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

[JohnGalt2341]

I may have SERIOUSLY underestimated Amelrus I found him on eOthello and he's rated #1 in Russia and #19 Overall. https://www.eothello.com/player/13474

Compared to mmariomm who is currently ranked #43 Overall, and he WON the last Hexversi Tournament. I don't know if shimgar plays there or not but there are hundreds of players at eOthello. Amelrus had a relatively easy first Round. I ripped through his games and his play seemed rather peculiar... now I'm wondering if he was just toying with these players. He won 2 games by time-out and it was sort of hard to tell how good he was from the other 4. His play was solid enough but sort of erratic at times. Our games are still pretty early but it looks like I got my hands full here. Hopefully I can beat him in at least one of our games. I didn't expect him to be rated nearly that high if I found him on eOthello.

[blankoblanco]

I debated whether to pick WHUFC or Amelrus to finish higher, didn't have much to go on. It appears I probably chose wrong. Those are some intimidating numbers for sure. Your experience in side-play specific to Hexversi could end up coming through. Rooting for you, John. GL!

[JohnGalt2341]

Jackpot, I want point something out in your recent win over Princess. I haven't really gone over this with you before so don't worry that you didn't get this right. In the image below, you played c9 here. What you should have played was g10. This would have given you what I call an "Open 2" on that North side. This means that you have a piece next to both corners and there are 2 empty spaces in the middle. Open 2's are an acceptable way to play a side. When you get either an Open 2 or a Closed 2(you have the 2 center pieces on the side and the pieces next to each corner are empty), usually what this means is, it means you outplayed your opponent on a side. Not always, but oftentimes it does. IF you do it cleanly that is.

By playing g10 here, you prevent Green from playing either h9, in which case Green would be sharing the side with you. OR you prevent Green from playing i8, in which case Green would be forcing you to protect that NE corner, so you would be forced to play h9, AND that would give you an Unbalanced Edge. And UE's are usually not very good to have. But if you would have played g10, you would have had the side to yourself with the Open 2 and the side would have been evenly balanced which makes it MUCH more difficult to exploit, and you would have gained tempo because you got 2 moves to ZERO on the side. Make sense? Congrats on the win!

[JohnGalt2341]

I may have SERIOUSLY underestimated Amelrus I found him on eOthello and he's rated #1 in Russia and #19 Overall. https://www.eothello.com/player/13474

Compared to mmariomm who is currently ranked #43 Overall, and he WON the last Hexversi Tournament. I don't know if shimgar plays there or not but there are hundreds of players at eOthello. Amelrus had a relatively easy first Round. I ripped through his games and his play seemed rather peculiar... now I'm wondering if he was just toying with these players. He won 2 games by time-out and it was sort of hard to tell how good he was from the other 4. His play was solid enough but sort of erratic at times. Our games are still pretty early but it looks like I got my hands full here. Hopefully I can beat him in at least one of our games. I didn't expect him to be rated nearly that high if I found him on eOthello.

I feel pretty good in my games vs Amelrus now. I got lucky on a couple of moves where he made some mistakes, and he just made a mistake in the game where he is Purple. I'm pretty sure I'm going to sweep him now, unless I am overlooking something.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070650833&m=61&u=0&t=0&gn=97

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&s=1&g=15300070650834&m=58

Here's eOthello's Leaderboard from 1 to 100.

https://www.eothello.com/leaderboard/all/1

There are several hundred active players. Everyone in the top 100 is good. Amelrus is currently #20, mmariomm is currently #28. I was trying to figure out if Shimgar played there and Mario told me that shimgar is the player Cuchulainn. He's currently ranked #13. Also, PhanAnhLuong who is also in blanko's Section, is currently ranked #132, he's also no slouch. I should mention, I haven't checked if these players have timeouts and what not... but I think these rankings are fairly accurate.

If I can manage to sweep Amelrus, I think it's almost entirely because of my understanding of the Center Piece compared to how new it is to them. I may not stand a chance in future Tournaments. I guess we'll see.

