What does it take to become Kisei (the highest Go title in Japan)? Naturally, there are many Go players who would like to know the secret and this book supplies the answer. It is O Rissei's account of how he captured the Kisei title and it reveals his thoughts as he challenged the best players in the world and overcame them to win the Go world's highest title. The key to his win was innovative play in the opening, stubborn persistence in the middle game and precise calculation in the endings. All of these facets are explored in this work.

In Chapter 1, O Rissei presents 16 strategies that he has used to get the advantage in the opening of his games. These are cutting-edge moves that are rarely found in even the most up-to-date joseki dictionaries. Chapter 2 illustrates the continuations and offers the reader a chance to guess at the winning play in a problem format. The surprising thing is that sometimes the answers are so simple that one fails to see them coming. Chapter 3 brings all the elements of the book together in a thorough analysis of six of O Rissei's games played against the best Go players in the game today. Again, a problem format gives the reader the chance to match wits with these great talents.

''Catching Scent of Victory'' is one of the rare books in the world that delivers more than it promises. It explains how to set the stage in the opening of a game of Go so that one has a chance to win, then demonstrates the mechanics of the play and finally shows how events typically develop through the middlegame. But it then goes even farther, to step behind the scenes and recapture the human element of top-level match play. It is a testament to the panorama of O Rissei's Go career. And as such, it proclaims that one must always be on the lookout for suspicious moves.

• Author: O Rissei 9 dan
• 270 pages
• Published by Hinoki Press