Recommended Advanced Books

Understanding How to Play Honte by Hane Naoki 本手の打ち方が分かる本 (MyCom, ISBN: 978-4-8399-2546-8, published 2007)

This is an outstanding explanation of what honte is, and what it is not. I have written a full review, which can be viewed at Lifein19x19. Hane gives clear definitions of honte and "counterfeit honte", and illustrates his points with examples and a number of challenging problems taken from his own games. Other important, but less familiar terms, such as makeshift also receive clear definitions. An especially attractive aspect of the problems is that he provides the moves leading up to the problem positions, and explains how the situations arose.

I have translated a short, but particularly useful, passage from the book:

"In a Nutshell

Honte is to make your own stones thick, and furthermore to have another move to aim at.

• It is often the vital point for shape
• It is to capture the stone in a ladder promptly if it would cause trouble by running away
• If your opponent does not defend, put your aim into action

On making a single move you

1) Repair your defect 2) And take aim. Both of these are very important.

As for counterfeit honte plays,

1) They are moves without a follow-up aim, and unnecessary moves (these are "lukewarm") 2) No matter how much they hold on to sente, if moves leave behind something for the opponent to aim at, they are only a makeshift. If such moves do nothing more than take sente, then if you would get sente back anyway, you would be better off playing honte in the first place."

Tamsin