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Note: To find this game in Zillions of Games click the "Neutron" tile and then choose "Neutron 5x5" from the Variant menu.

The Starting Position in Neutron

Zillions of Games calculated the "best" line of play for the game Neutron. In Neutron, each player moves a neutral piece called the Neutron, and then one of their own pieces. All pieces move along straight line, moving as far as possible along that line (including diagonals). The goal is to try and get the Neutron to your back rank, or to stalemate your opponent. On the first move, White only moves a piece, and not the Neutron. It was thought that this would help balance the game. In fact, Zillions shows that White has a forced win in six moves, as shown:

1. Pawn b1 - b4
2. Neutron c3 - d2
2. Pawn c5 - c2
2. Neutron d2 - e2
2. Pawn c1 - e3
3. Neutron e2 - c4
3. Pawn e5 - b2
3. Neutron c4 - e2
3. Pawn d1 - d4
4. Neutron e2 - c4
4. Pawn b2 - c3
4. Neutron c4 - e2
4. Pawn b4 - c4
5. Neutron e2 - d3
5. Pawn c3 - d2
5. Neutron d3 - e2
5. Pawn c4 - d3
6. Neutron e2 - d1

©1999 Mark Lefler

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