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Handicap games to download?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 5:37 am
by Tami
I would like to see some handicap game records, and I am especially interested in the following categories:
1) Pro-on-pro action (to see how to use handicap stones)
2) Pro-on-ama (to see how to play against handicap stones)
Many thanks if you can point me in the right direction!
Re: Handicap games to download?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:28 am
by Bill Spight
OC, GoGoD has a number of pro-pro handicap games, from back in the day.
And, as I have said before, I think that
Okiga Jizai (
http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/861119 ) is a treasure trove.

Hattori does not show full games, but you can learn something about playing both sides.
Re: Handicap games to download?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:49 am
by Tami
I'm printing off the book you linked to, many thanks to you Bill.
I was indeed looking for material, and not too much of it, that I could print off and play through. It's easy enough to find sgf collections, but I just cannot help zoning out when playing through games online.
Are there are any sources of lower-handicap games, please?
Re: Handicap games to download?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 8:17 am
by Bill Spight
Tami wrote:I'm printing off the book you linked to, many thanks to you Bill.
I was indeed looking for material, and not too much of it, that I could print off and play through. It's easy enough to find sgf collections, but I just cannot help zoning out when playing through games online.
Are there are any sources of lower-handicap games, please?
I see that I linked to vol. 8 of the 1892 edition. Vol. 1 starts with 2 stone games.

There is also an 1886 edition in 10 volumes. (
http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/861102 ) I found that one a little easier to read.
And, OC, the pro-pro games in GoGoD are mostly 2 - 4 stones.
I just did a search for 置碁 on the National Diet Library Digital Collection site, and found quite a number of books there.

Re: Handicap games to download?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 8:31 am
by Shenoute
Tami wrote:1) Pro-on-pro action (to see how to use handicap stones)
I like
Kage's Secret Chronicles of Handicap Go very much. It is even more chatty than his
Lessons in the Fundamentals, but despite this there are some truly nice advices to take away from it.
I also have good memories of
Pro Pro Handicap Go but I only read it quickly a long time ago (and it was stolen from the club's library not long after so I've never given it a reread).
Tami wrote:2) Pro-on-ama (to see how to play against handicap stones)
Vol. 2 of
How to Play Against the Stronger Player consists of commented handicap games (4 to 9 stones if I remember well). It is been a long time but I remember that it was a nice read. There are at least two games for each handicap, one played well by the amateur, the other badly.
Re: Handicap games to download?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 8:56 am
by Tami
Shenoute wrote:Tami wrote:1) Pro-on-pro action (to see how to use handicap stones)
I like
Kage's Secret Chronicles of Handicap Go very much. It is even more chatty than his
Lessons in the Fundamentals, but despite this there are some truly nice advices to take away from it.
I also have good memories of
Pro Pro Handicap Go but I only read it quickly a long time ago (and it was stolen from the club's library not long after so I've never given it a reread).
Tami wrote:2) Pro-on-ama (to see how to play against handicap stones)
Vol. 2 of
How to Play Against the Stronger Player consists of commented handicap games (4 to 9 stones if I remember well). It is been a long time but I remember that it was a nice read. There are at least two games for each handicap, one played well by the amateur, the other badly.
I'm aware of Kageyama's Chronicles - but the trouble is that it's only available for insane asking prices on Amazon.
Can you please give links to the other books if they're on sale somewhere?
Thanks for the further link, Bill. I shall print that off too.
I've already enjoyed some of the 9-stone games. Wasn't able to follow the scores very far because the print quality was hard to read, but I picked up some interesting patterns all the same, and it also made me think, which was exactly what I wanted.
Re: Handicap games to download?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 10:10 am
by Bill Spight
Tami wrote:I've already enjoyed some of the 9-stone games. Wasn't able to follow the scores very far because the print quality was hard to read, but I picked up some interesting patterns all the same, and it also made me think, which was exactly what I wanted.
I have posted a number of the Okigo Jizai games here, sometimes with my comments, as well. You might enjoy this thread.
viewtopic.php?t=9409
Re: Handicap games to download?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 12:28 pm
by Shenoute
Tami wrote:I'm aware of Kageyama's Chronicles - but the trouble is that it's only available for insane asking prices on Amazon.
Can you please give links to the other books if they're on sale somewhere?
How to play against stronger players is available for free as pdf on the AGA website:
http://www.usgo.org/learn-overview#AfterRules.
Pro-pro handicap go is sold by
Hebsacker at the price of 22€ (I can recommend their international shipping).
Kage's Secret Chronicles seems to have run out of print indeed. A shame...
Re: Handicap games to download?
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 12:42 pm
by Shenoute
Tami wrote:I've already enjoyed some of the 9-stone games. Wasn't able to follow the scores very far because the print quality was hard to read, but I picked up some interesting patterns all the same, and it also made me think, which was exactly what I wanted.
This remembered me that I had started creating sgf of all the games in the
Okigo Jizai. I've never finished but here is a link to 48 sgf files (all the 9-stone games and 10 8-stone games, plus pdf of the 1824 edition):
https://ufile.io/kdh91. Just a few things about them:
- while I have studied some in more depth I haven't proofread all of them so there might be encoding mistakes
- the comment "Good" is taken from the book itself, it is not my assessment
- sometimes Hattori Inshuku starts a new diagram by using a position encountered in the previous game. When this happens I have created only one sgf, treating the new diagram as a variation.