Modern Joseki and Fuseki, Volume Two, went for sale on Amazon today.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...avesofthomasje

For some unknown reason, they printed Modern Joseki and Fuseki, Volume
Two, before they printed Volume One, even though I finalized Volume One
a day before I finalized Volume Two.

But, anyway, I am not complaining as I am sure that Volume One will be
out in a day or two more.

Modern Joseki and Fuseki is widely regarded as the best book on go ever
written. It has been out of print for twenty years, mainly because the
original book was printed in 1968 using Hot Type (melted led), making
reproduction difficult. This was before desktop publishing had been
invented.

Also, the Modern Joseki and Fuseki are not modern any more. The top
players no longer play them. However, they are perfectly adequate for
anybody below 9-dan.

Sam Sloan

samsloan wrote:
Modern Joseki and Fuseki, Volumes 1 and 2, by Sakata Eio have just been
reprinted.

They may be ordered online at the following addresses:

http://www.ishipress.com/joseki-1.htm
http://www.ishipress.com/joseki-2.htm

In about one week, they will be available on Amazon.com at the
following addresses:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...avesofthomasje
Modern Joseki and Fuseki, Vol. 1: Parallel Fuseki
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...avesofthomasje
Modern Joseki and Fuseki, Vol. 2: The Opening Theory of Go

The two links above do not work now, but they will start working in
about one week, so check every day until the links start working.

Sakata Eio is regarded as one of the strongest go players of the 20th
century.

Sakata Eio was born February 15, 1920 in Tokyo, Japan. After winning
most of the major titles in the 1950s, in 1961 he finally took the
Honinbo title from Takagawa Kaku who had held it for a record nine
consecutive terms. In 1963, Sakata captured the Meijin title, making
him the first player simultaneously to hold the two titles
Meijin-Honinbo.

Sakata's peak came in 1964, when he won 30 games and lost only two and
held seven major titles: Meijin, Honinbo, Nihon Ki-in Championship,
Asahi Pro Best Ten, Oza, Nihon Kiin Number One, and NHK Cup.

Sakata is now 86 and lives in Tokyo. He is retired but still active.

This book, "Modern Joseki and Fuseki, Vol. 1", was Sakata's first book
published in English. It is now regarded as a classic in Go literature.
It is also the first book published by The Ishi Press. Published in
1968, this book along with two follow-up volumes by Sakata Eio, made
The Ishi Press the world's leading publisher on the game of go.

The cover photo of this book is historic. It shows the three leading go
players in the world at that time, plus the strongest female go player
in the world at that time.

In the picture is Sakata Eio, facing, playing against Takagawa Kaku
(1915-1986). The spectator is Go Seigen, who also has a claim to being
the greatest go player of the 20th century. He was born May 19, 1914 in
Fuzhou, Fujian Province, southeast China. His Chinese name is Wu Qing
Yuan, which transliterated into Japanese becomes Go Seigen. He is still
alive at age 92.

The woman in the photo is Reiko Kitani, who won the Women's
Championship Tournament six times. Not only was she the strongest woman
go player of her era, but she was the daughter, the wife, and the
mother of the leading go players of their respective times. Born
December 23, 1939 in Kanagawa, Japan, she was the daughter of Kitani
Minoru, 9-dan, the wife of Kobayashi Koichi, 9 dan, and the mother of
Kobayashi Izumi, born 1977, who has held most of the major Women Titles
at one time or another. Tragically, Reiko died of breast cancer in
April, 1996.

Sam
Sloan

January 10, 2007