Cho U's new L&D books
Posted: Tue May 18, 2021 2:20 am
There are a couple of brand-new L&D books by Cho U (already one of the major problem devisers) that caught my eye because of the title: Life & death using sacrifice stones. That sounds ordinary enough but it's actually startlingly novel.
There are two books only because the set is split into Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. On the surface the books are aimed at kinds, with kitty-cat symbols instead of stars for degree of difficulty. There are 105 problems in each volume. I assume that odd number is because 5 is go, the same as the game.
They are nice, interesting problems. Normally I can look at a problem and instantly have a good feel for where the solution lies (or what the theme might be). In these case, presumably because sacrifice stones tend not to be much of an identified theme in L&D problems, I was often left blinking uncertainly. Despite that, and perhaps, surprisingly, they are eminently practical problems. Prompting the obvious question: why has this theme been so ignored up to now? I have no idea.
As far as I can tell, the book has been made suitable for kids not by dumbing down the problems - they can be very challenging - but by the feline feel and, more importantly, by giving very extensive variation diagrams for many of the answers. There is also a nod to the kids with a novel L&D puzzle game called Tetris Go, where you have to make dead shapes à la Tetris.
The cats appear everywhere in excellent cartoon form, and there is one cartoon strip that is the best go cartoon I've ever seen - cartoon that happens to indicate strongly that Cho is also expecting an adult audience. As a matter of fact, the book cover does tell us the books are aimed at mid-kyu to high-dan, but nowadays you can't assume that automatically means adults.
There are quite a lot of what the Japanese call "columns" or mini-essays. One longer-than-usual essay is about "secret" talks with Kono Rin - an outstanding L&D composer. There is a short essay on how to solve L&D problems. There is another on the Igo Hatsuyoron. He recalls even now the wonder he felt in his mind when he first saw the magic of this book as a child.
Yet another essay is on AI, but more precisely on the "Human L&D AI" Ichiriki Ryo.
There are other columns - and what I have described is just Vol. 1. Vol. 2 also has lots of "columns", with several being on nursery tales. There's a nod to Denmark (Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne), and if you can work out how the little match girl might fit into an L&D problem, I'm impressed. Arabia gets a mention with Aladdin, and Momotaro gets double rations as befits a brat who clearly yearns to be a sumo wrestler. And Snow White makes an appearance, gladdening the heart of old Grumpy here. Indeed, double rations of gladness - there is no mention of Mickey Mouse.
I saw just one rating for the book online, and it was the maximum 5 stars (not cats). I'd say that if you can read the Japanese, I'd give it six stars - possibly even higher, seven dogs. If you can't read the Japanese, most of the book is still manageable and I'd still give that stripped-down version 5 stars.
The books are available on Kindle/Amazon. They are expensive as e-books go (over 10 pounds each, say $15). Alternatively you can give yourself a heart attack and buy four double quarter-pounders with cheese.
Search for CHOUNOSUTEISHITUMEGOGE. Despite the Cho U embedded there, Cho is using the name Chang Hsu for his copyright affirmation.
There are two books only because the set is split into Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. On the surface the books are aimed at kinds, with kitty-cat symbols instead of stars for degree of difficulty. There are 105 problems in each volume. I assume that odd number is because 5 is go, the same as the game.
They are nice, interesting problems. Normally I can look at a problem and instantly have a good feel for where the solution lies (or what the theme might be). In these case, presumably because sacrifice stones tend not to be much of an identified theme in L&D problems, I was often left blinking uncertainly. Despite that, and perhaps, surprisingly, they are eminently practical problems. Prompting the obvious question: why has this theme been so ignored up to now? I have no idea.
As far as I can tell, the book has been made suitable for kids not by dumbing down the problems - they can be very challenging - but by the feline feel and, more importantly, by giving very extensive variation diagrams for many of the answers. There is also a nod to the kids with a novel L&D puzzle game called Tetris Go, where you have to make dead shapes à la Tetris.
The cats appear everywhere in excellent cartoon form, and there is one cartoon strip that is the best go cartoon I've ever seen - cartoon that happens to indicate strongly that Cho is also expecting an adult audience. As a matter of fact, the book cover does tell us the books are aimed at mid-kyu to high-dan, but nowadays you can't assume that automatically means adults.
There are quite a lot of what the Japanese call "columns" or mini-essays. One longer-than-usual essay is about "secret" talks with Kono Rin - an outstanding L&D composer. There is a short essay on how to solve L&D problems. There is another on the Igo Hatsuyoron. He recalls even now the wonder he felt in his mind when he first saw the magic of this book as a child.
Yet another essay is on AI, but more precisely on the "Human L&D AI" Ichiriki Ryo.
There are other columns - and what I have described is just Vol. 1. Vol. 2 also has lots of "columns", with several being on nursery tales. There's a nod to Denmark (Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne), and if you can work out how the little match girl might fit into an L&D problem, I'm impressed. Arabia gets a mention with Aladdin, and Momotaro gets double rations as befits a brat who clearly yearns to be a sumo wrestler. And Snow White makes an appearance, gladdening the heart of old Grumpy here. Indeed, double rations of gladness - there is no mention of Mickey Mouse.
I saw just one rating for the book online, and it was the maximum 5 stars (not cats). I'd say that if you can read the Japanese, I'd give it six stars - possibly even higher, seven dogs. If you can't read the Japanese, most of the book is still manageable and I'd still give that stripped-down version 5 stars.
The books are available on Kindle/Amazon. They are expensive as e-books go (over 10 pounds each, say $15). Alternatively you can give yourself a heart attack and buy four double quarter-pounders with cheese.
Search for CHOUNOSUTEISHITUMEGOGE. Despite the Cho U embedded there, Cho is using the name Chang Hsu for his copyright affirmation.
