K26: The Direction of Play Return

by Kajiwara Takeo

Kajiwara is famous for his iconoclastic opinions on fuseki. In this book, this great go theorist lays down the basic principles of his opening theory. He emphasizes the importance of careful analysis beginning with the very first moves in order to determine the correct direction of play. He demonstrates that each stone has a life of its own, thus expressing the individuality of the player, and that the key to a powerful game is understanding the relationship between every stone and the overall position.

Independent review: bengozen.com

K29: Reducing Territorial Frameworks Return

by Fujisawa Shuko

This book starts with a general discussion on the theory of reducing move. It then goes on to specific topics: what kind of moves are applicable to reducing the side (shoulder hits, capping moves,, knight's moves, attachments, etc.); reducing corner enclosures; reducing the moyo built up by the Chinese Opening; defending against invading moves.
Reducing Territorial Frameworks makes a good companion to the problem book K55: Get Strong at Invading.

K33: The Chinese Opening Return

by Kato Masao 9-dan

Because of its success rate in professional tournament go, the Chinese opening has been dubbed the ``sure-win strategy''. This book presents a complete analysis of this opening by one of its most successful practioners. Mastering and playing this opening in your games is bound to improve your winning percentage as well.
Independent review: bengozen.com

K45: Positional Judgment Return

by Cho Chikun, Kisei Meijin Honinbo

This book shows you how to use your intuition to make accurate large-scale judgments at a glance. It illuminates a long neglected but essential part of go: estimation of the territorial prospects of each player at key stages throughout the game. When you can assess accurately the balance of territories and calculate whether you are ahead or behind. You can then make important strategic decisions - should you attack aggressively or defend, and try to wind up the game quickly?
Independent review: bengozen.com

K70: The World of Chinese Go Return: by Guo Juan 5-dan

Mouse stealing oil Dredge up the moon from the seabed

Ghost with a big head Golden chicken standing on one leg

Such were the problems set for young Chinese go students by their instructor during the 1970s and 80s when Guo Juan, who was to become a 5-dan professional, first attended go school at the age of 15. There she trained with many of the players who would become the top names on the international scene.

Sent away at nine with her family to a labor camp during the Cultural Revolution, Guo Juan relates how one day, while living in the midst of extreme deprivation, she

: saw some people playing with stones, white and black . . . [on a board] made of wrapping paper. . . . "Oh, no!" "Zhe, zhe, zhe . . ." " No hope anymore." "Of course there is hope, you see that corner. . . ?" "Shut up!" The strongest player in the camp was Uncle Jiang, a colleague of my father and a math teacher in a university. But on the go board they called him Dragon Killer because he simply killed everybody. . . . Dragon Killer's job in the camp was to take care of the fire in the kitchen [and] I was his assistant. . . throwing coal into the oven [as] he was reading or telling me a little about go. . . . Three years later I was discovered by one of my teachers in elementary school. He was very happy to see a girl who knew how to play go.

Writing in a vividly engaging style with the anecdotal gusto of a natural storyteller, Guo Juan is bold-eyed and tart-tongued as she describes her experiences learning go in a prison camp and later studying to become a professional player in China, a distinction she achieved at 19.

Having lived in Holland for more than ten years, she is superbly qualified to convey to Western players the true flavor of the Chinese go world, as is amply demonstrated in this first book, The World of Chinese Go, offering readers her richly-textured views. Chapters are devoted to such Chinese superstars as Nie Weiping, Ma Xiaochun, Chen Zude, Chang Hao, and the great woman player Rui Naiwei. Detailed game analyses are presented along with trenchant and frequently amusing insights into individual characters and personalities. The book also discusses the fierce competition to become a professional and how those failing to make the grade enter the amateur go ranks and thus raise the level of amateur tournaments to near top professional standards.

No matter what your level of play -- whether you want to study games or are just looking for some compelling reading about go -- this book will prove irresistible. As Guo Juan observes: It is said that female players are more aggressive than men; they always try to make the game complicated and never stop fighting.

K69: Cosmic Go Return: by Yang Huiren and Sangit Chatterjee

In a four-stone handicap game, when White approaches the corner star-point stone, Black's severest move is often a pincer. However, this leaves Black open to another approach move and kyu players often feel insecure about letting White get two moves in the corner. Cosmic Go shows you how to answer double-approach moves by playing on a grand scale and building thick positions facing the wide-open space in the center. Four joseki chapters are filled with more than 100 full-board problems which illustrate how to apply the many new josekis you will learn.