Proverbs (Nihon Ki-in Small Encyclopedia, Vol.1), Max Golem (translator)

Proverbs is a lucid and penetrating guide through the richness of this wonderful game. The proverbs themselves have been organized and expanded to emphasize the fundamentals of the game—fundamentals that even dan players are seen to flout!

This book collects and explains over a hundred fifty proverbs that have arisen over the centuries to help players remember various aspects of the game. For example, there is sayings pertaining to the life and death of groups and to a variety of fighting techniques. Some proverbs help remind players how to play certain josekis, and others provide advice about one’s general approach to the game, philosophy, and fighting spirit.

Proverbs provides a wealth of basic Go knowledge in its eleven chapters: Basic Moves and Concepts; Good Shape and Bad; Playing Ko; The Opening; Joseki; Territorial Frameworks; Life and Death; Running, Connecting, and Capturing; Clever Moves, Forcing Moves, and Sacrifices; A Guide to Fighting; and a Potpourri of Proverbs. Hundreds of informative diagrams illustrate the concepts.

A Study of this book will prove rewarding to all players. A beginner, confused by the many possible moves at every turn, will find what have become standard responses to common moves and much guidance in general situations. Stronger players will appreciate specific instruction in middle-game fighting and strategy.

Comments & Reviews

This a great book, especially for the 22-12k range. It gives a good idea of what is the standard play and what is bad most of the time. It gives you some guidelines to use in your own games.

Proverbs are great, when playing they pop up into your mind and thenyou have to decide if they are applicable in this situation. More often then not they are.

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This is great for short moments of study. You can start anywhere in the book on any of the 150+ proverbs and pick-up little snippets of Go wisdom here and there. The proverbs are organized into ten categories with an eleventh for miscellany. This book isn’t just simple verbage. Ample illustrations are provided for proverbs that deal with tactics. For example, the proverb "Reduce a moyo gently with a shoulder hit or a capping play" is covered in 19 short paragraphs over 4 and 1/3rd pages with 13 figures. Overall, it would be a good addition to your library.

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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