Collateral Worlds - advanced strategy (v5)

Collateral worlds is a rather new variant, but the original variant, parallel worlds, is really old. The problem with the old variant was that the defense was too forced, and you needed to play insanely accurately. Collateral worlds have much more beginner-friendly opening phase and middlegame phases. Although it does not really matter at lower levels, opening and middlegame attacks when you are playing with a skilled player are far important. If you do have a skilled opponent, it does make a difference whether you checkmate your flank 4 moves later than your opponent does, or whether you are forced to defend for 3 more moves. That's why I decided to write this guide.

For the sake of brevity, we will consider that you play as red. All of these strategies can also be applied to other players.

Phase 1: 4 players

Here it may be EXTREMELY tempting to start throwing everything (including the kitchen sink) into your right-side opponent, but it is better to delay this delightful procedure. However, you should first consider these two factors:

1. The skill of your opponents

2. Your own king safety

Let's firstly put apart the first case:

1. Your left-side opponent is weak. In this case, trying to deliver fast mate with Cf4-Ce7, if that will fail, you should establish sound defense and try to co-operate with your opposite to eliminate all pieces of your opponent. You should not allow your opposite to take pieces of your left-side opponent - ideally, you should capture the majority of them by yourself if your left-side opponent is weak.

2. Your right-side opponent is weak. Quickly establish a defense around your king, and start throwing everything into your right-side opponent. You will need to choose an attacking setup, and there are three main setups (in order of ease of prevention, the first one is easy to prevent, the last one is harder to prevent and foresee, the middle one is something in between).  Please note that the three attacks below cannot be effectively defended from, and instead must be prevented.

a. Dishwasher variation. This is the name of the first attack, and from the below position, the moves are as follows: Nm4+, NxMm4+, which is either a mate or a victory of general, which indicates a swift mating attack thereafter.

+

b. Refrigerator attack. This is the name of the second attack, and from the below position, moves are as follows: Nm4+, HxMm4+, which either results in a win of general or exposed king and a mating attack.

c. Kitchen sink attack. So far the deadliest setup out there, which may be really stunning and is achieved by promotion j-pawn and sacrificing general on l4. If allowed, this leads to forced mate. After pawn-recapture, moves are as follows: Hxl4+, Nxm4+#. If your opponent attempts to last longer with k6, you expose the king and continue the mating attack as follows: Nxm4+, Mxm4+,  Mxm5+#.

If your flank opponents are rather skilled, you should first build a simple defense around your king, and then start to attack your right-side opponent. We will consider attacking tips and tricks a bit later, but for now, we will review 4 main defensive fortifications:

1.

In this fortification, red may quickly attempt to trade camels, or transpose to another defense. King-side camels were originally added by me as a useless piece that only worsens your position and allows you to get smothered-mated. In this flexible defense, if your left-side opponent pushes the hawk-side camel pawn one square forward, you should push your king's pawn and transpose. Another advantage of this opening is that it can be until your opponent pushes some pawns. 

2.

Basically, red establishes a really hard-to-penetrate fortress in only three moves and allowing you to ideally close the position. Basically, it will be really problematic for your left-side opponent to break through without wasting too much time and too much material, in which case you can easily transfer a piece from your hawk-side to defend your king.

3.

Ideally should be used if you have a strong left-side opponent and a rather weak right-side opponent. You defend your king-side from your hawk-side and control your territory. Sound, prevents most quick threats. However, you do use an extra hawk-side knight, which is typically an attacking piece.

4.

Essentially a hyper-modern defense, where you are defending your king from a distance. Is wholly supported by the fact that you can quickly transfer your hawk-side pieces in case of a ferocious attack, which could not be done so easily with parallel worlds (hence there were no hyper-modern defenses and you must have sometimes transferred hawk-side general to kingside). 

Now, when we are done with the main defensive openings, we can consider attacking tips against your right-side opponents:

1. Your attack should focus against your right-side opponent's general's pawn, which is by far the weakest spot. Try to bring all of your pieces to attack, you won't be able to eliminate a strong opponent with just two knights.

2. Lining three knights in a row (either horizontally or diagonally) is an excellent setup as you can easily retreat and continue attacking. 

3. Usually, you should NEVER trade your own camel for your right-side opponent's camel, unless there is a tactical motif or incredibly deep strategic idea. Usually, there isn't.

4. k4-j4 is an excellent way to start attacking, as you immediately restrict your right-side opponent. However, you should be wary that if your right-side opponent trades a camel for a pawn you will not crush him so fast.

5. Take advantage of your opposite's attacks on the right-side opponent. 

6. Crample pawn structure of your right-side opponent's if you can without losing the material.

7. If you can pin your right-side opponent's general, do so. Try to keep the pin for as long as possible, as it is an excellent weakness for an attack.

However, sometimes your opponent may defend extremely well, and then you need a strategy on how to defeat him. You should take these considerations in mind:

1. Is there any spot that is only protected by 1 or 2 pieces in your opponent's defense? If so, charge at that spot. You have a hawk, a general, commonly a knight, and sometimes a camel to break in.

2. Can you sacrifice a knight for a pawn to create a positional weakness? If there are no immediate weaknesses, this may be a good option. However, it is always better to calculate whether your opponent can transfer some pieces from the hawk-side to defend and unwind.

3. Control j6, k6, and l6 squares with your pieces. These squares allow you to begin a complex attack, as pieces there can provoke weaknesses. If your opponent plays a hyper-modern defense, you should maximally restrict his kingside pieces.

4. If you can completely safely (with no camel exchanges), put the camel on k4, do so. You immediately restrict your opponent's king and may prepare an attack. 

5. If you eliminated nearly all of the opponent's kingside pieces, but your attack died out, you may consider transferring your kingside pieces to continue to attack. However, you should consider your left-side opponent - NEVER allow your left-side opponent to launch an attack against you or to expose your king.

6. If your opponent defends flawlessly, you may consider complicating the position so it gets harder to defend or to bring one minor kingside piece to the hawk-side. Sometimes preparing for an attack for a somewhat longer time is worth it.

Here is a table of what to trade while attacking and what to not trade:

Upon encountering AES256 encryption, the key will serve as all previous riddles, with stripped spaces and new lines.

