Join Hexversi Tourney #5 by Jan. 10th Win up to 2500 Pts. SPECIAL section for Newbies

[JohnGalt2341]

Thanks for the good lucks and picks! I'll need it!

I was going to pick the same as Jackpot and Daniel as well... but I'll mix things up to make it interesting as well. But I assure you... I'm going to try to win this thing!

My Picks.

1. mmariomm
2. Holden2341
3. shimgar

Here's the Section in case you want to peek at any of the games in progress.

§Holden2341	0	0	0.00
mmariomm	0	0	0.00
shimgar	0	0	0.00

Also... Jackpot... I paid 100 points to post #98 for picking the correct order of Section #2 for Round #2.

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's another lesson in side-play from your same game with sarok. Move #22 Green to move. You played a9 here. This isn't a bad move by any means. But I would have played c4. When our opponents play a side before we do and we have an opportunity to share the side with them, it's ALMOST ALWAYS a good idea to do so. The reason for this is because we get an extra move out of the deal. Everything we do is try to find moves everywhere we can. This is the fastest way to run our opponents down to ZERO Available Options. So, you could save that a10 move for later. I would have played c4 here.

So, by playing c4, it's a good move because you can also force a UE and prevent Purple from getting a Closed 2 on that South Side. This will prevent Purple from Gaining Tempo. And my personal opinion is that on most occasions, I would rather gain tempo over forcing the UE, but it's close. And that's why I usually choose sharing a side over forcing a UE, but by playing c4 on the South Side, you can force the UE and prevent a Closed 2. And if Purple should choose to NOT take the side, you can take it for yourself and you will have Gained 2 Tempo, which is HUGE. Don't worry if you don't get this right away. It's just a matter of repetition. Very few players play the sides correctly, so... it's sort of complicated.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070682736&m=42&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[jackpot269]

Thanks for the good lucks and picks! I'll need it!

I was going to pick the same as Jackpot and Daniel as well... but I'll mix things up to make it interesting as well. But I assure you... I'm going to try to win this thing!

My Picks.

1. mmariomm
2. Holden2341
3. shimgar

Here's the Section in case you want to peek at any of the games in progress.

§Holden2341	0	0	0.00
mmariomm	0	0	0.00
shimgar	0	0	0.00

Also... Jackpot... I paid 100 points to post #98 for picking the correct order of Section #2 for Round #2.

Thanks for the points ! I have been going back thru this thread and the teaching points you have made, Im going to study on them some more and I will have a few question about some them!

[blankoblanco]

I know things are still in the early stages, but any thoughts or feelings about the finals games so far John?

[JohnGalt2341]

I know things are still in the early stages, but any thoughts or feelings about the finals games so far John?

Well, I was really afraid of playing terrible early on but I think I played well enough. I am currently at #10 and #11 with Mario and I feel fairly comfortable in my games but I know they are very close.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&s=1&g=15300070765902&m=19

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&s=1&g=15300070765903&m=20

My games with Shimgar we are at #21 and #22, the game where I am Green I think am probably going to lose. And the game where I am Purple I think I still have a chance to win, but this could be very tricky and maybe impossible. It is hard for me to tell right now. There is still an outside chance that I could beat him in both games but I think it is unlikely. But there is also this to consider, in the last Round I noticed he made some mistakes against Phan, and I think he may have made some against you as well. So, if he makes a mistake or two I could possibly win them both, but I'm not holding my breathe on that. I think these next few moves in both games will be telling.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&s=1&g=15300070765904&m=43

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&s=1&g=15300070765905&m=40

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's another lesson in side-play from your same game with sarok. I'll start here by pointing out a mistake by Purple and I'll try to show you how to exploit it. Purple just moved to h1(on the SE side). This was a mistake. This is not the correct way to play a side. Here's why we know this is not the correct way to play a side. Notice how both i1 AND i2 is exposed. What this means is, i1 is for "Run you up on the side", and i2 is for "Finish with the Sweep". What this means is, it means you have an opportunity to Gain Tempo. And not to mention, it may turn into a UE later. If you're confused, I'll try to explain below in the 4th paragraph.

Move #24 Green to move. You played g2 here. g2 is not a great move here. Let me explain why. When you play g2 here, you are setting Purple up for a potential Closed 2 in the future on that SE side. Although, in this particular game, getting this Closed 2 could have been challenging, so your move wasn't exactly terrible but most of of the time I don't recommend setting your opponents up for Closed 2's. Anyway, a Closed 2 is when either you or your opponent has possession of the 2 middle hexes on a side and the hex in between each corner is empty. The reason why we want to prevent our opponents from getting Closed 2's is for 2 reasons. #1, they are difficult to exploit because they are Balanced. And #2 When your opponents get a Closed 2, it means they got 2 moves on the side to your ZERO moves.

