Play the Viking board game Hnefatafl online | Viking Chess | Tablut | Nefatavl

Play Hnefatafl Online.

The Viking board game.
World Tafl Federation Hnefatafl Championship tournament 2018
Round 3 starting Nov. 13th at 18 o'clock Danish time!

Tafl against humans.

Тавлеи против людей.
(Button in top panel.)
Rasmus Holbroe vikings
Artist: Copyright © Rasmus Holbroe (Jan. 2016).
Tafl against the computer.

Search! Who is Nicolas Cartier, who wrote this paper?
LE TABLUT DE LINNAEUS / Nicolas Cartier (November 2011).
Small forum.


  12-17/08:41 Hagbard:  NB. The large forum is opened for new registering for a couple of days.

  12-17/08:25 Hagbard:  Planned fourth timing mode to implement after the tournament: the timing which is used for the final right now.

  12-17/08:20 Hagbard:  In the diagram example, all black pieces in the fort, including the king, would be immobile in a couple of white moves (reversed colors).
True, if these are not the last black pieces, but there are more elsewhere on the board, then the king is not finished yet.
If the movement of the other black pieces is limited, then black could lose by repetition.
If not limited, then white has to capture those loose blacks.
If that is not possible, then it's a case of both players having too few pieces and a draw.

  12-17/01:26 sqAree:  About the time control: If a player can only make a move once every day, a 0.5 time limit per move would make him lose by time because he can never do a couple of faster moves (and this is partly in control of his opponent as he doesn't have to make a move directly after him). Also in control of his opponent is making the player lose 0.5 days of the buffer every day.

About the exit fort: Maybe you meant to say "black loses", and that is not necessarily true because he is not forced to move one of his four pieces in the fort. There might be other black pieces on the board.
The point is that the black pieces can't be captured and yet white has met the requirements for an exit fort victory; in my opinion however this shouldn't count because of the black pieces in the fort.

  12-16/17:29 Hagbard:  Any news about the Play Tafl Online site?

  12-16/16:51 edmond-dantes:  @Hagbard :the time returned has nothing to do with the minimum turn-around time. this time must be 1 day to allow players to jump their daily move daily

  12-16/08:11 Hagbard:  @sqAree: in the exit fort the king is protected forever, the game would continue indefinitely. But in your diagram example white loses in a few moves: the king moves one step to the right, white moves one step down, a black piece moves one step to the right, white captures two blacks and the fort falls apart.

  12-16/07:52 OdinHimself:  @sqAree: About the games - not true. There are no easy games in the final group. Only experienced players there. So every game, every move is a battle of titans. :)

  12-16/07:51 Hagbard:  A fourth timing mode is planned when the tournament is finished (the timing is critical code and must not be touched before).
0.5 day per move sounds restrictive but is not, because you get the time returned to the buffer as soon as you do a couple of faster moves.

  12-16/04:29 sqAree:  Also I like edmond-dantes's suggestion regarding the time controls. His argument that many people might only be able to move once a day makes sense.

  12-16/04:26 sqAree:  https://imgur.com/a/pyyPcP6
If the king is right next to the black pieces in the picture, would it count as an exit fort? It touches the edge, it can move and it's definitely not possible to capture it. Yes, in the next move black can block the king while protecting his 4 pieces, but the question remains (this was the simplest example coming to my mind where the exit fort conditions are fulfilled and there are still black pieces in the fort that can't be trivially captured).

  12-15/21:59 sqAree:  I don't think your games against me were very tough for you. :P I never saw a chance.

  12-15/21:21 OdinHimself:  I want to thank all my opponents for the beautiful and tough games we played and wish them luck, future progress and a Happy New Year! Congartulations to the champion and big thanks to the organizers and the sponsors! Long live hnefatafl!!!

  12-15/18:37 chuck ward:  That's sad. His FB is down also. Hope he is ok We used to have long talks of Tafl and he was writing a book. I have the 1st 4 chapters. Anyway I was hoping he was around.

  12-15/18:32 OdinHimself:  I'm afraid he's not

  12-15/18:30 chuck ward:  Is GM Tim Miller (crust) still active?

  12-14/18:38 edmond-dantes:  @Hagbard :please increase the run time to 1 day, the buffer to remain unchanged, when the buffer ended changes the time to 1.2 days.
this applies to ordinary games.my motives are that many of the people go to work and are busy. when the move is 0.5 it is necessary to take the buffer. The idea of the buffer is something like a vacation. the time after the buffer has to exceed 1 day in order to have no time losses

  12-14/18:15 OdinHimself:  Go, Bulgaria, go!!! :)

  12-14/18:12 Hagbard:  Looks like #2 is: OdinHimself 9 pt.
Third lead: Khan asparukh 6 pt.

  12-14/15:59 chuck ward:  Happy to be back.. Been a few years.. Looking forward to some games :)

  12-14/11:04 Hagbard:  Any special wishes for choice of variant for the next ordinary tourn., starting in four days?
Except for Berserk, Historical 11 and Sea 13, which will be part of a quadrathlon series.
The latest tournaments were chosen to give more experience with infrequently used variants.

  12-13/18:42 OdinHimself:  By the way I have some ideas how we can get money for the federation. But I'll have to check a few things just to be sure.

  12-13/16:50 sqAree:  I'd love to see a youtube channel with a playlist covering the rules of the game, basic tactics and finally advanced strategies, as well as analysis of chosen high level games. But who wants to dedicate time?

  12-13/16:06 Brench:  Has anyone considered setting up a Patreon for WTF?  Maybe also a dedicated YouTube channel for instruction or game analytics?

  12-12/20:13 Adam:  I think the idea of a duo who cover modern gaming and the viking history is an excellent idea. Outside of a few websites, viking/historical events are the only arena that consistently presents hnefatafl to a new audience.

  12-12/19:41 Adam:  Great to see so much interest in the Wtf chairing. In answer to a good question, there is nothing legal in the Wtf set up or structure. Crust and I wanted to start something'official', but it's official only on merit. The moment the community thinks it's unneeded or unwanted, it evaporates. I think to be official one needs stable employees and therefore funding. We've had no luck with that yet, so the job is to keep playing and building and linking people.

  12-12/19:36 Adam:  Congratulations Mario!

  12-12/17:32 casshern:  Thank you Alex and Steve!

  12-12/09:46 xerxes:  Well played casshern

  12-12/06:53 Steiger:  Salute, Mario! Well done!

  12-12/06:45 Hagbard:  Looks like casshern won with full house 12 pt.
Second lead: OdinHimself 7 pt.

  12-09/10:26 Hagbard:  NB. The large forum is opened for new registerings for some days.

  12-08/14:02 OdinHimself:  Thanks Agmundr, my viking brother, but I think that there are exactly six candidatures hanging on the wall right before mine. :) Anyway, thank you for the support! Skal!

