Problem Book Grades
bucko: Initial content [including the blurb at the start] taken (and edited a little), with permission, from Matthew MacFadyen's page: ![[ext]](images/extlink.gif)
https://web.archive.org/web/20130927122627/http://www.jklmn.demon.co.uk/gradprob.html [Last Updated 13 November 2002 as at 27 May 2018, archived]
Many Go problem books have grades on their covers. But these can mean anything from "These problems should be instantly familiar to players of Grade X" to "Players of Grade X should be able to solve these problems given an hour of concentration on each one". This page is an attempt to measure the books of Go problems currently available to the English speaking Go community (and perhaps others, too). Feel free to include any other titles, along with some indication of where they can be obtained from if they're not available from the usual suspects.
For an estimated difficulty of problem books, see Estimated Problem Book Difficulty.
A well established part of professional go training is to work through books of easy problems as fast as you possibly can. Professional players are all able to solve very simple problems extremely fast, but it is hard to tell cause from effect. Can you really become stronger just by speeding up your atari spotting ability? Or is this just a side effect of learning to handle some of the harder concepts in the game? This page is concerned with collecting data towards answers to these questions.
To start with, it will simply be a table of the times. With luck there will soon be enough information to start including some graphical representations of the results.
What we are measuring is the time it takes you to work through the whole of the book in question. If you need to check the answers then try to subtract off the time you spent looking them up.
All contributions are welcome. Make sure you indicate:
- Your playing strength at the time of doing the book, including the ranking system(s) used.
- The time it took you to work through the book.
- Roughly how many of the problems you got wrong.
- If the book is one you have already worked through many times, please say so.
- If you only worked through part of the book, say which part. Some of the harder ones may need to be divided up.
If you've attempted the collection multiple times, feel free to post all times; it is also useful to know how repeating a book changes your ability to do it.
Please be honest about your times, etc.: This page isn't a ranking of people, it's a ranking of books. If you don't want people to know who you are, make the entry anonymous.
Here's what we have so far:
| Table of contents |
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Vol. 1
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Vol. 1, Kano Yoshinori, Nihon Kiin 1985, 239 problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 9m 50s | 0 | 2.5s | |
| S. Fawthrop | 5 Dan (USA) | 13m 15s | 0 | 3.3s | |
| D. Fotland | 3 Dan (USA) | 22m | 0.8% | 5.5s | |
| S. Goss | 2 Dan (European) | 31m | 0 | 7.8s | |
| D. Buckley | 1 Dan (European) | 8m 40s | 0% | 2.2s | Just for fun; having done the whole book a few days earlier in ~12.5m |
| D. Buckley | 1 Kyu (European) | 12m | 0.4% | 3.25s | |
| K. Healey | 1 Kyu (European) | 25m | 0 | 6.3s | |
| S. Bailey | 2 Kyu (European) | 30m | 0.4% | 7.5s | |
| L. Furjanic | 4 Kyu (European) | 27m | 0 | 8.8s | |
| B. Hearn | 4 Kyu (USA) | 25m | 0.4% | 6.3s | |
| P. Evensen | 5 Kyu (European) | 24m | 0.4% | 6.0s | |
| T. Collins | 6 Kyu (AGA) | 49m | 0.4% | 12.3s | |
| T. Blackmon | 11 Kyu (KGS) | 54m | 0% | 13.6s | |
| B. Solwitz | 12 Kyu (KGS) | 80m | 1.6% | 20.1s | |
| S. Berger | 20 Kyu (KGS) | 95m | 5% | 23.8s | |
| J. Wilson | 25 Kyu (OGS) | 80m | 18% | 20.1s | New Player (ranking probably wrong as low games), wanted to add to this, some concepts new so should have read book as I went. |
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Vol. 2
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Vol. 2, Kano Yoshinori, Nihon Kiin 1985, 327 problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 21m | 0 | 3.9s | |
| S. Fawthrop | 5 Dan (USA) | 37m 23s | 0 | 6.9s | |
| S. Goss | 2 Dan (European) | 95m | 2% | 17.4s | |
| D. Buckley | 1 Dan (European) | 38m | 1% | 7s | done once ~1yr ago |
| D. Buckley | 1 Dan (European) | 25m | 1% | 4.6s | Did it again a few days later. Didn't really improve which I got right... |
| P. Clarke | 1 Kyu (European) | 70m | 1.5% | 12.8s | |
| M. Kegelmann | 1 kyu (European) | 117m | 4% | 21.5s | |
| S. Bailey | 2 Kyu (European) | 115m | 7% | 21.1s | |
| C. Nentwich | 4 Kyu (European) | 48m | 3.2% | 8.8s | |
| D. Schmidt | 4 Kyu (USA) | 114m | 6% | 21.0s | |
| gauss | 6 Kyu (KGS) | 170m | 2% | 31.2s | |
| T. Collins | 6 Kyu (AGA) | 177m | 6.7% | 32.5s | |
| P.J. Traill | 6 Kyu (European) | 271m | 10% | 49.7s | First sight of book, thorough reading. Pt 3 (102m, 17 wrong) worse than pt 4 (68, 3)! |
