| 158 161 |                         | White money game Blue |
Problem #8 Play Votes Score13/9* 5 1008/5, 6/5 3 8024/21, 22/21 1 6024/21, 6/5 0 40
Chuck Bower: 13/9*.
White has few builders in place meaning anchoring up isn'tnecessary. Making the 5-point is strong, but hitting givesBlue the race lead with little downside. Short of rollingdoubles White will have to wait at least another roll tomake any improvements.
George Klitsas: 8/5, 6/5.
The five point is the five point. Although close, I think that 8/5 6/5 is better than 13/9*, my second choice. White has consolidating problems with rolls like 65, 54, 51, 43, 41. Even rolls making a good point, like 61,42,31 leave a double shot for Blue on the blot left on the 9 point.
Snowie: 13/9*.
Backgammon is a race. I gain by hitting and sending White back ninepips, as well as bringing in a builder to help make a new point.If I don't hit White gets away, and I have to deal with a straightmutual holding game and an even race. I want to be the one ahead inthat race.
Marty Storer: 13/9*.
Second choice is the 5 point, hoping to hit something nexttime. The 21 point is also strong. But why not hit and set White back9 pips? Blue shouldn't fear being hit with White's break-the-18 numbers.To hit is ancient conditioning and if it's wrong I have to reexaminesome basics.
Bob Stringer: 8/5, 6/5.
It's been rumored that the 5 point is the 5 point, and so it ishere - make it now and that's a big asset under my belt. 13/9* istoo automatic - I don't have anything to back it up. MakingWhite's 4 point can wait; it reduces my gammon risk, but it alsoreduces my outfield coverage at a time when White could be leavingsome shots. As for 24/21, 6/5: that accomplishes only half of what8/5, 6/5 does.
Casper van der Tak: 13/9*.
Backgammon is a race, and the hit is the only way to gain a lead in the race, so hit, also noting that most of White's returns break the bar anchor. 8/5 6/5, playing for structure and preparing for later hits looks like a close second.
Kit Woolsey: 8/5, 6/5.
Hitting just doesn't gain much since I have no board. Making the 21 pointgives me a solid defense, but I believe I can do better. White's positionis stacked, and he has a loose blot right now. By building the five pointI prepare for the day when I hit a shot. There is little risk in takingthis approach, as White has no board and no builders.
Chris Yep: 13/9*.
24/21 6/5 is a waste of time. Since 24/21 is only a small improvement on the defensive side of the board, 24/21 6/5 must be worse than 8/5 6/5, which makes a big offensive improvement. Making the 5 point this turn is valuable since Blue often has hitting chances next turn. 24/21 22/21 is a solid move, making an advanced anchor. However the back men are fine where they are. By staying split, Blue makes it more difficult for White to safety his blot and bring down builders from the midpoint. Since White only has 8 checkers in the attack zone, Blue does not have an urgent need to make an advanced anchor. I believe Blue makes the most gains by working on his offense. Therefore, in my opinion the top two moves are 13/9* and 8/5 6/5. Hitting on the 9 point instead of 8/5 6/5 is often right with an early 3-1. For example after an opening 6-2 (played 24/16 instead of the more conventional 24/18 13/11), if the second player rolls 3-1, 13/9* is better than 8/5 6/5 by a small amount. If we consider the actual position, there are 3 differences from the opening position (after 24/16 is played). (1) White has an advanced anchor. This doesn't seem to swing the choice toward either move. (2) Blue has split back men. This swings the choice toward 8/5 6/5, since White will find it more difficult to safety the blot next turn. (3) Blue has an almost-stripped midpoint, but has made the 11 point. Now 13/9* strips the midpoint. (13/9* in the opening position also removes a midpoint spare, however the difference between 3 spares and 2 spares is smaller than the difference between 1 spare and 0 spares.) On the other hand, Blue has more checkers in the attack zone, which is a more important factor in my opinion. Thus I think the net effect of (3) is to swing it toward 13/9*. Overall then, (2) swings it toward 8/5 6/5 while (3) swings it toward 13/9*. Final result: 13/9* is still best by a small amount if my assumptions are right.
Summary: The majority of the panel went for the hit in this interestingproblem. I can see the merits, but it still isn't clear to me that Bluewill gain that much from hitting when he has no board.