It's on sale for a couple of weeks too.

http://www.slateandshell.com/SSJF007.html

I mentioned this book and another one, The Insha Game, as being imminent a while ago. In fact they got delayed because of holidays at Slate & Shell, but in the interim I have produced a third: Jowa's Three Brilliancies. Bill Cobb hopes (but no promises) to have all of them available at the Sant Barbara Congress. I may even look in there for a day trip myself, depending on baseball timings in LA.

@iGrumpy

Are there likely to be SmartGo Book versions of any/all of these? If so, is there any time frame?

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Dave Sigaty
"Short-lived are both the praiser and the praised, and rememberer and the remembered..."
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations, VIII 21

Is this on sale in UK?

I don't know. Bill Cobb initiates those decisions, and judging by the amount of work he has to do for (so far) very low returns, I'd be a bit surprised if he wanted to take that route for an existing paper book. And when he consults me, I'm not sure whether I'd want to, either. I'm open to persuasion but arguments of the type "I've bought an iPad and it's the best thing since sliced bread" is not going to meet any resistance as it goes in one ear and out the lower end. Add some Marmite to the bread and you might have a chance...



T Mark may have a spare copy if you get in quick. Otherwise the situation for go books in the UK looks pretty grim now that the blessed Gerry Mills has taken well earned retirement.

Not UK sellers but you'll be able to buy it here:, at UK postage costs at some point soon I would guess - excellent folk.

http://www.schaakengo.nl/www_schaakengo2/

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I am John. John-I-Am.

I have three copies for sale at £14 each, post free to addresses in the UK. Contact me on tmark@gogod.demon.co.uk.

Best wishes.

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No aji, keshi, kifu or kikashi has been harmed in the compiling of this post.
http://www.gogod.co.uk

I wonder what you would have said if you had been around when the printing press was invented...

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My blog about Macs and more: Kirkville

Ha ha ha, now that's as bold as it gets =D

An overpriced fashion item vs. the printing press, I am thrilled how this will turn out - really.

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My "guide" to become stronger in Go

The printing press drastically lowered the cost of books and expanded access to information for millions of people. The iPad markets itself based upon form over functionality and provides less utility than devices that cost less. To even suggest this as an analogy speaks poorly of your impartiality (or lackthereof) with respect to Apple products.

Geez, dude... I'm talking about a new technology coming in to usurp an existing technology. And all you can do is reply with Apple-bashing... If SmartGo Books ran on Android, I'd say the same thing. (Heck, if it ran on a computer I'd say the same thing too.)

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I'm no fan of Apple, but really, this is too much. The iPad, iPhone, and similar Android devices, are fantastic devices. I own a Samsung Galaxy S (smartphone), while my wife has an iPad, and I am constantly amazed at the astonishingly creative uses these superbly engineered devices are being put to. I showed Smartgo books to my go club, and at least one person was so amazed they went and bought an iPad purely on the strength of that demo. The satnav system on my phone is at least as good as any custom made satnavs. Regarding the iPad and similar tablets, there is something unique about the tactile and personal aspect of it that enables all sorts of novel ideas to be tried out.

@John Fairbairn: Can you tell us what the book is about? What is 'new fuseki' and what is 'old'? ( Feel free to toot your own horn here )

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Help make L19 more organized. Make an index: https://lifein19x19.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5207

I was a little taken aback by this. I thought everyone knew what New Fuseki was - even those who say goban and kifu. And there is also the Slate & Shell blurb. However, I suppose a few words about the new book Old Fuseki versus New Fuseki would not go amiss. There is, after all, so little said about go books anywhere now.

In 1933 Go Seigen challenged Honinbo Shusai in a game that has become one of the most famous in go history. Apart from a clash of young against old, and China against Japan, it was a clash of new opening theory against old, and Go began with his first three moves at 3-3, 4-4, 10-10. This hypermodern style of play later became known as New Fuseki (Shinfuseki), and in the public mind it became an invention of Go and his friend Kitani Minoru.

It wasn't. It was an evolution and many other players were involved. This book therefore starts out by surveying the development of normal go theory from the time of Honinbo Shuho, through Shuei and Shusai, while also looking at the more radical researches of people like Kubomatsu Katuskiyo, especially starting at the 10-10 centre point, but also the previous history of the 3-3 point. What will surprise many is that there was a significant Chinese input into this.

