Attack and Defense: Elementary Go Series, Vol.5, Ishida Akira and James Davies

The middle game of go often appears chaotic, but there is order in the chaos, as this book plainly reveals. The result of a joint effort by a tournament-winning Japanese professional player and an experienced American go writer, it lays down a few clear principles, then goes through a wealth of applications, examples, problems, and case studies from professional play. The reader emerges with a thorough grasp of how to choose strategy, how to execute dual-purpose attacks, how to defend with contact plays, how to force his opponent into submission or cooperation, how to invade and reduce territorial frameworks, and when to fight a ko. This is knowledge no player can afford to be without.

(taken from back cover)

Comments & Reviews

Great Book - Written by Gadgetboy

The best book and my most favourite book I’ve ever read. I highly recomend it. The whole series is great. The books cover many topics on need-to-know things.

Great book for the middle game - Written by Juwanji

I learned so much from this book, its probably the book that helped me improve the most. It’s chock full of important concepts for both strategy and tactics. I think the depth of the ideas gives the book great value, as you read this book again and again. It’s the best book in the series, IMO. My only complaint would be that I wish it talked more about shape, as it is so important to fighting.

Great Book! - Written by Ninito

This is a great read and very helpful. One of my favorite books written in english!

Best go book ever - Written by LPDavid

This is simply the most insightfull Go book I have read. If you can only get one book, get this one.

The material in this book is what got me from freshly promoted SDK all the way to 4 kyu.

Worth reading and rereading - Written by Tartuffe

Great book - Written by Andrew Grant

This is my second favourite book (behind Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go). It feels very similar in style, with a great deal of useful information put across in a very readable fashion. This is a book that tells you how to think about the game, rather than just giving you sequences to memorise. Recommended.

best of the series - Written by jergarmar

I have issues with many "topic series" books because of the "cost vs long-term usefulness" factor, but this is the shining exception. It somehow combines overall strategic advice with tactical tools and technique without being overwhelming.

This is the book that you really need to read over and over again—but somehow it never gets old. This is also the book you loan to your go buddies reluctantly, because you know what it will do to reduce their handicap against you.

Very useful - Written by gowan

When I read this book I had an AHA! moment. We’ve all experienced reaching a point in the game when some obvious play and response sequence has finished and it’s our turn and we have to decide what to do next. This book give very useful advice about this situation in the middle game.

Must read - Written by Andreas

The middle game is the most complicated and most decisive part of a game of go. This book is the best english language introduction into the topic, covering all kinds of attacking and defending concepts while also setting the priorities right. On top of this, it explains common attacking and invasion shapes. In my opinion, there are only two must-read go books in English language, this one and Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go.

Great Book! - Written by Hicham

This is probably my favorite book. It gave me an idea what the middlegame was about. Before I was kind of lost, but this book gave me a good basic idea. I first read it at 12k (old KGS) and it immediately made me two stones stronger. After this I have reread the book four times, and evertime I understand it a little more. There is so much to do in the middle game, and this books gives you a way to think about the middle game and also gives you the basic tools for it. (When to cap, when to keima, how to invade a three point extension, how to evaluate a position, when to attack, when to defend,..) There are too many 5 stars here, but this one is true one.

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