  12-08/13:32 Agmundr:  My vote goes to Odinhimself! 🍻

  12-07/18:02 Hagbard:  @OdinHimself: Thumbs Up! (Nicole Simmons)

  12-07/18:00 sqAree:  Well, I feel kinda honored to be nominated by Hargbard, but I wouldn't really know what to do, and OdinHimself is very suited for this job anyway. :)
Having said this, I will obviously not stop contributing my thoughts.

  12-07/17:50 OdinHimself:  @edmond-dantes: Thank you for your estimation. I said what I had to say. There's only one more thing I would like to add - it would be a good thing (move) this duo (WTF representatives) to combine/apply both histroical (viking) and modern (technical) approach when it comes to game's popularization. In my opinion this is the most balanced and properly decision to present hnefatafl to the world and make it attractive again (for those with hearts). Off topic: I'm glad to let you know, that the US ambassador's wife Nicole Simmons (in Bulgaria) have posted on her brief Annual charity bazaar 2018 review, that she has played a hnefatafl game against me (which she believes is a Finnish game) and she lost (lol), but it was very attractive and fun for her. I believe that every single tiny step towards the big goal makes the distance shorter and the end closer. I will not stop to present hnefatafl to the world and revive it, because this is something I love and believe in. Ur askan ett rike!!!

  12-07/12:27 Hagbard:  My contribution to the chairman discussion was posted here:
http://aagenielsen.dk/hnefataflforum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&p=1069#p1069

  12-07/10:02 Hagbard:  A student group at the University of Mainz, Germany, has asked for tafl game data for a machine learning lab course for which they decided to develop a self-learning Hnefatafl game engine.
I sent them the data for Saami Hnefatafl 9x9 - being a historical tafl game it could perhaps be interesting to have it analyzed by the project.
However, it is the Copenhagen Hnefatafl 11x11 which they want. I guess I could send them that, too, soon when the tournament has finished?

  12-06/23:30 teondrae:  Deregisters from the World Championship Tournament 2018.

  12-06/20:27 Steiger:  @casshern: thanks, Mario, but Fomich don't have facebook page and I don't know english well and I'm not enough civilizated :)

  12-06/20:15 casshern:  I also think the most suitable candidates for the WTF are Hagbard and Odinhimself. I would also suggest Steiger or Ded Fomich, if they are interested, or someone from the Formby community, Herjan or Siegfried? As Adam said, it is as much or as little work as you would like it to be. And as Edmond-Dantes likes to say, I don’t have the qualities for this sort of job. It is not necessary to be a GM to be apart of the WTF, but I do think the opinions/counsel of the GMs should be considered, especially when it comes to rules and game play.

  12-06/17:56 edmond-dantes:  it will be ridiculous Hagbard not to participate in the federation as the owner of this site, because in practice it must implement the decisions of this federation on the site

  12-06/17:52 edmond-dantes:  the people who are most worthy and have the qualities to develop and represent the game are OdinHimself and  Hagbard.any other choice would be a mistake.they have love for the game and have balanced, moderate characters.I do not like just the silence of Hagbard lately

  12-06/17:33 edmond-dantes:  people do not get funny. do not bid on. the idea of change is to fight against ones like him

  12-06/16:57 OdinHimself:  @Steiger: Thanks my friend, but I think it's more appropriately to raise the candidatures of the grandmasters first, since Hagbard declined. So I propose Herjan, Plantagenet and Nath. Then comes the future GM (in my opinion) casshern. If none of them wants to take part in the WTF occasions, I'll be glad to.

  12-06/10:10 Hagbard:  Proposed Quadrathlon 2019:
http://aagenielsen.dk/hnefataflforum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&p=1068#p1068

  12-06/08:23 Steiger:  Regarding the WTF, I support the candidacy of OdinHimself

  12-06/06:02 Steiger:  Thanks! That was fun!

  12-05/19:47 OdinHimself:  Skal, Steiger!

  12-05/19:10 Hagbard:  First to finish all games: Steiger

  12-05/18:47 Hagbard:  Thank you to OdinHimself for proposing me, but I'm plentiful occupied by the website.

  12-05/18:46 edmond-dantes:  the first thing I want to ask the federation is legitimate is it registered as a legal entity or we have not reached this level?

  12-05/17:31 edmond-dantes:  after my many calls I am glad Adam listens to my words.he is indeed a wise and just man who deserves respect

  12-05/17:23 OdinHimself:  Count me in! I can say from personal experience, that keeping a facebook page alive contributes for popularization and getting new people fror the cause. I propone Hagbard.

  12-05/10:20 xerxes:  Yes - and an out-of-date site does more harm than good.

  12-04/23:24 sqAree:  Great idea Adam, online presence is important these days!

  12-04/22:32 Adam:  Speaking as Adam: Hello tafl community. I want to put an idea out there for folks to think about. The Tafl Federation facebook page has been woefully inoperative for a long time now. It does still serve as a signpost to this site of course, but it can have a life of its own given the input. At present Crust and myself have editing access. Crust has been absent for a long while and shows no signs of returning any time soon, and I am largely removed from online life. So I propose that people are nominated and two voted in by the regulars here to act as chairman/vice chairman. It's as much or little work as you want it to be, and the only thing I would say is that one should be as objective as possible, and wherever possible promote the rules played on this site. This after all is where the federation is in reality, its us playing hnefatafl. Lets see what people think. If we get enough willing nominees we can set up a voting post on the forum.

  12-01/17:04 Hagbard:  Tak for det! Det var nervepirrende, jævnbyrdigt hele vejen og det afgørende mål scoret i det sidste sekund. Det var ærgerligt med Tyskland, men held og lykke med de næste kampe!

  11-30/22:58 Agmundr:  @Hagbard: Gratulerer med seieren mot Sverige i håndball EM! Spennende kamp! Heiet på dere! 🍻

  11-29/17:14 Hagbard:  No, the repetition loses and should be detected in a couple of moves more.

  11-29/16:22 xerxes:  So does that mean the game is drawn ?

  11-29/13:38 Hagbard:  The repetitions are regarded as a Fetlar invention; so only in Fetlar there are repetitions and draw forts.

  11-29/13:16 xerxes:  @Hagbard: Are repeat positions allowed in Old Hnefatafl ?  No warnings are being issued for white in an edge fort in my game vs Agmundr.

  11-27/23:03 Hagbard:  Round 3 is half finished.

  11-27/11:11 Steiger:  We cannot stop progress, but we can be honest and respectful towards ourselves and those around us. Technology can not kill or replace the spirit.

