Customer Reviews

Proverbs (The Handbook Series) (Nihon Ki-In Handbook, Vol. 1) (English and Japanese Edition)

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Human culture loves proverbs, i.e., those pithy little sayings that do some of out thinking for us. Whether they are partially silly ("a watched pot...") or tiresomely wise ("never count your chickens...") they all contain a smidgen of truth that all too often we remember one moment too late. It should surprise no one that the game of Go has plenty of its own proverbs as well.

For the most part books of Go proverbs are intended for beginners, who are looking for some easy to remember principles. This set, from the Nihon Ki-in are no exception. The proverbs are illustrated with excellent examples that make their points efficiently. There is a great deal of beneficial advice here for someone who wants to get past the `being chased around the board' stage.

The great secret is that beginners are often too proud to read anything entitled 'Proverbs,' and insist on learning everything the hard way. It's us guys in the middle ranks who suddenly notice our game is stuck at some point and, after reading all kinds of esoteric Go books, finally by a book like this and read it when no one is looking. I just had one of those moments of sudden enlightenment when I encountered the proverb "a one point jump is never bad." How irritatingly simple, but the answer to a persistent problem I was having in the center. Another favorite of mine is "there is no defeat in Go."

This is simply one of those books that are handy to have around. For those of us that can't stand to know we are studying Go 101 again I suggest getting a plain brown wrapper. But don't let temporary embarrassment stop you from buying it. That goes away the first time you thrash that really irritating opponent who has been beating you every time.

I've only been playing Go for a short time, but this was one of the first books I bought, and I'm very pleased with it. It's nice to pick it up and casually read some of the proverbs. Even if I'm not yet skilled enough to fully make use of all the strategies and tactics outlined in the book, just the general concepts I take away from reading it are invaluable. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about the ins and outs of Go.