| P. Spacek | 16 Kyu (European) | 201m 48s | 3% | 37.0s |
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Vol. 3
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Vol. 3, Kano Yoshinori, Nihon Kiin 1985, 421 problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 32m | 0 | 4.6s | |
| S. Goss | 2 Dan (European) | 155m | 2% | 22.1s | |
| D. Hanotin | 1 Dan (European) | 279m | 7% | 39.8s | |
| D. Keeble | 1 Dan (European) | ? | 11% | ? | |
| P. Clarke | 1 Kyu (European) | 150m | 5% | 21.4s | |
| D. Schmidt | 4 Kyu (USA) | 364m | 12% | 51.9s | |
| D. Keeble | 6 kyu (European) | ? | 13% | ? | |
| D. Hanon | 14 Kyu (European) | 300m | 20% | 42.8s |
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Vol. 4
Graded Go Problems for Beginners, Vol. 4, Kano Yoshinori, Nihon Kiin 1985, 390 problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 59m | 1% | 9.1s | |
| S. Goss | 2 Dan (European) | 373m | 15% | 57.4s | |
| D. Hanotin | 1 Dan (European) | 289m | 26% | 44.5s | |
| P. Clarke | 1 Kyu (European) | 210m | 9% | 32.3s | |
| Gresil | 6 Kyu (DGS) | 533m | 45% | 81.9s | 32% wrong for section I, 60% wrong for section IV |
| D. Hanon | 8 Kyu (European) | 180m | 15% | 27.7s | |
| D. Hanon | 11 Kyu (European) | 360m | 20% | 55.4s |
1001 Life and Death Problems
1001 Life and Death Problems, Richard Bozulich, Kiseido 2002, 1001 problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 234m | 1% | 14s | |
| Dieter | 2 dan (?) | 179m | 0.5% | 10.7s | 200 problems |
| Dieter | 2 dan (?) | 123m | 0.5% | 7.4s | 200 problems; second run |
| D. Buckley | 3 Kyu (European) | 600m | 4% | 36s | |
| VPP | 3 Kyu (KGS) | 1361m | 6.8% | 81.6s | |
| SpongeBob? | 5 Kyu (KGS) | ? | 14% | 15.1s | problems 1-100 |
| gauss | 6 Kyu (KGS) | 52m | 9% | 31.2s | problems 1-100 |
Rescue and Capture
Rescue and Capture, Yang Yilun, Yutopian 1997, 80 problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 23m | 4% | 17.3s | |
| V. Laatikainen | 5 Dan (European) | 39m | 9% | 29.2s | |
| S. Goss | 2 Dan (European) | 72m | 15% | 54s | |
| D. Keeble | 1 Dan (European) | 100m | 29% | 75s | |
| P. Clarke | 1 Kyu (European) | 75m | 20% | 56.2s | |
| S. Bailey | 2 kyu (European) | 22m 20s | 7% | 16.8s | Following a period of study of this book |
| K. Healey | 1 Kyu (European) | 240m | 33% | 180s |
Maeda Elementary Level '10-4 kyu'
Maeda Elementary Level '10-4 kyu' , Japan, 1965, 225 Problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 91m | 4% | 24.3s | |
| P. Clarke | 1 Kyu (European) | 210m | 16% | 56s | |
| D Buckley | 3 Kyu (European) | 322m | 20% | 86s |
Maeda Middle Level '5-1 kyu'
Maeda Middle Level '5-1 kyu', Japan, 1965, 210 Problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 143m | 10% | 40.9s | |
| Dieter | 2 Dan | ? | 16% | 74.4s | 25 problems; presuming this is 'Graded Go Problems Volume 2' |
Maeda Higher Level '3 kyu - dan level'
Maeda Higher Level '3 kyu - dan level', Japan, 1966, 150 Problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 135m | 12% | 54s | Studied very thoroughly 15 years previously. |
Get Strong at Life and Death
Get Strong at Life and Death, Kiseido 1997, 230 Problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 102m | 5% | 26.6s | |
| D. Keeble | 1 Dan (European) | 211m | 49% | 55s | |
| D. Verhofstadt | 1 Dan (European) | ? | 0% | 8s | first 50 problems |
(Note: The first section of this book is at a lower level than the rest)
Get Strong at Tesuji
Get Strong at Tesuji, Kiseido 1996, 534 problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 125m | 2% | 14s | |
| S. Goss | 2 Dan (European) | 303m | 10% | 34s | |
| D. Keeble | 1 Dan (European) | ? | 26% | ? | |
| S. Klytta | 1 Kyu (European) | 350m | 12% | 39s | |
| D. Buckley | 3 Kyu (European) | 410m | 14% | 46s | |
| VPP | 3 Kyu (KGS) | 610m | 17% | 69s | |
| S. Houbraken | 5 Kyu (European) | 360m | 16% | 40s |
(Matthew MacFadyen: This large collection (534 problems) is a very good candidate for the "do lots of easy problems fast" exercise)
The Art of Connecting Stones
The Art of Connecting Stones, Art of Go Series, Vol. 1, Connecting Stones, Yutopian 1996, 186 problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 147m | 11% | 48s |
The Art of Capturing Stones
The Art of Capturing Stones, Art of Go Series, Vol. 2, Capturing Stones (Sacrifice Techniques), Yutopian 1999, 91 problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 122m | 22% | 80s |
Maeda/Slate & Shell 2001
Life and Death Intermediate Level Problems extracted from Maeda Tsumego, Slate & Shell 2001, 110 problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 55m | 6% | 30s |
(Matthew MacFadyen: This is of a similar level to volume 1 of the old Maeda series, but with rather more of the problems which are difficult first time round, but well known 'textbook' shapes if you read a lot.)
