Catching Scent of Victory by O Rissei is a book in which a top professional go player shows fans and amateurs how he thinks about the game. In it, O Rissei presents and describes 20 of his games from the mid- to late 90's through 2000, including a number of decisive games in his quests to win the prestigious Oza and Kisei titles. The book is divided into three main parts, which can loosely be described as focusing on crucial situations on the path to victory in the opening, middlegame and endgame, plus a last chapter detailing his go record.
O Rissei's approach to the game is both calculating and instinctive. In his book, he presents his strategies for getting a game off to the right start, shows his decision process in assessing variations, and discusses the professional's ability to scent out negative aspects of an opponent's move that may even elude the eye.
The first chapter,“Rissei Style Strategy in the Opening,” shows how he thinks about creating the structure of the game. In it O Rissei show the opening phases of 16 games, and characterizes them by a particular move or formation that he sets up in the fuseki. As one might expect from a professional go player showing his own games, these are not run-of-the-mill moves, and do not necessarily follow the wisdom embodied in go proverbs. Many of the positions appear to be innovative, first appearing in my database during the period that the games were played. By presenting such concepts, O Rissei encourages the reader to try out new ideas. He goes on to discuss his reasoning for choosing the move, and describes the consequences both as they occurred in the game and in detailed variations that illustrate the depth of professional thinking.
The second chapter, entitled “Starting One's Sensors to Take Advantage of a Good Opportunity,” shows the continuations of 8 of these games, plus two other complete games. Here, O Rissei comes up with marvelously descriptive names for each game, such as: “Entering the Tiger's Lair,” or “Dripping Cold Sweat,” and his descriptions of the game situations are both insightful and evocative. Each sub-chapter begins by presenting a board position from the game for the reader's consideration, in the form of a full board problem. He then shows the moves leading up to that position, typically starting from the point where he had left off in chapter 1, and follows up by showing how the game turned out. The emphasis of this chapter is showing how games can be decided in the middlegame.
The structure of the third chapter, “Sharpening One's Sense of Smell for Victory,” is fairly similar to that of the second chapter. Again each sub-chapter starts by presenting a crucial board position from a game, and continues with a thorough analysis . The focus of this chapter however leans more toward endgame situations.
Although O Rissei repeatedly shows in variations the calculations he made during and after the game, his emphasis throughout the second and third chapters is on sensing potential turning points, moves that he sometimes describes as “reverberating” their power across the board, and the necessity of sharpening one's senses for the shortcomings of an opponents move. O Rissei states in his introduction that the best way for amateurs to improve their ability to sense the chances inherent in a position is to replay professional games, and the ones that he has included along with his insightful commentary provide valuable and enjoyable study material for anyone interested in professional go.
Of the 20 games, 8 are played against Cho Chikun and the others are played against such strong and influential players as Kato Masao, Kobayashi Koichi, O Meien and Rin Kaiho, among others. O Rissei's presentation provides both a fascinating insight into the mind of a professional go player as well as showing the depth, dynamic and drama of his games. I found the book both riveting and informative, and it has expanded my appreciation for the game.
Catching Scent of Victory is the second in the Heart of Go Discovery series published by Hinoki Press. The Heart of Go series was originally published in Japanese by the Nihon Ki-in. The book is about 5 ½ by 8 ½”, printed in paperback and has 270 pages.
My Rating:
<--means I like it alot.
