Difference between revisions of "Cornering"

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(Elaborated example)
(Added an example of cornering that does not result in a ladder for the opponent.)
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Red could have also cornered earlier, resulting, for example, in a 4th row ladder for Blue.
 
Red could have also cornered earlier, resulting, for example, in a 4th row ladder for Blue.
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Given enough space, the attacker can sometimes get an outcome that is better than merely turning the ladder, though not as good as a [[switchback]]. For example, starting from a 2nd row ladder, the following maneuver lets Red move towards the center, rather than parallel to Blue's edge:
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<hexboard size="7x8"
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  coords="hide"
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  contents="R a6 B a7 R 1:b6 B 2:b7 R 3:c6 B 4:c7 R 5:f4"
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  />
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 +
Blue now has several options, but all of them allow Red to connect towards the center of the board:
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 +
<hexboard size="7x8"
 +
  coords="hide"
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  contents="R a6 B a7 R b6 B b7 R c6 B c7 R f4
 +
            B 6:e5 R 7:f6 B 8:e6 R 9:g3 E *:f5 *:h4 B 10:e4 R 11:f2"
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  />
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Note how Red's 9 is connected to the edge via a [[double threat]] at the cells marked "*". If Blue instead plays 6 on the second row, things are generally worse for Blue:
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 +
<hexboard size="7x8"
 +
  coords="hide"
 +
  contents="R a6 B a7 R b6 B b7 R c6 B c7 R f4
 +
            B 6:d6 R 7:e5 B 8:d5 R 9:e3"
 +
  />
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Note that Red's 7 is connected to the edge via [[edge template IV2b]].
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[[category:ladder]]
 
[[category:ladder]]

Revision as of 01:53, 17 October 2020

In a ladder situation when no ladder escape exists, the attacking player can into a corner and create a "quasi-escape piece" at the very last minute. This play is called cornering.

Example:

13524
WARNING: Unknown keyword: Bb
WARNING: Illegal character: '4'

This results in a new ladder, but now the attacking player is defending instead.

9876
WARNING: Unknown keyword: Bb
WARNING: Illegal character: '4'

Red could have also cornered earlier, resulting, for example, in a 4th row ladder for Blue.

Given enough space, the attacker can sometimes get an outcome that is better than merely turning the ladder, though not as good as a switchback. For example, starting from a 2nd row ladder, the following maneuver lets Red move towards the center, rather than parallel to Blue's edge:

51324

Blue now has several options, but all of them allow Red to connect towards the center of the board:

11910687

Note how Red's 9 is connected to the edge via a double threat at the cells marked "*". If Blue instead plays 6 on the second row, things are generally worse for Blue:

9876

Note that Red's 7 is connected to the edge via edge template IV2b.