Ingenious Life and Death Puzzles, Vol. 1
Ingenious Life and Death Puzzles, Vol. 1, Yang Yilun, Yutopian 1996, 110 problems: 66 "Elementary", 54 "Junior"
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 115m; 156m | 20%; 25% | 105s; 213s | |
| R. Jasiek | 5 dan (European) | 25h | 50% | 13.6m | |
| D. Verhofstadt | 1 dan (European) | ? | 0% | 15m | First 15 problems only. |
(Note: Pairs of numbers separated by ; refer to "Elementary" and "Junior" sections)
Ingenious Life and Death Puzzles, Vol. 2
Ingenious Life and Death Puzzles, Vol. 2, Yang Yilun, Yutopian 1997, 90 problems: 46 "Senior", 44 "Advanced"
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Macfadyen | 6 Dan (European) | 671m | 51% | 7m 22s |
(Matthew MacFadyen: I found little difference between "Senior" and "Advanced" standard, until the last 15 problems, which took over 4 hours and I still got 10 of them wrong).
GoBase: Korean Problem Academy, Level 1
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D. Buckley | 1 Dan (European) | 13m | 2 | 3.9s | |
| Lynx | 4 kyu (?) | 195s | 0 | 1.95s | 100 problems |
GoBase: Korean Problem Academy, Level 2
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dieter | 2 dan (?) | ? | 8% | 8.4s | 25 problems |
| Lynx | 4 kyu (?) | ? | 0% | 3.66s | 30 problems |
| Lynx | 4 kyu (?) | ? | 0% | 3.9s | 73 problems; second run |
| RBerenguel | 15 kyu (?) | ? | 12% | 14.4s | 50 problems |
| D. Buckley | 1 dan (European) | 31m 30s | 5% | 9.5s |
GoBase: Korean Problem Academy, Level 3
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dieter | 2 dan (?) | ? | 16% | 18.4s | 25 problems |
| Dieter | 2 dan (?) | ? | 8% | 9.6s | 25 problems; second run |
| Lynx | 4 kyu (?) | ? | 4% | 3.44s | 25 problems; not first time |
| Lynx | 2 dan (?) | ? | 4% | 5.6s | 50 problems |
GoBase: Korean Problem Academy, Level 4
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dieter | 2 dan (?) | ? | 11% | 33.6s | 100 problems |
| Dieter | 2 dan (?) | ? | 4% | 8.4s | 50 problems; second run |
| Lynx | 4 kyu (?) | ? | 0% | 4s | 25 problems |
| Lynx | 4 kyu (?) | ? | 4% | 6s | 96 problems |
Weiqi Introductory Problem Collection
ISBN 7-5326-0661-9
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dieter | 2 dan (?) | ? | 2% | 14.4s | 50 problems |
| Dieter | 2 dan (?) | ? | 4% | 18.6s | 100 problems; second run but after a long break |
Five Hundred and One Tesuji Problems
| Name | Grade | Time Taken | No. Wrong | Time per problem | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D. Buckley | 2 Dan (KGS) | 167m | 22% | 38s | First 263 problems; have done some of them before in the past but remembered very few. 31% wrong including ones with variations which I missed. |
| D. Buckley | 2 Dan (KGS) | 419m | 24% | 50s | Full book, continued from above. 30% wrong including ones with variations which I missed. |
| Gresil | 7 Kyu (KGS) | 96m | 61% | 77s | First 100 problems; did not peruse the introductory list of tesuji types before reading. |
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