Go_Resources

I like go and maybe you do too

This page merely contains some of my favorite links related to go. Huge thank you to Xióngwěi Wong’s online resources for the inspiration.

Learn to play game

Introduction

• Web: learn-go.net
• Book Learn Go by Neil Moffat - A pragmatic introduction from a Westerner’s perspective. I appreciate how the author explicitly downplays “capturing”. Each diagram only shows one move (rather than a numbered sequence) which is particularly approachable.
• Book: Go: A Complete Introduction to the Game by Chikun Cho - Each chapter alternates between a historical/cultural aspect and a key concept of gameplay
• Video: Learn To Play Go! A Guide for Beginners by In Sente
• App: Beginner’s Go by Unbalance Corporation - A vintage app for iOS
• App for kids: Legend of Baduk iOS / Android - Modern with a tasteful amount of features provided for free

The next step / DDK Level

• Book: Life and Death - Meat and potatoes, foundational stuff. Learn this before memorizing joseki.
• Book: Opening Theory Made Easy
• Book: Go by Example by Niel Moffatt - Unpolished and conversational in style. Examples are wide-ranging and no more than a page or two.
• Video: Triton DDK to SDK Basics - There’s no shortage of YouTubers claiming to “just play basics”. Triton is one of the few who manages to stick to the landing.
• Video: The Fundamentals of Go on 13×13 by Vadim Efimenko of Go Magic

Practice Problems / Tsumego

• Web: Black to Play - DDK friendly. Life and death problems in a phenomenal, free web interface.
• Web: antonTobi’s Count! game - Great practice for evaluating the board and counting score
• Book series: Get Strong at … - Dedicated kyu problems set to a particular topic outside of life and death
  • Attacking - This book brought me instant improvements to my game
  • Tesuji
• Book series: Mastering the Basics
  • Making Good Shape
  • 501 Opening Problems
  • Attacking and Defending Weak Groups

Beyond DDK

• Book: The Direction of Play by Kajiwara Takeo
• Book: Tesuji by James Davies - If you have a grasp of the rules, any of these examples will blow your mind
• Book: Fuseki Revolution: How AI Has Changed Go - Pleased to say this book moves along at a healthy pace and only briefly touches on “the old way” of any particular topic
• Book: Mastering Corner Shapes
• School: International Osaka Go School

Play the game

• Web for beginners: Squishy Go - Lovely interface, simplifed rules
• App: Go Quest - Superb for 9x9
• In person:
  • Wordwide: Baduk.club - Website clearly lists the last time an entry was edited / verified
  • United States: AGA club finder
  • Canada: CGA clubs
• Online: OGS - Requires an account. Does not require friends. Popular English language server.
• Online: Board from TripleKo - No accounts. Requires friends.

Periphery about the game

Audio / video

• Podcast: All Things Go - “Season” structure. Many great interviews.
• Podcast: Star Point - Serialized weekly with large back catalog
• Youtube video series: Dan and the Kyu - You’ll want to be able to see the video stream for large portions of many episodes. Really hits its stride ~episode 3.
• Video lecture: Kajiwara Takeo: The Giant Who Made Titans by Matthew McKee of Go Magic - Inspiring at any level

Words

• Magazine: Go World Magazine back issues 1977-2012 - If you have a budget for written go material, this is the best bang for your buck as a DDK looking for immersion
• Social: Gote on Mastodon - It’s me
• Book: The Treasure Chest Enigma by Noriyuki Nakayama - A small, but wonderful collection of essays. Feels like “behind the scenes” from pro players.
• Book: Go Nation: Chinese Masculinities and the Game of Weiqi in China
• Magazine: Finding Seki 2024-

Collections

• List: Seattle Central Go Club’s Beginner Resources
• List: Pseudo’s: Learning Go Resources
• List: Xióngwěi Wong’s online resources
• List: OGS Other Go Resources
• Video catalog: Baduktube
• Wiki: Sensei’s Library

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