This game was played over four months, and ultimately preserved Fritzlein's perfect record in the 2005 Arimaa Postal Championship. Had Omar won this game, he would have tied Fritzlein for first with a 9–1 record. The ultra-slow speed allowed this game to be highly tactical; long-term strategy was still important, but the players had time to work through various sequences and weigh moves that would be risky in a live game.

The gameplay reflects the understanding of Arimaa in 2005. Players later became less keen to drag enemy pieces homeward, as trap attacks proved effective against overly home-oriented play.

Game

• 1g: Omar uses a variation of the 99of9 setup, placing dogs behind his traps and cats back and center. Since a dog behind a trap cannot be pushed aside by an advanced enemy dog, this limits the ways a trap can be attacked, and may even make a dog frame more feasible. A dog might later advance through a trap and be replaced by a rabbit or cat.
• 1s: Fritzlein chooses the classic 99of9 setup, with cats behind the traps. While this leaves his home traps slightly more vulnerable than Omar's, it would also be slightly less costly for Fritzlein to abandon a home trap, as the piece behind the trap is usually the first to go when the opponent takes over.
• 2g: Omar aggressively advances his elephant four squares, threatening to capture a cat or flip the camel.
• 2s: If Fritzlein now advanced his own elephant four squares, he would concede a cat but also threaten a dog. Any such capture would use all four steps and create further threats, so this could begin a race with an unclear outcome; for Omar, capturing first may or may not outweigh the initial loss of a dog for a cat. However, it is currently up to Fritzlein whether to go for such a race, and he declines. Instead, he advances his elephant only one square, and defends both home traps while also moving his camel out of danger.
• 3g: Omar's elephant can't do much where it is now, and could get smothered if it moved to the seventh rank. Omar thus steps his elephant back a square, and uses his other three steps to develop at home. It would have been faster for Syed just to advance his elephant three steps and a horse one step on 2g; this later became the most popular opening move, with the horse advance usually occurring on the side where the elephant advanced.
• 3s: Fritzlein defends c6 and moves his elephant nearer Omar's camel.
• 4g: Omar drags Fritzlein's horse towards the f3 trap. While Fritzlein can easily defend it from capture, Omar hopes this threat will lead to a strategic advantage.
• 4s: Fritzlein decides to free his horse before it can be taken hostage. Fritzlein uses his elephant to unfreeze the horse; he could have advanced the h7 rabbit to h5 and unfrozen the horse that way, but the rabbit would have then been exposed. Another option was to step the g7 cat forward, but Fritzlein preferred to return his horse to g6, which could not have immediately happened had the cat been on that square.
• 5g: Omar likewise frees his horse. So far the opening has been defensive, with each side protecting all non-elephant pieces.
• 5s: Fritzlein decentralizes his elephant to pull a rabbit on the h-file. Later Arimaa theory would frown on this, but in a defensive game it may have seemed logical. Fritzlein could have instead used his elephant to push Omar's e3 horse to d3, thus placing both of Omar's horses in the west, where Fritzlein's camel could have then gone to face them. With no horse in the east, Omar could have been vulnerable there also, and Fritzlein might have gotten strong threats on both wings. Such long-term planning tends to be more effective than rabbit pulling.
• 6g: Omar moves his elephant west to make a bigger threat. Fritzlein can hardly continue hunting a rabbit in the east when his b6 horse and potentially the c6 trap are in jeopardy.
• 6s: Rather than moving his b6 horse and immediately leaving the northwest vulnerable, Fritzlein centralizes his elephant and threatens to flip Omar's e3 horse.
• 7g: To centralize his own elephant, Omar pulls the b6 horse twice rather than flipping it. Omar could have pulled the horse to b4 where it would have been harder to rescue, but preferred to have his elephant as centralized as possible, so as to limit Fritzlein's progress in the east.
• 7s: Fritzlein's elephant gets its horse to safety. Continued pull-and-retreat play would slightly favor Fritzlein, since Omar has a rabbit exposed on h4.
• 8g: In a somewhat more aggressive move, Omar advances a horse to a6. This horse may pull a rabbit, but also threatens to take b6 in a potential trap attack. Note that the horse advanced on the wing away from the enemy camel.
• 8s: Fritzlein could try to bring his camel across to take the a6 horse hostage, but Omar's elephant will not make that easy. Fritzlein could simply take the horse hostage with his elephant, but there is a big difference between a horse-by-elephant hostage and a horse-by-camel hostage. At this stage of the game, threatening a mere horse usually does not justify keeping one's elephant in a corner, as that would leave the defender's camel more free than the horse hostage-holder's camel, which the more centralized defending elephant would gladly capture in exchange for its horse.

