05/23/2013: Pointer to "Jump Point Search Explained" Page
http://zerowidth.com/2013/05/05/jump-point-search-explained.html - This explanation is very well done.
05/14/2013: Understanding Markov Networks
http://izbicki.me/blog/markov-networks-monoids-and-futurama - I just found a very readable introduction to Markov networks. Don't be scared by the Haskell code, the concepts are all well-explained.