Hex Joseki

Once one has grasp basic understanding of Templates (Win Sets), Ladders and Dead pieces, how does one progress from there?

Is there games where one can study or joseki that can be read up on?

Come to iggamecenter.com to play real time hex. Unfortunately there are few users, but if you open a table usually somebody shows up in a while. Especially me and lazyplayer.

Some time ago I tried to write something about joseki: http://hexwiki.amecy.com/index.php/Josekis. When I find more time I plan to extend this article.

Oh, html no longer works here... this is the previous link to HexWiki

In the wiki, there are mentions of escapes on "bottom" and "top". Does "top" refer the to right edge?

I meant the directions according to the mentioned corner. So I guess you may consider "top" as referring to an imaginary ladder going alongside the right edge from top to bottom.

Sean, thanks for bringing this topic up.  Arek: I've read and re-read the great page you wrote up on HexWiki, but I still don't understand (I'm certain that this is due to my limited understanding of the game).

For example, at the end of the position that is reached in A1 "Red wants an escape on bottom", does this mean that Red, the vertical player is going to connect to the bottom *row*?  If so, how will he connect to red pieces above?  Doesn't Blue already have Red cut off?  What am I missing here?

Similarly, at the end of the position after blue 5 in B, "Red wants one on top", I can't see how Red can get past Blue here to get out to the "top".  I'm sure the explanation is something more nuanced, but if you can provide a clarifying example, either here or on the page directly, it would be greatly appreciated!

@scrampy:

I'm happy people read that! It would certainly benefit from some editing.. I understand some things might be unclear and should be explained more or in other words.

Indeed maybe a  term "escape" in not so clear. Generally the important thing about playing joseki in Hex is to predict the end-game, because during the endgame is too late. Let me show you on a sample artificial game. I guess you agree that black would surely benefit from having this, which I call "escape" on bottom. Unfortunately it is too late - white can to other stuff. But! Earlier in the game black could play the joseki and count on this black win. If white realize they want their escape on bottom too the game proceeds differently.

Too show you the escape in B let me play a little 8x8 game. I think everybody can solve that here black win, and here black lose. In this case however white can just do other stuff, because this game is already in the endgame.

When the current championship is over I'm going to try to find and publish to HexWiki some josekis from my games.

Actually according to the "small" 4th line joseki I have only 1 to show from the champ.

Me against zaszczyk. Move 14.k11 starts HexWiki's position B. My opponent resigned maybe a little early, this is possible continuation. Black error is 19.i10 - should have held on to his connection to bottom. Had he done this my joseki would just have brought me valuable h12 stone providing possible escapes on bottom.

@Arek:

You've provided so much that it is hard for me to digest it all at once.  But, I do understand this concept, as I feel I have been burned by it in almost all of my games against stronger players: "Generally the important thing about playing joseki in Hex is to predict the end-game, because during the endgame is too late."  There are too many occasions on which I've suddenly realized that I lost the game, or at least, that the game was unwinnable many moves back, and had I only done something else earlier, I would have had a better position.

Arek, It's nice to try to explain things, but i think your terminology not the best. I would use "escape" only to cases where one stone is helping the player of that stone to connect to side. When you prevent opponent from using an "escape" in this sense, it's just well prevention of escape...

(With this terminology, in your example, blue uses "escapes" for right side, and red for bottom. And in both cases, they try to prevent each other from getting "free" or "cheap" escapes...)

Anyway i also invite him to play on igg :)

It almost goes without saying, we (me and Arek) should also take credit for having invented the most important joseki known up to now:

http://littlegolem.net/jsp/game/game.jsp?gid=1742130&nmove=6 (on the top-left)

:) :)

And we've also to credit Maciej for having taught us the importance of playing in the corner zones.

I stand by my "escape" terminology in this case. This is a very old term and I think it has all-purpose meaning for an ending part of a connection to edge. Preventing opponents escape does not make your own less of an escape.

Arek, well your terminology perhaps makes more sense with the intuitive (and copied from Go) understanding of "escape"...

Not a joseki, but this seems to me like a germ of an opening manual for Hex :)

http://littlegolem.net/jsp/game/game.jsp?gid=1759385&nmove=12

http://littlegolem.net/jsp/game/game.jsp?gid=1742138&nmove=10

This leads to a very equal position (surprisingly, because I was expecting an easier win for white). The global template would be:

step 1.

white top-right,

step 2.

black j9+joseki,

step 3.

white e4, black h6, white top-right

step 4.

a joseki on top left, black f4/g4/h4

Arek, thank you so much for your very clear systematization of joseki play!  You have put into clear perspective ideas that I intuitively understood but could not have formulated explicitly myself.

This will help everyone's understanding of the game of hex and should help to popularize the game as well :)