New game - Jade

[Cameron Browne <cameronb@optusnet.com.au>]

A new game Jade has been added to the server. This is a hexagonal 
connection game by Mark Thompson with an intriguing twist.

All challenges welcome.

jade challenge <you> camb
jade challenge camb <you>

>Rules
>
>    Two players, Cross and Parallel, take turns placing either an 'x' or
>    an 'o' at a vacant board point. Cross wins by connecting all four
>    sides with either a chain of 'x's or a chain of 'o's. Parallel wins by
>    connecting either the top and bottom or left and right sides with both
>    a chain of 'x's and a chain of 'o's. Draws are not possible.
>
>    Jade looks like just another Hex variant until you've made a few
>    moves, work out what's really going on, and your brain has a hernia.
>
>Example Games
>
>    A number of completed 7x7 games are shown by way of example.
>
>         . . . x . . .       . . . . . . o
>          . . x . o o o       . . . . . o .
>           . . x o x x x       . . . . o . .
>            . o x x o o .       . . . o . . .
>             . x o x x . .       . . o . . . .
>              x o o o x . .       . o . . . . .
>               . . . . x . .       o . . . . . .
>
>                Cross wins          Cross wins
>
>         . . . . . . .       o . . . . . x
>          . . . . . . .       o . . . . x .
>           . . . . . . .       o . . . x . .
>            o o o o o o o       o . . x . . .
>             . . . . . . .       o . x . . . .
>              x x x x x x x       o x . . . . .
>               . . . . . . .       o x . . . . .
>
>                Parallel wins       Parallel wins
>Syntax
>
>Cross moves first. The move syntax is:
>
>     F6o     Place an 'o' piece at coordinate F6, which must be empty.
>     A4x     Place an 'x' piece at coordinate A4, which must be empty.
>
>References and History
>
>    Jade was invented by Mark Thompson in 2002. If he wasn't such a nice
>    guy I'd describe it as the product of a brilliant but twisted mind.
>
>    Odd board sizes are preferred as a winning strategy for even sized
>    boards has been proposed. Cross plays first as this is believed to
>    reduce any advantage(!). Cross, playing second, could ensure that the
>    first two pieces are of the same type, putting them in a strong
>    position.