Everything we do is to try to find moves everywhere we can. We don't worry about piece count. That is not what we are thinking about. We are thinking about move count. Our one and ONLY objective is to run our opponents down to ZERO Available Options. So, when we set our opponents up for Closed 2's, we are allowing them to Gain Tempo, because they got 2 Free Moves and we got ZERO.

The correct play here for Green is c4. This will force your opponent into an Unbalanced Edge on that South side. If Purple should choose to NOT take the side, you can take it yourself by playing e2. You will then have what I call an Unbalanced 6. It's an Unbalanced Edge but all the pieces will be your own, which means it can only be exploited from one angle so it's not that bad. And you will have gained 2 tempo while Purple will be forced to play elsewhere, so it's well worth it.

After that, Green could play i1(run your opponent up on the side), if Purple takes the side, then Green should play i2(finish with the Sweep). This is where you will Gain Tempo, and Purple will be forced to move again. And now on that SE side, Purple will have a 1 space game between the SE corner and their pieces on the SE side. So, now you could just wait for Purple to play g2 and then Purple would have a exploitable UE on that SE side. Make sense? And if Purple should choose to NOT take the side, you can take it for yourself and you will have Gained 2 Tempo while Purple is forced to play elsewhere.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070682736&m=46&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

Let me know if you have any questions. Forgive me if I repeat myself. Sometimes I can't remember if I have mentioned stuff or not. But with my brother I would usually just mention things over and over again just to stress the importance of it.

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's another lesson in side-play from 1 move later in the same game. Your best move is still c4 here but I want to show you something else here as well. #25 Green to move. You played b11 here. This is not the correct way to play a side. The reason why this is incorrect is because you are creating 2 new exposed pieces for Green at c11 and d10. The correct way to play this NW side for Green would be to play the FIPE at d10 first, and THEN play b11. This way, you get 2 moves out of it instead of just one.

Remember, our one and only goal is to run our opponent down to ZERO Available Options. The best way to do this is to try to MAXIMIZE our moves. We want to be stingy with them. This is why it's so important to play FIPE's(Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely). Meaning, none of the pieces we are flipping are exposed to the outside. The FIPE's for Green for this move are b10, d10, i7, and c4(notice how all the pieces flipped for these moves are entirely on the inside). FIPE's are ALMOST ALWAYS(a very high percentage at least) the BEST moves. UNLESS, you have an opportunity to force an Unbalanced Edge. Forcing UE's supersedes FIPE's most of the time. In this example, c4 is both a FIPE and it's forcing a UE so this is why c4 is the best play here.

I must mention this is well, a lot of this stuff isn't "hard and fast rules" so, you sort of have to think a lot of it through. But these are generally pretty good starting points. There are also tons of exceptions to the rules. I'll try to teach you what takes precedent over time. But I must say this... with my brother... when I was trying to teach him about FIPE's in the beginning... it was just so damn hard to get him to trust it. But once he started to trust it a bit more... he started playing A LOT better. Just try to flip as few outside pieces as you possibly can. And once you learn THAT and correct side-play. I'm nearly certain you will be at LEAST above average. When we play a side, we want it to be a short move. So when you play a side ask yourself "Am I exposing 2 of my pieces by playing this side? Could I be getting 2 moves out of this instead of just 1?"

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070682736&m=48&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

Jackpot, I noticed you lost a close game to Frank recently and I ripped through it and I found a lot of things to learn from in this game. So, I will do a few moves over the next several days and what not. Don't worry that you didn't get things right just as long as you are improving over time. It's just a matter of repetition and getting comfortable with making certain plays and understanding why they work.

I'm not a particularly strong player early on but I try to keep my pieces inside of my opponents and I prefer to play small rather than large if possible. I call my style "The Island in the Water". I try to be the Island.

#5 Purple to move. So, here you played h3. This isn't a terrible move but you would have been better off playing either c8 or d9 IMO. This splits up Greens pieces AND it gets a group of your pieces back together. When you have a chance to get a clean split like this where it's a 1 piece clean split and it gets some of your pieces back together, it's ALMOST ALWAYS a good move. FIPE's will usually supersede a move like this, but you don't have a FIPE option here. So to be able to split one of your opponents pieces off like this and also getting some of your pieces back together like you can with either c8 or d9, these are both very good moves.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070741186&m=9&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's another move against your game vs Frank. Move #8 Purple to move. You played f4 here. The correct play here IMO is i3 as it is a FIPE. Notice how if you would have played i3, the Green piece you would have been flipping is completely surrounded by other pieces(it's unexposed/it's an inside piece). These are the moves we want to look for because they are most often your best moves because they don't create new moves for your opponent.

