Mobility in Othello: Leave Your Opponent Few Moves
Beginners try to flip as many discs as they can. Strong players count something else: moves. A player with few moves has to play where they don't want to, and often has to hand over a corner.
Step 1 of 3
Count the moves, not the discs
White has 18 discs and Black only 4, and nobody holds a corner. But count the moves. Black has seventeen, and if it were White's turn, White would have only the three starred squares. Mobility, the number of moves you have, counts for far more than discs in the middle of the game.
Leave White few moves
The move that flips the most here is c2, four discs. Before you take it, count what each move leaves White.
Your move
Make the move that leaves White the fewest moves.
Which move starves White?
Which of these moves leaves White the fewest moves?
What you learned
- Mobility is the number of moves you have.
- In the middle of the game, it counts for more than discs.
- Pick the move that leaves your opponent few moves, even if it flips only one disc.
In this course
Unit 1The rules
Unit 2Strategy
Take it to the table.
Put what you just read into practice. No sign-up needed.