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Team Games >> 2012 Arimaa World League >> --ROCKIES--
(Message started by: megajester on Jul 19th, 2012, 3:22am)

Title: --ROCKIES--
Post by megajester on Jul 19th, 2012, 3:22am
Welcome to the Rockies clubhouse!

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by ginrunner on Jul 19th, 2012, 5:33pm
Hey everybody! ;D

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Fritzlein on Jul 19th, 2012, 11:39pm
I can feel it.  This season will be our season.  It's in the air.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Dolus on Jul 23rd, 2012, 4:23pm
Hello. :)

I need to get my game back together. Even with the postal going on, I'm very rusty. (Not that I was that great to begin with!)

Maybe if I face off against Fritz non-stop until I can start winning. Yeah, that sounds good. Fritz, time to train the rest of the team. ;)

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Fritzlein on Jul 24th, 2012, 1:13am
Heh, my schedule is uncertain.  I probably shouldn't even commit to play for the team, but I can't stay away.  Go Rockies!

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Aamir on Jul 31st, 2012, 3:03pm
Hello Everyone,

It's been quite a while since the last time I played a match of Arimaa online. Looking forward to starting up again. ;D

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by knak on Aug 1st, 2012, 9:54am
Looking forward to playing, but my schedule is also uncertain.  Also I play much lower than my WHR ranking, since that's based mostly on postal games, and I play much worse with time constraints.  I may try to do some "training" by playing some fast games against bots, or if anyone else wants to do a few practice games, that would be even better.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Fritzlein on Aug 2nd, 2012, 4:46pm
Hopefully the fact that we have a lot of players on the team will make up for the fact that some of us won't be able to play much.  It's great to see our roster being longer than other teams for a change!  Woohoo!

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by ChrisB on Aug 17th, 2012, 1:20am
Hi Team,

On the eve of the 2012 season, here's how the team is looking:

Players (9)
-------------
Aamir
balaclava
ChrisB
Copac
cptroot
Dolus
Fritzlein
ginrunner
knak

Fans (1)
----------
camelback

Also, camelback and Dolus have indicated they would be prepared to run a Twitter Account and Dolus has said he could also help out with administrative duties.  Thanks camelback and Dolus!

In case I got anything above wrong, please let me know.

Also, additional players of any level of experience are most welcome!  Just indicate your interest in joining in this thread.

It looks like Round 1, against Europa, could start as early as next week.  I'll send all the players a personal message seeking volunteers.  (One could access the message by clicking on "Hey, Username, you have X messages" at the top of this page.)

Looking forward to an exciting season!

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by ChrisB on Aug 17th, 2012, 12:23pm
I just took a look at the league wiki and saw we have two new players:  Eggman and Simon.  Fantastic!

Welcome Eggman and Simon!



EDIT: I just sent to the two of you the message seeking volunteers for the upcoming round.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Adanac on Aug 17th, 2012, 1:23pm

on 08/17/12 at 12:23:06, ChrisB wrote:
I just took a look at the league wiki and saw we have two new players:  Eggman and Simon.  Fantastic!

Welcome Eggman and Simon!



EDIT: I just sent to the two of you the message seeking volunteers for the upcoming round.


In a strange coincidence, two players named Eggman and Simon just disappeared from the Ring of Fire roster.  I think megajester made a mistake when he updated the Wiki -- I contacted him this morning about it.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by ChrisB on Aug 17th, 2012, 7:05pm

on 08/17/12 at 13:23:03, Adanac wrote:
In a strange coincidence, two players named Eggman and Simon just disappeared from the Ring of Fire roster.  I think megajester made a mistake when he updated the Wiki -- I contacted him this morning about it.


Thanks, Greg.

Yes, it looks like Eggman and Simon were just entered in the wrong column.  Oh well, hope you guys enjoyed being Rockies for a few hours.  :)

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Fritzlein on Aug 19th, 2012, 4:44pm
Oh, rats!  Without Simon and Eggman, we once again have the smallest roster in the league.  Sigh.  At least we can use the old "guaranteed playing time" as a recruiting tool. :-/

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Aug 20th, 2012, 10:24pm
Hello everyone! I'm looking forward to taking part in AWL for the first time; all due credit to megajester for organizing this.

