's sword. Thus, it is not surprising that some
of the tmmtgrants took the game quite seriously.
Go exclusively a part of Japanese culture
for many years, with Ameri.cans taking little notice.
Immigrants formed the San Francisco Go Club, the
first go gr;:,up to be permanently established in the
United States. The group was chartered by the Japa-
nese Go 1\ssociarion, and the original membership
was composed entirely of Japanese. During the early
twentieth century, some Americans began to take an
iiltcrcst in the ancient game. Today the San Francisco
Go Club, which is still 3 center of activity, has 3 large
percentage of young American players. In the 1940s,
a drive was started to f.1miliarize Americans with the
game, and the American Go Association was found -
ed .. To.day arc two regularly published English
penod1cals avalable through the American Go Asso-
ciation, as well as a variety of books on advanced
strategies. The Association also sanctions both stare
tou.maments and annual nation.al championship com-
petmon. Moreover, as an addition to the Japanese
dan/kyu ranking system, the American Go Associa-
tion has devised, :md maintains. a numerical rating
12. Go for Beg',.,J.IItrs
system so that mcmbers can .their
irriprovcincnt.
As you begin Mr. Iwamoto's -Go. for Beginners,
accept my welcome tQ.a gam<! many pc<>plc the world
over have feund to be a continuo.us source. of enter-
tainment and challl!nge; and perhaps someday we
shall meet across the board.
- JOHN C. STEPH.ENSON
President, American Gq Association
New York. New York
November l976
Part I
The Rules of Go
Chapter 1
Demonstration Game
There is no better way to !cam how go is played tha.n to go
through a short derllOilstration. For the sake of brevity, the
game in tins chapter r.alces place on a 9 X'9 board instead of
the usual 19 X 19, but the rules of go arc tlrc same no matter
what the sire of rhc board. You can play through this game on
a 9 x 9 go boord, whiclt cort be made by maskiag olf part of
au ordinary boord, or you con follow it by just lookilrg at
the diagrams. Since tho scones do not move a'oout, go dia-
grams arc cosy to rend. In Dia. I, I is the first none played, z
the second, and so on.
Besides getting a genenl idea of the game in this chapter,
you will le:>m exactly what territory is, how it h fomrcd, and
how it is counted. You 'viii.Jso see how stones arc aptured,
but we will be going into that =tter in more detail in Chapter
~
Dia. t As always in go, Black )>lays lint. You arc fiee
to put your stones wherever you like, but notice that the
players here do not play right on the edges of the board, and
will not ~ to do so until rather late in the !>-'me. This is a
good policy.
~
~
t
Dia. 1
16 Co for Btginners
)"

I-

I-
I(
Di. Z
Dlo: 3
Dia. 2 With 7 and 9 Block begins to m ke our some terri-
tory in the lower left comer.
Dia. 3 The area in tlte upper right corner starts to fall into
B13ck's hands, too. It is bounded obove and to the right by
the edges of the board, and is walled off below by a solid row
of black stones. It is still open to the left, ond there is a small
gop at the point marked 'a', but Black will deal with these
matters in due time.
When Black plays I S we are prescnred with an example of
threatened capture, or atari. White@ has become surrounded
on three sides by bhck Stones, and if Bhck is permitted to
pby on the fourth side at 'b', White@will be removed from
the board.
Dia. 4 White saves his threotcncd stone by ploying x6.
Black 17 is another atari, this rime agoinst @, 'ond White 18 is

Dla.
Dla. S
Demon.stralioJJ Game 17
another saving ntove. TI>e end of this diagram sees Black in
control of the lower left comer, WIUtc in control of the lower
right, and Block ombitiomly stepping out to zt on the upper
side.
Dia. s White n threatens Black's whole structure in the
lower left, ohhougb this is something w!Uch is not obvious
except to on experienced player, and Black has to strengthen
his position with ZJ. Now \Vhitc counterattacks -with 24 :md
26, and the next diagrnm will wimcss tbc- capture of Black
e and Z7-
Dia. 6 White copturcs the two black stones by playing
28, 30 and 34, removing from.the board and putting
them i11 the upturned lid of ltis bowl when he plays 34 The
two points where t11cy rested have now bcconte White's
Dia. 6 'Dia. 1
territory, along with 3 good many more in the upper left
comer, while Dlock hos walled off the upper right corner.
White 32, which was played just to test Black's defences, is in
atari, being sur,roundcd ou tluee sides by Illack 33. e. and
and cannot hope for salvotion. JJlack next plays 35. cutting
off the white stones in the lower right comer and them
vulncroblc.
Dia. 7 White defends his positiort witlt 36, and now both
players begin ro complete the walls around their terri[C)rics by
playing at the edges.
Go for Beginners
D;a. 8 At the end .of ihis diagram all the b.omtd,.ies are
cc;>t11pletcil. Doth players recognize that tbcre is )totbing more
tbty can do to their o\v.n territories or to reduce rhcir
oppon.cnt's; $0 the S:ti.'I\C is over. LcCs count-and see who has
won.
I '
. -
Ill. 8 DiO. 9
Cormting
iDia. 9 A pbyer's territory consists' of the V:tcaut points he
b.1s surrOunded. In the upper right corner Db.ck has sur-
rouudcd nine points - sec if )'OLi The point e does not
cowlt, even though it is in the middle of B1ack,s territory,
because it is occupied by a bbck stone.
In the lower right cor.ncr .six points Qf tmi(ory.
There is a kind of diagonal break between the two stones
m><kcd @, but that is all right. The territory is surrounded
because there is no route lcading.OUt of ir along the lines on
the board that docs not run imo a white stone.
What a.bout tl)e lower left corner? Tlrisis Black's territory,
but there is the \"?hite stoue @ within it. As
there is nosaviu:g that stone, and 3Ccording to the
go Dlack need not octuolly it by ploying inside
!tis o.wn territory at c. When the game i.s.over he just
Denro1JSirat.iou 6ame t9
it from the board as his prisoner, le:iving himself seven vac.111t
p<>ints heie. Again. there is a diagonal brcaik bprween the two
stones marked e,. on:d again thor is all righ"
The 'rule$ of go also state that one point is to be subtracted
from a. player's territory for every stondost, so we have to
figure another poi.ntfor White@. lostcad.ofsubtracting one
point from White's score for this stone, it is easier to add a
p<>mt to Dlack's territory, so we shall follow that coursc,:ut<l
count ,eight points for Dlack in the lower left corner: six
va.cant points, one that becomes vacant when White @ is
removed, :tnd one more
4
prisoner pOint'. That is, 'Black.gct$
two points .for @.
1n the upper left comer White bas surrouuded ten vacant
points; but on two of them, IW9 marked X, black stones
have been captured. J>.s we add the two points
for them to instead of subtracting the.m
from making White's total in this comer twelVe.
'The score iS tlnls:
Block
'Upper right
:Lower
9 points
8
17 points
White lias won by one point.
White.
Lower right
Upper left
6 points
u points
18 points
What about the vacant pointin the centre of the upper edge?
This. is a neutral point, a sor< of no-man's-land bc.iwecn ihe
block and white lines, and as such it counts for tleithcr player.
The method of counting we have just described is the
naturol one and is used by good players to count t4c re;ri(orks
during the co.urse of an :cetua.l game. However, it gives too
much opp.ortunit:y to hum:in error to be entirely trustworthy,
sl> when a game is played 6u1 to the end, the players use the
foilowiug fool.pr<:>of prcx:edure:
20 Go for Begi"""'
DJa. 10 Dill. 11
Step I (Dia. zo) The neutral points ace fi lled in. It docs
not m:mer who fill; them, and cbe players need not t!lke Ct.1cns
here. InDia. 10 White has fiUcd the only neutrol point at @.
Step 2 (Dia. n) The scrandcd stones arc removed fron\
the bo1rd. In chis ~ m there was only one such stone, the
white one in the lower left corner, and Dbck remove$ it.
Step 3 (Dia. IZ) The captured stones arc now replaced
on the bo:ud, wlUcc c:tptivcs within \Vhitc's territory :md
bbel: captives within Dbcl:'s, thus reducing each pbycr"s
territory by one point for every s<one he hu los<. In chis
g>rne Wbice bu lo!t one s<one, wbieb bu been rcplxcd at @.
>nd Dlcl: hu lOSt two, which have been rcploted .c e.
Dia. 12 Ill. )3
Step 4 (Dia. 13) The territories are rearranged into easily
countable shapes. When this has been done as shown, the
score becomes:
Demonstration Camt 21
l3laclc White
IO + 4 = 14 poin!$ 9+ 6 =IS points
The tot::>ls ore different from before bcca= now points arc
beinG ubtraeiCCI for pruoncrs ins<eod of being ddcd, but the
nurgiu of victory i che same. Whire io one point abcd.
In :he process ol =mngemcnc Black's wall has been spoiled
at@, This is a matter of no importance, bur i r could cosily be
tidied up by switcbing @ and e.
Now you know how to play go - almosr.
Chapter z
Capttm
In this d>optcr we shall finish with the rules of go by e.'<pl:Un-
ing thoroughly how Stones are caprured. You wiU :also le:m1
how groups of stones ore constructed whid1 are safe from
copturc.
Liberties
A single stone sitting in the middle of the board, like tl1e one
in Dla. I, may be compared to a man standing :at an inteC-
sectioll in big city. That mm can see dowu only four
to just four adjacent intersections, which correspond to the
points m.1rl:ed X inDia. z. If he is fugitive from justice on
whom tl1e police are advancing, he rem2iru at Iorge so long
as least one of those intersections is open, but when the
police block :ill four of them he is aptured. Likewise the
block stone in Dia. :>. is coptured and token off the board jf
White gets a stone on acb of the four points muked x .
The result of this coprure is shown in Dia. J.
The four points m2rkcd X inDia. :>.are called tl1e /ibtrtitS
of the stone there. A stone 011 the edge of the boud
hos three libettics ond a stone sitting in the corner hos only
me
Dio. 1 Dia. 2 DJa. 3
Capture :03
I I
lllllllll
Dla. I
Dia. S
two liberties, as c:m be seen in Dia. 4. so it t:tkes three stones
to capture a stolle on the edge and two stones to capture one
iu t1tc con1er.
Enemy stone$ must occupy aU the adjacent intc'rscctions
before o stone is coptured ond removed. The black stone in
Dia. S may hove a dim future, yet it has one liberty left nd
can on the board until the end of the game. At that time,
proVJded chat the surrounding white stones have survived,
it will be r.kcn from the board 3S prisoner in step :>. of the
counting procedure.
So mud! for copture of stones. Whole groups
can also be aptured, os you wiU learn in the next section of
this d>opter.
Solidly Connected Stones
A solidly cotmccted group of stones is one which is all joined
together by direct connections olong the block lines. For
eX3mple, the two block stones in Din. 6 ore so/iJ/y comltcted.
So arc the seven stones in Dia. 7 The stones in Dia. 8,
I
.I.


::::
"!"
I
Dla. G
Db,. 1
Z4 Go for Brgirmen



Di:t. S
however, are not solidly connected bccousc there i! no bbck
line running directly from one ro tl1c other. The six stones in
Dia. 9 arc divided into two solidly comectcd groups of
three stones c.1ch, separated by a diagonal break between the
two stones marked e.
For the purpose ofbeing captured a solidly connccccd group
os single unit. The two black stones in Din. 6 have six
liberties, which have been marked with x's in Dia. 10, and
they arc captured together when White geu stones on those
six points. This is what happened in Dia. 6 of Chapter 1, you
my rcetU. The solidly connected group in Dia. 7 h>S eleven
liberties (count <hem for yourself), and is captured when and
if those eleven poinu :>re occupied by White. Solidly con-
nected stones cannot be captured one by one.
Exmple r
In Dia. II Block e is in atari, three ofits four liberties being
occupied by white stones. If White tokes its l:ur liberty by
playing I in Dla. Iz he captures it nd removes it from the
leaving the position shown in Dla. J). Ploying I and
Cap111rc zs
removing the block stone constitutes one move by White,
although we h ve used two diagronu to show it .
This is a C2SC, by the way, in which me capture of one stone
has a big effect. Docked up by his strong. beautiful position in

.....
C',.:


-
-
- -
Dlst .. H Dia. 12
Dia. 13, White cn play ou the lower side of the board with
impunity and an easily make temtoty on the leftsidc. Com-
pare this with Dia. 14, where Black has rC5CUed his stone by
plying. 1. Now Whitt @ is cut off and fodom, md the rest of
the wh1te stones are not all thar saong either, so Black has a
good chance to take a large territoty on the lower side while
holding White to smll territQty on me left .

I
l
).
-
"ll
-
-
Dl. 13
Dia.. 1ol
z6 Co for Btginrrers



....--
-
OIA. 1$ Dill. I& l)b .. 17
Example z
The five white stones inDia. IS arc in their only liberty
being the contcr point. If Dhck takes this point by pbying 1
in Dia. 16 he removes from the board, leaving the posi-
tion shown in Dia. 17.
IS
Example)
Three of the black stones inDia. 18 are in auri - do you ..,.
the ones we mean? White I inDia. 19 them, 3nd
the position left bd1ind is shown u1 Dia. 20.
1
<
.r
'r''r'
Dia. 19
Dla. tAl
Cpture Z7
Example4
This is an example of capture :and recapture. White in Dia. :n
has two stones nestled in the embrace of 6vc black ones. and
Black c:m take them by playing 1 in Dia. zz. The capturing
Dlo. 21 Dlo. 22
stone, however, is itsdfJcft in atari, as you e30 see inDia. ZJ.
White nuy remove it by playing 2 inDia. Z4 The 6nal result
of this exchange is shown in Dia. zs.
llla. 24 Dia. 2S
Suicide is Illegal
In Dias. 16 ond zz Black played into spaces that were olrcady
surrounded by white stoucs, but in both cases he made liberties
for tl1e stones he played by capturing one or of the ad-
jacent enemy stones. In Dia. 26, however, Black cannot
play I, for the white stones have on Out$ide liberty at' a' and
arc not c:tptured by this move. If Black foolishly tries to
play ar I, \Vhite will point out that this stone is now siuing
on the board without 21\Y liberties. which is impos>iblc under
28 Co for Begimrers
rhc rules of go. lf Jlhck wants ro remove the whire stones
from the board, he must fint play at ':1' to put them in :uari
and rhcn play t.
Similarly Dlack t in Din. 1.7 is illegal because ir fails ro cap-
ture any wltite stones.
a
Ola. 26

--Qt
l)lo. 28
llles;o.J
'
Tl
OJ.
Whire r in Din. z8 is also illegal, for it creates a rhr..,..stone
group which b>S no liberties.
Ko
T>kc o look at Din. 29. Jll>ck e is in orari, and White can
eaprure ir by ploying r in Din. JO. White 1 irsclfislcft in 31ari,
so you might think thatlllackcould rcaptme it by playing zin
Dia. JJ, restoring the position to its original sr"re. Then White
Dia. 30 31
would rccaprure agaio, then Black would recapture, and so on
J infinitum. lf there were no rules 10 govern rhis kind of
Capltlre 29
situation, which is called ko, many g:unes of go \Yould end in
frustntion.
The rule is that when one player eaprures in ko his oppo-
ncnr cannOt rccop<urc, bur must first play at
lease once elsewhere. Tht is, after White 1 in Dia. 30 Black
cannot ploy z in Dio. 31, but musr find some other n>ove.


