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Game number: Main Page
White: CosimoC    Black: shyryan
twixt.DEFAULT.mc.2020.oct.1.5 (LG) | This game (LG) | Download JTwixt file
On 2020-11-03 at 14:09, shyryan (info) said:
I really couldn't find anything after |5.q17. Was it already as hopeless as I thought?

On 2020-11-03 at 17:44, MisterCat (info) said:
1.e3 2.k13 3.o12 4.m18 5.q17

I didn't like 4. m18 . You get the 'classic 5 - 2' going in the wrong direction, but now after 5. Q17 Cosimo has the 'classic 5 - 2' going in the CORRECT direction. The 5 - 2 is very tough to beat. I grant that an 'advanced strategy' is to create chains linked parallel to your walls, but maybe YOUR 5 - 2 is taking this concept too far. Therefore, perhaps some sort of block at move 4 is appropriate, like 4. N16 , and 4.n16 5.r15 6.q19 7.u18 8.t22 certainly works out in Black's favor.

So I agree that you have handed Cosimo a nice advantage at |5.q17 . What remains then, is to improve Black's sequence afterwards.

|8. p5 is STILL ANOTHER 5 - 2 going in the wrong direction, so does not help you at all. Moreover, your attempted block virtually NEVER works, as Cosimo's 9. p6 is the 'standard' bust to this. Moves 10 and 12 were 'flailing' attempts to block the unblockable.

So I am willing to grant that by move |9. P6 white has won. Is it possible to improve upon |8. p5 ? If this is not possible, then we are back to your original question: can we improve on |6. n10 ? As stated, I did not like your
|4. m18 , but given that we are stuck with that now, can we find an effective blocking strategy at move 6 which, if not winning the game, will at least allow the fight to continue?

I'll stop THIS comment now, since I made heavy use of the | marks, and I'm not really sure how that will work out - the entire comment may be illegible gobbledy-gook!
mc

On 2020-11-03 at 22:00, bob440 (info) said:
|6.o7 is probably your best bet, but I still don't like your chances very much

On 2020-11-03 at 22:47, MisterCat (info) said:
Yeah, Bob, we see that |6. O7 works out better, where |8. P5 fails.

The difference is that the standard bust doesn't work here, as |6.o7 7.o8 8.p9 9.p10 10.m8 11.q8 12.q6 13.r6 14.s5 is good for Black.

( |10.q7 11.q8 12.o7 13.r6 14.r4 15.s4 16.t3 17.u3 18.v2 19.w2 is winning for white.)

So the key difference is that the blocking peg must be in the center side of the corner guide line. I am stating points that are, perhaps, obvious to advanced players, since ANYBODY might be glancing at these analyses.

What about a blocking peg ON the guide line?

|2.g13 3.m12 4.m7 5.m8 6.n9 7.n10 8.k8 9.o8 10.o6 11.p6 12.q5 is STILL good for Black.

CONCLUSION - the standard bust of the 4-space block (meaning the 3-space set-up) won't work when the blocking peg is on the center side of the guideline, or ON the guideline. I like to generalize.

Feel free to correct my analysis above; otherwise, we agree that it's a CORRECT, general rule.

So getting back, can white get past |6. o7 using another method? If not, then Bob SHOULD like black's chances. If no, then back to the drawing board - find a more effective move 6.

Else, we must conclude that this game was over on move 5. This is a depressing thought to me, since it illustrates what I've remarked before - the Twixt board keeps on shrinking!
mc

On 2020-11-04 at 12:32, MisterCat (info) said:
typo above:
So getting back, can white get past |6. o7 using another method? If not, then Bob SHOULD like black's chances. If
YES , then back to the drawing board - find a more effective move 6.

Perhaps 7.s8 is a good try for white to get through?
mc

On 2020-11-04 at 18:13, bob440 (info) said:
I was thinking more of |6.o7 7.m9

On 2020-11-04 at 18:38, shyryan (info) said:
In the game, I specifically rejected |6.o7 because I didn't like 7.l9 and the following lines. I totally agree that everything afterwards was a doomed effort, and I more or less knew it at the time.

So I guess I'm not likely to hand someone that setup in the opening again anytime soon.

On 2020-11-04 at 23:21, bob440 (info) said:
|6.o7 7.l9

8.m8


if 9.n10, 10.k9
if 9.k7, 10.l10

On 2020-11-04 at 23:27, bob440 (info) said:
hey, mc -- what are you doing here?

I thought you didn't like these excruciating postmortem analyses

:D

On 2020-11-05 at 01:35, MisterCat (info) said:
well, bob - all 440 of you - shyryan asked a specific question, and I'm always happy enough to attempt an answer. Furthermore, I have no embarrassment if I'm proved wrong, so I take chances with extended lines, sometimes.

If you noticed, I've tried to generalize a rule of thumb here; I tried to do likewise in an earlier posting. I expect that it is not just the few people who post here who actually read the stuff; if beginning players look here, perhaps there is something to be learned.

And - as the reason Alan created this page - perhaps there is something to be learned here for ALL of us, from the 1200 players up through the 2200 players. I guess this helps keep my hand in the game as well, since I have not been playing much lately.

Enough chatter to bore people with - sorry for that, dear reader - a question was asked and I answered.
In truth, these pages should be used for HARD and DETAILED GAME ANALYSIS.
(meowiee)

On 2020-11-06 at 03:24, Peyrol (info) said:
|4.m18 does not look bad to me at all. In the opening you should extend outward like this in order to use the whole board. It's a feint, a threat that must be answered, preparing for the real attack along the top, and improving connection to the left side. But I don't think |6.o7 is the best because of 7.m8. Instead, |6.n8 for example 7.l9 8.k9 9.j10 10.m8 11.h11 12.n16 13.r15 14.l10 15.h15 16.h18 17.m13 18.j11 19.k14 20.i14 21.g13 22.j16 23.g17 24.g20 25.i18 26.j19 27.k19 28.l20

On 2020-11-06 at 09:08, Peyrol (info) said:
Sorry, 6.n8 7.l9 8.k9 9.j10 10.m8 11.h11 12.n16 13.r15 14.l10 15.h15 16.h18 17.m13 18.j11 19.k14 20.i14 21.g13 22.j16 is not good because of 23.i17 24.j17 25.k16 26.l15 27.j18. But 22.k15 works.
Other variations worth mentioning are 15.r9 16.p9 17.p10 18.r5 19.q7 20.o6 21.r6 22.s7 23.q4 24.p5 25.p6 26.o7 or 25.o5 26.q6 27.o8 28.o7 or 13.q13 14.l6 15.n10 16.h617.f7 18.e7 19.d8 20.f5 21.c6 22.d4 23.c4 24.b5

On 2020-11-08 at 00:59, bob440 (info) said:
|6.n8 7.l9 8.k9 9.j10 10.m8

I had to labor a while to see why 11.h11 works for white -- wonder how long it's gonna take me to actually see that possibility in a game? :(

On 2020-11-08 at 16:27, Peyrol (info) said:
Uh sorry, I tend to take things too literally sometimes. H11 is the only choice I mentioned for white at that point, and my claim is that even H11 does NOT work, but now that you see why it works as well as it does, maybe it won't be so long before you start looking at the board with larger eyes.

On 2020-11-12 at 17:12, Flmz (info) said:
I learn a lot from these commented games. Thank you.

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