KNAK--If you wanted to play some practice games (presumably live at this point), i'd be more than happy to do so. Though, as my rating indicates, I might not provide quite the challenge you are looking for.

*EDIT*: I've noticed that my post does not contain the 'ROCKIES' emblem, though I have registered for the event and am part of the Rockies roster. Is there something i've failed to do, or is this simply a cosmetic error that will not affect my participation? Perhaps it is reserved for those who have previously taken part in the league? I'd appreciate it if someone can clear up this confusion. Thank you.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Fritzlein on Aug 20th, 2012, 11:44pm

on 08/20/12 at 22:24:10, balaclava wrote:
Hello everyone! I'm looking forward to taking part in AWL for the first time; all due credit to megajester for organizing this.

Welcome to the Rockies!  It's great to have another active member.  Maybe this year our captain ChrisB will have a few weeks where he can choose between four or five players instead of fielding the only three available!  :)


Quote:
*EDIT*: I've noticed that my post does not contain the 'ROCKIES' emblem, though I have registered for the event and am part of the Rockies roster. Is there something i've failed to do, or is this simply a cosmetic error that will not affect my participation? Perhaps it is reserved for those who have previously taken part in the league? I'd appreciate it if someone can clear up this confusion. Thank you.

The emblem is not dependent on your past participation, and you can participate at present without the emblem.  If, however, you want to show your team pride, you need to put the following in your signature:

Code:
[img]http://tinyurl.com/6c5e9bm[/img]

You can change your signature by clicking "Profile" in the main forum menu bar.

Once again, welcome!

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Aug 21st, 2012, 12:49pm
Thanks for the help, Fritz. Glad to know the emblem is not needed for participation, but I will try to put it up anyway. With any luck it will now appear at the bottom of this post.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Sep 4th, 2012, 3:50am
I'm excited to be playing my first AWL game. Would any other Rockies players be willing to play some practice games against me before Saturday? Luckily, Wabbott and I do not have a large discrepancy in ratings, but I feel like I should use all the help I can get. Thank you.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Fritzlein on Sep 4th, 2012, 8:35am

on 09/04/12 at 03:50:14, balaclava wrote:
I'm excited to be playing my first AWL game. Would any other Rockies players be willing to play some practice games against me before Saturday? Luckily, Wabbott and I do not have a large discrepancy in ratings, but I feel like I should use all the help I can get. Thank you.

I'm excited for you!  Unfortunately I don't have a large chunk of free time until Saturday morning.  Does that suit for training?

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by knak on Sep 4th, 2012, 11:08am
balaclava, I would be happy to play a game with you sometime before thursday.  Let me know what time works for you.  Or I will just challenge you if I see you in the gameroom (feel free to do the same).


Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Sep 4th, 2012, 12:31pm
Thank you for the timely reply, knak. I could probably play a game late afternoon my time (in 3-4 hours from posting). However, if you see me in the gameroom, feel free to challenge me at any  time.


on 09/04/12 at 11:08:06, knak wrote:
balaclava, I would be happy to play a game with you sometime before thursday.  Let me know what time works for you.  Or I will just challenge you if I see you in the gameroom (feel free to do the same).


Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by knak on Sep 4th, 2012, 1:14pm
That works for me, too.  I will try to find you in a few hours.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Sep 6th, 2012, 11:56pm
I was wondering if anyone could annotate/comment on this (pardon my French) clusterf**k of a game i just played? I'm not encouraged by the level of play 2 days before my AWL game, but the large number of mistakes (on both sides) certainly make it an excellent opportunity for a learning experience. Cheers.

http://arimaa.com/arimaa/games/jsShowGame.cgi?gid=243545&s=b

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by ChrisB on Sep 7th, 2012, 10:42am
An exciting game.  Congratulations on winning and thanks for submitting it for comments.  I just have a few quick ones now.

With your setup, it looks like your best plan is to advance your horses towards the F3 trap, have your elephant deal with gold's camel and defend your C6 trap with your camel and dog(s).  That may leave your camel exposed to gold's elephant, so your elephant may need to actively pursue gold's camel.