Dla. 32
This position was taken from a real game, so let us follow rhe
action and sec how o ko figlu goes.
The next diagram shows the whole boord ot tl1e moment tltc
ko fight began. When Whire made the first eap<ure wirh x
Black played 2 in Dia. JZ, which wu awi against the rhrec
stones 1112rkcd @. This kind of move is eallcd ko rhrcot.
30 Co j11r Begfnnm
White now bad the opportunity to sccmc four points of
profit by plying 3 in Dia. 33, two points for copcuring e
and two points for having c;.,pturcd a stone on 'a'; but then
Dla. 33
Black would earn six points by apruring three stones with
4, obviously o bad exchanse for White. Therefore in the
game White connected at 3 in Dia. 34 and Dlack recaptured
in the ko at 4 Now it w.u White who had to find a ko thrcot,
and he played s. lfBlaok used 6 to finish the ko by coontcring
:u in Dia. 35, White 7 wocld aprure three stones, so Black
defended by capturing with 6 in Dia. 36, and the ko light
continued shown. Doth Dlaek 8 and White n were ko
threats which bad to be answered, but wbcn White captured
Capture 31
Dia. 3S
32 Go for Btginnm
in the ko with 13 Black made a non-compelling ko threat at
1
4
White finished the ko with IS, and Block played 16,
which prevented White from copturing there to surt a second
ko. Instead of playing 14, Black could hove played one of the
points marked 'b' and forced White to answer, but he real-
ized tbr White bad more ko threats (rhc points m::uked
w') than he did, and he made just as muclt profit Wlth 14
and r6 as White did with 13 and rs.
Ko fights come in many sizes ond fomu, and :almost aery
game of go has at lcasr one of cbem. Hctc arc two more cx-
ampi!'S.
2
KJ-
Diu. 37
@cJaewtlere
.
t-
Cptur< 3J
K?



r-
r-
Dlo. 3.!1
In Dia. 37 White answcn Black I by making a l:o shape.
and Black 3 is the ftrst ko capntre. White mwt make a ko
threat with 4, and Black hos rite chance to connect with 5 in
Dio. 38, securing large, comer and leaving the
white stones helplessly weak. But of Dbck hos to answer the
Jcn White rcapru.re with 6 in Dia. 39. e.nd now
Black must play 7 elsewhccc. This allows White cbe chance to
finish cbc ko by capntring a second stone at 8 in Dia. 40,
which would give him the superior comer position, but may-
be White will have to use 8 to answer Black 7, in which case
the ko will continue.
Dla, 39
0 answets (i), tbewbere
G el&ewherc
- r-1)>:1 i"i.
..LY-au

Dia .CO
34 Co for Btglmurrs
Dia. 41 shows a ko shape in the corner. This ko Jight is a
little different &om the previous two. If Black ignores the ko
tll!eat that White mokcs with 3, he con copture the white
stones lined up on the lower edge by playing 'b', but what if
I
e b
Dla. 41
tluwhtre
0 INWtrl <l)
Di:a.
0 tbc..-htn
he :uuwcn White 3, ollowing White to recapture with s in
Dia . .p? The best White c.m do, if be ignores Black 6, is to
ploy 3f>ri at 7, but then Black can recapture at 'a' and the ko
goes on. Loter, if White or s ond ignores a second
Dbck ko threat, he con capture aU the black stones by playing
at 'b'. This ko light favours Black in that be con win it by
ignoring only one ko duc::at, whereas White must ignore
tWO.
Dy the way, the exchange shown previously in Dias. n-zs
was not a ko. Whire was aUowcd to play immediately after
Bhck 1 bcc>usc there was no further recapturing possible,
and so no chance foe an infmite progression.
Capt11rc 3S
Life a11d Death
By now you know most ofrhe fundamcnmls of go -territory,
ko- nd con start to play. If you play your first game
a.gamst an cxpenenccd opponent, however, it is not wlllkcJy
thot he willcopture most or even all of your scones, so perhaps
DJa. +a
Di:t4 43
you had bcuer rood rhis section, in which you will learn how
to build groups of SlODCS which 3fC safe &om eaprure.
Dill. 43 shows one sudt group. White's stones have been
completely surrounded from the ourside, but they pOS$CS$
two inten11llibetties :md 1re s:afe. Dbdc: c:uu1ot caP""
rucc by playing into either one of dtc two liberties because
the orher liberty alwys remoins open. Separotc and distinct
intemallibcrries arc atlled <yu. The mosr basic principle of go
a
Uin. 45 J)lo. <10
is that groups with t:\vo or more eyes arc safe, and o1hcrs arc
not.
Dia. 44 shows a wh.lte group which bas two imomal
liberties, but they ace not scporated. This group docs not hove
two eyes; it just has one big eye and is dead. Do you see that
it can be caprured? If not, look at Dia. 45. :Black r puts rhc
entire white group in at.ari, :111d next Dbck. can capture tl1e
36 Co for &giuucrs
live white stones by taking their l:!St liberty at 'a'. If White
plays 'a' binuclfto copture Black t, he is left witlt six stones
with only one liberry, as you c ~ n sec in Dia. 46. Black con
copture all of them by playing back into 'b'.
Black should be in no hurry to play t in Dio. 4S. unless his
own stones on the outside begin to run short of liberties.
White cannot get away. At the end of the game tlte white
stones inDia. 44 will be removed &om the board as prisoners
without Dlack's actually having to occupy chcjr l3st two
liberties at :ill, just as the isolated white stone in the lower left
conter of the gruuc in Chapter 1 was removed. If niack plays
t in D.i.a. 45 lmnccessarily he is wasting his tum, nnd further-
mote losing one point by filling in his own territory.
Let tlS look at two more simple positions. Whot do you
moke of the white stones inDio. 47? If it is White's turn, he
Dia. 4S
Ola. -t9
can get two eyes by playing I inDia. 48, glving his stones life.
Dut if it is Black's tum ond he plays tin Dia. 49, White dies.
It is not bord to see chat after Dlnck 1 it is impossible for
White to get two eyes, and in fact he is just two moves away
from being captured. Although Dlack would not normally
havc to m.lke those. two moves, we can suppose for the sake
of illustration that there 3re white s.roncs on tltc Ollt,.idc as itt
Dia. so, 3nd Dlack has to capture to protect his own group.
White now answcrs lllack t and z. ond ])lock plays atar:i "
3 If White ills anothct of Black's outside liberties, Dlack can
play at c' to capture the white stone5 in the con1er. If White
plays 'c', c:opturing Black 1 and 3, Dbck can ply b>ek into
Capture 37
one of these points and White will still be left with only one
libcrry.
The white stones in Dia. sx are ali\'c, because White can
make two eyes by playing either 'a' or 'b'.lfBlack attackl
IJin. 00
l
T

7'9
y y
'"\:
a b
'-./'"""
Din. Gl
)
with 1 inDia. s:z., White will answer :u 2 and there is nothing
more that Dlack con do. White z is ncct-ss.'fy, for i f Dbck
gets the chance to pl:1y l in Dia. 53, the white stOJtcs die.
How Dhck octually copwres them after Dia. 53, should that
be ncccm.ry, is shown in Dias. 54 and 55.
You should keep in mind that it is a waste of time actually to
-'-- Dlt. Gt Dine. 33
@ dsewhne
coptme a dead group unless it becomes necessary to do so in
order to pr?tect your own stones. At the end of the game :\II
groups wluch cannot form two c y ~ and therefore can in
theory be c:tpturcd, :'.Ire removed jS prisoners lnyw:ty. On
Dla. st Dia. SS
3 8 Co for &ginum
the other hand, dc:ad StOt\es must be reckonc9 with as long
as they remain on the board, and in the. complicated give :md
t:t.ke of go it sometimes even happcus that what appeared to be
Stones suddenly spring to life a.nd help to capture the
very stones which had been surr01oding them.
False Eyes
The white group inDia. s6 may ilf4)C, :Ir to have two eyes, but
it is dead. The rc>Son is that Dbck 1 in Dia. 57 is atari against
(2t

l>i0; . SG
l)la. G7
<2) t:l!le,.luwe
White @. It does no good for White to Connect 3t ], since
this would leave his whole group with 011ly o.t\C liberty, but
when Black captures at 3 White's second' eye' has dis>ppcarcd
:md his four stones arc in. atari. Of course White can fight ko
back and ford> at 3 and @, but dus is no more than a.ddaying
"'
xf
llf.l\:(

-
-!:-
-
-
-
Dia.
Uia. S9
action and is significant only if the black stones on d>e outside
3fC on the verge of being c:tprurcc.. Whirc cannot conntct the
ko, and there is no way for him to make a second eye.
The right-hand eye in Dia. 56 is what is called a folse Y
Cpturt 39
Dia. 58 gives a second example. The black stones may seem
to hove two eyes, a big one and a small one, but tbe two white
$tOnes nllrkcd @ render the small eye a false one. Three
black stones are >!ready in atari - do you see them? If Black
I
I
1

'
Je6. ><
-
-(
('<
y
-,) ...
..LJ......!....!.....LJL..L. a
Dia. 60 OJa. 51
tries to save them by connecting ar 1 in Dia. 59 he is left
with a deAd group mucl1 like the one in D.ia. 44 on page Jj.
Dia. 60 slrows a third kind of false eye. nlack can counr on
getting one good eye at 'a', but he has no eye in the centre.
White r in Dia. 6t puts the five black stones mocked e into
atari, and altltough Black em connect them at z this fills in
the 'eye' and leaves rhc whole group dead. The bhck groups

I I I
i +a
--
;

-,!1., ( ),!1._

Uia. 6'2
itl both Dias. 6o and 58 and the white one in Dia. 56 arc
dcod as rlcy srmd.
lr may help you to understand the diffeten between rc:al
eyC$ and false eyes if we odd this explanation ro our =pies.
In 6z rhe four block stones have an eye shape, but the
eye wtll become real only if Dlaek controls thrc'C of the four
40 Co for Beginners
II Q8
Dia. 63
points marked ' '. Look bock to Dias. 58 :and 6o :wd you will
see that in both = white stones oeeupy r:wo of the 'a'
points oround the &be eye. The three white stones in Dla. 62
have au eye shape on the side, bur to moke this real eye
Dia. 6l
White must control both of the poinu marked 'b '. Look
hek to Dia. 56 :wd notice the blek stone on one of the 'b'
poinu er02ting the false eye. In Dia. 63 Bl2ek e mokes the
eyes or 'p' and 'q' both f.thc, :wd White is d02d. In Dia. 6
the eye at 'a' is real, for White h2s @ 20d Dlck cannot play
I

f-
f-
a<
f- :'\9
X. I
~
__.b
Dia. C6
'b'. The point 'a' inDia. 6s is also a real 'Ye Thistime Black
can play stone at 'b', but White willcaptur:e it by playing
'c'. The groups in Dias. ~ md 65 ore :.live. The group in
Dia. 66 is dead. Bb.ck already lw e and = pb.y i t h r ~
or 'b' to render 'c' a false eye.
Capture 41
Examples
Now here arc some fur:thcr examples. Test your: understanding
of what you have leuned so for by worlcing them our by
yourself before looking at the answers, which appear on
pages ~ and 3
Enmple I
How cnn Black kill dtc white stones?
Example Z
Exaple 1
Ex:unple z
How can Bbck moke his group alive?
Example 3
Is White alive or can Blck capture him?
.rrr
~ ~
I
Example 4
White to play and kiU the black stones.
Examples
Bbck to pby and live.
-
-
42 Co for Beginners
I I I
!
A ,r
-
-
-
.T
.""
'(
I
Example 4_ Exarnple G
Answerx
Black 1 cuts Wlllte into two. one-qed groups, both of wllleb
arc dc,.l.
Answer 2
Black I iHhe move whieb do:es the trick. Itforms one definite
eye U. the centre, and a second can be n>ade by playing
,..,
rx . I
I
-
Al'ISWc:r 2
Answer 1
either 'a' or 'b '. IfWhltc. plays at '.a' Black will play 3 at
'b ', or vice 'VC.rsa.
Answer 3
Wlllte is de;td. He has two folse eyes, but only one real one. If
Black needs to remove the wlllte stones he can start with I and
3 in answer Ja. After connecting this ko ate in answer 3b,
he can continue with. I and 3 on t!te ather side. This second
Black 3.i$ atari agains:t the white stones.
$:L
.clsew hCre
Answer 4
Capture 43
3b

White 1. in conjunction with @, crcatesa false eye, and Black
IS deaa. He has apnea! eye at a' b.ut COIUlOt possibly form "
second one.
An:;wer .J..
Answers
Black I in answer .sa is move. The eye at c a' js f:Use,
but Black has two other good oncnnd is alive. If Black lets
Whiie play I in answer sb, then he is left with odly. ane real
eY.e and js dead.
-
"""'
-
-
j"'
i
r-
1-
'r
r-
. 1
vi C:
r-

,t\naWe.r 5a
Amiwer ,Gb,
44 Go for Begirmers
Seki
We have been showing you at great length two-eyed
groups live while one-eyed or no.:cycd groups die, but you
wil1 probably not be surprised to hear thot there is an exception
to this rule. Look at Dia. 67, for example. The two black
Ditt. 67
stOJles ma.rked e cue off have not even one C}% but.
they carutot be captured. They -Sh.are two liberties with six
white stones which are siniilarly cut eff, and nc:id1cr player
can occupy either one of these two points withou[ putcing his
IJin. G9
I
Din. 71)
own s-tolls into acari. Such :m impa,ssc situ;ujon is .(:.-tiled a
seki. The b)ack and white stones OI!! all alive, and the two
pointS between them are.1;0t cCrritOry for either pbycr.
.Dia. 68 is another example of seki";Obviously White cannot
play on either of the two intem"al libi:rtics. Whar if Black docs.
so, playing:, in Dia. 69? White will-capture four stones witlr
lc.wing the pO$ition shown inDia. 70. He is alive
he catt get eyes by playing either 'a' ot 'b '. lllack r
Dia. 69 is a because it gives White eight points:
.Captme 4S
four points of territory an9 four prisOners. Dl.ack should leave
the position as sCki.
Dias. 71, 72, 73 and 74' show other c.xamples of seki for
you to look at. Tn all of them stones with no eyes, or only one

,.t

X
Dia. 11 Dia . .'i2
eye, arc alive. Notwithstonding all of these examples, scki is
not very common, cropping up perhaps once' in twenty
games.
According to tlte rules of go neitltcr player can cotont any
territory in a seki. White docs not. get tWo points in Dia. 74,
for instance. Admittedly, this m)c Is somewhat arbitrary. In

>-
""\
I
-
.r .

le+++
m-1-H+
l>ia. 14
Dia: 12. by the way, Black is allowed to gain O)te prisoner by
capturing White @;
N9W here ill:C t\Vo more examples for you to .work out:foJ
yourself.
46 Go for Begit111ers
Elample 6
This position is like Dia. 68 except that White now hu lots of
liberties on the outside. Is it still sel:i, or c:m White c:>pture the
black stones?
-
Example 6
Exomple 7
Bbck has invaded White's corner at I and White hns replied
with 2. How should Black continue to produce n seki ?
(Slightly difficult.)
Eumple 7
Answer 6
It is still scki. White must not play l in answer 63, for oftcr he
captures the three black stones with J, Black 4 in amwer 6b
kills him. We studied this OJ\ page J6.
--
Auwu 611 Gb
Capture 47
Answer 7
Black r in answer .,a is the move.lfWhitc answers at 2, Black
J creates a scl:i in which e>ch side hu one eye. If White plays
2 in answer 7b, then Black 3 makes a scl:i like the one in

