A Dictionary Of Modern Fuseki, The Korean Style

Kiseido published this English translation of "Hyeondae P'oseok Sacheon" (현대포석사전), number 13 of the Baduk Dictionary Series. See the description at Kiseido's web site.

Game database references?. Errata.

Reviews

Calvin: This book is quite recent, since the original Korean version was published in 2000. Patterns covered include sanrensei, nirensei, high and low chinese, mini-chinese, kobayashi, orthodox, as well as some miscelleneous tasuki fuseki and modern variations of the Shusaku fuseki. There are some strategies for white that I haven't seen described elsewhere, although they appear in recent pro games. It's an interesting book, and very clear; however, like most Korean books, it can go deep into certain tactical variations. If you think star point josekis are boring and easy, you're in for a big surprise! After looking at this, I've concluded that I could spend a lifetime on subtleties of the star point. Unfortunately, it was written a little too early to cover some of the more spectacular fighting variations played by young Koreans like Mok Chin-seok. It doesn't have a lot of breadth, so the name "Dictionary" is a bit misleading. It tends to go 30 moves into the game, covering some of the early middle game consequences of the fuseki.

Alex: One of the things I found most interesting about this book was the Korean perspective - we're so used to the Japanese evaluation of fuseki patterns that at times I found myself thinking "THAT's considered an even result?"

Table of Contents

• Index of Patterns
• Preface
• Some Important Terms and Concepts
• Part 1: 59 Patterns
• Part 2: 36 Problems

Sample Material

To give an idea of what you can expect to gain from this book, here's a pattern I picked up that's been quite handy in my own games:

Avoiding a pincer  

for is familiar to everyone, but may not be. Usually (at least in amateur games), Black slides to or, in order to build a light framework, extends to a. When Black slides to , he expects W to play b so he can complete a familiar joseki with . However, the slide allows White to pincer at c if she so chooses. If this would be advantageous to White and the three space extension to a doesn't appeal to Black, he can also play immediately.

The problem with immediately is that if White kicks at and Black stands at d, he has made too short an extension from a two-stone wall, which most players disapprove of.

The Korean idea is to exchange for (to make e gote for White), then make a second two-space extension to , treating and lightly. Later, if B connects at e, he has aji to aim for in the corner.