Cat & Comb: when everything went wrong
Where was the mistake?
The position looked broadly equal — no obvious threats — yet White lost. Was there a blunder here, or had the result already been decided earlier?
Board layout:
| a | b | c | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Br | W | B |
| 2 | B | B | Br |
| 3 | Br | W | W |
Board
Starting position (cats in stacks listed bottom to top):
| a | b | c | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BrBBr | W | B |
| 2 | W | B | |
| 3 | BW | Br | B |
Starting position
White to move, three cats in hand. Black has one cat in hand.
- (c1) White brings a cat onto the board to strengthen presence and take control of two black cells (b2, c3) from Black.
After move 1
- (a1: b1 - c1 - c2) Black dismantles a tower, covering two white cats at once and building a stripped tail that keeps two brown hexes (c2 and a3) in sight while threatening white cells (b1 and b3).
After move 2
- (b1: b2 - b1) White dismantles a tower to regain control of black hexes again.
After move 3
- (c1: b2 - b3 - a3) Black dismantles the stripped tail and gains two more! White is in critical shape: on the next turn Black has three winning threats — finish a third three-high tower on b3, take the black hexes from a3, or take white hexes from b2.
After move 4
- (b2: b3 - c3 - c2) White dismantles the tower on b2, judging it the biggest danger, removing Black’s control of white and black hexes and denying a third three-high tower.
After move 5
- (b1) Black plays the last cat from hand, gaining control of two white and two brown cells. The position still looks manageable for White: Black cannot take c3, and only brown-cell attacks remain.
After move 6
- (a3: a2 - b1 - b2) White removes Black’s control of brown hexes and breaks up an awkward stripped tail.
After move 7
- (b1: a1 - b1 - c1) Black dismantles a tower and controls two black and two white hexes — still not very dangerous for White, since c3 stays safe and the only threat is over black cells.
After move 8
- (b2) Using the pause, White brings another cat onto the board, keeping the last cat in hand.
After move 9
- (c2: c1 - b2) Black’s final move.
Final position
- White resigned, believing any move loses. Is that true?
View answer
White resigned too early.
- (a3: a2) This White move strips Black of control of the black cell and the chance to finish with three towers.
What can we learn? White was under pressure all game and only defended, never creating real danger for Black. The main cause, in my view, was a failed opening, leaving White a tempo behind. When this walkthrough starts, White has only three cats on the board against Black’s five.
Could White have turned it around and won? Which moves could have been played more accurately?