  11-26/18:44 OdinHimself:  Once more I am going to back up edmond on his last statement according Brench. As I said before a good tafl engine is going to be a heroin for those in pain. Once made with good intentions, heroin quickly turned to be more evil and dangerous than its predecessor - the morphine. For those who doesn't know Heroin comes from Heroic (sounds pathetic right now). As they say "The road to hell is strewn with good intentions". Believe me, edmond may not be as much polite as we would like, but he knows what he's talking about. He has a huge experience in chess and is right about one thing - an engine will kill the joy, the genuineness / unpretentiousness of the game, its spirit. It will be much more fun and safe if we develop it slowly and without using machines. Totally agreed. I know that here's not the right place to post this, but I'm in grief. A friend of mine passed away... He was true... Einherjars are with one more now. RIP R. I'll meet you there...

  11-26/18:01 edmond-dantes:  @Hagbard: The site is not working at the moment, but the engine was available for download freely and anyone who wants it can have it. I got to know this EXE.fail but for now his game is too weak. need to work on the depth and speed of the algorithm, engine tree must be provided to eliminate the bad line in the opening, to provide an advantage in the position evaluation, a reference database of the games from the archive must be added to the engine to improve and direct the engine to the winning line, pre-calculated tables should be added at the end of the game when the board is small and the game is solved. That this is a file does not mean that someone has not improved it and uses it in this moment. I have a suspect. Good luck

  11-26/17:25 edmond-dantes:  @Brench: with respect to you, I see you're a serious person, but to improve your game you do not need an engine. You can improve without it, yes, it will be much slower in time. But you will have much more time to enjoy and entertain the game. There is no point in overtaking time. I know that my words will not stop you because if not you will find someone else to kill the game. There is no way to own an engine and not to use it in a game. it is tantamount to having a car and walking.

  11-26/16:36 Brench:  @Plantagenet.  That may be raising expectations or asking for a lawsuit from Google :).   Also it may have been done: https://blogg.blank.no/alpha-tafl-c394faef2c0f

Can anyone here read this?

  11-25/22:39 Plantagenet:  If you create a Hnefatafl engine, call it "Alphatafl".

  11-25/21:03 Steiger:  For some characters, rank on websites is the only way to feel superior to others. :D

  11-25/20:31 Brench:  For myself, I’m interested in a Hnefatafl engine because a) I want to improve my game,b) am interested in the mathematical underpinnings of the game and c) am interested in AI.  Will some people use it to cheat?  Probably.  Will I? No.  And I have to believe that most people are here because they enjoy the game and not because they want some rank on a website which is, ultimately kind of meaningless.

  11-25/19:16 Hagbard:  @ed: I wait with questions till the tournament finished. I have noticed that Play Tafl Online is not running at the moment, which means that robot moves cannot be copied to this tournament from there.

  11-25/19:02 edmond-dantes:  I want to ask? do you know that making engines will stop the game on this site and all the games of correspondence? because everyone will copy the moves from the engine and just introduce them here, not that somebody is not already doing it now? I want to hear Hagbard's opinion and to break your vow of silence

  11-25/18:46 edmond-dantes:  @nath: the creation of an engine will not inspire people, but vice versa, it will defuse them and replace their game. Since the figures move only horizontally and vertically, and they can not be skipped, the free corridors are very small, the forces of the figures are unbalanced in the beginning, unlike chess makes this game much simpler. You have to give false allegations. The chess engineers have already decided most of the options for several years and this leads to many draws between players at high level. Here the decision and the ruin of the game there will be many quicker, again, because of the less complexity

  11-25/16:20 nath:  I did invest some time to develop theory a few years back. There weren't many people to help around back then, so I stopped. Even if I build an engine, my primary goal is not to have something that just outplays humans, but rather let that thing inspire human play. For that to work we need humans understanding the underlying ideas and reasons the engine is playing these moves. A black box that just plays perfectly isn't interesting the least. But I have enough trust in community that we can pull that off.

In terms of complexity I think Hnefatafl is more complex than chess. Chess just seems complex, because you got so many different pieces with totally different movement patterns. That's somewhat artificial complexity that engines can strip away pretty easily. In terms of tree Hnefatafl is more on the level of shogi, while to tree there is highly dependent on the exchanges. I just love Hnefatafl as a very interesting board game.

@Brench: You've got mail (of the electronic kind).

  11-24/15:10 edmond-dantes:  @Hagbard:thank you for removing the limit of 4 players in the tournaments. That was stupid. Another one of my guys that turned out to be true, but nobody mentioned that?

  11-24/05:23 Brench:  Nath:  I know we’ve talked about this before...I do want to develop a decent hnefatafl bot.  I am usually just too tired to follow through.  I do AI for a living so taking on a full dev role would be pretty daunting.  I’d love to be part of an open source team tho.

  11-23/17:56 edmond-dantes:  as you can see there are people who want to have and develop engines, there are certainly people who use them, decide who and when ... success

  11-23/17:49 edmond-dantes:  Everyone thinks of what to believe and what they do not. To listen to my words. Fraud is proving very difficult but in me there are doubts about it. If anyone searches my statements about it, I would officially share them. Do not understand who I offended? I just do not like people to comment on a subject without understanding it and to support people who do not even know each one. Anyone contacted can contact me, I'm not anonymous, I do not mind talking in person as someone claims Russians

  11-23/17:47 Agmundr:  @OdinHimself: That would be great! Skál my viking brother! 🍻

  11-23/16:27 xerxes:  @edmond-dantes: to use this forum to acccuse a fellow player of cheating without providing any evidence is just not acceptable.  You owe casshern an apology.  In addition, insulting other players only demonstrates that any point you wish to make is not strong enough to stand on its own.

  11-23/16:22 xerxes:  @Agmundr: I agree too.  We all play for different reasons.  Constructive discussion is always welcome, but there is no need for any ill-feeling or bad-mouthing.

  11-23/15:38 OdinHimself:  @Agmundr: You spoke well my viking brother! This is exactly the viking spirit I need to feel in all of you. Your words are mine. If someday I happen to visit Norway I'll be glad to meet you and play a tafl game against you while fire burns at the fireplace and mead warms our tirsty throats. Skal!

  11-23/14:41 sqaree:  Thank you. :)

  11-23/14:37 Hagbard:  As for the "No timing" feature as in "completely no timing", it was abused in a very few cases with abandoned games hanging indefinitely. Also Play Tafl Online, which had the same feature, eventually had to abolish it.
Now "No timing" means "all time constants * 20", which in practise for a non-abandoned game is no timing.

  11-23/14:04 Hagbard:  ok

  11-23/13:35 sqaree:  @Hagbard: Can you start a Copenhagen unrated game between luizz and me? I can't invite him personally for some reason.

