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[JohnGalt2341]

Here's in example of a Quiet Move in your game vs §alleyH that ended on June 20th. Move #14 Purple to move. alleyH is Purple. Purple played a8 here. What makes this a Quiet Move is because when Purple puts their piece on the board, they are touching 2 Green pieces, but only flipping in one direction. And so what this means is, it means it will give Purple an extra move(Gain Tempo) at a7. Everything we do is to try to find extra moves everywhere we can. This is how games are won. In close games between two highly skilled players, often times just Gaining Tempo like this just once can be enough to win a game.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071053273&m=27&u=15200003412410&t=1&gn=97

[las8]

Yeah, I am playing Frangge in a game right now as well. He plays rather aggressively. My brother often tells me the same thing that he wants to give players advice but he doesn't want to come off as rude. I run into the same problem as well. I was thinking of using the Hexversi discord for New/Novice Othello/Hexversi players and if they voluntarily want me to point out where they are making mistakes in their Hexversi games, I could do so. Sort of like what I am doing on here, but if I do it on discord here:

https://discord.com/channels/888992235939577927/949555519620796446

I am hoping I can attract some more Othello players to play Hexversi. Btw, here's a bit of background on my Othello/Reversi playing history. I played Othello a few times as a kid, I was lousy. I also played it on IYT a bit with online friends in 2001 and 2002, but honestly I was still lousy. And then in 2006 I decided I wanted to become good at it. So I read the eBook "A Minute to Learn... A Lifetime to Master" by Brian Rose who was Othello World Champion in 2001.

https://www.ffothello.org/livres/othello-book-Brian-Rose.pdf

This completely changed the way I played Othello/Reversi. So, I started entering Tournaments on IYT and it wasn't too long before I started winning some Tournaments. But there was one player I could never beat and I always wondered if he was using a program or not. And then in 2007 Hexversi came out and it quickly became my favorite variation of the Othello games as it works really well with my style of play. I sort of stopped playing regular 8x8 Othello shortly after. And for a while I was sort of hooked on Othello/Reversi 6x6 because I was on a mission to beat this really great player named Came Dude who ruled over Reversi 6x6 on IYT for nearly a decade.



And I've sort of played Hexversi on and off since it came out in 2007. But when Covid hit in 2020 I started organizing Tournaments and this was really the first time I was actively trying to recruit Othello players from other sites to give Hexversi a try but I wasn't having much luck.



This is what sort of perplexes me... when Hexversi came out in 2007 I had really only been playing Othello/Reversi for a little less than a year where I actually knew what I was doing. And instantly I thought Hexversi was a much more interesting game than regular Othello/Reversi. I know I'm terribly biased of course. I just find it so bizarre that there aren't more Othello players that don't prefer Hexversi over Othello. I find it strange. I have nothing against Othello at all. But to me, Othello is like June Cleaver and Hexversi is like Raquel Welch. It's no contest in my eyes, sorry June.



My success rate of recruiting Othello players on Facebook and even IYT and other sites is mind bogglingly low. I don't get it. I know I'm biased of course, but to me... it seems like it should be more balanced. If a better site like eOthello had Hexversi I think that would help a lot. I stumbled across this video a year or so ago and I would like to show it to the Othello players but I suspect it would do more harm than good, especially around the 7:32 mark.

I wasn't intending on this post being so long. Post that video you are talking about if you could, I'm not sure what you are talking about. I'm not sure what "Poison" means either. I know some of the Othello terminology but not all of it. I'll show you an example of a "Quiet Move" in the post below this one.

Here is that video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X97i_IgT-qU&ab_channel=OthelloAcademy

I looked up poison after the video. I believe it is a piece that if flipped makes a quiet move in to a loud move. That did not help as I did not really understand the latter two terms.

I have to agree with you on which one is better. I have played Mr. Bruno a few times in 8x8 and I feel boxed in almost immediately. There are way less options which makes the game less fluid imo. I had to look up Raquel Welch. I am familiar with Mrs. Cleaver as my brother's nickname growing up was the Beave as he looks like him. After seeing her picture I would have to agree.

It's safe to say I'm obsessed with this game. I have 17 games going right now. I think I have revenge over winbig and I think I have alleyH on the ropes. I'm not sure wHo your recruiting attempts aren't working. A lot of the principles are the same maybe people are scared to try something new or get frustrated after getting beat bad their first game. Also, I see all these weird chess variations. If I studied chess theory a lot I probably wouldn't enjoy playing atomic or dark chess. It's a mystery to me because I have played hexversi and 8x8 and I know which one is more fun.

[JohnGalt2341]

Here is that video...

I looked up poison after the video. I believe it is a piece that if flipped makes a quiet move in to a loud move. That did not help as I did not really understand the latter two terms.

I have to agree with you on which one is better. I have played Mr. Bruno a few times in 8x8 and I feel boxed in almost immediately. There are way less options which makes the game less fluid imo. I had to look up Raquel Welch. I am familiar with Mrs. Cleaver as my brother's nickname growing up was the Beave as he looks like him. After seeing her picture I would have to agree.

It's safe to say I'm obsessed with this game. I have 17 games going right now. I think I have revenge over winbig and I think I have alleyH on the ropes. I'm not sure wHo your recruiting attempts aren't working. A lot of the principles are the same maybe people are scared to try something new or get frustrated after getting beat bad their first game. Also, I see all these weird chess variations. If I studied chess theory a lot I probably wouldn't enjoy playing atomic or dark chess. It's a mystery to me because I have played hexversi and 8x8 and I know which one is more fun.

Thanks. I watched some of the video and I'll probably watch the rest of it later. I'm not positive on this but I think what Poison means is, it means you are ruining a sweet set up or combo of your opponents, hence Poison. So, if your opponent has this really sweet move or combo that they are about to pull on you and you figure out a way to ruin it. I think that's what Poison means. And I think what Loud moves mean is, it means you are flipping a lot of outside/exposed pieces OR you are flipping pieces in 2 different directions. I'm not positive on these but I'm pretty sure.

When I made the comparison between June Cleaver and Raquel Welch, I was definitely really going old school here and I was hoping you would know who I was talking about.