But when you played f4, you flipped 2 outside pieces. We want to avoid flipping outside pieces as much as we possibly can because when we are flipping outside pieces we are creating brand new moves for our opponent. This is the exact OPPOSITE of our objective which is to run our opponent down to ZERO Available Options. By playing FIPE's(Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely, meaning... none of the pieces you are flipping are exposed to the outside) like i3 in the image below, we create fewer new moves for our opponent and this helps us reach our objective faster, which is to run our opponent out of moves. Once we run our opponent out of moves, then we get to dictate the direction of the game and winning is easy. For me, generally FIPE's are my go to moves. If I have one, I usually take it.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070741186&m=15&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

This is from your same game with Frank. Move #11 Purple to move. You played c9 here. c9 is a good move for sure, as is the FIPE at f9. But the best move here is i5 IMO. Here's why, if you played i5, see how that Green piece you would be flipping is touching 4 of your pieces? What this means is, it means that piece is VERY powerful. I call that piece a Key Piece 4 or KP4 for short. We want to take out these power pieces of our opponents because they can play from several different angles. So, if we haven an opportunity to take out KP3's or higher like the KP4 below... it's sort of like taking out one of their gang leaders.

Plus... because the piece is completely surrounded, it is also a FIPE(Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely, meaning none of the pieces you are flipping are exposed). These are the moves we want to look for first most of the time. There are exceptions, but just try to get into the habit of playing FIPE's as often as you can because they are ALMOST ALWAYS great moves. c9 is a good move here though as well. I just want to really drill playing FIPE's down your throat as much as I can because if all you do is play FIPE's and learn correct side-play, you will be WELL above average. This is practically my entire style.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070741186&m=21&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

I should mention this as well about playing FIPE's, there are most definitely situations where they aren't the best move and once you get better you might get a better understanding of this. My style of play tends to be rather heavy on playing FIPE's compared to some of the other styles it seems to me. But for a beginner.... I recommend playing them often... as often as you can really, unless you have an opportunity force a UE, play that first.

[JohnGalt2341]

The prediction points standings are as follows:

1. blankoblanco 15
2. JohnGalt 13
3. DanielEspinosa 12
4. Jackpot 2

This next round is worth 3 points. Try to get your picks in by tomorrow. There will be a 100 point bonus for picking the exact correct order in which we will finish. Let's see if I can bring this Championship back to SBR!

Well boys, I wasn't able to bring the Championship back to SBR. Tied for 2nd is the best I could do.

blanko Wins most Prediction Points with 18. 1000 points paid to post #136 plus 100 for correct order. blanko also Wins most Wins with 10(I could have paid you sooner but I forgot... lol.. sorry). 500 points paid to post #136, so 1600 in total. Congrats! Well done here all around!

The next Open Fast Tournament starts Tuesday. So, I think I'm going to organize another one right away. Mario and I should have our last game finished up by today or tomorrow. I'll probably start a new thread on SBR tomorrow or Saturday. But I think what I will do is, I'll keep this thread alive for helping Jackpot or other newbies or anyone else, if you want me to review your games or take a look at a move or what not. And then the new thread will be strictly for the new Tournament.

I'll do the recruiting on Facebook and IYT either tomorrow or Saturday. I'm hoping to get at least 50 players for this one.

Here's a link to sign up for the new Tournament. Just find Hexversi and check the box and click Submit down below. The numbers won't be high until I do the heavy recruiting. You have to sign up by Monday and the Tournament starts on Tuesday.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?tournsignup

[Daniel Espinosa]

shimgar must be a sicko!

[jackpot269]

This is from your same game with Frank. Move #11 Purple to move. You played c9 here. c9 is a good move for sure, as is the FIPE at f9. But the best move here is i5 IMO. Here's why, if you played i5, see how that Green piece you would be flipping is touching 4 of your pieces? What this means is, it means that piece is VERY powerful. I call that piece a Key Piece 4 or KP4 for short. We want to take out these power pieces of our opponents because they can play from several different angles. So, if we haven an opportunity to take out KP3's or higher like the KP4 below... it's sort of like taking out one of their gang leaders.

