Endgame Problems 1

Review by the Author


General Specification

* Title: Endgame Problems 1
* Author: Robert Jasiek
* Publisher: Robert Jasiek
* Edition: 2019
* Language: English
* Price: EUR 26.50 (book), EUR 13.25 (PDF)
* Contents: endgame
* ISBN: none
* Printing: good
* Layout: good
* Editing: good
* Pages: 252
* Size: 148mm x 210mm
* Diagrams per Page on Average: 5
* Method of Teaching: principles, methods, examples
* Read when EGF: 8 kyu - 3 dan
* Subjective Rank Improvement: +
* Subjective Topic Coverage: o
* Subjective Aims' Achievement: ++

Preface

The book contains 150 endgame problems and introduces the theory
necessary for their solution. There are 20 new tactical problems on
the 11x11 board and 130 evaluation problems studying modern endgame
theory under territory scoring.

For problems of endgame evaluation, the book achieves a revolutionary
concept: correctness of the answers. For this purpose, I have studied
endgame theory for 2.5 years before creating the book and spent as
much time on proofreading as on writing it.

Tactical Problems

The 20 whole board problems have the task "Black to play and achieve
the maximum count". We practise playing all our sente moves, tactical
reading, life and death, and tesujis.

At first glance, these problems appear to be for 10 kyus. However,
most of them can be demanding for dans. The reader does not know in
advance whether a tie with the count 0 is good enough or he can
achieve a win with the count 1, whether he should play sente or kill,
and what tesujis must be deployed.

The hidden difficulty serves two purposes: improving presumes solving
problems above one's current level; after overcoming the hurdle at the beginning of the book, the evaluation problems appear relatively
easier so that we can better learn evaluation. The answers to the
whole board problems show every relevant variation and decision.

Theory

Since endgame evaluation requires application of theory, the necessary
theory is summarised on 35 pages. Therefore, this book can be read independently, although readers of the first half of Endgame 2 -
Values and a representative selection of the basic theory in Endgame 3
- Accurate Local Evaluation are prepared better.

Explanation of theory is distributed to several chapters and explained
before its first use. Furthermore, references enable a choice of
reading a whole theory chapter or swapping between its sections and
related sections of subsequent problem chapters.

The basic theory of gote versus sente, counts (the local positional
values) and move values is explained twice using different approaches. Furthermore, footnotes on the pages with answers to the problems, an
appendix explaining conventions of diagrams, variables and
calculations, and an index assist the reader. For example, if he
forgets what a 'gote count' is, several tools explain him its
calculation as an average. Similarly, he can recall easily the
different calculations of Black's versus White's 'gains' (which
express how much a player's move shifts counts in his favour).

The theory explains the basic concepts and values of modern endgame
theory. In particular, we learn the ordinary types 'local gote' versus
'local sente' (one player has a sente sequence) of local endgame
positions. Furthermore, there are the hybrid type 'ambiguous' and
ordinary kos. A local endgame with long 'traversal' sequences (with at
least 3 moves worth playing successively) can be a 'long gote' or
'long sente'. We distinguish the types of local endgames to calculate
their appropriate values. Furthermore, value conditions verify that we calculate the right values. For long types, we also determine for how
long local play should proceed before playing elsewhere. We also
consider whether ko threats can be preserved.

Endgame Problems 1 emphasises the basic theory and skips advanced
theory. Therefore, local gote is distinguished from local sente by the
most popular kinds of conditions, which compare a move value of the
initial position to a follow-up move value of a follow-up position ('follower'). This book does not study alternative value conditions,
options and sophisticated methods of fast evaluation, which Endgame 3
- Accurate Local Evaluation explains but whose practice is postponed
for Endgame Problems 2.

Evaluation Problems

The 130 evaluation problems with relatively large diagrams have
realistic, basic shapes. They vary from the most basic to intermediate difficulty. The non-standard shapes and evaluation in the answers of
all problems are new.

The problems study every basic kind of local endgame: without
follow-up, simple gote with gote follow-ups of one or both players,
simple gote with iterative gote follow-ups, simple gote with sente
follow-ups, simple sente with gote or sente follow-ups, long gote,
long sente, with basic endgame kos, ordinary kos, ambiguous local
endgames and mixed shapes. Complex kos, which require advanced theory,
are the only noteworthy omission.

Whenever necessary, the answers are very detailed. They analyse move
by move and position by position. Calculation proceeds backwards: we
calculate the counts and move values of the follow-up positions before
we derive the values of the initial local endgame. At every step, we
use a value condition to verify that we calculate the right gote or
sente values. For long sequences, we also determine their lengths and
calculate the gains of their moves. The detailed calculations
including verifications enable the reader to understand their
correctness. Some advanced problems have short naive answers and
detailed accurate answers so that we see when they agree or the naive
answers are wrong.

Values are 'tentative' until they are confirmed. Tentative values are
denoted gently in the text and by a different font for letters of
variables. The reader can ignore this aspect or read the text more
deeply by raising his awareness.

The variables C and M denote counts and move values, respectively. If
several values are calculated, suffixes refer to the numbers of
diagrams or moves.

Except for introductory examples, the book omits trivial text. For
every diagram with a settled position, the caption simply states its
count. The reader is expected to verify it by adding Black's and
subtracting White's points of the marked intersections. Every stone
with the label 'A' is worth 1 point for its captor. The label 'H'
denotes half a point or minus half a point. When a gain is calculated
from the previously determined counts before and after a move, the
reader should look up the related diagrams without explicit reference.
Instead of repeating the obvious every time, such conventions are
declared once in the appendix. The footnotes contribute to keeping the
text clean.

As a consequence, it can concentrate on the important values and
calculations. From the introduction of theory, we know that negative
counts favour White. Here is a sample, in which the footnotes are
unshown:

"The initial local endgame with the black follower's count B = 1 in
Dia. 26.1 and white follower's count W = -3 in Dia. 26.2 has the gote
count

C = (B + W) / 2 = (1 + (-3)) / 2 = -1

and gote move value

M = (B - W) / 2 = (1 - (-3)) / 2 = 2."

Every important calculation appears in its own row to ease its
reading. After the declaration of the calculated value, the formula is
stated, the actual numbers are inserted and transformed.

Conclusion

We improve finding sente plays, tesujis and our tactical reading.
Endgame Problems 1 teaches the relevant theory. Provided we embrace
the effort necessary for calculations and their notation, we learn
correct evaluation of every basic type of local endgame and its
follow-ups. We calculate and verify counts, move values and gains.

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