But these are a couple of images I sort of had in mind. I have nothing against June nor Othello, but I find Hexversi and Raquel more tantalizing hehe.






I definitely agree with you what I put in bold. That's exactly how I feel about the fluidity of Hexversi, it feels much more natural. Probably why there are virtually no squares in nature but there are hexagons.

I think you're right about people not wanting to try something new as well. And then also getting beat bad their first game I think might have a lot to do with it as well. If I was smart I would let them beat me in their first game. If you look at my regular game Wins, I've actually been able to get a fairly decent amount of players to play me at least once or twice, but then the majority of them will quit after that. If I was a really TERRIBLE player, there would probably be hundreds of players playing this game right now... lol.

Congrats on beating §alleyH in another game!

[JohnGalt2341]

I noticed Jackpot has had some tough losses lately and so I think I've figured out why, hopefully this lesson should help quite a bit. Your openings up to midgame have been solid but you've struggled from there. I think the reason for that is because I haven't stressed enough in how important it is to get a corner and then once we get that corner we want to work FROM the corner. So, anytime you have an opportunity to get a corner, you should ALMOST ALWAYS take it, and usually you want to take it IMMEDIATELY, unless it means you are going to lose a corner in return. Then sometimes the trade is not worth it.

So, this lesson is a game between §Jackpot269 and §Freddo48. This game ended on June 23rd and this move was made on June 17th. Jackpot is Purple. Move #15. Purple to move. You played g3 here. g3 isn't a terrible move or anything, but you have an opportunity to take the Western corner at a11, so you should most definitely play a11 because getting a corner is HUGE and you won't be losing a corner in return. And once we get a corner we want to work FROM the corner. What I mean by this is, for our next several moves, we want to keep playing the hexes that are closest to the corner that we just got. So, after you play a11, your next move needs to be either a10 or b11. And then after that, your next move needs to be c11 or a6. And once you get the SW corner at a6, your next move needs to be b5, and after you play b5, your next move needs to be d3, and after you play d3, your next move needs to be e2. Make sense?




And so, every time we get a corner, this is how we want to do it. We want to get a corner and work FROM the corner. This will run our opponents out of moves/options. You may have noticed the notation in White on the board. I marked those to show the X-hexes. If your opponent plays an X-hex, now they will be vulnerable to giving up a corner, and once you get a corner, oftentimes that's all it takes to win a game because if you work FROM your corner you can run your opponent out of moves/options and then you can dictate the rest of the game.

So, once you start taking advantage of jumping on taking these corners, you should start winning a lot more games. Don't sweat it though, it took my brother a while before things started to click for him as well. My problem is, I expect players to read my mind... and then I realize there are about a million things that I forgot to explain or I haven't explained yet. lol... I hope this helps a little anyhow.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071037250&m=29&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

Here is that video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X97i_IgT-qU&ab_channel=OthelloAcademy

It's safe to say I'm obsessed with this game. I have 17 games going right now. I think I have revenge over winbig and I think I have alleyH on the ropes. I'm not sure wHo your recruiting attempts aren't working. A lot of the principles are the same maybe people are scared to try something new or get frustrated after getting beat bad their first game. Also, I see all these weird chess variations. If I studied chess theory a lot I probably wouldn't enjoy playing atomic or dark chess. It's a mystery to me because I have played hexversi and 8x8 and I know which one is more fun.

I just noticed today that you have you a bunch of games going with several players that I have never heard of. How did you manage to do that? That's awesome! If you can keep these players interested in Hexversi and you continue to play them, I could post positions on the Hexversi Discord here:

https://discord.com/channels/888992235939577927/949555519620796446

Sort of like what I do here on SBR, but I would do it at the Hexversi Discord and I would point out mistakes for both you and the new players that you are playing, if they are interested in Hexversi and if they are interested in improving and what not. And hopefully, this would attract some more Othello players as well.

[las8]

I just noticed today that you have you a bunch of games going with several players that I have never heard of. How did you manage to do that? That's awesome! If you can keep these players interested in Hexversi and you continue to play them, I could post positions on the Hexversi Discord here:

https://discord.com/channels/888992235939577927/949555519620796446

Sort of like what I do here on SBR, but I would do it at the Hexversi Discord and I would point out mistakes for both you and the new players that you are playing, if they are interested in Hexversi and if they are interested in improving and what not. And hopefully, this would attract some more Othello players as well.

I just keep posting games in the waiting room and people join. Hopefully I don't beat them too bad and scare them away like you

Yeah, the rankings are a bit goofy. I think the way they work is, if you beat someone ranked higher than you, then you take their spot and they move one rank below you. But if you beat someone ranked lower than you, then you move up just one spot. So I think the reason why §alleyH moved to #1 is because he was ranked #2 when he beat you so he automatically moved up one spot, and his game with you finished AFTER his game with blankoblanco. I think that's what happened anyhow. I don't put a lot of faith in the rankings.

Here's how I would really rank the top 5.

1. mmariomm
2. §Holden2341
3. blankoblanco
4. Toptal
5. §RCCH or maybe §Ryan

You might have to update that list

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's a lesson on how to exploit Unbalanced Edges that are next to Closed 2's. This is a current game between §Las8 and Nuno Sarandes. Las8 is Green. This is for move #18 Green to move. This move was made on June 20th. Las8 played c10 here. This isn't a bad move by any means. But let me explain why b6 is a FAR better move.

If Green plays b6, now Purple is faced with an IMMEDIATE decision. If Purple should take the SW corner by playing a6, now Green can WEDGE in at a7. This will give Green the Western corner at A11, AND, Green will be able to work FROM their corner by taking d11. This will give Green a total of 9 PERMANENT pieces MINIMUM vs Purple's measly 4 permanent pieces. Pretty sweet deal right? Not to mention, you are going to get 3 MOVES out of it as well vs Purple's ONE move, which means you are going to Gain 2 Tempo. This is HUGE!

Here's Purple's other option. If Purple chooses to NOT take the SW corner and chooses to play elsewhere. Then what you can do as Green, you can go ahead and take the South side for yourself by playing e2. This will give you a balanced edge, AND because you got 2 moves out of the deal and Purple got ZERO, and they were forced to play elsewhere, you will have Gained 2 Tempo. Also HUGE!

