Weird and Wonderful - Volume 2

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After more than three years of writing, lots of revisions and several obstacles to overcome, I am proud to present my latest go book: Weird and Wonderful, Volume 2: Unusual Opening Patterns and Techniques through the Eyes of AI. It was published in October 2025 by the Kiseido Publishing Company.

This book is the sequel to the first volume of the Weird and Wonderful series, titled Extraordinary Moves by Professional Go Players (to read about volume 1, click here). Where volume 1 was devoted to human creativity and ingenuity, volume 2 mainly focuses on AI analysis, specifically the assessment of unconventional joseki and sequences of opening moves that could best be described as techniques. 

The book is available in softcover on the website of Kiseido and on Kiseido's Amazon page (click here for Kiseido's homepage, and here for Amazon), on the website of European distributor Schaak & Go winkel Het Paard (click here) and as an e-book in the SmartGo web store (click here). Soon it will be available in other go shops worldwide.

​The cover of volume 2 is, once again, designed by myself. It depicts an eye that observes a go board below; the position on the board is taken from a professional game that I analyze on page 209 of the book, in the chapter "A Technique to Avoid Confinement". The eye represents artificial intelligence. In the reflection of the eye we see AI's evaluation of the crucial move, a white keima aimed at breaking the black position. The hovering eye was inspired by artwork of Odilon Redon and Salvador Dalí. 

Receiving the first printed copies of Weird and Wonderful, Volume 2, in Chess & Go shop Het Paard

A little sneak peek of the contents

Signing a few books

Volumes 1 and 2

Volume 2 brings together unusual opening ideas, both established and innovative, tested against the go program KataGo. Some of these patterns have been debunked by AI, while others have survived the test of time and are now confirmed as sound. 

The book is suitable for players of about 10-kyu to 6-dan in level. It counts 235 pages and contains the following 18 chapters:
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• Sunjang Baduk
• An Alternative Atari
• A Trick Move Against the Sanrensei Opening
• The Forbidden Hane
• Plunging into the Deep
• A Mesmerizing Miai Invasion
• A Mesmerizing Miai Invasion II
• Tickling the Underbelly
• AI’s Submarine Pincer
• Peeking Around the Corner
• Punishing a Classic Overplay
• A Rare Follow-Up to a Common Joseki
• How to Trap a Crawler
• Feeding the Tiger on the First Line
• The Gorilla Jump
• A Technique to Avoid Confinement
• Reevaluating a Sabaki Technique
• Nothing Is What It Seems

If you've read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!