Go for Beginners [Paperback]

Kaoru Iwamoto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 1977

Go, an ancient, subtly beautiful game of territory, is the oldest game in the world still played in its original form. This book contains its rules, techniques, a glossary of terms, and a list of international and American Go organizations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Go, an ancient, subtly beautiful game of territory, is the oldest game in the world still played in its original form. This book contains its rules, techniques, a glossary of terms, and a list of international and American Go organizations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; American ed edition (March 12, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394733312
• ISBN-13: 978-0394733319
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.3 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,627 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Reference

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

122 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A thorough introduction, but hard to swallow, July 3, 2002

By 

"starryeyedmike" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Go for Beginners (Paperback)

This was my first book on go. There's no question that it has all the information anyone could ever need to get started playing what I consider the greatest game in the world. However, for most Westerners, the material is very difficult to digest. I believe there are a couple of reasons for this: first, remember that this is one of the top players of the last century, writing a book for beginners. He's lost some of the appreciation for the hefty learning curve the game imposes on the uninitiated. It can be discouraging when he tells you how "easy" some of this stuff is (which, of course, is true once you understand it, but not at first). Second, as some have noted, the book is "concise." I might go a step further and call it "dense." I like this quality in books I read now (as a better player), but as a beginner, it was tough. Third, Iwamoto takes a bottom-up approach, which probably works for some, but left me missing the forest for the trees. A section typically begins with an example (board diagram), and says "In this situation, White needs to play at X, or Black will capture three stones at Y." The principles behind the examples tend to be glossed over, and without a background in the game, I had no idea how to generalize.

Eventually, I did in fact absorb all this material, even without a mentor to help my play along. With the benefit of hindsight, however, I find Janice Kim's "Learn To Play Go" series much, much easier to digest at the beginner level. True, Iwamoto covers in one book what Kim covers in four, but the first two suffice to get you rolling without banging your head against the wall (important if we're going to spread the GOspel throughout the West).

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best available introduction, April 12, 2003

By 

Alex (Warren, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Go for Beginners (Paperback)

I am only a beginning Go player, but I have ransacked the bookstore shelves for a solid introduction to the game, and this work is by far the best.

Part I provides an amazingly clear explanation of the rules. Part II explains the basic strategy and tactics necessary to play an opponent and understand what you are doing. The only serious alternative, Janice Kim's series of volumes, moves at a snail's pace ideal for people unused to playing other strategy games (for example, chess). Although Kaoru Iwamoto wrote this book in the 1970's, it has the look and feel of a work written in the 1990's. You will be captivated and inspired to pursue the game further.

Incidentally, beginners in search of Go opponents should take advantage of the free real-time services on the Internet. You can watch games between world-class players or challenge any of hundreds of ranked opponents. Along with buying this book, I recommend visiting IGS Panda Net, registering yourself, and downloading gGo and GNU Go.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Intro to the Worlds Oldest Game - David Bronczyk, July 17, 2003

By 

B. Bronczyk (Harleysville, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Go for Beginners (Paperback)

Since learning the essentials of Go in 1978, I've read two exceptional books for beginners: this one by Iwamoto, and "Go: A Guide to the Game" by D.B. Pritchard (an out-of-print book published by Stackpole Books in 1973). Both books give the neophyte a glimpse into the game's unmatched strategic and tactical subtlety - far greater than that of chess - and its storied past, and both build a solid foundation for developing true mastery. Iwamoto's scheme of organization is excellent, and the sequencing of the basic elements is very logical. I needed several readings in order to digest all the densely packed concepts and examples, but I persisted, reminding myself that it would be unrealistic to expect easy and early prowess in such a deceptively simple "children's" game. I would recommend that a would-be Go player read this book while playing (i.e., freely experimenting and improvising) with computer Go - David Fotland's "The Many Faces of Go" is an outstanding and user-friendly software package.