[JohnGalt2341]

I just looked in on blankoblanco's games. Looking good vs PhanAnhLuong. Looks like you are still holding up vs shimgar. Your game below with Guy Plowman has me on me on the edge of my seat!

https://www.itsyourturn.com/iyt.dll?a?s=7&g=15300070650813&u=15200003418716&t=3

Edit... Mario also said that shimgar aka David Hand is easily one of the top 5 best Othello players in Europe. So, even if you can beat him in just one game, that would be HUGE!

[jackpot269]

Jackpot, I want point something out in your recent win over Princess. I haven't really gone over this with you before so don't worry that you didn't get this right. In the image below, you played c9 here. What you should have played was g10. This would have given you what I call an "Open 2" on that North side. This means that you have a piece next to both corners and there are 2 empty spaces in the middle. Open 2's are an acceptable way to play a side. When you get either an Open 2 or a Closed 2(you have the 2 center pieces on the side and the pieces next to each corner are empty), usually what this means is, it means you outplayed your opponent on a side. Not always, but oftentimes it does. IF you do it cleanly that is.

By playing g10 here, you prevent Green from playing either h9, in which case Green would be sharing the side with you. OR you prevent Green from playing i8, in which case Green would be forcing you to protect that NE corner, so you would be forced to play h9, AND that would give you an Unbalanced Edge. And UE's are usually not very good to have. But if you would have played g10, you would have had the side to yourself with the Open 2 and the side would have been evenly balanced which makes it MUCH more difficult to exploit, and you would have gained tempo because you got 2 moves to ZERO on the side. Make sense? Congrats on the win!

That makes perfect sense!!


Thanks its always nice to win!! Im in another tournament now and should have beat Andy in one of our games ,I blew It at the end I'm going to go back and rip thru it later so maybe not make same mistake again!!

[blankoblanco]

I just looked in on blankoblanco's games. Looking good vs PhanAnhLuong. Looks like you are still holding up vs shimgar. Your game below with Guy Plowman has me on me on the edge of my seat!

https://www.itsyourturn.com/iyt.dll?a?s=7&g=15300070650813&u=15200003418716&t=3

Edit... Mario also said that shimgar aka David Hand is easily one of the top 5 best Othello players in Europe. So, even if you can beat him in just one game, that would be HUGE!

I can already sense shimgar is a brick wall and if I'm ever like "I hope he doesn't make x move" that's the move he'll make. I just hope I don't dig myself in too deep of a hole so I can have a chance later on

Guy Plowman's x-hex move in the game you linked confused me so much! Wasn't even sure how to best take advantage of it. And I still have some weakness on the sides he can use. I think I should be able to find a way to win that game but there's a lot of moves to go

I think my purple game against Phan might be problematic... I messed up pretty hard earlier -- now I think I've found a way to get to the next corner and technically have a move advantage but I'm afraid I won't be able to get enough pieces because of how the left side of the board is. And you probably shouldn't comment on this because I don't want your input to influence me!

[blankoblanco]

I feel pretty good in my games vs Amelrus now. I got lucky on a couple of moves where he made some mistakes, and he just made a mistake in the game where he is Purple. I'm pretty sure I'm going to sweep him now, unless I am overlooking something.

I've actually been keeping a pretty close eye on your games with Amelrus too after your comment about him. It seemed to me like you were gaining the upper-hand recently, glad that it appears I was right!

I'm looking forward to seeing you against shimgar in the finals -- (let's face it, he's gonna beat me in my group)

[JohnGalt2341]

I can already sense shimgar is a brick wall and if I'm ever like "I hope he doesn't make x move" that's the move he'll make. I just hope I don't dig myself in too deep of a hole so I can have a chance later on

Guy Plowman's x-hex move in the game you linked confused me so much! Wasn't even sure how to best take advantage of it. And I still have some weakness on the sides he can use. I think I should be able to find a way to win that game but there's a lot of moves to go

I think my purple game against Phan might be problematic... I messed up pretty hard earlier -- now I think I've found a way to get to the next corner and technically have a move advantage but I'm afraid I won't be able to get enough pieces because of how the left side of the board is. And you probably shouldn't comment on this because I don't want your input to influence me!