Dia. 71. Black 1 in answer 7c docs not work, for ofter
White z d>e two black stones are left dead within White's
territory.
.An.1wcr 7e
These then arc the basics of go. There arc some more rules
covering special situations which you not but you
will play the game for a long, lolljl time before you nm into
any of them. For your reference, all the rules of go (well,
almost all of then>) ore summamed in the appendix ot the encl
of the book.
Part II
Elementary Tactics
and Strategy
'
Chapter 3
At the Edge of the Board
You will remember the moves in Dia. I from the game in
Ch::tp<er t. That game ended in a Burry of such plys ot the
edge of the bo"'d, which is typicol of go. These plays arc
usually too small tO be worth making in the cor! y or middle
port of the game, but they become import:tnc cow.rds che end
;1nd mismkes in handling them can have serious consequences.
They are not difficult, and make good point for
Jl of dis boc;>k. The fQllQwing examples should show
you what to look for when defending your terricory or re-
ducing your opponent's territory at the edge of the board.
Example t
Wlut happens ifW11i11: forgcu ro pby 4 inDia. I ? Dbck can
cut at r in Dia. :&, which is atari against White @, and if
DiR. 1 Ditl. 2 Dln. S
White tries to run away wid1 z, 4, and 6 his stones will be
ch3.Sed imo the con1cr, whecc dtcy will meet with disaster.
Black 7 t3kes their last liberty. Instead of playing z etc., it
would be better for White to do nothing >till, or if >nything
t6 pby as inDia. 3. You must be aware of dangas like this.
sz Cq fqr Btgimttrs
Example 2
It is not always nccess..1ry, however, to make con.nectlons like
White 4 inDia. 1. InDia. 4 White would be wastiog a move,
and diminishing his territory by one point, if he connected at
a'. Db.ck can cut with 1 in Dia. s, but this time White bas a
strong wall of his own stones nc>r by, and Dlack cannot cap-
ture anything. For White to play 'a' ic Dia. 4 could be just
Dia. S
as bad mistake, if not worse, than for him not to play 4 io
Dia. I.
\Vc digress here ro point out that Dlck's abortive invasion
in Dia. s does not alter the score of tl1e g:mle. On the one
hand Dlack has Cl!Uscd White to play three stones inside his
own territory, reducing it by three points. On the otlter hand
Dlack x, 3 and sore dead, and at the end of the game they will
be lifted from tltc boor.d and set down ogahl inside Block's
territory, reducing it by three points. The net rcsu]t is even.
Black should not, however, ploy moves like r, 3 and S just
to sec if hii opponent is awake enough to :mswer correctly.
He should s.wc cltem for usc as ko thre3ts.
We digress further to mention a significant difference be--
tween Dias. X ancl 4 Black 1 nd 3 in Dia. I arc mote vlu-
At the Edge nf tlr< J3onrd S3
able tb.1u rand 3 in Dia. 4, for two reasons. The first is that
former reduce White's tcrcitory by two poi1us, indenting
itat 2 :md 4. whereas thclattctteduce Whitc'stctritory by only
one point. The second is aftct Di:t. 1 it is Dlack's
tum :.gain, whereas :after Dla. 4 it i.s White" s tum. There arc
technical terms for this which you ntight :u wdlbm. Dbclc t
:\lid 3 in Dia. I are called strlle plays, mconing that White
cannot afford nor to answer them. (Of course they would not
be scnte if nude too early, but tow2rds the end of the game
Wh itc' s connection at 4 will probably be more imponnt
ilian anything else on tlte bo>td, and at that time Black
can play I >nd 3 in scntc.)
Black 3 in Dia. 4 is called agDic pl>y, meaning dut it need
not be answered. We also say that aficr Dia. 4 White bas scntc,
Jneaning that it is his tum :md he is free to move in some other
part of the board. Scntc :md gote arc important in go. It is
often correct to m>kc a smll scute pl>y before making a large
gote one.
. L
1
.I. .I.
i
)-

2:


"""

.
3)0 1-
e 1
,p.
1)13. 6 J)ln.. 'I
Example 3
Dia. 6 shows 3 positiort in which J).lt'lc:k 4 is very imponanr,
for ifBiackomits [hiscol.mcction he leaves himself open to tbe
cut at White I in Dia. 7 lllck 2 in D.io. 7 is fooli sh. White
3 is atari against Dlack's two stones e, and if Black SilVC$ them
oy playing 4 then White s is atari gainst e. As you should
s Bcgimm
be able to see, Bl>ek e c.nnot escopc c.ap<urc and White
lw made a big breakthrough.
Black 2 in Oia. 7 was particularly inept. but there may be no
good way to deal with Whire 1. If Black playa 2 and 4 in
-

r-
-
1-
1 )"
'i
'
)"
'
:
5
;;>-
'
Dia. 8 DlR. 9
Oia. 8 he might be able to get some er:irory in the. cen<:
but., the cost of big loss 011 the lower ode. Black 2m D
9 is d>e nrongcst resistance he can mokc, but White can play
l and put up good light. After White tt the Dlack gcoup
including 4 and 10 is cut off and may get irno trouble, and
Dbck hos little chance of making tcrritocy in the centre.
Black 4 in Dia. 6 was the right way to connect, and Black 1
'
;r,
;x


-
-
Dia. 10
inDia. to is wrong. For one thing, there is more 5pacc between
Bltck e and the black wall in Dia. 10 than tl1ere was in
Dia. 6, maldug it easier for White to inv,de, and for another
At tire EJgt <if the &ard ss
thing Black 4 in Oia. 6 begins to make shape for eyes while
Black I in Oia. 10 docs not.
Example.
much territory can Black expect in the upper left
centre in Dia, u ? This :area seems to be six lines wide and
abott seven lines high, so you might think it should amoum
b
.A
,_

t:o
r-
-
,_
-

- 16'
tJia. Jt
to some forcy poinl$, but white can reduce it to half that by
jumping out to 'b '. Oia. u shows this. Af<er exchanging 2
for 3 Black mjght. in circutnsbnces. play 'c', t d' or
'c', or nothing funher at all. In the prcser.c simatlon 'e' is
lAY
.
Dla. 1%
56 Co for Begl11nm
best, defending the centre, but alta Dia. 13 it is hard to imag-
ine Block's getting much more than twenty points here. Black
1 in Dia. I4. or White 1 in Dia. u, is a substantial middlo-
game ploy.
4
,.....
I
I
1-
,..., ...
,...
t-
X &
t-
x.;;;
t-
fit
-
t-
' ' '
Dia. 13
Dia. 14.
Exomple S
Black 1 is a good w.ty to defend the comer in Dia. 15. 11Us is a
large end-game ploy, for if White f.,ils to answer, Black can
slide down the side of UJC board tO 'f' or ' g ', Dia. 16 shows
the la11er possibility. together with White's reply and the
ensuing sequence.
r
Din. 15
f
At the Etlgt of the Board 57
Dlo. lG
The l:asr four ex:unples in this chapter arc for you to work
our by yourself, but we bavc shown the answers on pages 58
to 6o.
Example 6 {lllack to p l ~ y
How should Black :tDSwer Whice 1?
I
Example 6
Example 7
Exomple 7 {White to play)
Thece is a way for White tO take way a substl.tltial amount of
Black's territory hCie. Sec if you can find it.
s8 Go for Btginnrrs
E.x>mple 8 (\Vbite to play)
After Black 3 White must defend against the cut at' ' . How
should he do so so :IS 10 assure Qfat least ten potn!$ of
territory?
Example 9 (White to phy)
This time Black has strted fcom the other side. Again how
should White phy 4 so as to get at least ten point$ of territory?
3
Answer to Example 6
Bl>ck should play t in Oia. 63. If be I in Oia. 6b,
011
cut at :z., and if Black eompoun<h hiS crroc by c:aprunng
at
3
White 4 is at>ri against two stones. When Black conned$
at s in Oia. 6e, White 6 assures the caprure of five stones.
I

-
A
y

1-
2
')@
1...
Dia. u.
A
i
y

r- i-
1- i-
li: :-:.. 1-+
0 '""
Dia. 6b
Dla. k
At tht Edgt of tht BoarJ 59


, e
3
Dla. ?a J)ln.. 7b
Answer to Example 7
White I in Dio. 7> is the rnove. If Black plays 2, White can
connect underneath at 3. Black may try tO keep White from
connecting by playing 2 in Dia. 7b, but ofter White 5 be
cannot prevent both White 'b' and White 'c. The cut at 1
inDia. 7C would just not work in this sicuation.
''"
Din. 7e
})ln. 3&
Answer to Example 8
White should play 4 in Dia. Sa. Then if Dlaek plays 5 and 7,
Wlme need not protectag:linst d1e thn:oc of Black 'b', a cut
which 'vould fail because of the plaa:ment of White 4, but
can <>ke scnte elsewhere with ten poinl$ of territory left in
I
6o Co for Btgirwm
the comer. If White mis,.kcnly plays 4 ;n Dia. Sb, Jllack con
play s and 7 in scmc and reduce the omcr to-nine poims.
When Wbitc ploys 4 correctly he mny even get
points, because Block "'"Y well not wm co play 5 and 7 Ill
Dia. 8a in gote, and White nuy l>ter phy 1 in Dia. Sc.
(6 8
0
Din. Sb
Answer to Ex.:unple 9

A .....
-,- eT
--
CJXJ< >< ;4 -
<15

r- 1-
Din. S:
\Vhite's correct move is the same as before. 3S shown in
Din. 9- kcausa Black s :md 7 to become gote, and once gain
White c.1.n be sore of ten or eleven points in the corner,
pending on whether Dlock acn"lly plys 5 or
Di:.'l. 9
Chapter 4
Shicho
11tis is the lint of series of short dpters covering vorious
methods for coptunng scones. We hope rhot you will keep in
mind as you rpad them that i$ not chc poim of d1
game- one of the mnin cliffcrcnccs bct,:vccn strong players and
beginners is that the l:l.ttcr often cannot to give up any-
thing ond are lway> getting into unnCCCS$:lt)' baules over 3
few uolmponam scones. while the 3bandon stones
wlllingly in order ro obr1in territory. Allrhc Slime, every go
ne-eds to learn the basic rechniq"cs described here.
InDia. I Dlack plays atari against White @ with x. White
I I

-1-- 2'

-
r
&
-
' -k @
'
I
' o I
Dia. 1
Dia. 2
runs our at 2, bot Black gives :n.a.rl :tgain with 3 :md 5, forcing
White to flee in a 2ig .. z.ag pattern. How will t1Us end?
Continuing as inDia. 2., llbc.._l;; drives the white stones into
rhc edge of the bord. After Bbck 17 d>ey e>n flee no f>tther,
wd White bas suffered a e>t:rsttOpbe. Needless co say, be
should have given up @ inDia. I., soon as Black played 1,
of trying in v:ain to escape with 1nd the rest. This
kind of zig-zag formation is .coiled a lritlro.
6z Co for Btginnm
.>1

1-
3
1-
1-
I !
Dia. 3
What you can do when confronted with a shicho is
illustr:ated in Dia. J. of tr)ing to run with @. White
plays 1. This stone lies in the pau of the shicho, md Block
must capture at 2, letting White ploy a second stone ac 3,
which Is rather h3rd ou DJack e. lf Dl"ck rutuwcrs White 1
with z in Dia. 4. d>cn White ca> c:scope with J. White l J
becomes a uri against llt.ck 10, wite cannot be captured, ond
1-1-H-<Dft h . >-
).
' -,)9 -
Dill . .a
Black is left with some weak stones in the centre.
A move like White 1 is called a
Occasionally we find a beginne: uacing the path of a shic.ho
with his finger to determine whed>er it ,yjfl work. like the
one in Vias. I and z, or is broken, like the one in Dia. 4
However such boorish behaviour is unnccess;uy. You con
cosily read out a shicho by eye alone, cspeciotly if you use the
handiap points (the dotted on the board) as landmarks.
Shicho 63
.For example, suppose Black is thinking of playing 1 in
Dta. 5 and wants to know if the shicho works. Well, if he
I the shicho wiD pass through the handiap point in the
lllJddle of the lower side turning left. It will therefore also
I
-

Jl
Db .. G
pass .dltough the hondicop point in the middle of the left side,
turmng left, and will nm right into White @. So Dbck had
better not play r, but rather a< 'p', or at tle handicap point
' OD dx: Jdt side.
Chapter 5
Geta and Shicho
Get a
White r in Dia. Y is an ex:unplc of cl1e technique known as
gtra. This play traps th'e two black stones morkcd e. and they
I
- It
-- ;I::&
A

l
Dla. 2
connot escape. Black may struggle for fn:c<lom as shown in
Dia. 2, but fter White 4 his stones ore in otari. Dia. 3 gives
:mother example of gcta, th'is rime at the edge of the boord.
Gcta dilfcl$ from sbic.ho in that it is a purely local affair, that
is, when you captUre stones in geta you need not worry about
sbicbo-brc>kCI$ appcoring on the ocl1cr side of the board.
There are, however, moves like Dlack r, 3 :md S in Dia. 4
which a player who lw los:t some stones in gcta c:m put to usc.
Geta a11a Loose Shidro 65
I
I r.
I(Jt'

=<x j
lll tlii
Dia. 5
l>ia. 4
Loose SJ.iclto
White h., played r in Dia. s. trying to escape. Do you think
lc con be captured? Please cogitate for a 1uomcnt before Jook-
'ing at dtc ncxr dingram.
Dlack 1 to 7 in Dia. 6 arc the cortcct 1rtoves. At the end of
Dla. 6
this digrom the white stones have bocn fon:cd to the edge of
the board and have only two liberties, and their demise is
incvirablc. This kind of sequence is called loosr sloicho.
It is a bit like a real shicho, but Dlack's plays.are not all ntari.
Chapter 6
Semeai
Another common method of capturing stOnC$ is to drive them
towords d>e edge of the board where they ...: smothered, so to
spcak. Here we shall look at such taCMC$ in operation, at the
known as semtai which they often. involve, and :.t the
busioc.ss of counting UbcrtiC$ in these bmles.
Example I
White r in Dia. 1 i$ simple example. It is atari against the
stone e. which Black now my os well give up for lost. He
Dia. 1 Dlo. 2
ca.n run out at 2- in Dia. :z., but White follows with another
atari at 3 and it is aU up.
Example z
Dla .. 3 shows a simHar situation, although this time the .stones
ore o. little f>rther from the edge of d1e board. Dhck h.s some
ehan.cc to counterattack 3g3inst the rwo white stones marked
@, but they h>ve three liberties while h.s only two, so
White em aprure Black before Bi>ck e2prurcs White. Afrcr
Semem' 67
rh1s diagra':' may seck odditional liberties by turning
down I m Dm. 4, but White blocks h1m at 1 and still the
block stones hvc only two liberties wbilc White h.s three.
After J?ia 3 the of ction is for Bbck to ply
,. m Dia. s. surrendering his two stones, which were doomed
:myway, but getting some valuable movC$ ill arouod the out
side.
Dl1. 3 Dia. 4
inDio. 3 is good."one to play, even though it is
captured m the end. If Black $Imply plays z in Dia. 6, he dOC$
bot get to play :a' 'b' with =.e. This trick of sactiJicing
two &tones, as an Dw. 3 and s, nsteod of playing z ,. in
Dia. 6, is wonh remembering.