Plus... because the piece is completely surrounded, it is also a FIPE(Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely, meaning none of the pieces you are flipping are exposed). These are the moves we want to look for first most of the time. There are exceptions, but just try to get into the habit of playing FIPE's as often as you can because they are ALMOST ALWAYS great moves. c9 is a good move here though as well. I just want to really drill playing FIPE's down your throat as much as I can because if all you do is play FIPE's and learn correct side-play, you will be WELL above average. This is practically my entire style.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070741186&m=21&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

I should mention this as well about playing FIPE's, there are most definitely situations where they aren't the best move and once you get better you might get a better understanding of this. My style of play tends to be rather heavy on playing FIPE's compared to some of the other styles it seems to me. But for a beginner.... I recommend playing them often... as often as you can really, unless you have an opportunity force a UE, play that first.

It always makes perfect sense when you point it out. Then I miss it in game hopefully I'm getting a little better thanks to your help

[blankoblanco]

I'm bummed you couldn't take it down John, but still a great showing. That damn shimgar is a tricky one

Thanks for the points!

[JohnGalt2341]

shimgar must be a sicko!

I'm bummed you couldn't take it down John, but still a great showing. That damn shimgar is a tricky one

Thanks for the points!

Indeed. Honestly, I think we're all capable of beating him really, and I think blanko's style matches up with his quite well actually. I can't remember if I mentioned this already or not but Ivan beat him in a private game and he made it look fairly easy. I'm currently 9-3 vs Ivan so... he's definitely not unbeatable or anything. Not to mention he just barely beat blanko in a squeaker. Here's the game where Ivan beat him and he resigned. If he can win 2 Tourneys in a row... I will be VERY impressed.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070766850&m=0&u=15200003431584&t=1&gn=97

[jackpot269]

Indeed. Honestly, I think we're all capable of beating him really, and I think blanko's style matches up with his quite well actually. I can't remember if I mentioned this already or not but Ivan beat him in a private game and he made it look fairly easy. I'm currently 9-3 vs Ivan so... he's definitely not unbeatable or anything. Not to mention he just barely beat blanko in a squeaker. Here's the game where Ivan beat him and he resigned. If he can win 2 Tourneys in a row... I will be VERY impressed.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=...1584&t=1&gn=97

you will get him next time buddy!!!

[JohnGalt2341]

you will get him next time buddy!!!

Thanks... I challenged Mario to Ladder game and I feel like I was outplaying him early on but I think I just made a bad move at #7. Here's a situation where I was better off NOT playing a FIPE. I played a FIPE but I should have played the side at d3 instead. We'll see how Mario plays it. I have a feeling he's going to make it hard for me to get the side now.

I am Purple and I played d8 here which is a FIPE but I should have played d3 because by playing d3 I am guaranteed to get BOTH d3 and d8 because there is really nothing he can do to prevent me from getting them both. But if I play d8 first, which I did, now if he plays d9, now I have to earn the move at d3 again. AND not only that, now he earns himself a move at b5 as well. I'm really kicking myself over this move. If he doesn't play d9 I won't really care. I've got to stop making moves when I'm high... lol.

But most of the time... FIPE's are going to be your best moves. But over time you will learn to think things through. I definitely should have played d3 here, no doubt. I'm still kicking myself over this.

[blankoblanco]

John, this might be difficult/impossible to answer, but I'm wondering if you felt you learned anything from your matches with shimgar, perhaps in terms of what are some things he does that make him so good?

Or if you just have any teaching points from those games, mistakes you think you could have avoided to be able to win, etc.? I feel like a lot of the concepts you teach still applied against him, but also felt like he was playing on a slightly different level than the vast majority of my opponents (although I feel similarly when I play against you!)

[JohnGalt2341]

John, this might be difficult/impossible to answer, but I'm wondering if you felt you learned anything from your matches with shimgar, perhaps in terms of what are some things he does that make him so good?

Or if you just have any teaching points from those games, mistakes you think you could have avoided to be able to win, etc.? I feel like a lot of the concepts you teach still applied against him, but also felt like he was playing on a slightly different level than the vast majority of my opponents (although I feel similarly when I play against you!)

It's sort of difficult for me to tell. I would say his mid-game is really strong. He doesn't let you get away with much. Hopefully I'll be able to understand his play better in this next Tournament. I'll be pretty surprised if he goes undefeated again.

