Books

K50

We have a preferential supply arrangement with Hoyles which gives all Association members a 10% discount on all Go equipment. Details on how to order.

There are some other suppliers and retailers on our lists.
Masters Games and GoShop Keima, seem to have the widest choice.
Some books can be bought directly from the publishers.

Our former supplier Pentangle Puzzles and Games has now closed.

Our Books Service

We no longer have a Bookseller who brings books to tournaments.

Book Selection

Teach Yourself Go

A vast number of Go books are available for study, with more than 200 in English. There are books on many subjects from the opening, through tesuji and middle game, to the end game, and also books that analyse complete games by professionals and other strong players. The level of material ranges from beginner level, through intermediate to advanced (for dan players).

We have a list of seven beginners' books. Some of these cover the next stage after learning the rules. Others start with the rules and, of these, the most thorough book is Teach Yourself Go by Charles Matthews of the Cambridge Go Club. Another recommendation for those learning the rules is the large format Learn Go, written and published by Neil Moffatt of Cardiff Go Club.

We have a list'of recommended books for mid-kyus, but there are many books suitable for improving players and a lot more for those around dan level.

We have lists of the printed books that have been published in English, sorted by:

  1. Title
  2. Year of Publication
  3. Publisher / Publisher Code / Type Code

If you want to know more then

A collection of Go Books

There are various Go terms that have come into common use, mostly from Japanese. In case there is no glossary, our extensive list of Japanese Go Terminology definitions may be useful.

Many of you may have come across Go from the various novels that feature Go or from the manga and anime series Hikaru No Go.

English Language Periodicals

Since 2021 the European Go Journal has been published very month or two.

Back numbers are available in the UK of the Go World magazine, which was published 4 times a year in Japan, up until publication ceased in 2012.

We also provide back numbers of our British Go Journal, available both online as pdf files or on paper.

Publishers

There have been five main publishers of Go books in English (some of whom also supply Go sets and books/equipment for other Oriental games):


  • Kiseido: Original English-language instructional material. Kiseido took over from the former Ishi Press and republished most of their titles.

  • Slate and Shell: A growing catalogue of translated and original works, some especially for newer players, currently publishing via Amazon.

  • Yutopian: Until 2010 published many translations of Asian Go classics for all levels of play.
  • Hinoki

    Hinoki: Until 2014 published translations of Asian advanced study Go books.
  • Oromedia

    Oromedia: Up to 2013 published Korean Go books, often bilingual.

Other smaller publishers and authors also publish Go books, for instance Robert Jasiek is an author with an increasing number of titles.

Suppliers

There are a number of UK retailers of books and equipment, including good games shops you can visit.

There are various non-UK suppliers that ship to the UK. Note that since Brexit, some of these suppliers no longer ship to the UK. The list includes publishers, shops and mail order companies. The most useful of these were Go Shop Keima, the online branch of the Het Paard shop in Amsterdam, and Hebsacker Verlag in Germany.

Last updated Wed Feb 28 2024.
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