Money Play. How should Red play 64?

XGID=aB-BBBD-A—b—-bbccB-b–:1:-1:1:64:0:0:1:0:10

A simple question: do you close the home board or run out with one checker to avoid crashing with small numbers on subsequent rolls?

After 8/2, 6/2 Red is a favourite, just, to roll a 5 or a 6 next turn and solve the problems of the rear checkers. However, even if Red has to break the home board it is likely to still be a five-point board and White will probably still be on the bar, meaning that Red may well have a couple more goes to escape his rear checkers.

If Red runs with 21/11 then any 2 from White could cause Red immediate problems. After 8/2, 6/2 a sequence of events has to happen for Red to stand poorly.  This is the key factor in the decision-making process.

8/2, 6/2 wins more games and more gammons and so the choice is very clear. If White had a five-point prime, then things would be very different but against only a four-point prime Red should go ahead and make the 2-pt.

Rollout Data from Extreme Gammon

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Money Play. How should Red play 64?

XGID=-a—-EBBa–eD—c-e—-B-:0:0:1:64:0:0:1:0:10

 This position arose last week in a consultation match between France and Rumania in the World Team Championships in Forges Les Eaux, France.

Remarkably, the top five players in France managed to agree on the wrong play.

You cannot learn all the correct third roll moves because there are too many of them, but you should understand the principles you are trying to apply.

Here Red must hit with the four, 13/9*. Anything else is way too passive. The French team then talked themselves into 24/18 with the six because they did not want to strip their mid-point of its last spare checker.

However, their play gives White ten good hitting sixes from the bar. As six is the one number that does not enter from the bar the French team were in effect diversifying White’s numbers for no real reason.

The correct play is 13/9*, 13/7. Now all of White’s sixes are poor and if things go well for Red that extra checker that has been placed on the bar-point can be used to blitz White.

Sadly, it is back to school for the French team!

Rollout Information from Extreme Gammon

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Money Play. How should Red play 66?

XGID=—cBBCBB—-B—–A-abbgA:1:-1:1:66:0:0:3:0:10

Whenever you roll a double it is always worth taking some extra time to think about how to play it as there will be multiple options. The double sixes in this week’s problem is a good demonstration of that principle. For the rollout I had to look at twelve candidate moves and even that was not an exhaustive list. I have only listed the top six.

Over the board Red woodenly played bar/7, 19/13 but that move does not address the demands of the position.

While Red will win the race more often than not from the start position the better plan is to try to separate the White checkers on Red’s 4-pt. If that stack can be made into three blots Red will win a lot more gammons.

To do that Red must give White an escape route rather than just hoping the five-point prime will do enough to win the game.

There are many ways of letting White’s checkers start to escape. All the top moves keep the sentry on the 19-pt to hinder White fully escaping a checker. The best move is bar/13, 7/1(2), allowing White to escape with fours and sixes but only 44 and 66 are really dangerous. Second prize goes to bar/19, 13/7, 8/2(2) with the same principle but giving fives and sixes as the escape numbers.

The key is to understand the principle of separation in such positions. Once you have that technique in your locker you will become a stronger player.

Rollout Information from Extreme Gammon

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Money Play. How should Red play 44?

XGID=—-a-EbE—dCB–b-cba—-:0:0:1:44:0:0:3:0:10

This is an apparently simple position and many will make the reflex move 14/10(2), 8/4(2)*.

However, that is completely the wrong game plan and any move other than the right one is a triple blunder or worse!

Red will be 36 pips up after the roll (40 if the white blot is hit). Hitting gives White the opportunity to position a checker deep in Red’s home board and that is precisely what Red wants to avoid. With a huge racing lead Red wants to avoid further contact while dismantling the 14-pt and 13-pt and racing for home.

The more difficult point to dismantle is the 13-pt which is being held by the White checkers on Red’s bar-point. This logic leads us to the correct play of 13/9(3) with three of the fours. After that the final four should be played 6/2, again avoiding contact.

Once you think it through and choose the correct game plan the correct move becomes obvious but if you play on automatic you will make one of the hitting plays and go badly awry. Once you learn this technique it can be reused in future similar positions so the key is to remember precisely that.

Rollout Information from Extreme Gammon

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Money Play. How should Red play 62?

XGID=-b–B-D-B—dE—c-ca–bB-:0:0:1:62:0:0:3:0:10

It is early in the game and Red has an awkward 62 to play. It can be played (a) 24/16 (b) 13/11, 13/7 or (c) 13/5.

24/16 gets a rear checker moving but there is no duplication of numbers in the move and it puts no pressure on White’s next turn.

Once your opponent has made the 2-pt early in the game it is rarely right to split the back checkers. This is because White’s optimum game plan will be a blitz. White has both the 8-pt and the 2-pt and they can never form part of the same prime. For that reason, a priming game is difficult to execute.

Therefore, Red should be unstacking the mid-point. 13/11, 13/7 is a much better play than 13/5. The former unstacks two checkers and provides many more return shots if a checker is hit. It will be much easier to build a prime after 13/11, 13/7 than after 13/5.