  11-23/13:23 Agmundr:  Hail to you all, and a healthy (divine) mind! I think all this discussion only shows that we have different interest in the game. Some are interest in analysing the game to the ground, others want’s the computers to take over the job so we don’t need to think yourself and improve our mind. And we have a group that is only concerning about they score, and where they are on the top score and only plays games they are certain to win. I don’t judge anyone, people are free to do what they want. Why I play this game? I think of this a heritage from our ancestor and are playing as I think they used it for. As an entertainment and mind improvement game. Learning strategies before battles or calming they down in the dark hours of winter, when we only see daylight for four hours or less. They didn’t have electric then and the only light was from their fireplace or candles. For the time I have played this game I have never written down any games or looked at my old games for improving the next. I know that is why I learn slower and not are higher up in the top score, but I don’t care, it’s not my goal. A new game, a new task, a new battle! And for the record I am not a small or a big fish, I am a warrior! an Einherjar! I always play my games with respect and honour! Skál stríðsmaður! 🍻

  11-23/12:58 Steiger:  @Hagbard: I took the hint ;-)

  11-23/12:53 Steiger:  I have this book and I adore it from my youth.

  11-23/11:37 Hagbard:  @Steiger  :) !!!!! That's it, and the whole chapter! Thank you.

  11-23/11:00 Steiger:  *russian

  11-23/10:59 Steiger:  @Hagbard: here is a rissian version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzQ-kL9tyQU

  11-23/10:01 Hagbard:  Yule celebration at king Harald Bluetooth:
http://aagenielsen.dk/hnefataflforum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&p=1067#p1067

  11-23/07:21 Steiger:  Wow! Brilliant! How much drama! Great acting! The role of an envious piece of shit is definitely your calling, dude! Please do not stop - you do it very well,Lubo. My regards!

  11-22/18:35 edmond-dantes:  @casshern:all the rats like you will die when playing the live game.do not do it for me do it for the people on this site. and I do not want to kiss with you  ha ha

  11-22/18:01 casshern:  I have no desire to meet you.

  11-22/17:05 edmond-dantes:  may I ask you something? Would you send the admin to upload your photo here in the photos section I want to meet you?

  11-22/12:23 casshern:  I am actually on the fence about a strong tafl engine. On one hand I would love to find out what the best lines are, but then it could be the end of the game. However, even though the game is rather simple, I agree with others that it is still very complex. When I analyze games from Plantagenet, Nath, Schachus, Herjan, Odinhimself, etc, often times I have no idea why they make certain moves. For example, h1-h3 followed by g5-g2 is a very common move played by these “stronger” players. I have tried this opening myself, but I am just not comfortable playing it. Maybe it is the strongest opening for white. Maybe an engine could find out for us. I don’t know. Even if it is discovered to be so, I probably still wouldn’t play that opening. I just don’t really understand it. To me, that opening could be blocked by black 100% of the time. As long as black doesn’t make any mistakes. And we could play an infinite amount of games against each other and never really know for sure. Or we could create an engine that could have the final say on the matter.

  11-22/11:36 casshern:  @edmond-dantes: Thank you for your reply. I have a better understanding of your thinking now. As there is no way for me to prove to you that I do not use an engine, I will simple just repeat myself. I do not use an engine. And that is the last time I will repeat myself about that. Before I discovered Tafl 2 years ago, I did not play any board games on a regular basis. In my high school years I did play chess, but I wasn’t very good. I only recently (within the past year) started playing chess again and started watching replays of games between humans and engines. I find it very entertaining to watch replays of chess games, but I don’t really enjoy playing chess because I am not good. I am sure I could study the game to become better, but I am just not interested.

Of course I am not the smartest man in the world. I am certaintly not even the Magnus Carlsen of Tafl. I am not even that good with computers. I know of the existence of engines, but I have no idea how they work. I know I play “stronger” moves than other players. But that can be said for a handful of players here. The reason I play strong moves is because I spend hours analyzing positions in my head. And since I spent so much time analyzing, when the moves are played I don’t have to take a lot of time to play my next move. Unless my opponent plays a move I did not anticipate. I seek to find the best lines, strongest moves, perfect play. And the most beautiful thing is that when I get full of myself, my ego ballons thinking I found it, someone is always here to crush me, to humble me. Then I must to back to the drawing board again.

  11-22/09:46 Ded Fomich:  @Steiger Саня, всё понимаю! Дело житейское, собаки лают — караван идёт :-).

  11-22/09:44 Ded Fomich:  And I have something to say regarding @Casshern—from time to time we play series of very nice games (mostly Tablut and Sea Battle Tafl), Mario almost always beats the tar out of me :-). But the insinuations that he makes only the best moves and makes no mistakes are fundamentally wrong. Very rarely he even loses sight of moves which could ensure a victory in a game, computer wouldn’t miss them. And we often discuss the gameplay while playing, he tries to play new debuts and tests new tactics. Mario just learns from his mistakes and from mistakes of other players in archive games and has fun, he has outstanding talent in the field of tafl games and he always plays a fair pair of games with everyone (in contrast to Plantagenet who plays only for one side). My respects, Mr. Aluizo!

  11-22/09:17 Steiger:  @Ded Fomich: да всё норм, не парся, братан! Трудно порой удержаться, когда завистливые куски дерьма пытаются облить грязью тех, кого я считаю своими друзьями. ;-)

  11-22/08:37 Ded Fomich:  @Steiger Pay no attention to internet insulting, bro! The words of such kind internet “warriors” speak for the themselves. Remember the old Russian precept—every insult which was not told face to face is not an insult, it’s just barking from behind a fence ;-). By the way, read a very interesting article on the subject: https://www.etymonline.com/columns/post/viking

  11-22/08:33 Ded Fomich:  @Nath I’m not opposed to computer engines or to any other progress, that’s very helpful and entertaining. I’m just opposed to championship competitions between human and machine, I see no sense in them. And I don’t know how to exclude the possibility of cheating in online championships, now this is a matter of trust and gentlemen’s agreement. You can contact Mr. Jay Slater aka @Fishbreath, the creator of OpenTafl, he even told something about neural networks.

  11-21/23:58 nath:  I have some experience with chess engines. The state of the art (I'm not talking about LeelaZero) basically works via a cheap evaluation function and a few more or less intelligent ways to explore trees (stuff like alpha-betta is pretty simple (stockfish does razoring for efficiency reasons, but it's really the same idea), quietsearch, history...). The basic way why this works, is that there are a lot of very simple things that are simple enough to check in chess. Just summing up the material is a good heuristic already. Add some basic checks about pawn structure (isolated, doubled, Russian school eval, passed pawn in general) and some constants for piece mobility or a simple PST (this is very, very simple and very effective - chess engines often have multiple ones). Preordering based on attack potential against the king, fancy stuff like king safety,  Besides that we are using the fact that the movement tree is quite narrow. We have very few possible moves and simple effective heuristics => we just evaluate very, very deep. The question is not how many nodes we can explore. It's about the depth. If stockfish explores like 80M nodes, it's already at a depth like 28. You might say, "stockfish is just intelligent about pruning, it prunes more than 92 % of the nodes!" Hnefatafl (11x11) has an enormous branching factor with the black pieces. Let's make the assumption we can do better regarding pruning than the chess guys do, just because edmond-dantes fully understands the game we can prune 95 % away without loosing important information! :p Then we would already at depth 10 have double digit trillion nodes to visit.

