Attack and Defense (Elementary Go, Vol 5) [Paperback]

Ishida A. Seven-Dan (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Kiseido (January 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4871870146
• ISBN-13: 978-4871870146
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,142,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great middle-game resource for the mid-kyu-level Go player, July 28, 2004

By 

Thomas Yu (Mountain View, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Attack and Defense (Elementary Go, Vol 5) (Paperback)

This book focuses on attacking techniques used in the middle game, with a chapter dedicated to defense.

It teaches the reader to appreciate the effect that stones situated in one region of the board have on other regions of the board. This information is then used to decide on the correct direction to attack from, with the help of specific tactics such as leaning attacks, forcing moves, etc.

Problems that apply the concepts discussed are challenging enough to be beneficial but simple enough to avoid confusion. The solutions tell the reader not only why a certain move is correct in a particular situation, but also why the other move is wrong.

When I started with this book I was about 10 kyu on KGS; as a (approximately) 7 kyu player several months later I still find myself re-reading parts of the book and appreciating the same concepts in a slightly different way each time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for mid-kyu & up, approachable for new players, July 12, 2004

By 

Shorebird (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Attack and Defense (Elementary Go, Vol 5) (Paperback)

A&D is the Elementary Go Series' book about the mid-game, and is useful for mid-kyu players up (20k or stronger). The book is also approachable for new players who have some basic knowledge of the funadmentals, the basic moves (the diagonal, one-point jump, etc.) and tesuji (clever plays/tactics), but I would recommend reading the Learn To Play Go series by Janice Kim and Jeong Soo-hyun first.

What the book covers:

The book starts off by introducing two fundamental concepts of the balances of territory and power in a game, which lays the foundation for the rest of the book, then continues by talking about attack and defense itself, covering different attacking strategies, and the fundamental tactics to implement them with (i.e. rules of thumb to help guide you in choosing the correct move), along with finding the correct direction to attack from. The book continues into forcing and inducing moves, (moves to force your opponent to submit or cooperate), invasions, and ko fights.

Some optional excerpts from pro games are added in at the end of some of the chapters if you want to see what you just learned in actual play

Pros:

Lots of diagrams and problems.
New players can still benefit, even if a lot of it is too difficult at first.

Cons:

None.

Conclusion:

A book that is a great mid-game resource, and will be useful for any player. Also, like all Go books, I highly recommend re-reading it a couple of times to fully benefit from it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent lessons in strategy for high-kyu players, June 4, 2001

By 

Dr. J. Sarfati (Brisbane, Queensland Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Attack and Defense (Elementary Go, Vol 5) (Paperback)

This book gives heaps of attacking and defending techniques, and also, very importantly, selecting targets for attack. The systematic layout and lucid explanations make this one of the best intermediate level Go books around.