Interestingly if you give White the 3-pt rather than the 2-pt then the three plays above have virtually identical equities. So remember, if your opponent makes the 2-pt early on, it is rarely right to split the rear checkers.

Rollout Data from Extreme Gammon

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Money Play. Should Red double? If doubled, should White take?

As part of one’s library of reference positions you should know the basic doubling rules for all the different types of anchor games.

Of these the most difficult is the 3-pt holding game. There is a saying that all 3-pt anchor games are doubles and takes but sadly the saying is not that accurate. What is sure is that 3-pt holding games are nearly always very non-volatile where the advantage to one side or the other accrues only slowly, barring a big double being thrown.

It is unusual to make big doubling errors in 3-pt holding games precisely because of the lack of volatility. This week’s position is an archetypal 3-pt holding game. White holds Red’s 3-pt anchor, has a perfect home board and only trails in the race by 11 pips. Surely this must be a take?

The answer to that question, however, is no. Red should double and White should drop.

White can win by hitting a checker and containing it or by catching up the race by rolling a big double at precisely the right moment. What normally happens is that White either rolls the wrong big double or he crashes his home board before he hits a shot. That solid five-point prime of Red’s is too big a hindrance.

If you give Red a gap on the bar-point so that the prime is no longer solid, then White moves into take territory. The key is to play around with this position as a starter and, using XG, see how the answer changes according to how you adjust the checkers. Key elements are the race, the structure of Red’s prime and the quality of White’s home board.

Note from the rollout that if Red forgets to double this turn it probably won’t cost much. Unless White rolls double six Red will be able to double next turn and White will still be dropping.

Rollout Information from Extreme Gammon

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Money Play. Should Red double? If doubled, should White take?

XGID=–ACCBB——Aa–c-bB-Acf-:0:0:1:00:0:0:3:0:10

Red has seventeen numbers that hit White’s blot. Normally that is not enough to warrant a double but is that the case here? If Red hits he will nearly certainly lose his market. The position is highly volatile.

When he hits Red will definitely win some gammons (and the cube needs to be turned for gammons to count). Consider also that White’s overalls structure is very weak. That weakness is likely to generate future shots for Red.

Does all this add up to a double for Red? Yes, it does and not doubling here is nearly a blunder.

The key point about this position is that if Red misses, in most instances, White will not be nearly strong enough to redouble for some time to come due to the inherent weaknesses in his position and Red will very likely get future shots.

Red must double now to activate his gammons and to avoid losing his market. Of course, with his huge racing lead and the fact that Red has a blot on his 2-pt, White has a trivial take of the cube.

Positions like this, where the opponent does not have an immediate redouble if a shot is missed, are an important category to understand. Remember this one and use the idea in your future games. 

Rollout Information from Extreme Gammon

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Money Play. How should Red play 53?

XGID=–a-BCB—A-bBb-Cc-dc-B—:1:1:1:53:0:0:3:0:10

One of backgammon’s more useful adages is this: “Prime an anchor, attack a lone rear checker.”

That instruction has stood the test of time and I have applied it countless times in my backgammon career.

It should be clear that this week’s position cries out for an attack on that rear White checker. Because it is alone it can never anchor so it will be subject to an attack until either it can escape, or the blitz succeeds.

Therefore, Red’s 3 must be played 5/2*. After that Red shouldn’t just safety the blot on the 10-pt with 10/5 but should maximise his coverage of the outer boards by playing 16/11. The halfway play of 10/2* is a blunder but the move played over the board, 16/13, 10/5, demonstrated a clear lack of understanding of one of the fundamental stratagems of backgammon, namely the adage at the head of the article.

How will Red plan to win after 16/13, 10/5? It certainly isn’t clear unless he gets very lucky. Meanwhile, 16/11, 5/2* gives a very clear path to victory and don’t forget Red owns the cube which hopefully he will get to use very efficiently.

So remember: “Prime an anchor, attack a lone rear checker”.

Rollout Information from Extreme Gammon

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Money Play. Should Red double? If doubled, should White take?

XGID=–CbBBC-B–A——beB-bbb-:0:0:1:00:0:0:1:0:10

 There is well-known saying in backgammon that all 3-pt holding games are takes.

This is not quite true, but it is an excellent guiding principle. Normally the player of the 3-pt holding game has both racing and hitting chances and is rarely primed to the point where he/she has to drop. Obviously, the player of the 3-pt game cannot be too far behind in the race so that catching up is nigh on impossible.

What about this week’s position? White leads by a small amount in the race but Red has nearly total control of the outer boards.  It is easy to foresee White’s position deteriorating quickly and a gammon being lost when he has to run off red’s 3-pt.

However, it hasn’t happened yet and for the moment White’s home board is as strong as Red’s. Red is certainly the favourite, but he doesn’t have any clear-cut threats and very few market-losing sequences.

Over the board Red doubled but in fact he is not strong enough to double and he should wait. If you put the two checkers on White’s bar-point out of play on his 1-pt although White gains 10 pips in the race his position is far weaker and Red now has a clear double.

Once again, the relative lack of volatility in the 3-pt game has been demonstrated. Red should bide his time and wait for his position to improve before doubling. Doubling here is actually a blunder and of course, White has a trivial take.