The branching factor in Hnefatafl is much more nasty than it is for chess. It's not generally impossible - Arimaa has an even bigger branching factor at it's solved with a straight forward approach improving little by little, by somebody who understood the game really well and testetd the engine a lot. It was also top 

  11-21/22:50 nath:  @edmond-dantes: If I do, I might consider sharing that with everybody...so nobody needs to care about you.

  11-21/22:48 nath:  @edmond-dantes: If you want to discuss things, we can do that. If you instead just want to insult random people, go ahead. If you keep that up, I'll just write a quick greasemonkey filter that removes all of your messages from this chat.

  11-21/18:50 Steiger:  @edmond-dantes: Вася, whether you like it or not, I consider myself a part of this community and consider Mario (casshern) my friend, although we communicate only on the Internet. So I have every right to express my opinion here and you are nobody to me, so  walk on.

  11-21/18:37 sqAree:  I have personal reasons to trust nath when it comes to this topic. I'm not saying you're wrong, I just want to get a better opinion. Of course this only applies to me personally, anyone else might not have the same trust in him as I do.

  11-21/18:32 edmond-dantes:  you take the thoughts of @nath, my no, why

  11-21/18:29 edmond-dantes:  do you accept the thoughts of @nath and not why?

  11-21/18:28 edmond-dantes:  @Steiger:I do not fancy people who express their opinions without understanding what they say or interfere with things that do not affect them. You are willing to express an opinion without giving arguments or statements, in support or attacking someone you do not even know. an understanding of metal, beer and drugs but not engines ...

  11-21/18:22 sqAree:  Eh, you might actually underestimate the complexity of tafl. Maybe @nath could write something about this, as he definitely thought about game complexity and knows one thing or another about the topic..

  11-21/18:20 edmond-dantes:  who is Mario? who is the casshern ? someone you've seen it is? I'm very curious?

  11-21/18:16 edmond-dantes:  @sqAree:the game is not very complicated. The figurines move only horizontally and the vertical algorithm for the engine is not at all complex. The game is not yet commercial yet otherwise any programmer can write it. By adding the game database attached to the engine in the tree everything happens

  11-21/18:08 sqAree:  @edmont-dantes: Your habit of kicking other people out of discussions that concern all of us because you don't deem them worthy, is annoying.

As someone who has reasonable experience in a different boardgame and a good feeling how to detect cheaters in that game, I can confirm it's possible if you know your game very well, but that an own engine is definitely helping. However, Hnefatafl is so underdeveloped, I don't think anyone at this point can claim  to really understand the game.

  11-21/18:04 Steiger:  @edmond-dantes, завали хлебало, коротышка! Я буду высказывать своё мнение когда захочу и где захочу. Ты мне не указ!

  11-21/17:47 edmond-dantes:  @Steiger:Please small goldfish do not interfere in a discussion that they do not understand or have no idea what it is about

  11-21/17:43 Steiger:  I think that Mario (casshern) is not cheating.

  11-21/17:41 edmond-dantes:  @sqAree: I have experience in this. look at his game, analyze carefully, he crushes everything on the line without even thinking long. I'm claiming a strong player who only uses my mind, and he is winning easily against me and everyone else.

  11-21/17:38 Steiger:  @sqAree, it's a very good question! :D

  11-21/17:25 sqAree:  How do you even decide if he plays the strongest line, always? (I mean, without being backed up by an engine yourself ;) )

  11-21/17:08 edmond-dantes:  @casshern: if you look at my game you will see that it is very different from that of  Plantagenet.yes, I'm trying to improve this line because I think it's profitable, I like it. Plantagenet for me is the strongest player here and I very much respect him unlike anybody else.but even he makes mistakes in certain moments of the game, either because of a mistake, a mental state or anything else, unlike you, your game is always the strongest line without any mistakes, and the wonderful thing is that it is in all the game's variants. absolutely certain of your deception, but I have great suspicions about a person who uses engines.it makes me noticed that your moves are fast and you almost do not consider the moves and they are always the best. Everyone here chooses whether to believe it or not. If I'm wrong, I'm ready to apologize to you. But I do not believe you you're the smartest man on the planet, I do not believe you make mistakes, I do not believe you are Magnus Carlsen.what worries me too is that you are in anonymity and you do not have a laugh. I feel the desire to see a picture or social network profile of the person who plays without error, and is the smartest in the hnefaftfl games.I can explain more about my suspicions, but I do not want to get into details and it's not my job. I'm sure there's already a motor for this game. Let's have a federation to deal with you

  11-21/16:34 edmond-dantes:  the future is in live play. Keep in mind that the game is much simpler than chess and one engine will solve for a short time all the lines and that will make it unlikely to play the game. I say it as a person who has been engaged in engines for 10 years

  11-21/14:37 sqaree:  I'm definitely interested in a live tournament irl too!

  11-21/13:30 nath:  If we could work out a live tournament with 4+ (soon to be) grandmasters, that would (at least to me) be a huge thing. I tried to pull something like that a few years back in Berlin, but I had a hard time getting strong players on board.
We don't have the same amount of emotions in an email game than in a live game. If I feel odd, I just skip the game and move the next day...or a few hours later (if I'm not working then).

I think live play has a totally separate dimension and I'd just love to have a live event, maybe even with a live commentator. It seemed to me that I was to only one longing for that, so I let it be.

  11-21/13:28 nath:  I don't really get why not use all tools available to get a better understanding of the game. I mean if computers help me to reach a new understanding, in the end we still need to extract the useful information to apply it in the games we play ourselves.

To me it feels like the request to build a house without using an excavator. It's possible to build baseplates without - and if that would be only use of the gadget, it's questionable whether it's reasonable to design it. Non the less it feels weird to me. If you'd have asked me 20 years ago I might have given a different analogy, yet I hope my point is understandable.

@Ded Fomich: Since code is only data, there is no easy way to separate the two. Our brain doesn't separate them either.

  11-21/09:24 Ded Fomich:  If only there were not all that goddamn draws in chess! In my opinion draws kill the game of chess, not computers =)

  11-21/09:20 Ded Fomich:  Moreover, metaphorically speaking, for human it is not interesting and pointless to compete in running with a self-driving car. In contrast, the live humans competition with live emotions offer a spectacle to take your breath away, even in the era of computers, something like the confrontation Karyakin—Carlsen for example, after their games the interest to chess in Russia skyrocketed again. Chessmen use chess software just for preparing, but the interest is in live games between humans, computers are not able to kill this spirit, I wouldn't worry about that, @OdinHimself. So, give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and give to God the things that are God's—give to computer the things that are computer’s, and give to human the things that are human’s.

