Ninjaboots wrote:I'm still a relatively new player, as I have not had the chance to play much. Still, I have read a few books and watched plenty of videos and streams about Go.
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does anyone have suggestions about learning the "how" and "why" of basic shapes?
Apparently, you study the wrong media. In the English literature, the how and why of basic shapes is explained in
- Joseki 1 - Fundamentals, chapters 9 + 10 (best explanation for single moves and stones)
- First Fundamentals, chapter Shapes (introduction mainly to the strong basic shapes)
- Fighting Fundamentals (although written for fighting rather than shapes, there is a lot of discussion about how and why, which is also applicable to shapes)
- Joseki 2 - Strategy (although written for josekis rather than only shapes, explains various concepts relevant for the how and why of shapes)
- Shape Up!
- Suji and Anti-Suji (I dislike this book, but it does attempt to explain the good and bad of shapes)
Then there are Korean books:
- Master of Haengma (haengma is about the interaction and development aspect of stones)
- Haengma Dictionary
- Dictionary of Basic Shapes (without how and why)
- Soksu Clinic
Besides, it does not hurt to read books about tesuji, life and death etc.
However, at least in English, your dream book of basic shapes with how and why including shapes consisting of several stones does not exist (and no, although useful, Shape Up! is not it). In other languages, I have seen none, either. You can only approach the topic from various sides using every available source.
