Annotated Grand Camelot Game - Part 3
February - March 2002
Red: Michael Nolan & Blue: John Lawson
vs.
White: Kerry Handscomb & Yellow: Dan Troyka
MN KH JL DT
Red White Blue Yellow
16. J4-L6 F9xD7xD9 K5-K6 K9-L8
(MN) John has suggested J4-L6, and I like it better than my plan.
(JL) Kerry and Dan have seen the light and intend to bring Kerry's Knight over to help Dan. Dan has proposed M9-L8 or K9-L8. With K9-L8, we trade a Knight for a Knight and two men with Michael's I5-K7xM7xK9xK11. Kerry can recapture, but their communications are impeded. I have no good move after that, so I'll probably move J5-K5 so our last two Knights are on different colors. Dan's M9-L8 is much worse for him. Michael moves I5-K7xM7xM9xO9 and can't be recaptured right away, and, if Kerry doesn't interfere, I follow with J5-L7xL9xJ9xL11xN9. The best threat I see for Kerry is H12-F10-H10-H8, setting up a threat against my last Man by Dan. That also prevents my J5-K5. If that Man is lost, so is our last chance to win the game, unless it is part of a combination that destroys Dan, leaving Michael and Kerry to play on. OK, Dan chooses K9-L8. Michael sees two choices. If I5-K7xM7xK9xK11 and Kerry responds H12-F10-H10-J10-l12xK11, I have no immediate threat, so I could just move J5-K5. However, if Kerry responds H12-F10-H10-H8, then, if I move J5-K5, Dan responds with H9-H7xJ5xL7, taking my Man. Then my answer destroys over half his forces. Hmm. If Michael moves I5-K5-M7xK7, then after Kerry's H12-F10-H10-J10-L10-N10-N8, I can't do much useful with my Knight without exposing it to capture, as well as Dan's threat H9-J11-L9-L7xJ7xJ5xL7, or some such.
(DT) John and Michael exchange emails and Michael moves J4-L6 at John's suggestion. This likely sets up a serious attack on me. Kerry is committed to capturing the two stay behind Men on D8 and E8. I'll see what I can do. Later in the day: I have decided on K9-L8. This leaves Michael with the option of capturing one or three of my pieces. If he captures three (I5-K7xM7xK9xK11), Kerry can then capture Michael's Knight, or else Kerry can initiate a race by moving G10-F9. If he captures one (I5-K5-M7xK7), he will set up John for an attack J5-L7xL9xN7xN11 that Kerry cannot prevent. This would be a bad move by John, however, because of my response M10-M8, which forces John's Knight to capture N7xL9xJ11, where it is then itself captured. The big question that I see is whether to initiate a race. If Michael captures, Kerry can move G10-F9, which allows us to start a race. I think we can win the race but the uncertainty I have is due to Michael's opportunities to divert me with repeated sacrifices. Kerry and I, I think, would have to coordinate very well to win a race. The alternative is for Kerry to move his Knight on H12 into the fray by capturing Michael's Knight in the 3-capture-by-Michael scenario or perhaps to N8 in the 1-capture-by-Michael scenario. It occurs to me that if Michael moves I5-K7xM7xK9xK11, and Kerry responds with H12-F10-H10-J10xL12, and John then moves K6-M6, then I can force a capture of John's Man through a couple of sacrifices starting with M8-N7, with White's cooperation.
17. I5-K7xM7xK9xK11 H12-F10-H10-J10xL12 K6-M6 M8-N7
(JL) This is all pretty much as expected. The material difference isn't as bad as it seems on the surface. The number of men is equal, but many are out of the fray. They have five Knights to our two, which should be decisive, but they are all spread out, and Dan's men protecting his castle are not directly supported, so locally, we have two Knights to zero or one. (This was one of the positional advantages of Michael's move 17.) Additionally, Dan's pieces approaching my castle are both Knights. It they run for it, they will not be in the fight, and don't travel any faster than men. Everything they do takes time, and the more time we get the better off we are, as long as we can produce a threat every move that also involves approaching Dan's castle.
(MN) Because of the questions arising from the possibilities presented by the board position, I am forced to reconsider the logic of that section of the original Parker Brothers Grand Camelot Rules that deals with a player's non-opposite opponent's castle. It states: "Only a piece from the opposite side of the board may enter an opponent's castle." After considerable reflection and discussion, I decide that the WCF Grand Camelot Rules should differ from the P.B. rules, and read: "A player may use a jump, or the jumping portion of a Knight's Charge, to land upon one of his own castle squares, or one of his partner's castle squares, or one of his non-opposite opponent's castle squares, but must vacate that castle upon his next turn, there being no exception." This rules change has two main benefits. First, it implements conformity of treatment of all the non-goal castles. Second, it makes writing a Grand Camelot-playing computer program easier (for Dan).
18. L6-M7 L12-M11 M6xO8 M9-L8
(DT) Michael, Kerry, and John all oblige by making the moves described above, so I move M8-N7. Michael responds with L6-M7 (this is the first move of Round 18). Provided Kerry moves L12-L11, which I proposed along with my move, I will move N9-N8 on the next turn, which will set Kerry up to capture John's Man along with Michael's Man by jumping into and out of my castle. Before my making this move John sent an email indicating that he thought pieces could not jump into their partners' castles. I responded that I thought they could. Michael answered that they can but that pieces cannot enter the non-goal enemy castle under any circumstances. I waited to see if John would indicate whether his prior move was made with the understanding that Kerry could not jump into my castle. It appears not to have been a consideration.
