Beginning Arimaa: Chess Reborn Beyond Computer Comprehension

Arimaa is a modern abstract strategy game with potential to rival the majesty of classics such as chess and Go.  In Beginning Arimaa, two-time Arimaa World Champion Fritz Juhnke tackles two questions in alternate chapters: How does one play Arimaa well?  And how does one judge that Arimaa is worth playing? The strategy chapters are replete with diagrammed positions to illustrate the fundamental concepts of Arimaa play.  Juhnke takes the reader step by step from basic winning configurations, through capture techniques, on to strategies that befuddle even experts. The Arimaa Challenge, an annual prize contest pitting the top computer player against top humans, was won by the computer in 2015, making some chapters of Beginning Arimaa obsolete. The game itself, however, still shows every sign of being a modern classic with inexhaustible depth and variety. The communal level of strategic understanding has continued to rise every year, with no end in sight.