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I have just picked up a slew of Japanese books that offer insights not available elsewhere. I haven't read them properly yet, but as I don't intend to do proper reviews given the torpidity of the forum at the moment, a few heads-up notes instead may be appreciated by the gallant few still on Life 19 support.
First a little background: there has been a spate of novel books over the past few years. In the past these sorts of topics were dealt with only in magazines. With so few magazine outlets nowadays, writers have to aim for the book market. Implied in that, I suppose, is that the real writers of these books are the ex-magazine staff and note named pros, but personally I think that's a good thing. So long as the pro with his name on the cover does scrutinise what's written, this way you get a combination of writing expertise and technical quality. My assessment of the pros mentioned here is that they are the scrutinising type (partly because they are no longer heavily involved in title matches).
I'll deal here with the one that I think is the most interesting, and also the most accessible: アマの知らない打ち込み対策 大ヨセ事典 (Invasion countermeasures beyond the ken of amateurs: large boundary-play dictionary) ISBN 978-4-8399-5665-3.
I think this brand-new book from Awaji Shuzo may be the most interesting for several reasons. It doubles up as a reference work (about 450 pages) and a book you can read through. It uses a novel presentation format. Both factors combine to make this a book that can probably be used even by people who don't know much Japanese. It is suitable for both dan and kyu players.
It follows on from a very similar 2007 book called アマの知らない打ち込み対策事典 (Invasion countermeasures beyond the ken of amateurs) ISBN 978-4-8399-2610-6. The new version, though, is much more extensive, is more obviously structured as a reference work, and it has the added dimension of large boundary plays.
Both books use a system of risk-exposure icons (it's all a little bit like For Dummies books - time bombs in this case). A time bomb marked 60% means the shape shown has 60% chance of being invaded successfully. The reason for putting it that way round is that the book is presented from the viewpoint of the invade - Awaji says he has found that the most frequent moans he hears from amateurs are about territories they thought were secure turning out to be Swiss cheeses.
But the new book adds to this a separate rating for boundary-play activity. In line with quite a handful of Japanese books lately, the author stresses that amateurs don't really need to count (either the whole game or the size of endgame moves). Other methods of evaluation are satisfactory enough, or even better given the short time limits amateurs player under (and for the same sort of reason, pros are now also using these techniques heavily).
In the present case, large boundary-plays are taken to be those worth at least 10 points. Awaji suggests that if the amateur can, in the first instance, distinguish between plays worth up to 15 points and those worth 15-30 points, that alone will make a large difference in playing strength. But further refinement of that method is possible without relying on actual values. Awaji marks positions with 1 to 6 stars according to size. Since all of the (very many) positions shown are very common in play, it is sufficient to be able to treat positions like hotels and learn to recognise which ones are five-star and which are three-star etc. (If you like Anki, you could input these positions and even use images of hotels that you know to help you remember their star rating.)
Of course the book is not a mere list. For all the positions the various invasion points are shown (many surprised me) along with countermeasures (which are not all about killing the invader - many are about proper damage limitation in line with the initial risk assessment).
As I said, I haven't read this book properly yet, but I'm familiar with the first version, and it seems obvious that the range of coverage of corner and side positions is extensive and highly practical. It is also the only book of its type. It should therefore probably be on every serious player's shelf.
I may well not bother with writing about the other books, for the reason mentioned and also because they probably require a decent reading knowledge of Japanese, but just in case they are:
1. A book on the pitfalls of thickness - why do you not win games where you have played thick moves. Mainly this is because you don't understand the difference between thickness and moyos, says O Rissei. He presents a fairly straightforward 4-point plan to put you straight.
2. A book on how to surround territory (and when) by Kim Sujun. This is the first writing I've seen by Kim, and it looks very, very promising. He too offers a four-point plan. Most of it is new to me, especially the bit on how and when to make your opponent surround territory!
3. A book on establishing the right conditions to make reductions work. Not a new topic but a new approach. Maybe the least interesting of the bunch to me. Author is Mizokami Tomochika.
4. A book by Yamada Kimio on how to lay waste to territories. I've never seen this topic before even in magazines and it has to potential to be a jewel. The difference between this topic and invasions or reductions is that it combines all available techniques, such and probes and sacrifices and other techniques all in the same package. This suggests the intended audience may be dan players, but all the positions shown in what is essentially a full-board problem book look practical, and certainly include positions where I've been stumped as to what to do next. The author presents an array of techniques but says that his real aim is to inculcate the right attitude so as to know whether to invade (and how deeply) or reduce (and how shallowly) or whether to lay the ground work first, and then how to deal with the aftermath.
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John Fairbairn
I've just bought your Yasui book. At Christmas, I might treat myself to all your Jubango books you did for Slate and Shell.
I'm sure my ignorance will be forgiven this once.
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