Introduction by Yoda

The theme of this book is sabaki. The time that sabaki comes into play is when one is weak. In go it is an ironclad rule that in weak positions initiating a frontal assault for a strong fight will not produce a good result. For that very reason judgment about strength and weakness is essential. Another way of putting it is “whole board evaluation of sabaki”, and for readers who aim at going from the lower dan ranks into the upper echelons, this is the most essential thing, without doubt. To that point, my principal purpose in this book is to show how to think fundamentally about sabaki and to make judgments about it, using concrete techniques.

So in this book I have taken up sabaki plays that everyone can use in their own games, utilizing a question and answer format. Various positions are offered for the reader to evaluate. Based on those judgments, one can determine which fundamental skillful finesse to use. I would be most gratified if the reader would answer those questions that I pose as if they were coming up in a real game. Nevertheless, there is no need to think too long about them. One can ponder for a minute or two, respond intuitively; or it would be fine to consider it the do-or-die moment in the game and think long and hard. The point is that while the reader is confronting problems that often appear in games and demand sabaki, the reader will also develop the habit of discerning the balance of strength and weakness, understanding “whether to discard stones or move out with them” and see the path to greater skill.

In that way, I hope that the reader will enjoy the problems while challenging oneself.

Sabaki

Translating the word Sabaki is not easy. It is something like: accomplishing something in an area where the opponent is strong, using light play. When you study the problems of this book you will find that the problems overlap with those in "think like a pro, haengma", and the "dictionary of basic tesuji". This book is intended for dan-players and ambitious kyu players.

Hinoki press, price euro 23,00