100 Tips

BGJ 144 Spring 2008 Reviewer: Tony Atkins

ISBN 978-89-90079-60-2

Volume 2 also available ISBN 978-89-90079-69-5

Some of you will have met Youngsun Yoon at events such as the European Go Congress. She is a Korean 5p and is now living in Germany having married Rasmus Buchmann 2d last year. Her picture appeared on the cover of one of her previous books reviewed in the last journal. She says in the introduction to this new book that in her time in Europe she has started to get a feel for what the European players need to know but in general do not. The full title of the book is 100 Tips for Amateur Players 1. As it deals with 31 basic tips then we can expect two more volumes from her, from publisher Oromedia and translator Seongjune Kim, the 6d who used to live in Cambridge.

It contains three chapters. The first deals with some jeongseok (joseki) and variations we should know. The second deals with some opening positions and proverbs we should know. The third is described as training and teaches some common tesuji.

The 190 pages of the book are well laid out, with one diagram on an introduction page and two on the explanation pages. It is bilingual with Korean text below the English, but this does not distract. There are one or two typos and some phrases that don't quite read correctly, but it is not full of unknown Korean technical terms and over all it is very clear and useful. Gerry Mills rates it as Intermediate and there is certainly something to learn for every kyu or low dan player.

Nowadays with so many books being published in English, I am starting to only buy books where I know the author, and this is an author worth getting to know.