Obviously, you do not want to invest too much material for an attack so any other player can overpower you easily, so if you see that you cannot crush your right-side opponent, it is best to weaken your left-side opponent. 

Determining the real strength of your opponent can be done by spectating his play - whether he keeps his king safe, whether he is aware of positional weaknesses, whether or not he knows opening principles of Collateral Worlds, whether or not he has a plan of action. Ratings can be inaccurate, but by playing normally and spectating your opponent's moves, you can determine their strength.

There are 2 further cases: one player was eliminated, or all 4 players have less material but are still alive. In the latter case, you should try to build your position, promote pawns to knights, and activate your pieces so that you can easily take advantage of attacks of other players.

Phase 2: 3 players

This is all about two things: activating your pieces and maintaining balance. There are main scenarios that can occur:

1. A player has an additional takeover flank and is ahead on points.  IF YOU CANNOT QUICKLY CHECKMATE OTHER PLAYER AND END UP IN AT LEAST EQUAL POSITION: This is rather straightforward - do not attack the remaining player, try to weaken the stronger player, and most importantly: do not make your position worse. Try to take stronger player's pieces for free, without losing your pieces. IF YOU CAN QUICKLY CHECKMATE OTHER PLAYER AND END UP IN AT LEAST EQUAL POSITION: Do so. This will transpose to 1v1 with your opposite.

2. A player has an additional takeover and is ahead on points, but not ahead materially or positionally. If you can weaken or attack the other player, try to do so. If you however cannot, you should build your position, activate your pieces. Look for trust with one player, coordinate with him for some time, then betray him and overpower the remaining two players when you can.

3. A game is balanced. This one is the simplest: just build your position, do not attack other players, activate your pieces, and try to slowly restrict pieces of your opponents. Strategic skills are what you need for this part of the game.

4. You have an extra takeover flank. Analyze the position, and see whether or not a certain player has a rather weak or shaky defense. If it is so, immediately attack that opponent if you can (don't do this if another player is threatening mating attack, obviously). You should not allow two players to gang up against you and reach an equal position. If you cannot strike down one opponent easily, it is best to build your position, activate your pieces, and try to prevent parallel attacks from two other players as much as possible.

5. Your opposite is eliminated, while another player refuses to help you. Sometimes you may see as your opposite is eliminated. Let's consider that your right-side opponent eliminated your opposite while your left-side opponent decides to attack you at all costs. So, you may have to play against both players simultaneously. In this case, weakening your left-side opponent while keeping hawk-side general and hawk is important. In this situation do not mind camels, they will usually not help you much. You should firstly attack your left-side opponent, eliminate his pieces, and keep a possibility of checkmating him. Your goal here is to end up in a 1v1 stage where you are down on material but up on points. This can be achieved by keeping a hawk near your left-side opponent's king while having a second-rank e-pawn and a general defending your king. If you managed to eliminate your left-side opponent, you transpose to a 2-player stage, third scenario. 

Another crucial part of this phase is maintaining balance - you do not want someone to get so materially strong to crush you both, nor to let someone resign and win. You are playing for a victory, after all. Although this will likely be more true for more skilled players, you need to co-operate with another player if one player has an immense advantage. Here are main tips for maintaining balance:

1. Try to weaken a player who is ahead materially. Targeting does, by no means, imply aggressively attack him. Instead, you should aim for active pieces while having an opportunity to backstab that player and weaken him. Let's consider the following position from a very illustrative game:

With green to move, it may seem that yellow has an excellent position, though on closer look you may find that yellow will swiftly lose the advantage if red and green are smart. Green has a good opportunity to deflect the general and begin an attack on yellow's king with Nxk13+!, while red will eliminate the yellow hawk. After Ml10 and j10=N from green, yellow will have to waste some time on crucial defense, while red will backstab yellow and eliminate a majority of pieces. The key in this position is that red and green want to win, but yellow would eliminate them and end up in a points advantage in the end, which means that in order to have high chances to win red and green should temporarily team up against yellow.

2. If there is a stronger player, you should attempt to cramp his pieces if you can. It is problematic to manage all of your pieces when they all are in a 3x4 area, and this allows a lot of tactical motifs. Let's look at the following position (which is in fact the game from the previous position, but 20 moves later):

Green is ahead materially but has a cramped position and pressure from two flanks. Red and yellow teamed up against green. Although green could fend off the attack if his pieces were active, having them all cramped makes defense far harder and attack far easier. Here, red is about to soon threaten a fork with Nk4, with high chances of help from yellow - such a long series of exchanges could result in huge material loss. Hence green attempted to delay it with Ml5, but MxMl5 and Ck8 co-operation allowed red and yellow to pull off an attack that massively weakened green.

3. Keep a defense around your king's area. Having a weak and exposed king is an ideal attacking opportunity - if you allow a series of perpetual checks, another player can eliminate most of your material. Consider the following position:

Green is threatening Mh3 and Mf4+ perpetual check, so red is forced to lose several moves in order to prevent it. Yellow, however, offered an exchange that you cannot accept without allowing perpetual check (and respectively, losing). Attacking players may even sacrifice a hawk or a general to expose your king in this way, as they will know in the long-term that it will be your weakness. Having a safe king and your flank having an exposed king is an immense advantage, which can often lead to victory.

4. Shuffling. When you cannot weaken other players or improve without weakening your self, but you could if another player activated his pieces, it is an ideal time to shuffle. You are waiting until the other player activates their pieces - as soon as you can strategically worsen the position of your opponent's - stop shuffling and do so. NEVER shuffle if a stronger player prepares to launch a deadly attack against a weaker one, but if a weaker one prepares to launch an attack against a stronger player, you may activate your pieces and shuffling a bit, waiting for another player to launch an attack against a stronger player.