  Rather than immediately taking a weak hostage, Fritzlein drags the h4 rabbit further forward, seeing that as a better first threat which might in turn allow for an effective western threat.

• 9g: Omar could use his horse to pull out Fritzlein's a8 rabbit, but Omar doesn't have great prospects in a rabbit-pulling race in which he is already behind. A more forceful option would be an elephant–horse attack on the c6 trap, which Fritzlein's elephant might have to defend against. The threat would be slow to develop, however, and might not make up for a rabbit lost in the meantime.

  Omar instead advances his camel in the east, perhaps intending to use his pulled rabbit to his advantage. An advanced camel is often at risk of being taken hostage, but a supporting flank piece can make this less likely.

• 9s: Seeing Omar's potential for an elephant-camel attack which he has no immediate way to match, Fritzlein moves his elephant east to keep Omar's camel under control. It is often necessary for an elephant to confront the enemy camel, even if that leaves another area vulnerable. Fortunately, Fritzlein's camel can move west and confront Omar's a6 horse. If Omar's elephant then moves west, Fritzlein can capture the rabbit in f6.
• 10g: Omar defends the f6 trap to save his rabbit, placing his elephant on e6 rather than f5. From e6 Omar's elephant exerts influence on the c6 trap as well, and limits Fritzlein in the center.
• 10s: Unable to capture anything in f6 as long as Omar's elephant defends it, Fritzlein moves his camel west to threaten Omar's advanced horse in c6. To maintain his own defense of f6, Fritzlein places a cat behind it and steps his elephant another square east.
• 11g: Omar's horse retreats empty-handed, but his camel advances undaunted, and threatens a capture in f6. Because of Omar's rabbit on h6, Fritzlein can neither freeze the camel in place nor take it hostage on h6. Fritzlein's h-file rabbit pull has perhaps backfired.
• 11s: Fritzlein clears room in his back ranks to push Omar's camel to g7, where it couldn't be unfrozen by Omar's rabbit. Fritzlein's camel inches west, stopping on d6. With Omar's elephant on e6, this does jeopardize Fritzlein's camel, but only if Omar's elephant abandons the f6 trap, where Fritzlein could then capture Omar's camel and rabbit.
• 12g: Omar would have liked to use his camel to pull the f8 rabbit to f7 or the g8 rabbit to g7, because either move would have deprived Fritzlein of a square on which to hold the camel hostage. Unfortunately, either pull would require all four steps, leaving the a5 horse to be taken hostage by Fritzlein's camel. If Omar retreated his camel, his rabbit could be threatened in the east and his horse threatened in the west. Omar thus retreats his exposed horse and steps his camel onto f6, conceding the camel hostage but making it trickier for Fritzlein to set up.
• 12s: Fritzlein secures the camel as a hostage, albeit in a temporarily very awkward position. Before leaving one's elephant on a trap square, one must double- and triple-check that it is safe; since this was a postal game, Fritzlein had plenty of time for that.

  Fritzlein steps his camel west, no longer offering an immediate trade.