  11-21/09:14 Ded Fomich:  *have always had

  11-21/09:14 Ded Fomich:  In chess players has always had a principle—when a game starts you must not have access to the sources of information. But chessmen started by inertia playing with computer by its rules. It would be more honest to withdraw the data bank from computer or give humans enough time and access to the same data bank.

  11-21/09:10 Ded Fomich:  If we take chess as example, then one can say that a keen interest is in live competitions between humans, not between two computers or between human and computer. Such competition between humans implies a contest in psychology, mind working, in the art of composition. Computer doesn’t have compositional sense, it is still not able to learn compositional manoeuvring. Humans can play using that, not to mention that computers’ domination is the result of unequal competition conditions from the very beginning. Human created computer and the development of software is on the path to increasing of processing speed and amount of data, not on the path to digital intelligence. Computer has all information (debuts, endgame positions, etc.) and when a similar situation arises it just uses the base that has been laid. Human needs much more time to remember what he learned and to make a decision.

  11-20/17:39 OdinHimself:  @nath I mean I would like to see Hnefatafl games or tournaments involoving players who use their own brain, their own ideas and their own past or present mistakes to prevail on their opponents, just as it was back in the past when vikings played it. Artificial intelect, engines, computer programs could ruin all that. Definitely your idea is a good thought, a good intention, but it is a bit dangerous for the game's future. Engines destroyed the fun of playing chess and this is an existing risk for hnefatafl as well. Once I said I love this game and our mistakes are which make it fascinating. If we play like robots I will not take part. :) But still I deeply respect your urge for improving the game. Although I would like to see game's improvements made by human's mind, upgraded by human's mind and lead to almost perfection again by human's mind... if you get what I mean. This is how we'll keep the game "medieval and unmodified", and yet improved. I just don't want the tafl viking spirit to be killed by computers. Not this one.

  11-20/00:16 nath:  I don't spy on casshern, so I can't tell what he does or doesn't do. The only thing I can tell he almost never uses a classic engine. I know how these work and his thought process clearly isn't structured similar to any computer program I know.

I find great joy in learning new things. I can't think of anything more beautiful regarding Hnefatafl. I recall one time I was looking at a game that totally captivated me with multiple strong moves. The whole game moved something really deep within me. One particular move was especially brilliant - I had a hard time holding back my tears. I care for the state of play.

I furthermore deeply believe that any information not regarding specific individuals should be free. Advancement needs information about how to do things. I want to built something that is free to everybody and is able to generate new information.

@edmond-dantes: What do you enjoy precisely? What do you care about?
@OdinHimself: What do you mean by "medieval and unmodified"?

  11-19/20:16 Plantagenet:  It's rather ironical while I'm actually an atheist.

  11-19/19:53 Hagbard:  Lead: Casshern 3 pt.

  11-19/18:28 casshern:  @edmond-dantes: I do not have an engine. I suppose I can take your comment as a compliment thought. Or are you accusing me of cheating? I have no aid in my play. No computer, human, natural or unnatural, or devine entity are helping my play. I simply play the game, try my best to learn from my mistakes, and I use the archive to study past games. You and everyone who plays here can do the same and improve your play just as I do.

What really bothers me is that you accuse me of cheating and you put other people down by calling the names. But what have you contributed to the game? I have seen nothing of note. You praise Plantagenet as if he is a Tafl God. You try to copy his moves in hopes of victory. Yet you are opposed to the archive because you say “weak” players will beat grand master with the archive. Are you not doing the same by copying plantagenet’s moves? Did you not try to enter the championships under 2 aliases? Everything you say that you want to see changed, you do yourself.

I am not saying I have contributed anything to the game either. I simply want to play in peace and have a good time. I am sorry if anyone reads my comments and are put off. I truly appologize. I just wish edmond-dantes would be more respectful or sail off into oblivion and never return.

  11-19/17:06 OdinHimself:  Agreed. I also think that the game must stay as much medieval and unmodified as possible.

  11-19/17:03 edmond-dantes:  In fact, the one who is called Quadrathlon master already has such an engine.....

  11-19/17:01 edmond-dantes:  @ nath: if you want the game to be beautiful and attractive to stop doing it right now. You want to kill the enjoyment of the game just like other similar games. Find something else to get used to.

  11-19/12:33 nath:  I'm still looking for a tech minded person to help with the development of an Hnefatafl Engine (I use a ruleset that's a tidied up version essentially equal to Copenhagen). I know by now that on my own I will never have to motivation to get this thing to semi-reasonable moves. Please contact me if you are interested.

Another thing I started thinking about is a tournament of Hnefatafl Bots to get a showcase for bot developers out there. If you are interested in this, please drop me a note as well.

  11-19/09:57 Hagbard:  First game finished: Casshern / Steiger

  11-19/07:46 Steiger:  :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHky5J-oXtY

  11-16/09:26 Hagbard:  Most active player (most moves): Steiger

  11-14/19:44 Plantagenet:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AJzvwgXPQ8

  11-13/19:00 OdinHimself:  Good luck everyone!
https://www.streetdirectory.com/lyricadvisor/song/wpoppu/dragons_of_the_north/
Keep the viking spirit alive!

  11-13/17:43 Steiger:  No one knows, friends or foes, if Valhalla lies beyond the grave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf88-EDi7FI

  11-13/17:16 Hagbard:  First move: Khan Asparukh

  11-13/17:14 Hagbard:  May Odin give you knowledge on your path.

  11-13/05:43 jrton80:  I really do not visit here often enough: @epm180 - I can only really say Huh? it there a joke there I am not getting? Never say you are sorry, it makes you look weak, but an entire post which sounds like an apology? I am really not getting it. what a I missing here?

  11-12/11:50 Hagbard:  Round 2 is finished.

  11-10/18:47 Adam:  Speaking as umpire: Casshern, Epm180 and Steiger (both 6 pt. and both Sonneborn-Berger 17 pt.), Khan Asparukh, OdinHimself, Adam and Sqaree qualified for Round 3. Round 3 starts Nov. 13th at 18 o'clock Danish time. Set your alarm!

  11-10/17:34 Hagbard:  One game is left of Round 2.
It looks like
- if Adam wins the last game or if the game is a draw, then Adam and Sqaree qualified for Round 3.
- if Bogd Khan wins the last game, then Adam, Sqaree and Bogd Khan all qualified for Round 3 (all three then have 6 pt. and all three have Sonneborn-Berger score 16 pt.).