4
I-0De -H -+
I
-..rt

H -1-
f- bn
1-1- a

I
Dia. 6
68 Go fr &girmm
E=nple 3
In Dia. 7 there arc two IAhapcd groups <>f four nones each
which arc cut off and must light it our. The black one has
three [ibenies, while the white one has fout. Suppose tb>t it is
Black's tum to play- c:ut you sec what will hppen?
Even though he is behind by one liberty, lllock is not lost i11
this case. lly pl>ying I and 3 in Dia. 8 he can produce scki,
and neither group is captured. It is important foe him to fill
White's Uberties from the outside in this way, and not tO tty
Oil\. 1
to fJI from the inside as in Dia. 9 White 2 in Dia. 9 is ata<i,
nd Black loses.
Dias. 3 to 9 give nvo sitn.plc illustrations of th..1t isJ
ofbatdes between two adjacent lllld opposing groups of stones,
neither of which has room to form two eyes. II semeoi olways
ends eithe< in the apturc of one of the cwo groups O< in seki.
J>ia. 8
l)icl . 9
'11\e ability to foresee correctly tl1c ourcomc of semei is some-
thing you will develop with practice. In these cwo examples
it was just a rn3uer of counting liberties, but Olller scme:U are
more complicated.
Now have a go at the following examples. 11>c =wen ore
given on pages 70 tO 1>
,
Seme.ai 6g
Bxomplc 4 (Block to play)
Whire has ext<Jldod out io t . How can Black keep him from
gctnng aw:ty?
Example s (White to play)
How CM Wh.ite copture Black e ? Does he have more than
one move here?
Example 6 (Whire to play)
This js the position at move l-9 in rhc g3mc in Chaprer 1,
except Ut Dlck e bas been added. Suppose cl1>t Black plays
I. Can White caprure bim?
I

'-6:
a 3 b
-

x r
I I
I I
&ample 1
Example 7 {Dlack to play)
Wl>icb is better after Wl>ire 3: 'a
1
or Black 'b'?
llls;o, what about Bl>ck 'c'? This problem is not as clcar-cut
as the previous ones, but see whot you on figure out on your
own before looking at the answer.
70 Go for Begiuners
Answer: 4
Block 2 in amwer 43 is correct. After 4, White iJ tr:lpp<. If
Block incorrectly plays 2 in answer 4b, White will get owoy
by eopruring the two stones morkd e. They hove only two
libenies while the white scones htve three.
Antwer ~ J b
Answer 5
White t in answer sa is the ody correct move. If White
plays 1 in answer sb, he will be unable ro pby on either side
ofDb.ek 2 \Vithout putting his own stones in 2t.tri.
<3X )e
-
Amwcr 6
In this e.x>mple the time black stones and the two white
ones to their right each have rhr:e liberties, so White must
begin by ploying 1 in answer 6a. Black can coprure one one
Sen:etJi 71
with 2 and 4, but it all ends wdl. White s is .raci against dtc
original time bJ.ck stones. If White ploys 1 in answer 6b,
Black will play 2 and go head in the frghr, four liberrics to
dtrec. In answer 6b, tltc white stones marked @ arc lost.
Answcr7
To m ~ e the worst move first, Black- r jn all$Wer 7a is out
of the question. White norns outwards at 2. If Black blocks "

4
3, White 4 is atari againsr both e and e, and Blck is in a
pretty fix, bur if Block runs along the third line, as in answer
7b, White C>l\ goin plenty of liberties and Black 1 and e.
which have only thr<'C liberties, arc left dead in the comer.
Black I in answer 7c is f." better. The stone e is sacrificed,
?:
.7
r-
oe
..,.J
~
f.!
5
Anawer ~
71. Co for Btginners
but Black can get a nice wU by connectil>g at 3 This connec.-
tion nuy not be absolutely nc:ccssaty, but if it is omind,
White can auack"' in answer ?d. or in >:>me such f..hion.
But gcncr.lly :Black r in answer 7 is the best mov.
Answer 7e is usually better for Black dun before because his
stones ore doser to having two eyes than in answer 7c. Also,
instead of s Black might play 'b' or some other point, accord-
ing to White will probobly play .> in answer
7finstc:1d of7e, but now Block has no cutting points to worry
about and can make his next play wherever he likes- perhaps
I
-i,.J.. I
_;.

a
.. --
H-+++b -1-1-l-H-
1e
at 'a' but probably somewhere else. Of course, if White fails
to answec Black 1, Black can play at 3 in answer ?g and now
White loses his two stones.
Al\IIWCt 7g'
@ c!11evrtu:ro
Cltapler 7
Snap-back at1d Shortage of Liberties
Snap-back
Three of the black stones in Dia. I are vulnerable to apturc.
Do you see the ones we mean? White I in Dia. 2. is att.ri
against them. lllock can capture White I by playing .> in
l8
-
+taIIQ)
..J-
I
Dia. 1 Dia. 2
Dia. 3, but now he has four stones in atari. White sr<aos b.uk
into the point where he pbyed t :md caprures them, as
in Dia. In practice Dias. 3 and 4 would not be play!, md

--
--< -
i-
..,.
Din. 4
Dia. z would be left .. ;,, the three dead black stones being
removed from tltc boord without further play at the end of the
game.
74 G<> for Btgintlffs
In Dio. s White bas lcop-frogged into the comer with I,
and Black has unwis;:ly ttitd to Cllt him off with z. After
Black 4 do you sec the snap-bnck cooling? What is White's
next play?
Wllire plays sin Dia. 6. Now lflllock plays 'a',
- -
I

:J..

''II!'T
,.!._'!!'
Y '!!'
-...
- -
.,.,
Din. 5
Din. it
@.White will play bock into tltc point under@ nd rccopture
three bbck stones. In Dia. s Blck should play 3 or 4 instcod
of>.
Shortage of Liberties
In Din. 7 White em coptuce the four black stones marked e.
In a sense tbesc stones are corutccted to the strong ond on the
l)ln. 7
-
Dia. 8
left side, but Black must add so mauy stones (four) to make clte
corutcction solid that he camtot quite re:>ch W'cty if White
plays 6nt. Dia. 8 shows the sequence. After White s Black's
St0Dt'$2fe in ac.a.ri, and ifheconntctS at 'b' wiJJ capture
at 'c'. When White plays 1, Black should resign himself to a
IO$$ nd play 'b', if onything.
S"ap-back .,J $/u,rtage of Ubtrties 75
This kind of copture often nceck to be hdpcd long by a
S2crifice, such as Black 1 in Din. 9
1
which prevents the fornu-
tion of an eye. Black 3 is tori, bur if White connects at 4 in
Dio. 10 his solid mass of >tones wili be thrown into atnri
ag::tin by Black s ond captured.
Di n. 10
The s<>-<:>lled ctmc's nest formation shown in Dia. n
provides a good exiinplc in rbe ccnttc of tlte board. The
white stones (the egg< in the nest) canoot escape. If
W.hte tnes to flutter out to 1 in Dia. u , Black will throw
in sto.ne at 2, md let it be captured. When he ploys 6 in
K

) 4 ..
:..
t-
I I I
Ui tl . 11
Dia. 12
Dia. lJ he putS five stones in tori, and obviously there is no
point in White's connecting 3 .
The kind of copture seen in the bst tltrce examples works
hec.we the enemy srones ore eught shorr of lib<rtin. Like
snap-back, it depends on the existence o or the po,ibiliry of
76 Go for D<glmrm
creoting, f.1l! eyes in the stones to be captured, and once you
appreciate this C.1et you will have oo trouble ancicipating them
in your own g:.mcs.
a
l)la. J3
Chaprer 8
Life and Death
In the past few d13ptcrs we have been calking bout varie>us
methods of capturing small groups of stones. Now we arc
going ro deal with the more important matter of lUlling large
groups of stOnes by preventing them from forming two eyes.
This topic of life and death was introduced in Cluprcr ::,
but here is a more sy:stcmatic and detailed discussion.
Eye S/,ape
It often happens that a grmrp of stones contains 011 empty spa<e
consisting of several points which i$ not divided into two eyes,
and it is necessary for you to know whether such 3 space has
the right size and shape for safety or not. For example, the
two black groups in Dia. I both contain three vacant points.
As you will remember from Chopter 2, the one on the right
is not safe, and can be killed by white stone ot 'a'. In the
same way White 'b' kills the group on the left. I fit is Black's
rum, then he can save the group on the left by playing 'b ',
or the one on the by pbying ', in either case making
cwo eyes.
As you 3lso lc3n1ed in Chapter z, four in :'1 row is aHvc. lt
does not mnuer whct.l1cr: the four spaces :.ue in :\ str<'l ight Iitle
or. bent. The two black groups in Dla. 2, for instaocc, ate
both alive.
There arc two shopes that can be mode by four spaces,
one of which is shown in Dia. 3. Hccc c' is the key point.
If Black plays there he is alive with eyes, but if White
plays t in Dia. 4, Dlack dies. Let trs sec why.
Although he need not >ctually make d1esc moves, White
78 Cc for Btgimu:rs
b
Dia. 1
Oift. 2
cnn put the black stones into ar.ri by playing 3 ond S inDia.
5.If))lack captures the three white intmdcr., White will p:ay
bock onto the point @and Black connot make two eyes.
It so happens tba.t in this example there is onothcr way :or
~ ~ ;
Ola. 3 Oia. 4
Block to relieve the atari, dut is by capturing a white stone
with 6. 'Ibis is first copturcin a ko, but instead of looking for
ko due>t White should jUSt connect 11 7, leving wbot is
shown in Dia. 6. The eye at 'd' is a flsc one, and it docs no
Dla. G
.Ill. 6
good for Black to cnpture the three white stones because
White will just play back onto @, so Block is really dead.
The shape shown in Dia. 7 is so bad th>t llloek is dead een
if l1e plays firsL This is not bard to see.
Life a11d Dralh 79
Dia. 8 shows a common shope consisting offive spaces that
is not safe. As you might suppose, 'e' is the key poim, and if
Bl>ck ploys there be is alive. If White plys r in Di:J. 9,
however, the black stones are dead. Nothing more need be
done to them, and they will be removed from the board at the
0111. 1 Dia. 8
end of the game, but tbc reason is that in theory White could
play J, s ond 7 in Dia. IO, putting Black into atari. The four
white stones have chc same shape as was Studied in Dias.
3-(i, and if llbek copturcs cl>etn White will play back onto@.
Dla. t Dia. JO
The shape of five spoccs shown inDia. II is much the same.
If Black pbys 'f' he lives, but if White plays thetc he dies.
There is even one sb2pc containing six spaces thar: is not
safe, d1e one in Oia. u. The point' g' is, of co""" the key
point, and a white stone there kills the black group. White
')eSc' ,.,
()-
-v
~
e-...
Dla. 11 Dia.. 12
80 Co for Beginnm
cn fall up Black's eye space with I, 3, s. 7 nd 9 inDia. 13,
making the shopc sltown inDia. 8, ond if Black aprures these
five stones White will play again ar the point r.
The shapes of three, four, five, and >ix sp>ccs shown in
Diu. 1. J., 7, 8, It and 12 arc the b:uic ones which are not
safe, and you will $000 come to rceognizc them whenever
you soc them.
Oia. IS
The Death Blorv from Within
We hove jwt been looking at some cxonples of groups whidt
an be killed by ploys striking at key points within their eye
shapes. This kind of thing is so common tl10t we would like
to show you yet mother =mple.
Dlock 1 in Dia. 14 is the only phy d>2t kills the white
group dtcrc. Obviously if White were able to ploy 1, he would
15 Uln. IG
hnve at Icon two eyes. It may not be so obvious th3t the white
group in Dia. 14 has died, but if White tries to get eye shape
by playing z in Dia. 15 Block will answer with 3. nd in
theory em btcr put White in atari with the
e m D1a. 16. As you know by now White onoot live by
Lift and Deatlr 8t
capturing the four blck stones inDia. 16, for Black will play
bck into the centre of dus shpc.
T11e Dt4tl1 Blow from Witl1ottt
Thcte >re also groups wbid1 an be killed by pi3}'S that reduce
their eye shpes from the outside. Dia. 17 shows one such
group. White must begin by playing I - you my try and see
I I I
><:. A
...
-'
.....L....J.....J..{ L :l 'T' ;::

Dil4. 11 Di:t. Hl
for yourself tht no other pby works- and if Black auswcn
at z then White 3 kills in &mili>r sbpc. Black can capture
White by playing 4 in Dia. 18, but by doing so he creates
only a &Ise eye, and White s stops his esapc.
Block 1 in Dia. 19 is an even sin1plcr e.xample of d1is tech-
nique, and onoc goin it b.ppcus to be the only move that
kills. White may answer wid z in Dia. zo, but Black n.trrows
his eye spoee again with 3, ond finally strikes in the centre of
three in a row \vith S The r-z point in the Cotner, where
-=i I
-- . -
-
D
--
- ,

1: y
I "T"e
_R
4)
J)ilt .. 20
8z Co for Begin1rm
Block phycd 1, is often the key point for life ond dcath. If
Black surted with 1 in Dia. ZI White could live by playing
there himself, getting the live stupe offour in row.
Cutting Points
Ald>ough the stupes listed in tlte first section of this chapter
arc the only ones which are intrinsically unsfc, cutting points
can render many others vulneroble. The rcctongular six
J)ju,, 22
shape illustrated in Dia. zz, for example, i$ usually perfectly
secure. If Dlack attacks at I White will answer at 2, 2nd then
if .Black plays 3 White will play 4, or vice versa, making two
eyes. If we introduce a cutting point as in Dia. Z3, however,
the situation changes. Bhck e .nd White's lack of outside
liberties combine to make I a killing pby, for this rime White
annot answer 3 at h' withou[ putting mo5t of his own stones
into 3Uri.
White z in Dia. Z4 i$ fruitless, for it allows Black to dc-
moy White's eye shape with 3
Dia. 25 gives us a different kind of example of a cutting
point used to kill a group. It is easy to see that after llbck I
-
-
-


u
- Oia. 2$

st
..
'u



l)la. 26
Lift and Deat/1 8 3
there, White u dead. Blck can bring half of the white stones
into >tari with 3 and s in Dia. 26, and although White can
next capum the three black uones, tltis would no< leave
him with caough space for S>fcry. Actually all three of the
plays in Dia. z6 are sheer \V>S<CS of time. 11te fight was over
when Black pbycd e.
If White is able ro repair the cutting point by playingt in
Dia. z7, tha> be lives. This shape has become scki; White hu
no territory, but he is not dead nd th.1t is the imponont thing.