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's another one in your game vs Frank. #13 Purple to move. You played e10. You should have played the FIPE at i6. Your 2nd best move here is d4 IMO. If you move 2 hexes NW of d4, do you see that Green piece that is touching 3 of your Purples? That's a KP3(Key Piece, meaning, it holds power because it's touching 3 or more of your pieces which gives it great mobility), so it's relatively powerful. Those types of pieces are good to take out, especially when you are getting some of your pieces back together. i6 is DEFINITELY the best move here IMO, but d4 would be my 2nd choice.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070741186&m=26&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[jackpot269]

If I take i6 and if he takes j5 would d4 still be my next best move? Thanks four the 3 touching rule ill try and keep it in mind when playing

[JohnGalt2341]

If I take i6 and if he takes j5 would d4 still be my next best move? Thanks four the 3 touching rule ill try and keep it in mind when playing

Sorry for the late reply on this... I thought I replied to this but for some reason it never showed up. I think I would play j4, as it would be a FIPE.

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's one move later from your game with Frank. #14 Purple to move. You played d10 here, you should have played i6. d10 is a good move, as it is a FIPE. But the problem with d10 is, it takes away your move at i6. If we play i6 First, we get BOTH moves, i6 AND d10. You can play d10 on your next move after you play i6. So, everything we do is to try to maximize our moves. We want to try to be as stingy with them as we possibly can.

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's a few moves later in your same game with Frank. I want to point this out because this is where "Running a player up on the side" supersedes playing a FIPE. And you'll want to get used to this LOOK and get used to doing this move. Not all the angles will be exactly the same but they will all be similar.

Everything we do is to try to find moves everywhere we can. So, if we can gain a move during an exchange, we call this Gaining Tempo. Every time we Gain Tempo, it's just like scoring a TD or getting a knockdown in a fight. So on the sides how it works is, when you have an opportunity to "Run a player up on the wall/side", you force them to make a decision, they have to either Take the Side or NOT Take the Side. In the image below you played c10 which is a FIPE. But in this situation we have an opportunity to "Run a player up on the Side" by playing c11. This will force Green to protect that NW corner. So Green will be forced to play b11. After Green plays b11, THEN you can play c10 "finish with the sweep". This is where you will Gain Tempo. You Gained Tempo because in the exchange of that little area, you got 2 out of the 3 moves and now Green will be forced to move again and hopefully when Green moves again they will create some more moves for you.

The most important thing here is, that you could do it so cleanly(not flipping outside pieces when you play c10). You have to make sure that you aren't flipping ANY outside pieces in the process. I can't stress enough how bad it is to flip outside pieces. If you are flipping outside/exposed pieces, it ALMOST ALWAYS means you are making a bad move. Once you get the hang of "Running players up on the side/wall" and "finishing with the sweep", you should improve dramatically. I'll continue to help you with this in the future. My brother struggled with this for a while so don't feel bad if you don't get it right away because they come in many different Looks/Angles. But the main thing here is... you should have played c11 instead of c10 because that way you get BOTH c11 and c10 and you will Gain Tempo. So it would have looked like this #17...c11 #18. b11 c10. And then Green is forced to move again and will hopefully create some new moves for you.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070741186&m=34&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's a few moves later with your same game with Frank. Move #21 Purple to move. You played c5 here. Your best 2 moves here IMO are h9 and c4. I'll attempt to explain why and I'll try to teach you a bit more about side-play. There are generally 4 different ways for a player to "control" a side before a corner is captured. Meaning, the player has pieces on a particular side and you have NONE on that same side.

There are generally 3 ways a player can have a balanced edge by "controlling" a side. Balanced edges are VERY GOOD to have because they are difficult to exploit. The 3 different ways a player can control a side and have a balanced edge are a "Closed 2". A Closed 2 is when a player has pieces on the 2 middle hexes and the hexes next to each corner are empty. There is also the "Open 2". An Open 2 is when a player has a piece on the hexes next to each corner on a side and the 2 hexes in the middle are empty. And then there is the Full 4, where a player has pieces on all 4 of the hexes between the corners. All of this is before the corners are captured.

So, one of the things we really want to avoid is setting up players for Closed 2's(especially against blanko, he WILL burn you on this! ). And the main reason for this because not only does it give your opponent a Balanced Edge, but it also allows them to Gain Tempo. Here's what I mean by this, on move #20 Green moved to the spot just right of c4(d3). And then for move #21 Purple moved to c5 and then Green moved to c4 and got the Closed 2. You can see it in the link below. So, in the pocket of hexes of c4, c5, and d3, you got ONE move, and Green got TWO. That means Green just Gained Tempo. Gaining Tempo is HUGE. This is how games are won.

