topazg wrote:
1) It doesn't read all that fluidly - it gives the impression that it's been written by someone for whom English isn't the primary language.
The British English proofreaders made good efforts also on style but did not rewrite every sentence. After the congress, maybe you can explain more how fluid text looks like.
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2) A lot of the logic and statements made in the sample pages give me the impression of a lack of awareness of the beginner's state of expertise.
After having studied 119 beginners' games, I am very well aware of their level of understanding. The book does not treat the readers as duffers though. Rather, I also offer some examples for intermediate level 1) to motivate beginners to reach that level and 2) to give intermediate players something interesting for them. Compare the "salt" comment in my review. IMO, a book does not really help a player to improve if it offers only examples that are very easy to understand for the major intended readership (here: beginners, i.e. European double digit kyus); then the readers would stay amidst level of those consistently too easy examples. There must also be an aim for reader: "I want to understand better also the more advanced examples!"
(A pure problem book with nothing but problems can (but need not) be different. - Compare the Kageyama's last chapter's reading problem. It is salt for the typical reader.)
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Page 120, example 65: This sort of placement actually tends to require quite high level judgement.
Although it is possible to apply high level analysis, it is not the level of analysis I teach in that example, where I compare the inefficient anxious move with an efficient move as an application of the studied principle: "Develop territory and moyo boundaries efficiently." From the example, the reader sees that fear can lead to an inefficiently developed moyo boundary. This fundamental understanding does not require high level analysis.
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The reading examples you give are a good few stones above the top end of the range the book is aimed at, which means a beginner can't use the same justification to decide on the accurate placement of expanding his moyos.
Please read what is written: "Black 1 is a very efficient move." Indefinite article! I do not even discuss the topic of "decide on the accurate placement". What is being discussed in the example is an understanding of roughly where an efficient move can be.
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I'm curious as to your feelings on the best way of explaining to a 15k without great reading skills how one should decide on the optimal placement of moves in these sorts of positions.
Finding the OPTIMAL placement is for dan players. See above and notice the "a standard strategy" hint on p. 121. I teach the reader the basic idea - not the dan player's way of finding the optimal sequences.
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Page 121, example 67: I think most beginners would actually be aware of a move inside being a waste if it was unnecessary, and I wonder if the problem in question was the fact that the beginner couldn't read that it was clearly a wasted move.
Whether he could not read or had another problem - it amounts to what the book describes as "fear without reason".
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the method by which this would be deduced isn't very clear to me.
Because you do not see the above mentioned principle in the sample.
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Page 167 examples 41 and 43: I would be surprised if many DDKs could evaluate the error of the position in 41.2,
The reader of the book has already read p. 60 and its principle "Do not double-attack yourself." in the chapter Avoid the Impossible. So he is better prepared than you expect him to be from seeing only the sample's pages.
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every beginner "knows" not to create elephant jumps with the weaknesses in shape, and the continuations for each side are not shown in the sample pages.
The book does not teach every minor "knowledge" of beginners but concentrates on the major mistakes. One of them is a failure to choose the big and valuable.
I do not want to confuse beginners by showing continuations when this is not necessary. It is a decision requiring just reading depth of one move. As an application of the p. 166 principle and its following paragraph, the beginner is enabled to choose the correct direction and therefore the move A. Simple!
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I think I would have failed to understand the justifications for most of the examples at 10-15k level, but I'd be interested if people around that level who have purchased the book disagree with me, as it's quite possible I'm entirely wrong.
At least, you can try to appreciate those principles you see in the sample! The examples are applications of the principles - they are not illustrations about your prejudiced opinion on my teaching method in the book.
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some of these stats [...] have a lot of overlap.
Good point, but the statistics (which are based on counting of all those mistakes I saw) are meant as guidelines. I have assigned every mistake to the most important kind. There is no added value in teaching beginners "Say, 17% of the valuable shape point mistakes are also double advantage mistakes". A beginner must understand that valuable shape point is one of the two by far most frequent kinds of shape mistakes.
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very little in the sample pages refer to tesujis / squeezes / other reading/tactical specifics - all of which I would have said are extremely important study for that grade level.
There are too many traditional assumptions of what constitutes useful teaching of beginners. Over-emphasising opening theory is another such example.
1) The chapters 'Reading' and 'Life and Death' have something of what you miss.
2) Apart from the missing shape knowledge taught in the 'Shapes' chapter and the occasional tesujis occurring throughout the book, there is suprisingly little need for tesuji knowledge. Such knowledge is much more needed for intermediate players.
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teaching a principle and then having variations that seem to contradict said principle often cause confusion
Why? Many diagrams carry tags such as 'mistake' or 'correct'. Many more than you can guess from the sample.
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I would be very keen to read reviews on the book written by those of the sorts of rating ranges being targeted, or even from anyone who has purchased it, as it would be nice to have another viewpoint
Even better, reviews 3 months after reading the book, because the intention is to enable fast improvement.
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(it's hard to put much weight on any review written by the author, for obvious reasons)
IMO, a beginner can make only one mistake: To await reviews instead of reading the book immediately and becoming several ranks stronger until the reviews appear.
When my review says that the book corrects all important beginner mistakes, then that is no joke. I have simply included EACH principle necessary to avoid those mistakes responsible for almost all the points beginners lose during their games.
(Probably, I do not participate in the discussion during the European Go Congress.)