Here is a game where red, yellow, and green were all fighting for an advantage, each attempting to tilt yet failing as the other two players were also skilled and realized it:

[TimeControl "3+2"]
[Variant "Solo"]
[RuleVariants "DeadKingWalking EnPassant DeadWall Anonymous Takeover Prom=5 PromoteTo=N"]
[StartFen4 "R-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0-3,yM,yC,yH,X,X,yK,yC,yM,3/3,yP,yP,yP,X,X,yP,yP,yP,3/7,X,6/bM,bP,5,X,4,gP,gM/bC,bP,5,X,4,gP,gC/bK,bP,3,X,X,1,X,3,gP,gH/X,X,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,3,X,X/X,X,3,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,X,X/bH,bP,3,X,1,X,X,3,gP,gK/bC,bP,4,X,5,gP,gC/bM,bP,4,X,5,gP,gM/6,X,7/3,rP,rP,rP,X,X,rP,rP,rP,3/3,rM,rC,rK,X,X,rH,rC,rM,3"]
[CurrentMove "0"]

1. k2-k4 .. Ma11-c10 .. e13-e12 .. m6-l6
2. j2-j4 .. b11-d11 .. d13-d12 .. Cn5xk4
3. Cj1xCk4 .. b9-d9 .. e12xd11 .. Mn4-l5
4. Mk1-j3 .. Ca10xd11 .. Ce14-f11 .. l6-k6
5. f2-f4 .. Mc10-e9 .. Hf14-e12 .. m9-k9
6. i2-i4 .. Ka9-a10 .. Md14-e13 .. k9-j9=N
7. j4-j5=N .. Cd11-g10 .. i13-i12 .. k6xNj5=N
8. i4xNj5=N .. Cg10xf13+ .. He12xCf13 .. Cn10-k9
9. Nj5-l4 .. b4-d4 .. d12-d11 .. Nj9-i7
10. Ck4-j1 .. d4-e4=N .. Me13-e12 .. Ni7-k6
11. Md1-e3 .. Ne4-c5 .. d11-d10=N .. Nk6xNl4
12. Mj3-i3 .. Nc5-d7 .. Hf13-d12 .. m10-k10
13. Cj1-i4 .. Nd7-c9 .. Hd12-c11+ .. Ml5-l6
14. Me3-c4 .. b10xHc11 .. Me12xc11+ .. m11-k11
15. Mc4xCa5 .. Ka10-a11 .. Mc11-b9+# .. k11-j11=N
16. Ma5xMa4 .. Mk14-j12 .. Nj11xk13+
17. Ma4-a5 .. Mj12xNk13 .. Mn11-l10
18. Ma5xHa6 .. Ki14-i13 .. k10-j10=N
19. Ci4-f5 .. Me9-g10 .. Nj10-l11
20. Cf5-c6 .. Mk13-k12 .. Ml10-k10
21. Cc6xMb9 .. Nd10xCb9 .. Nl11-j10
22. e2-e4 .. Mg10-i11 .. Nj10xMk12+
23. Ma6-c7 .. Mi11xNk12 .. Hn9-l8
24. Mc7xNb9 .. j13-j11 .. Hl8-m9+
25. Mb9xNc9 .. Ki13-i14 .. Mk10-j8
26. Mc9-e10 .. Cf11-i10 .. Ck9-j6
27. Me10-f8 .. Cj14-i11 .. Mj8-k6
28. Mi3-h3 .. Ci11-f10 .. m5-k5
29. Mf8-e10 .. Cf10-i11 .. k5-j5=N
30. e4-e5=N .. j11-j10=N .. Kn6-n5
31. Ne5-g6 .. Nj10-l9 .. Hm9-l8
32. Ng6-i5 .. Ci11-l10 .. Mk6-l5
33. f4-f5=N .. Ci10-l11 .. Ml5-m5
34. Mh3-j4 .. i12-i11 .. Hl8-m6
35. Hi1-j2 .. i11-i10=N .. Mm5-l5
36. Mj4xMl5 .. Cl11-k8 .. Hm6xMl5
37. Ni5-k4 .. Ck8xHl5 .. Ml6xCl5
38. Nk4xCj6 .. Ni10-j8 .. Ml5-k5
39. Nj6-i4 .. Mk12-j10 .. Mk5-m6
40. Ce1-f4 .. Cl10-i11 .. Kn5-n4
41. Cf4-i5 .. Nj8-k10 .. Mm6-m5
42. Ci5xNl4 .. Mj10-k8 .. Nj5xCl4
43. d2-d4 .. Mk8-i7 .. Mm5-l5
44. Nf5-e7 .. Nl9-j8 .. Nl4-m6
45. d4-d5=N .. Nj8-h9 .. m4-k4
46. Me10-f11 .. Nk10-j8 .. k4-j4=N
47. Nd5-f4 .. Nh9-f8 .. Nm6-k5
48. Ni4xNk5 .. Nj8-h9 .. Ml5xNk5
49. Hj2-h4 .. Ki14-i13 .. Mk5-i4
50. Hh4-f5 .. Ki13-j12 .. Nj4-h3
51. Nf4xNh3 .. Ci11-j8 .. Mi4xNh3
52. Kf1-e2 .. Mi7-k6 .. Mh3-j2
53. Ne7-g6 .. Nf8xNg6 .. Mj2-k4
54. Hf5xNg6 .. Nh9-i7 .. Mk4-m5
55. Hg6-f8 .. Mk6-j6 .. Kn4-n5
56. Mf11-g11 .. Kj12-j11 .. Kn5-m6
57. Mg11-g12 .. Kj11-j12 .. Mm5-l4
58. Hf8-g10 .. Mj6-k8 .. Ml4-l5
59. Mg12-g11 .. Kj12-j11 .. Ml5-l6
60. Ke2-f2 .. Mk8-k9 .. Ml6-k4
61. Kf2-e2 .. Mk9-j9 .. Mk4-i3
62. Hg10-f8 .. Mj9-i10 .. Mi3-h3
63. Hf8-d6 .. Mi10xMg11 .. Km6-l5
64. Hd6-e4 .. Mg11-h9 .. Kl5-k4
65. Ke2-e3 .. Ni7-k6 .. Kk4-k3
66. He4-g6 .. Mh9-i7 .. Mh3-i3
67. Hg6-f4 .. Mi7-j6 .. Kk3-j3
68. Ke3-e4 .. Nk6-i5+ .. Kj3-j4
69. Hf4-e6 .. Mj6-k6+ .. Kj4-i4
70. He6-f8 .. Kj11-i10 .. Mi3-j5
71. Hf8-g10 .. Mk6-m5 .. Mj5-h4
72. Hg10-f8 .. Mm5-k4 .. Mh4-j5
73. Hf8-e6 .. Mk4-j2+ .. Ki4-h5
74. He6-d4 .. Ni5-k4 .. Kh5-h4
75. Ke4-e3 .. Mj2-j3+ .. Kh4-h5
76. Ke3-e4 .. Mj3-j2 .. Mj5-i4
77. Ke4-e3 .. Mj2-i2 .. Mi4-h4
78. Ke3-e4 .. Nk4-i3+ .. Kh5-i4
79. Ke4-e3 .. Mi2-j2+ .. Ki4-j4
80. Ke3-e4 .. Ni3-k2+ .. Kj4-j5
81. Ke4-e3 .. Nk2-i3+ .. Kj5-j4
82. Hd4-e2 .. Mj2-k4+ .. Kj4-i4
83. He2-d3 .. Ni3-k2 .. Mh4-j3
84. Ke3-f3 .. Mk4-j6+ .. Ki4-h4
85. Kf3-e3 .. Cj8-k5+ .. Mj3xCk5
86. Hd3-g6+ .. Mj6xMk5 .. Kh4-h3
87. Hg6xNk2 .. Ki10-j9 .. Kh3-i2
88. Ke3-f4 .. Kj9-j8 .. Ki2-j2
89. Hk2-h5 .. Mk5-j5 .. Kj2-i2
90. Kf4-f5 .. Mj5-i5 .. Ki2-j2
91. Hh5-g6 .. Mi5-k4+ .. Kj2-i2
92. Hg6-h5 .. Mk4-k3+ .. Ki2-i1
93. Hh5-j6 .. Mk3-j3+ .. Ki1-j1
94. Hj6-l5 .. Mj3-k5 .. Kj1-j2
95. Hl5-n4 .. Kj8-i7 .. Kj2-k3
96. Hn4-m5+ .. Mk5-l5+ .. Kk3-j3
97. Hm5-i1+ .. Ki7-j6 .. Kj3-i4
98. Hi1-k2+ .. Ml5-k5+ .. Ki4-h4
99. Hk2-j1 .. Mk5-j3+ .. Kh4-h5
100. Hj1-h3 .. Mj3-i5+#
101. Hh3xMi5+ .. Kj6xHi5

