Bray's Learning Curve

Beware the empty 4-pt

Picture of Chris Bray
Chris Bray
Match Play. 10-10 to 17. Should Red double? If doubled, should White take?
Overhead view of a backgammon board in progress, with orange and white checkers distributed across the board, a cluster of white checkers near the top-right and a stack of red checkers in the bottom-right area; dice showing 64 and 29 on the sides.
eXtreme Gammon ID: XGID=-BDA-BA------------abbad--:0:0:1:00:10:10:0:17:10

Answer and Commentary

USBGF members have access to Bray's Learning Curve.  Please log in or join.

Bray’s Learning Curve — A Great Member Benefit

Bray’s Learning Curve is a USBGF online series by author Chris Bray. Each week Chris lends his sharp insight and easy to understand analysis to help you improve your game.

Visit the USBGF Facebook page every Monday to challenge yourself with an interesting backgammon position and join in the lively discussion.  Return to usbgf.org on Tuesday to view the answer with commentary.

More Bray's Learning Curve

Backgammon board in play: orange and white points, red checkers clustered on the right side and white checkers on the left, with two red dice visible near the bottom-right.

Take Care

Making the 4-pt with 7/4*, 6/4 looks obvious so why not do that?

Firstly, if you are going to have an open point in your structure when bearing in, it should be as high as possible. Low empty

Overhead view of a backgammon board in play, with orange and white checkers on numbered points, bars on the sides, and score marks along the edges.

Basic Doubling Theory

Most experts know this position as part of their basic understanding of backgammon.

The untitled games question is easy as this is one of the first positions you ever learn when studying