Hello,

here you can post and discuss your advices for Beginners.

Best Regards,
Funky-AbaloneTheory-Jazzclub  

--Last edited by Funky-AbaloneTheory-JAzzclub on 2005-11-06 23:49:07 --

Eight advices for Beginners

This message is related to Foxaphosophors french message “LES 10 COMMANDEMENTS DU JOUEUR DEBUTANT“


1. Conquer the centre !
You have to conquer the centre and to extend your dominance in the centre of the board.

2. Build, control and manoeuvre a strong block!
First you have to learn to build and to control a block, for example if you have to defend yourself or if you have to over-run and to defeat the opponents position.

3. Go ahead and push !
If you only defend, you will probably not lose very soon, but certainly you will not win caused by your own efforts. Try to understand the game from the beginning as an attacking-game. You have to experience the attacking-possibilities! – this will strengthen your game.

4. Strengthen your attack and if possible on different sides!
If you only attack one point, very often your opponent will defend this attack. But if you try to attack at least two points, than your opponent will probably come into troubles.
(You can train simple double-attacks with the practice-tasks “Black-is-winning-in-2-moves”: http://148009.aceboard.net/148009-115-42-0-Moves.htm )

5. Counter-pressure is necessary! To destroy the opponents pressure is a second possibility!
You have to decide if you are able to  block the opponents attack with counter-pressure or if you try to destroy/attack the attacking-forces from the side. Figure out the consequences in both cases and compare them.

6. Centre or Material – one main-strategy-principle !
Very often you have to compare if it is more advantageous to keep the centre or to eject a marble. If you don’t loose to much centre-power or if you have in any case superior number or  if you have winning-chances, because you are able to eject sufficient marbles for the win, than don’t hesitate to eject !

7. Standard !
In the beginning it is very helpful to play the standard-starting-position, since you learn to control a block – there are other standard-related starting-positions, too (Face-to-Face, Snake, etc.). You can also play complex variations, to get experience, but don’t neglect Standard, too early. “Snake-Variant” is for example a good step from the standard-related to the more complex starting-positions. If you are able to control the block, then there are different ways to develop (Compare the “Standard-Opening-Introduction with three styles/stages”: http://148009.aceboard.net/148009-2008-209-0-Standard.htm   )

8. No fear ! Every lost game is a won game ! Have fun !
Sometimes there are Abalone-players, who play since one or two years Abalone and they still play very passively and defensively. They don’t attack and they are waiting for the opponents’ mistakes. And sometimes there are some players, who cant lose. After the games, they insult their opponents.
But Abalone can be a great game, a beautiful game and a complex game! All players can share this wonderful game!
I like to encourage you to discover these latter aspects of the game.  

Best Regards,
SilverSilver  

----------------------------------------------------------

Compare: Advices for advanced players: http://148009.aceboard.net/148009-1987-1976-0-Advices-advanced-Players.htm#vb  

--Last edited by Funky-AbaloneTheory-JazzClub on 2005-11-20 05:35:40 --

Source: http://www.gamerz.net/pbmserv/abalone.html

Playing Tips for Abalone By Wayne Schmittberger, ex-Editor of Games Magazine and avid Abalone Player


1. At the start, advance your marbles quickly toward the center of the board.
Marbles in the center are much safer, and can move around more easily, than ones near the edge. And, if you can occupy the center, you will also force yoour opponent's marbles to stay near the edge. (Unless your opponent(s) can outwit you and take over the center).

(It's best to start advancing a line of three marbles toward the center.)  

2. Keep your marbles together.
Your marbles are strongest in a solid group. The more lines in which you have connected rows of three or more marbles, the harder it will be for your opponent to push you back toward the edge.

                        . . . . .          
                       . . . . . .        
                      . . . o o o x      
                     . . . o o o x .    
                    . . . o o o x . .  
                     . . x o o . x .    
                      . x x o x x .      
                       . x x x . x    
                        . x . . .          

   Diagram 2.  White's strong central formation has no weaknesses, while
               black has no way to prevent his thin line of marbles from
               being pushed back and cut apart.  White has the advantage,
               despite black's current 2-0 lead in marbles.

3. "Divide and Conquer"
Try to separate the opponent's marbles into two or more groups. Smaller groups will be easier to push back and trap against the edge of the board, where they will be lost.

