sol6022m.htm | Gammonline - Backgammon Resources

Alan Alsop: 24/21, 13/8.
What a lot of blots for Blue to consider. Blue needs to gather his men and bring them home and block White out. White has a poor board and very little strength to his game. Combined with the man on the bar this gives Blue full licence to be very aggressive. Apart from the joker of double 2's and to a lesser extent double 4's White has virtually little to chance of entering next throw and not leave another blot. Blue also needs to be in a good position to attack White on all fronts and achieve his objectives. The above move I think achieves this aim.

Chuck Bower: 24/21, 13/8.
Is this a "midpoint: love itor leave it" problem? Well, I'm leavin'. The 8-point is goodfor blocking or attacking the 2-point (if White enters there),for blocking the 4-point, and as a safe landing place. Maybe Bluecan remake the midpoint later. 24/21 (the 'obvious' three) is my other half. I'm going with my over-the-board instincts. Please score me 60 points and let's move on.

Neil Kazaross: 24/21, 13/8.
We are well ahead and simply want to come home. I quickly play24-21,13-8 hoping to close our bar next and have a nice structure to roll home with.

George Klitsas: 24/21, 13/8.
Blue should minimize the number of his blots, in order to avoid a catastrophe, in case that he is hit and dances. Blue must not lift any of his blots on his 7 and 8 point , because he will need a four prime as a landing area for his checkers, when struggling to bring his position home later on. It would be nice to retain his midpoint, with a play like 21/13. I think it's close, but I prefer making immediately the 8 point and secure an anchor on the 21 point (24/21 13/8) - with one fewer blot in comparison with 21/13.

Laila Leonhardt: 21/16, 17/14.
Blue's main purpose is to get checkers home and win the game, and the lesscontact he can have with White the better he likes it.Duplicating the 2 and 4's with the numbers White needs to exit from the barlooks like the prettier choice for the cleanest 'homecoming'

Snowie: 21/13.
We have a respite with White on the bar, and I should use it tostrengthen my outfield control. 21/13 is the play which does this.White's various return shots aren't a big deal here.

Marty Storer: 24/21, 13/8.
The 8 point is valuable; making the 21 protects againstimmediate 22, and provides long-term value if Whitecomes in safely or hits. If White hits, Blue has manyreturn shots. In any event he has good chances to makethe very useful 7 point or remake the midpoint. Withthis play, all of Blue's checkers are connected, he hasgood coverage of the outer boards and his 2 point, andhe makes good progress in his forward movement.

Bob Stringer: 21/13.
The only point that can be made here is the 21, but I'm so farahead in the race that the value of that anchor is debatable.There are a lot of blots to clean up, and so I can't see moving upthe checker on the 24; it's safe back there while other points arecleaned up. At the same time, since I have a stronger board andWhite has a man on the bar, cleaning up two blots this turn isn'turgent, so I'll play with an eye to making assets. I'd like tomake the 7 or 8 point, so those blots stay there. I like 21/13because it picks up one blot and brings a man in range to make oneof those points while maintaining the midpoint.

Casper van der Tak: 24/21, 13/8.
I see nothing really deep in this position. Got the move the back checkers up, so 24/21; eliminates two blots, and provides a measure of security should White enter (and especially should White hit). Then 13/8 - a useful landing point.

Kit Woolsey: 24/21, 13/8.
With White stuck on the bar, this looks like the time to make as manygood points as I can. The 21 point and the eight point certainly qualify.I'm not too concerned about giving up the midpoint or leaving a few returnshots right now, since White can't do too much damage in any event.

Chris Yep: 24/21, 13/8.
Blue has a large race lead and a stronger board. At the same time White has the 21-point anchor, so a gammon is unlikely. Blue's task is simply to come home safely. 24/21 13/8 minimizes blots (3 blots compared to 4-5 blots after the other plays), creates a good landing point (the 8 point), and is the only move (except 21/18 13/8, which leaves 5 blots) which keeps all checkers connected. Connectivity is valuable since if White hits from the bar, Blue will always have return shots, which themselves are valuable since Blue has a 4-point board. Moving up (24/21) does relieve some of the pressure on White (compared to 21/13 for example, another serious contender which leaves 4 blots but adds a spare to the midpoint and keeps a checker on the 24). A checker on 24 prevents (or at least discourages) White from dumping checkers to his low points. On closer inspection however, it doesn't gain much. White only has 2 spares on his 6, while he has a heavily stacked midpoint. Thus unstacking from the 6 point instead of the midpoint significantly weakens White's position. Furthermore the 4s and 5s which allow White to dump from his 6 point are already good for White. White has good 5s from the midpoint and good 4s from the bar or from the 21 if he enters there. Thus 24/21 does not hurt much from this standpoint and I believe the other features of 24/21 13/8 (mainly keeping connectivity and reducing blots) are the overriding factors in this position.

Summary: Moves which do good things on two sides of the board are seldom far wrong.The panel followed this theme, which looks quite reasonable here.