Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast: Exquisite Play and Go Theory is a go book written by Shen Guosun, 7p. It was translated by Roy Schmidt? for Yutopian in 1996; and was originally published in Chinese as Weiqi Qili Yu Miaoshou.

The overview of the book is the coverage of Chinese players' attempts to catch up with the Japanese in opening theory from the 1960s-80s. It does so through the exploration of the games, history & styles of notable, modern Chinese players, and by referencing several Chinese go classics, particularly the Qijing Shisanpian.

The book argues that the traditional strength of Chinese go players was in their middle-game fighting, so that the direction of their modern opening research led them to openings (including joseki and fuseki) that would allow them to emphasise this strength.

Chinese players discussed include (but not limited to):

• Cao Dayuan
• Chen Jiarui
• Chen Linxin
• Chen Zude
• Cheng Xiaoliu
• Guo Changsheng?
• Hua Yigang
• Jiang Wujiu?
• Jiang Zhujiu
• Jin Qianqian
• Liu Xiaoguang
• Ma Xiaochun
• Nie Weiping
• Qian Yuping
• Rui Naiwei
• Shao Zhenzhong
• Song Xuelin
• Tian Xiaonong
• Wu Songsheng
• Wu Yulin
• Yang Hui
• Yang Jinhua

The book can be found here on Yutopian's website.

Table of Contents

Each chapter is broken into sub-sections (not listed here).

1. The Master of Deployment Never Faces Combat
2. The Master of Combat Never Faces Defeat
3. The Master of Defeat Never Faces Chaos
4. The Master of Attack Is Aware of Opportunities
5. The Master of Planning Never Faces Restrictions
6. The Master of Plots Knows Every Detail
7. The Master of Arms Knows Theory

Reviews

David Carlton's review

Sample Material

to be added

Notes

• An early portion of the book has some discussion of the history of the Chinese fuseki and Magic Sword joseki.
• A partial collection of kifu referred to in the book.