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+--- Thread: How to Improve My Mid-game? (/thread-41.html)
How to Improve My Mid-game? - 01AAAAF - 01-08-2021 03:32 AM
Anyone who has played against me knows that I am a fairly aggressive player and I think I generally do pretty well in the opening of matches to gain a sizable material lead. I also do pretty well in end-games when all the relevant pieces are known and I can use said material advantage to trap pieces.
The mid-game is definitely the weakest part of my game though, if I’m not able to get full info (or close to it) after my initial attack. What happens against really good players is that I end up getting bled in smaller pieces as I search for more info to continue the attack, or I make dumb blunders that throw my advantage away before I reach the end-game.
I think part of the problem is that perhaps I’m just not patient enough. I suppose I always have the option of retreating and playing defense/shuffling, but I absolutely hate playing that way. Again, I’m a very aggressive player by nature and I greatly enjoy attacking/putting my opponent under pressure. I also have ADHD, so it’s very hard for me to focus on the game if I don’t constantly have a plan of attack in place. Once both players start shuffling, I am almost guaranteed to lose focus and forget pieces.
How do you guys prefer to take advantage of your material advantage in the mid-game when perhaps you are at an info disadvantage? Do you sacrifice material for additional info and try to play a more even end-game, or do you try to get more info cheaply and play a more favorable end-game with a material advantage?
RE: How to Improve My Mid-game? - Morx - 01-11-2021 10:44 AM
I think it really depends on who you are playing:
If your opponent is defensive, keep the pressure up. Every field you retreat costs you expensive moves.
If your opponent is very aggressive, letting him run into you to might be a decent tactic, provided that you have some time to reorganize your pieces.
RE: How to Improve My Mid-game? - 01AAAAF - 01-11-2021 07:01 PM
Reorganizing my pieces seems like something I definitely should do more often. I have also seen Losermaker talk about this in his tutorials, but I never really paid it as much attention as the other topics in his tutorials. I am almost always on the offensive after taking an early lead, so I definitely have time to do this in most of my matches. I just need for work on my memory/focus a bit to make sure I don’t forget any pieces as I am improving my board position.
RE: How to Improve My Mid-game? - 01AAAAF - 01-22-2021 03:45 AM
Thought it might be a good idea to bump this because the problem still hasn’t really been solved. I think I can compete with most high Platinum players in the opening as well as the end-game if all relevant info is known by then. My fundamentals and general understanding of the game are fairly decent, despite not having played for very long. My mid-game play is really holding me back though and quite frankly, it’s probably only around the level of a Silver player.
When I’m in a relatively even mid-game (in terms of material) and some relevant info is still unknown, I never quite know how to progress the game from there without digging myself into a hole. I either bring up too many smaller pieces trying to get info cheaply and get bled a lot, or I sacrifice a bigger piece to get the remaining info and lose some of my ability to trap pieces and whatnot.
I played several matches against Fairway recently where I tried the strategy of sacrificing high pieces for info and it really backfired quite badly. The game before that against him, and other players who are high Platinum, I have lost because I threw away too many smaller pieces, so I really don’t quite know exactly what I’m doing wrong...
Maybe I’m giving up my own info a bit too cheaply/telegraphing some of my high pieces a bit too much. I also tend to burn all of my Scouts in the opening in order to gain space to maneuver. This also helps me preserve my relevant material for later in the game, but I’m essentially playing the mid-game blind...
Advice would be much appreciated! There are a few games I’ve played posted on YouTube and I’m pretty sure Fairway recorded the 2 games we played a few days ago, so if a few of you could perhaps watch some of those games and see what I’m doing wrong I’d be quite grateful.
RE: How to Improve My Mid-game? - Morx - 01-22-2021 02:31 PM
I think stronger players just intuitively know what to do.
Recognizing that your game is weak at that part is a good start to progress.
Testing another tactic was a good plan.
What did it teach you?
And from what you already wrote down, did you try to apply that?
RE: How to Improve My Mid-game? - Richelieu - 01-22-2021 02:48 PM
(01-22-2021 03:45 AM)01AAAAF Wrote: Advice would be much appreciated! There are a few games I’ve played posted on YouTube.