• 13g: Omar flips Fritzlein's cat into danger; this flip would not have been possible had Fritzlein continued to occupy d6. While Omar is not likely to free his camel, capturing a cat might compensate for the disadvantage of having his camel held hostage. The position of each elephant is critical. If Omar's elephant moved to f5 and then Fritzlein's elephant moved to the e-file while pulling Omar's camel along, the camel might get forked and then captured outright.
• 13s: If Fritzlein were in the ideal camel hostage position, his eastern horse could now defend f3, preventing any capture therein until Omar's elephant left the northeast and thus gave up its camel. Not yet having the proper hostage-holding position, however, Fritzlein has no time to save his cat.
• 14g, 14s, 15g: Omar captures the cat, and Fritzlein improves his hostage position. While a long-term camel hostage is generally considered to be worth a cat or less, Fritzlein also holds a rabbit hostage, perhaps tipping the scales in his favor.
• 15s: Fritzlein must move his eastern horse, which could otherwise be flipped toward f3 and then potentially captured in two steps, with Omar's elephant returning to f5 in time to preserve its camel. Fritzlein advances the horse, but leaves it on a bad square.
• 16g: Omar abandons his hostage camel to capture this horse. While a camel hostage-holder often does end up trading a horse for the camel, it is best not to make this too easy for the opponent, especially if he is currently ahead in material. Fritzlein's horse could have gone to the h-file or advanced to g2, so that Omar would have needed more than one turn to capture it, thus giving Fritzlein time to capture the rabbit as well as the camel if indeed Omar went after the horse. In other cases, such a head-start might be used to begin or further an attack.
• 16s: Fritzlein will capture the camel; the only question is whether to end the move with his elephant on e6, f5, or g6. If Fritzlein's elephant stayed on g6, Omar might blockade it via a swarm, a much more likely prospect now that Fritzlein's eastern horse is gone. Given also the potential risks to Fritzlein's western pieces, his elephant must finish on e6 or f5. Fritzlein chooses f5, perhaps wanting to protect the eastern flank.

  Omar is now out a camel, but Fritzlein is out a horse and a cat. While this is close to even, tit-for-tat play will now tend to favor Omar, and thus Fritzlein must play to get ahead.