Purple would be better off with the 2nd option here, but either way, you can Gain 2 Tempo which is HUGE! Make sense?




So, don't be afraid to sacrifice corners that are next to UE's. This is why we create UE's in the first place. To sacrifice the corners and then Wedge in at that Gap. This will enable you to get a corner of your own. And what makes your corner better than theirs is for 2 reasons. #1. We will usually get AT LEAST 5 Permanent Pieces compared to only their 4. But most importantly, we can usually work FROM our corner, at least a little. This is HUGE because it usually gives us AT LEAST 1 extra move. Every extra move we get is just like scoring a TD. Because, we're trying to run them out of moves(good ones at least) before they do the same thing to us. Make sense?

Once you get the hang of properly sacrificing corners and Wedging, it's going to make a HUGE difference in your game. Just remember, that's why create the UE to begin with, so we can sacrifice a corner and Wedge in at that Gap and get a corner of our own.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071050708&m=34&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

I noticed §Las8 lost a Ladder game to my brother §alley that ended today. I just want to point out a couple of things here. This move was made on June 26th. Las8 is Purple. Move #3 Purple to move. Las8 played g3 here. I don't recommend this. I know I've said in the past to split through the middle of your opponents pieces. It doesn't have to be right down through the middle exactly. The most important thing is that we don't expose a lot of our own pieces. We want to try to flip as few exposed pieces as possible. I included the notation in Gray just to illustrate where your pieces are exposed by playing g3. e5 is a MUCH better move here IMO because you are still splitting between your opponents pieces AND the only newly exposed piece is at d8. So, it's nearly a FIPE. Also, it gets your pieces back to one nice clump, which is something that I also recommend. If you look through my games, you will notice that I usually keep my pieces together for the most part. I try to keep one nice clump if possible.



This is for Move #12 Purple to move. Las8 played i2 here. You should have played i6 as it is a FIPE and you would be taking out a KP5(Key Piece 5, meaning, one of your opponents pieces is touching 5 of your pieces). Do you see how if you play i6 you aren't exposing any new Purple pieces? AND, the Green piece you are flipping is touching 5 of your Purple pieces. What this means is, it means that Green piece holds a lot of power, these are really good pieces to take out. The more pieces your opponents pieces are touching your pieces, the more powerful they are. So, when one of your opponents pieces are all nuzzled up in a bunch of your pieces like that, we want to take those out ASAP if we can because they usually have a lot of mobility.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071085606&m=23&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

My brother played well in this game for sure though.

[JohnGalt2341]

First off, I just want to comment, if any of you guys(including §Jackpot269, blanko and Daniel) would like me to do a particular game... and where you may have went wrong, feel free to ask. I know I've been doing a lot of games between §Las8 and §alleyH because you guys play games fairly quickly and I'm familiar with both players so they are fun for me to look at because you guys are sort of evenly matched, or you will be soon I think anyhow. But.... if any of you have any requests like... "where did I go wrong in this game?" Or anything like that... feel free to ask.

So... this is another game between Las8 and alleyH. I just want to make a comment about early play. If you have an opportunity to pick off some of your opponents LONE pieces, these are usually pretty good moves. Unless you have a FIPE(you won't be flipping ANY exposed pieces) of course. FIPE's are usually your best moves. We just want to try to avoid playing TOO BIG. Because if you get TOO MANY pieces early on, you usually end up giving your opponents WAY TOO many options. And against REALLY strong players, it's almost impossible to recover. My ideal position is a relatively small island. blankoblanco's recent win over §Las8 was quite masterful. This is basically what we strive for every time. But it's usually easier said than done of course.

So.... this is for a current game in progress. This won't affect the outcome of the game. This move was made on June 28th. Move #10 Green to move. Las8 is Green. Las8 played j4 here. You should have played h4 as it is a FIPE(Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely, meaning, none of the pieces you are flipping are exposed). And I want to point out what your next best moves are after h4 IMO. After h4, your next best move is c7 IMO, because that lone Purple piece is touching 3 of your Green pieces. This makes it a KP3(Key Piece 3). This gives it a lot of mobility, so it holds a lot of power.

Another good move I like here is g9, by playing g9 we connect some of our pieces back together. AND, we are flipping almost entirely inside pieces, and if we play f9 next, it should be a FIPE. AND we now have all 6 hexes around the Center Piece. But keep in mind here, g9 is my THIRD choice. The main reason I don't like j4 is because you are exposing that piece at f9(and j5 for that matter but especially at f9).

One thing that I always remind my brother of is, we want to try to figure out ways to get AS MANY MOVES out of everything as we possibly can. So, when you played j4 and you are flipping that piece next to f9, you just flipped another piece when you could have gotten another move out of it. Make sense? Our whole entire goal is to try to figure out ways to MAXIMIZE our moves.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071095271&m=18&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

I must say, my brother played REALLY well in this game. You were playing TOO BIG early on and you didn't really have a chance after that.

[JohnGalt2341]

This lesson is for a current game between §Jackpot269 and §Las8. This won't affect the outcome of the game. This is a lesson in side-play. This lesson is for Jackpot. Jackpot is Purple. This move was made on June 28th. Move #17 Purple to move. Jackpot played a7 here. This is not the correct way to play a side.

I want to point out a couple of things here first. #1 Side-play is the hardest thing for most players to learn. Most players NEVER figure it out EVER. #2 Purple is completely dominating this game right now. The reason why we know this is because Purple has 20 different options to choose from compared to Green's only 7 options. Now, we just have to teach you how to play the sides correctly. Once you learn how to play the sides correctly, it's going to make a HUGE difference in your game. It's not as difficult as it may seem. You just have to get used to it, and you have to be disciplined with it.

Here is WHY a7 is an INCORRECT way to play a side. It's because when you flip those pieces to Purple, you are going to be exposing TWO Purple pieces. There is going to be one exposed at a8 and also one exposed at b8. Here's how you can avoid that. If you play the FIPE(Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely, meaning none of the pieces you are flipping are exposed) at b8 FIRST. And THEN you play a7. This way, you get TWO moves out of it. AND, you won't get forced into an Unbalanced Edge. Make sense?