Since gold advanced towards C6 on his first move, for 2s, I would have done: md7s ee7s md6w mc6w.  With the move you did, gold could have done 3g Ed5n Hb3n Hb4n Hb5n, putting you on the defensive.  On 3s, I would have done: md6w mc6w ee6s ee5s, both defending C6 and pursuing gold's camel.  Again with the move you did, gold could have moved his elephant and horse adjacent to the C6 trap.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by ChrisB on Sep 7th, 2012, 11:04am

on 09/06/12 at 23:56:26, balaclava wrote:
I was wondering if anyone could annotate/comment on this (pardon my French) clusterf**k of a game i just played? I'm not encouraged by the level of play 2 days before my AWL game, but the large number of mistakes (on both sides) certainly make it an excellent opportunity for a learning experience. Cheers.

http://arimaa.com/arimaa/games/jsShowGame.cgi?gid=243545&s=b


One more comment: on 25s you could have captured gold's dog and obtained a strong position at the F3 trap.  It's easy to miss those "false protection" captures!

But after further review, the move you did was good too, since gold had a lot of pressure on the C6 trap.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Sep 7th, 2012, 12:20pm
Thanks for the analysis, Chris! If i have time tonight, I will post my reaction/thoughts about your suggested improvements to my game.

To everyone in the Rockies clubhouse: wabbott has contacted me to reschedule our game. The time is not set yet, but we will PROBABLY be playing sometime in the early afternoon (EDT) tomorrow. Please keep your eyes on the "Rescheduled Games" thread, but i will try to also post the rescheduled time here, once I know it and we have both officially agreed to the rescheduling.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by ChrisB on Sep 7th, 2012, 1:14pm

on 09/07/12 at 12:20:23, balaclava wrote:
Thanks for the analysis, Chris! If i have time tonight, I will post my reaction/thoughts about your suggested improvements to my game.

Thanks balaclava! The more I look at 25s, the more I DON'T like my suggested alternative.  I missed gold's threat of framing your horse on C6.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Sep 7th, 2012, 3:01pm
As you can now see in the 'Rescheduled Games' thread, wabbott and I will be playing at 1PM EDT tomorrow, not the old time of 8PM EDT.


Also, for clarification, as soon as wabbott and I have officially agreed to the game and posted the game number in the chat, I should leave the chatroom? It would seem obvious given the whole 'no communication with anyone else during the game' thing, but I just want to make sure i've got the protocol down pat before the game.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Fritzlein on Sep 7th, 2012, 8:36pm
That's right, leave the chat room.  You could easily eavesdrop on what people thought about the current position (since rescheduled games lose the 12-minute delay feature), but you are on your honor not to do that so people can feel free to discuss the game.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Sep 7th, 2012, 8:55pm
Ok, thank you for the clarification, Fritz.


on 09/07/12 at 20:36:45, Fritzlein wrote:
That's right, leave the chat room.  You could easily eavesdrop on what people thought about the current position (since rescheduled games lose the 12-minute delay feature), but you are on your honor not to do that so people can feel free to discuss the game.


Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Sep 7th, 2012, 11:55pm
Chris, I wanted to go with your initial plan of attack, but i was worried about my camel getting pulled. You addressed this correctly in saying that I should've pursued gold's camel to compensate.

For your 2s suggestion, I don't see anything better, but i was again concerned about the camel getting pulled. If I expose it that early, won't he have a chance to capture/hostage it before i can come up with a counterthreat, on his camel, for example?

You are right about the threat of an EH attack on move 3g. Unfortunately, i did not even notice the possibility.
I LOVE your 3s suggestion. It gives me a very nice position.

A lot was going on on move 25s. I saw the false protection capture of the dog you suggested, and decided somewhat awkwardly to pursue my alternative, as i thought gold's goal threat was worrisome. Funnily enough, i did end up getting framed anyway on 28g. Out of curiosity, would it have been better for gold to frame with the elephant rather than the camel? Specifically, i think it may make the goal threat, not the frame, stronger.

I think that when I went back to the F3 trap on 27s, i should've captured the rabbit with my camel, not the elephant, which was better suited for defensive duties. I don't quite remember my train of thought at the time, but i believe i may have been bringing the elephant over towards the F3 trap to try to goal with my g-file rabbit. I believe this would've been futile, however, as gold still has plenty of heavy pieces to defend with, even if it means delaying his goal threat. Luckily, it turned out ok.


on 09/07/12 at 10:42:38, ChrisB wrote:
An exciting game.  Congratulations on winning and thanks for submitting it for comments.  I just have a few quick ones now.