Plays
Dh):. 28
One of tit<: mon: common ways to deprive a group of eyes is
illustrated in Di.l. '1.8. IfBiaek were able to play at 1 he would
b.tve his second eye, but now that White bas pbycd tltere

I I I I
:L )ee


Uin. a6
Black cannot get more than a 1lse eye. Perhaps be will try
to run out wid1 2. in Dia. 29, but White 3 neatly stops h..im,
and s is atari. Block 6 captures the orginal throw-
in stone, it bas done irs work and Black is left with no real
eye on the lower edge, as you =sec in Dia. 30.
84 Go for 1Jcgilwm
You c::m even m:.ke false eyes by S.'lc,rifidng two stones, as is
shown in Dill. 31. In tht di>grom White hos exactly one eye
on the lower edge, 10 Block I in the centre becomes the key
pointoflifeaud deth. White con the two black stones
by plying z in Din. JZ, but then Dlaek throws in another
stone ot the l:ey point nd White get nothing but a false
eye by capturing it.
Dla. n Dia. 3%
Me Ari Me Nas/Ji
This Jpncsc phrase mC>ns, 'I hve n eye and you do not,'
and one example of the situation it describes is shown in
Dia. JJ. White has an eye in the comer, nd White x pre-
vents Dlack from forming one. Since lllack cannot alford to
the four white S!oncs in the shape they have, he is
helpless. White can fill the outside Iiberti<$ a< the
marked @ in Din. 34, then play 1 ond 3, and bcc.mse of his
I

)1 )
'-A.J-! -<;
'- -
Dla. 33 Dl :U Din. 35
Lifo n11d D.atil 8 s
eye he still has two liberties while Dlock is ilt atari. Of cou.rsc,
the additional play1 shown in Dia, 34 arc not ncccs-
socy, the black stones being dead just os they stand in Dia.
33
tf:Block gets to play 1 in Dia. 35, then the tables re rumed.
He = pick up the three white nones in the comer at hil
leisure, and even if he fails to capture them the worst dJ>t
= happen to him is selci.
Dla. S6 Dla. !)1
Odnwhtrc
Be11t Fottr i11 tile Comer
Dla. 38
There is one nonhle exception to d1e gcncrol rule th>t (our in
a row are alive, that is the s.bape shown in Dia. 36. Due co the
peculiarities of tle corner nd to l31ock' s deml1 of outside
liberties, White em produce a ko by attockiug with r in
Dia. 37. Mter White 3 Dlck anost find a ko threat, and if
White ignores it he c:u1 kill the black stones by connecting at
5 io Dia. 38.
When Black hos two outside liberties, as in Dla. 39, he is
,..._y-
Y l

l>Jm. 4l
Din. 31t
86 Co for Begi1111ers
safe: The attack comes as 'before, but now after Whlte 3 he
can .play 4 iJt Dia. 40, a.nd when he 'captures the two white
stones he will have two eyes.
Jn Dia. 41 we have what at first appear> to be seki, but in
ct dte black stones there are dead. The reason for this is that
at the end of the game White could make some. extra playno
solidify his positions, eliminating all of Black's ko threats,
then at:tack with x, 3 aud 5 inDia . .p. Black have to
capt)lle. the white stones in the bent four shope .by p)aying
6; but 'then White would con<inue with 7 and 9 in Dia. 43.
Since Black would have no ko threats, he woulp be powedcss
Din. J3'
to p'rcVcntt11e capture of White need nQt ... ,.cnfally
make plays elsewhc{e the board to deprive Blick of ko
threats. The black group in Dia. 41 is dead just as it stands,
because in principle it c.m be captured and Black has no way
to defend ir.
Ft!.rther Exqmples
Here ;tre some morecxamplcs illustrating various teChniques
of life and d<ath. Sce.if you can. work them out for yourself
before looking at the answers, which are on pages 8!( io 92.
Example 1
.Black tOJ?lay and kill the white. group.
The next two examplcs.deal witb the white group shown in
Dia. 44, which is.dead.
Life ami Deotfr 87
I I
' I
-
I I

t
)(

l l
.;;
...L()
... .
U+111
,v
Example 1
EX:.mple 2
White has to live by .playing @. How can Dlack kili
him?
F.:<:unple 2
3
This tinic White has 'lied @.. Black to play kill.
Example 4
Black to play and kill.
-{
.
'
--
..(
. --
-
. --
.
-

' '
Example 1
88 Go for Btginlltrs
Examples
Bhek to pl>y :md his isobte<l group.
Example 6
Black to play and live.
I
Exnm,plc G
Example 7
Black to play and kill.
Example 8
Black to play and kill.
.
T

a.

:
) ..
E.umple9
White tO play and kilt.
-0
.
><

ltei
-l
I

"y
1-6
Life a11d Deal/o 89
Example 10
White to ply. There is only one eorrecr point roc attacking
this bl>ck group.
Example: 10
Answer 1
lllack 1 is the killing move. If White ployed there he could
live by capturing four in a row, but witb the shape made by
Black 1, he is dead.
I


An&w<'r 2
Answer 2.
Black 1 is not hard to find, remembering the basic shope of
Dia. 9
Answer 3
It is n<Q:S:S:lry to Sl:ait with Black 1, for if White pl.yed
there he would be ali,e.
90 Go for 13tglllllt1S
Answer 4
Blek I in auswer 43 dC$troys White's second eye. If
White blocks with 2, Dlck will slip in oc 3 nd, if Wbice
capture$, socrifoec anodter >tone or 3 to make the eye false.
I
.
.! -
{2
-
3
)' .
-
':.. .
-

-
4
"'
D
'>< I


(2X
....
.,.. .
Amwu 3
I I

lfWhite plays 2 in answer 4b, then Black 3 and s accomplish
the same thing.
Answers
Black I in answer sa is the only move which forms a second
eye. You c.tn cheek that d1cre is no woy fer Whire ro r.'ke this
A



__ 0_ ,)
0 -
-
.

-
X
-
-- -
-<
) ..
'r
.7'
1-4 )'
4 t--iil V<
- 1 t ('l< 2

-(): ).

'r

An$WCr 5b
Lifo n11d De.,th 9I
Gc
eye away. lf Black plays I in answer sb, White :o kils him,
a.ud Dl.ack 1 i.u .u.nve.r St.: &il: ..
Answer6
Black I is the key point, >nd after 3 Bhck is live in scki.
lf he bcgau by playing 3, then White at 1 would kill him.
7
Answer 7
Black 1 nd 3 are the right combination. If White tries to
approach with 4, Dlack plays s and White u in atui.
92. Co for Btgirmm
Answer 8
Black 1 in answer 8a is the only move that works in this
cose. If White plays z, d1en Black 3 leaves Jilin witl1 only one
eye. White's resist>nce in answer Sb is also futile.
Answu Sa
Answer 9
White I and 3 leove Dbck hopeless. B=usc of the presence
of White I heca.tmot play at 'a', while if he captures Whit<: I,
White will play ot 'a'.
-<
- ! I

-


-<

-<
-1.
I I
.
9
Antwer tOn
An"wer lOb
10
White I in answer toa is the key point -notice its relotion
tO White@. IfWhire were to attack at z or J, Black would
play at I and five. A$ it i>, Black must play 2 and 4. nd dte
life oflili troup \viii depend on a ko light. If Black plays z iu
answer Iob, then he dies outright.
Clrnpter 9
General Strategy
We have fi nished dealing with tl1e !llcties of go, and the time
lm come to see about the larger quc:stiou: whnt to do iu the
opening of the game, how tO develop territory, how to play
over the whole board. The present chaplet is devoted to such
matters, and you can learn more by swdying rho ex:unple
gan>CS in Ch>pter n.
Tire Comers nre Imporlnnt
In the lim part of the game the fout concrs of the board have
the gr.c:uest imporr.ancc, :md it iS com.mon 10 sec the first fuw
stones played it11 them. The reason for this is fnirly If
you form territory in a con_ tcr, then two of the :tJ-
rcady supplied for you by the edges of the board, whereas
along the side only one wall is given you and in d1e centre
you muu build ll four walls yourself. This means that it is in
the concrs that you an get the gre:otesr amount of territory
for the least numbec of stones played. It is also easiest to form
eyes in the comer, should you have to defend your stones.
This does not mean that you must lllke comer territory to
win, even though there is a go saying to d1at effect. You can-
not, however:, to ignore the COrJlcrs and 31Jow your
opponcut to mke large territories ill all of them
It is thought best to place d1e first stone in an open corner on
the handicap point (d1e4- 4 point, which is m>rkcd with a dot),
or on one of the adjacent points m:ukcd with an X inDia. 1.
In many gmes the action suns in the corners. then ex-
tends .long the si<les, and only finally moves upwards into the
centre. Thi> is JUtutal, but in go !here are no set ways to ply
94 Co for Beginners
in the opening. You are on your own fiom the forst move of
the game, free to try wlute\tr schem<:J your imagimtion a n
Often fighting will erupt from comer oc side into the
a:ntte early in the gome, and OCC>sion2lly bottle will slowly
I I I
- - -xx x-
:-
+
c-xe x-1
? x-r-
I I
' '
Diil. 1
l)l n. 2
spread from one corner to cover the )Vholc board, like a forest
fire advaodng in all directioru.
Slzimari
Once you have played one stone in comer, it is not a bod
idea tO add anodter Stone ro making what is called
shimm. Diu. :.-4 show thr<e of the common sllinuri forma-
tions, and otha:s are possible.
A sbimari does not really secure the comer territory. Of
'
-
-
-1-
-
Uiu. 3
Di11. 4
course iris a big step in that direction, and for the rime being
the comers in Dw. :>-4are Black's, but there is no telling what
might happen in the fighting to come. The dlief volue of a
sllinuri is that it makes a stable polition fiom which to extend,
Stratrgy 9S
and >round whidt it is hord for the other player to gain safe
foothold.
Perlups you think du t it is inefficient to place two stones so
dose to each other early in dte game, but hundreds of yean of
experience hove proven the value of a shimori. First to cstab-
lish a strong bose and dten to pia y on a larger scale is one goocl
Strategy in go.
Black r in Dia. s is a good sbimari based on a stone on the
I I
-
-1-
;>I-

'
-
1
r -

I
b r-
I I
I
I

;:
A
I
y
-
I I I I
IHn. G
J)ia. G
point. It reaches out a helping hand to Black 8 and forms
a loose but large terrirorinl framework.
In Dia. 6 Dlack has acqui.red a powerful position on the
rig!.t side and a sbimari such as White I is the ideal move to
usc against ir. Wllitc I res for later o.'temioru to 'a'
or ' b' or such point$.
96 C. for Beginner.
ExtmsiotlS
This brings us to the subject of c"tensions, such as White t in
Dia. 7. Wbro White plays this stone be is by no means sure
that lhc orca betwe<n it and his dillnri will aaually rod up
as his territory, but at least lhere is lhc chance of thor, ond
White has much better prospects on lhc left side than docs
Black.
When extending along.the side of d1e board you should os
I I
..n
x.x-
t-
1-j-( X X-
t-
)-
1- t- c
1-
v
-
-
Dia. 7
l)ln. 8
genef31 rule play on the third or fourth line. Instead of play-
ing White I in Dia. 7, White might prefer to ploy one point
to its right. On the upper side Wbitc would like to extend to
one of the points marked X , but an extension in the direction
of 1 is more valuable because it is :1n extension from both of
the shimari .stones. while :m extension to X would be an
extension from only one of them. Black I in Dio. 8 is also a
Grntral Strategy 97
good extension, and White 2. is a good counter-extension.
If White docs not play 1, then Black wiU be eager to extend
even clOSC'r to the shinuri at c'.
Wbcn 211 extension is made on lhe third line, it is mainJy
vulnerable to pressure from a bovc. In Dia.. 9 White could
ploy one of d1e points marked X, hoping to hold Bla.ck to a
snull territory along the edge of the board. Against an ex-
tension on the founh line, however, it is gencra.lly bctta to
attack from below. In Dia. IO Whire nught play 'a', aiming
to slip under tl1e black stone t>O 'b' in tl>e future.
..I. ..I.
-
-
.Ll
_j_
-t-r-x x- 1-
-r-j-XX
rr
_j
+

-
. r-r-
+
r b
I
Dl. 9 Dia. 10
White 1 in Dia. II is a rypial extension made for defensive
purposes. .Loter on, if Block pbys 'c', White can mainuin
comfortable posirion by cxrcn.ding to 'd', or vice versa. If
Whirc extended even one line further, to I in Dia. u, Black
could invade at 2 :md White, outnumbered five to two on the
left side, would be in trouble. On the other hand, if White
extended more 3.S in Dia. 13. he would be an ..
noyed by Block's counter-extension ro :o. WIUte 3 at 'd'
would leave him with a "'fc position, buc it would be a bit
cramped ns compared with Dia. n . Whit<: I in Dia. n
is just rjght in situations like thls.
When extending tow:trds or jn dte centre a one---point skip,
like Bhck inDia. 14, i narurol and good. Next Black might
skip again to ' c', 'f', or 'g', while Whirc whould probably
answer Black I by pbying 'e' himself, to defend IUs own
position.
White 1 inDia. IS is another kind of extension often wed
98 Go for
-
'
-
- t-d
-
,_
t-_1
A
'
-
1-
K
,_
r
-
-
' 1
y
-
1- t- c
[g
-
_l
1-
r
-
1-

-
Oiu. ll Oi3. 12
in the centre, which in this case works well to reduce Black\
prospects whUc enlarging White's. Black moy with 2,
bur now White can tum hiS -attention ro ihe upp<;r side or
elsewhere, because of Whiter it will not hard for him
to crim down Black's yrofit on th'c left. side. COmpare thi,s
wit!> Dia. 16, where Black has pushedwith r and }-and
enbrged his territory. inDia. IS may like
f
-
iY
1
e
'}
A A .(),
y
y.. y
_' L T
_1
14
99
much ol an extension, but if Black. plays 2 in Dia. 17 he
leaves White a good invasion 3, whid) ai"11::1t White
:h.', which is related to White 'i'. Black 5 inDia. 16 \vas also
related to White i'.
I I
r
;x
1-
K>
1-
1-
-
t-

;;;
Tt'
h
K>
1-r
:r
!-
"\,
'-
:j)-1- -
1-
,.
-
,2)\
4>'
1-
-

- . 3
-
-
-
I
nh. 1s Din.. 16
Dia. 17
Kakari
Ifa.shimari a good formation, U1en ii s;ailds !0 r<:.1Son that a
move which prevents cl1e of a shimari is good too.
Such movenre collcd Ju.kari, and the following are a few typi-
col examples.
Dia. x8 si\OWS the scene from an game two
professional pl:iyers.'Whi!c I' was a kakari made to reduce
potentially l:ir'ge area, and after the moves up to Black 6
White felt satisfied with be bad accomplished and went
to rl1e upper side to-make a big. ext""'ion at 7 The
100 Go for Degitmtrs
from I to 6 is wbnt is known :\Sa josek', chat is, a reasonable :md
&.ir patt<m of ploy in the comer. There >rc innumerable joscki
variotions - inDia. 18 Block 6 migltt be omitted, or Whire s
might be positioned difl'orcndy, or Bbck 4 might be played
at 'j', or Whirc lot 'k', ere. In>rcad of White 1 there :tre also
other woys tO track a stone on the 3-3 point, (e.g. 'k1,
although they would not be ppropri>te here. We eonnor do
T
:c
f\..
.
k
:W
+