Don't sweat it... this is the #1 Most common mistake in the HISTORY of Hexversi. There are players that have played SEVERAL hundred games of Hexversi on here and STILL get this wrong. These types of moves look SOO tempting... I know. But... it's a bad move... I assure you. Play the FIPE FIRST. If you are exposing more than 1 piece when you are playing a side... it ALMOST ALWAYS means you are playing it incorrectly. There are exceptions, but they are rare.

Just to make it clear... other incorrect plays on the side for Purple in this game would be... e11(INCORRECT), k5(INCORRECT), j1(INCORRECT), and e2(INCORRECT). ALL of these would be INCORRECT ways for Purple to play a side in this game. It's because Purple would be exposing more than 1 piece when they flip their pieces. And what this means is, it means you are now vulnerable to being forced into an Unbalanced Edge. And having just ONE Unbalanced Edge can cost you a game. So, what you have to do is, you have to play the hex in between FIRST. For example, on e2, you can't just play e2, you have to play d4 FIRST, and THEN play e2. This way, you get 2 moves out of it and you won't be forced into a UE. Make sense?

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071088951&m=33&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

Also, I can't emphasize enough how important it is to protect the corners. If your opponent is threatening to take a corner, you have to protect it. Unless you know you will be getting a corner in return. But if you won't be getting a corner in return, then you have to protect the corner so your opponent won't get the corner. Because once your opponent gets JUST ONE corner, that's often enough to win the game. Because they can run you out of moves after getting a corner. AND, if your opponent should ever offer you a corner... by all means... take it. Unless, they are going to get one in return, then sometimes it's not a good deal. But, I'll teach you about that later.

[JohnGalt2341]

First off I just noticed that §Las8 beat §RCCH in a game!! Holy shit! That's huge! RCCH is GOOD!! Well done!!

This lesson is for openings. This is a game between §Las8 and §Andy. §Las8 is Green. This game ended today. This move was made on July 7th. Move #5 Green to move. Las8 played c8 here. The best move here is certainly debatable but I like f8 here, here's why. By playing f8 we are taking out a KP3 of Purples because that Purple piece is touching 3 of your Greens. The reason why I prefer f8 over g8, h7, j5, j4, and i4(all of these are KP3's as the Purple piece is touching 3 of your Greens) is because by playing f8 it keeps Greens pieces in a nice tight clump. This is my ideal position. My ideal position is a nice tight round ball inside of my opponents pieces, preferably small. And I like my pieces to be hugging against each other if possible.

I want to mention something about these lone pieces, picking off these lone pieces like this, these are ALMOST ALWAYS good moves. ESPECIALLY when they are touching 3 or more of your pieces. About the only time I will pass up on these lone pieces is if I have a FIPE or if I can force a UE. Other than that, picking off lone pieces like this... these are VERY good moves. And try to keep your own pieces hugging up against each other, as tight as you can.



This is from the same game. This move was also made on July 7th. Move #8 Green to move. Las8 played g2 here but he should have played h4 as it is a FIPE(Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely, meaning none of the pieces you are flipping are exposed). And what's really bad about this one is, by playing g2, you are giving Purple your FIPE move at h4, which Purple took on their next move. So, this one hurt you quite a bit. Had you played h4 FIRST, not only would you have prevented Purple from playing h4, but you could have played g2 on your next move if you wanted to.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071120957&m=14&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

Learning what takes precedent is really difficult to learn, especially because there are SO many exceptions to all of the "rules" and what not. But most of it comes down to trying to figure out ways to create as many moves/options as you can for yourself while trying to prevent your opponent from doing the same. I can't emphasize enough in playing the FIPEs. If you have moves where you aren't flipping ANY exposed pieces, these are USUALLY your best moves. Unless you have opportunities to force UE's(run your opponents up on the side and finish with the sweep), these will usually supersede FIPEs.

I'll try to do some more from the openings in the next few days or so.

[JohnGalt2341]

I'm going to do one more here from the same game between §Las8 and §Andy that ended on July 9th. This move was made on July 7th. Las8 is Green. Move #10 Green to move. Las8 played c7 here. This isn't a bad move, but you should have played the FIPE at f3, as none of the pieces you will be flipping will be exposed. Plus by playing f3 here, you get all your pieces back together again.

FIPEs are ALMOST ALWAYS your best moves or one of your best moves. There are exceptions, such as when you can run a player up on a side and try to force a UE. And other exceptions as well, particularly when it comes to playing near the sides. But I recommend to just try to get in the habit of playing the FIPEs as often as you can if you see them because even if they aren't your best move, they are usually a VERY good move because you aren't exposing any new pieces, which means you are creating fewer new moves for your opponent.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071120957&m=18&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

This is another lesson on openings. This is a game between §Las8 and blankoblanco. This game ended on June 28th. This move was made on June 26th. Las8 is Purple. Move #2 Purple to move. Las8 played g4. I don't recommend this. I'm not an expert on openings but I like to keep my pieces in one clump most of the time. AND, I like to divide my opponents pieces into many different sections at the same time, if given the opportunity. This is why I recommend d7 here. You'll get your Purple's back to one nice clump, AND, Green's pieces will now be divided into 3 different groups, even if only temporarily.

Some of the Othello players, and even blanko can play well without always trying to keep their pieces together. But for me, I usually like to keep my pieces together if I can. For this particular opening, I definitely recommend d7.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071087059&m=3&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

First off, I forgot to mention this the other day as well, I noticed §Las8 has a recent win over Angela Malkowski. Well done! She's a good player. She's definitely well above average, her main weakness is her side-play. But she's beat Toptal, §RCCH, §Ryan, as well as several wins over my brother.

