Alan Alsop: 7/4*, 4/3*.
Bit of a mess . Blue is doubled and has threats coming from all angles. Blue must keep his two back men together while he sorts out the problem. The bar point area is first order of business. Making the bar or the 5 point has merit, but this still keeps White too many options for my liking. I like the double hit here because it keeps two of Whites men in the air stopping White from doing what it likes.

Chuck Bower: 7/4*, 4/3*.
Another position where Blue's roll forces oodles of shots, no matterhow it's played. Fewest shots are 19 after 9/6, 8/7, but this allows many of Blue's misses to build his 5-, 7-, or 9-point. 7/4*/3* leaves20 shots, but keeps White off balance. In general: when desperate, hit.

Malcolm Davis: 7/4*, 4/3*.
I'm in a lot of trouble here. All plays look pretty bak to me. Trust this one is theleast of the evils. I have gained greatly if I get away with it, and I am in bad shape anyway.

Doug Doub: 7/4*, 4/3*.
Five blots strung all over the place, and White is also threatening tomake a VERY good point on his side of the board. Strangely, it seems thatthe best way to protect our blots and stop White from improving is not topick up any of them.
Good things can happen when your opponent is on the bar. Sixteen rollsdon't hit us at all, and seven of those bring in at most one man. Thiscould get REALLY ugly if we get hit and then fan, but we need to beoptimistic here. Hitting two men give us the best chance to turn thingsaround now. If we allow White to make another strong offensive point,things would be extremely difficult for us.

George Klitsas: 7/4*, 4/3*.
What else? 7/4*/3* looks clear, if one thinks about the alternatives. Anything else would permit White to build routinely his blockade, not only in his next roll, but, in the subsequent ones as well.

Rob Maier: 7/4*, 4/3*.
Ugly, but Blue has already butchered the position. All that's left is to try for the lucky blitz that will leave White steaming for hours.

Snowie: 7/4*, 4/3*.
I can't play safe, and I'm not going to sit back and let White have hisentire roll. The double-hit is ugly, but maybe something good will happen.If I make a more passive play, only bad things can happen.

Bob Stringer: 7/4*, 4/3*.
I admit it. I don't have a clue. Not a clue. So I'm lashing out andpreventing White from doing something good on his side of the board.At least he can't double me.

Kit Woolsey: 9/6, 8/7.
I can't see mixing it up with a double-hit and leaving a lot of blots andshots when White has the stronger board. My play locks up an asset and isreasonably safe. White doesn't have to roll a good number next turn.

Chris Yep: 7/4*, 4/3*.
13/9, 13/10 8/7, and 11/7 give White a double direct shot *plus* building options. I don't like any of those moves. 9/6 8/7 at least makes the bar point and duplicates some of the hitting 1s. However it still is too passive and gives White too many options in my opinion. I like 7/4*/3*. It leaves two inner board blots, but that's probably okay. White has a 2 point board and Blue at least has an anchor, so Blue should be able to just re-circulate any checkers that are hit. In fact Blue likely will be hit, possibly more than once. However, the double-hit stops White's building aspirations in their tracks and gives Blue breathing room to try to consolidate his position. With some luck Blue might even be able to try a blitz (note further that White has two outfield blots).

Summary: I seem to have been outvoted. While I can't believe that mybuilding play is all that bad, I think I underestimated the value of thedouble-hit. I now agree that it is superior.

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Problem #8    Play             Votes   Score7/4*, 4/3*         9      1009/6, 8/7           1       6013/9               0       4013/10, 8/7         0       40 11/7               0       40