Yeah, it looks like your game with Phan will be close. I'm sure you know where you made your mistake, but if you have any questions about any particular moves in any of your games when they are over, feel free to let me know.

Are you following the games between Guy Plowman and shimgar? shimgar has one game won for sure. I think Purple might have a way to win this game below. This looks like it's going to get interesting. This could really shake things up if Guy wins this game.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/iyt.dll?a?s=7&g=15300070650816&u=15200000342800&t=3

[blankoblanco]

I actually haven't been following that game, no. Interesting one! I think shimgar may have checkmated him on move 29? Could be wrong because I'm not the best at evaluating a game that I haven't been actively playing/watching, it helps me a lot if I've had multiple turns to think about the possibilities for both sides

[JohnGalt2341]

I actually haven't been following that game, no. Interesting one! I think shimgar may have checkmated him on move 29? Could be wrong because I'm not the best at evaluating a game that I haven't been actively playing/watching, it helps me a lot if I've had multiple turns to think about the possibilities for both sides

Yeah, you're right. Here's where I think Guy made his mistake. I would have played f11 below for move #26, but Guy played e11.





If Purple plays f11, we will be giving Green moves at e11 and a11, and that's it. So, that's only 2 new moves that Green gets. And then Green has either g3 or f3, and Green also has k4. So, Green really only has 4 moves here.

Here is what I would have done. I would have played f11 first. Green has no choice but to play e11. After that as Purple for #27 I would play a10, this will guarantee that I will gain tempo, plus... last move in the pocket=higher score. Now as Purple, I still have Free moves at both k6 and j6, and if Green plays either a11 or b10, I will play the other and gain tempo and Green will be forced to move again and I still have 2 free moves at k6 and j6. I will use one of my free moves when he plays either g3 or f3. From here, Purple could just work along that NE side and work our way down.


I am thinking maybe Guy was afraid he wouldn't able to get enough points with the entire West side being Green like that. I think it would be close for sure. I still would have played f11. I think I could have won this game from here. I think I could have gotten upper 40's, maybe low 50's.

[JohnGalt2341]

Jackpot... I just ripped through your recent loss with Andy where you are Purple. I had 2 mistakes at first but then I realized your move wasn't bad at all... lol. So... I got just the one here.

This is a very common mistake almost all new players make on the sides and it's difficult to break players of this habit, but I will attempt to right now. You played k5 here, this is not the correct way to play a side. You should have played j4 here, as it is a FIPE(Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely, meaning they are unexposed). Here's why k5 is incorrect, after you play k5, now you have 2 Purple pieces exposed. Those 2 pieces are exposed at k4 and j4. So if you are playing me, I am going to move to k4(Run you up on the side, you will be forced to protect the NE corner, so you will be forced to play k3, and after you play k3, Green could play j4(finishing with the sweep), which means Green will Gain Tempo, and now you are in danger of ending up with an Unbalanced Edge.

If we are the first player to play the sides, we want it to be a short play where we aren't exposing two pieces. You can't have 2 pieces exposed near a side, I can't express the importance of this enough, this can't happen EVER, or you will get burned against a good player. Play the FIPE's. Look how clean j4 is, take it. Plenty of time for k5, you could have gotten 2 moves out of this instead of just one.




Overall I thought played well, as did Andy. Nice side-play on, #16, 18, 19,. Just the bad one on #29. If you look at the difference between #16, 18, 19, is those are all nice because only one piece is exposed so it can't be exploited. The staple of my strategy is exposing poor side-play. So, that will be the thing that I will probably nag you about the most. lol..

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070682741&m=58&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[jackpot269]

I made a similar mistake before that you pointed out, and then I missed this one, I've got to clean those up!! I know why I made that move and I got to remember when in that positions its a bad move! Im taking my time before moves and looking to break up my opponents chips up and stay inside when I can, but I missed this one!! I know I'm still new at this game ,but I really want to become a better player. I'm getting addicted.

