Outside the Board: Diary of a Professional Go Player

by Hajin Lee, Andrew Jackson (Design)

"The voice of a remarkable young woman... In these passages, Hajin shares with us the life of a successful go player and then her journey to a different and wider life. This book is a collection of essays and reflections, written with great clarity and easy and rewarding to read. It is clear she has brought to this exercise not only the hard work and focus that made her a competitor but a love of writing, reading, and language." -- Andrew Okun, President, American Go Association.

Genres: Go

198 pages, Hardcover

Published February 21, 2016

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a go player is a little like being a member of a club. Because the game is difficult, elegant and ancient, serious players consider fellow players ‘special’ in an insider, nerdy kind of way. The further one gets away from Asia, the more exclusive this club becomes — because ninety percent of the action is in China, Japan and Korea.

Ninety percent of the literature published in English on this game is dedicated to specific tactics, strategies, famous games and famous players. Hajin Lee’s little tome OTB: DoaPGP breaks this mold.

The text is basically a republication, in physical book form, of a series of blog entries she made between 2008 - 2013. So it’s mainly autobiographical, but with game records!

Since I’ve been watching and listening to her youtube videos for a while, when I started reading her book I heard her voice speaking the words in my head.

It’s a short read but I enjoyed it. I found it interesting both as a go player and as a person — Lee is one smart cookie, and go is only one of the ways this is expressed. She learned English as a second language and has gone way beyond proficient — for example she used a word I had to look up because I didn’t know the meaning.

An optimist by nature, Lee’s personality is one of this book’s highlights. The other thing I like is how she confronts her mistakes, tries to learn from them, and shares the experience with the reader.

I was also shocked and humbled by the number of hours she and her fellow go students put into studying. Pretty much puts a cork in my whining about being ‘stuck’ at my level.

Last but not least, the game records are also interesting.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Outside the Board" is a collection of diary entries that Lee Hajin (retired 4 dan Go professional) kept from 2008 through 2013. (Reader warning: reading a diary is in no way like reading an autobiography.)

I originally discovered Hajin (aka Haylee L.) through her Lee Sedol / AlphaGo match commentary (here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=482si...)

[Kiran Gangadharan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspiring journey of a pro baduk player who wanted to do more in life. Apart from her life journey, this book also offers a glimpse of the baduk culture in Korea and the lives of professional players.

[Le Book Rat · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this simple but priceless gem of a book, Hajin recounts her childhood growing up in a rigorous Korean Go academy, and more importantly, her bravery, to walk the unexpected path. While this book offers wisdom on the game of Go, Hajin also shares wisdom on how to question and seek out your true passion. An inspiring read.