This is a lesson in openings. This a current game between §Las8 and §Mr. Bruno. This won't affect the outcome of the game. Las8 is Green. This move was made on July 12th. Move #2 Green to move. Las8 played e8 here. The best move here is certainly debatable, but I usually play d7 here. Here's why, so.... you know how when I am explaining the KP3's and such... when your opponents pieces are touching your pieces... that's good for them. So, when you are touching their pieces... it's good for you. So, by playing e8, you aren't really setting yourself up for anything in the future. What we want to do is.... we want to try to maximize our options at every angle possible if we can. So, by playing d7, we set up a potential new move at d5.

h5 is also a decent move here, but I don't like it as much because the h7 set up strays out and you have a gap at g7. I like to keep everything nice and tight if possible. g7 is also a good move here as well. With this particular opening, c6 also works, but it's difficult to explain. I recommend d7 here. It keeps that nice tight ball and it sets you up for a potential move in the future.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071144166&m=2&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

I started posting my Hexversi Daily Challenges at the Hexversi Discord at the link below:

https://discord.com/channels/888992235939577927/949555519620796446

I know Las8 already has an account created but for anyone that doesn't, you should be able to create one in the link below if you are interested:

https://discord.me/othelloacademy

I know I haven't done any lessons in a while but I'll try to do some within the next couple of days or so. If any of you guys have any requests for any specific games or anything like that, feel free to let me know.

[JohnGalt2341]

Sorry I haven't posted any lessons in a while. First off, I noticed §Las8 has a recent Win over §Ryan. That's huge! Well done! I also noticed the recent Win over §Steve in NY as well as 2 recent Wins over §Mr. Bruno. These are all solid players here. You're definitely top 10(my rankings) in the Ladder now for sure, if not top 5. We just need to work on your side-play a bit. And, and I can't emphasize enough how good of moves FIPE's(Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely, meaning, none of the pieces you are flipping are exposed) usually are.

This lesson is for §Las8. This was his recent Win over §Ryan. This game ended on July 28th. This move was made on July 20th. Las8 is Green. Move #19 Green to move. Las8 played k4 here. I don't advise this. The reason why this is not the correct way to play a side is because you are going to be flipping TWO exposed pieces. ONE at k3 AND ONE at j3. What this means is, it means you are vulnerable to being forced into an Unbalanced Edge. And you did indeed end up with a UE. Now, it worked out for you in this game. But here's why it worked out for you in this game, I'll continue typing below...

Notice Purple's move #19 in the link below. Notice how Purple has TWO flipped exposed pieces when they played the side. What this means is, it means they are now vulnerable to getting a UE. And you correctly called him out on it, and he ended up with a UE on the SE side.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071164019&m=38&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

And here's move #32 for Purple. Now he's just trying to protect that Eastern corner. But again... because he's flipping TWO exposed pieces when playing a side... he's vulnerable to getting forced into a UE. And you played it beautifully. Move #33 for Green you ran him up on the side, forced Purple to protect that SW corner. #34 Green finishes with the sweep. And now Purple has back to back UE's. This is a gold mine for Green. And all of this is possible because of Purple's mistake at move #19 and you exploited it beautifully.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071164019&m=63&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

So, when we play the sides, we want to make sure that we are NOT flipping TWO exposed pieces. So, in the example above, the correct play is to play j5 first and then play k3, and then you can play j3 after that. This way, you get more moves out of it. AND, you are only exposing just ONE piece when playing the side. This makes it MUCH less likely that you will be forced into a UE.

A lot of this stuff has exceptions to the "rules" but you don't really want to get into the habit of "breaking the rules" because the really strong players will usually smoke you on mistakes like these. Let me know if you have any questions. I ripped through a couple of your other games and I noticed a few other similar mistakes. I'll try to point out a couple of others before the next Tournament. The next Tourney will likely start August 8th. I tied for 2nd in this current Tourney. ..shimgar is one tough cookie. I thought I had him beat, but I choked.

shimgar (winner)	8	4	2.00
§Holden2341	2	4	0.50
Ivan Gutorov	2	4	0.50

[las8]

Thanks again for the advice John! I know you have brought up not flipping more than one exposed piece when playing a side. I am glad you brought this example up because I was just trying not to do what Ryan did on move #19 where he had two exposed on that long chain. I see there are different examples of that now. I appreciate the kind words. I played Scott Sitar recently. I had just left work on a Friday in a rush and I blew that game letting him wedge me on the west corner. Before the game he asked me if I was another professional that you recruited that was going to wipe the floor with him. I thought that was funny. I am excited to finally play in this tournament! And I appreciate your kind words.

[JohnGalt2341]

Sorry I haven't done any lessons in a while. This lesson is for Las8. This is a game between §Las8 and §alleyH. This game ended on August 5th. This move was made on August 2nd. Las8 is Green. Move #15 Green to move. You played d9 here. This isn't a terrible move, but you are exposing a piece at e9 when you flip those 2 Purples, so it's not a true FIPE. i3 is a MUCH better move as it is a true FIPE, AND you are taking out a KP5, as that Purple piece is touching 5 of your Greens. i3 is the best move here, for sure.



I want to express a couple of other things here as well. If given a choice between playing a FIPE or trying to control the pieces around the Center Piece, I will ALMOST ALWAYS choose the FIPE, because you are creating less new moves for your opponent. And this is our objective, to run our opponent out of moves.

Here's another example, this is from the same game from a few moves earlier. I didn't fill in all of the notation here but this is very similar to the example above. Move #12 Green to move. You played i4 here. This isn't terrible or anything, but c6 is a FIPE as you wouldn't be flipping any exposed pieces, AND a KP3 as that Purple piece is touching 3 of your Greens. FIPE's are going to be your best moves more times than not, UNLESS you can force a UE, that will usually supersede a FIPE. There are other exceptions as well, but try to get in the habit of looking for FIPE's and playing them as often as you can. It's nice to play around the Center Piece but I will take a FIPE over playing around the CP nearly every single time.


One other thing that I sort of noticed in your games as well is, and maybe you picked this up from playing my brother so often... because this is something my brother does a lot that I don't recommend... it's usually not a good idea to have several long octopus-like tentacles all over the board. I try to avoid having any at all if possible. My ideal position is compact and small and round, inside of my opponents pieces. I like to keep things tight if possible. When you get these long tentacles hanging over near the sides like that... you make yourself vulnerable to getting burned on the sides.

