Graded Go Problems for Dan Players, Volume Six

This book is a continuation of Volume Three of this series. It contains 300 josekiproblems that will test and expand your understanding of josekis and your ability to deploythem effectively as part of your opening strategy. It is divided into two parts, eachcontaining 150 problems. The first part analyzes joseki from the local perspective. In thesecond part, openings, taken from professional games in which the first moves of thejoseki have been played, are presented. You are asked to choose the variation of thejoseki that is best suited to the overall board position, so this part constitutes the study offuseki as well as joseki.At times the correct move is not one the standard joseki moves. It can be an innovativemove that is different from what is part of the standard joseki canon. In go, such movesare referred to as kiai (fighting spirit). Consequently, this book can be used as a supplementto the various joseki dictionaries.Examples from every category of joseki are presented -- josekis arising from the starpoint, the 3-4 point, the 5-3 point, the 5-4 point, and non-standard opening points. Astudy of this book and its companion will expose you to nearly 600 different josekis.The key to mastering josekis is not memorization but understanding. The problems inthis book focus on the key points and tesujis involved in josekis. The key points refer tothe moves that involve tactical decisions. Should you go for profit on the side or buildthickness and central influence on the outside? These tactical decisions come up in mostjoseki patterns and affect your overall strategy. Working through and reviewing theseproblems will give your game added depth and breadth and make you a formidable danplayer.The relative difficulty of the problems is indicated by the time allowances, rangingfrom 'at a glance' to 10 minutes. In general, the shorter time limits indicate problems thatcall on go common sense or knowledge of style or simply your intuitive feel for go. Thelonger time limits are for problems that involve considerable reading, the assumption beingthat you are working them out through analysis rather than just retrieving the answersfrom memory.Although the josekis are presented in problem format, the reader should not try toohard to solve them as if they were a test of some kind. The reader should not be disappointedif he gets most of them wrong. Many of the variations presented are the productof many hours of analysis by teams of professional player, coupled with experimentationin their games. It is enough if the reader contemplates the problems for the time allotted.What the reader should expect to gain after studying the answers is exposure new ideasand joseki innovations and how important it is to think about a joseki not only from thelocal result but also globally--how it relates to the other stones placed throughout theboard. In short, not to be bound by the rote memorization of joseki.