Phase 3: 2 players

That's where it all comes to the final struggle, the result of which is usually pre-determined by prior middle-game play. There are generally 3 main scenarios in this phase:

1. Your opponent is ahead materially and on points. Unless you can quickly win material or checkmate him, you usually have to accept the reality that you lost. However, you should still not give up so easily: a. You have high chances of getting 2nd place by giving stiff resistance. b. You still may find a tactical motif or gain an advantage. If your opponent can crush you, try not to create a defensive fortress but also play actively, keep your king safe, and limit exchanges.

2. You are ahead on points and materially. Well, this one is rather straightforward: exchange pieces, activate your pieces. Keep your king safe, if your opponent starts a blitzkrieg attack, it is better to defend and then unwind. 

3. You are ahead on points but are worse materially. That's where it is getting harder for your opponent to achieve victory, as he must win some of your pieces for free or make favorable exchanges on points, or checkmate you. If he has enough material advantage to trade most pieces and checkmate you, nearly the same as scenario 1. However, if you can exchange enough pieces and win on points without getting checkmated, that's where things get tricky for your opponent. In this case, trade strong pieces off as soon as possible.

4. You are ahead materially but your opponent is ahead on points. A really tricky situation. You should consider these factors: 1. Mobility of your opponent's pieces. 2. How strong is your material advantage. If his pieces are more mobile, you should try to counter-attack them quickly, or else your opponent can exchange them fast. If your material advantage is not large (e.g. an extra camel) - you should complicate the position and find the best square for your piece to gain maximum advantage. Try to win material so you can checkmate or win on points, which is usually achieved by a tactic.

After a long struggle for victory, you may reach the point where you eliminated many pieces of your opponent, and now you just need to checkmate him. Here, there are two further scenarios that can occur:

1. You eliminated every single piece of your opponent. Now, you actually need to checkmate him, if you cannot actually claim victory already. The six mates (in order of increasing difficulty) are:

1. King and general vs King - win.

2. King and hawk vs King - win.

3. King and two knights vs King - win. Two knights can force checkmate on the sole king in this variant, where the procedure is to first restrict the enemy king, infiltrate with your own king, then push the enemy king back to corner, create a barrier with two knights that will trap the king, lose a tempo with king and mate.

4. King and two camels and knight vs King - win, although requires some general ideas about forcing it. Firstly you should restrict the enemy king to one area with a camel and knight, then setup a net around a king to allow your own king to enter that area and slowly push the enemy king back into corner. Here is an example game on how to force the mate: 

[GameNr "6177024"]
[TimeControl "1+5D"]
[Variant "FFA"]
[RuleVariants "DeadKingWalking EnPassant DeadWall Prom=5 PromoteTo=N"]
[StartFen4 "Y-1,1,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0-4,yC,1,X,X,yK,yC,4/6,X,X,yN,5/7,X,6/7,X,6/7,X,6/dbK,4,X,X,1,X,5/X,X,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,3,X,X/X,X,3,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,X,X/5,X,1,X,X,4,gK/6,X,7/6,X,7/6,X,7/6,X,X,6/5,drK,X,X,6"]
[CurrentMove "0"]

1. Ni13-j11 .. Kn6-m5
2. Nj11-l10 .. Km5-l5
3. Nl10-k8 .. Kl5-k5
4. Nk8-i7 .. Kk5-j6
5. Ni7-g6 .. Kj6-j5
6. Ce14-d11 .. Kj5-i4
7. Cd11-a10 .. Ki4-h5
8. Ng6-i7+ .. Kh5-i5
9. Ca10-d9 .. Ki5-j6
10. Ni7-g6 .. Kj6-j5
11. Cd9-e6 .. Kj5-i4
12. Ce6-f3+ .. Ki4-h5
13. Ng6-i7+ .. Kh5-i5
14. Ni7-k8 .. Ki5-h5
15. Ki14-i13 .. Kh5-i5
16. Ki13-i12 .. Ki5-h5
17. Ki12-i11 .. Kh5-i5
18. Ki11-i10 .. Ki5-h5
19. Ki10-j9 .. Kh5-i5
20. Kj9-j8 .. Ki5-j5
21. Kj8-i7 .. Kj5-k5
22. Cj14-i11 .. Kk5-k6
23. Cf3-g6 .. Kk6-k5
24. Cg6-h3 .. Kk5-k6
25. Ci11-j8 .. Kk6-j5
26. Nk8-j6 .. Kj5-k6
27. Ch3-g6 .. Kk6-l6
28. Nj6-h5 .. Kl6-k6
29. Nh5-j4+ .. Kk6-l6
30. Ki7-j6 .. Kl6-m5
31. Kj6-k5 .. Km5-m6
32. Cg6-j5+ .. Km6-m5
33. Nj4-k6+ .. Km5-n5
34. Kk5-l5 .. Kn5-n4
35. Cj8-k5+ .. Kn4-n5

Entity Knox was bestowed by the Devil, In phase of opening up, to the hatred place tied. Ancestors of muncher came to later replace him, but in his last game successor will lie. Now only pride of Cruz knows the engraved truth.

