Go Middle Game in a Month

Author: Qiu Baorui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-10-01
Features: This book introduces the middle game of Go. The middle-game battle occurs in the later stages of the opening, when isolated stones are created due to penetration or mutual cutting, and both sides engage in offensive and defensive battles around these isolated stones. Due to factors such as the complexity, intricate conflicts, and variable directions in the middle game, it is relatively difficult to learn and master. Middle-game teaching, of course, is also challenging, especially when aiming to learn middle-game battles within a month—achieving even a basic understanding is extremely difficult, almost impossible.
This book, based on the author's 35 years of teaching experience, addresses several frequently occurring and critical issues in complex middle-game battles, such as how to handle after cutting, knowledge of sente (priority moves), attacking and handling isolated stones, etc., and focuses on discussing these topics. It emphasizes that the core of the battle is the competition between strength and weakness—how to strengthen oneself while weakening the opponent, and how to gain advantages in battles where one is strong against the weak. This serves to correct the extreme notion that "combat is about killing the opponent." Additionally, in the section on sente, it explains what sente rights are, how to discover them, how to choose and utilize them, etc., aiming to correct readers' common mistakes of using useless sente or sente that benefit the opponent. It also resolves the issue of whether exercises like life-and-death problems, tesuji (life-and-death techniques), and ko fights are relevant to actual play (the more you practice, the more and more effective sente rights you can discover).