Cut or Kiss

The purpose of this post is to define Cut and Kiss moves.  I intend to make a post about when to choose one or the other later, but this post is only about definitions.

A cut move is a move that hangs over (or hangs back from) an opponents corner.  The defining property of a cut move is that whichever colour plays next will block the corner of the opponent’s colour.

Consider the three examples below:

In each example, whichever colour plays from the top end first will block the  nearest corner of the other colour.  In the first example you should imagine blue playing a piece that moves up and then right (if Blue plays first).  In the third example red simply blocked (not cut) the two top corners of blue, but the cut is on the corner from the nub of the Y.

A kiss move is one where a piece is played with the foremost  corner touching side-to-side with the foremost corner of an opponent’s piece.  The defining property of a kiss move is that both colours involved can play from their most advaned corner without blocking the other.

Consider the three examples below:

In each case, Yellow can play to the left from its left-most corner, and (in cases 1 and 2) Green can play to the right from its right most corner.  In case 3 Green’s right-most corner is technically blocked, but green can play up and to the right from the top-most corner in the Y.  Also in case 3, it is possible that by playing from a less advanced corner, either Yellow or Green could block the other – but if either plays from the most advanced corner the other can play from its most advanced corner, so this is still a kiss move.