(JL) Dan believes that he can get my Man in a couple of turns, through forced captures. I don't quite see it yet, but he can certainly pull me away from Dan's castle. That doesn't get him any closer to my castle, though. I wish I had a third Man. Ugh, I failed to see the effects of the double sacrifice. We are sunk. We can probably slow them down, but it won't matter in the long run, once we're forced to trade off our Knights. We should play it to the end, to learn how to play an end game.
(DT) Kerry moved L12-M11 instead of L12-L11. This will work although it leaves Michael's Man on K9. Now to begin a race to the castle.
19. M7xK9 M11-M9-O9xO7 J5-J7-H5 I10-H11
20. H3-F5-H7 D9-E10 H5-H6 H9-F11-D9
(JL) Aside from making threats, and hoping for an oversight (on their part), I see no way to stave off the inevitable. I expect Dan's moves to be H9-F11-D9, (Kerry E10-E11), H11-F11-D11, D9-C10, D11-B9, C10-A8, B9-A9. Part of the problem I am facing is, with only one piece, I must move it every turn. In addition, Michael's Knight can't catch up, because he will have to use all his moves to create threats for my Knight. Michael's 20th move maybe should have been H3-F5, followed by G4-E6. As it is, I don't see how I can get close enough to do any good.
21. L5-K5 G11-F12 H6-F6 D9-C10
(JL) If I move H6-F6, followed by Michael's K5-I7-G7-G5-E7, with the later possibilities of H7-F5-F7-D7 and G6-E6-E8, we may get close enough to be annoying. Even if we manage to pull off trading a Man and both Knights for two men and three Knights, we are still toast. Kerry and Dan just split their remaining forces to attack both castles, and Michael alone cannot defend. Dan saw the trap: if he had moved I15-G13-E11-E9-C9, as would be very tempting since he would be three moves from winning, Michael's move 21 would allow my F6xD8xD10xB8. A better choice might have been F6-D8xD10xF10xH10xH12xJ14 if Kerry hadn't prevented. Dan's move 20 was intended to prevent that move. All fantasy now, however. Michael wants to confer after Kerry's move. Maybe we can slow them down, if we are lucky.
22. K5-I7-G7-G5-E7 O7-N6 F6-F7 C10-B10
(JL) On due consideration, we are toast. Dan's next move will be H11-F9-D11-B9, followed by C10-A8 and B9-A9. The only place I can move to prevent that, F6-D8, results in I15-G13-E11-E9xC7. If Michael moves J6-H6-F6-D8 after my F6-F7, threatening C10, all Kerry has to do is E10-D9, blocking my path. My F6-E6 is no better. Dan did not move as I expected. He saw some resource that enabled us to capture one of his Knights after he castled the other. We're not dead yet, but it's close.
23. J6-H6-F6-D8 E10-D11 F7-E6 I15-G13-E11-C11-A9
(MN) G6-E8-E6-G8, J6-H6-F6-F8, I6-G8, I6-G8-E6-E8, or J6-H6-F6-D8, whatever.
(JL) Nothing we can do can prevent Dan from I15-G13-E11-C11-A9, castling a Knight. If I move F7-D7, followed by Michael's D8-C8, I don't see how Kerry can prevent D7-B9-B11. Were I he, I would move D11-C12, forcing me to continue with xD13, exiling my Knight to Siberia. Then Michael would be hard pressed to defend against a combined attack by Dan's and Kerry's Knights with Dan's H11-F9. Dan's comments to Kerry state that he has a contingency plan if I attack B10, so maybe this is it. If I move F7-E6, the outcome is less clear, but we might be able to move up H7-F5-D7, and get a little more power on the defense. If we get Michael into a forced capture situation, Kerry's N6-M5 is a definite danger.
24. H7-F5-D7-D9 F12-G11 E6-D7 H11-F9
25. E7-C9-E9xG9 G10xG8 D7-E7 B10-B9
(MN) I mentioned to John E7-E8 for my move, mainly because the four differently colored Knights in a diagonal line reminded me of a position from Irving Chernev's "The 1,000 Best Short Games of Chess."
(MN) I suggested E6-E8-C8-E10xC12 for John's move, but he turned me down. Not that it makes any difference at this point.
(JL) If Dan slips up with A9-A8, thinking he'll get a quick win, I'll ask Michael to move D9-C10, forcing Kerry's D11xB9 and allowing my response E7-C9xA9xC11. This postpones the threat to my castle many turns, and reorients the game to an attack by Kerry on Michael's castle. I doubt Dan will slip up.
26. D8-C8 G8-F8 E7xG9 B9xD7
(JL) I think our best choice for Michael is D8-C8. After Kerry's G8-F8, John's E7xG9, Dan's B9xD7, then Michael's D9-C9. If Kerry chooses against the sacrifice, then John's E7-D8 should win Dan's Knight. However, I see after Michael's D9-C9, Kerry's D11-D10, pulling Michael's Man away, and Dan's Knight walks home. Nevertheless, there's really no choice. Michael's D9-C9 is no better, and if anything else, Dan's B9-A8 wins on the spot. The end is nigh; Dan's latest note to Kerry recommends D11-D10.
27. D9-C9 D11-D10 Michael & John Resign
(MN) It's time; oh well. Overall, an extremely interesting experience for me. I had never played a four person abstract strategy board game before. It was challenging and great fun, and as an extra bonus, it was a Camelot-family game. I wonder if I like Grand Camelot better than Camelot. It certainly has more of a strategic feel to it than Camelot. Camelot is almost entirely tactical.
