Go Reviews

How to Play Handicap Go
By Yuan Zhou
Published by Slate and Shell
Reviewed by Joshua Mathews

     How to Play Handicap Go is a collection of nine games with handicaps ranging from 3 to 7 stones. The first eight of these games are tournament games played by the author and feature a nice mix of Black styles. The games supply numerous strategic and tactical situations that Zhou uses to illustrate both the failures and the triumphs of the players. Better alternatives and explanations are given for the mistakes. Comments are given for nearly every sequence for both sides, as well as for potential threats. The ninth game features two kyu players and is lightly commented as a counter example to the principles laid out in the previous commentary.
     The format of the book makes the commentaries easy to follow. Each page contains two large game diagrams, each with an average of 5 moves. Variations are given via textual labels or occasionally as a smaller inset diagram. The game analysis follows along on the right side of the page. I found that this layout makes it easy to follow the commentary without the need for a board.
     "Handicap Go" provides plenty of learning opportunities and excellent study material for go players seeking to improve their play with, or against, a handicap.
Reach Slate & Shell at: http://www.slateandshell.com/

Back to Reviews