J,
I
0
I
IliA. 18
more in tlus book dian sive few typical examplc. of the
kinds. of ploys thot ore joscki.
The moyes tltot immediately preceded Wltite t in Dia. 18
a[c shown in Dio. 19, {' nd nrc o.ne of the common joseki
involving a stone on the 4-4 point.
Dia. zo shows one of the many joseki developing from a
stone on the 3-4 point. Blck gets oil of the corocr rerrirory,
but it is not really so brge and Whire's extension to 7
coordinotes nicely with hi shimari in the lower right
Ct11ernl Strnttgy ror
0
I
Di11, It
comer. La tee m' m11y become IDOdlCt good extension for
White.
I
~
0
<
)- :...
1
3
]\
'Y
Dia. 20
Dias. 21 and 22 show two n>orc simple exomples ofkokori
and joscki. In tl1e fonner White has simply extended rowards
Black's stone in the lower right. comer, W:'liting fo[ a lat'er
dunce to put pressure onl3lack J. In Dia. 21 overleaf, Black
lui only a smaU l i ~ group iJ1 the corner, Gut he has scntc :Uld
can next play 'n', perhaps, to !keep White from getting too
much on the outside.
- - -
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-1
-
-
I
Din. 2l
Go for Btginners

n
-?
I
I
Di3. 22
Tire 3-3 Point Itwasiotl
When your opponent lu.n stone on the 4- 4 J>Oint, instead of
making a like r in Dia. 19 there is another strategy
you can follow. You can keep your dist>ncc from his stone
and >woit a fitting opportunity to invade beneath it at the
3-3 point. By doing so toucan consume d1e comer territory.
although your builds up power on tl1e outside.
Dia. 23 shows the simplest voriation. The position Black
9
'
1
3
.
.
:
.
Diu. 23
I

I I

IH'-++++-1-1-+
Din. Z.l

gets with 2-12 is very strong, but White does not mind
because he expects to use @to r<$ttict Block's oucside territory,
and there is only about fifteen poincs between .Block e and
the mighty wall.
Strattgy 103
Insteod of pbying: 6 as shown in Dia. 23 there is anotl1er
possibility, as shown iu Dia. 24- There Black mes 6 :ua s.ai-
fice stone so as to end in sane :and play 14- (Bcc.use of this
possibility White tnigbt do better to play a kabri ., 7
insteod of the invasion ot 1.) Dia. 25 shows the !3me variation,
except thot now Black e is closet and a jump up to 'p'
would not yield so much territory, so Black has played 10
to take the comer in gote. In Dia. 26 Whire has ployed 7 and
I I
:*?r
11 -
;;;;;
-
- iJtm7. II
8:.+9-H-H -l=
) 1--
( 1
-
K.; '
1-4
- H--H-HH-++-H-
-
-
Dl. 1S Dia. 26
9, thteotening a double atari at to, to avoid the scquen= of
the previous two diogranu. These joselti of the 3-3 point
invasion ote so important that they should be the lim ones
you leorn.
Hasami
Dlack Dia. 'l7 is a ltosamii is, a squeeze play, :t move
which ottocks by prev<.:Jlting the opponent's extension along
the side of the board. Agairt.r o hasomi it is natural to skip
towards the centre, as with White 3, preparing to counter-
attock on one side or tle other, but as long as White ha$ not
<$tablishcd room for two eye$ for his stones he will have to be
careful, which is of ooursc the idea behind Black 2. Dlack
might play his hasami oc 'q' or 'r' instead of at2, or oa the
104 Go for Begilm<1s
fourth line just below any of these three points. If Black
played' q', White would tighten up his formation by playing
's' instc:ld of 3, while against Black 'r' he n>ight make no
I I
-1-; 4 t
'I'
).
s
.
Dl. %7 Dl. 23
answer ot aU. After Dla. 27 White could continue with a
hasami of his own, at s in Dia. :zll for example.
Make Territory While Attacking
In go the bC$t moves tend to be those which serve more than
one pucpose, and the fastest way to build rerritory is to do so
I .!..
:

'
- e.-e.-
DIR.
while attacking. Dia. zg, which is borrowed from a profC$-
sional go me, sho,vs this strategy in actio11. By playing 6 .utd 8
Black gained sure pro6c around the edges while undermining
Getll!l'al Sfrategy ros
White's eye shape, and then he kept up the chase while defend-
ing his territory on both sides wid1 ro nd As long as the
white group lacks dcfullte room for two eyes Block con con-
tinue co tllrcaten it, from nc:lr by or from ofat, and thereby
mainbin the initiative in the game.
)4
Dla. 30
111ick11ess
The white group in Dia. 30 shows tiS one exomple of what is
known in go astltickneJS. Th>t is, White's stones display wme
oucward-facing mength, with no weak points for Black to
e."Pioit. The fighting can rnge around thil group, but it will
g a

I
r-
Dl. 31
smnd steady as a rock, and black stones moy crash in ruin
ag.1inst it.
Thcrcis a go saying, 'Stay away from tl1ickncss', which tells
how to play against thick positions. In Dlo. 31, for installcc,
1o6 Go for Btginnm
Black should extend no further than 1 or 'n ', keeping a Slfe
distance between his raclrer weak stones and ltis opponem's
strong ones. After 1 be em next extend to 'b ', approaching
White's thickness cautiously, step by step.
If Black e." cnds to l in Dia. 32, White em invade at z.


1-1-
-

I
DJa. 3!
Now Black may well end up with no tcnitoty at nil on the
lower side, for his comer is opcu and 'he expect fO get
much of anytlling in front of White's thick wall. Wbite z
and 4 may be lefi a bit weak, but so are Block 1 and 3
It would be a grave misuke foe White ro play z in Dia. JJ.
-
:A'r
y . yy
Dla. 33
White 2 is too dose to White's own thiclmcss and bas mud1
less value lllack 3 Even if Black fuils to play 3 and White
attacks by plying tliere hims.:lf, White l will cum out to be
a comparatively wonhless stone.
Cennl Strtrgy 107
ln Dia. 34-, however, the two white stones form a dUn
position, and Dlack is .fully justiJied in extending all the way
to 1. If awcked from above, it may be hard for White tO
find enough room at the edge of the board for rwo eyes,
and Black can steal what spoce thc:.o:e is by playing ' c' or
. d '.
I
I

I c d l
Din. 31
It is only common $Ol:$C to drive your enemy towards your
thiok positions ond away from your thin ones. In Dia. 35,
for example, 1 at.,.cks from the correct direction. Even
if White extends to 2, his position is far from snfc in the face
of Black's thickness.
I o
I ..:.
-i+
_.1
1-{"'1..:.
-
-
1-
1-1
1- ><
1-

"" Oia. :):;
InDia. 36, however, Black's att>ck fizzles out after White
z, for White is threatening to pby ' e' :and Black must now
make a defensive move. Nor is Black's pro6r on the lefi so
big, for White con 'f' narrow the territory in front
of Black's wall.
I
108 Go for Begin11ers
White z in Dia. 37 is anomer way to aruwer Black I. It
ainu at White 'g', but Black can rake profit witll 3 :md s.
the white group remains weak, and mere is srill a chance for
Black to get territory on !he left later.
You should not undcresrim>te the power of thickness, for
it is just as valuable to form thick, outward-f>cing positions
which em be used for 2ttacking as it is to srake out actual terri-
tory along the edges of the board. You must olso beware of
-
.l
A

;>-
t-
f -
1-Q!i
y
e-
L.{ !

Dia. 36
!lowing your positions to become too thin, lest you tOD.ItU1dy
be forced to defend them while conceding territory to your
opponent. It is particularly dangerous to have two very weok
groups on tbe board, since if your opponent an lind a move
which attacks both of them simultneously, one of them my
die.
I I
-
I

-<i
kl
-

,_
y

_l

llla. 37
Chapter 10
Ranks and Handicaps
One of the feotures of go is itS bandiap system, under which
two ployers of widely disparate abilities an play games which
arc r.,;, and intctcstiug to both sides. Perhaps so per cenr of
II go gmcs rc played with handicaps. A good way for a
pbycr to improve is to phy handicop go agaill5t monger
phyers, so thot he ea1> lern their techniques at forst hnd.
When go is played without handical' .Black is thought to
have an of some five points, which is enough 10 be
noticeable to srrong players but is not decisive. Ifit is
for the weaker pbycr to have a greater advantge, then in-
stead of playing his first move whe<ever he likes he begins by
plcing from two tO nine black stones on the board in set
pottem, as illusrratcd in one of the eight diogr.o.ms on !his and
the next four pages. {111 !he three-stone handictp he ploccs
the third stone in his own lower right comer.) Then Whi<e
makes d"' lim r<:>l move of the game, wherever he plo::uc:s,
after which the two pl>yers take tums in normal fashion.
2tl on.e han.dieap
1
1 to Go for &girwcrs
l I

3lone handicap
S.stonr haru!irap
loiUI hand.icap
' '
I
I I

112 Go for Beginners
I I
7.S\One hundltar
8stone l11'1ndk-'IP
Rm1ks and Handicaps 113
I
I I
!).Mione h.andkap
There is 3 nllklng $ystnl tiScd by pbycrs, which works
as follows. we.,kcr playcr:s arc rated at levels called kyu, the
weaker the ployer the higher being his kyu number. A raw
bcgilwcr starts at something like 35 l:yu, but he will quickly
improve. and after playing for a short rime (about two
months) he can expect to reoch about 10 J.:yu. Progress up ro
1 kyu is slower. E>cb step in this scale corresponds to one
handicap Stone. so tbot when a 2 kyu plays a 7 kyu, for
example. he should give a five stone handicap. If a a kyu
plays a 3 kyu then che Iauer receives no handicap, but takes
d1e block stones every rime.
Adv.uteed players ate similarly ranked into levels coiled
Jon, with the h.igher numbers now belonging to the stronger
players. The next step after 1 kyu is 1 dan (called slona11 in
Japanese), followed by 2 dan, 3 dan, 4 dan and s dan. Here
again each step corresponds to one lmtdieap stone, and the
gap between r kyu n.nd I d:m also corresponds to one stone.
so that in principle it is easy to dctenni!etlre proper handic.'p
bcrwccn any two players of known ranks. Official ronk$ ore
gtantcd by some of tbe national go The ranking
system is d>.e same throughout the world, although the values
of me ranks noturally differ somewhat ttom place ro place.
XI4 Co for Begin11ers
and like currencies they tend to suJfcr from inllotion over long
periods of time. The r.mks wed by profcssionol players, by the
way, are on a different sole. A profcs.iooal shodan c::>n give an
motcur sltodan about seven stones, while be receives no
handicap from scronger professionals. Tlte best players in the
worfd arc jHlan profcssioJUls.
ln non-handicap tOurnament games it is customary to
nullify Block's advantage by subrraering 5t pointS from his
terrioory at U>e end of the game, a system which also prevents
drawn games. These st points ore called komi. (In some
tournaments the komi i.s 4y points.) To decide who will hold
black in such games, one of tl1e plycrs picks up a small hond-
fu) of white s-tones and bis .opponent c.'l; IIS, evcn .. scntc . or
'odd,.sentc'. The stones arc cl1cn coumed by pairs, and if the
second player has guessed even or odd c:orrccdy be receives
bi>ck. Otherwise, he receives wh.itc. The s.1me method can
be wed between two ployers of equol rilllk in friendly
gmc:s.
Improving Oue' s Playiug Ability
Go is a hrg<'->C3le game, the concept of territOry is difficult to
follow ond beginners frequently hve trouble deciding when
tlte game is over. The raw beginner especially needs to play
as mony gomcs as possible for the first week or two. I suggest
the following. Play your first few games on a smll board
(11 X II or 13 X 13) to get tltc feel of the game. The smaller
playing orca simplifies things considcmbly ond ensures the
game docs not lost. too long. Pby quickly. Don't spend too
long thinking out each move. At cl1Js stogc you lack the
experience n.eeded to think constructively. After about half-a-
dozen games graduate to the full-sized booed. Keep playing
rost. If possible phy every doy against as many different
opponents ns poosible. The first twenty games or so will prob-
bly be the most confusing of your go-playing c::>reer, but
Rmr.ks a11d Hmulicap 11$
once they are behind you, you con begin to concentrate on the
wl< of improving your strength. . .
The h.mdicop system provides a srandard agalll$t wh1ch to
gauge your progress. Findy, you find out how you
rank in rcbtion to otlter players. Agams< a very scrong oppo-
neut st.>.tt by placing nine handicop stones, against one of
medium strcngtlt place four or five stones and against
beginner play even games. Change the bandJC:op every ttme
yO'u win or Jose three eonsecunvc ag:unst the
player. One handicap stone less after WllllllDS. three
and one more after losing three. Playmg. this way agamst
from five to ten dilferent opponents of known mength, you
will be able to futd your level in to them :utd tine<
your rank. If you ore playing group and none of
you are of known strength, usc this to establish tho
appropriate raok$ between yourselves until has Mt
opportunity to vult an establtshcd club and check his strength.
The handicop system contoms many benefiCial aspects. In
sharp cootrast to other board games, such as chess or bock-
gammon, the weaker player stltds a ch"':'ce ,vith the cot:tcet
h:mdicap of playing 2nd winning :>g>mst a far
opponent. Tbe handicop-takcr is compcmatcd _for bck
of experienoc, the h>ndiap-givcr finds Ius. playmg skill cx-
tCltdcd to the utmost. A s:>tisfying and enjoyable game can
be bad by both pla)ers. The bandicop removes the barrier. of
unequal strengths allowing against players up to moe
ranks stronger down to nine r:mks weaker, :m eighteen-
fold iucrcose in the number of possible opponents. A :>-k.yu
pi a yet with nine .stones bas a againSt a professional
player while he hmts<:lf may gtve nme stones to an II kyu.
The f.imes1 of this system is attested. by countless
players wlto quite willingly play with weaker players to gtvc
them the opportunity of s.'lnpling a higher level of play nt
first hand. In m>ny of the larger clubs, strong players will
go over :l game aftcrw:ard.s 3nd point out serious en:on. Help
116 Go for Beginnm
for the beginner and eneoungement for the weaker player
is one of the rapons,ibilities often felt by advoneecl pl>yers,
and the handicop system enables them to enjoy it.
The other w:ay ofimproving open to you is through books.
There arc now books in English on most aspeCtS of the game
from basic clemenmry levels to the most advanced. Tbcy are
guides to good ploy. Choose a book which will help you at
your level. Read it with on eye to applying what you lcam
in your own games. Try to combine the knowledge of the
book with your experience in playing. Make book knowledge
work for you. Don't crcot the book as a bible. In other words
don' t learn the whole contents by rote. This will res(rict
yonr game r:atber than improve it. Instead, read to gnsp
basic principles so they become pan of the intuitive knowledge
you apply freely in ony rype of situation.
With improvement comes furcller pleasure- you appredate
c-3ch that litclc bit more. Dut you must play as much as
possible. The Japanese soy it takes to reach
shodan. If cbats true then anyone can do it.
C/,apter 11
Example Games
The following arc two of the author's own games against
other Japanese profcss,io11.1l go playcn. In the Ul'$t one the
author was White while Black was Minoru Kitani, whose go
school is currently tuming out some of rhe best young
players in Jpan. This game was played in 1949, when both
contesants were 8 &.n, on 8 and 9 June.
Figure 1 {- s)
l11e lil'$t twenry-four moves constirute the {opening), in
which both sides rry for position and avoid sharp lighting.
r-
-
-
q>
..

