Hello,

I'm an absolute beginner in dots, but as the championship was going to start I read some basic stuff about it and decided to join. I know now the chain rule and have some limited grasp of loops, but there's a position that comes up sometimes and that I still don't understand (and I haven't found information about it): considering a coins and strings position, what happens when there's a connex component that's becoming/going to become a tree, eg a “Y” or an “X”?

http://www.littlegolem.net/jsp/forum/topic2.jsp?forum=110&topic=94

A “Y” is two chains, and an “X” is three (assuming that all the “strands” coming from the central square have 3 or more boxes in).

[game;id:1109389;move:47;using the Y;blue to move and make a 3th chain (Y + 1chain to the righe].

Blue to move and create a 3th chain using the Y.

While that game is still going on, it's safe to say that with optimum play there was no way to make a Y there. Red just sacrifices d4 in all cases.

The gzme is of course over, and my post was made after finalizing.

I don't know what you mean by d4 anyway.

Red can sacrifice and stop the Y, yes. But Blue can make a 3rd chain. I think there were 3 possible moves/options for Blue at move 48 that force a Y (or a Red sacrifice that still loses).

I did say using the Y and not making the Y. In fact it occured only afterwards to me that if the bottompart to the left would have been longer or shorter my attempt could have been answered.