• 17g: Since Fritzlein's elephant chose f5, Omar's elephant takes e6. Eyeing an elephant-horse attack against f6, Omar steps a horse east.
• 17s: Fritzlein threatens the h6 rabbit, which Omar will lose if he abandons the f6 trap.
• 18g: Omar advances his horse, while bringing up other pieces to support it and to defend f3.
• 18s: Fritzlein moves his camel east, to restore balance and stop Omar's advancing horse. However, Fritzlein may have done better simply to counterattack in the west. Even if Omar gets a strong eastern attack, Fritzlein's elephant can prevent any capture in f6, thus leaving enough weak pieces to block goal.
• 19g: Omar proceeds with an elephant–horse attack on f6, advancing a dog to keep the horse mobile. Once again, the h6 rabbit complicates a potential hostage for Fritzlein.
• 19s: Fritzlein's camel moves to take Omar's advanced horse hostage on g7; this would be a double-hostage, as the h6 rabbit would also be threatened.
• 20g: Rather than retreating his eastern horse, Omar pushes Fritzlein's camel west. The camel could still reach g6 on the next turn, but could not take the horse hostage, as g7 is now blocked and the horse would not be frozen on g5. In decentralizing his elephant, however, Omar risks a blockade and gives away time.
• 20s: Fritzlein blockades f6, setting the stage for a full blockade of Omar's elephant if it doesn't move west.
• 21g: Omar retreats his horse, abandoning the attack on f6 but also freeing his elephant to move with no risk to the horse. It would have been faster simply to retreat the horse on 20g.
• 21s: Fritzlein now threatens Omar's dog as well as his rabbit. Moreover, an elephant–camel attack on f3 is now possible.
• 22g: Omar keeps his elephant decentralized in order to pull a rabbit. Given the situation, this is very difficult to justify.
• 22s: Fritzlein now threatens to frame a dog and/or fully blockade Omar's elephant. However, Fritzlein should have added a defender to the c6 trap; it is easy to neglect one area while focused on another.
• 23g: Omar escapes the threatened blockade, and has a one-turn threat to Fritzlein's b6 horse. A horse capture could make up for a dog and rabbit loss in f6.
• 23s: Fritzlein elects to save his one remaining horse, rather than trade it for a dog and rabbit. If Fritzlein had no horse, his camel would be useless, as Omar's elephant could neutralize it at little cost elsewhere; Omar's two horses could likely then dominate the board. When only one camel remains, the advantage may hinge on that camel's friendly horse, which the opponent would love to capture in an exchange.
• 24g: Omar plays the one and only move which centralizes his elephant and saves his f5 dog.
• 24s: Fritzlein could simply capture the h6 rabbit, but would have to end the turn with his camel and/or dog exposed. Fritzlein thus moves his elephant to protect his camel, and pulls the rabbit to g6, setting up a solid rabbit frame even if Omar defends the trap.
• 25g: Omar defends f6 with his elephant, and defends f3 with four pieces, to delay a second threat by Fritzlein. Omar also steps his western horse to the a-file, perhaps preparing to pull a rabbit; while this is not ideal, Omar does not have many ways to create a threat while defending f6.
• 25s: Fritzlein frames the rabbit and thus pins Omar's elephant to its defense. Fritzlein's camel advances, though it may have to stay in the east to block Omar's access to g6.
• 26g: Fearing a camel-held hostage beside f6, Omar moves his eastern horse and dog. However, having one's horse passive in a home corner is not much better than having it held hostage beside an away trap.
• 26s: Fritzlein confidently advances a rabbit to his fourth row, believing that this will only strengthen his eastern position. This rabbit does not threaten goal, as Omar's defense is sufficiently thick at the moment.
• 27g: Omar pulls a rabbit in the west.
• 27s: Fritzlein rotates a dog forward with the idea of freeing his elephant to attack f3. With the enemy camel gone and the friendly camel patrolling the east, the dog can take f5, and a rabbit can hold g6. The framed rabbit couldn't retreat to f5 in any case, but Fritzlein's dog will block Omar from relieving the frame.
• 28g: Omar uses only two steps to pull the a-rabbit, and spends two steps retreating his dog, which he feared could be threatened in c6. However, it is not clear whether Fritzlein can safely move his elephant or camel west, and Fritzlein's horse would leave c6 vulnerable if it came east. Moreover, by retreating his dog Omar gives Fritzlein's elephant a clearer path to e3, from where it could lead an attack on the f3 trap. In hindsight it would perhaps have been better for Omar to keep his dog in place and pull Fritzlein's a-file rabbit twice.
• 28s: Fritzlein attacks the f3 trap. Intending to move his own elephant to e3, Fritzlein advances a rabbit to h4 so that his camel can retreat if Omar's elephant comes to f4. Omar likely cannot avert disaster in f3 unless he brings his elephant south and thus abandons the f6 rabbit. Until that happens, however, that rabbit presents a potentially strong goal threat, as Fritzlein's recent rabbit advances have thinned his eastern defense. For now, Fritzlein's camel must remain on the g-file to ensure that the frame cannot be relieved from the side.
• 29g: Omar blockades f3, but such a defense cannot hold for long. Omar might have done better to immediately move his elephant south, abandoning the framed rabbit but slowing Fritzlein's attack, which Omar's elephant will soon have to defend against anyway.
• 29s: Fritzlein threatens Omar's dog in f3 and cat in c3. Omar would need only one step to defend the cat, but that would leave only three steps to defend the dog. Omar might be tempted to move his d3 cat to f5, conceding his dog but relieving the rabbit frame and thus potentially threatening goal; however, Fritzlein's f4 dog could then flip away and freeze the cat, keeping Omar's elephant pinned to the f6 rabbit.