So, in any case Adam and Sqaree qualified for Round 3, and if Bogd Khan by a divine miracle is victorious in the last game, then it is easy to add him to Round 3 also.
Therefore -

To umpire Adam:
Requested that Casshern, Epm180 and Steiger (both 6 pt. and both Sonneborn-Berger 17 pt.), Khan Asparukh, OdinHimself, Adam and Sqaree qualified for Round 3,
and that Round 3 can start Nov. 13th at 18 o'clock Danish time.

  11-10/11:29 Hagbard:  Lead in Himinbjörg: Sqaree and Adam, both 6 pt.

  11-09/20:07 Hagbard:  Lead in Himinbjörg: Sqaree 6 pt.

  11-07/18:31 Plantagenet:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6M7M6cFZFk

  11-04/08:49 Hagbard:  Lead in Himinbjörg: Bogd Khan and Adam, both 5 pt.

  11-03/06:14 Steiger:  Thank you, Mario!

  11-02/20:40 casshern:  Congrats Steiger and Epm180!

  11-02/11:39 Steiger:  My congratulations, epm180! We both go to Valhöll.

  11-02/10:10 Hagbard:  Attention: When the last two Round 3 players are found, Round 3 can start with three days notice.

  11-02/08:48 Hagbard:  Looks like Epm180 and Steiger both qualified for the Final. Both 6 pt and both Sonneborn-Berger 17 pt

  11-02/08:36 Hagbard:  First group to finish all games: Bilskirnir

  11-02/07:04 Steiger:  This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHdUCDbyB5g makes my blood boiling!\m/.

  11-01/18:53 OdinHimself:  I prefer this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTPDmZx3gKk

A Viking war song about Úlfhéðnar, wolf warriors and Odin's elite fighting forces.
Úlfhéðnar were totemistic combat heroes who were feared for their unique martial skills and their ecstatic fierceness, which they would fuel by performing shapeshifting rituals and weapons

  11-01/15:43 Steiger:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FIyJtDvYac

  11-01/15:23 Steiger:  magnifique

  11-01/13:33 Plantagenet:  @Steiger Yes, I forgot to add: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92gFOReey3M

  11-01/10:39 Steiger:  I know that is scary night is over, but this one exclusively for Plantie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJH-V7Th_DM

  11-01/06:20 OdinHimself:  @Plantagenet: I've never heard of Black Magick SS before, but I'll take a listen. I already downloaded their discography. Their genre has been defined as raw occult rock, which sounds pretty rare and aslo interesting to me. I think you've made a progress in your musical predilection.

  10-31/23:08 Plantagenet:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOzwkXG3ZbQ

  10-31/19:48 Steiger:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgXBhnZGlLk

  10-31/19:47 Hagbard:  @epm180: Do you have the rest of the note?

  10-31/19:28 Plantagenet:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUfj3IHkzBQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wynIv_hrl-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t82tjWL0les
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuIwqA437yU

  10-31/16:52 epm180:  *vitriol

  10-31/16:50 epm180:  I don't mean to stir up any rancor, or to anger anybody with my thoughts or opinions. Now I am aware that I might be stepping on a few toes by saying what I have to say, but at the end of the day we all quite dearly enjoy this game. Some more than others, perhaps, and no doubt anybody who plays a game without being sure of the rules is something of an anorak, and has an intellectual curiosity that I feel must only be praised. The spirit of cordiality and the decorum that I have witnessed in my short, wayward, delightful time exploring the realm of tafl, has been second to none of all my experiences in any internet community.


I truly mean that, as I feel all consternation comes from a place of passion and enthusiasm. Now whilst not everyone in the entirety of the world is going to agree with what I have to say, I feel a compulsion to share the thought with you all. I certainly don't wish to rub anyone up the wrong way with what I have to say. Discourse is, we must remember, the means by which consensus is acquired, and every dialectic must have different opinions. It goes without saying that civility is paramount to any such discussion; however, cultural sensitivity never ought to neuter expression. Oftentimes, when one must frame and verse themselves removed from their native tongue frustration can inadvertently mask itself with vitrol. 

Whilst by no means do I wish to provoke any ire, no matter how unintended, I cannot refrain from the utterance of what I perceive as simple truths, no matter how much debate they might spark. As long as it is undertaken with an underlying base respect for one another, 
I feel it can only benefit the community.  

Accordingly, braving the high seas of an internet forum, allow me to put forth the following opinion, knowing that it is not my intent to irk anybody in anyway. 

I truly think, upon sincere reflection and what careful analysis the dilettante nature of the passion I hold for this game that is older than

  10-31/09:29 Hagbard:  Second lead in Bilskirnir: Epm180 6 pt.

  10-26/17:02 Hagbard:  Second lead in Bilskirnir: Hagbard, Steiger and Epm180, all 5 pt.

  10-26/15:32 Hagbard:  Looks like OdinHimself qualified for the Final, 6 pt. In which case Fólkvangr is the first group to find two winners.

  10-25/18:39 Hagbard:  Second lead in Fólkvangr: Xerxes and Odinhimself, both 5 pt.

  10-25/00:43 Hagbard:  Second lead in Fólkvangr: Xerxes 5 pt.

  10-24/17:25 xerxes:  Congrats to Casshern

  10-24/12:22 Hagbard:  Second lead in Fólkvangr: Odinhimself, Jrton80 and Xerxes, all 4 pt.

  10-24/08:54 Hagbard:  Second lead in Bilskirnir: Hagbard and Steiger, both 5 pt.

  10-24/00:09 Hagbard:  Casshern finished all games with full house 10 pt.

  10-23/21:42 Hagbard:  Looks like Khan Asparukh qualified for the Final, 7 pt.
Second lead in Fólkvangr: Odinhimself and Jrton80, both 4 pt.

  10-21/00:45 Hagbard:  Round 2 is half finished.

  10-21/00:38 Hagbard:  Lead in Fólkvangr: Khan asparukh 5 pt.

  10-18/21:06 Hagbard:  Lead in Himinbjörg: Bogd khan 3 pt.

  10-18/07:04 Hagbard:  Lead in Fólkvangr: OdinHimself 3 pt.

  10-17/22:24 edmond-dantes:  @Adam:thanks for the reply

  10-17/21:39 Hagbard:  First to finish all games: Hagbard 5 pt.

  10-17/19:48 Hagbard:  Looks like Casshern is first to qualify for the Final, 8 pt.

  10-17/19:43 Adam:  @ Edmond-dantes - I would argue that copying from the archives is not a problem, it's no different from learning strategies in a book about chess. In fact, its essential for the games development. Any given live game will soon enough diverge from a copied game. This is why the Umpire's judgement and discretion is essential. As opposed to the board repetition rule which is in much more competent hands with the computer deciding. This one was spotted by Hagbard around move 17, so the copying was clear. An interesting case, yet another challenge for online tournaments.

