Learn to Play Go, Vol. 4: Battle Strategies
by Jeong Soo-Hyun, Janice Kim

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Book Summary Information

• Battle strategies for invasions, reductions, running battles and contact fights.
• Identifying key stones and expendables.
• Life in the no-parking zone. Killing with the pivot and the alien symbol.
• Capturing races- at-a-glance analysis.
• Ko fighting- timing and threat management, dragon style.

Book Reviews of Learn to Play Go, Vol. 4: Battle Strategies

Book Review: Less Organized, More Thoughtful
Summary: 5 Stars

There is so much going on the board during the middle game that it is genuinely difficult to write a book that teaches more than a single facet of playing the middle game. This can make studying frustrating. What Kim and Soo-hyun have done is written an introduction to the middle game that, while it does not dig deep into the layers of complexity, provides a framework whereby the student can determine where best to focus. In doing so, they have achieved something unique.

The first half of the book focuses on the middle game itself. It opens with a section on invasion and reduction, followed by further material on battle strategies, attack, and defense. The second half discusses life and death. This includes the making of living shapes, the art of killing groups of stones, and handling capturing races. There is also a very good discussion on Ko fighting which goes into surprising detail. As is true of the entire series, the discussion is easy to understand, and examples are plentiful.

I should point out that the apparent organization of the book is a bit deceptive. The nature of the material is such that some serendipity is inevitable. Discussion of principles is mixed in with a lesson about a particular attack or tesuji. As such, this book needs to be read several times to get all of its contents fixed in one's mind. Some might consider this a fault, but I know of almost no other book that sets out to cover what this one does without falling victim to the same problem. For the player who understands that most improvement comes from hard work, this book is a real blessing. Highly recommended.

Summary of Learn to Play Go, Vol. 4: Battle Strategies

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