Alan Alsop: 24/21, 20/15.
This is a move for the back men. Neither side is in a great position. Playing the above move covers Whites movement and duplicates his good numbers.

Chuck Bower: 10/5, 8/5.
When no candidate is appealing, grab the diamond.

George Klitsas: 10/5, 8/5.
Bringing two down looks nice, but has the long term disadvantage of losing the midpoint and isolating the back checkers. Making the five point [10/5 8/5] can�t be bad in a vast number of early positions, and this one is not an exception, I think. That�s my choice. My second choice would be to take off half of White�s roll (not with the wide open 24/21 6/1*, but with the more safe 10/7 6/1*).

Snowie: 24/21, 20/15.
My offense is fine as it is. Outfield control and fluidity are where Ineed to do my work. My play communicates all of my checkers andduplicates a lot of White's numbers.

Marty Storer: 10/5, 8/5.
Whatever Blue does besides vacate themidpoint, White has plenty of good hitting numbers; Bluestill needs the midpoint, so he may as well get somethingin return for the direct shot. The 5 point is valuable,and even if White hits he may leave many returns. Thoughthe race is close, Blue has more checkers back, so boldnessought to be a virtue.

Bob Stringer: 24/21, 6/1*.
Man. None of these plays looks especially tasty. 13/10, 13/8 and 10/5,8/5 are the only two plays that make points and both are pretty dismal- it's too early to consider vacating the midpoint, and making the 5point has the big downside of leaving a direct shot. Since I can'tmake any productive points, what can I do to increase the chance of animprovement on my next roll? 24/21, 6/1* looks like it does the trick- hitting makes White use one of his dice to re-enter, and that makesit less dangerous for me to advance to the 21 point. Also, it's hardto see how, barring doubles, White's going to be able to do anythingproductive with his next roll. And if he hits me, I'll have a prettygood chance of making an advanced anchor.

Casper van der Tak: 24/21, 20/15.
The key to this problem is that Blue is somewhat ahead in the race, but has more checkers back. It is therefore important to mobilize the back checkers. Plays like 13/8 13/10 and 10/5 8/5 do not address the main issue of the position: they leave the back checkers isolated by giving up the midpoint, respectively leave costly shots at the 8-point while trading in a working blocking point.
Logical moves are 24/16, 24/21 6/1* and 24/21 20/15. Of these, 24/16 seems the weakest, since it diversifies White�s numbers: 1s, 2s, and 3s hit inside, 4s and 5s hit outside. 24/21 6/1* holds more appeal to me, making an aggressive bid for an advanced anchor and increased outfield control. However, if the blot on the ace gets hits this would be very costly for the race. Therefore, 24/21 20/15 is my first choice; this only leaves 2s, 3s and 4s for White to hit.

Steve Wood: 24/21, 6/1*.
I'd like to make the 5-point, but that leaves white too many good numbers. Better to make the tempo play and split. This leaves my good priming position intact and increases my high anchor making potential.

Kit Woolsey: 24/21, 20/15.
While making the five point would be nice, I can't see sacrificing theeight point, leaving a direct shot, and failing to do something with theback checkers. Getting off the 24 point is especially important whenthe opponent owns his bar point. 24/21, 20/15 looks like the bestroute due to the duplication of hitting threes and fours -- I want to cutdown on White's double-hits.

Chris Yep: 13/10, 13/8.
Running into the outfield (two different ways) is a decent move, but gives White too many double hits in my opinion. Instead of playing to White's strength, I believe Blue should work on his own front position. There is no need to hit loose (24/21 6/1* or 10/7 6/1*) as White isn't threatening much. Also 10/5 8/5 is bad since it leaves Blue vulnerable on both sides of the board. I like the solid 13/10 13/8, grabbing the valuable 10 point and adding a spare to the stripped 8 point. At the same time Blue retains his advanced anchor slot and continues to pressure the outfield.

Summary: This interesting problem had scattered votes for each ofthe various themes. I don't have any strong feelings as to whichis correct.

Problem #1   Play          Votes   Score24/21, 20/15       4      10010/5, 8/5          3       9024/21, 6/1*        2       8013/10, 13/8        1       7024/16              0       4020/15, 10/7        0       4010/7, 6/1*         0       40