Thanks for all you help

[blankoblanco]

Yeah, you're right. Here's where I think Guy made his mistake. I would have played f11 below for move #26, but Guy played e11.





If Purple plays f11, we will be giving Green moves at e11 and a11, and that's it. So, that's only 2 new moves that Green gets. And then Green has either g3 or f3, and Green also has k4. So, Green really only has 4 moves here.

Here is what I would have done. I would have played f11 first. Green has no choice but to play e11. After that as Purple for #27 I would play a10, this will guarantee that I will gain tempo, plus... last move in the pocket=higher score. Now as Purple, I still have Free moves at both k6 and j6, and if Green plays either a11 or b10, I will play the other and gain tempo and Green will be forced to move again and I still have 2 free moves at k6 and j6. I will use one of my free moves when he plays either g3 or f3. From here, Purple could just work along that NE side and work our way down.


I am thinking maybe Guy was afraid he wouldn't able to get enough points with the entire West side being Green like that. I think it would be close for sure. I still would have played f11. I think I could have won this game from here. I think I could have gotten upper 40's, maybe low 50's.

I think you're right, that looks like a pretty winning position to me

And unfortunately right after this Guy timed out both his games against shimgar and myself

[JohnGalt2341]

I think you're right, that looks like a pretty winning position to me

And unfortunately right after this Guy timed out both his games against shimgar and myself

Yeah, I noticed that. I sent him a message on Facebook to tell him how to request to get them reinstated.

[blankoblanco]

That's good, I hope he does. Both of our games were in interesting states, I think. I feel like I was favored in one and he was favored in the other, but who knows? I'd rather not just get free wins though! I don't get many opportunities to face new players (new to me) that are really good, I'd rather play the games out and learn even if I lose

[JohnGalt2341]

Hey Jackpot, once your Tournament game with sarok is over for the game below:

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070682736&m=0&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

I want to point out a few different rookie mistakes. There is a lot be learned from in this game.

I ripped through a few of your other games in progress as well. For now I just advise you to avoid playing X-hexes if you can because if you play an X-hex it makes you vulnerable to giving up a corner. The 6 X-hexes in the image below are: f10, j6, j2, f2, b6, and b10. So, it's the 6 hexes that are diagonal to the corners, and are also touching the corners but are not on the side. Once you get a little more experience, I will teach you how to play these 6 hexes to your advantage. But for now, you should probably avoid these 6 hexes for as long as you can.

Also, the C-hexes are the ones touching the corners and are also on the side. You can play these, but not if you will be sacrificing a corner when doing so. So for example, if my opponent has Pieces at k4, k3 and k2, it wouldn't be a good idea for me to play the C-hex of k5 because then I would be handing over the corner at k6. However, if my opponent has pieces at k3, k2, j4, j5, and k4 is empty, then it is perfectly ok to play the C-hex at k5, because then I would be sharing the side, because of the gap at k4. Make sense? If you have an opportunity to share a side, then you should do so. But you don't ever want to just hand over a corner, unless you will be getting one in return.

So, just be careful with the C-hexes and try to avoid the X-hexes until you get a little more experience. Also, when playing a C-hex, you don't want a long line of pieces, only 1 piece should be exposed so you can't be run up on the side. If you can be forced into an Unbalanced Edge if you are the first player to play a side, it ALMOST ALWAYS means you played it incorrectly.



Let me know if you have any questions about anything. No question is too stupid or anything like that. I assure you that my brother has made every single mistake imaginable.

[JohnGalt2341]

Jackpot, your game with Sarok is far enough along that what I will do is, I will start pointing out a few particular moves one at a time. Today I will do move #6. Don't worry that you didn't get this right. Virtually all of this stuff is stuff that I haven't gone over/explained or it's just a matter of repetition. You just have to see a situation a number of times and know how to deal with it.

