| 117 101 |                        | White money game Blue |
Problem #4 Play Votes Score23/22, 12/10 11 10012/10, 2/1 0 4012/11*, 11/9 0 40
Chuck Bower: 23/22, 12/10.
Over the table I'm sure I would play 23/22, 12/10. Blue is dead without getting his backcheckers out. Well, not quite, since he owns the cube, buthe still needs to get one out. Here's the ace that gets Blueto the edge. The other candidates are merely distractions, inmy simple view, anyway.
Neil Kazaross: 23/22, 12/10.
Nice problem !! I feel that we really need to split 23-22 here so there'sno choice but to play 23-22 12-10. I fear we'll just break too often if we hit with 12-11.
George Klitsas: 23/22, 12/10.
It's much more important to prepare to escape (23/22) than hitting a second checker now (12/11*), so 12/11*/9 is by far the worst play. Between the other two alternatives, I give my vote to 23/22 12/10, trying to win and not to avoid losing. Seemingly, it's out of the question that Blue might lose a gammon if he ends up in a two point game. For them who firmly believe that, I suggest to have a look again in Kit's excellent article in last month's issue, having in mind that in that case and in all probability, Blue's board will be a crushed one.
Laila Leonhardt: 23/22, 12/10.
Escape is only way for Blue to win this game. And there is no escape if youare not at the edge of a prime.Many time you will be faced with the decision Hit or Move up to the edge ofthe prime and each time the correct decision should reveal itself to youjust by trying to look ahead a few rolls.
Snowie: 23/22, 12/10.
Much as I would like to complete the closeout, the problem of escapingmy back me would prove to be too difficult. I simply must use that aceto advance to the edge of his prime and hope he is unable to enter.
Marty Storer: 23/22, 12/10.
If Blue is going to win this game, he'll have to escape.Closing the board now won't get anywhere close to a claimunless Blue rolls 16 or 11 next; if he fails to roll a 1very soon, he'll be in big trouble. Hitting on the 11point is the worst of both worlds, neither closing theboard nor moving to the edge of White's five-prime. Ithink Blue should take this opportunity to start gettingaway. If White stays out, Blue's prospects look a lotbetter than they do after 12/10 2/1. Having come to theedge of White's prime, Blue can afford to close his boardwith a 1 next time. The problem comes when White hits,but even then Blue may re-anchor and fight on.
Bob Stringer: 23/22, 12/10.
Tense moment. Those two back men absolutely have to get out ofthere, and waiting for double 1's is asking for a miracle. Bitethe bullet and split, so one man can jump out with a 6. 21/11*looks the worst, because it gives White all the time in the worldto maintain his prime while mine crunches.
Casper van der Tak: 23/22, 12/10.
Scary, but Blue must prepare to escape with 6s. If Blue does not split, he has very little time to roll two 1s and two 6s. 2/1 12/10 is remotely attractive, since it prevents hit from hitting on the ace; 12/11*/9 should be pretty bad, since Blue will need to rolls 2 1s and 2 6s very quickly while White is not hitting for a few rolls.
Kit Woolsey: 23/22, 12/10.
Escaping is an absolute priority. If I don't move up now, I will have toroll very well to get out. I would rather bet that White is unable toroll an ace next turn than bet that I will roll an ace next turn.
Chris Yep: 23/22, 12/10.
Between 23/22 and 2/1, 23/22 appears to be the more useful ace. Blue desperately needs to escape a checker to avoid crashing, while 69% of the time White will stay on the bar (Blue will then have 1s to make the closed board that he passed up last turn, 6s to escape a checker, and most other numbers to point-shift to make a 5-point board with no blots). Between 23/22 12/10 and 12/11* 11/9, I also prefer 23/22 12/10 (though I'd love to see a more rigorous analysis). My instinct says that Blue is in too much danger of crashing after 12/11*/9 including the ugly 6-5, 6-4, and 6-3 which immediately expose 2 inner board blots. Thus I like 23/22 12/10.
Summary: The unanimous vote of the panel made it clear that the number one priorityis escaping a back checker. The panel knows that aces don't grow on trees.