• 30g: If Omar now brought his elephant to f4, he would face a cat loss in addition to the loss of the f6 rabbit. To avoid any immediate loss, Omar uses rabbits to defend both home traps, creating phalanxes to protect the f2 rabbit and thus preserve the f3 dog.
• 30s: With the dog flip, Fritzlein threatens to clean up in f3. Omar will now have no choice but to give up the rabbit in f6 and defend f3 with his elephant. Fritzlein could have flipped the horse rather than the dog, as this would have advanced the attack just as effectively, and Fritzlein's camel might have soon threatened the horse in f6. In general a camel prefers to attack a horse rather than a dog.
• 31g: Omar must move his elephant to f4; the only question is which square to push Fritzlein's dog onto. Omar chooses to push it to f5 rather than e4, so that it can't immediately participate in an attack on the c3 trap. If Fritzlein got a strong attack in the west, he might be happy to have an elephant deadlock in the east.
• 31s: As Fritzlein planned on 28s, his h4 rabbit allows his camel to retreat. A camel hostage might be fairly weak here, but Fritzlein would rather threaten the dog than have his camel taken hostage.
• 32g: Realizing that an elephant–horse attack on c3 could quickly overload him given his lack of a camel, Omar blocks Fritzlein's horse on the b-file.
• 32s: Fritzlein gets his camel safely away from Omar's elephant, which must now defend f6 to save its dog.
• 33g: Omar defends f6 and shores up the defense of the east corner against any possible goal attack.
• 33s: Fritzlein threatens to frame Omar's dog in f6. Omar must prevent this, as he would have no way to break the frame once it was in place, and Fritzlein's elephant could dominate the board until Omar gave up the framed dog.
• 34g: Omar blocks the frame/capture and retreats his horse in the west.
• 34s: Wanting to retain a long-term threat to the dog, Fritzlein pushes it up to the edge. A buried dog-by-camel hostage is not efficient, but at least Fritzlein's elephant can roam the board and try to create a second threat. Had Fritzlein flipped the horse on 30s and now had a buried horse-by-camel hostage, his position would be stronger, as Omar would now have only one free horse.
• 35g: Omar threatens a rabbit in f3.
• 35s: Fritzlein begins to clear space for an eventual dog-capture threat in f6. He defends his rabbit for the time being, but may soon move his elephant west and create a threat there.
• 36g: Omar frames the rabbit and thus pins Fritzlein's elephant on e3. Omar only threatens a rabbit while Fritzlein threatens a dog, but Omar's threat is more forceful, as Fritzlein's elephant cannot move without instantly losing the rabbit.
• 36s: Fritzlein moves Omar's dog a square closer to the f6 trap. The cat advances to get out of the way and perhaps eventually participate in a swarm of f3, although such a plan would be slow and could leave Fritzlein vulnerable across the board.
• 37g: Omar blocks the cat and rotates forward his horse. His horse and elephant combined present a serious threat to take control of f6.
• 37s: Fritzlein finally establishes a one-turn threat to the dog. He also blocks g5 and thus g6. With rabbits now on g5 and h5, however, Fritzlein may face additional losses in f3 if his elephant is forced to leave.
• 38g: Omar clears the path to g6.
• 38s: Fritzlein re-establishes the g-file blockade, but a dog frame is now unlikely. Fritzlein moves his horse east, perhaps hoping that it can take the dog hostage and thus free the camel to create a threat elsewhere, but Omar's elephant could disrupt this slow plan.
• 39g: Not wanting Fritzlein to advance a rabbit any further in the east, Omar advances rabbits to h3 and g2. In the west, Omar advances a horse and cat one square each, preparing to pull the a5 rabbit or attack the c6 trap while still defending c3. He could have advanced the horse further, but didn't want to tempt Fritzlein's pinned elephant to move.
• 39s: Realizing that it is urgent to create a second threat before Omar gets something going, Fritzlein leaves his camel in the corner and advances his horse three squares, aiming to either attack c3 or dig his rabbit out of f3.
• 40g: Omar misses a chance to put pressure on Fritzlein, who is now highly vulnerable in the northwest. Rather than attacking c6 and starting a potential goal race, Omar goes after Fritzlein's horse.
• 40s: Fritzlein gets his horse onto Omar's home rank, and might soon dig out the f3 rabbit from behind and create a goal threat. The horse was able to escape because it took only three steps on 39s; had it advanced to d2 on that turn, it could have then been frozen in place and threatened with one-turn capture.
• 41g: Omar must concede his dog in the northeast, as his elephant cannot return there now that Fritzlein is moving toward a goal threat. Omar therefore launches the attack on c6 that he could have begun a turn earlier; had Omar started this attack on 40g, Fritzlein would have been hard-pressed to capture the dog and also burrow his horse.
• 41s: Fritzlein decides to snatch the dog. He will now lose two rabbits, but could not have saved both.
• 42g: Omar captures a rabbit and advances his rabbit one step, moving quickly toward a goal on the c-file. Fritzlein is very weak in the west, and would only lose more pieces if he tried to block the goal on the back ranks.
• 42s: Fritzlein is forced to defend with his elephant, giving up the f3 rabbit and thus a potential goal threat of his own. Fritzlein now faces no imminent threat, but may still be vulnerable to goal attack in the west.
• 43g: Omar shores up his defense of c3, and prevents his horse from being taken hostage beside c6 unless Fritzlein immediately gives up a rabbit. Omar does not want his elephant to get stuck defending anything, as Fritzlein appears able to get two material threats if he gets one.