After looking at that in some detail, I describe the process by which New Fuseki as a PR concept came about - Go and Kitani's holiday in Hell Valley and Yasunaga's famous book.

I examine that book in some detail and describe things like the theory of equilibrium, the theory of averaging, the theory of balance and the theory of three stars (which was apparently really sanrenboshi, not sanrensei) that were the main strands being discussed. This discussion included ingenious reappraisal of corner enclosures and opening moves such as 5-5. All this went on amid a vigorous debate of the type we have about the iPad here. I give a slew of opinions by pros for and against.

This occupies about a third of the book. Then I treat the game itself in considerable detail, both how it came about and how a variety of pros viewed the moves. This is the technique I have been using in all the books so far. Apart from the interesting colour notes, by looking at so many pro commentaries it is possible to come up with a comment on almost very move, and even more fun is the fact that pros often contradict each other, quite starkly.

This portion of the book also covers in detail the notorious incident in which a Shusai pupil was supposed to have discovered a brilliant move for him. This account is rather different from the one that usually gets bandied about.

Finally there is an appendix which shows the wide variety of New Fuseki openings that were being played before and after the Go-Kitani high point.

I know three people who have read the complete book so far. All have said they were surprised at how different the real picture is from the one they previously had in mind. I suppose that makes my surprise mentioned at the beginning in itself surprising

This is, I do believe, a meaty book. But in my opinion The Insha Game is probably the most high-protein book in the series, and has the most exciting game (Shusai-Karigane, 1926). Since it covers much the same period, it might be seen as a useful backdrop to OFvsNF. In this case I describe how the pro world we know today came into being, through many travails, between about 1860 and 1930. There is much backstabbing and politicking, if you like that sort of thing, but also many lessons for those who want to develop pro go in the west. And, course, that FABULOUS game.

The other books I have done recently all tend to look at that sort of period, and on to abouyt 1960, from different angles. You will, for example, find detailed biographies of Shusai, Go, Kitani and Karigane, amongst others. In the latest Famous Games book, though, I have done a Dr Who time machine shift and gone back to what is known as The Golden Age of Go to describe the game known as (my preference) Jowa's Three Brilliancies, or the Blood-vomiting Game. Again, though, I can't resist giving the backstabbing and the politicking. In this case, it will probably come as a surprise that the Matsudaira Go Tournament in which the game was played came about through real-life politicking. This is your chance to find out where Ururun Island is and why it influenced the course of go history.

These are all books "from the GoGoD archives" in collaboration with T Mark and published by Slate & Shell. I think the current total is nine. The GoGoD CD also adds much to the background, especially the games in the database.

What's a "Dr Who time machine shift?" Can you use English words?

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I'm afraid Dr Who is precisely something typically english

So, Aphelion. What do you think was the percentage decline in cost from the marginal manuscript copy to the marginal printed book in the sixteenth century? What do you think is the percentage decline from the marginal book to the marginal pdf?

It took monks a lifetime and more to duplicate a book before the upcoming of the printing press, which I think is the real point. If I now prefer a digital format over a printed one, then it's just a matter of individual taste.
I can understand John Fairbairn, when he doesn't want to jump on the bandwagon because the purchases of Go books aren't that good in the first place and the extra work to convert everything to a new format does not seem to pay off. That seems to be hard facts.
Maybe if this SmartGo-Kifu system is going to target a wider audience and the whole tablet thingy will become more widespread (which I can't see by now)...

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My "guide" to become stronger in Go

Those are not the facts. The English language go book market is a small niche. Sales of paper books aren't exactly high, and the SmartGo Books format is only a few weeks old. It is far too early to make a judgement about how good sales are, or to state that publishing in this format isn't worthwhile.

My own belief is that within two years the aggregate sales of SmartGo Books will equal or surpass those of English language paper go books worldwide.

While I think imabuddha is a bit optimistic, I think the issue here is that a "book" has been made which offers a seamless combination of both static text and dynamic diagrams. This is a change that is several orders of magnitude different than merely making digital books. While it's limited in application - to say go, chess, and maybe a few other games - what it offers is simply beyond anything that print books offered in the past.

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