I have a close German friend to whom I would like to give an introductory book as a gift. I would be grateful for recommendations. It must be in German language, which I do not speak. The intended recipient has never played Go before.

I cannot answer your question as I do not speak German either. But it raises another interesting question. I know Go For Beginners was translated into Spanish but I am not familiar with any other beginners' book in a western language. It would be interesting to see a complete list of what is available.

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

I don't know German either, but goshop-keima.com might have what you're looking for?

http://www.goshop-keima.com/books/books-german/

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Go Books

I'm curious: does Robert have a general-purpose, introductory book written in German ?

No; I have not found time to translate / write such in German yet. I also do not have a specific suggestion. There are a few German books for beginners, but none clearly qualifies as an obvious "best" introduction. Obviously, check Brett & Stein Verlag, but do not miss older, other books for absolute newbies. I forgot the titles, but would be surprised if you could not find them at Hebsacker Verlag, Schachversand Niggemann or Amazon.DE. My advice is to read English books (if the person can read English).

I looked on Hebsacker's website, and there are two books that might fit the bill. Unfortunately, I haven't read either of them, so I can only share what I read on the website. The books are:

1. Das Go-Spiel. Eine Einführung in das asiatische Brettspiel by Digulla/Ebert/Fecke/Timm

2. Go. Die Mitte des Himmels by Michael Koulen

The first is the "official" introductory book of the German go association (DGoB), and teaches the basic rules, techniques and strategic principles of the game. It includes problems and is also peppered with an excerpt from Hikaru no go, an interview, infos about go on the net etc. According to a reviewer is packs a lot of info into its 120 pages.

The second book focuses more on the history and culture of go and includes many illustrations of go as it appears in Chinese and Japanese art, but also teaches the rules and includes several master games commented for beginners.

Either or both books can also be bought as part of one of Hebsacker's beginner packages, which include some playing material as well.

Aside from this, Kageyama's lessons in the Fundamentals of Go has and Richard Bozulich's Second book of Go have also been translated into German, but they might not be the best first book to read.

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Patience, grasshopper.

Das Go-Spiel. Eine Einführung in das asiatische Brettspiel (aka “the blue book”) is a good (and fun to read, IIRC) introduction for beginners, quasi-standard in Germany. (Link goes to “Hebsacker Verlag” http://www.hebsacker-verlag.de)

Go für Einsteiger. Spielen - Denken - Lernen by Gunnar Dickfeld (2d EGF) is another good book for newbies. (Link goes to “Brett und Stein Verlag” http://www.brett-und-stein.de)

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“The only difference between me and a madman is that I’m not mad.” — Salvador Dali ★ Play a slooooow correspondence game with me on OGS?