With your setup, it looks like your best plan is to advance your horses towards the F3 trap, have your elephant deal with gold's camel and defend your C6 trap with your camel and dog(s).  That may leave your camel exposed to gold's elephant, so your elephant may need to actively pursue gold's camel.

Since gold advanced towards C6 on his first move, for 2s, I would have done: md7s ee7s md6w mc6w.  With the move you did, gold could have done 3g Ed5n Hb3n Hb4n Hb5n, putting you on the defensive.  On 3s, I would have done: md6w mc6w ee6s ee5s, both defending C6 and pursuing gold's camel.  Again with the move you did, gold could have moved his elephant and horse adjacent to the C6 trap.


Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by rht144 on Sep 22nd, 2012, 6:02pm
I'm a new player, but I would like to join the Rockies, please!

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by ChrisB on Sep 22nd, 2012, 6:05pm
You are in! Welcome rht144!  

on 09/22/12 at 18:02:39, rht144 wrote:
I'm a new player, but I would like to join the Rockies, please!


Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Sep 22nd, 2012, 6:47pm
Welcome to the Rockies, rht144!

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Sep 28th, 2012, 1:52pm
I'd appreciate it if someone could give an analysis of this game: http://arimaa.com/arimaa/games/jsShowGame.cgi?gid=245476&s=w

I feel like it was my first strategically 'sound' win against bot_Sharp, even if no material was exchanged. As a quick note, I thought that if I could not have progressed with the goal threat, I would at least have had some better tactical threats to make captures. Thus my attempt to pull the opposing dog or horse toward my home trap with the camel.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Fritzlein on Sep 29th, 2012, 7:37pm

on 09/28/12 at 13:52:14, balaclava wrote:
I'd appreciate it if someone could give an analysis of this game: http://arimaa.com/arimaa/games/jsShowGame.cgi?gid=245476&s=w

Setup: I'm a bit skeptical of putting MHH all on the same side.  That gives Gold an easy strategic plan of parking his elephant on that wing (say c5) to make a hostage out of anything you advance.  But with sharp choosing to shuffle its elephant between d6 and e6, your MHH cluster gave you a strong attack, and you were correct to make that attack.

By 8s your position is already much better than sharp's, but on 9s you missed an opportunity to start capturing pieces right and left.  Your elephant could have swung  the gold horse from c3 out to d4.  You win at least a horse, and more if sharp's next move isn't to rush to the defense with its elephant.  When you control three sides of a trap and the opponent is blocking you from reaching the fourth, emptying out the trap can be very effective.

Your strategy in the teens was fine.  The only thing sharp's unsupported elephant can do against your home traps is to pull out pieces, and pulling out pieces is futile given that your MH controls one of his traps and E controls the other.  So when you are advancing and he is pulling your pieces, it almost looks like the two of you are both wanting Silver to win.

On 19s, you again could have taken control of c3 and made at least one capture by pushing sharp's b3 horse back to b2 with your camel.

On 21s, your camel should stop on c2 instead of pushing along to d2.  Gold then can't leave c1 unoccupied without letting your d3 rabbit get to goal, so every turn your camel will be able to take whatever piece gold leaves on c1.  This is what I call a Zwickmuhle or "bone crusher".  You could also have formed it on 22s.  With this formation and a capture every move, you would not have had to spend sixteen more moves trying to worm a rabbit forward to goal.

The easiest way to get a rabbit to goal is to capture (in the enemy's own trap) all the enemy pieces that are in the way.

Finally, take another look at 37s.  ;)


Quote:
I feel like it was my first strategically 'sound' win against bot_Sharp, even if no material was exchanged.

Yep, you had a lock on the position from early on and you never let go of your advantage.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Sep 30th, 2012, 3:02pm
Thank you for the pointers, Fritz!

In the opening I was thinking I should oppose gold's horses with my camel, while keeping my own horses away from his camel. But you are right that this was potentially dangerous; putting the camels on the same wing could've been safer. I'm familiar with some opening ideas through Jean's book, but i think experience will probably be the best way to learn how to respond to gold's openings.

Unfortunately, the thought to remove the piece in the c3 trap (the gold horse) didn't even cross my mind.