It's all a very delicate balance, we want to try to keep our pieces inside of our opponents, and if possible... try to avoid creating the octopus if we can. Sometimes it's unavoidable. I just don't recommend it.

I know there's SOO much to remember... and there's a TON of exceptions to everything... hopefully I don't contradict myself too much....

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071204298&m=22&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

I just ripped through the Tournament game between §Las8 and §Scott Sitar where Las8 is Green. First off, Scott Sitar is no slouch. But he played EXTREMELY well in this game. I didn't find a lot of mistakes but he outplayed you early IMO so... it was sort of a tough road. I'll point out a couple of things here.

I didn't fill in all of the notation to save time. The Red notation is where you moved, and the Green is where I would have moved. Move #4 Green to move. This move was made on August 9th. The best move here is certainly debatable, but I like the FIPE at i4 because you aren't flipping any exposed pieces, AND it's sort of keeping your pieces in a more compact shape, even if just slightly. But the main thing is, you wouldn't be flipping any exposed pieces.

.

For this next one, again I didn't fill in all of the notation and the best move here is certainly debatable. This move was made on August 10th. Move #10 Green to move. You played c8 here. I would have played d5. Here's why, here's what I don't like about c8 first, you just created a brand new move for Purple at g3. If you played d5, not only would you have taken away Purple's move at c7, but now YOU created a move for YOU at g3. AND, you would have also created a move for yourself at g9. AND, Purple wouldn't have a move at f4... this is the huge part(meaning it's safe because you're not creating anything new in the pocket). Your c8 move wasn't terrible or anything. The main reason I didn't like it was because it created that move for Purple at g3. But if you can find moves in pockets(surrounded by other pieces) like d5... and they aren't creating a bunch of new moves for your opponents... these are usually VERY GOOD moves.



For this last one, again I didn't fill in all of the notation, and again the best move here is certainly debatable. This move was made on August 13th. Move #25 Green to move. You played d3 here. I would have played b5. By playing d3, because you are the first player to play the side and you are touching one of your own pieces when you are putting your piece on the board, it means you are vulnerable to being forced into a UE. Sometimes this is unavoidable. And sometimes you can get away with it. But Purple forced you into a UE on their next move. And now you are in a VERY vulnerable position.

But if you play b5 instead, because Purple doesn't have a move at c4, as long as Purple doesn't play d3 on their next move, Green can play c4 on your very next move which will mean you will Gain Tempo. Purple still has multiple ways to win at this point so... there wasn't really a lot you could do. k5 would have been a decent option here as well.




Anyway... Scott really played great in this game. Your mistakes were pretty minor. That's about all I could find in this game really. I'll look over the other games later. I paid 500 points to post #4 in the other thread for winning the most games for a newbie. Congrats on that!

Also... Jackpot... I know I haven't posted much about any of your games in a while. I noticed you almost pulled a really nice upset against my brother §alleyH where you were Green. I thought you had him there for a minute. Let me know if there are any games you want me to review.

[las8]

Appreciate it John! I knew I was going to struggle with Scott. I feel like I should have split that really close game. Oh well it's the luck of the draw I guess.

[JohnGalt2341]

Hi guys, I think I might have told you that I post Hexversi Daily Challenges at the Othello Academy(I used to post them at Facebook) at the Hexversi channel found here:

https://discord.com/channels/888992235939577927/949555519620796446

But it's mostly the BEST players playing these HDC's like, shimgar, mmariomm, Ivan Gutorov, and ethmah01. And these guys have been playing Othello forever so, it's pretty difficult for me to find challenging puzzles for them everyday. Plus, I'm more interested in helping players improve and recruiting new players as well. And I rarely ever recruit new players from Facebook nor the Othello Academy anymore so I'm going to stop posting the puzzles there daily. I may post some from time to time over there, just not every day.

I was thinking of starting to post some puzzles here that aren't quite as difficult if you guys are interested. I'll post a puzzle, I'll give you guys at least 24 hours for at least 1 person to to take a guess, and then the next day I'll post another screenshot with the answer and an explanation as to why that answer is correct, or at least why I think it is correct. And hopefully through these puzzles I will be able to show you guys some new tricks. Here's the first one:

SBR Hexversi Daily Challenge #1 What's the best move for Green(feel free to take a guess)



Also, if any of you guys have any particular games you would like me to review, feel free to let me know. I know I've been sort of lazy with that lately.

[blankoblanco]

I definitely know the play I'd make there, I'll let someone else take a shot at it first if they want to

And I might take you up on that game review, my play has been pretty sloppy lately

[JohnGalt2341]

I definitely know the play I'd make there, I'll let someone else take a shot at it first if they want to

And I might take you up on that game review, my play has been pretty sloppy lately

Feel free to do so. Just pick a game and I'll see what I can find.

I was thinking of maybe doing some Hexversi Daily Challenges in Players Talk like the one above for a few days in hopes of trying to recruit some new players. I was thinking something like, one guess per person per puzzle, with a 50 point prize for each puzzle. First person to get it right, Wins. And once you win the 50 point prize once, you can't win it again.

I'm not sure if it would work or not, and SBR might move it to the Saloon right away, but I might give it a shot anyway. But if they don't move it to the Saloon... I was thinking of running it for maybe 10 days in a row or so. Maybe it'll attract a few players. One thing is for sure... I can see the trolls complaining already.... SALOON THIS SHIT!

[blankoblanco]

Feel free to do so. Just pick a game and I'll see what I can find.

Alright! Does anything jump out at you in this game?: https://www.itsyourturn.com/iyt.dll?...18716&t=1&gn=0 I definitely know I made some moves you would not make -- usually a bad sign

Felt like I wasn't in a very good spot around move 20 or so, most of my pieces were on the outside. It also got pretty wild around move 30+, feel free to comment on that as well, anything you spot that's interesting!

[JohnGalt2341]

Alright! Does anything jump out at you in this game?: https://www.itsyourturn.com/iyt.dll?...18716&t=1&gn=0 I definitely know I made some moves you would not make -- usually a bad sign

Felt like I wasn't in a very good spot around move 20 or so, most of my pieces were on the outside. It also got pretty wild around move 30+, feel free to comment on that as well, anything you spot that's interesting!

