Teach You How to Play Go: Beginner's Edition, Volume 1 (Go Series Lecture Series)

Author: Wang Yuan, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: The level of Go proficiency is akin to educational attainment, divided into junior high school graduate, high school graduate, and university graduate levels. Additionally, there are different degrees such as Bachelor, Master, and Doctor. However, to specify the exact level of Go proficiency in detail is not that straightforward and requires some explanation.
We know that players are categorized as professional or amateur. Naturally, professional players are of higher skill than amateurs. The measure of a professional player's level is the dan rank, ranging from 1-dan (shodan) to 9-dan, with higher dan ranks indicating greater prestige. If one does not reach the level of a professional shodan, they cannot be considered a professional player.
Amateur players are different. Even if they do not reach the level of an amateur shodan, they are still considered amateur players. The measure of an amateur player's level is both dan and kyu ranks. Higher levels are dan, while lower levels are kyu. Amateur dan ranks typically start from 2-dan and go up to 7-dan.
When it comes to amateur kyu ranks, it gets a bit complicated, mainly because there are different grading systems. For example, in Korea, there are twenty kyu ranks, starting from 20-kyu and going down to -kyu. Reaching 1-kyu means one is very close to the amateur shodan level. In China, some say there are twenty kyu ranks, while others say there are ten. The ranking order is always from the lowest to the highest. I prefer the ten-kyu system. I believe that there is already a lack of a unified basis for what level corresponds to what skill level, and if it is divided too finely, it becomes even harder to clarify. Therefore, when grading Go enthusiasts based on their different skill levels, we adopt the ten-kyu system as the premise.
This book mainly introduces the review of basic layout knowledge, large fields, splitting plays, side placements, attacking with enclosures, expansion, defense, and the practical applications of several moves. It also covers cutting and connection, emerging and rooting locally, life-and-death exercises, star-pressure fixed patterns, star-rely fixed patterns, star-small-fly fixed patterns, star-single-head fixed patterns, star-large-fly fixed patterns, star-one-space-enclosure fixed patterns, other star-style fixed patterns, and the review of capturing techniques, as well as handiwork exercises.