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Nine Men Hall

From the problem cellar

Six men's morris problem #515

MediumLight · mill in 3

Setting up the board…

Light plays now and needs a closed mill in no more than 3 turns of its own.

The task

To move
Light
Difficulty
Medium
Goal
mill in 3

All men are on the board and the game is in the movement phase: Light has 5, Dark has 6. A medium problem: three turns, and the opponent may close a mill of his own along the way. Check what each of his replies does before you commit.

What to look for

  • Movement phase: men only step to neighbouring points, so check which of them are actually free.

How the answer is checked

There is exactly one first move that forces the result; any other first move allows the defence to escape. Moves that keep the forced result are accepted later in the line, and a move that loses it is taken back with a short note.

Show the key move

The key move is a5-a3. The main line runs: a5-a3 · c5-a5 · a3-a1 · a5-c5 · c2-c1xc5.