1-
'
1-

-
--i-( 4
Flpn 1
uS Co for
Kir:ani invaded at 2.$, so as to usc his strength in the lower
left comer :rnd tl1e thickness he bod made with 17, 19 nd 2.1,
md the middle gme began.
Figure z (26-48)
White 2,8 l? were in.:rted so th>t White could later pby
atan a , wl11eh threat forced Dlaek to play 37 instead of
the more aggressive 'b'. T&.t is, if Black played 'b', White
would play 'e' intending next to c:ut at 37, and Black would
I
.f..
-
_.(



'
k

'
X
"
-
y y
""
- -
- c
- -Eio
- - a
y

rc: 2 48)
have to defend. Black did not want to provoke wltitc c',
wlueh would stn:ngthcn White in dtc centre, so he simply
defended at 37 White now came down on Black's Stone in
d>e middle of the upper side, and Black's stone in the midclle
of the upper side, and Blck fought back vigorously there.
E.<amplt Games 119
Figure 3 (49-87)
'!'be upshot of the battle on the upper side was that Block kept
about t\vcnty points of territory there btlt lost two m
the upper right comer, racb.cr n good e<ehangc for :'-Vhue as
far as the upper side alone was The white stones
in the centre, however, were left qmtc '"'c:ak, so Dl:tck
was able to atttck them in scnte with 6s-76. captunng one of
them ..,d ensuring his own connection ,vitb 69 nd 71, then
)-
.
-(
11' A



'X
y
X ?-
(i;
- -
0 - -
-
- - -
y
-(
;e
A
:

I(
tiD.
1-
T

1 1
I I
FiJJUtt 3 (4,- &7)
invade at the 3- 3 point in the lower right corner, mnkb1g up
for his loss on d1e upper side. Dlack's shape up to 79 IS
quite enough for a sure life in the conter, but :L! _long as 1he
cutting point at 'd' remained White could not kill the black
group. The intention behind White 84 and 86 was to cause
fighting which would rcin.forcc 'd' and would rmke usc of
the strength of?z and 76.
120 Go for Bcgin11ers
Figure 4 {88-ro6}
lllack.97 assured the life of thecomcr group, but now White
'vas hot on the. att-ack in the centre. He enlarged his right side
msentc with xoz, then ga"c chase with 104 and 106. Alihough
I ..l.el ..l.'
. )+-
' ,,

- 4r"tli

1- <8 G-H -I X-i- ii;
1-<)e - . ;;;;: $
-4 Q l--- , oe+
II -- 1
. '
figure 4 (8$- JQG)
he did not really hope to kill the black group, by attacking in
this 6shion he expected to solidify his own central p<>sition in
cnt
0
, and we shall sec happening in the. next figure.
Example Games xzr
Figures (107.-129)
Black ski.lfully managed ro live in thecentre and trim
Whiic's right side territory at the sametimc.. but llaturally b'e
ended in gate. With the"largc-scale.fighting over, the game was
now ready to -enter the rose (cod-game}' stage, and it w>S
White's move. The largest yose point was at e'. It may not
look.so big, but ifDiack played there he could next jump in
to 'f', starting, to arrack White's eye shape in the comer, while
'if White played! ' e' he could next rescue a sconcin sente with
1-
t-H-e
I
. 1'1
, 'y ec . o .
1'1 . ).. J.i
.
1'1).
'hi
t-ue
I
....
ID.<[
'ti

.).
:),.

'..J.
.
0,

@)$?'
i
....
t- ,i llf -)_,-
1-


-
'


-
1-
'
I I y

f-
Figure: S (107- 129)
Evett more: however, was the atari at.'h'. On the
right side 'i' .and 'j' were blg, .cspccially''l'. :By taking citper
of these t\vo poims.Diack coUid grcady reduce
tory.
-
UZ Co for Begi11ners
Figure 6 (I3G-I S6)
The largest yosc points were tab in correct sequence in
tbis figure. Noticebow White played 3Z while he could do so
in scntc, thor is, before Black lud a chance to capture one
stone with 43 and 47 (If Dbck :wwercd 32. wid> ' k', then
'""
J**' I


1- H e 'T
1-< ?-; :"'"..ol :.l t5t-
.,)"
-
r>
-y


'(
l" A
I


;;;:.o. 'Y
TT


"" 'i ). H-e
Q ..,_
.. r. r. ..r-.. Q>
'
'( k -'-

6 {Jatt- l GG)
White 33 would force. a ko fight for the life of the comer.)
Notice l;ow White played 36-40 in scnte before defending at
4Z i.n gore. Notice also. how Black played 37, threatening to
continue with 38 ond connect, before capturing at 4' Dlack
53 and White 54 were related to the of White SS
Example Games 123
Figure 7 (IS7-I89)
The game was exceedingly close, nd neitba player
alford to make even snull misukc. Bbck were b1g on
the right side, hut then White 64 was big in the centre, and it
threatened to cut off Black e. See if you can figure out bow
Fi gure 7 (1S7-189)
this cut would have worked if Black hd failed to defend
against it. Black played 67-79 in scntc, then took the largest
of the rcnuiniug yose points at Sr. Wlure took the second
1..-gest t 88, ond then Black got the third largest at 89.
U4 Go for Btgim.m
Figure 8 (I90-21S)
Dbck kept salle throughout thl$ figure, olthougb White did
manage to slip in couple of forcing ploys of his own ot 102
:wd 104- Finaly Black connected at ns in goce. Black Hj,
by the way, net only rescued Black U)li:om capture but also
Figure 8 (190- 21G)
kept White frcm invading the lower side at 'n'. White 'n'
w?uld not WCrk bccouse Dbck 'm' would be atari ogoinst
thirt<"Cll stones m the centre. At the end o( this Ggure only
small plays, one or rwo points apiece, were left, but
the Slllrt(); W3G 'o that even they were importmt.
Examplt Games 125
Figure 9 (6-163)
In me end h w:u Llu; L.v ac 4>-46 which decided the outcome.
After Black ss White lud only tWO ko dtreau lef< r n. and
9 (!li- 2'63)
fD connecu CD ko @ ko ID ko <!I :tt @
'p1. whileDiaek bad 57, .s9, 61, etc., so White hod to connect
3t s6. losing one point of territory there. The final COUll[ at the
end of the gontc was:
Black
Lower left 35 points (1)
Lower right 8 points (t)
Centre 6 points
Upper side 13 poi= (4)
6> points
White
Uppec lef< r6 points (t)
Centre xr points (>)
Right side JO points (t)
Lower side s points
6> poincs
126 Go ]or 13tgimters
The numbers in parentheses arc the numbers .Qf prisoners al-
ready r<imovcd from dte board which are being counted.
Since each captu.red two stones in the ko, they caned out,
and we don't botlier to count them. White, however, had
originally captured a stOne .at 56, which we do cotmt. Tlus
long battle ended in a draw.
Figure 10 (.264.- 273)
Figure to
The moves in this figure show the neutral points being iilled in.
dtcse plays gain no territory; Black must _respond
to 64 and 68. It makes no cliJfcrcnce in what order the other
move$: arc played. Finally the stranded stones, the two Dlack
e' s in the upper right comer and the three White @: s .in the
lower left corner and the stone marked @ in the centre, arc
taken off the board and placed in the. opponent's territory
Example Games I27.
along with dte otlter stones captured during the course of the
game.
r-
rR iE=:c
(-
r
.
(-
.:toe
\ . )\ .,... )e.,
\ ..!UW,XJ .. e r JW',A.X Q(
) . .. .
m a: :Sicx .. .
. . . ;);i.
... oec c
,- 188 oe-e
'I ( :
.. ,) ..
u . . r-
!lor'
-
Flg\lr(! 11
Figure II
The dead stones have been rcmov.ed, all the prisoners re-
placed on the bo.r<l and the territorics rearranged. That the
score w..s tied is plainly visible.
128 Co for 8tginntrS
Example Came 2
Figure I (1-25)
This g.me was played in 192.6 between the author, then 6 dan,
who held black, >nd Honinbo ShUS>i, 9 dan, one of the
strongest playen of this century. The fiat twenty-five moves
-i)
.
.f.
8)\6

Figu I (1- 2ii)
ore cltc fuscki, among which 6-9 ond 17- 21 are two simple
j oscl9. After White 24 the author left the right side in order
to defend his stone on the left whikotl1\cking the three white
ones :tbove it.
Exnmple Gomes U9
Figure
White counterattleked in the upper right comer with 2.6,
and the middle gme fighting began. When Black connected
at 39 the ko loot iiS value, and White took scntc on the upper
side with 40.
Black 41 was a rypical double-threat play, preparing both
I I

l--4
1-
'\,
-(
::>
y
2 (26- GO)
f1l ko 4} ko
I
I
.
).
).f-
:J.;.I-
for an attack on the white stones in tlte upper right corner and
for the invasion at 43 Black 43 turned out to be soerifice
stone, but Block built thickness in the centre with 4S-49
and could loter take the lower right corner by pusbing
through at
1
' .
130 Co for Br.gi1111CN
Figutc 3 (51- 76}
Black used his thickness by invading at ss but White cur
through his d1in position on the left side with s<>-00, and
suddenly two weak black groups were under simultaneous
f-4
1-



y-
...
1-
y



1-
F6-

1-

I
3 (51- 16)
The one on the lower side got ou.c into the open, but
Whi<c 76 biO<:kcd d1c escape of the gcoup d1e left. This
group was muclt coo largo to give up, so Black ncxc bad co
make two eyes for it.
E.<amplt Games 131
Figure 4 (77-10>)
With the moves up to 95 Black lived on the lefc side. If Black
95 WCJ< omitted, by the way, Whice ' b' would kill tl1e group.
I I
LJ

'\)"
tv
.b.A.
. IV
I .
}
;

,.
KX H

)
'"''t\
..
y
I
Flaur 4 (17- 102)
White naturally kepc sence and returned to the unfinished
bulifles$ on the lower side, where the weak black md white
groups began to lighc against each oeh.er.
132: Go for Beginners
Figure 5 (103-130}
The lilac!< and white groups both got out into the centre,
the lighting shifted 10 the upper left. Notic.e how Bl;ck
took profst in scntc with 13 and IS before defending in the
centre with 17. Black attacked with : r- :s, but White 26
.
.
r'.
)
j-0-t-:
c
'?-,

j<
. Y: .J. i
. :A..""- ..
. \
4 ..
-1 .
.
;rr

}
.'!'

...
(.

