Beginning Go: Making the Winning Move

I was delighted to read Beginning Go by Peter Shotwell and Susan Long. As a teacher of Go at a middle school, I work with students who are just getting interested in the game. It was thrilling to read a book truly geared toward the "beginner" student. Many resource books are very good but are too far advanced and intimidating for an out right beginning student of Go. Shotwell and Long have done what others have attempted to do, by giving a concise introduction to and an understandable, uncomplicated explanation of the basic concepts of the game. Each chapter has several simple exercises that allow the student to master the basics before moving onto the next concept. Beginning Go has now become our recommended book for beginning students in the club. After reading this book, students are no longer intimidated or frustrated with learning a beautiful game that they will come to enjoy for a lifetime. Thank you for writing such a wonderful book. Jeff Long (no relation!) Asheville, North Carolina

Thanks to the authors--they have finally unlocked the mysteries of go for me who is interested in Asian culture and tried other books and the Internet. They use the Stone Counting Method which is much clearer than the traditional methods for keeping score and deciding who won, and also answers all those questions that are involved (meaning what groups are alive and dead and why). Also, the book provided a great way for me to go from smaller boards to bigger ones by using the latest Korean advances put into a comprehensible fashion. This is the book if you want to learn how to play!

This book did everything that it set out to do, especially concerning the main reason that I and two friends gave up the game years ago--how to tell when it's over! It also doesn't waste a lot of space with problems that can easily be found at goproblems.com and other places. Instead it organized my thinking about them. And it also got us playing on bigger boards very quickly. I think it would be really good for teaching children, too. Thanks, Mr. Shotwell! We're really enjoying the game now!