#6 Green to move: You played g3 here. You should have played either c7 or d8. The reason why c7 or d8 is better is because getting your pieces back to one clump is usually a pretty good thing, just as long is it's inside pieces and not outside pieces. For my style of play, this is something that I am always thinking about. But not only that, you would be ripping right through the middle of your opponents pieces, which is also usually a very good thing. But what REALLY makes these moves so great is, if Green plays either c7 or d8, Purple doesn't have a move at the other no matter which one is played. So if Green plays c7, then Purple doesn't have a move at d8, and vice versa. g3 wasn't terrible or anything, but you do give Purple a new good move at h3.

So, if you have a chance to rip right through the middle(it doesn't have to be exactly in the middle) of your opponents pieces, you should usually take it. Especially if it means you will be getting your pieces back to a single clump and you are hopefully flipping mostly inside pieces in the process. The fewer new moves we create for our opponents, the better.

I apologize in advance if I ever sound contradictive because there's tons of exceptions to everything. So, that's the hardest thing to teach really I think. Because you sort of have to figure that part out on your own.

[blankoblanco]

So I was the only one in my group to reinstate Guy Plowman's games. Now he's timed out one of the games again! He hasn't requested reinstatement (I don't know if you can do it for the same game twice or how that works)

I'm guessing he's kind of over it since the other players kept the forfeit? I'd even consider accepting another reinstatement to my detriment, it had the makings of a tough/interesting game

[JohnGalt2341]

So I was the only one in my group to reinstate Guy Plowman's games. Now he's timed out one of the games again! He hasn't requested reinstatement (I don't know if you can do it for the same game twice or how that works)

I'm guessing he's kind of over it since the other players kept the forfeit? I'd even consider accepting another reinstatement to my detriment, it had the makings of a tough/interesting game

Yeah, I noticed that as well. I think shimgar had Guy pretty much beat so I'm not positive that Guy even requested to reinstate those games. I was going to send Phan a PM to please reinstate those games but I never did, I just assumed that he would reinstate them but I guess I was wrong. Maybe he just never checked his messages, for all I know. I was thinking that maybe games can't be reinstated twice as well, but I'm pretty sure they can. I think I've done it before, or I've seen it done, I just can't remember now.

Amelrus timed out our games early on and for some reason it only let me reinstate one of them and not the other. So I had to ask him to resend me the other one to get it reinstated and it worked the 2nd time. I was going to send Guy another reminder when he timed out the 2nd time but I sort of only do it once per round. Wren timed out his games twice as well. Mario and Ivan reinstated him the first time but Powercow did not, which was disappointing because those games were close. But again, for all I know maybe they just didn't read their messages. I have no idea. The timeouts are always very disappointing though... for me at least... watching as a fan, especially with close games.

[JohnGalt2341]

Jackpot, here's another lesson from the same game below with your game with sarok. This is for move #8 Green to move. This lesson is for looking for FIPE's and playing FIPE's. A FIPE stands for Flipping Inside Pieces Entirely. This means, that none of the pieces that you are flipping are exposed to the outside. In other words, all of the pieces you are flipping are completely surrounded by other pieces. FIPE's are ALMOST ALWAYS VERY good moves. They are VERY OFTEN your BEST moves.

You played d9 in the image below. d9, is not a terrible move, but it is not a FIPE. Your best move here is h4. Notice how if you would have played h4, the Purple piece you would have been Flipping is Entirely on the Inside. You may also notice how h4 is the only FIPE move you have here. Not only that, by playing h4 here, you get your pieces back to 1 nice clump, which is also usually a very good thing.

These are the moves you want to look for on virtually every single move. You want to Flip Inside Pieces that are completely surrounded by other pieces. The reason for this is because you are creating fewer new moves for your opponent.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070682736&m=14&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[blankoblanco]

https://www.itsyourturn.com/iyt.dll?a?s=7&g=15300070650819&u=15200003418716&t=1&gn=0

So close... and yet...

[JohnGalt2341]

https://www.itsyourturn.com/iyt.dll?...18716&t=1&gn=0

So close... and yet...

You were very competitive in both games. So, you can definitely compete with the best of them. This also gives me a much needed boost of confidence going into the finals because I now I know he's not exactly unbeatable. I think if I can play well early I might stand a chance.

