How to study James Davies' "Life and Death"?

[PeterPeter]

I am about a third of the way through this, and a lot of the sections seem to follow a similar pattern:

1. Present a simple formation (eg the 'two-space notcher'), give the rule for its status, show a sequence which demonstrates its status, and then maybe repeat with a variation or two.
2. Present 6 problems to solve, which all vary from the standard shape, and therefore probably have a different status.

(A variation can be a 'leg', a missing or extra connection, a missing or extra liberty somewhere, or the formation being moved from the side to the corner.)

So how best to learn from the book?

Try to remember the rules for all the standard shapes, plus a large number of their variations?

Understand the general ideas, then read out everything when you encounter it in a game? In which case, is the book little more than a book of practice problems?

Try to remember the rules for the standard shapes only, and read out the others when you encounter them in a game?

[schawipp]

I would suggest the following learning strategy:

1) Try to understand the presented variations for the respective formations
2) Try to solve the six problems (some problems may be somewhat tough especially at the beginning)
3) If you can not solve a problem, there are different opinions on if you should look at the solutions or not. (I have to admit that I mostly look at the solutions, if I'm unsure )
4) Don't try to do too many sections at a time, rather play some games for relaxation - if you are lucky you may recognize some situations similar to the L&D book and get the right idea how to handle them.
5) I would also solve some (easier) problems e. g. on http://www.goproblems.com, I also recommend the problem compilation on http://wbaduk.com, which can be used on a smartphone - good thing when waiting at a bus station etc..
6) After some time, take another section of your choice and repeat from 1)

[judicata]

Or just do what I've done for now: don't.

[jts]

My own sense was that I didn't get as much out of the book as I could have when I first encountered it, because my reading was too weak. But I had also encountered the easier material in other books. I wouldn't say "this is too hard for you", because there is a lot of good basic material like dead eye-shapes (i.e. nakade), capturing races, and so on. But in general the problems assume a very high level of reading.

If you do try to remember the status of the groups, I would remember them more for attack and defense purposes than life-n-death. It is useful to know how much space on the second line your invasion will need to live, but once you have seven stones "knowing" the status won't help you too much if you can't read it out.

[Bill Spight]

Davies is very good. Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with the book. For study at your level, I would ignore the problems at first, and go over the other material (as long as it does not seem too difficult) until I had learned it thoroughly, i.e., overlearned it. Then tackle the problems, or other tsumego.

To show you what I mean by learning the material thoroughly, let me sing the praises of Mr. K. Here is the URL for his life and death pages. http://mrkigo.sakura.ne.jp/ksikatuindex.html

Here is an example, a dead shape for Black, in accord with a go proverb. A book might show two variations to demonstrate that it is dead. Mr. K shows 16 variations! That is terrific for overlearning.



If you study the positions in Davies as thoroughly as Mr. K, you should do well.

[PeterPeter]

To show you what I mean by learning the material thoroughly, let me sing the praises of Mr. K. Here is the URL for his life and death pages. http://mrkigo.sakura.ne.jp/ksikatuindex.html

Nice, but, is it only available in Japanese script?

[billywoods]

Nice, but, is it only available in Japanese script?

There's a lot of chatter on the individual pages themselves, but I think the titles and diagrams should be enough. Here's my own poor translation of the titles:

1. The rectangular 6 is alive
2. The comb 6 is alive
3-5. 6 die, 8 live (1-3)
6-8. In the corner, 6 stones in a row on the second line live (1-3)
9. A bent 4 has eyes / the straight 4 lives, the square 4 dies
10-12. The bent 4 in the corner is dead (1-3)
13-18. The rectangular 6 in the centre is alive, but the rectangular 6 in the corner dies (1-6)
19-20. On the third line, 4 die but 6 live (1-2)
PS. The bent 4 in the corner is dead: revised

[Bill Spight]

To show you what I mean by learning the material thoroughly, let me sing the praises of Mr. K. Here is the URL for his life and death pages. http://mrkigo.sakura.ne.jp/ksikatuindex.html

Nice, but, is it only available in Japanese script?

I only look at the pictures.

[judicata]

I only look at the pictures.

The truth comes out!!

[Bill Spight]

Oh, yes. The dead shape is the square 4 not the pyramid 4.

[otenki]

I have owned the book since I was like 20kyu but I have never finished it because it is such a very dry book.

Howhever I have become pretty good (compared to other 5kyu's) at life and death by studying "essential life an death series". (http://senseis.xmp.net/?LevelUpEssentialLifeAndDeath)
It is a korean series of 4 books which gives you a very practical foundation of life and death. (the text is in english though)
I have studied the first 3 books, the 4th is too difficult for me.

Essential Life & Death 1 (15-10 kyu)
Essential Life & Death 2 (10-5 kyu)
Essential Life & Death 3 (5 kyu - 3 Dan)
Essential Life & Death 4 (1 Dan - 5 Dan)

I highly recommend to read them instead.

Good Luck,
Otenki

[Bantari]

I found the L&D book by Davies to be one of the best beginner books out there. Along with Tesuji (also by James Davies) - these are two of the very first books I recommend all beginners read. Myself, I have read it around 20k-18k or so, and it immediately propelled me to close to SDK...

The main value of this book, as opposed to other/pure problem books is that the material is laid out in a very manageable chunks. Each chapter deals with a very focused and well-defined pattern, which is explained with a few examples. Then there are a few problems (like 3 or 4 or so) which DIRECTLY correlate to the patter under study. This is, I think, the differentiator for this book - the problems are very closely related to the given theme - sometimes with only a stone added or moved... This way the reader can solve the problems relatively easy (so there is no frustration) and at the same time crystalize the understanding of the given pattern.

The exact same goes for Tesuji!

All in all - I highly recommend both books. They are, in my view, two of the absolutely best beginner books ever published in English. And they are both a great foundation to red and absorb before looking at any other problem books.

Just my personal opinion...

[Bantari]

Oh, do-oh... Forgot to answer the question. How to study this book...

Here is how:
Read one page... turn page... read what's there.. solve problems... turn page... read what's there... solve problems... rinse and repeat. And no - I am not trying to be funny here. This is, I think, exactly how you should study from this book. It is laid out so well that just going through page after page is what is needed.

And if you are stuck on a problem or two - just peak at the solution, and then try to solve the problem again in your head. Try not to spend too much time on each problem - they are so light, if you cannot see the answer quickly, it is probably because of some mental blind spot and staring at it longer will not help much - so just peak at the solution, remove the mental block, and try solving it again. Then move on to the next topic.

Hope this helps.

[PeterPeter]

There seem to be widely differing opinions on this book, both its usefulness, and the level of player at which it is aimed.

I am finding it a little dry. It seems to be a case of: "Here is a rule, here is an example sequence, now solve these..." There is not much in the way of explanations, principles or scalability.

[skydyr]

There seem to be widely differing opinions on this book, both its usefulness, and the level of player at which it is aimed.

I am finding it a little dry. It seems to be a case of: "Here is a rule, here is an example sequence, now solve these..." There is not much in the way of explanations, principles or scalability.

Life and death in general isn't a subject that leads itself to a lot of general principles, as it is focused on the specifics of the particular situation, as opposed to, say, a book on shape or fundamentals.