Wow, this was a VERY interesting game. You definitely got outplayed early IMO. Openings aren't really my strongpoint but I'll point out a couple of things here. You did such a great job of blocking off the entire Eastern section of the board so I think that sort of justified your outside moves. I really couldn't find much to tell you the truth. But here's a few that I would have played differently.

Well... first off... I don't normally open with 1. d7. I have played it before(mostly Ladder games I think) but... not often. But the follow up I usually go with c6. I'm not sure if I can explain why exactly... lol other than I think c6 is a better move here.



This one is also certainly debatable. You played i6. I think I would have played g3 here. Purple would likely respond with f4 and then Green can play f3. And then after that I think Purple should open up a move for you and give you an opportunity to gain tempo unless I am missing something. I could be wrong on this one. Ideally, we want Purple to pick off your lone Green piece after we play g3 and THEN play i6.



You played j1 for this one. I would have played f4 here. This gives you an extra move out of the deal. You may have played j1 to make sure that you get it? The North side you played exactly how I would have played. You followed it up with h9, and then once Purple played j7 you played i8 to not have to worry about your potential UE on the NE side.



Honestly, that's about all I could find really. The second half of this game I thought you played great. I'm trying to find somewhere where he could have exposed a mistake but I didn't see anything. Maybe I'll look through it again tomorrow night. Congrats on the Win!

[blankoblanco]

Thanks for looking it over! I guess I sorta had my reasons for playing i6 before g3, but it's a bit nebulous. Deferring to your experience and the fact that you always beat me, I'd have to say you're probably right. But maybe it's hard to know for sure

I do however 100% agree with you that I should have played f4 before j1. I don't think there's any need to make sure I get j1. It will pretty much always be there for me later. So most of the time I just lose a move out of the deal. Good spot!

[blankoblanco]

Also, since nobody else wanted to answer your earlier challenge in this thread, I'll just go ahead and say: it's f2

[Daniel Espinosa]

Also, since nobody else wanted to answer your earlier challenge in this thread, I'll just go ahead and say: it's f2

I would have played i6, but yeah, I missed it, f2 is obviously the correct play here.

[jackpot269]

John I just want to thank you again, for all the time and effort you put into helping us, but most of all me (ive been a bad student) I dont know that there is a more generous person out there with there time and willingness to help others when they have a vast knowledge of something, and willing to teach it for nothing in return!

All the lesson are great, in the game you pointed out where I didnt take that conner I simple got in a hurry and was not studying the board! I hate when you point out something to me and then I do the same thing again, I am playing a lot and Las8 and myself start a new game every time we finish one, I do feel my early play is solid but when I get half to 3/4 thru a game is where I'm struggling, but still love the game and thanks for introducing me to it!!

[JohnGalt2341]

John I just want to thank you again, for all the time and effort you put into helping us, but most of all me (ive been a bad student) I dont know that there is a more generous person out there with there time and willingness to help others when they have a vast knowledge of something, and willing to teach it for nothing in return!

All the lesson are great, in the game you pointed out where I didnt take that conner I simple got in a hurry and was not studying the board! I hate when you point out something to me and then I do the same thing again, I am playing a lot and Las8 and myself start a new game every time we finish one, I do feel my early play is solid but when I get half to 3/4 thru a game is where I'm struggling, but still love the game and thanks for introducing me to it!!

No problem man. Thanks for the kind words. I enjoy teaching new players. Don't be too hard on yourself. It's very easy to make mistakes(especially if you play on your phone lol). When I am going through my old my games from 2007 and 2008 looking for potential puzzles, I often come across mistakes I made, and I am thinking "What in the hell was I thinking here??". And this was after I had already been playing Othello for a couple of years, so I already had a few hundred Othello games under my belt and I had already read Brian Rose's ebook "A Minute to Learn... A Lifetime to Master..." which can found in the link below if you are interested.

https://www.ffothello.org/livres/othello-book-Brian-Rose.pdf

It's for Othello strategy but many of the concepts are similar to Hexversi. Fortunately for me, there wasn't a lot of good players back then so, I was able to get away with a lot of mistakes. If there are any particular games you would like me to review or any particular moves are anything like that.... feel free to ask.

[jackpot269]

bump

[JohnGalt2341]

I just wanted to show §Las8 something here in a recent game vs Andy. I think this is something that I haven't talked much about with you guys. And this is about moving into empty pockets. If possible, we want to move into ODD(empty spaces) pockets over EVEN pockets. Particularly, we want to avoid pockets of 2 if possible. Sometimes it's unavoidable, and sometimes it's not so bad, as long as the pieces you are giving up aren't necessarily going to be permanent.

In this example below, Green played a6. I don't advise this because this gives Purple the last move in the pocket at a7 and these pieces are now permanent. Getting the last move in the pocket is HUGE! Moving first into empty pockets of 1 and 3 is ALMOST ALWAYS a good idea. So, in this particular situation, Green is far better off playing d4. And just try to keep playing FIPE's(like d4) as long as you can, and hopefully you can force Purple to move into a7 FIRST, and this way Green will get the last move in the pocket.

There are times when I will move first into EVEN pockets, but usually I try to avoid it if I can. But sometimes if you don't, you might not be able to get the corner and what not. It all depends on if you have a good alternative or not. The bottom line is... GETTING THE LAST MOVE IN A POCKET IS VERY VERY GOOD! I CAN'T EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH!!

In games vs 2 very strong players.... it often comes down to... who's better at manipulating the pockets so they can get the MOST last moves in the pockets. Because getting the LAST moves in the pockets equals a higher score. Especially on the sides because those pieces are permanent. I hope this helps.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071450603&m=52&u=15200003432044&t=1&gn=97

[jackpot269]

Bump make easy to find pi

[JohnGalt2341]

I've been pretty lazy with doing reviews lately, and SBRIan recently rejoined the Ladder, and he had a tough loss against §sht10 so I figured this would be a good time to do a review. There's a lot to learn from in this game. I should mention that sht10 is a good player and he's a veteran of all the Reversi related games and there is no shame in losing to him. Check out his player profile to see his resume.