  Omar should no longer be playing a material game, however. Fritzlein now has the stronger army, but Omar has seven remaining rabbits to Fritzlein's six, and might thus make headway via goal threats. Had Omar advanced a rabbit or two in the west, Fritzlein would have been on defense at home.

• 43s: Fritzlein places a dog on c7, blocking a potential c-file goal even if his elephant goes to b6. He also inches his camel forward in the east.
• 44g: Omar's horse retreats and threatens a rabbit. However, Fritzlein's horse can defend c3 from behind. Unless a capture can be quickly forced, bringing an enemy rabbit homeward is rarely a good move on a depleted board.
• 44s: Fritzlein defends c3 from behind. Rather than placing his elephant on c4 and going for an immediate attack on the trap, Fritzlein steps his elephant east and thus impedes Omar's elephant's path to the southwest. Fritzlein may want his own elephant to occupy d3 rather than c4. By stepping his elephant to the d-file, however, Fritzlein gives Omar greater prospects for a western goal.
• 45g: Omar finally advances a rabbit past the third rank.
• 45s: Fritzlein wants to move his camel to g5, but this would require four steps; if Fritzlein does not spare a step to block the c4 rabbit, Omar can advance that rabbit onto c6 and a dog onto c4. With plenty of time to think, Fritzlein calculates that he can ward off such a goal attack, and thus uses all four steps to slide pieces in the northeast.
• 46g: Facing no immediate threat in the east, Omar presses his goal attack in the west.
• 46s: Fritzlein steps his elephant back to c5; he cannot get a solid frame in c6, but his elephant must defend goal. Fritzlein uses his other three steps to threaten Omar's eastern horse.
• 47g: Omar's western horse relieves the frame in an irreversible manner, as Fritzlein's rabbit could never step back to b6. The c6 rabbit is now a strong goal threat.
• 47s: This will not be a long-term hostage, but it does limit the rabbit's movement.
• 48g: Omar creates a one-turn goal threat, which will force Fritzlein's elephant to d6.
• 48s: Fritzlein neutralizes the goal threat, vindicating his 45s. Fritzlein himself now has a formidable goal threat in the southwest.
• 49g: Omar defends c3, and tries to reopen a goal path for his own rabbit.
• 49s: Fritzlein threatens Omar's b6 horse and d5 rabbit.
• 50g: Rather than defend or delay, Omar offers a horse exchange. Every even trade diminishes the influence of Fritzlein's camel and increases the importance of Omar's extra rabbit. However, Omar may soon have to scramble to save his other horse in the east.
• 50s: Fritzlein has little choice but to accept the offered trade, as he can't defend his own horse without giving up a dog in c6.
• 51g: Perhaps seeing little difference between a horse and a dog at this juncture, Omar now offers his other horse for Fritzlein's western dog. The b4 and d5 rabbits may also be exchanged.
• 51s: Fritzlein could save his dog and rabbit, but sees no point in doing so.
• 52g: Preferring to keep his elephant on c4 and remain strong in the west, Omar uses a flip to capture the dog.
• 52s: Fritzlein captures the rabbit before the horse, since Omar's horse cannot be rescued on the next turn, whereas the rabbit could have become a goal threat. Putting the elephant on c5 rather than d6 lends extra defense to Fritzlein's depleted west wing.
• 53g: Omar's b3 cat captures to c2 so that Omar's elephant can leave without hanging the cat. Considering that Fritzlein's western defense was quite thin, Omar might have done better to flip the rabbit into the trap and thus keep his cat and elephant positioned to support an a-file rabbit advance.
• 53s: Fritzlein completes the exchange and moves his elephant to d4, keeping Omar's dog in the east. Fritzlein is again vulnerable in the west, but not as vulnerable as he would have been had Omar's cat stayed on the b-file; had Omar kept his cat in place, Fritzlein would have had to keep his elephant on defense.
