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Cal's Currajong: Trapeze Art

When the first move of the game is a loop, then there is a pair of partly filled dots on the loop. Does anyone have a name for them? I searched through the WGOSA glossary hoping to find one, but unless I missed something there's no help there. Let me propose that we call the pair a "trapeze" and that we call the move that loops from that pair a "trapeze move". I will be interested to see if my suggestion turns up in the glossary. So far, I have a pretty good record on that.

When player1 loops on his first move - hey, I like that formulation; sounds like ping-pong - then, he has to take into account all of the trapeze replies. My guess is that if he has a looping first move that is not immediately knocked out by a trapeze move, he probably wins.

But there's no question player2 can make life difficult for player1 even in many losing situations. He can hold off on the trapeze move and make player1 sweat. The trapeze move has a lot of force; it creates fairly stable pools of dots, pools communicating through a single partly filled dot. If after player2's first move player1 is unable to play the trapeze move himself, he will have a lot on his mind.

ANALYSIS (Find a shrink.) 10- As I suggested last week I don't hold out much hope that 10- wins for player2. Player1 has an extremely solid first move in 1(11)1[2-4]. Player1 wants either six isolani or five isolani and a trap. Maybe there is some sequence that lets player2 get two traps and an even number of isolani, but I can't find it.

5(12)5 This barrage balloon might be player2's trickiest chance. Now I recommend leaving the trapeze in abeyance and playing the balloon busting 6(13)6[5].

Player1 is on schedule to complete his plan.

--Cal Hudson, First World Champion of Sprouts

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