Life In 19x19

Hey guys, I'm completely new to the game but am already in love with it!

I've already bought Stones and board and am in love with the anime "hikaru no go" ^_^

Now I need to actually learn more than the rules.

Can anyone help me please? I'm looking for a book that's for a beginner that will help me improve and learn. I wish to purchase and download an ebook if possible.

Also, do you have any advice/ information on what I can do to learn and improve? I'm so excited!!!! sorry for this crazy post lol but all help would be sooooo much appreciated.

The best online resource is Sensei's Library:

http://senseis.xmp.net/

Sensei's library is a good place to start. After just learning the rules, playing games is probably the best way to improve. So maybe jump on a server like KGS--don't be shy.

A good source for e-books if you have an iPad is SmartGo books (it also works on the iPhone or iPod Touch). As a first book, I really like Janice Kim's Learn to Play Go series--especially the first 2 volumes. It is available in print or on SmartGo books.

Have fun!

It's great to see such enthusiasm! I'll link you to a recent thread with the same question, since that will probably be more helpful than anything I might say, but basically you just need to play lots.

Edit: Somehow I forgot to include tthe link.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=8678

Welcome! After you have learned the basic rules, just play. Play, play, play.

Finish 100 games -- that's your first project.

WhlteLotus wrote:I'm looking for a book that's for a beginner that will help me improve and learn.

I really like the Learn to Play Go (Janice Kim, Jeong Soo-hyun) series. There are 5 books. Unfortunately it's probably not cheap. Fortunately, you don't need a book to get better yet. I didn't read books until this series was already too basic for me.

WhlteLotus wrote:do you have any advice/ information on what I can do to learn and improve?

Play lots! Accept that you will make tons of mistakes, and make them anyway; accept that you will lose a lot, and that each loss is a chance to improve. And if you get really stuck, come and ask us. But mostly just play - initially, you'll find you get better even if you don't try to.

billywoods wrote:I really like the Learn to Play Go (Janice Kim, Jeong Soo-hyun) series. There are 5 books. Unfortunately it's probably not cheap. Fortunately, you don't need a book to get better yet. I didn't read books until this series was already too basic for me.

I second those, and if you're lucky, your local library may be able to get them for you, on interlibrary loan if nothing else.

Opening Theory Made Easy is another book well worth reading, maybe not for a complete beginner, but before you get far along the path.

If you play on KGS at all, keep an eye out for free lessons and lectures. ^^

Just play games for now until you get to around 12k. Then buy "lessons in the fundamentals of go", "elementary go series: attack and defense", and then buy a life and death set, to take with you when you travel or go to the bathroom, to solve some life and death problems.

Once you get to 5k or so buy "invincible the commented games of shusaku".

Set until you reach pro level


[Admin: Edited away references to pirating books. We do not allow advice advocating pirating go books on this forum. -TCHAN]

Thank you all for your help and kind answers, much appreciated!!

I'm glad to have found this forum:-)

[Admin: Edited away references to pirating books. We do not allow advice advocating pirating go books on this forum. -TCHAN]


What did I post originally? I forget but I don't think I mentioned anything like that did I o.O?

NoSkill wrote:What did I post originally? I forget but I don't think I mentioned anything like that did I o.O?

Hey admins. I didn't see the original post either, but unless it was blatant "Go here and steal these in-copyright books without paying for them!" (which I gather it wasn't), maybe you could tone down the edit text? Some people may look at the scary red text and think something more nefarious was going on...

You guys do a great job, by the way--keep it up.

NoSkill, check yr pm to see what you had once written.

judicata, it was similar enough to yr statement to have had a report from a member although it didn't mention where.

I put it wrong, but I was pretty sure that there are legal ways to buy the .pdf of go books, perhaps I am wrong.

Didn't mean to do anything illegal.

Sorry if it came off that way..

NoSkill wrote:I was pretty sure that there are legal ways to buy the .pdf of go books

Perhaps you mean SmartGo books. Some books (though very few) also have Kindle editions and the like.

The only legal pdf books for sale which I can think of at the moment are from Kiseido Digital, from RJ and the "So You Want to Play Go?" series.
http://kiseidodigital.com/kdb.html
http://home.snafu.de/jasiek/books.html
http://shop.gogameguru.com/go-books/go-ebooks/

Unfortunately the books NoSkill had suggested are not available legally in pdf as far as I know.