MN       KH           JL          DT
    Red       White       Blue       Yellow
8. J3-K4    J13-I13    E9-C9    M7-M6

9. K4-J5    G11-F11    E10xG12    M6-L5

(MN) John suggested K5-K6 or K4-K6, setting up D9-F7-H5-J3-J5-L7xN5, but that actually allows H12-H10-J10-L8-N8-N6-L6xJ6xH6xF6.

10. K5xM5    G13xG11    D9-F7-H5-J3    N10-N8-N6xL4

(JL) I see no point in standing around, waiting to be slaughtered.  Maybe, with Michael's help, I can make a dash for Dan's castle.  Certainly, Michael isn't getting anywhere near Kerry's.  In addition, our two Knights working together may make it hot for Dan for a couple of turns.

(DT) Kerry declines capture of Michael's Knight on M5 and instead captures John's Man on G12.  I wonder how this will affect the material outcome of the exchange.  If Kerry had captured M5, I could have protected Kerry's Knight on L4 through M10-O8-M6.  As far as I can tell, we could still have captured the Man on G14.  I move N10-N8-N6xL4 to capture the Knight on M5.  My Knight can now be captured by combination attack.  I consider asking Kerry to move H11-G10, which sets up an attack by my Knight on N7 to capture three of John's Men.  This, however, would allow John's Knight on J3 to canter around the board capturing seven of our pieces.  Therefore, I don't make the suggestion.  Michael will likely move a piece to K4 on the next turn.  Kerry should respond with H12-H10-J10-L8-N8-N6.  John will then capture my Knight on L4, after which I can set up an attack by Kerry on John's Knight by moving M9-M7-O7-M5.  John cannot defend against the attack because White's turn comes before John's next turn.  Michael can defend but in all situations, as far as I can tell, we come out ahead.  If Kerry does not come down to my southern flank, then Michael and John can attack me in combination.  I do not think I can defend against this.

11. J5-I5    I12-G10    D10-D9    L4-M5

(JL) Just consolidating here.

(DT) To my surprise, Michael moves J5-I5.  As far as I can tell, the effect of this move is to spare my Knight on L4.  I wonder if the other players have recognized the combination attack threat.

(DT) I move L4-M5.  If Michael attempts to set up a combination attack on my Knight on M5, Kerry can defend with the Knight on H12.  I almost moved L4-L5 because Michael could not set John up for an attack on this position.  At the last minute, however, I realize that Michael could directly capture the Knight with I5-I3-K5xL5.  Although Kerry's Knight on H12 could then capture Michael's Knight on L5, John and Michael would have a combination attack on Kerry's Knight that could not be stopped.  For my next move, I am considering N9-L9-J11-H9-F11.  We need to start an attack on John's castle.

12. I4-K4    G10-F10    D9-D7-F9    M5-M6

(JL) This move is Michael's suggestion, and I don't see anything better, except that the best it seems to offer is a Man-for-Man trade.  Since we are down material, that doesn't seem like a good plan in the long run.  Kerry offered Dan a suggestion on what to do in case I took his Knight on M5.  Not likely, because that would just result in a Knight-for-Knight trade, leaving us with two to their five.

(DT) Michael sets up a combination attack on my Knight on M5 by moving I4-K4.  If John captures the Knight, Kerry can capture John's Knight by moving H12-H10-J10-L8-N8-N6xN4.  I hope Kerry recognizes this and keeps his pieces on H12 and H11.

(DT) Kerry moves G10-F10 and points out that if John captures my Knight, on his next turn Kerry will have a choice of capturing John's Knight on N5 or John's Men on C9 and D9.  In the latter case, however, Kerry's Knight could be captured by Michael's Knight on F3.

(DT) Michael sends an email suggesting that John move D9-D7-F9, which John does.  Now White's next move is a forced capture unless I intervene.  Although I can capture John's attacking piece, we would likely lose material.  I decide to set a trap by moving M5-M6. I hope Kerry sees what I'm doing and that Michael does not.  Suppose Michael makes an immaterial move.  I hope Kerry will move F10xF8 to capture John's attacking Man.  Kerry could instead charge with the Knight on G14, but this would set up a devastating charge by Michael's Knight on F3.  Assuming Kerry moves F10xF8, John now has only two options, both of them awful.  If John moves E8xG8, I can move N7-L9-J11-H9xF7xH5xJ5xL3.  If John charges with the Knight on J3, I can then capture several pieces with my Knight on N7 regardless of whether John's Knight finishes on F7 or F9.  Michael will need to anticipate this threat on his next move in order to fend it off.

13. K4-L4    F10xF8    J3-J5-H5-F7-D9-D7-F9xF7    M6-L7

(JL) Kerry makes the trade.  I capture as Michael recommends, as it opens up some distance between Kerry and me.  The disadvantage is that my Knight is now further from Dan's castle, but I may be able to move C9-E7-G7-G5-I3-K5-M3.  I think our only chance in this game, aside from Dan falling into a trap, is for me to move around through Michael, and we make a combined all-out assault against Dan.  I can't communicate this, though, without giving it away.  I think I know how I would like to play the next game.  I think each team should canter a small force through their partner, maybe three pieces, including at least one Knight. They can then make combined attacks against the one opponent.  With the partnership's pieces intermixed, it should be possible to set up potentially devastating threats.  If a partnership didn't realize the danger immediately, they would lose the initiative.  If both sides adopted the same strategy, the battles along the Blue-White and Red-Yellow flanks could become very complex.