4. Plan ahead.
Wherever your marbles are next to your opponent's, carefully consider the effect of each possible push. Pushes tend to create many new possibilities for each side, since as many as five marbles can change position at once (when three marbles push two).

5. Think twice before pushing an opponent's marble off the board.
Early in the game, it is usually more important to keep your marbles in the center than to move them toward the edge in order to eject a marble or two. (If you fall behind 2-0 or 3-1 in pushing off marbles, you can easily catch up if you have the move central position.) And if an opponent's marble has no way to escape, don't hurry to push it off, as you will usually have a more important move to make elsewhere.

6. Abandon stragglers.
Don't waste time trying to link up isolated marbles with your main group, unless you can do it in just a move or two.

7. Play patiently.
When you're not sure what to do, look for your least useful marble(s), and try to improve their positions.

8. The more marbles that have been pushed off the board, the more important it is to gain the lead in marbles.
Although a strong central position is more important that ejecting marbles early in the game, the opposite is trow after each side has lost three or four marbles. If your marbles are badly scattered around the edges after you have pushed off six of your opponent's marbles, it won't matter!

9. Try hard to be the first player to eject five marbles.
The first player to push off a fifth marble will usually have a big advantage, because the opponent will then have to look after every vulnerable marble, and answer every threat to eject a marble.

10. Late in the game, play accurately and agressively.
If you see a way to eject enough of the opponent's marbles to bring your total up to six, don't bother to defend your own marbles unless the opponent can win before you do.

         . . . . .                    
        . . . . . .                  
       . . x . . . .                
      . . x . . . . .                
     . x x x o . . . .            
      x o x o o . . .              
       o x o o . . .                
        o . . o o x                    
         o . . . x  
             
         . . . . .
        . . . . . .
       . . x . . . .
      . . x . . . . .  
     . x x . o . . . .
       x o x o o . . .
        o x o o . . .
         x . . o o x    
          o . . . x



   Diagram 3.  White leads 4-3, but needs at least three turns to eject
               two black marbles in to the lower right.  Black, with the
               move, wins the race by ejecting one white marble as shown,
               after which black needs but two more turns to push off
               the trapped marbles.  

--Last edited by Funky-AbaloneTheory-JazzClub on 2005-12-03 01:52:41 --

This is an article of chriscool ("Le forum des joueurs": http://90214.aceboard.net/90214-2318-3579-0-Educationnal-progression.htm#vb )

Educationnal progression

The purpose of this message is to propose different exercises in order to acquire the basis of abalone. it is related to my previous post "Space-time" as being a teaching methods of the concepts described there.
( http://forum.aceboard.net/148009-1838-2662-0-Presentation-Space-Time-chriscool.htm )

Exercice 1
Goal : to acquire basis on spatial components (structure and position)
Level : beginner
Exercise : move one's block lineary (to left, right, forwar and back) without compromising the structural integrity (ie without holes in the middle that would let the opponent to kick one's ass !)

Exercice 2
Goal : to discover notions of timing
Level : beginner
Exercise : trying as much openings as possible without losing the central point (with blacks) or the whole middle row (with whites)

Exercice 3
Goal : to improve one's handling abilities of spatial components
Level : beginner
Exercise : once the two opponents are face to face in the middle, with none of them controling the whole row, execute rotationnal moves of one's block around the middle point. Alternate the exercice with blacks and whites with blacks holding the central point without compromising both one's structural (without wholes allowing hurting kickass'ing) and positional component (without the central point with blacks or the whole middle row with whites).

Exercise 4
Goal : to be able to defend when drowned by number
Level : beginner to intermediate
Exercise : once in the middle, one of the opponents sacrifices one ball and tries to resist to the assaults of the punk facing him without compromising structural (kickass'ings in the wholes) and positionnal (the whole middle row) components. Then, do it again with 2, 3, 4 and 5 balls. Do it again with one row less. Same with two rows less.

Exercise 5
Goal : to get a better timing
Level : beginner
Exercise : once in the middle, move the CoM (Center of Mass) to the left or right coin. Finish the game here. Do it again with one row less, then two rows less, moving the CoM to the forwar-left or forwar-right (attacker's point of view).