[JohnGalt2341]

Jackpot, here's another lesson on FIPE's in your game vs sarok, move #11. I can't emphasize enough the importance in looking for FIPE's on every single move. Meaning, you want to be looking for moves, where you are Flipping Pieces that are Entirely on the Inside. In other words, they are COMPLETELY surrounded by other pieces. They are COMPLETELY unexposed. And you won't be flipping any outside pieces at all. NONE.


Once you get a little more experience I will teach you what takes precedent in particular situations. But for now, just look for FIPE's on every single move. And if you see one, take it. Be careful with X-hexes, don't play those until you get a little more experience. Also be careful with C-hexes, you can play them, but be careful.

#11 Green to move. You played i3 here. You should have played g8 as it is a FIPE. Notice how if you would have played g8 the Purple piece you would have been Flipping is Entirely on the Inside, meaning it's unexposed. The reason why we want to look for moves like this is because when we find moves like this, we are creating less new moves for our opponents. Make sense? So, make FIPE's your first choice as often as you can because they are VERY OFTEN your best move.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070682736&m=20&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

Edit:

Also... one more thing about playing g8 here, do you see the Purple piece just SE of g8? That Purple piece at g7 is touching 4 of your Green pieces. What this means is, it means this piece is really powerful. When your opponents pieces are touching 3 or more of your pieces, I call these Key Pieces or KP for short. So this Purple piece at g7 I would call a KP4. What this means is... it means this piece is powerful. When you have an opportunity to take out these Power Pieces like KP4's that are touching a lot of your own pieces... it's ALMOST ALWAYS a good idea to do so. So... g8 here... was a really really good play for more reasons than one.

Generally, the more pieces of yours, your opponent's piece are touching, the more powerful it is. So, when you have an opportunity to take these powerful pieces out, it's usually a good idea to do so.

[blankoblanco]

You were very competitive in both games. So, you can definitely compete with the best of them. This also gives me a much needed boost of confidence going into the finals because I now I know he's not exactly unbeatable. I think if I can play well early I might stand a chance.

In that case I'm going to take partial credit if you beat him! Perhaps I not only boosted your confidence but slightly weakened his

GL in the finals. I'll be following along

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's another lesson on FIPE's from the same game. Move #15. Green to move. You played h2 here. If possible, we want to avoid flipping pieces in 2 different directions most of the time. I avoid it as much as possible if I can. For me, the only exception is the first couple of moves of the game. The reason for this is because when you are flipping pieces in 2 different directions, you are usually creating extra moves for your opponent.

You should have played e9 here as it is a FIPE. Notice how if you would have played e9, you wouldn't be flipping any pieces that are exposed to the outside. This is what we want to look for on most of our moves, or something close to it.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070682736&m=28&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

Here's a lesson in side-play for Jackpot. This is from your same game with sarok. First off, nice side-play on move #17. After your move #17, Purple played d3, which is the hex in between c4 and e2 on the South side in the image below. That was a mistake. We know it was a mistake because when Purple put his piece on the board, he was touching one of his own pieces when doing so. And the same thing for #20 for Purple, he just played a8, this was also a mistake.

What this means is, it means we can force him into an Unbalanced Edge, OR if he doesn't take the bait, we can Gain 2 Tempo by taking the side for yourself, which is HUGE. Not to mention he has to burn 2 moves playing elsewhere while we get 2 free moves on the side. So, either way, can exploit his poor side-play. IMO, they are usually better off with the UE than not taking it. But the most important thing, you have to exploit his poor side-play in the first place.

#21 Green to move. You played c5 here, but you should have played a9(run your opponent up on the side). If Green takes the side after you play a9, then you play b9(finish with the Sweep), this is where you will Gain Tempo and Purple will be forced to move again. After Purple moves again, then you can do the same thing on the South side. Play c4(run your opponent up on the side), if Purple takes the South side, then you play c5(finish with the Sweep), this is where you will Gain Tempo, and Purple will be forced to move again. Make sense? If Purple should choose to NOT take either of these sides, you can take the side for yourself. I ALMOST ALWAYS recommend doing this because it's worth it for the tempo you will gain because your opponent also has to burn moves playing elsewhere while you get 2 free moves on the side.

