Euston, with a King’s Cross branch, means the ONLY legal play with Widdington’s would be Camden Town, which of course means we have straddled MC…
Will someone recognize the opportunity presented? lynne-42 perhaps?
No. I’m sulking.
No way to know? Psh! Have you already forgotten the 2004 declaration by the Rules Committee that government secrets automatically count as known facts in Internet-based Mornington Crescent games, as long as at least one non-governmental industry is generally aware of it. We now know that the Minister of Defense (or whatever you call it out there) was in league with the tabloid press to keep the Prince’s deployment secret, which means that the 2004 rules were in effect the entire time.
Why wouldn’t he? He’s a prince, and he’s a warrior, considered an equal to his fellow men (of equal rank, anyway) during his time of deployment. Anyway, according to the 1976 Sacramento Clarification, any male member of a royal family deployed in a war zone in any context other than anti-revolution or direct defense of the royalty against his people qualifies under Winkler’s Exception. Sacramento is still controversial, of course, but for the time it stands.
As for current developments in the game, I had a feeling that I could not have overshot so awfully in my 8-11 move calculation, and according to the 2003 Stockholm Convention for Internet-Based London Transport Games (a committee for the ages, who I’ve cited before in this game and will likely cite again), I was right. I refer you to RFC 8831.842, which unequivocably states that we cannot go southwest on the Northern Line in the early late-mid-game with Widdingtons declared. Now, it’s possible to undeclare Widdingtons at any time within a 20-move window, but it requires a full move and can only be done while standing at a station on another line (ie, not the Northern line). The wise move here is to go northeast, but we can’t cross London Overground with Huffingtons null. Thankfully, the Camden Jump was declared legal in this exact situation in the wake of the bloody 1953 finals at Cologne. Therefore, I declare Camden Road (and denullify Huffingtons to avoid getting into this mess again). In a strong breeze, we could be looking at MC in 8, at least if we accept Sacramento.
How can I stay sulking with such wonderful play? King’s Cross St. Pancras, giving the International St. Pancras Railway Station link, thus enabling Widdington’s to be undeclared on the next move from anywhere in the world!
King’s Cross St. Pancras.
A gregarious move, to be sure. Let’s just hope that the next player takes his chance to burn a full move and undeclare Widdingtons. If not, we could be up for a rough endgame. The Dope world is on the edge of its collective seat!
Then I will undeclare Widdingtons with a Zone D hop to Chesham.
Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war! Have at thee, knave! oops, sorry, got carried away there.
Hatton Cross, snidge declared, motion north.
Snidge is crothumped for two moves if knip is potential, whether it is declared or not - as I suspect you know very well!
I move clearly out of crothump (both standard Wellsian and Farley’s Modern Pan-Atlantic varieties - though I scorn the latter as an abomination out of the spirit of the game), and call Bank, double-shunted on one blue token.
MC in three.
Brilliant play from TheLoadedDog! As it no longer matters, I cheerfully admit that, in the spirit of my great hero Kovari, I was hoping to achieve a strategic end game advantage by getting into a position where I could deploy a Reverse Fairlop declination gambit, Crunk variation, possibly springing an Acton Trap on anyone unwise enough to fall for a Central Line play with daylight access. However, TheLoadeddog has knocked this plan on the head, fair and square, and I think MC in three is probably a secure prediction. The double shunt is a neat tactic, since otherwise one would at least be able to explore a Pringle substitution play along the Circle line.
Incidentally, TheLoadedDog, I’m with you all the way on that wretched Farley chap and his somewhat unhelpful contribution to the crothump rule (which for me, and I suspect many others, spoiled my enjoyment of the '04 European semis). That having been said, Ogawa recently published a tactical analysis in the Japanese MC Quarterly which does go some way to justifying Farley’s reasoning - even though I hate to admit it. He cites several important matches where the crothump ruse has been open to abuse, and where the Farley variation would have resolved matters rather well.
Waterloo.
Congratulations to TheLoadedDog. That one will end up in the folklore.
Oh dear. You’ve done it, haven’t you?
Yes, you have. It is with a feeling of great pride, tinged with sorrow for your misfortune, lynne, that I cite the 1976 Spirit Games ruling that established that Whitaker’s Double Shot (8 stations straight north on the Northern Line) not only can, but must be taken when a pair of consecutive plays from Australia have combined to bring us to a handicapped-accessible station in midweek, doubly so in the morning (as it was in England when you made your move).
Therefore, I say those two words which strike fear into the hearts of spider mavens everywhere:
MORNINGTON CRESCENT.
Congratulations to Hostile Dialect on a sweet and well-deserved victory! May I also thank the rest of you, my fellow MC aficionados, for a most enjoyable game played in a tough, competitive yet ultimately very amicable spirit, just as it should be.
A well deserved win. Great end-game, Hostile Dialect. What a fantastic game right through. I have marked a lot of passages in Hobbs & Sturgess, as well as the Judgemental Notes for the last seven Internationals for detailed study so I can better handle Widdingtons and the Shuttle-Switch in future. Give me a few months and then beware!
As a novice, I could only look upon you all with great awe. But I’ve learned so much. And you were all so gracious, having spared me most of the humiliation that should have been associated with my playing full arms. I shall study, and until I do, I shall have been honored to have played the slightest role in this marvelous game. Adieu.
Excellent game everyone. I must say the sportsmanship and skill displayed in this match will go down in Mornington Crescent lore. In fact, I haven’t seen such sagacity since the Great Tacoma Narrows Open of 1998, when Crowdhampton met Sakamota in what was hailed as the Pacific Quarter match of the Decade.
Congratulations to Hostile Dialect!