An early mill is useful if the resulting position still works. Free routes, repeatable threats and the transition from placement to movement often matter more than one capture. Build verifiable plans rather than a rigid favourite setup.
In this guide
Plan movement during placement
During placement, count more than immediate mill threats. Check which counters will still have an empty neighbouring point later. A crowded ring can protect material while destroying mobility. The beginning of the movement stage should not catch you unprepared.
Junctions offer more directions, but they are not automatically winning locations. Their value depends on empty neighbours and whether the opponent can block the connecting routes. Justify a desired placement by concrete follow-up moves.
Double threats instead of accidental rows
An open mill is not yet a capture. If the opponent can occupy its missing point, prepare another possibility. A meaningful double threat needs two distinct closing points that the other side cannot both neutralise at once.
Opening a completed mill can prepare a return move. Still check whether the opponent can occupy the vacated point or break the return route with a capture. Repeated opening and closing is a conditional plan, not a general guarantee of winning.
Exercise: which opposing counter can be taken?
Light occupies a7, d7 and c4; Dark has b6, d6, f6 and a4. Each side still has five counters in hand. Light places on g7 to complete the outer top row. Which dark counter may be removed?
Position as text
Light a7; Light d7; Light c4; Dark b6; Dark d6; Dark f6; Dark a4. Original teaching diagram.
Show hint
b6–d6–f6 is already a complete opposing mill. Look outside it.
Answer and explanation
Only a4 is a legal target. The counters on b6, d6 and f6 are protected because a4 remains outside a mill. Only if every opposing counter were in a mill could one of those protected counters be taken.
Reassess the three-counter ending
Reducing a side to three counters completely changes its reach when flying is enabled. A previously effective adjacency blockade can disappear. Before capturing, assess both the material count and the new destinations that become available.
The small ending sketch shows Light with three counters. a7 to g1 is not an adjacent connection, but flying can make that move legal. This does not establish a win: the opponent still has a reply, and a new capture threat may emerge.
Position as text
Light a7; Light d6; Light d3; Dark b6; Dark f6; Dark a4; Dark g4. Original teaching diagram.
Explain a position instead of just counting wins
After a practice game, explain one decision: which route did you intend to preserve, and which opposing capture did you miss? Recreate a diagram and remove one counter. Does capture protection change, or does a new mill appear?
These small changes reveal whether you understood the principle. The browser AI is a practice opponent, not an authority governing worldwide variants. These exercises use the stated nine-counter rules.