Is there a Go book like "Logical Chess: Move by Move", by Irving Chernev? In this classic, a chess master runs through games by top players, explaining every move in some detail, with advanced beginners in mind. There are 33 whole games in the book, but with more moves per game in Go, this would need to be scaled back to around 5-10, but other than that I think it should work just as well.

_________________
Regards,

Peter

Ones I've read/seen (I'm sure someone else will be along with a better more thorough list!). A potential problem with this list is that the strongest author Yuan Zhou is an ex-insei AGA 7d and not a pro. So these might not be what you're looking for.

Kyu Games:

Double Digit Kyu Games by Steve Moffat (games of ddk players dissected and analysed but not in a lot of depth but it assumes very little knowledge or skill from its reader)
Single Digit Kyu Game Commentaries Vol 1 & 2 by Yuan Zhou (same as before except much stronger author and sdk games)
How Not to Play Go by Yuan Zhou (a mistakes book, looking at the games of kyu level players, excellent book in my opinion)

Dan Games:

Appreciating Dan Level Play by Yuan Zhou (I haven't read this one)

Pro Games:

Understanding Pro Games by Yuan Zhou (interesting book, not sure I gained much from it though, I need to give it a reread)

All Slate & Shell published books. The four I read I got through the iPad SmartGo Books app.

Commented games by Lee Sedol volume 1~3

There are three volumes of this book and each volume comments three of his own games, total nine games.
Each book has about 300 pages, so 100 page commentary per game.

It can be a hard book for beginners.

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6461&hilit=commented+games

_________________
Amsterdam, soon.

This is true... There are a lot of variations which will be too much for beginners.

That's fine. Chernev was not a Grandmaster, merely ( ) a National Master, but also an engaging writer, able to explain top-level play to a wide audience.

_________________
Regards,

Peter

Well I find Yuan Zhou's writing to be very engaging. I'm thoroughly enjoying Single Digit Kyu Commentaries, I got Volume 2 as soon as I'd finished Volume 1.

Now the argument is over whether a ddk should be looking at commented pro games where the emphasis is on the good moves or commented kyu games where the emphasis is on the mistakes and correcting them. I'm not strong enough to say generally but personally I've gotten more out of the latter as a ddk.

Peter, you might go to one of the kgs rooms aimed at teaching and ask if anyone will go through a pro game with you. That might give you a more exact idea of what sort of commentary you are looking for.

Several introductory books include commented games or sequences aimed at beginners, but I don't know the chess book you mentioned so it's hard to compare. Are we talking about using top-level games to point out forks and pins?

jts I'm curious about this as I'm not strong enough to know for sure but:

Chess for beginners always struck me as learning good moves primarily.
Go for beginners always struck me as unlearning bad ones primarily.

With the caveat that I never played neither chess nor go at a high level.

I think a ddk can learn a lot from commented kyu games, with the very important proviso that every bad move be pointed out, otherwise there is a tendency to assume it is OK and subconsciously learn it as an example of good play or good shape.

_________________
Regards,

Peter

Well, who am I to say? I would think of things you teach beginners in chess as: development, passed pawns, open files, exchanges, forks, pins, tempo, interpolation, basic forced mates. In go, I would say sente, gote, connection, eyes, capturing races, nets and ladders, getting corners. That's just what occurs to me. Not sure I see the learning/unlearning divide...

I agree with this, however in a kyu game almost every move is a mistake in someway.... unless we are following a joseki.

And to explain a pro game to a beginner... not going to happen.

You will probably have to deal with commented strong kyu games that don't point out EVERY mistake but 75% of them or so.

Yeah maybe I'm seeing a divide that's not there.

That's an interesting idea... if I come across the right (patient) person at the right time. The beauty of a book is that I can go through it at my own pace, and pick it up and put it down at will.


I have followed a few sequences, even complete 13x13 games, in some introductory books, but I have not yet come across anything that detailed. Common is something like "White hanes at 32, so Black extends with 33...". That is also helpful, but sometimes I would like more detail about why something is good; what it achieves, and why it is better than other candidate moves.

Chernev covers 33 whole games, so you get everything: openings, tactics, combinations, quiet positional moves, surprise checkmates and tense endgames. Hopefully a short example extract will not cause copyright problems:

"Despite its modest appearance, there is a great deal of latent energy in the placement of this bishop at e7. It is close enough to home to help defend the king, yet easily manoeuvrable to a more aggressive post if occasion requires."

Every single move gets a comment of about that length.

_________________
Regards,

Peter

Oh, no. I don't know any sources that give that level of detail on every move (although perhaps I should note that, unless latent energy has a technical meaning of which I am unaware, that excerpt seems to say very little in a lot of words).

The books by Yuan Zhou are what you look for.

I see it the opposite way

In Go, most bad moves only mean a wasted move, out of the 100-odd that each player might play in a game. In chess, a bad move by a beginner probably loses a piece, which usually means losing the game. So Go is more forgiving of bad moves. However, Go is more of a blank canvas. You need to be creative, which means actively looking for a good move. In chess, you can get quite far by just sitting back and waiting for your opponent to make a mistake.

_________________
Regards,

Peter

Those 200 odd moves are not of equal value though. I accept your point however.

Hmm... this area is a little deep. Go can be extremely unforgiving of a bad move.

Such as when you make one endgame mistake and lose by .5

I guess you mean Neil Moffatt. And this book: “Go by example”?
http://www.learngo.co.uk/

Neil sometimes plays on Kaya as MoffyUK, BTW. Currently he’s around 5k on Kaya, and he likes to give teaching games.

_________________
“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?