Openings

From The Othello Wiki Book Project

Definition

The opening phase of the game is often considered to be the first 20 moves of the game or there abouts. As apposed to the later stages, the Midgame and Endgame

---

To get a good start in the game is often important, especially against experienced players.

There are standard openings in Othello, just as in chess.

Warning: names of openings are items of some contention. Many will tell you that the Snake ought to be called the "Peasant", for instance.

Using animals as opening names is a Japanese custom; naming openings after players is Western. Click on summary to see these names.

One of the quickest ways to learn openings is by using a program that rates the different possible moves you can make from a position. Some Othello programs can also be set to a specific opening, so that it always tries to play this opening. If you dont already have a program that can do this, try out WZebra for example.

There are some good articles about openings found under Articles.

---

Examples

This is the position after Black's first move 1f5. It doesn't matter which move Black makes first,as the position is the same due to the symmetryof the board. There are three legal moves:

• [A] is the Perpendicular;
• [B] is the Diagonal,
• [C] is the Parallel.

The Parallel has long been considered to be bad, but the other two moves are both commonly played at all levels.

The Perpendicular can develop in a number of ways, including this:

• Tamenori

					[C]
			[A]		[B]

In the Diagonal, 2f6, Black almost invariably plays 3e6, and White's two legal moves are equivalent: in what follows, we'll assume White plays 4f4. Now there are a number of options, as shown.

		[A]		[B]
						[C]
						[D]
						[E]

• [A] is the Buffalo opening;
• [B] is the Cow;
• [C] is the Heath;
• [D] is the Snake.

Obsolete openings

The only legal move to get a full refutation is [E], the X-opening, initially named Gambersi (from gambit in chess, meaning early sacrifice) where the goal is to access an X-square by the quickest possible way. Paul Ralle played it against Simon Jones at the 1986 WOC (f5f6e6f4g7) ; this opening was previously popular among programs at the end of the 70's.

---

I do not feel that the x-square opening should be completely written off however, the experience that this opening can give you at defending such a position can be valuable.

I wouldnt however recommend it used in tournaments anymore =)

David