No matter whether he plays first or second, the player A, who starts the
game at 55, must win. Assuming that B adopts the very best lines of play
in order to prolong as much as possible his existence, A, if he has
first move, can always on his 12th move capture B; and if he has the
second move, A can always on his 14th move make the capture. His point
is always to get diagonally in line with his opponent, and by going to
33, if he has first move, he prevents B getting diagonally in line with
himself. Here are two good games. The number in front of the hyphen is
always A's move; that after the hyphen is B's:--
33-8, 32-15, 31-22, 30-21, 29-14, 22-7, 15-6, 14-2, 7-3, 6-4, 11-, and A
must capture on his next (12th) move, -13, 54-20, 53-27, 52-34, 51-41,
50-34, 42-27, 35-20, 28-13, 21-6, 14-2, 7-3, 6-4, 11-, and A must
capture on his next (14th) move.