Go Reviews

The Chinese Opening
by Kato Masao
Kiseido Publishing Company, 142 pp

Reviewed by Bill Manka, 4k    
      I've always enjoyed playing on a large scale, but the symmetry of the san-ren-sei has never appealed to me. I know it's perfectly sound, and nowadays is probably more popular among pros, but for me the asymmetry of the Chinese style fuseki is more interesting. My friend loaned me a copy of Kato Masao's (admittedly dated) treatise on the Chinese a while back, and for a long time I played the Chinese whenever possible.
     The book is lucid and straightforward in it s presentation. Diagrams are plentiful and comments do not presuppose a highly sophisticated understanding of go theory. Kato was certainly a strong proponent of the Chinese for black, contributing greatly to its theory, but one mustn't forget that he also faced it often as white, and so the coverage is hardly one-sided. The most likely criticism from strong players would be that it truly is an old book, considering the rate at which fuseki theory advances at the top. But that point is probably not that relevant for all but the strongest amateurs. Yes, the book does spend much time looking at lines which may now be obsolete. But this coverage is still highly instructive, because it elucidates the thematic ideas in this most thematic of fuseki. I have recently moved on to other fuseki experiments as black, but I feel that studying this book enriched my understanding of not only this fascinating, ambitious opening, but also  fuseki principles generally, attack and defense , and  light play in reducing (which is what white must achieve). Anyone who has been frustrated by the Chinese as white, or enthralled with its possibilities as black, can learn plenty from this book. And unlike problem books, it won't take you very long to read.

Reviewed by Lawrence Ku, 2d
    The Chinese opening has been one of the most popular opening styles for the past 20 years.  This book is one of the few English books that describe the opening in detail.
    In this book, Masao Kato teaches us how to defend and how to attack the 3-4 point and the star-point stone, when you are either black and white.  In addition, he spends a lengthy chapter showing us the variations and many complicated joseki for the two space high pincer, which occurs when white tries to prevent black from playing the Chinese opening.  In the end, Masao Kato uses four of his own games from the 32 Honinbo (1977) to illustrate real-game examples involving the Chinese opening.  However, because this book was published more than 15 years ago, there are many newer variations that have not been covered.
    I like this book because this is the first book that systematically teaches us how to deal with an opening and its many variations.  This is the first opening book I read, and it ends up that I use the Chinese opening more often than any other opening because I feel most comfortable with it (due to the fact that I read this book).  I recommend "The Chinese Opening" for go players between 15 kyu and 3 dan.