Hi there! I can get one of the following books for free:

One of John Fairbairn books:
Kamakura
Final Summit
9-dan showdown

or

Yuan Zhou:
Learning from Pro Games


I don't have any preferences, because I haven't seen any games of the players of Fairbairn books, and I don't even know what games are included in Yuan Zhou book (besides those shown on sample pages on Slate&Shell site). I enjoy attacking/fighting games like these of Kato Masao, maybe this points out one of the books more?


I have to make this choice in a day or two, so if You have any ideas than let me know

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Formerly Gorim

I would recommend Kamakura if only because it was the first one published by John Fairbairn in that series. I have never read Yuan Zhou's books.

I strongly recommend Yuan Zhou's books - they are my most favorite go books.

I like Learning from Pro games, it's clear and readable but then I wouldn't be in a position to spot any mistakes.

Edit: Actually, I'm thinking of Understanding Pro Games by the same author.

I haven't read Yuan Zhou, but I know he's supposed to be a good author and teacher. I've read the Go Consultants by Fairbairn and many of his shorter pieces. If TGC is any indication, these books will be fascinating. I would choose his books in a heartbeat.

It's possible you'll learn more about how to play Go from Yuan Zhou. So it may be a matter of taste or what your goal is.

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Occupy Babel!

All of John's books are excellent, so I don't think you can go wrong there. But maybe get Yuan Zhou's book---it is a quicker read by far---then apply his suggestions to study the games in John's books, which are well worth the money.

3:2 for Zhou Yuan till now. Will have to make my mind today

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Formerly Gorim

I would choose 9-dan showdown, because Fujisawa Hosai was known for his fighting style (which you like). And i think Fairbairn's books are thicker, so you'll get more - if you're going to get them for free.

When it's free, the smart choice is usually to get the most expensive one unless you have a really good reason not to
This way if you decide to buy the remaining books later on, it'll cost you less overall.

$28.00 Kamakura
$26.00 Final Summit
$34.00 9-dan showdown <<<<<<<<
$24.00 Yuan Zhou: Learning from Pro Games

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http://tchan001.wordpress.com
A blog on Asian go books, go sightings, and interesting tidbits
Go is such a beautiful game.

At KGS 5k you probably know enough about go to get a lot from any of these books. I would pick any of John Fairbairn's books because the combination of depth of commentary and erudition in go history are very difficult to find elsewhere in English. Also, the games in these books are true masterpieces which will never grow stale no matter how strong you become. I don't know Zhou's books but I suspect that they are written for a kyu-level audience, which may appeal to you but you may also outgrow them. None of these books is terribly expensive and you should probably get all of them eventually. How about getting one of the Fairbairn books for free and buying the Zhou book to help you get into studying pro games?

I have Zhou's (or is it Yuan's?) Master Play: The Style of Lee Ch'ang Ho and I think it is very good (thanks to Kirkmc for selling it to me ) His comments are clear and concise, and he gives a lot of details on variations. I want to get one of JF's books some day or another (so many people have high praise!,) if only one of them was fully available in SmartGo books...

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Geek of all trades, master of none: the motto for my blog mostlymaths.net

Was that tongue in cheek? Because The Go Consultants is available.

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Occupy Babel!

I have choosen 9-dan showdown. Kitanifan comment about Fujisawa Kuranosuke style decided here:) Thanks for all advices!

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Formerly Gorim

Uh, but not this one in particular... I'm not sure if a pro-rengo of sorts suits me. But if anyone can recommend it enough I can try

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Geek of all trades, master of none: the motto for my blog mostlymaths.net

It is one of my favorite books. It is one game but in great detail and also shows where strong players disagree on style very well.

A friend from the Go club bought it and enjoyed it, but he is quite a bit stronger than us, something like KGS 1-2D.

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Formerly Gorim

Still a long way to go for that Anyway, I saw Kamakura in my local Go shop, so I may check it some day or another (I got Get Strong at Joseki 1 that day)

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Geek of all trades, master of none: the motto for my blog mostlymaths.net

Why? For which ranks? Is there more than teaching by examples in them?

I don't feel qualified to say for which ranks it's best. I've read them from when I was 11 to 4 kyu and enjoyed them very much. Also, I don't think their major purpose is to advance your playing ability - they have enhanced my understanding of the game, but probably didn't get me as much further as tsumego books probably would have. But I enjoyed the game through them more than any other book I have. 'Learning From Pro Games' is my favorite, 'Master Play: Seven Top Pros' comes second and 'The Consultants' is next best in my opinion. Those books take you on a journey deep into the rabbit hole that is pro play (at least to me) without you ever losing the red line. I felt I saw and understood all the nuances that were in those particular games (not claiming that I did, I _felt_ I did).
Bottom line is, I personally enjoyed them more than any other go book I've read so far.

Yuan Zhou: Learning from Pro Games was a present i got from my last tournament. In this genre ( commentened pro games ) it is the first book that was useful for me.
The comments are written for kyu playes. Other books with their comments are usually over my head. In this book you get a new diagram every five moves in average ( or even less ), so you can easily read through the book without a board. Yuan Zhou explanations a very clear and instructive.
Get this book if you are interested to learn something, get a book from J.F. for a lesson in history.