Opening Theory Made Easy, Otake Hideo

Don’t handicap yourself by misplaying the first 20 moves. Whatever your rank at Go, chances are that you’ve spent some time studying joseki and life and death, but that you’re a little uncomfortable with the opening moves of the game. There are many things about the opening that are a bit difficult, but a little study of opening principles can pay big dividends in your win/loss record!

In this book, Otake presents 20 principles for opening play. You will find a discussion of the fundamentals of the opening and strategy. Almost a third of the book is devoted to the important topic of shape, a subject not well understood by most western Go players. Otake explains sophisticated concepts in a simpe and accessible way, making the book easy to digest regardless of your playing strength. By applying these principles when you make your strategic decisions, you will improve your game enormously.

Comments & Reviews

I think both this book and In the Beginning are good. The preference may be a matter of taste. I did find kirkmc’s comment strange though. I find In the Beginning to be far more “amorphous” then this book.

This book, to me, should be the choice of the player who wants more practical, direct advice, while In the Beginning fits the sort who likes a more general philosphical approach.

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I have to agree with the lone reviewer who is bucking the trend in saying that In the Beginning is a much better book. ItB gave me insight into fuseki; this book just seemed to be too amorphous for me. Apparently, most people disagree, so maybe it’s best to just buy both of them.

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One of my favourite go books, practical and readable with easy-to-follow diagrams. I’d estimate players from 20k – 10k would get most out of it. Some say it’s not an efficient use of time for DDKs to study the opening, but I found studying opening strategy as a weak player opened my eyes and made the game more interesting. Anyway, a number of principles in this book are fundamentals that are applicable to the middle game too.

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Comparing this book and In the Beginning, it certainly is more readable and accessible to beginners. They cover similar concepts but In the Beginning has a little more depth.

I’m at 10 kyu now and I’ve absorbed most of the principles, so I would say its probably too easy for people stronger than me. Not that stronger players wouldn’t get anything out of it, but just that it wouldn’t be as good of a value. So for players between 10-25k its a great buy.

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I read this when i was in the area of 15-11kyu and i was terrible at opening and afer I read my teacher (Su Yang) has commented ever scence that my opening is truely wonderful. Great for beginers.

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I definatly recommend buying this book, I read the first two principles and i went from 16k to 15k in my next game :) but then again I had no clue about the opening before that but… oh heck with it just buy it!

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A friend of mine, relatively new to go, complained about the abstract difficulty of the opening, and observed: "Most of the time, I feel pretty much like I’m just playing random moves."

Having been in that situation myself, I recommended this book to him. This is an excellent introduction to the basic principles of the opening game, organized as a series of proverbs which are supplemented by clear explanations and abundant diagrams. The book’s comparatively small size and convenient format—as far as I could tell, the individual sections need not be read in any particular order—also make it an attractive option for study on the go (I usually have it with me any time I’m in a waiting room). It helped me cut through a lot of the early "analysis paralysis" that beginning players often complain of, and I’ve found it to be a good general foundation on which to base more particularized study in other areas of the game.

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It has the kind of information that beginners will find easy to grasp so it’s easy even for a 20kyu to read it and get grat benefit to it.

Higly recommended.

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Didn’t learn much here. I like “In the Beginning” much more, and coupling that with Ishida’s Joseki dictionary, and any overviews of fuseki will get you much farther then this book, I’m sorry to say.

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This book builds upon the basic knowledge gained from In the Beginning…. an excellent book and as a 20kyu player it is one of my staple reads.

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I have read this book many times, and even as a SDK very close to dan, the basic concepts and principles that this book illustrates helps me keep the basic foundation of the opening in check for me. This is a must-have for all kyu players, and I am sure even dan players will appreciate the simple and concise approach that this book takes on the opening part of Go.

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This is still one of my favorite Go books. Although more senior players (high SDKs and dans) may not get as much out of this book, it is immensely helpful to those in the beginning and intermediate ranks so I consider it to be a core library item. It helped power-up my game when I was in the lower 20-kyus on KGS and I’m still digesting its contents at 14k.

Although the principles are grouped into three categories, you can easily jump from one to another to read-up on whichever you would like to first focus on. Hideo writes clearly and there are many illustrations to help with your understanding.

Ikuro Ishigure’s “In the Beginning” is a possible alternative to this book. If I had to choose between them, I would instead spend my money on “Opening Theory Made Easy”.

ChiyoDad’s Interpretation of the Rating Scale 5 = Core library item 4 = Good study supplement 3 = Fair study supplement 2 = Interesting 1 = Buy it if you just collect Go books

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