36. Nk6-l4+#

5. King, camel, and camel vs King - a win, however, may take more than 50 moves to force if you cannot restrict your opponent's king to one area enough fast. It is best to practice KNNNvsK and KCCNvsK before trying KCCvsK with king that cannot be restricted. General methods are same:

[GameNr "6177024"]
[TimeControl "1+5D"]
[Variant "FFA"]
[RuleVariants "DeadKingWalking EnPassant DeadWall Prom=5 PromoteTo=N"]
[StartFen4 "Y-1,1,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0-4,yC,1,X,X,yK,yC,4/6,X,X,6/7,X,6/7,X,6/7,X,6/dbK,4,X,X,1,X,5/X,X,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,3,X,X/X,X,3,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,X,X/5,X,1,X,X,4,gK/6,X,7/6,X,7/6,X,7/6,X,X,6/5,drK,X,X,6"]
[CurrentMove "0"]

1. Ce14-f11 .. Kn6-m6
2. Cj14-k11 .. Km6-l6
3. Ck11-n10 .. Kl6-k6
4. Cn10-k9 .. Kk6-j5
5. Cf11-c10 .. Kj5-i5
6. Cc10-d7 .. Ki5-h5
7. Ki14-i13 .. Kh5-i5
8. Ki13-i12 .. Ki5-h5
9. Ki12-i11 .. Kh5-i5
10. Ki11-i10 .. Ki5-j5
11. Ki10-j9 .. Kj5-k6
12. Kj9-j8 .. Kk6-j5
13. Kj8-i7 .. Kj5-k6
14. Cd7-g6 .. Kk6-k5
15. Ck9-j12 .. Kk5-k6
16. Cj12-m11 .. Kk6-k5
17. Ki7-j8 .. Kk5-j6
18. Cm11-l8 .. Kj6-k6
19. Kj8-i7 .. Kk6-l6
20. Ki7-j6 .. Kl6-l5
21. Kj6-j5 .. Kl5-l4
22. Kj5-j4 .. Kl4-l5
23. Cl8-k11 .. Kl5-k6
24. Kj4-i5 .. Kk6-k5
25. Ck11-j8+ .. Kk5-k6
26. Cg6-h3 .. Kk6-l5
27. Ki5-j5 .. Kl5-l6
28. Cj8-i5+ .. Kl6-l5
29. Ch3-k2+ .. Kl5-m5
30. Kj5-k5 .. Km5-m4
31. Ci5-j2 .. Km4-m5
32. Ck2-j5 .. Km5-n5
33. Kk5-l5 .. Kn5-n4
34. Cj5-k8 .. Kn4-n5
35. Ck8-j11 .. Kn5-n4
36. Cj11-m10 .. Kn4-n5
37. Cm10-j9 .. Kn5-n4
38. Cj2-k5+ .. Kn4-n5
39. Cj9-k6+#

Here is an example if the enemy king cannot be restricted fast, mate which took 49.5(!) moves to force. Obviously, it requires insanely accurate play:

[GameNr "6177024"]
[TimeControl "1+5D"]
[Variant "FFA"]
[RuleVariants "DeadKingWalking EnPassant DeadWall Prom=5 PromoteTo=N"]
[StartFen4 "Y-1,1,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0-4,yC,1,X,X,yK,yC,4/6,X,X,6/7,X,6/7,X,6/7,X,6/dbK,4,X,X,1,X,5/X,X,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,3,X,X/X,X,3,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,X,X/5,X,1,X,X,2,gK,2/6,X,7/6,X,7/6,X,7/6,X,X,6/5,drK,X,X,6"]
[CurrentMove "0"]

1. Ki14-i13 .. Kl6-k6
2. Ki13-i12 .. Kk6-j6
3. Ki12-i11 .. Kj6-i7
4. Ki11-i10 .. Ki7-j8
5. Ki10-j10 .. Kj8-k8
6. Ce14-f11 .. Kk8-j8
7. Cf11-i10 .. Kj8-k8
8. Ci10-l11+ .. Kk8-j8
9. Cj14-i11+ .. Kj8-i7
10. Kj10-j9 .. Ki7-j6
11. Kj9-j8 .. Kj6-i5
12. Kj8-i7 .. Ki5-h5
13. Ki7-j6 .. Kh5-g6
14. Kj6-i5 .. Kg6-f5
15. Ki5-h5 .. Kf5-e6
16. Ci11-f10 .. Ke6-d7
17. Kh5-g6 .. Kd7-e6
18. Cl11-i10 .. Ke6-e5
19. Ci10-f11 .. Ke5-e6
20. Cf11-e14 .. Ke6-e5
21. Ce14-d11 .. Ke5-e6
22. Cd11-a10 .. Ke6-e5
23. Ca10-d9 .. Ke5-f4
24. Cf10-e7+ .. Kf4-e5
25. Ce7-b6+ .. Ke5-d6
26. Kg6-f5 .. Kd6-c7
27. Cb6-c9 .. Kc7-d7
28. Kf5-e5 .. Kd7-e7
29. Ke5-d5 .. Ke7-d7
30. Cc9-f10 .. Kd7-c7
31. Cd9-a10 .. Kc7-d7
32. Ca10-d11 .. Kd7-c7
33. Cd11-g10 .. Kc7-d7
34. Cg10-f13 .. Kd7-c7
35. Cf13-e10 .. Kc7-b6
36. Kd5-d6 .. Kb6-b5
37. Kd6-d5 .. Kb5-b6
38. Kd5-d6 .. Kb6-b5
39. Ce10-d7 .. Kb5-b6
40. Cf10-c9+ .. Kb6-b5
41. Kd6-d5 .. Kb5-b4
42. Cc9-b6 .. Kb4-b5
43. Cb6-e5 .. Kb5-a5
44. Kd5-c5 .. Ka5-a4
45. Ce5-h4 .. Ka4-a5
46. Ch4-e3 .. Ka5-a4
47. Cd7-g6 .. Ka4-a5
48. Ce3-d6+ .. Ka5-a4
49. Cg6-d5+#