I ripped through the game fairly quickly and I'm going to point out at least a few mistakes tonight, and I'll probably do at least a few more within the next couple of nights or so. These are very common mistakes so, don't sweat it. This game ended on October 20th. SBRIan is Purple.

This move was made on October 16th. Purple played f4 here. I'm not an expert on openings, but generally what I am trying to do is, I am trying to get my pieces INSIDE of my opponents pieces as much as I can. This should create MORE options for you, and LESS options for your opponent. So, by playing f4, you are flipping OUTSIDE/EXPOSED(this is not good) pieces. What this does is, it creates MORE moves/options for your opponent. Our goal is to run our opponent out of options. By playing f8 instead, you are flipping only 1 exposed piece at one hex at g8, compared to 2 exposed pieces that will be exposed at 3 hexes by playing f4.

Also, do you see that Green piece that is 2 pieces East of f8? That piece is touching 4 of your Purple pieces. What this means is, it means that piece has a lot of mobility(if they are touching 3 or more of your pieces), so it has a lot of power. When we have a chance to take pieces like those out, it's usually a good idea to do so, as long as we aren't flipping outside/exposed pieces in the process.


This is one move later. This will be your introduction to what I call FIPE's. This move was also made on October 16th. Purple played d8 here. That wasn't a terrible move or anything, but the piece you are flipping is exposed at both c8 and c7. And you had 2 better moves IMO. What FIPE means is, Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely. Meaning, you aren't flipping ANY pieces that are exposed. On this particular move, you could have played either i3 or g3 without flipping any exposed pieces. FIPE's won't always be your best moves, but more times than not they will be. There are exceptions to the rule, but playing FIPE's is ALMOST ALWAYS a good move. It gets a bit tricky when they are close to the sides and what not. I'll teach that a bit later. But I recommend playing FIPE's as often as you can for new players because you aren't exposing any new pieces, and that creates less new moves for your opponent.



I have at least a few more I'm going to do for this game. I'm having some trouble with the image posting site right now, hopefully it'll be fixed within the next couple of days or so.

[JohnGalt2341]

This is from the same game between SBRIan and §sht10 that ended on October 20th. SBRIan is Purple. Purple played g8 here. This one hurt you quite a bit because now you are building a wall of exposed Purple pieces. This creates more options for your opponent. A much better move for you here would have been the FIPE at c8. The reason for this is because you wouldn't be flipping any exposed pieces. The notation I put in Gray, is future potential moves/options for Green after you made your move. By playing FIPE's, it generally creates fewer new moves for your opponent. FIPE's won't always be your best move, but they are more times than not.

This next one is a side-play move. Btw, don't worry about getting any of this wrong. Most players never figure any of this out, EVER. Side-play is the hardest part for most players to learn. This is sort of my specialty. If you can learn correct side-play, you should be able to beat at least 90% of the players in the Ladder.

There are generally 4 different ways a side can be played in Hexversi BEFORE the corner is captured. I made up some of this terminology specifically to Hexversi to help teach my brother. The 4 ways are: The Full 4, meaning you have pieces at g10, h9, i8, and j7. The Open 2, meaning you have pieces at g10 and j7, but h9 and i8 are empty. The Closed 2, meaning you have pieces at h9 and i8, but g10 and j7 are empty. All 3 of these are acceptable ways to play a side. And it doesn't matter what side you play it on. The one we want to avoid is the Unbalanced Edge or UE for short. Meaning you have pieces at g10, h9, and i8, but j7 is empty. OR, you have pieces at j7, i8, and h9 but g10 is empty. So, we ALWAYS want to have our sides balanced if possible. It's also okay to share sides with your opponent.

Okay, so now lets talk about this move. Purple played i8 here. So, in order for Purple achieve a Balanced Edge after playing i8, Purple will need to play h9 to get a Closed 2. This is going to be very difficult if not impossible. A much better move for Purple here is to play the FIPE at h8. And then depending on how Green responds, Purple can respond with either j7 OR h9. Don't worry if this doesn't make sense to you right now, I know this is a lot to take in. Learning side-play is the hardest part of Hexversi.


This one was pretty huge because you were still in the game at this point. Purple played a9 here. This isn't a terrible move or anything. But i1 would have been a FANTASTIC move here!! Here's why, once Purple plays i1, this forces Green to protect that Eastern corner, so Green must play h1. This is going to flip that wall of 4 horizontal Purples to Green. AND, now Green is going to have an Unbalanced Edge along that SE side. This is good for you, VERY GOOD. After Green plays h1, Purple can play h2, this will allow you to Gain Tempo.



I want to point out something else in the image above. The combo I just explained above, I have a name for this. I call it, "Running a player up on the side(i1), and finishing with the Sweep(h2)." Your opponent will now have a UE, and you just got 2 moves out of the deal and they got 1, which means you Gained Tempo. This is HUGE. One more thing I want to put out. Look at the North side in the image above. See that Purple triangle. That's not good to have because it makes you vulnerable to the exact same combo. This is why it wasn't good to play i8 for #17.

Because now if Green runs you up on the side by playing h9, and Purple takes the side by playing g10, and if Green finishes with the Sweep by playing g9, Purple will now have an Unbalanced Edge on that North side, AND Green will have Gained Tempo. The reason why UE's are bad to have is because they leave a Wedge spot. What this means is, it means your opponent can deliberately sacrifice a corner and then WEDGE in that wedge spot. This will give your opponent a corner of their own. And the reason why their corner is usually better than yours is because they will usually get AT LEAST one extra move out of the deal, and often several. And they will usually be able to work FROM their corner, where as the original corner will usually only be 4 or 5 permanent pieces. This is why it's NOT GOOD to have UE's. Creating and exploiting UE's is a HUGE part of my strategy.

Don't worry if this doesn't make sense to you right now. Once you figure out how to exploit players poor side-play, this game will become REALLY fun!

If ANYONE reading this has ANY questions.... let me know!

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300071471784&m=42&u=15200003428102&t=1&gn=97