Subject: Re: Solitaire / Ranking
Organization: Alex Technolgies Ltd
Apparently-To: mail2news@news.demon.co.uk
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 12:38:50 +0000

In article <farrell.719199665@coral>, farrell@coral.cs.jcu.edu.au (John Farrell) writes:
|> In <1992Oct14.131410.10897@alex.com> jon@alex.com (Jonathan Heitler) writes:
|> >I am a relative newcomer to this game, having only played seriously for
|> >the last 6 months, so forgive me if these questions seems silly.
|> 
|>   I must admit to being a neophyte even more so than yourself, but I think due
|> to the unpopularity of Mornington Crescent in north Queensland, I am the
|> regional expert.
|> 
Thank you for your contribution. However, I must admit that your local rules had
me guessing for a while. Being a Londoner I naturally play to the Standard
Foundation Rules as published by Lipp-Pogo-Ross Press (Games) Ltd. (1989 edition).
But, after careful study of this admirable work (particularly
appendix F.3) and two rather expensive phone calls, I think I now have the jist of
your examples. My source of local information wishes to be referred to as JX.
Please don't ask who he is as he is, at the moment, a very frightened man, but
I can say no more.

|> 
|> >On another matter, is there any recognised world ranking system as exists for
|> >other great games? 
|> 
|>   However we have adopted a ranking system similar to that used in Go, the
|> Japanese game. [...] Here are a few quick guidelines:
|> 
|> 9 Dan: This player wins all the time. Furthermore, this player invents plays
|> which are named in capital letters, like the Strand Gambit.

Actually, I *did* invent a gambit just the other day which I dubbed the Strand
gambit. However, I didn't capitalise the 'G' and it didn't work anyway. So I
don't suppose that I would rank as a 9 Dan.

|> 1 Dan (Shodan): This player has a good solid grasp of the principles of the
|> game, and never makes stupid mistakes (such as moving to University Road),
|> but may fall for particularly cunning traps (like the infamous Castle Hill
|> Maneuvre).  

According to my discussions with JX, moving to University Road is akin to
Holloway Road for us. After much discussion, we decided that the Castle Hill
Manoeuvre must be something very similar in style to the Sloane Square-Marylebone
Trap. This, according to my manual, is an extremely subtle ploy which I don't
understand. I don't see why you can't just move to Ladbroke Grove.

|> 10 kyu: This player can follow the rules (local rules, but I can't say any
|> more) but makes stupid mistakes, although not as stupid as some. For example,
|> playing University Road after Lavarack Barracks may seem bright at first, but
|> as is well known (by local players, I can't say any more), it is essentially
|> a fatal error.

Holloway Road after Lancaster Gate (the equivalent move in my dialect) is a move
that I would *never* make. (Unless there were mitigating circumstances).
So I guess on your system I would rate somewhere between 10 kyu and 1 dan.

|> 20 kyu: This player gets lost in real life, and probably even lives on
|> University Road. Always always always plays University Road after Bowen Road.

Of course, no-one ever gets lost in London, so this rank is superfluous here.

	Jonathan.

P.S. My friends and I are experimenting with a ranking system based on the existing
lines. So you could begin as a humble Northern Liner and, by careful study
and great application, eventually attain the dizzy heights of the Jubilee Line. (or
maybe, even, the Bank-Monument Escalator Link).
Newsgroups: alt.games.mornington.cresent