The brown color stands for the power of the mountains. For the student, it is time to deal with the vastness, the sky, to become more attuned to the ascent to mastery. These final kyu grades are probably the most difficult. The goal seems close, but reaching it requires more refinement and further coordination of technique and strategy. The student must be active and determined, developing the inward focus and confidence needed for the next steps toward mastery.
The exercises are arranged in sets of six questions per page, covering all areas of the Go fundamentals: basic techniques of capturing, cutting and connecting, life and death, attacking and protecting, and semeai. Various types of tesuji are included in each of the above topics.
There is no order or arrangement to the problems like in the first three books. The problems are mixed to provide realistic challenges. The difficulty too is well mixed. It does not gradually increase throughout the book, but rather fluctuates to prevent the student from easing into a steady flow.
The answers in this exercise book are all one-move answers. Sometimes the difference between a correct and a wrong answer may just depend on whether there still remains the potential for a ko threat or not.
Like all books of this series it can be used as a classroom tutorial, as an after-school exercise, or as a test for self-learners who would like to improve their reading.
