| 163 146 |                          | White money game Blue |
Problem #5 Play Votes Score8/7, 6/1* 5 10020/14 3 808/3, 6/5 1 606/5, 6/1* 1 6013/8, 6/5 0 40 8/2 0 40
Chuck Bower: 6/5, 6/1*.
The race lead argues for a conservative play. That would be 8/2, leaving only 11 shots. White's blot on the 4-point points toward an agressive play. There are several of those. Although there is temptation to run 20/14,with the anchor, White has a green light to hit with reckless abandon.Conceding assets so early just doesn't seem right.
With Blue's own advanced anchor combined with White's homeboard blot, this looks like a good opportunity to go after some offense.Purest is 8/3, 6/5, but that gives White 27 shots. 8/7, 6/1* leaves ONLY20 returns. 6/5, 6/1*, with its duplication of 1's leaves 22 shots.Both hitting plays gain tempo and try to push White's back checker forward.Starting the 5-point seems to be worth a couple extra shots, so I'm goingwith 6/5, 6/1*.
Malcolm Davis: 20/14.
Seems clear. Big racing lead argues for running, and the dueces are duplicated.
Doug Doub: 8/3, 6/5.
Our biggest asset is our anchor on the 5pt. We also have a useful racinglead, and the 9pt is nice too. Something has to give here. We could runoff the anchor, not really gaining much if missed. We could hit on the acepoint and start the bar pt or 5pt (i prefer the bar point for fewer shots).We could play as safe as possible with 8-2, or we could start two goodpoints while unstacking.
I think that our anchor, and the fact that 2's and 4's are duplicated asthe numbers needed both to hit from the 24pt and to cover White's 4pt tipsthe scales in favor of giving the shots this turn. I think that this is anillustration of just putting your men where they belong and not worryingabout it.
George Klitsas: 8/7, 6/1*.
Maybe 20/14 is not only thematic, being 23 pips ahead after moving, but, objectively, the best move. Still, somehow I wouldn't feel comfortable on the table with this move after picking up my dice, so I will vote for 8/7 6/1*, the move I am sure I would make on the table. My plan would be to make my bar point, which would be a big improvement in this inflexible position.
Rob Maier: 20/14.
Looks like it's time to go. What else is there to say?
Snowie: 8/7, 6/1*.
I'm not giving up my anchor yet -- that would be too committal. Thetallest stacks are on my six and eight points, so my play is the naturaldeveloping play. If I am hit back, I will probably have a shot atWhite's blot on the four point. If I am missed, I will have a goodshot at making my bar point.
Bob Stringer: 8/7, 6/1*.
Another 6/1*. I hate playing 6/1*. But I'm certainly not going tobreak the midpoint, and it feels premature to break the anchor when Idon't have any board at all. So in addition to leaving a blotregardless of what I do, this means I'm playing entirely on my side ofthe board. 8/2 is the "safest," but it's so ... nothing. 8/2 leavesWhite with a free hand, whereas 6/1* makes his 6's bad. So, what goeswith 6/1*? 8/7 and 6/5 both give me the same number of builders, and6/5 also threatens to make my "best" point, but I prefer 8/7 becauseWhite can hit it only if he rolls a 7 or chooses to break his anchor.Also, since White already has the 4 point, the 5 point doesn't lookthat much stronger than the 7 point anyway -- and maybe it's better tomake the 7 point here. I'm not sure about that last point, and will beinterested in hearing what the rest of the panel say.
Kit Woolsey: 20/14.
When ahead in the race, race. White has no board, so this looks like anideal time to run. If I delay, getting off the anchor may be more difficultlater on. In addition, all other plays have serious drawbacks.
Chris Yep: 8/7, 6/1*.
Blue is up 23 or 24 pips post-roll, but is forced to leave at least one direct shot. I don't like 8/2. If Blue is going to dump a checker deep into his inner board, then he might as well hit White off his ace point; with a big race lead, Blue wants to minimize contact if he can do so conveniently. 6/5 6/1* is a possibility since it at least slots one of the points Blue wants to make, but it leaves 2 blots as well as leaves only 3 checkers on Blue's 6 point. 8/3 6/5 is probably also too loose; while it has the advantage of slotting two key points, as well as leaving a smooth distribution, it has the disadvantage of not hitting White off Blue's ace point; thus it's probably not any better than 6/5 6/1*. 20/14 is usually the wrong idea, since one usually shouldn't even consider running off an anchor with one checker if his front position is awkward or disjointed (i.e. if one makes a run for it, he wants to have a very good chance of coming home safely if his remaining back checker surives a possible attack). Only because the alternatives are so weak (in fact 5-1 is one of Blue's worst rolls) does 20/14 even become a viable candidate. However, even here I still believe Blue should not break his anchor. I prefer 8/7 6/1* which hits White off Blue's ace point, slots an important point, and only leaves one direct shot. If the bar point slot if missed, Blue has a good chance at making a solid 4-prime against 3 White checkers, giving him solid winning chances.
Summary: The popular idea is to take advantage of White's weak boardand continue to develop, holding the anchor in reserve. This does makesense, but running still looks more thematic to me.