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Hex:
A Strategy Guide

Matthew Seymour


Chapter 8

The opening

Openings can be classified as weak, strong, or fair. As we discussed previously, the first move of the game should be as close to fair as possible. If your opening is strong, your opponent can swap it and you’ll be starting from a weak position. If it’s weak then they won’t swap it, and you’ll be stuck with it. So the best you can do is play a fair move.

Corner patterns are not always played out as soon as a corner is taken. Some players will attack corners as soon as they are occupied while other players prefer to move into other corners first and then challenge corners their opponents have taken later, often after the major corners have been claimed. The example lines in this chapter follow the second approach, mainly to reduce complexity.

Generally you’ll want to claim at least one corner on both of your edges early in the game. Avoid taking both corners on the same edge if you still have the option to take a corner on the other edge. For example, say you’re Black and you have a stone in the north corner, and White has a stone in the east corner. In this situation it would be better to play a stone in the south corner (leaving you with a stone near each edge) rather than the west corner (which would leave you with two stones along the northwest edge and none along the southeast edge).

For simplicity, the discussion of opening sequences below are presented for the case where the opening move is not swapped. Also, since the board is symmetrical, there are two versions of each opening; I only show one. Naturally there are equivalents of these sequences when the opening move is swapped or in the other orientation (or both).

8.1 c2

As we saw in 6.4 Captured hexes, this move captures the entire corner for Black, specifically a1 through d1 on the first row and a2 through c2 on the second. This makes it strictly stronger than any of those hexes as an opening. c2 itself is a somewhat fair opening; a2 and b2 are too weak.

Clearly, c2 can serve as a second- and third-row ladder escape. This move can also serve as the basis of Template I-5, Template J-5 or Template K-5 (see Appendix A: Edge Templates). Although c2 is in the west corner, it is far enough out of the way that White still has space to move in that corner, so long as she moves over by two rows. For example, e6 wold be a j9-equivalent move for White in the west corner. White has two main approaches in responding to this move:
c2 e9 j9: with Black occupying the west corner, and already partly pushing into her southwest edge, White strengthens that side by playing in the south corner, leaving the eastern acute corner to Black. From here she might either challenge or play the other obtuse corner to obtain opposing obtuse corner stones.
c2 i10 e9: alternatively, White might take advantage of the open acute corner and play it, leaving the south corner to Black. With her southwest edge now crowded, White will likely need to reinforce it on her next move, probably in the west corner.

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 301

c2 opening.

8.2 a3

This opening is a little weak. I usually don’t swap this opening. The main advantages are that it gives a second-row ladder escape and can switchback (but not escape) a third-row ladder. However it is somewhat tucked away in the corner. Being unable to escape a third-row ladder, I consider it weaker than c2 above.

Some common lines:
a3 i10: Black will need to reinforce his southeast edge quickly. If he plays the south obtuse corner White will likely need to reinforce her southwest edge on the subsequent move.
a3 e9: if Black plays j9 (or k10) then i5 leaves White in a strong position with opposing obtuse corner stones.

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 302

a3 opening.

8.3 a4

I’m always happy to see my opponent open at a4 because I can swap it for myself. This opening is too strong. Not only does it switchback second- and third-row ladders, but it also moves far into White’s edge while leaving no usable space on the short side (the first three rows), so it does a great job of breaking up the edge.

Some common lines:
a4 i10 e9: By not playing in the south corner, White has allowed Black to take both corners along the southwest edge, leaving her in a weak position. White will need to reinforce her southwest edge on the next move.
a4 e9 j9 i5: White strengthens the weaker southwest edge first, leaving the east acute corner to Black. Black ends up with two strong acute corners and the next move, while White ends up with opposing obtuse corner stones to compensate. However, the opposing stone pattern gets weaker than with the a3 or c2 openings, as the opening stone pushes further into White’s southwest edge.

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 303

a4 opening.

This opening combines well with b5 or c6. For example, in Diagram 304, observe how Black is able to connect the sixth-row ladder with the stones on a4 and b6.

12 10 13 11 7 6 9 4 2 8 5 3 1 a b c d e f g 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 304

8.4 a5

Another strong opening that should probably be swapped. Because there’s enough space to tuck Template A-3 into the corner, c2 looks tempting for White, but b3 appears to be a strong response for Black.

b6 is strong in combination with this move.

