Attack And Defense The Book/ Discussion

Jan: There's also a section titled Guide to Further Study at the end but that's not really a chapter, more an advertisement for Kiseido books :-) Anyway, the books recommended are Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go, Tesuji, Strategic Concepts of Go, Get Strong at Invading and Reducing Territorial Frameworks. The first two books are described as being easier or (in the case of Tesuji) a prerequisite to Attack and Defense, while the last two are said to describe the same material (isn't that a paradox?) with the last book being harder.

chrise: I have recently started this book and I must say that not only is it written in an entertaining style, it also illustrates positions thoroughly, so the layperson (me), can understand what is being illustrated. I note that ideas in the book are beginning to filter through to my game, and have given it a wider breadth. I am sure I will keep returning to this book, as it has so much to offer. An absolute must-have!

grauniad: FWIW, I think this is the most useful book for kyu players in the Elementary Go Series. Life and Death, Tesuji and 38 Basic Joseki are no doubt important, but they're enclopaedic in nature and boring to read. In the Beginning is rather simple. The Endgame is rather difficult. Handicap Go is unavailable. Attack and Defense seems the best of the bunch, teaching practical principles through examples.

Anonymous: I won't argue with the general consensus, Attack and Defense is a good book, but I think it's one of those books that makes you think you are stronger than you are, or that you've learned more than you actually have. It's very easy to just read through this book lightly and look at the pretty pictures without doing any real mental work and suddenly feel that your stategic insight has reached profound depths. If I had to recommend only one or two books from the Elementary Go Series to a DDK player, they would be, without question, Life and Death and Tesuji. They may not be as easy to read but there is absolutely no doubt that they will improve your Go.

(On a related note, I must ask grauniad this: how could anyone who enjoys Go find tesuji and life & death problems boring???)

Grauniad: Fair questions. Perhaps boring is the wrong word. But Tesuji and Life and Death have many similar examples and problems, and studying them seems harder work than studying the higher-level principles and more varied examples in Attack and Defense. Also, the problems at the end of Attack and Defense test whether or not you've actually learned anything from the text.

Bob McGuigan: When I first read this book, right after it came out, I found one topic there that helped me a lot at the time. Specifically, when you get sente in the middle game how do you decide what to do next. I think a lot of players just play almost randomly at such a point, or just start a fight, or just invade their opponent's moyo, etc., without making any serious assessment of the position. Attack and Defense helped me to see what sort of positional judgement to make.

Dieter: I agree with anonymous that the format makes it possible to lightly read through this. With good attitude though, this is a tremendous book. "Tesuji" and "Life and Death" force the reader into an active attitude, true. "38 Basic Joseki" is a bad idea, as many will agree by now.

chrise To Anonymous - I disagree. As in most subjects, it depends how you apply yourself. Make an effort, and then the rewards will come through. I don't expect to challenge Lee Sedol quite yet though... ;)


Attack And Defense The Book/ Discussion last edited by RiffRaff on January 9, 2006 - 18:52
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