Ah, but it should be pointed out that I am Canadian*. Our penalty box is often as simple as a donut shop or the beer store. Or both. So, this round’s on me.
*A Canadian of English descent. Which is why I a) still eat steak-and-kidney pie, and b) have survived this far.
Good point Sunspace. So Wapping and detour to Prospect of Whitby for pints.
It comes in pints?!!
ahem Sorry.
As someone who grew up in Whitby, Ontario, that’s an eminently sensible idea.
Meanwhile, I’ll play Canada Water. Yes, I know, but what else can I do? My Grandfather’s notes never covered anything like this.
Well, Theydon Bois then. Formerly considered inferior until Brooke-Taylor played it against a team of amateurs at the Reform Club, culminating in a seventeen-move sequence from a thoroughly blocked position while the allies’ gold tokens languished helplessly in Zone 3. Yes, yes, every game’s different and all that, but I’ve a soft spot for sheer elegance and there aren’t any red points at stake on this game (I did check with the committee just in case anyone was worried. Those ranking points don’t earn themselves, you know) so why not give it a whirl.
Well with Malacandra putting the lights out on the Central Line with the Theydon Bois stall, and on going engineering works on the Bakerloo line is anyone reminded of the Bishop of Thetfords classic game in '83 which ended in a 3 way plug?
Interesting. You’ve broken me out of a Class 3 cross-Thames oscillation (which would have continued until the evening schedule, or until what my Grandfather called a bifilar shunt occurred on the Northern line). I expect Bricker will find his manoeuvrability improved as well. This is definitely deepening the late mid-game.
Back towards the City we go with Tottenham Court Road.
Yes, there’s similarities to the Bishop of Thetfords 1883, only the slightest commonality with Thetfords 1983. I leave the compare and contrast as an exercise for the interested student.
I was in the gym this afternoon and am a touch out of it. So I’ll go with the classic Monument, and discard & draw two cards.
The classic response to this is Blackfriars, but I am advised that that station is out of service. Therefore, I must play Tower Gateway and conserve tokens.
For a mere impromptu online game, this one is as exciting as round 3 of the 2000 BBC Online regionals, which, as we all recall, set the standard for internet play. Nowadays the kids prefer video and sound, but imho text is better as it makes for a more intellectual game w/o all the psychological jousting that comes with seeing and hearing your opponents.
I’m sure many here beg to differ.
I don’t follow you comment about not having psychological jousting, is that not the essence of the game? Take for example Brickers fake MC call in the late early phase, he clearly kew he would be buying a round, but it was enough to throw Dead cat off from securing a firm redoubt across the Northbound routes. As I dont have tell anyone the traditional format is generally to have the players facing each other but out of arm and leg reach following the unpleasantness in the USSR - Australia invitational series. I agree with all your comments regarding the quality of this particular game, but wonder if it could be enhanced, say by the adding of small pictures of the players under their name?
Now if you will excuse me someone is about to be shoved in a small metal tube and dropped into the ground to recover the match notes from an epic 68 day game, certainly going to be one for the almanac
Epic indeed. FICM archivists are eager to see the play-by-play history of the Chile Limited match.
Yeah, I likely didn’t make myself clear - I’m quite new at talking about this game and I’m sure my amatuerish comments show this.
In the number of games that I’ve seen, both live and on TV (especially televised games) there is much greater emphasis on the personal characteristics and play styles of the gamers involved than on the underlying strategies. From Hartindale’s famous stoicism (nothing seems to throw the man off) to Wellesley’s propensity to anger (honestly, in the games I’ve seen him involved, it seems as if the other players have a side bet going on to see who can make the poor drunkard the maddest), televised/streaming games focus far more on the psychological aspects of the game, especially if there is ( :shudder: ) live commentary.
Compare that to this game, with the desire of the players to make sure that their moves conform to the highest of MC standards. I mean, face it: when was the last time you saw a televised match where one of the players argued with the intellectual rigor of Sunspace’s post a few moves back:
Or made references to little known Great War variants, as evidenced by Panurge:
In a game televised by the Beeb? Not in this century at least!
By the way, I notice that today (the 12th of October) is the 2nd anniversary of the opening of the Wood Lane station (List of London Underground stations - Wikipedia). Are there rules concerning the playing of a station in MC on the anniversary of that station’s opening?
(I hope I didn’t open a can of worms with that question, considering it’s now 13-10-10 in the UK).
JohnT, you were quite clear and I must apologise as I read your initial comments in haste, yes there is certainly a different aroma to these online matches and I agree with you later commentary. Although one must always be carefull with the broad brushes, the great master Rushtons exposition on the development of the terminus siding mechanisms (no doubt dear to SunSpaces heart right now the way his token count is looking) during a match in front of an audience was not only done with out access to reference work, but they delayed the start of the 3rd day of the Test match at Lords to allow him to finish. An extreme example , but one to illustrate there are two sides.
Oh, dear - I must cry foul. Tower Gateway is on the DLR, not the Underground. I’m afraid you’re going to have to turn in your cards and green tokens. That leaves Monument as the last legal play.
Embankment, and I claim Sunspace’s discards.
I thought the DLR was wild under Tudor Court Rules, but I’m afraid Maus is quite correct. A pity, as this has allowed him to take a stranglehold on the position east of the prime meridian. I’m torn, but because of my surfeit of tokens, I think Paddington is the correct play.
Clapham North
And I believe with Sunspace out of cards, I’ve achieved a classic South of the River Stalemate Line. I should be in a superior defensive position for at least the next 117 rounds, so I can now concentrate on improving my Jubilee Line holdings.
For reference, I’ll point you to Metternich and the European Congress - When The Great Game Was Mornington Crescent by Silvanus Woodlarkfinch - Oxford Press - 1954.
OK, lots to cover here.
Arsenal. With thanks to Sunspace for some very welcome breathing space.
This lets me do three things:
[ul]
[li]Draw six red tokens (Mercer, 1980, § 16)[/li][li]Declare fog lifted (Mercer & Rollins, “The Cambridge Conundrum Revisited,” pp 164-167 and fn 3)[/li][li]Block Piccadilly Line Heathrow-bound traffic at Acton Town for emergency repairs (LaFontaine, “Guide to Line Repairs in the Endgame,” 1998; see also “Terminus Blocking: Line Repairs, Bomb Threats, and Suicides,” 1993.)[/li][/ul]
Ooo!
Arsenal
And I declare Tudor Court Rules ended!
I just stopped at Paddington Station and picked up a bear. What do I do now?