Go Reviews

Segoe Kensaku/Go Seigen Tesuji Dictionary
Reviewed by Patrick Bridges

    This comprehensive tesuji dictionary is simply one of my favorite go books, even though I don't speak or read Japanese. The dictionary is organized into three volumes of problems, divided into sections about specific types of tesujis (attachment, placement, etc). Each problem is presented in the context of a realistic half-board position, and rated in difficulty from C to A.
    C-level problems are very doable at the 5k level or so and are the kind of thing a dan player should see easily. B-level problems are challenging but solvable for high kyu and low dan players, while A-level problems are very hard even for high-dan players, but for me as 3 kyu they're very eye-opening. Reviewing A-level problems has expanded my perception of what is possible even if I usually get the answers wrong; one result is that I'm doing significantly better on the B-level problems than when I began studying this book.
    Unlike some English-language go books, the production qualities in this dictionary are exceedingly high. Each book includes a glossy softcover and two embedded cloth bookmarks; one for marking the current problem you're on in the front half of the book and one for marking the current solution in the back half of the book. That the book is in Japanese is not a particularly large problem, as it's easy to pick up "black to play" and "white to play". Picking up on the "if black plays 1, white plays 2" in the accompanying text is somewhat more difficult but not really necessary to get a l ot out of these books.
    Note: Available only in Japanese; not translated. Available from Kiseido for $365 (not a typo; a 1117 page single volume), scroll down to the Japanese books: http://www.kiseido.com.