I've got a copy of Opening Theory Made Easy but haven't started working my way through it yet, and a copy of Attack and Defense which I need to go back to.
One issue I've always had with the books (and joseki dictionaries especially) is the question of what to do when your opponent doesn't play the way the book suggests. You have to go back to first principles, and that's where I seem to have a big problem.
Improving at the opening
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RobertJasiek
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Re: Improving at the opening
[moved contents to viewtopic.php?p=221481#p221481 because books must be mentioned in the books forum]
Last edited by RobertJasiek on Sun Jul 16, 2017 10:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Monkey
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Re: Improving at the opening
I agree with Robert that you shouldn't be focusing on joseki dictionaries. It's really a waste of time for anyone to focus much effort studying those types of books.
In general, your comment about not knowing what to do when your opponent plays a move that's different from what's in the books is valid. However, I'd say that opening and attack theory books are a bit different. They aren't like joseki books where if your opponent doesn't play the way that's in the book then you are in trouble. Instead, they are books of strategic principles. So if your opponent doesn't play the way you expect, you will still have an idea of other big moves on the board, or perhaps even get an idea of how to punish your opponent. And if your opponent does play a really good move that seems to conflict with what you see in theory books, try to learn from it!
Where I disagree with Robert is that books like "Attack and Defense" and opening books aren't for your level and are somehow not fundamental. Unless by "first principles" he means the rules of the game, I don't see how much more fundamental you can get. And I'm confident that you already understand the rules
. In my opinion, opening and attack/defense are the most fundamental strategical parts of the game, and I feel confident that your game can improve tremendously by studying them. Supplement your opening and attack study with tsumego problems, and I'm sure you can achieve 1-2 kyu.
In general, your comment about not knowing what to do when your opponent plays a move that's different from what's in the books is valid. However, I'd say that opening and attack theory books are a bit different. They aren't like joseki books where if your opponent doesn't play the way that's in the book then you are in trouble. Instead, they are books of strategic principles. So if your opponent doesn't play the way you expect, you will still have an idea of other big moves on the board, or perhaps even get an idea of how to punish your opponent. And if your opponent does play a really good move that seems to conflict with what you see in theory books, try to learn from it!
Where I disagree with Robert is that books like "Attack and Defense" and opening books aren't for your level and are somehow not fundamental. Unless by "first principles" he means the rules of the game, I don't see how much more fundamental you can get. And I'm confident that you already understand the rules
. In my opinion, opening and attack/defense are the most fundamental strategical parts of the game, and I feel confident that your game can improve tremendously by studying them. Supplement your opening and attack study with tsumego problems, and I'm sure you can achieve 1-2 kyu.-
RobertJasiek
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Re: Improving at the opening
[moved contents to viewtopic.php?p=221481#p221481 because books must be mentioned in the books forum]
Last edited by RobertJasiek on Sun Jul 16, 2017 10:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Fedya
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Re: Improving at the opening
I was more using the idea of joseki dictionaries (or what I do, looking things up on josekipedia afterwards when I had a position I didn't know where to respond) as something that, if somebody plays a move that's not joseki, you're not going to get any help figuring out how to respond to it.
A related problem is figuring out which joseki to play. In the games I posted over at GoKibitz I've gotten into some discussion about consistently playing close pincers when I might do better to play a far pincer or not play a pincer joseki at all. Figuring out which of the pincers to play is one of those things I have difficulty doing, and I don't understand very well what the point of the various pincers is, although skimming through the contents of Opening Theory Made Easy, that seems to be one of the topics covered.
A related problem is figuring out which joseki to play. In the games I posted over at GoKibitz I've gotten into some discussion about consistently playing close pincers when I might do better to play a far pincer or not play a pincer joseki at all. Figuring out which of the pincers to play is one of those things I have difficulty doing, and I don't understand very well what the point of the various pincers is, although skimming through the contents of Opening Theory Made Easy, that seems to be one of the topics covered.