I zipped through this book and found it light but clear.
One highlight: This book does a nice job of talking about a tough GO term - "shape". I have struggled with understanding what shape is in GO. I have learned a few things about it.
First is efficiency. You want to get the biggest bang for the buck when placing your stones. If you play extra stones in an area that doesn't need them you become inefficient and "overconcentrated".
(Here is an example of what Janice Kim talks about.) What is the most efficient way for white to capture this stone?
The most efficient way is to surround it and cut off its liberties directly. This makes the Pon Nuki shape (or "Death Star").
Look at the shape below - it used an extra stone to capture the black stone, so this shape is not as good at the pon nuki above. White should have played that 5th stone somewhere else to be efficient.
Next, shape as a concept has to deal with the proverb "My opponents best move is my best move." Shape isn't something that deals with one player's stones while ignoring the other player's stones. I really didn't get this at first.
Look at this shape. A play at 'A' by either player will create the pon nuki shape. White may really want to play at A to make a Tiger's Mouth. Black may want to stop the formation of that white Tiger's Mouth. So, playing at A is "good shape" for either player.
Other good shapes are listed on Sensei's library. (Here are some.) I still don't feel 100% comfortable that I understand shape on the GO board, but I am starting to grasp the basics.
No comments:
Post a Comment