Do you have a YouTube channel?
Links to those games?
RE: How to Improve My Mid-game? - 01AAAAF - 01-22-2021 03:04 PM
Well, Fairway hasn’t yet posted the 2 games we played a few days ago and my memory of those games is a bit blurry. I think in both games I was again slightly winning early in the match, but both mid-games were pretty even and I think his Marshal was the piece hidden both times.
In one game, I ran a unknown Colonel into his base looking to maybe find the Marshal after getting a smaller piece. He immediately hit it with his Marshal though and confirmed to me in chat that he had read the identity of the piece. That was one example of me perhaps being too predictable with my pieces and telegraphing their identity. Regardless, I was willing at the time to sacrifice that Colonel since I had already killed his General with my Marshal (if I remember correctly). I maybe also should’ve looked at the graveyards a bit more carefully too because I think I was down a few Sergeants and Lieutenants. What happened after I lost my unknown Colo to his Marsh was that I had a Gen and Marsh against his Marsh and a Colo. He also had an advantage in smaller pieces and eventually used that to make a push for my flag.
My Gen was also cornered by his Marsh at one point, so I brought my own Marsh over to trade and free up the Gen. My Gen and his Marsh were both pretty deep in his territory though and were blocking some of his smaller pieces from moving, so I probably shouldn’t have traded. It was right after the trade that he ran up a Miner to my flag, I think. My Gen was out of position and again, he had a smaller piece advantage, so I couldn’t really stop the Miner.
I don’t really remember a whole lot about the second game, honestly. I think I had a bit less of an advantage after the opening, but again he was able to read one of my high pieces (a Major) and I made a slight movement blunder that allowed his Colo to get in a position where it was pinning my Gen to the Major. There were a few bombs behind my Major and Gen, so I couldn’t maneuver my Major away. Eventually, I had to move my Gen away from the Major because he was pressuring my flag, I think. He got a Major for free and at that point I was up a Gen. I think the Marshals had been traded off (I really don’t remember) and I think I was winning up until that point.
My main 2 problems definitely appear to be telegraphing locations of some of my high pieces and not really knowing what pieces to bring up when the game is very close and some info is hidden. I do really well against players who give away all their info before the end-game, but I struggle a lot against players who keep some info hidden and are able to read some of my pieces.
RE: How to Improve My Mid-game? - 01AAAAF - 01-22-2021 03:06 PM
(01-22-2021 02:48 PM)Richelieu Wrote:No, I don’t have a Youtube channel. Fairway and Nortrom have both recorded games against me though, both of which I lost. I will edit this post once I find the links to those games. They were both nice enough to record commentary, but some additional opinions might be nice.(01-22-2021 03:45 AM)01AAAAF Wrote: Advice would be much appreciated! There are a few games I’ve played posted on YouTube.
Do you have a YouTube channel?
Links to those games?
Here is the game vs Nortrom from a while ago when I was a Silver player: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=56tP0DvNMqw&t=6s
Here is the first game vs Fairway when I had improved a bit and reached Gold: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WLtt9HWXyWY
RE: How to Improve My Mid-game? - Richelieu - 01-22-2021 08:44 PM
Some thoughts about your game VS Fairway:
- 4:00. You attacked a front row piece with your Marshall, with no possibility of killing/trapping any additional piece(s). You revealed it pretty cheaply. If you want to reach a top level, you must remember where pieces come from, especially with so few pieces moved and only 4 minutes of play.
- 6:40. At this point you are 2 captains up but 4 pieces down in global (1 lieu, 2 miners, 2 scouts and the spy). When you are down in pieces, depending on the info you have and how many (and which) pieces they are, you need to think if a trading game benefits you or not.
