Well, let me give you an update for gandalph vs sparhawk.
We did meet very early in the game, losing ships on both sides.
I had some missiles on my ships that got some ship of gandalph, but very soon gandalph had researched point defence weapons and I lost some ships.
He started very early with spreading mines through some keys point. But I was luckily in time to occupy some strategic warp point. I think that we are now at the point that colony ships/mine layer ship are leaving the ship yards fast to spread throught the galaxy.
Its now turn 4.7 and things are starting to be fixed. Minefields are placed and a concentration point of two fleets are fixed to one system. Gandalph with some planets there and me on a warp point. Hopefully he gives me some time to build-up my forces
Sparhawk