6
f>
. .ll )-
j\
. I
c)
J.
.
J<

' 't'
:T I 1_1
Figure S (103-130)
surrounded his upper left COnJCI .gtoup. White was now
threatening to play 'c', after which he could either srotta ko
tQ kill the blaek group on the left side or play 29 to kill the
one in dte comer. Black ha<! to defend at 29, and Wbite
chose to sccurehis lower left comer territory with 30.
Example Goires 133
Figure 6 (t3t-t 6s}
The lighting became COIJ1plicatcd; aftcr.37, Biack 'd', White
' c ', BlaCk 'f w:iS which would have cut off and
killed the white group 'in the upper left - can you figure this
out? White 3.8 defended, Black 39 secured the weak centte
and Whi'tc 40 cut off and 'captured three b!ackston5.
White would have liked to answer Dlack .49 by connecting
Figure 6 (131- lGS)
@> con.neds
at os, but dten Black so would decided the game. The
sequence on the right from .sz to 64 was fairly complicated;
but at the end of it dte five black stones were hnost dead.
Eve11.SO, Black was doing well enough as he p.layed 63, forc-
ing White to :inswcr at 64' an.d then made the large cut ar 65.
White had kept the initiativ.e through most of the game
134 Go for Btgiomcrs
but Black bad dodged his ottcks ond hod enouglt territory
left to win.
Figure 7 (166-199)
When Blocl: 99 rescued three !tOnC! out of the middle of
White's territory on the right side, Honinbo Sh\ISOi gve up.
If be hd kept on by playing next at 94, d1e fino! score would
hove been:
Block
Upper left 1Z....I4 points
Upper right 17 points
Lower right 15- 19 points
L<ft side 16 points
bout 6J points
White
Upper side 14-19 points
Lower left 25 points
Right side 6 points
at DlOst SO points
.. -
li'IR'ure 7 (100- 1&9)
Qlko Rt(i)
Appendix
The Rules of Go
Th= ore the only tuiC! of go which you arc likely cvct to
need to know. They axe ohn0$t un.ivcmlly recognized
throughout Jpon. Kore> nd the western world, bur you >re
warned thot there :ue also Chinese rules, in which the lmlhod
of counring is different.
t. One play plays the black the other the
ones. The board is empty at the beginning of the g:une.
k Black pl>ys frnt, after which tbe pbyers take turns. A
tum consists of pbcing one stone on one: of the iorcnc:ctions.
In a handicap game Dbck's first tum consists of placing rwo
to nine stones on the dotted handicp points in set p>ttem.
3 Pass A player my pass his tum.
4- Object The object of d1e game is to make territory
(surrounded vacant points). The winner is dte player wid1 the
most territory at tlte end of the game. If boclt have tlte
amO\Int, the game is drawn.
S Capture A stone or sroup of stones of one colour is
coptured and removed from cl1c bo.rd when all the points
adjacent to jr nC'e occupied by enemy stones.
6. Counting One point is substracrcd fron1 player's
territory for every captive he loses.
1 Ko A player immediately rccopturc in ko.
8. Suicide A player cannot capture his own stones.
9 End The game ends by mul\1>1 agreement when
neither player c::m gain. any more territory or pr:isoners.
ro. Dead stones Srones which "''mot possibly evade
eapture are removctl s cptivcs ot the end of the game.
u. Ben.t four in the comer Tbc black stones inDia. 1
overleaf arc dead. (See page 8;.)
n6 Go for Btgiuuers
Dh .. 2.
Dla. 1
12. Sel<i No points 2re counted in > sc:ki.
13. Ko muu be connected or dtc cod of the g>me. In Dia.
2, for White muSI conncccal 'a' (or aprure the black
stone) no moucr how mny ko thrats he hos. Dia. J, which
is scki, is an exception to this rule.
14. Triple ko In positions such as Oia. 4 (Black 10 play),
if neither pl2ycr is willing to give up dlC local fight the game is
ancclled - neither won, lost nor dnwn. Triple ko is ex-
tremely rare. There ore a few more, even less likely, ko-like
situations to which the some rule applies.
Din. 3 Dia. 4
Glossary
These are the mosr commonly wed technical go terms,
including two which have not apparcd so far in the text. All
of them are originally Jap:mesc words.
atari ( TAH ri): An immediate threat to copture.
dame (dab lllCb): This word, which is J>pancse for useless,
has rwo mconings in go:
I . A neutral point, territory for neither ploycr.
2. A liberty (defined on page n).
dan (dahn) : A rook given 10 sttongcr plycrs.
fusel<i (f' SEH key): The opening rnonocuvrcs of the game,
up to the point where the real lighting begins.
geta (gch tab): The medtod of c:tpture described on pge 6.4-
gote (go tth): A move which loses the iuitirive: rhc opposite
of scnte.
basami (ha SAH mce): A scissors ply, or squeeze play. See
page 103.
joseki (jo sch key): An established pottcrn of good ploy in
the comer.
kaluu-i (bh KAH rce): A move ottaeking single stone in
the comer.
ko (kob): A situotion involving uncndil1g cnpturc ond recp-
ture.
komi (koh mcc): A number of poio" (wuolly st), somctimd
subtr:tctcd from Black's territory " the end of the game to
cpmpensote for his having moved lim.
kyu (kyn): A rank given to weaker pl>yccs.
me ari me nashi (mch AH roc, oteh NAH sh'): A scmeoi iJt
which one side has ouc eye.
oiotoshi (oyo TOE sh'): The method of capture described in
Dias. 9 and IO on page ?S
138 Co for &ginners
seki (sch key): An impo= sitwtion in which groups live
without having two eyes.
smai (seh meh eye) : A battle between two adjacent groups
neicl>cr of which can form two eyes. '
sentc (sen td1): A move which keeps the initiative by forcing
the opponent to answer.
shicho (shi CHO): A zig-zag pursuit in which the punucd
group is kept in atari.
shimari (sh' MAH =): A >-stone corner enclosure.
shodau (d1o dahn) : 1 dan, the lowest dan tank.
yose (yo och) : The end-game, in which only small-scole
engagements are fought.
Go Organizations
Noliotral Go Associatiotrs
The following arc orgonintions set up to serve the increasing
number of go players in various parts of the world. They serve
tltcir mcJnbers by organizing so events, publishing magazines,
supplying books and equiJ>mtnt as well as making publicity
directed at the general public. The reacfcr will find them
d l>ccially useful for making concam with other pbyers ill his
district.
AUSTRIA:
(),..rrcichU<hcr Go-V e<band
Mcnzclg>SSC 5, A-n6o Wien
(conc:Lct: Mr AUTecl Nimmer-
richtc.r, president)
CANADA:
Cosudi:m Go Association
9() Forest Grove Drive,
Willow.bk, Onurio M2K. rZ7
{conlatt : Mr john E. Williams
P"Ciidcn)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA:
Czech Go Association
Loubovo 8, PraJt, J
(cout:lct: Or DuS:an Prokop,
praident)
F:RANCE:
FCd&atic>n de Go
Boi<c P<l21e 9500,
?S>6> Paris
(contoct: Mr J. 1'. Lalo,
sccrcto.ry)
DENMARK:
Scmdina"ti:m Go A.uociation
4bnds Bryggc 19, r
DK-2300 Copenhagen S
(contocr: Mr Svcnd f:ggcr1,
president)
P.R. GERMANY:
Det>1schcr G<>-Bund e. V.
Lintorf, Dujsburgerur. 27
{cont>a: Mr Ratbod von
Wangcnheim., prcsic!cnt)
GREAT BRITAIN:
Dricish Go AsSOGiation
6o Want..'lgc Rq:ttl, Rc::tdi nB
Derks. RGJ >SP
(contact: M.r Hunter,
s=cury)
HOLLt.ND:
Ncdetlandsc Go-Bond
Posrbus 009, Lcidcn
(contact: Mr Gcr Hungerink,
secretary)
I4b .Go for BegimJers
ITALY:
MiltatllOt<>-A:s!oci3zion.e lt:Jiiano
Gipco Go.
20125 Milano.
v;; G. Bl3ga 4
JAPAN:
Nihon Kiin (Japan Co
A$SOCiadou)
Gobaucho, ClilyOda-ku
Tokyo
Foreign. DeFUtment)
REPUBLIC OF CHINA:
Chin.'l Wei-d.U Association
zud FIOQr F & G, Jin-:U
Building, Jin-ai R<itd
4th section, Taipei
REPUBLIC. OF KOREA:
Hangook Ki-won
IJ-4 Kw:mchul Dong
Chongroku, Seoul
{contact: Mr H. R.Lec;)
u .. s:A.:
Go Associario11
P.O. Box 397, Old Chelsea
Sr.tion, N:cw York,.N.Y. TOOl!
{con.,<r: Mr John. C. Stephen-
son, president}
YUGOSLAVIA:
Go Zveza SR Slovc1tije
I:iub!jan>, Cankarjcv2 t-t
PD.>9.8
(contact: Mr f:.ovro.
presidem)
American Go Contact List
F.or information about go in the United Stares and
Canada, cont.acr the foljowing:
CALIFORNIA
Berkeley Go Club
c/o Mr. H. Dbughty
2612-ll Hillcgasse
California 94704
titton Go Club
c/o Mr.. Gtaydon Mcfarland
1609. Stqddard
Thousand Oaks, Ca)i(omia
91360
Rifu Ki-in
c/o Mr. K. Saito
125 \Vctlcr Stfeet, Rpom 306
Los Angeles, California
90012
San F.rancisco Go Club
c/o Mr. MarkOkada
J88lllush Street
San Fr:mcisc<( C,atifornia
' 94109
COLORADO
l)enver N ilion Ki-in
c/o Mr. A. Fukuda
2544 Champa Street
Denver, Colorado 80205
CONNECTICUT
Fairfield County Go Club
i:lo Mr. Sanford Seidler
124 Akbar Road
Stamford, Connecticut
06902
Greater H3rtford Go Club
do Mr. Kenneth Vei"t
795 Prospect A venue
\Vest Hartford,
Connecticut 061 OS
GEORGIA
Atlanta Go Club
c/o Mr. Rich
741 Nqrthern, Avenue, #53
Pa<kston, Georgia 30021
HAWAII
1-bwaii JG-in
c/o Mr. N. Takeda
1211 16 Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
ILLINOIS
Chicago Nihon Ki-in
d o Mr. Masuru Hayashi
l,P Co for B<gimrm
Co for &gimrm 1
43
3901 N. Road
Massachusetts Go Princeton Go Club
Games Gallery, Ltd.
Chicago, lllinois 60613
Association c/o Mr. Paul Sclick
169 East61 Street
University of Chicago Go
do Mr. Skip Aschcim Math Department
New York, New York
Club
Ill Chestnut Street Princeton University 10021
do Mr. John Raz
Cambridge, Massachusetts Princeton, New jersey
Long Island Go Club
5463$. University Avenue
02139 08540
clo Mr. Milton Bradley
Chit'ogo, Illinois 60615
Whippany Go Club 22 Goldfield
MICHIGAN
c/o Mr. Ed Levinson
Huntington Scation,
KANSAS Ann Arbor Go Club
llcll Lobor.ltories (2A-214) New York 11746
Kansas State University Go c/o Mr. David Rdson
Whippany, New jersey
New York Go Club
Club 432 Fifth Street
07981
23A Wesc 10 Strccc
c/o Mr. M. Siotani Ann Arbor, Michigan
912 Gacdcn Wny
48103 New York, New York
Manhattan, Kansas 66502 NEW MEXICO 10011
MINNESOTA
Alcalde Go Club
SchenUdy Go Club
MARYLAND
Carle< on Co Club
c/o Mr. Bill Spight
clo Mr. Wayne Nelson
Baltimore Co Club
c/o Mr. Dave Mallon
P.O. Box630
619 Union Street
clo Mr. Bob Cross
College
Alcalde, New Mexico
Schenectady, New York
381 I Beech A venue
Northfield, Minnesota
87511
12308
.Baltimore, M3ryland 21211
55057
Sante Fe Go Club
Syr-acuse Univetslry Go
Greater Washington Co
Twin Cities Co Club
c/o Mr. Louis Ceer
Club
Club
c/o Mr. john Goodell
508 Calle Corvo
c/o Mr. AJ\1011 Ninno
c/o Mr. Arthur Lewis
355 Kenneth Stre.:t
Sante Fe. New Mexico
562 Clarendon Street
11530 Highvicw A venue
St. Paul, Minnesota 55105
87501
Syracuse, New York
Wheaton, Moryland 20902
Zen Go Circle University of Maryland Co
NEW jERSEY
NEW YORK
c/o Mr. Ter<y Benson Club
jersey City Co Club
American Go Association
780 Riverside Drive c/o Mr.John McCarthy
c/o Mr. Larry Brauner
Oox397
New York, New York 6216Broezewood Drive
40 Glenwood A venue
Old Chdse Station
10032 Greenbelt, Moryland 20770
Jersey City, New Jersey
New .York, New York
MASSACHUSETTS
07306
10011
NORTH CAROLINA
Cape Cod Go Club Murray Hill Go Club
Chappaqua Go Club
Triangle Co Club
c/o Mr. Robert Rusher Bell Laboratories
c/o Ms. Helen Cayne
c/o Mr. H.L. Stuck
111 Ocean Street 600 Moumain Avenue
134 Douglas Road Box2207
Hy:.nnis, Murray Hill, New jersey Chappaqua, New York
Chapel Hill,
02601
07974
'10514
Notch Carolina 27514
I# for Btginntrs Go for Btgitmtrs 145
OHIO
PENNSYLVANIA
VIRGINIA
Edmonton Go Club
Clcvclmd Go Club
Bloomsburg Go Club
Virginia Commonwealth
c/o Mr. Chuck Elliot
c/o Mr. Larry Herrick
c/o Mr. Beck
University Go Club
I 1625 92 Avenue
849 Hudesry Boulevard
220 Wesr First Street
clo Mr. John Botuzi
Edmonton. Alberta
Akron. Ohio4432Q
Bloomsburg. Pennsylvania
6610 Ddwood Strffi
Canada T6G I B4
Ohio Stare Univctsity Go
17815
Richmond, Virgini 23228
Club Gcrmanrown Co Club
Guelph Go Club
c/o Mr. S. Mox Golcm
c/o Mr. Mark Resnick WASHINGTON
c/o Mr. Shdn Wang
84 Eost I 2 Street 507 Wellesley Road Scarrle Nihon Ki-in
91 Conroy Crescent,
Columbus, Ohio43201
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania c/o Mr. R. Soiro
Apr.310
UHivcr:dty of Cincinnati
19119 590316 S . .E.
Guelph, Ontario
Go Club
Great(r Philodclphia Go
Bdlview, Washington
Canada N1G 2V5
c/o Mr. C. Ralph Bunchcr
Associ:.ci on
98004
c/o Mr. Don de Courccllc
Hamilton Go Club
1055 .llarry Lane
1310Vallcy Drive
WEST VIRGINIA
c/o Mr. Yuki Nog:uni
Cincinnati, 0hjo'45229
\Vcsr Virginia University
119 Mount batten Drive
West Cht:stcr, Pennsylvania
.H:'I.milrorl, Ontario
19380
Go Club
c/o Dr. Ted Orange
Canada L9C 3V6
OKLAHOMA
Nonh East Pennsylvania
521 Meridan Srrcct
Oklahoma Unhcrsicy Go
lgo Group
Morgantown.
Montreal Go Club
Club
c/o Professor Alfred Pray
West Virginia 26505
clo Mr. Louis Leroux
clo Mr. Ron Schwdt
Box 134 RD4 243 Pormrof
P.O. Box203
CJ3rks Summit,
WISCONSIN
Longucil, Quebec
Norman, Oklahoma 73069
Pcnnsylvonio 18411
Gre2ccr Milwaukee Go
Canada J4L I E5
Wcsc Philadelphia Co Club
Club
Ottawa Go Club
c/o Mr. Bill Labov
c/o Mr. Dick Phelps
c/o Mr. Yoshi Tsuchiya
OREGON
204 North 35 Street
Box212
2l40 Fihnore
Portland Nihon Ki-in
Pennsylvania
Sussex, Wisconsin 53089
Otcawa, .Ontario
c/o Mr. K. Ikeda
19104
Canada Klj GA4
.llarr Hotel
CANADA
434 N. W. 6 Avenue
TENNESSEE
Portland, Oregon 97209
Tennessee St:\IC University
Canadi;ln Go A$SOdacion Toronto' Go Club
Go Club
c/o Mr. j ohn Williams clo Mr. John Williams
S>rdinc Creek Go Club
c/o Mr. Dale Royalty
90 Forest Grove 90 Forest Grove
c/o Mr. Ogden Kellog,Jr.
Box2908
Willowdale, Ontario Willowdak, Ontario
2132 Sardine Creek Road
Johnson City, Tennessee
Canada M2K l Z7 Canada M2K JZ7
Gold Hill. Oregon 97525
37601
I46 for Btgillllt'fS
Vancouver Go Association
c/o Mr. Keiji Shimizu
5850 Frcmlin Street
Vancouver. British
Columbia
Canada VSZ 3W7
Winnipog Go Club
c/o Mr. Y. TsutSumi
88 GlenJ.wn Scree<
Win nipt-g, Manitoba
Canada R2M OX8
Bib/iograplry
The following is a list of all the major books on go in
English currently in print.
Beginuers Books
Ishikawa, S ., Stepping Sl<>riCS lq Go, Charles E. Tuttle,
Tokyo, 1965.
Korschcldt, 0., The 'rfleory muf Pmcticr of Go>, 1880, trans-
lated nd reprinted by Charles E. Tut<le, Tokyo, 1?66.
Lasker, E., Go muf Go-Moku, Dover, New York, 1960.
Smith, A. Tile Gm11c of Go, 1908, reprinted by Charles E.
Tuttle, Tokyo. 1956.
Takagawa, K., How to Pia)' Go, Japan Publications, n.d.
l11temredimt Books
Davies,].. Lift and Demir, lshi Press, 1976.
Davie$, J., Tcsuji, lshi Press, n.d.
Haruyama, !., and Nagahara, Y., Bask Trtlmiques of Co,
lshi Press, n.d.
lshigurc, 1., /11 the lslli Press, n.d.
Kosugi, K., and Dav>cs, j., 311 Basic ]oseki, Is hi Press, 1973.
Ogawa, K. , and Davies, J., The Endgame, lshi Press, n.d.
SakMa, E., rite Middle Game of G<>, lshi Press, n.d.
Adrmnced Books
Iwamoto, K., Tire 1971 Houiubo Toumameut, lshi Press, 1972.
Kagcyama, T., Kagc's Secff!t Cilrouicles of Hmuficnp Go,
lshi PreS<, 1976.
C.. for &ginners
Miyamoto, N., Tit,. Bn!aktltrouglrto Slrodau, lshi Press, 1976.
Miyamoto, N., Y<wr RatiiiJil lshi Press, 19.76.
Nagahara, Y., Strategic Coucepu vj Go, lshi Press. 1972.
Geueral lutcrest Books
Boorman, S ., Tlte ProtraacJ Cam,: A Wei-chi Jmerprrtatiou
of Maoist Rtvolmiouary Strategy, Oxford University Press,
New York, 1969.
lshido, Y., Dictiouary of Btrsic ]oseki (3 volumes), lshi
Press, n.d.
Kawal>au, Y., The Master <>.f Co, Alfred A. Knopf, New
York, 1972
Ohiro, S., Appredati11g Famous Games, lshi Preu, 1977.
Disrriburor in the United for the lshi Press ond for
Japan Publications is the Japan Publicotions Trading Com-
pany. Inc., 200 Clearbrook Road, Elmsford, N.Y. 10523.
Distributor in the United Stares for Chal'lcs E. Tmtlc
is the Charles . Tuttle Company, Inc., 28 South Main
Street, Hut land, Vt. 05701.
Further informotion on go nd odvanced books on the
game, along with equipment, con be obtained fiom The
lshi Press, fnc., CPO Box 2126, Tokyo, Japan. The lshi
Press also publishes Co World, a bimonthly magazine
covering the world of go.
About the thor
Kaoru Iwamoto is one of the world"s fore-
mOSt expcrlS on so. holder of the top. pro-
fessional Japanese go u nk, and rwlcc wmncr
of the historic Honinbo Toumamcm.