- 9:30. You are 5 pieces down now, but you are 2 captains up. Fairway knows your Marshall and your last Major (your highest pieces). His captains are "safe" from any other piece of your own. However, you used a Lieutenant to attack an unknown piece that he placed there when he realized you were coming down with a not Marshall/Major piece. At this time you should think more carefully about the consequences of your moves. For instance, your worst case scenario would be you hitting that protected piece in E4 with your captain, turning out it is just a scout and Fairway killing your capt with his Major. How would that affect to the game? How about turning it out to be a trade off? What are the odds that the spy is the piece on E3? You still have a scout left and that piece has been placed there unprotected since 7:10. These are the mid-game decisions that deserve a thought. Your decision left you down another piece and discovering a captain that you won't be able to kill because your major is pinned, and you don't know where his spy is.
- 11:10. You placed your last scout at E3. Fairway's pieces at E1, C3 y F3 can neutralize it. With no scouts left to worry about, Fairway's spy's life becomes easier. Why did you waste it that way?
- 12:57. Again, you used a sergeant to hit a protected unknown piece. You can't afford losing any single piece at that time, and Fairway still have 3 pieces (Major and 2 lieus) that can kill your sergeant. You need to kill some of his minor pieces (losing no one of your own) if you want to have a chance of winning this game.
- 14:27. You lost your fourth miner cheaply. Fairway still has 2 potential tripods and a potential corner sealed flag. He is up many pieces, he won't allow a potential miner accessing his last two rows. You must keep that minor alive.
- 14:50. Now you attack with your captain blindly. Too late. Why didn't you do that before? If you had done it, maybe you would have had an extra sergeant and lieutenant now.
- 15:05. You move a piece that Fairway can kill for free. Although he frees your Major by doing so, at that point he only has one piece moved (his scout in H3), and his setup minimizes the damage from you lottoing. The fact that the piece you give him for free is your last miner turns your mistake into a bigger one. Surely you wanted to make room for your last captain, which is blocked by your own setup. But you have a moved lieutenant in E8 doing nothing. Use it.
- 16:10. You left your captain unprotected next to an unknown piece. Huge mistake.
- 16:26. The game is a clear defeat for you right now, but when you are in a losing position, trading pieces off is not a good idea. Actually, Fairway accept the trading off immediately.
17:50. What is the point of moving that sergeant? It is your last unknown movable piece. It doesn't matter in this game, but in a more even one, keeping it unmoved will make your opponent doubt whether your sergeant is in A8, A9, or E9. Also, every movement must have a purpose and don't move pieces unnecessarily are two tips that you must keep in mind if you want to improve your level.
RE: How to Improve My Mid-game? - 01AAAAF - 01-22-2021 09:25 PM
Wow, thanks for all that effort and advice! Yeah, the goal of my setup was to blitz with my Gen and target Fairway’s Captains. I placed all of my own Captains on the back row to preserve them until the end-game where I could hopefully trade everything else off and use my Captains to trap pieces. I ran my Marsh up to control the center lane and allow me to scout the pieces behind the lake, which actually worked out quite well, since I found his Gen cheaply. Taking a Lieutenant was indeed not the greatest, but I don’t feel like that was one of the bigger mistakes I made in this match.
You’re right that I probably should’ve brought up a Captain sooner to find the last Major, but my thinking at the time was that I didn’t really want to reveal my whole setup to dig lanes for my Captains to move up. I ended up revealing my setup anyway, so I may as well have just come up with a Captain.
I did realize during the game that getting my Major pinned was a big mistake, but I was trying to potentially trap a Captain. The piece I trapped was a known Sergeant that I scouted very early and then later forgot, so that was a very bad play... Losing one Captain to his last Major was a huge blunder, but I had assumed that piece was a bomb.
Your observation about his Scout on E3 being an obvious Spy bluff was a good observation though, and definitely something that I missed during the game. When I brought my Marsh over near my Major to trap the Sergeant, he left that Scout in the open which should’ve let me know that it was indeed a bluff. I knew his actual Spy was not the Major though, but by the time I actually called his bluff, it was too late, as you pointed out.
Throwing away my Miners was also something I definitely did wrong and I’ve made much more of an effort since then to preserve them. I also forgot several of his pieces throughout the game and the Scout that I trapped near my flag was the piece I assumed was his known Lieutenant. That’s why I swung my Captain all the way around and moved my Sergeant out. The idea was to block the lane with the Sergeant and trap the piece I thought was the Lieutenant...