(DT) Michael moves K4-L4, a good move, and suggests that John capture by charging his Knight on J3 to F7.  This thwarts my attack.  I consider a number of options.  N7-L9-J11-H9 is more aggressive.  It allows Michael to set up a combination attack by moving a Man to K5 but Kerry can block this attack by moving his Man on H11 to N6.  Nonetheless, the resulting board position does not strike me as an improvement.  By moving a Man to M7, I can mount an attack on Michael.  Ultimately, however, I go with a plan of retreat from Michael in order to set up an attack on John's castle by cantering through White's forces.  This runs the risk of giving the Michael-John partnership the initiative but on the other hand, it is a more direct approach to victory.  It also makes a combination attack by the Michael-John partnership on my pieces more difficult.

14. H4-J6    G14-I14-I12-G10    C9-E7-G7-G5-G3-I3-K5    N7-L9-J11-H9

(MN) I think that if we don't try something strategic, we'll just get whupped tactically by their three extra Knights.  It's too bad F7-G8 was not possible because of N7-L9-J11-H9 etc.  I'm suggesting to John C9-E7-G7-G5-G3-I3-K5.

(JL) Michael has come around to my point of view.  I should never have made the moves 12 and 13 that he suggested, but tried to move men out, instead.  Now I can only get my Knight and one Man out; the others are dead.  I might have been able to get one or two more away if I had followed my instincts, but, as the weakest player, my self-confidence was low.  (And rightly so, since Michael's advice prevented a couple of boners.)  If I were Kerry, I would just build a chain so Dan could canter to my castle, and just play minimal defensive moves elsewhere.  I figure that should take about six moves, and the game will be over.

(DT) Michael continues an attack on my southern flank and invites John to try to get two pieces into my castle.  I see two risks here.  First, without Kerry's support, Michael and John can engage in combination attacks.  More subtly, in a race to the castle, Michael can engage in repeat sacrifices that divert me from moving into John's castle, giving John time to occupy my castle.  I suggest to Kerry in an email that he help defend the southern flank.  I canter a Knight out toward John's castle to begin our own attack.

15. F3-H5-J5-L5    H11-F9    F7-H5-J5    J15-I15

(MN) I'm thinking that if I now play L5-M6, Kerry is forced to play H12-F10-H10-J10-L8-L6xN6 because of John's threat of J5-L5-N7 etc.  Therefore, John can follow with K5-K6 with threats.

(JL) I expect Kerry's H11-F9, followed by my F7-H5-J5.  There is an opportunity for Kerry to mess up if he tries to get too fancy and forgets my Knight can get to F9.  For instance, H11-F11 would result in D9-D7-F9xH11xJ9xL9xN7.  Of course, it turned out as I had predicted.  At least Kerry's next move is forced, so let's see if Michael can come up with some surprise for Dan, since we get two moves to Dan's one.

(DT) This was the hardest move of the game for me yet.  I made a non-move, J15-I15, which attempts to bring my isolated Knight on J15 back into play.  Kerry has committed to an attack on John's two stay-behind pieces on D8 and E8.  John and Michael, however, continue to mass their forces along my southern flank.  My principal concern is that Michael will initiate a series of sacrifices by moving L5-M6.  If Michael makes this move, and Kerry chooses to go ahead and capture the two men on D8 and E8, then Michael can engage in repeated sacrifices to pull my Knight on L7 all the way down into Michael's castle and then a few moves beyond that.  In short, Michael could tie me up for seven or eight rounds, leaving John free to attack my castle and Kerry alone to defend it.  The move I make keeps open the attack by the Knight on H12.  After my move, Michael sends an email, without a move, suggesting that he may move L5-M6 and acknowledging that Kerry will likely charge with the Knight on H12 to capture Michael's Knight on M6.  If Kerry does not make this move John will have a long charge starting from J5 capturing as many as six of our pieces.  I did not even see this.  Good thing we have a defense to it.  Michael points out that if Kerry captures the Knight on M6 he can capture Kerry's Knight with I5-K3-M5-O7.  Fine with me.  The board position at that point seems favorable to us.  More importantly, I need Kerry's assistance in this area and this exchange might prompt further reinforcements.  The goal now ought to be to capture John's Knight at any cost.  If we get it, the entire Michael-John partnership strategy falls apart.  It is unlikely that the Michael-John partnership can win a race if Michael has to get a piece into White's castle.  For my next move, assuming the next three moves are as Michael predicts, I initially consider I15-J14, which sets up a good attack on John's pieces.  Then I realize it would allow Michael's Knight on I5 to capture the two Knights on L7 and N6.  I then decide on M9-M7.  This blocks John's attack and allows me to capture Michael's lone remaining Knight, although at some risk by jumping into my castle.  However, all this depends on what the next three moves actually are.

Part 3 continued on the following webpage