Here's how you should have done it. If Purple plays c4(running your opponent up the wall/side), this will force Green to make an immediate decision. If Green chooses to take the side by playing b5, THEN you play c5(finish with the sweep). This is where YOU will Gain Tempo. If you do it this way, you'll get BOTH c4 and c5. This is how you will Gain Tempo. AND, now Green will have an Unbalanced Edge on the South side of the board. Get used to this move of "Running a player up on the side" like in c4 and h9. This is ALMOST ALWAYS a good move.

Another thing, if you play c4 and Green should choose to NOT take the side, I ALMOST ALWAYS take the side for myself. Even though it will give you an Unbalanced Edge, you will Gain 2 Tempo which is HUGE, but also these types of UE's are difficult to exploit so, the extra tempo you gain is worth it. But the main thing here is... I can't stress enough "Running your opponents up on the side(c4 and h9)... and then "finish with the sweep" if you can like you could have with c5 here. The important thing about "Finishing with the sweep" is doing it cleanly. I'll get into that later, just remember, if you are flipping outside/exposed pieces, it ALMOST ALWAYS means you are making a terrible move. There are exceptions, but they are VERY VERY rare.

My brother had a really hard time remembering not to set up players for Closed 2's. This is a very common mistake. Blanko does a fantastic job of exploiting this. So, just be careful setting players up for Closed 2's.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070741186&m=42&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

Jackpot, I noticed you had some tough losses in your Tournament games. So, I'll go over some of the common mistakes that most players make in these games and where you went wrong. Hopefully these will be great tools for both you and Las8 to learn from and any other future players from SBR. These are all very common mistakes and all of this is just a matter of repetition so, don't worry that you are making these mistakes, you just have to be aware of it. Once you learn the physics of everything, it will start to make more sense.

This is your game below with Dean1006 You are Green. Move #14 Green to move. You played h8 here. h8 is a FIPE, but this is an exception to the rule when you don't want to play a FIPE because this involves side-play. Side-play rules will supersede playing FIPE's. The reason why we don't want to play h8 here is because we will be setting up Purple to play h9 which will give Purple what I call a "Closed 2". We want to try to avoid setting up our opponents for BOTH Closed 2's AND Open 2's(2 hexes in the middle on a side are empty, hexes next to the corners have pieces, vice-versa to the Closed 2). The reason for this is because it means they will have a balanced edge AND it means they got 2 moves on a side and we got ZERO. What this means is, it means they Gained 2 Tempo on us. This is like allowing our opponents to get 2 TD's.

If possible, we want to be patient with the North side here, and either figure out a way to get Purple to play h8, and then we can play h9(run Purple up on the wall) and force an Unbalanced Edge , OR, we might want to try to share the North side with Purple. But what we don't want to do is, we don't want to let them have the Closed 2.

Unfortunately, Green doesn't really have a great move here. I would have played e3. The reason for this is because, e3 creates a new move for Green at b8. And once Green plays b8, that would create another move for Green at d8. When I am making moves, I am always thinking about the moves I am creating for myself. This is my focus. Also, I usually try to avoid flipping pieces in 2 different directions(first few moves of game is okay) because when we are doing this, we are usually creating extra new moves for our opponents.



You might hear me repeating myself with certain phrases and what not. I will likely continue to do this for a while at least, until I see that you guys have a good grasp on the game. I know it's a shitload to learn with tons of exceptions to everything. Let me know if you have any questions.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070876134&m=26&u=15200003431847&t=3&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

This is a couple of moves later from your same game with Dean1006 Here's move #16 Green to move. You played j5 here. You should have played d8 or j4 and then d8. Here's why, there are a few things wrong with j5. #1, you are flipping pieces in 2 different directions. This is almost always a bad idea if you can avoid it. #2 You are flipping 3 outside(exposed) pieces when you could be playing d8 that is a FIPE(Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely, meaning you aren't exposing any new Green pieces besides the piece you just put on the board). But here is another bad thing about j5, you are setting Purple up for an Open 2 on that NE side. If Purple plays k5, they will have an Open 2. What this means is, it means they will have a Balanced Edge, and they got 2 moves on the side so they Gained 2 Tempo which means they are 2 steps closer to running you out of moves which is their objective(if they know what they are doing) as it is our objective as well.

