Forum for Gokyo Shumyo
Does anybody know where I can find an English translation of this book? [#440]
The title is the question.
Bob McGuigan: It takes very little effort to learn the characters for Black/White plays, White/Black lives/dies/ko. But even if you don't want to learn that much it may be even better since every problem becomes a "status" problem. That is, your job is to determine the best results with either player starting.
Does the language really matter much, other than "white to play" or "black to play"? Frequently when you purchase non-English Go books from Western stores, they'll include a small translation guide for the basics (e.g. "white to play").
The versions of Gokyo Shumyo that I have seen have very little text. Much (all?) of what text there is consists of comments (rather obvious if you've solved the problem) on the solution or hints to finding the solutions. Hints that one does not have while playing.
In a meaningful way, not having the translation is beneficial...one is left with the board and stones only, just like in real play.
John F. Apart from the headings to each problem, such as "Problem 1, Black to play and live", and very occasional and very brief comments such "1 is good", the original has no text. Effectively, therefore, no translation is possible. Modern versions have had text added, of course, but maybe that is like drawing legs on a snake, to use the Japanese expression.
Feel free to join in our daily discussion on this collection at the ![[ext]](images/extlink.gif)
GoDiscussions.com Gokyo Shumyo-a-day thread.
Actual translations of problem collections are rather useless... translations of problem discussions can be useful (Fujisawa Tesuji Dictionary). In this type of case, the answers are explained in depth and some process can be learned from the explanation. Getting an explanation of very old problems that should need no explanation is detrimental.
In that case, where can I find a foreign-language copy of the gokyo shumyo (preferably free online).
You can work the problems online at http://igoigo21.hp.infoseek.co.jp/cardtop.html
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