Method of Teaching: principles, entertainment, examples
Read when EGF: 30k - 4k, most suitable for 20k - 8k
Subjective Rank Improvement: ++
Subjective Topic Coverage: - (fundamentals in general), ++
(fundamentals for beginners)
Subjective Aims' Achievement: ++
Aims
First Fundamentals has two aims:
It helps beginners to rise above their current level and
become intermediate players as quickly as possible.
It helps intermediate players to abandon their remaining
beginners' mistakes.
Here, 'beginner' does not refer to 'absolute beginners', who have not
completed their first 50
games yet. In 2012, 'beginner' is roughly
associated with EGF double digit kyu level and AGA or KGS 5 kyu or
weaker. The book can be useful for intermediate players up to
circa EGF 4 kyu, AGA 1 kyu or KGS 2 kyu.
Contents and Concept
Besides the topics
apparent from the table
of contents,
there are a few
more. 'Attack and defense' is carefully discussed in several
chapters and studied from different perspectives.
The basic shapes and principles for 'josekis' are presented. The
relevant
chapter explains the decision process of 'reading' ahead move
sequences. The book does not presume preliminary knowledge; the few
used terms such as moyo, efficiency or sente are explained.
The
author
studied some 100 beginners' games to identify, without exception, all
the important, regularly occurring beginner mistakes, which are
responsible for almost all of a player's lost points during his games.
The mistakes are illustrated in the many examples taken from or
motivated by beginners' games, and are compared with correct moves and
sequences.
The
fundamentals of go theory are taught as principles, which
are very
simple, clear and concise. Besides principles in the headings
and a
few minor principles, the 58 major principles are stated very
prominently in the text. If the reader has seen a book about
fundamentals stressing their importance but hardly explaining them or
teaching some but hiding them in the text, this book does not
disappoint him: it includes each needed principle and makes it very
easy to find "Choose the bigger space.", "Do not attack yourself.",
"Capture important groups firmly." and all the other principles. Every
major principle is followed by a general explanation, half a dozen to
two dozen examples and their comments. This presentation allows the
reader to understand and learn easily one principle after another.
Each
chapter is preceded by an entertaining
short story, which serves as a
parable for a key idea to be learnt in the chapter. Every chapter
starts with an introduction and concludes with problems, which allow
the reader to test his learning success.
By teaching just all
those principles needed to surmount all the important beginners'
mistakes, First Fundamentals fulfils its aims and enables the reader to
improve quickly.
While most diagrams are simple, a small fraction of the
examples or problems may be too
advanced or contain too many moves for a beginner's taste and may be
welcome more by intermediate players. Consider
this salt as a motivation for becoming stronger. Is there any other
limitation? Since the book teaches all necessary topics, it does not
compete with pure problem books, whose sheer number of problems allows
a more exhaustive practical training of reading and life and death. The
converse is also true: reading alone is insufficient. A beginner must
know what to read and which mistakes to avoid, and the principles of
First Fundamentals reveal this essential
knowledge completely.
Conclusion
First
Fundamentals fills an urgent gap in literature, which existed between
books for absolute beginners and books for intermediate players, and
meets the demand for a detailed explanation of all the
fundamental
principles beginners must know to rise quickly above their current
level.
* = These are the endconsumer prices in EUR according to UStG
§19 (small business exempted from VAT).