Here is why d8 is such a great move here. #1, it's a FIPE. You aren't exposing any new Green pieces besides the piece you just put on the board. #2, do you see the Purple piece just NE of d8? That piece is touching 4 of your Green pieces. What this means is, it means that piece holds a lot of power. I call that piece a KP4 as in Key Piece 4(it's touching 4 of your pieces.) When you can take out KP3's or higher nice and cleanly like this, it's ALMOST ALWAYS a GREAT move.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070876134&m=30&u=15200003431847&t=3&gn=97

[jackpot269]

Thank you John for your help and all the time you have put into trying to teach me the proper way to play hopefully ill start doing better! Like I said before it all makes sense and I understand when studying and going over iy ! I just got to retain more for play. Sometimes I make a move and rite away see the better one!!

Thanks again

[JohnGalt2341]

Thank you John for your help and all the time you have put into trying to teach me the proper way to play hopefully ill start doing better! Like I said before it all makes sense and I understand when studying and going over iy ! I just got to retain more for play. Sometimes I make a move and rite away see the better one!!

Thanks again

No problem. Hopefully when more players from SBR join in the future I can refer them to these lessons as well. These are all very common mistakes that my brother made for several months. It's just a matter of repetition and getting used to knowing how to read the board better. This game can be very difficult because there are so many exceptions to all of these rules that I am trying to teach you and so much of it seems so paradoxical. You should continue to improve if you stick with it. Let me know if you ever have any questions about anything.

[blankoblanco]

I truly believe these threads are actually the best Hexversi lessons that exist on the internet, thanks to John. The only problem is most people don't know they're here!

But if you want to improve, John's advice is invaluable. You're not gonna find it anywhere else. Trust me, I've tried. You can get some basic Reversi principles, but Hexversi is a bit specific and obscure, and John is one of the best at it. I've learned so much from him

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's 1 move later in Jackpot's game with Dean1006. This is move #17 Green to move. You played f3 here. d8 is still the best move here for the same reasons as move #16. Because it's a FIPE and you aren't flipping any exposed pieces and you are taking out a KP4(the piece you are taking out is touching 4 of your pieces). But what I want to point out here is why f3 is a REALLY bad move. A good way to judge if a move is good or bad is by how many new pieces you expose. So, when you play f3, you are exposing 3 pieces at the hexes at c5, d4, and e3, plus f2 and g2. This is how we know it's not a good move. This is why we don't want to flip outside pieces.

By playing d8, we don't expose any new hexes. This is how we know it's a good move. Make sense? This move was made 13 days ago, so a lot of this stuff I will just go over and over again with you guys until I know you have it down pat. It's just a matter of repetition. It's sort of like learning a language. You just have to learn the rules and what not. But the main thing is, we really want to avoid flipping outside/exposed pieces like you did here below. When we are flipping outside/exposed pieces, it ALMOST ALWAYS means you are making a bad move.

The best move here is d8. After that my 2nd choice would be e3 then probably g2 and then probably h2. I also recommend trying to avoid flipping pieces in 2 different directions when possible. Th first couple of moves of the game is okay. After that, I usually try to avoid it because it usually means you are creating extra moves for your opponent.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070876134&m=32&u=15200003431847&t=3&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

I noticed you guys have played each other quite a few games. I'll do a review of your most recent game that just ended today. I'll point out of a few mistakes. Las8 is Purple and Jackpot269 is Green. This first is for Las8 #14 Purple to move. Las8 played e2 here. This is not the correct way to play a side. When we play a side, we don't want to expose more than 1 piece. So, when you played e2, you are exposing 2 Purple pieces at BOTH d3 AND d4. What this means is, it means you are now vulnerable to being forced into an Unbalanced Edge.

When we play the sides, we want it to be short plays where it's only 1 piece that is being exposed. So, the piece you're putting on the side is right NEXT TO the side. This is how we want to do it EVERY TIME. So what I mean is, you can only expose 1 piece when you are playing a side. You can't expose 2 or more. If you are exposing more than 1 piece when you are playing a side, it almost always means you are playing it incorrectly.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070939618&m=27&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

I would have played i3 here. You would be taking out that KP3, which is always good. I also like d4 here as well as it is a FIPE, so you wouldn't be flipping any outside/exposed pieces, which is always good. The only thing I don't like about d4 here is... I don't normally recommend having more than 1 piece between the X-hexes on a particular side before someone has played that particular side. The reason being is because if you have more than one piece between the X-hexes on a particular side they(seasoned players) can manipulate the side as to force you into an Unbalanced Edge or they will figure out a way to Gain Tempo, OR get a Closed 2 or Open 2. It's just risky, these types of things you usually just have to think it through... "Is there any way he can manipulate this South side to get any of the things above?" You'll get better at these types of things over time. I do like both i3 and d4 here though.

