Tsumego has always been a weakpoint of mine so I read through Life and Death and Get Strong at Life and Death. However, I found in this second book that the perentage of problems I got correct was atrocious. So my question is, is there any point in simply re reading either book once I'm done, or would it be more helpful to keep doing new problems instead?

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"There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level." -- Bruce Lee

I would probably wait a bit, and then redo them once they're no longer fresh in your memory.

I'd argue that there is huge benefit to redoing the problems. One part of life and death is to train intuition. Seeing the problems many times can drill them deep into your go sense.

Do it again. I've done most of my books multiple times. You can always do it upside down if you're worried you'll just be remembering the answers.

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That which can be destroyed by the truth should be.
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My (sadly neglected, but not forgotten) project: http://dailyjoseki.com

I strongly recommend doing them again, especially if your answers were atrocious. One of the points is to drill the shapes into your head, so repetition will be useful. If you're worried that you'll just remember the answers you can just go through something else for a week or so first.

I'm slow enough at going through problem books that I can just start straight over from the beginning.

I used to wait a year between rereading, because otherwise I just remembered most of the answers. But now I think that that was a mistake. As long as you don't just rely upon recognition, but are fully aware of why the moves are right or wrong, and the relation of the moves to the stones already on the board, there is nothing wrong with strengthening your memory.

OTOH, these days you have a lot of sources for problems at your level, so you do not have to reread books so often. (In my day, waiting a year meant not doing tsumego for a year. )

As for "Get Strong at Life and Death", it sounds like you are not ready for it yet. Better find easier problems for now.

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The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

At what strength do you think is "Get Strong at Life and Death" suitable?

I don't know the book, but, as a rule of thumb, you should be able to solve about half the problems.

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

I think there are nuances here. At least with tesuji problems, I see no problem with remembering without reading it out. Tesuji that you haven't seen before are hard to find on your own, but once you have been exposed to it a number of times it's much easier to spot. So I am a firm believer of looking at the answer if the problem is too hard As long as you get exposed to the better play, it doesn't matter how it's done. If you can understand the answer once you see it, it's all good.

If the goal is to practive your reading, that's another matter.

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I think this is up to yourself. If you are able to really read out the moves even if you know the correct first move of the tsumego because you solved it some days ago there shouldn't be any problem. Generally I think redoing tsumegobooks, especially when they containsome standard life&death problems, is a very good idea, because you'll remember the shape and vital point. If a similar problem arises in an actual game you dont need to read out everything but already know the vital point to look at.

The dirtier the books, the cleaner the kills.

Remembering the answers is definitely not the best way going forward, but it has its advantages. I personally find that a lot things in go is pattern recognition. Intuition can often act as a first pointer when considering moves.

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My homepages: http://senseis.xmp.net/?Unkx80 and http://yeefan.sg/.

"If a similar problem arises. . . . "

That's why I put in my caveat about really understanding the problems and not just recognizing them. In a tsumego a slight change can make a big difference, but the positions will look similar.

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

That means just memorizing the position is suboptimal? What would be better then? Memorizing which stones are crucial? Or being able to divide the problem into smaller problems that you already know?

I think I should quantify my previous post. I meant that one should understand the solution to a problem rather than just memorizing its solution sequences. However, recognizing similar problem positions can help you to find possible solutions.

Anyway, it seems that I am repeating what Bill has said.

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My homepages: http://senseis.xmp.net/?Unkx80 and http://yeefan.sg/.

although the problems are different..there are only few starting point that is possible.
stronger player will eliminate points that are wrong at first look.
then how do you know what is possible correct answer????
if you do many many problems you will be able to tell where possible answer hide and not.
till then..just memorizing the common life and death will help your reading greatly.
reading is not analyizing all possible variations but power to discard useless variations.
i think i will use above statement for my sig.

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"The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown"
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson

There is a difference between recognizing a problem and memorizing it. To recognize a problem in a book you do not necessarily have to attend to the crucial features. Then later you may misplay a similar position, relying upon faulty memory, faulty because it was incorrectly formed in the first place.

Example: I posted this tsumego on GoDiscussions. (I "discovered" it myself, but I have later found it in an ancient book. )

Click Here To Show Diagram Code

[go]$$ Black to play
$$ ----------------
$$ | . . . O . X X .
$$ | . . . . O O X .
$$ | O O O O X X X .
$$ | X X X X . . . .
$$ | . . . . X . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . .[/go]

I don't know how hard it is. I would guess 3-kyu or so. But to my surprise it got at least one incorrect solution attempt from a strong player. (There may have been more than one, but I can't open the thread on GD.) Why? Because it is similar to a well-known tsumego. The player made the right first move for that problem.

I have written more about this on SL: http://senseis.xmp.net/?GoProblemsTheFudgeFactor

_________________
The Adkins Principle:
At some point, doesn't thinking have to go on?
— Winona Adkins

Visualize whirled peas.

Everything with love. Stay safe.

_________________
That which can be destroyed by the truth should be.
--
My (sadly neglected, but not forgotten) project: http://dailyjoseki.com

_________________
"The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown"
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson

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