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        Arimaa >> Game Analysis >> Game 178578: Belteshazzar vs. bot_Clueless2009CC
        
(Message started by: Belteshazzar on Apr 4^th, 2011, 2:38am)

Title: Game 178578: Belteshazzar vs. bot_Clueless2009CC
Post by Belteshazzar on Apr 4^th, 2011, 2:38am

In this game (http://arimaa.com/arimaa/games/jsShowGame.cgi?gid=178578&s=b), what should I have done beginning on 12g, after the horse exchange? I realize that moving my remaining horse up to where it could be taken hostage by the enemy camel probably wasn't smart, but what would have been a better move?

I realize that if I were a bit better at endgames I might have actually pulled this one out, but I'm trying to focus on the earlier points when I went down in material.

Title: Re: Game 178578: Belteshazzar vs. bot_Clueless2009
Post by Fritzlein on Apr 4^th, 2011, 4:39pm

on 04/04/11 at 02:38:30, Belteshazzar wrote:

Your strategy was fine. After a horse exchange, even more than before it, you want to pursue the enemy camel with your elephant, because the camel can no longer be a "floater" while the enemy horses guard the corners; instead the camel has a job guarding one wing that it can't shirk. A big decision point for you is on 15g. If you are going to try to capture something in c6, your elephant and horse are unlikely to be enough force to overcome a defending camel plus little pieces. You should expect from the outset that more help will be needed, and start to mobilize a swarm with your three extra steps rather than shuffle pieces in your home ranks. If, on the contrary, you are going to take a camel hostage, then 15g wastes time: use three steps to get the camel to a5 and use only the fourth step to bring another defender of c3 or f3. You will win the camel-hostage race because your camel has more options to flee, whereas his will already be stuck.

I am more of a home player, so I lean towards the camel hostage strategy here, but swarming is also not wrong, even though it is tricky attacking into the teeth of a defending camel. You just have to realize that leaving your elephant on b6 on 15g requires your other three steps to (for example) bring your dog to c5. That would be so threatening that either Silver would have to play all four steps defending c6 with little pieces, or bring home his elephant to defend c6, either of which leaves you in fine shape.

You got into trouble tactically more than strategically. 13g you already noticed. Your 16g allowed your dog and camel to be threatened on the same move. Going after a camel hostage as you did was not wrong strategy, but the way you did it lost so much time that it cost you material in the mean time. I understand if you didn't want to advance a rabbit to b3 on 16g, because the rabbit is on a bad square, but there is a balance of evils: Defend with a misplaced rabbit in one step, or use up three steps (two now plus one later to re-defend f3)? And even after that time waste your camel hostage strategy can still pay off with a better tactic on 17g: ma4s Ea5s Dc2n Dc3n wins the camel for a dog; the end result of MH for HDD is about even, although I'd personally rather have the MH.

I hate to say "tactics", because what I love about Arimaa is its deep strategy, but here I think your strategy was not the problem.

Title: Re: Game 178578: Belteshazzar vs. bot_Clueless2009
Post by chessandgo on Apr 5^th, 2011, 3:26am

I agree with Fritz, 15g ma6s Eb6w Rb2n x would have left you with a very strong position.

Title: Re: Game 178578: Belteshazzar vs. bot_Clueless2009
Post by Belteshazzar on Apr 29^th, 2011, 9:11pm

I finally beat this bot (http://arimaa.com/arimaa/games/jsShowGame.cgi?gid=181966&s=w), although it seemed like I was losing until I made the goal threat which forced it to give up its elephant, and even after that I still had to be careful for a while. I'm surprised that the bot, especially being a CC bot, didn't forsee that situation and prevent it.