• 54g: Lacking any effective material threat, Omar threatens goal.
• 54s: Fritzlein defends in the most efficient manner possible, keeping his elephant and camel free.
• 55g: Omar freezes Fritzlein's dog, which Fritzlein would now need three steps to unfreeze; on the fourth step, Fritzlein could not safely move the dog, as that would allow for a capture in c6.
• 55s: Fritzlein brings his cat to e6 to prevent his dog from being pushed east. Fritzlein's eastern goal defense is becoming thin, but his elephant and camel are well-positioned.
• 56g: Omar takes d6 and d3. At this point, a rabbit on d3 might do more to stop an enemy goal than would a rabbit on d1.
• 56s: Fritzlein moves his dog through the c6 trap, blocking Omar's goal path and threatening an attack on c3.
• 57g: Omar could push Fritzlein's dog to c6, keeping it out of the southwest. Instead, Omar moves his elephant east to face Fritzlein's camel. This is a strategic mistake, as Fritzlein can now control the west and still defend in the east. At this stage there is little difference between a camel and dog, and piece alignment is less important than goal threats.
• 57s: Alert to the risks in both f6 and f3, Fritzlein moves his camel east. His elephant takes d3, blocking Omar's dog. Fritzlein is now well-balanced, with his dog and camel active on opposite wings and his elephant in the middle. Omar is poorly balanced, and must quickly defend in the west.
• 58g: Omar temporarily defends c3, but leaves it vulnerable.
• 58s: Fritzlein controls the entire board; his dog can now dominate the west, his cat defends f6 from behind, and his camel is supported by rabbits in the east. Short of a tactical mistake by Fritzlein, Omar now has very little hope.
• 59g: Omar hopes to sneak a rabbit to goal. Fritzlein could now capture the c4 rabbit, but then Omar could capture Fritzlein's camel and try to get something going in the east. Even after losing his camel, Fritzlein could defend in the east and attack in the west; this is no longer a material game.
• 59s: Fritzlein preserves his camel, but leaves Omar the option of taking it hostage. In that case, Fritzlein's dog could capture Omar's c4 rabbit and then create further threats in the west. For Omar, holding the camel hostage might not be worth having his elephant in the southeastern corner. The strength of a hostage further depends on what the defending elephant can do; a hostage defender might leave at any time in pursuit of some other prize. Usually that other prize is a horse at best, i.e. something worth less than the camel which would be lost. In an endgame, however, a camel can be abandoned in pursuit of a goal, which is obviously worth more.
• 60g: Omar declines to take the hostage, and instead moves his elephant west. Fritzlein's rabbit advance to e4 costs Omar a step here.
• 60s to end: Fritzlein's win is now a matter of patience and technique. He has time to calculate variations exactly to be sure that his goal threats will always land home one move sooner than Omar's, so Omar must always defend rather than race. At this point, Omar can only delay Fritzlein and hope for a mistake.

  On move 63g Fritzlein's dog is only optically threatened, as Omar must use three steps to stop a two-turn forced goal in the east. On 64g, Omar's elephant is forced to its home rank so that Fritzlein's camel can be surrounded. Fritzlein then threatens goal in the west, and Omar decides to go down shooting.

In the end the stronger pieces prevailed over the more numerous pieces, but this could have gone either way. By some estimations, Fritzlein held a continuous advantage after 21g, but it is not certain that he would have defended adequately had Omar better pressed him in the west.