Go Proverbs Illustrated

Book by Segoe Kensaku, published 1960 by the Nihon Ki-in; translation by John Bauer. Volume one of an envisioned, but unrealized Go Library in English.

This is long out of print. It covers 43 basic proverbs, in life and death, strategy and shape. Though the English is somewhat stilted, the content matches up well to later books on go proverbs.

Reviews

David Carlton's review

Table of Contents

1. A note on technical terms and some Japanese words (by J. Bauer)
2. Six die eight live and four die six live
3. On the third line four will die but six will live
4. In the corner five stones in a row on the third line are alive
5. Six points in a rectangle are alive
6. For rectangular six in the corner dame is necessary
7. The comb formation is alive.
8. For the comb formation in the corner dame is necessary
9. The carpenter's square becomes ko
10. If there is no stone on the handicap point the carpenter's square is dead
11. There is death in the hane
12. Strange things happen at the one-two point
13. If the formation is symmetrical play at the center
14. Against three in a row play right in the center
15. The enemy's key play is my own key play
16. The semeai where only one player has an eye is a fight over nothing
17. There are times when even a fight over nothing means something
18. In a semeai attended with ko take it last?
19. Learn the eye-stealing tesuji
20. Don't make empty triangles
21. Don't over-concentrate your stones
22. At the head of two stones in a row play hane
23. At the head of three stones in a row play hane
24. Play cross-cut against the small-knight
25. Tight connections diagonal connections and knight's-move connections
26. If your stone is capped play the knight's move
27. Beware of the clumsy double contact
28. Don't play in direct contact with the opponent's stone caught in your pincer-attack
29. Don't make a play adjacent to a cutting-point
30. Capture what is cut off
31. Never try to cut bamboo joints
32. If you have one stone on the third line add another then abandon both of them
33. Beware of going back to patch up your plays
34. The monkey's-jump is worth eight points
35. If you don't understand the ladder don't play go
36. The poor player plays the opponent's game for him? (Thank You Move, Squeezing Out the Toothpaste)
37. If you have lost four corners resign
38. Ponnuki is worth thirty points
39. One point in the center is worth ten in the corner
40. To reduce large prospective territory strike at the shoulder
41. If you plan to live inside enemy territory play directly against his stones? (similar to Contact play for sabaki)
42. Knight's moves win running battles
43. When your opponent has two weak groups attack them both at once

Sample Material

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