Another thing, I try to keep my pieces nice and tight if I can. My ideal position is a nice tight ball inside of my opponent. And I try to keep my pieces in 1 nice clean clump. This is what I strive for. Avoid flipping outside pieces as much as you possibly can. If you just flipped a bunch of outside/exposed pieces, it ALMOST ALWAYS means you just made a bad move.

[las8]

In your previous example, if d4 was green then it would have been alright? I am trying to picture what you mean by saying only expose 1 piece when playing a side. Looking back at that game I knew I had the other c hex (I believe that's what it is called) at g1 so I was going for the open 2.

[JohnGalt2341]

In your previous example, if d4 was green then it would have been alright? I am trying to picture what you mean by saying only expose 1 piece when playing a side. Looking back at that game I knew I had the other c hex (I believe that's what it is called) at g1 so I was going for the open 2.

Okay, so this is what I mean, look at the image in post #172. You played e2. The pieces you are exposing are the following. The piece you put on the board at e2(this is okay), e3(this is also okay) and e4(this is NOT okay). Now, take a look at if you would have played g1. This is a proper way to play a side. The pieces you are exposing are, g1(this is okay, and g2(this is also okay), and g3 and g4 are unexposed, so you are only exposing 1 piece, not counting the piece that you are putting on the board. This is the correct way to play a side.





I also must stress this, this is VERY important. If you are the first player to play a side, I STRONGLY suggest that you NOT be touching one of your own pieces when you are putting your piece on the board. The reason for this is because it means you can be forced into an Unbalanced Edge. And having just 1 Unbalanced Edge could cost you the game if your opponent is good at exploiting them. So I can't stress this rule enough. SOO many players get this wrong.

Edit. What I mean by this is, look at the image below. This a game between me and Mr. Bruno. I've played him 50 times or so, he does have a couple of wins over me but it would be more if he knew how to play the sides correctly. His opening to midgame is rock solid, but he doesn't know how to play the sides. He makes the same mistake over and over again. His mistake is, when he plays the sides, when he's putting his piece on the side, he's touching his own piece. This makes him vulnerable to be forced into Unbalanced Edges. These are VERY bad to have, especially against me. He played k4 here. Notice how he's touching one of his own Purple pieces when he puts his piece on the board. This means he's playing it incorrectly. The correct way to play the side for Purple here is k5. He doesn't have a move there yet. So, what he needs to do, he needs to EARN the move there at k5.



Here's a link to the game itself below. Starting at #14 Green to move. I am Green. #14 k3(Running Purple up on the side) Purple takes the side. #15 j3(Finish with the sweep). Move's #17 and #18... the same combo...#17 Run my opponent up on the side.... my opponent takes the side, and #18. Finish with the sweep. And then look at moves #20 and #21 as well. Same thing there, #20 Run my opponent up on the side... and #21 Finish with the Sweep. And #22 and #23 as well. #22 Run my opponent up on the side. #23 Finish with the sweep.

This reason why this one two combo is SOOO important is not only does it create Unbalanced Edges for our opponent, but we also Gain Tempo every single time we do this combo. So, get used to doing this. All of these are all a bit different but they are all the same in that we can do the one-two combo and Gain Tempo and force UE's.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070049636&m=26&u=15200000061447&t=1&gn=97

If you want to learn how to force UE's and how to exploit them, I HIGHLY recommend going through ANY of my games vs Mr. Bruno. You will learn how to "Run a player up on a side/wall" and "Finish with the sweep". This is a staple of my strategy. Here's a link to my Ladder wins from 2019 to 2020. I played Mr. Bruno 11 times during that time so there is plenty to go through. He's a good player, but he doesn't know how to play the sides correctly.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?complgame&userid=15200000061447&gametype=97&tn=2&wl=0&st=200

One more thing... NEVER EVER leave one space gaps on the sides between your own pieces. I would say this is a bad move around 98% to 99% of the time. For a beginner... just avoid it entirely. The reason is... we don't want our opponent to wedge between our pieces because this usually means we just gave them 2 FREE moves and at least one of them is a corner.

[las8]

Ok thanks for the explanation it makes a little more sense now. And I had a follow up question which you already explained... How to exploit an UE? So thanks for doing that already. If my opponent plays a C hex I try to take the place right by them. I can either catch him slipping and get the corner or force him to a UE. I just am not great at exploiting that. Did Bruno end up surrendering in that game you have linked? It only goes to move 25.