When I could've taken over c3 again on 21s, I was burdened by a bit of tunnel vision. As i was still intent on capturing a gold piece at my home c6 trap, i latched onto the dog.

The 'bone crusher' looks too cool! I'm not sure I could've ever reasoned out that idea on my own. When the rabbit is trying to goal, I don't pay any attention to it in regards  to trap control. I'll have no more of that! ;)

I actually realized I could've goaled as early as 36s with Dd3n ee3w md1e rd2s. I should study endgames, as i've lost a number of goal races by one move. Still, once the dogs are out of the way, gold has no strategic recourse.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by clyring on Oct 1st, 2012, 6:58pm

on 09/30/12 at 15:02:03, balaclava wrote:
I should study endgames,

In that case, I highly recommend joining the Endless Endgame Event! (link (http://arimaa.com/arimaa/forum/cgi/YaBB.cgi?board=events;action=display;num=1336831191;start=0)) I promise it is more than just Atlantics propaganda! ;)

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by blackczajk on Oct 13th, 2012, 10:20am
blackczajk, up for the Rockies!

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by ChrisB on Oct 13th, 2012, 10:23am

on 10/13/12 at 10:20:38, blackczajk wrote:
blackczajk, up for the Rockies!

Welcome to the Rockies, blackczajk!

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Fritzlein on Oct 13th, 2012, 11:25am

on 10/13/12 at 10:20:38, blackczajk wrote:
blackczajk, up for the Rockies!

Welcome!  Thanks for subbing at the last minute.  With our two new recruits the last two rounds, I sure hope we get to play another season this year.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by blackczajk on Oct 13th, 2012, 11:59am
That was fun--a chaotic fill-in, but fun. (Where do I go? Where do I go?? Challenge? Forum? Huzzawhat?) Getting smacked around by gthreepwood was definitely an eye-opening experience. :o


on 10/13/12 at 11:25:17, Fritzlein wrote:
With our two new recruits the last two rounds, I sure hope we get to play another season this year.


I'm certainly willing to stick around--especially if it means another season.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by balaclava on Oct 26th, 2012, 10:52pm
blackczajk, a very belated welcome to the Rockies!

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Alfons on Nov 17th, 2012, 2:15pm
Hi everyone!
I would like to join your team!

What might be a problem (as far as I understand the rules): my rating makes me expensive. I'm quite good in postal games, but I fear I'm not as good in live games.
But I promise to fight fiercely!  ;)

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Alfons on Nov 17th, 2012, 2:42pm
I just checked the results and came to the conclusion that this years's AWL has already finished. Is this right?
Well, anyway, you can count on me for the next season.

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Fritzlein on Nov 17th, 2012, 2:54pm
Welcome to the Rockies, Alfons!  We don't have anyone else in your rating range, and there were times this past season when we could have bagged a point on the top board more cheaply if we had had someone less expensive than me.

As for being better at postal Arimaa than live Arimaa, well, that's the story of my life.  Your WHRP is only 264 points higher than your gameroom rating; mine is 366 points higher.  :o  Thus, my WHRE cost is more than I am worth in the live games of the AWL.  C'est la vie.

Simply having another option to turn to will be a great help for the Rockies; You may have noticed we have the shortest roster of any team.

In any case, welcome aboard.  It's too bad there isn't another AWL until after the World Championship, Computer Championship, and Arimaa Challenge, but I'm suddenly looking forward to the 2103 AWL even more than before!

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by clyring on Nov 17th, 2012, 4:36pm
Is there any special reason you are looking forward to the 2103 AWL more than say the 2102 or 2104 AWL? :P

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by Fritzlein on Nov 17th, 2012, 5:52pm

on 11/17/12 at 16:36:44, clyring wrote:
Is there any special reason you are looking forward to the 2103 AWL more than say the 2102 or 2104 AWL? :P

Heheh.  All I ask is that you let me know if you see any of those in the rules of the 2103 Arimaa World Championships.   ;)

Title: Re: --ROCKIES--
Post by ChrisB on Nov 19th, 2012, 10:26am

on 11/17/12 at 14:42:03, Alfons wrote:
I just checked the results and came to the conclusion that this years's AWL has already finished. Is this right?
Well, anyway, you can count on me for the next season.

Welcome to the team Alfons!
You and the other recent additions to the team should be of great help for the next season.   :D



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