Similar to the a4 opening above, a5 i10 e9 leaves Black in a strong position.

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 305

a5 opening.

8.5 a6

Strong, but not so strong as to be unplayable. I would still swap this if given the option, however.

Some common lines:
a6 e9 j9: White can attempt to play the north corner, but significantly weakens the opposing obtuse corner stones.
a6 i10: Black can challenge or play the southern obtuse corner (leaving White very weak on the southwest edge), either leaves him in a strong position.

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 306

a6 opening.

8.6 a7

Somewhat strong, probably not as as strong as a4 through a6. This move breaks up White’s edge, forcing her to play close in order to secure it, which leaves the rest of the board open for Black. Because it breaks up the southwest edge so much White generally tries to strengthen this edge with her response.

Some common lines:
a7 d3: Not particularly strong for White. Black has many good options. He can challenge d3 at c3 or b5; he can take the far acute corner with j9; or he can strengthen his northwest edge in the obtuse corner with i5.
a7 e9 j9: White is in a fairly weak position here as well, with her southwest edge still quite weak despite the stone at . If she plays to strengthen it then Black can play i5 and suddenly her northeast edge is nearly cut off. White usually either challenges or plays i5 herself but neither solves her problems on the southwest edge.

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 307

a7 opening.

8.7 a8

The most common response for White is to reinforce her southwest edge with a8 d3 (unlike the a7 opening, c3 is usually less effective because the response c4 fits Template A-3).

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 308

a8 opening.

8.8 a9

d10 for can White work well against this opening, blocking a9 from the southeast.

Some common lines:
a9 i10: If d5 then either d10 or challenge at d3 and follow up with d10 after the corner pattern plays out.
a9 d10 j9: From here White might play one of the two remaining corners (north or west). If she plays the west corner and Black plays in the north corner, she will need more strength on her northeast edge. One approach might be to first play a corner pattern in the east corner and follow that with an attacking stone along the northeast edge.

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 309

a9 opening.

8.9 a10

a10 is strong and should probably be swapped. However, b12 is a possibility.

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 310

a10 opening.

8.10 a11

This move isn’t played frequently and is probably weak. b12 seems to be White’s best response. e4 is also common, fitting Template A-5 into the southwest edge.

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 311

a11 opening.

8.11 c12

This is a fair opening. It’s on Black’s second row, but just off the short diagonal (b12 would be much too strong). This stone functions as a second- or third-row ladder escape. It also helps Black along the southern part of the short diagonal, making moves in that area more threatening. Lastly, this stone can form the basis of Template J-5 or Template K-5 (see Appendix A: Edge Templates).

Some common lines:
c12 e4 i5 i10: With Black on the southwest edge, White strengthens it. This leaves Black with only the obtuse corner on the northwest edge, so he takes it, subsequently leaving White with the acute corner in the east which she takes. From here Black might challenge one of White’s acute corner stones.
c12 e9: Since c12 is off the short diagonal, White can still play the obtuse corner. From here Black often plays one of the acute corners. Personally I feel that j9 is the stronger response, since White is usually forced to play i5 in response leaving Black with d5, whereas d5 leaves White the option to play i10 putting Black in trouble along the southeast edge.
c12 i10 or c12 j11: Black has the option of either of the open corners on the northwest edge.

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 312

c12 opening.

8.12 a13

This is a very fair opening. Located in the obtuse corner, it tends to affect the play without being too strong. It’s a second-row ladder escape and can form the basis of Template J-4 or Template K-4 (see Appendix A: Edge Templates). It also affects short diagonal plays (see the discussion in 4.12 Attacking stones) for both players. If White wants a stone in the south obtuse corner, she will have to move over by one hex. Conversely, Black’s obtuse corner plays are strengthened.

Some common lines:
a13 i10 d5: White will need to reinforce her southwest edge from here.
a13 e4 j9 i5: By playing j9, Black leaves the north obtuse corner free for White. White’s stones are quite close now and Black’s northwest edge is weak.
a13 e4 i5 i10: A more balanced sequence for Black. White’s stones are further apart and Black has an opportunity to start play in the middle (usually after attacking White’s corners).

1 a b c d e f g h i j k l m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Reset board to initial state Next move Previous move Last move First move

Diagram 313

a13 opening.