The Basics of Life and Death

This book is the third volume of the series The Road Map to
Shodan. Part One is intended as an introduction to the topic of life and
death, aimed at players who have just learned the rules. However, it should
also be useful for players up to 5-kyu or for any amateur player who needs
to review the basics of life and death. It is also a prerequisite for Part Two
of this book.

The fundamental concept of life and death is that of eye space. Once
this concept is fully grasped and the properties of various eye spaces are
understood, the three most important tesujis of life and death can be introduced—
the hane, the placement, and the throw-in tesujis. Along the way,
another important concept is introduced—shortage of liberties. This concept
is important not only in life and death, but also in middle game fighting.
Solving the life-and-death problems presented in that section will
help kyu players to learn and familiarize themselves with this concept.
Finally, the rule of bent-four-in-the-corner is introduced. Before a
player can progress to the more advanced life-and-death problems, this
rule must be fully understood.

Part Two consists of 177 basic life-and-death positions that often
arise in josekis and skirmishes in the corners and along the sides. These
positions are fundamental and you should familiarize yourself with
them so that you can determine the status of these positions almost at a
glance. Moreover, by studying these problems you will learn many of
the techniques that are needed to kill your opponent’s groups and to
live with your own.

Rob van Zeijst is an ex-insei (apprentice professional) and has won the European championship three times. He has played in a number of international tournaments: the Fujitsu Cup four times; the Chunlan Cup once; the Samsung Cup four times in which he won two games against Korean professionals. His highest rating in the Chinese Professional ranking system was professional 3-dan.

Richard Bozulich was born in Los Angeles in 1936.From the age of four until 17 he studied to become a concert pianist.He then studied Mathematical Logic at UCLA from 1953 to 1956 under Richard Montague.He transferred to UC Berkeley and graduated in mathematics in 1966.In 1967 he went to Japan to study go.In 1968 he founded Ishi Press Inc. in Japan and published more than 45 books on go.In 1982 he founded Kiseido Publishing Company and has published more than 60 book on go under that company.He started publishing a go magazine, Go World, in 1977. 129 issues were published until he stopped publishing it in 2013.He is said to be the most prolific writer of English-language go books, having written or translated almost 50 books on the game.He lives in Chigasaki, Japan and is the president of Kiseido Publishing Company.