6. King, knight, and camel vs King. Surprisingly, this is the hardest mate. If the enemy king in wrong color corner, the only difference in mating is to block enemy king with camel and knight, calculate whether you need to lose a tempo, if you need to do so - do so with king and deliver mate. Here is an example with right-color camel:

[GameNr "6177024"]
[TimeControl "1+5D"]
[Variant "FFA"]
[RuleVariants "DeadKingWalking EnPassant DeadWall Prom=5 PromoteTo=N"]
[StartFen4 "Y-1,1,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0-6,X,X,yK,yC,4/6,X,X,2,yN,3/7,X,6/7,X,6/7,X,6/dbK,4,X,X,1,X,5/X,X,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,3,X,X/X,X,3,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,X,X/5,X,1,X,X,4,gK/6,X,7/6,X,7/6,X,7/6,X,X,6/5,drK,X,X,6"]
[CurrentMove "0"]

1. Nk13-j11 .. Kn6-m6
2. Nj11-l10 .. Km6-l6
3. Nl10-k8+ .. Kl6-k6
4. Nk8-i7+ .. Kk6-j6
5. Ni7-g6 .. Kj6-j5
6. Cj14-k11 .. Kj5-i4
7. Ck11-n10 .. Ki4-h5
8. Ng6-i7+ .. Kh5-i5
9. Cn10-k9 .. Ki5-h4
10. Ki14-i13 .. Kh4-i5
11. Ki13-i12 .. Ki5-h4
12. Ki12-i11 .. Kh4-i5
13. Ki11-i10 .. Ki5-h4
14. Ki10-h9 .. Kh4-i5
15. Kh9-g10 .. Ki5-h4
16. Kg10-f10 .. Kh4-i5
17. Kf10-e9 .. Ki5-h4
18. Ke9-f8 .. Kh4-i5
19. Kf8-e7 .. Ki5-h4
20. Ke7-e6 .. Kh4-i5
21. Ke6-f5 .. Ki5-h4
22. Kf5-g6 .. Kh4-i5
23. Ni7-h9 .. Ki5-h4
24. Nh9-f8 .. Kh4-i5
25. Nf8-e6 .. Ki5-h4
26. Ne6-d4 .. Kh4-i5
27. Nd4-f5 .. Ki5-i4
28. Ck9-l6 .. Ki4-j5
29. Kg6-h5 .. Kj5-j6
30. Nf5-h4 .. Kj6-k6
31. Cl6-k9 .. Kk6-k5
32. Kh5-i5 .. Kk5-k6
33. Nh4-j3 .. Kk6-l5
34. Ki5-j5 .. Kl5-m5
35. Kj5-k5 .. Km5-m4
36. Ck9-j6 .. Km4-n5
37. Kk5-l5 .. Kn5-n4
38. Cj6-k3+ .. Kn4-n5
39. Ck3-h4 .. Kn5-n4
40. Ch4-k5+ .. Kn4-n5
41. Nj3-l4+#

Here is an example with the wrong color camel and king in corner:

[TimeControl "2+15D"]
[Variant "FFA"]
[RuleVariants "DeadKingWalking EnPassant DeadWall Takeover Prom=5 PromoteTo=N"]
[StartFen4 "R-0,1,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,28,63,27-1-{'resigned'null,null,true,null)}-6,X,X,6/6,X,X,6/7,X,6/7,X,2,yK,3/7,X,6/1,dbK,3,X,X,1,X,5/X,X,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,3,X,X/X,X,3,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,X,X/5,X,1,X,X,5/4,rC,1,X,7/3,rN,2,X,7/4,rK,1,X,7/6,X,X,6/4,gK,1,X,X,6"]
[CurrentMove "40"]

1. Ke3-f4 .. Kk11-l10 .. Ke1-f1
2. Kf4-f3 .. Kl10-k11 .. Kf1-e1
3. Kf3-e3 .. Kk11-j11 .. Ke1-d1
4. Ce5-h4 .. Kj11-k11 .. Kd1-e1
5. Ch4-i1 .. Kk11-k10 .. Ke1-d1
6. Ci1-j4 .. Kk10-l10 .. Kd1-e1
7. Cj4-k1 .. Kl10-l11 .. Ke1-f1
8. Ck1-l4 .. Kl11-l10 .. Kf1-e1
9. Cl4-i3 .. Kl10-k10 .. Ke1-d1
10. Nd4-e6 .. Kk10-j11 .. Kd1-e1
11. Ne6-c5 .. Kj11-k11 .. Ke1-d1
12. Nc5-e4 .. Kk11-l11 .. Kd1-e1
13. Ci3-f4+ .. Kl11-k11 .. Ke1-f1
14. Ne4-d2+#

2. You eliminated every opponent's piece but one. This endgame usually depends on the major piece you have. If you have an extra general, victory will be easy. If you have an extra hawk, victory will usually be challenging. If you are up a single minor piece, winning will be extremely difficult if your opponent is skilled. Now let's consider some endgames:

1. King and hawk vs King and knight. Hard to win, but here is a procedure: Firstly ward off the knight from one of four central squares to an area with his king by your hawk, then safely infiltrate with your hawk and force the enemy king into a square that will prevent him from checking your king, then move your king to one central square near an area where enemy king is, then waste a tempo with your king, position hawk in a way that will block enemy's knight checking square, then with a series of checks force the enemy knight to come near the king, and then finally infiltrate with your king. After infiltration, force the enemy king to abandon the defense of the knight with your king and hawk and transpose to HvK endgame. It is important to not allow the enemy king to flee into another area with your hawk. This endgame is really complicated and difficult to play for both sides, mainly because you can only force the enemy king to do anything with your hawk only by checking in a way that your opponent will only have a few squares moving to which will not lose a knight to a fork. Here is an example of how to play it:

[Variant "FFA"]
[RuleVariants "DeadKingWalking EnPassant DeadWall Anonymous Prom=5 PromoteTo=N"]
[StartFen4 "Y-1,1,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-0-6,X,X,yK,5/6,X,X,yH,5/7,X,6/7,X,6/7,X,6/dbK,4,X,X,1,X,5/X,X,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,3,X,X/X,X,3,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,X,X/5,X,gN,X,X,4,gK/6,X,7/6,X,7/6,X,7/6,X,X,6/5,drK,X,X,6"]
[CurrentMove "84"]

1. Hi13-l10 .. Kn6-m6
2. Ki14-i13 .. Km6-l6
3. Ki13-i12 .. Kl6-k6
4. Ki12-i11 .. Kk6-j6
5. Ki11-i10 .. Kj6-k6
6. Ki10-j9 .. Kk6-j6
7. Kj9-j8 .. Kj6-k6
8. Hl10-j11 .. Kk6-j6
9. Hj11-h9 .. Kj6-k6
10. Hh9-f11 .. Kk6-j6
11. Hf11-d9 .. Kj6-k6
12. Hd9-c7 .. Kk6-j6
13. Hc7-d5 .. Kj6-k6
14. Hd5-e4 .. Ng6-i5
15. He4-f5 .. Kk6-j5
16. Hf5-h4+ .. Kj5-i4
17. Hh4-j2+ .. Ki4-j3
18. Hj2-l4+ .. Kj3-k4
19. Hl4-j6+ .. Kk4-j5
20. Hj6-h5 .. Kj5-k6
21. Kj8-i7 .. Kk6-j5
22. Hh5-k2 .. Ni5-k4
23. Hk2-l4+ .. Kj5-j4
24. Hl4-k6+ .. Kj4-k5
25. Hk6-i4+ .. Kk5-j4
26. Hi4-h3+ .. Kj4-k5
27. Ki7-j8 .. Kk5-j6
28. Hh3-i4+ .. Kj6-i5
29. Hi4-k3+ .. Ki5-j6
30. Hk3-l4+ .. Kj6-i5
31. Kj8-i7 .. Ki5-j4
32. Hl4-i1 .. Kj4-i5
33. Hi1-k3+ .. Ki5-h5
34. Hk3-j5 .. Nk4-i5
35. Ki7-j6 .. Ni5-g6
36. Kj6-k5 .. Ng6-h4
37. Hj5-i3+ .. Kh5-i4
38. Hi3-k2+ .. Ki4-i5
39. Hk2-i3 .. Ki5-i4
40. Hi3-j4 .. Nh4-j5
41. Hj4-k2+ .. Ki4-h4
42. Kk5xNj5 .. Kh4-h3
43. Hk2-j1+ .. Kh3-h4
44. Kj5-j4 .. Kh4-h5
45. Hj1-i3+ .. Kh5-g6
46. Hi3-h4+ .. Kg6-h5
47. Hh4-j3+#

2. King and General vs King and Knight. A rather easy win, you have to use zugzwang and checks in order to force your opponent to move a knight to a square where the general can deflect the king from defending it. Here is an example game:

[GameNr "6350782"]
[TimeControl "4+0"]
[Variant "Solo"]
[RuleVariants "DeadKingWalking EnPassant DeadWall Prom=5 PromoteTo=N"]
[StartFen4 "R-0,0,1,1-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-37,31,23,3-0-{'resigned'null,null,null,true)}-6,X,X,6/6,X,X,6/7,X,6/7,X,4,dgP,1/2,bM,4,X,6/bK,4,X,X,1,X,3,dgP,1/X,X,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,3,X,X/X,X,3,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,X,X/5,X,1,X,X,5/6,X,7/6,X,7/4,rN,1,X,7/4,rK,1,X,X,6/6,X,X,6"]
[CurrentMove "80"]

1. Ne3-c4 .. Mc10-e9
2. Nc4-e5 .. Me9-d9
3. Ke2-e3 .. Md9-e7
4. Ke3-e4 .. Me7-e6
5. Ne5-g6 .. Me6-d6+
6. Ke4-f4 .. Md6-d5+
7. Kf4-f5 .. Ka9-b9
8. Ng6-f8 .. Kb9-c9
9. Nf8-g6 .. Kc9-d9
10. Ng6-f8+ .. Kd9-e9
11. Nf8-g6 .. Md5-e3+
12. Kf5-e5 .. Me3-c4+
13. Ke5-f5 .. Mc4-d6+
14. Kf5-f4 .. Md6-e6+
15. Kf4-e4 .. Ke9-f10
16. Ng6-e5 .. Kf10-e10
17. Ne5-g6 .. Ke10-e9
18. Ng6-e5 .. Me6-d6+
19. Ke4-f4 .. Md6-d5+
20. Kf4-f5 .. Md5-e3+
21. Kf5-e6 .. Me3-f4+
22. Ke6-d6 .. Mf4-f5+
23. Kd6-d5 .. Ke9-f8
24. Ne5-c6 .. Mf5-f4+
25. Kd5-d6 .. Mf4-e4+
26. Kd6-c7 .. Me4-d5+
27. Kc7-d7 .. Md5-b6+
28. Kd7-d6 .. Mb6-c4+
29. Kd6-d7 .. Mc4-d5
30. Nc6-d4 .. Md5xNd4
31. Kd7-d6 .. Md4-f5+
32. Kd6-d7 .. Mf5-e5+
33. Kd7-c7 .. Kf8-e7
34. Kc7-b6 .. Ke7-d6
35. Kb6-b5 .. Kd6-d5
36. Kb5-b6 .. Me5-d7+
37. Kb6-b5 .. Md7-e5
38. Kb5-b6 .. Me5-d4
39. Kb6-a6 .. Kd5-c5
40. Ka6-a5 .. Md4-b5+#

3. King and Hawk vs King and Camel. Here the strategy is a bit different - oppose the enemy king with hawk with camel in-between, advance the king to the square that is not protected by camel, infiltrate, and eliminate camel. Here is a game:

[GameNr "6350782"]
[TimeControl "4+0"]
[Variant "Solo"]
[RuleVariants "DeadKingWalking EnPassant DeadWall Prom=5 PromoteTo=N"]
[StartFen4 "R-0,0,1,1-0,0,0,0-0,0,0,0-37,31,23,3-0-{'resigned'null,null,null,true)}-6,X,X,6/6,X,X,6/7,X,6/7,X,4,dgP,1/2,bH,4,X,6/bK,4,X,X,1,X,3,dgP,1/X,X,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,3,X,X/X,X,3,X,X,X,1,X,X,X,X,X/5,X,1,X,X,5/4,rC,1,X,7/6,X,7/6,X,7/4,rK,1,X,X,6/6,X,X,6"]
[CurrentMove "90"]

1. Ke2-e3 .. Hc10-d9
2. Ke3-f4 .. Hd9-c7
3. Kf4-f5 .. Hc7-d6+
4. Kf5-e6 .. Hd6-e4
5. Ke6-d7 .. He4-f5+
6. Kd7-c6 .. Ka9-b9
7. Kc6-d5 .. Kb9-c9
8. Kd5-c5 .. Kc9-d9
9. Kc5-d5 .. Kd9-e9
10. Kd5-c5 .. Ke9-f10
11. Kc5-d5 .. Kf10-g10
12. Kd5-c5 .. Kg10-h9
13. Kc5-d5 .. Kh9-i10
14. Kd5-c5 .. Ki10-j9
15. Kc5-d5 .. Kj9-j8
16. Kd5-c5 .. Kj8-i7
17. Kc5-d5 .. Ki7-j6
18. Kd5-c5 .. Kj6-i5
19. Kc5-d5 .. Ki5-h5
20. Kd5-c5 .. Kh5-g6
21. Kc5-d5 .. Hf5-e7+
22. Kd5-e6 .. He7-c5+
23. Ke6-d5 .. Hc5-e3+
24. Kd5-e4 .. He3-c4
25. Ke4-d4 .. Hc4-e6+
26. Kd4-e4 .. Kg6-h5
27. Ke4-e3 .. Kh5-i5
28. Ke3-e4 .. Ki5-i4
29. Ke4-e3 .. Ki4-h5
30. Ke3-e4 .. Kh5-g6
31. Ce5-f2 .. He6-f5+
32. Ke4-f4 .. Hf5-d3+
33. Kf4-e3 .. Hd3-c5+
34. Ke3-f4 .. Hc5-d6+
35. Kf4-f3 .. Kg6-f5
36. Kf3-e3 .. Hd6-c5+
37. Ke3-e2 .. Kf5-f4
38. Ke2-e1 .. Kf4-f3
39. Cf2-e5 .. Hc5-d3+
40. Ke1-d2 .. Hd3xCe5
41. Kd2-d1 .. Kf3-e3
42. Kd1-e1 .. He5-c6
43. Ke1-f1 .. Hc6-d5
44. Kf1-e1 .. Hd5-e4
45. Ke1-d1 .. He4-f3+#

too lazy to read all that, hope you achieved your purpose

W i s d o m

thx 4 sayin dat 4 me mayim

Very detailed guide to this variant!

I think I would rather throw everything (including the kitchen sink and refrigerator) into my right-side opponent. 

that would be fun

I don't understand why people feel the need to state that they are too lazy to read moderately sized posts. Personally, I don't think having the attention span of a sleep-deprived infant is anything to be proud of, but to each their own, I guess.

Now some thoughts on the actual guide: you covered basic attacking and defending pretty well, but there are some more complex cases I would like to see (some examples: when to blatantly team with the opposite? what to do when you are teamed on? how to play when everyone is defending very well? What trades should you make, if any? How do you attack someone who is defending very well?... etc.). For attacking set-ups, I prefer (in parallel worlds) using the general instead of moving a promoted to l6 when attacking. Playing j4, promoting the k-pawn, and putting the general on l4 had a 100% checkmate rate in Parallel worlds for me (and I used that strategy dozens of times). In the 3-player stage, you didn't cover the case in which you are the one with the extra takeover. Do you blitz in and attempt to kill both remaining players before they rally against you, or solidify your position? I have always used the first option, if only because it is more fun. Then there is the question of the first move. Do you develop the general, or prevent the right from developing theirs? I think the latter is better since you can opt for a hypermodern defense, but then again I only have experience in parallel worlds. You often used the opponents' strength to determine what strategy to use, which is not a bad idea, but I've found that strength is often very difficult to determine in variants. Ratings can be extremely inflated for farming, or high-rateds could be trying something out for the first time. Conversely, low-rateds could be alts, new accounts, sandbaggers, or just strong variant players who mostly play casual. I like playing noncommital passive moves at the start of games to determine whether opponents are strong or weak, and then play accordingly.

Anyways, great and interesting guide. I enjoy comprehensive guides on specific variants (having written two myself) and I look forward to more.

We only are lazy once we don't play this brand new variant so far, but if we want to play it, read, like me

It is useful

Thanks for such a detailed review and critics, these are really helpful. I'll extend this guide to actually have more scenarios you covered (but I'll have to investigate one or two). 

Updated the guide, added far more information.

Wow, great update! Seems extremely comprehensive now

Still, that is not even all the info. I plan to add the following sections:

1. HvN endgame, MvN endgame, camels, and knights vs a single camel or knight.

2. Maintaining balance (entire new base section on 3-player endgame, when to shuffle, when to attack left-side opponent, when to give up material).

3. A medium-sized paragraph on determining the real strength of your opponent. 

4. Fighting against pre-arranged teamers - an entirely new section, research ongoing.

5. Best squares for different pieces in imbalanced situations (e.g. Camel and pieces VS Knight and pieces 1v1).

And then I think the guide will be finished.

OK, added maintaining balance section, most common piece vs piece endgames, and a medium-sized paragraph on determining the real strength of your opponent.

This is really good! I enjoyed reading this, even if not many will have the patience to

I read it but did not understand too much of it. Fortunately @bsrti is very nice and gave me a 90 minute tutorial himself. Respect for the high level of dedication put into this.

Fixed, thanks.

@talliholic

Please stop quoting the entire posting. If you have commentary to add, you may do so, but in excerpts only.