Difference between revisions of "Dead cell"

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(a new page about irrelevant cells)
 
(added two patterns)
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Typical dead cells are [[useless triangle]]s
 
Typical dead cells are [[useless triangle]]s
  
<hex>R4 C5 Q0 Vc3 Hc2 Hd2 Hd3 Hb3</hex>
+
In the following [[pattern]]s, the dead cell is labelled with a star.
 +
<hex>R4 C5 Q0
 +
    Hc2 Hd2
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Hb3 Sc3 Hd3</hex>
 +
 
 +
<hex>R5 C5 Q0
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  Hc2 Hd2
 +
    Sc3 Hd3
 +
Vb4</hex>
 +
 
 +
<hex>R5 C5 Q0
 +
        Hd2
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Vb3 Sc3 Hd3
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  Vb4</hex>
  
 
== Usage ==
 
== Usage ==
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== See Also ==
 
== See Also ==
[[Equivalent patterns]]
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*[[Equivalent patterns]]
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 +
*[[Computer Hex]]
  
[[Computer Hex]]
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*[[Dominated cells]]
  
 
== External link ==
 
== External link ==
  
 
[[Ryan Hayward]]'s [http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~hayward/publications.html publication page] contains research articles on dead cells.
 
[[Ryan Hayward]]'s [http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~hayward/publications.html publication page] contains research articles on dead cells.

Revision as of 22:13, 13 October 2008

A dead cell is a cell of which colour does not depend the outcome of the game.

Typical dead cells are useless triangles

In the following patterns, the dead cell is labelled with a star.

Usage

Because the colour does not affect the result of the game, dead cells can be completely ignored from analysis. In computer Hex, it can save a huge amount of time to check which cells need to be evaluated and which are irrelevant.

The concept of dead cells can also be usefulf in human play, since it can help telling in which side of a bridge it is better to intrude. In the following example, if we assume that Red wants to keep its pawns connected then it is far better to play in field c3 for Blue. It helps gainning ground to play in c3, whereas if Blue had played b3 then c3 from Red would leave it dead.

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See Also

External link

Ryan Hayward's publication page contains research articles on dead cells.