Exploiting poor side-play is really the foundation of my strategy. So, I will most likely beat you over the head with this until you get it right. Let me know if you have any questions.

https://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gm&g=15300070682736&m=40&u=15200003431847&t=1&gn=97

[JohnGalt2341]

Round 3 of the Tournament has officially started. Below are the Section Winners for Round 2.

shimgar (winner)	12	6	2.00
blankoblanco	8	6	1.33
PhanAnhLuong	4	6	0.67
Guy Plowman	0	6	0.00

§Holden2341 (winner)	12	6	2.00
Amelrus	4	4	1.00
WHUFC	2	5	0.40
§Cyke	0	3	0.00

mmariomm (winner)	10	6	1.67
Ivan Gutorov	8	6	1.33
powercow	6	6	1.00
Wren	0	6	0.00

100 points paid to blanko and Daniel to posts #96 and #103 for picking the correct order of Section #3. It looks as if Jackpot will get Section #2 correct which should finish up in the next couple of days as soon as Cyke finishes the rest of his games. I'll pay up when he finishes his games.

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!

[jackpot269]

John, Thanks for all you point out to me and all your teaching points wish I was a better student!! When you show these mistakes, I've made, it makes perfect sense and you do a great job of explaining it. Then when I'm playing and trying to reason my moves, ill still miss the right move some of the time, hopefully I will start seeing them more clearly !! This is a great game to play glad you got me started. How do you move the game boards from its your turn to this thread? Copy link, copy and past ?

Thanks,
Pal

[jackpot269]

round 3 picks:

1) Holden2341

2) shimgar

3) mmariomm

[blankoblanco]

I was gonna do the same order jackpot did but I guess I'll mix it up to keep it interesting

1. shimgar
2. Holden2341
3. mmariomm

Still rooting for Holden though

[jackpot269]

I was gonna do the same order jackpot did but I guess I'll mix it up to keep it interesting

1. shimgar
2. Holden2341
3. mmariomm

Still rooting for Holden though

Sorry about that bud!! Hopefully our buddy Holden will win!

[jackpot269]

Congrgarts holden on making the final table!!

Good luck sir!!

[JohnGalt2341]

John, Thanks for all you point out to me and all your teaching points wish I was a better student!! When you show these mistakes, I've made, it makes perfect sense and you do a great job of explaining it. Then when I'm playing and trying to reason my moves, ill still miss the right move some of the time, hopefully I will start seeing them more clearly !! This is a great game to play glad you got me started. How do you move the game boards from its your turn to this thread? Copy link, copy and past ?

Thanks,
Pal

No problem. It's just a matter of repetition. A lot of this stuff(most of it), I haven't explained to you yet, so don't feel bad that you didn't get it right. This game of yours with sarok is a really good learning tool. I still have a few more moves to go over that involve side-play that should help you quite a bit. Once you get in a rhythm of playing FIPE's and have a better understanding of how to play the sides, I think you'll see a big difference in your game. And then you should start to build some confidence after you get some wins over some decent players.

Here's how I move the game boards from IYT to this thread. First, I position the board to my liking and then take a screenshot. Then click on the screenshot, then right click the screenshot and click edit. Then click Select in the upper left corner to crop it so it's only the board and the move #'s if you want. I am doing this with Paint. For a while Windows 11 didn't have Paint but I think they do now.

So, after that, you can click on the A right next to the brush in Paint if you want to add notation, and then save it. To add it to SBR, I go to this link: https://postimages.org/ This will enable you to turn it into a jpeg from your PC so you can post it as a picture on here. From there, you can just copy and paste the address of the jpeg and use the insert image link to post the image on here.

This might be confusing if you're not used to doing all of this. I'm sure there is a better way of explaining it. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Daniel Espinosa]

1) Holden2341

2) shimgar

3) mmariomm

GL John!