  10-17/16:36 Hagbard:  http://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2018-10-15-arkaeologer-finder-spor-af-vikingeskib-i-norge

  10-16/10:50 Brench:  Ok did...

  10-16/10:39 Hagbard:  @Brench: please do a move

  10-16/10:31 Brench:  So that explains how I just won against Olle.  Does one not receive points on a timeout win? I didn’t know that.

  10-16/09:44 edmond-dantes:  I'm sorry, I want to ask how exactly the presence of mirror games is found. My question is purely practical how did it happen, who signaled? Who saw the games before they were graduated? How was the violation noticed?

  10-16/09:32 edmond-dantes:  Correct. If the archive continues to be available in the future, we will increasingly see similar things copied to the strong players. I want to explain this for a long time. In this case, the games are played at the same time, and this is a violation, but if they are copied from the archive, it will remain unnoticed. Many greetings

  10-16/08:08 Adam:  Previous message was speaking as umpire as is this. As Olle has deregistered the games will simply count as losses for Olle as in a timeout. The new rule about parallel move copying still stands of course.

  10-16/08:04 Adam:  The following games

Hagbard / Olle
Olle / Casshern

Olle / Hagbard
Casshern / Olle

Are to be removed and restarted. Foul play is suspected by Olle, with moves being copied across games such that Hagbard and Casshern are effectively playing each other.

Such copying of moves in parallel games is henceforth illegal and will result in immediate disqualification. It will be at the umpires discretion to decide wether it is move copying or coincidence. Umpires decision will be final.

  10-16/06:37 olle:  Deregisters from the World Championship Tournament 2018.

  10-15/10:13 Hagbard:  Lead in Bilskirnir: Casshern 3 pt.

  10-12/20:15 Hagbard:  Most active player: Jrton80 (most moves)

  10-12/16:31 Hagbard:  First finished game: Hagbard / Arevidar

  10-11/17:50 Hagbard:  First move: jrton80

  10-11/17:49 Hagbard:  May Thor grant you strength and courage on your way.

@jrton80: The English sleep an hour longer, but we like to get up early!

  10-11/15:40 jrton80:  For the rest of the Vineland group, just in case you do not know: 18:00 Danish time works out to be Noon EST which make no sense but there it is. Time Zones: As a general rule, are 15 degrees of longitude adjusted for population centers, governmental broader or regional differences but for some reason I have never read about most of Continental Europe is GTM +1 when looking at a map it appears it should be GTM +0 - So tell me guys - Do you really hate the Brits that much that you cannot even share a timezone? (Sorry Hagbard - I know you have heard that joke before)

  10-11/15:25 jrton80:  @mccluskeyp - I do not remember ever saying that in my life.

  10-09/03:48 mccluskeyp:  As we say in the USA it’s on like Donkey Kong

  10-08/19:31 Adam:  Speaking as umpire: Jrton80, Marcin, mccluskeyp, Olle, Arevidar and Brench have qualified for Round 2. Round 2 will start Oct. 11th at 18 o'clock Danish time. Set an alarm!

  10-08/13:28 Hagbard:  One game is left of Round 1: Olle / Brench
If Brench wins or if the game is a draw, Brench would qualify for Round 2.

If Brench loses this game, then Brench and Kratzer both have 4 points.
It then will be necessary to find the Sonneborn-Berger scores which will be:
Brench 16 points
Kratzer 11 points

So no matter how the last game ends, it looks like Brench will qualify for Round 2.
Therefore

To umpire Adam:
Requested that Jrton80, Marcin, mccluskeyp, Olle, Arevidar and Brench qualified for Round 2,
and that Round 2 can start Oct. 11th at 18 o'clock Danish time.

  10-08/12:33 Hagbard:  Looks like Arevidar qualified for Round 2, 8 pt.

  10-07/18:39 Hagbard:  Second lead in Heiðabýr: Brench and Kratzer, both 4 pt.

  10-04/23:24 Hagbard:  Second lead in Vinland: Arevidar 7 pt.

  10-04/08:32 Hagbard:  Second lead in Vinland: Arevidar and Maximus, both 6 pt.

  10-04/07:25 Hagbard:  Attention: When the last two Round 2 players are found, Round 2 can start with three days notice.

  10-03/15:55 Hagbard:  Looks like Olle qualified for Round 2, 6 pt.
Second lead in Heiðabýr: Brench 4 pt.

  10-02/23:07 Hagbard:  Looks like mccluskeyp qualified for Round 2, 4 pt.
First group to finish all games: Gàrðaríki

  10-02/19:45 Hagbard:  Harry sent this link:
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/viking-chess-with-whale-bones/

  10-02/07:43 Hagbard:  Second lead in Gàrðaríki: Mccluskeyp 3 pt.

  10-01/14:48 Hagbard:  Jrton80 finished all games with full house: 10 pt.

  10-01/13:29 Hagbard:  Lead in Heiðabýr: Olle 5 pt.

  10-01/06:01 Hagbard:  Second lead in Gàrðaríki: La-cucaracha and Mccluskeyp, both 2 pt.
Full contents of the small forum.
jul
A Merry Christmas to all tafl players!
Dec. in Tivoli
December in Tivoli, Copenhagen. Photo: Kanalfrederikshavn.
Logo: Adam Bartley.
World Tafl Federation on facebook.

Notice the collection of photos on the Facebook site! Large photo series of handmade tafl sets!
World Tafl Federation Hnefatafl Championship tournament 2018.

Hnefatafl is also known by the names Nefatavl, The King's Table, The Viking Game, Viking Chess, Tablut or simply Tafl.
History of this site.
Comments on Hnefatafl.
The origin of the Viking board game Hnefatafl and the Berserk rules.
Links to more information on the Viking board game Hnefatafl.
Tafl Shops.
Viking word of wisdom: The Hávamál.
(Havámál på dansk).
Здесь можно играть в тавлеи и против компьютера, и против людей. Можно использовать кириллицу.
Many thanks to Adam Bartley ("Adam"), Tim Millar ("crust"), Gregory Binns ("Torc"), John C. Ashton, Nicolas Cartier, Jonas Lööf ("conanlibrarian"), Olli Salmi, Damian Walker ("cyningstan"), Sten Helmfrid, Rene Gralla, Olga Mudrichenko, Gary and Christa (Germany), Ludovic Antoine, Nikolas Lloyd, Jeffrey Westcoat ("Sigurd"), Rasmus Holbroe, Thore Nissen, Lucho Panchev ("OdinHimself"), Alexander Steiger Dis ("Steiger"), Dmitry Pashkov and Delray Curtis ("jrton80") for their contribution to this site. And not least the more than 400 players the world over who played here more than 15000 real tafl games humans against humans and thus created a vast, practical experience with this intriguing, historical board game.
Updated 11.12.2018