Graded Go Problems for Dan Players, Volume Six

This book is a continuation of Volume Three of this series. It contains 300 joseki

problems that will test and expand your understanding of josekis and your ability to deploy

them effectively as part of your opening strategy. It is divided into two parts, each

containing 150 problems. The first part analyzes joseki from the local perspective. In the

second part, openings, taken from professional games in which the first moves of the

joseki have been played, are presented. You are asked to choose the variation of the

joseki that is best suited to the overall board position, so this part constitutes the study of

fuseki as well as joseki.

At times the correct move is not one the standard joseki moves. It can be an innovative

move that is different from what is part of the standard joseki canon. In go, such moves

are referred to as kiai (fighting spirit). Consequently, this book can be used as a supplement

to the various joseki dictionaries.

Examples from every category of joseki are presented -- josekis arising from the star

point, the 3-4 point, the 5-3 point, the 5-4 point, and non-standard opening points. A

study of this book and its companion will expose you to nearly 600 different josekis.

The key to mastering josekis is not memorization but understanding. The problems in

this book focus on the key points and tesujis involved in josekis. The key points refer to

the moves that involve tactical decisions. Should you go for profit on the side or build

thickness and central influence on the outside? These tactical decisions come up in most

joseki patterns and affect your overall strategy. Working through and reviewing these

problems will give your game added depth and breadth and make you a formidable dan

player.

The relative difficulty of the problems is indicated by the time allowances, ranging

from ‘at a glance’ to 10 minutes. In general, the shorter time limits indicate problems that

call on go common sense or knowledge of style or simply your intuitive feel for go. The

longer time limits are for problems that involve considerable reading, the assumption being

that you are working them out through analysis rather than just retrieving the answers

from memory.

Although the josekis are presented in problem format, the reader should not try too

hard to solve them as if they were a test of some kind. The reader should not be disappointed

if he gets most of them wrong. Many of the variations presented are the product

of many hours of analysis by teams of professional player, coupled with experimentation

in their games. It is enough if the reader contemplates the problems for the time allotted.

What the reader should expect to gain after studying the answers is exposure new ideas

and joseki innovations and how important it is to think about a joseki not only from the

local result but also globally--how it relates to the other stones placed throughout the

board. In short, not to be bound by the rote memorization of joseki.