Beginner Level - Rapid Go (Part 1)

Author: Huang Yan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: The author has spent 1 year and 6 months writing the "Rapid" series, from the beginner's level to the intermediate series. Throughout this time, there have been few books published on go techniques that cover the entire spectrum from beginner to advanced levels, from basic theory to advanced theory, forming a systematic structure. Even educational materials for general students have not been organized into regular theoretical frameworks. As a result, without systematic textbooks starting from basic theory, the more advanced the level, the more blurred and difficult-to-understand the fundamental concepts become. Naturally, it becomes challenging to find the correct solutions to more complex problems. The understanding of moves and opening strategies is relatively poorer compared to that of life-and-death and capturing battles. These concepts are often left to teachers to supplement, which naturally does not yield good results. The author has a deep understanding of this while running go classes, as many specific issues become ambiguous due to unclear fundamental concepts, leading to confusion and, from an educator's perspective, it is truly regrettable. This is true in any field—insufficient foundation will inevitably lead to a lack of momentum in the future. In the beginner's section, the content focuses on enhancing calculation skills through close-range battles and life-and-death problems, while the basic concepts of moves and opening strategies are compiled into questions. Additionally, the concepts and differentiation methods of "large plays" and "small plays" learned in the intermediate stage are explained. Each topic is organized around mastering the basic principles of problem-solving, so after studying, it will be easier to tackle more challenging problems.