Rollout Data from Extreme Gammon

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Money Play. How should Red play 63?

XGID=-b–B-D-B—cE—c-e–b-B-:0:0:1:63:0:0:3:0:10

Red started the game by rolling 42, making his 4-pt. White responded with 55, making his 3-pt. How should Red now play 63?

I frequently see this type of position misplayed. White’s 55 has given him a lead in the race but a slightly overextended structure. The one thing that Red should not do is to split his rear checkers. This gives White attacking options that he doesn’t deserve. Red should (at least for now) play a priming game.

The best move is 13/10, 13/7. Only very slightly weaker is 13/4 which is safer but does less to develop Red’s position.

The two really bad moves are 24/15 and 24/18, 13/10 because they are anti-thematic, allowing White an attack.

This position is but one example of the strategy of playing a priming game when your opponent has rolled an early double fives. It is a strategy that is worth remembering.

Rollout Information from Extreme Gammon

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Money Play. Should Red double? If doubled, should White take? 

Match Play. 0-1 to 3. Should Red double? If doubled, should White take?

XGID=-BBB–CA—-A—-aBacbcBe-:0:0:1:00:0:0:3:0:10

This position came up at a tournament at the Hurlingham Club. I was White and had just rolled a very unfortunate 61, played 14/8, 6/5.

My opponent enthusiastically doubled, no doubt with a vision of a gammon in his mind. Although you will get some passes in positions like this it is still virtually a blunder to double. Red has too much work still to do, always assuming he hits at least one blot on his first roll. With two open home-board points and a lot of freight to shift (checkers to move) around the board Red should hold the cube.

Even if he closes out both White checkers he will only win a gammon 40% of the time. And, of course, he only has 27 hits initially. On the nine misses he will nearly certainly lose the game and the match. Red does much better to hold the cube and double when White has a much more difficult decision.

If Red hits one checker and White fans that is the time to double. Even then White will still have a comfortable take.

For money it should be clear that if Red doubles, White should beaver. Doubling would be a truly horrendous blunder. Red gives up nearly a full point of equity by doubling!

Rollout Information from Extreme Gammon

Money

Match

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Money Play. How should Red play 41?

XGID=–aB–DCB—bB—bde-B-a–:0:0:1:41:0:0:3:0:10

 Just making moves is never a good idea. You should always have a game plan. That plan is subject to change according to the vagaries of the dice, but any plan is better than no plan.

This is an apparently simple position and many would follow the known tactic in such positions of attacking the lone checker by playing 7/2*. Alternatively, Red could try to prime that rear White checker by playing 13/9, 6/5 although some may consider that too bold.

However, most of Red’s checkers are well-placed and that suggests a third game plan. That plan is to leave with one of the rear checkers despite being behind in the race by moving 21/16.

This play keeps all the other checkers doing good work. In addition, White has a blot in his home board which gives Red tactical opportunities. Finally, 21/16 creates meaningful duplication of White’s fours.

Is all that enough to make running the right game plan? Not quite. It turns out that both running and priming are valid game plans while hitting is not. It is not unusual in the middle game to have two valid plans.

The key here is to consider all three game plans and then choose between them. Sometimes you will make the wrong choice, but backgammon is too difficult to be right all the time. But has often been said before – if you don’t even see a move as a viable alternative then you will never play it!

Rollout Information from Extreme Gammon

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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 view an interesting backgammon position and join in the lively discussion, return on Tuesday to view the answer. In addition, as a USBGF member, you get access to this companion blog article that includes an expanded explanation.  More about Chris Bray

 

Money Play. How should Red play 54?

XGID=-B-B-CBbB—-B–bbbbBcaa–:0:0:1:54:0:0:3:0:10

Over the years I have learnt to be very circumspect about giving up anchors. The conditions have to be right to give up such a strong asset. However, there are times when giving up the anchor is correct. Let us look at this week’s position.

Red has the choice between (a) 8/4, 8/3 (b) 20/11 (c) 13/4 and (d) 13/9, 13/8. Red is stripped on all his outer board points and something has to give. (a) is the wrong idea – it takes checkers beyond where they want to go and Red may have even worse problems next turn.

If Red is going to give up his mid-point it seems logical to leave minimum shots and so 13/9, 13/8 must be better than 13/4. But, should Red risk departing from the anchor with (b)? He will have only a marginal lead in the race after the play so that argues for staying. White has two blots in his home board while Red has a four-point home board so that argues for going. Staying will also strand those rear checkers. Finally (b) creates meaningful duplication of White’s fours.

It is hard to balance these conflicting priorities without a lot of experience but in this position the positives for leaving the anchor outweigh the negatives and Red should play 20/11. I got this right over the board, but my opponent rolled 33. Backgammon can be a cruel game.

The lesson is that conditions have to be just right to give up an anchor. In this position those conditions exist but I’ve seen many an anchor given up prematurely. Take care!

Rollout Data from Extreme Gammon

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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 view an interesting backgammon position and join in the lively discussion, return on Tuesday to view the answer. In addition, as a USBGF member, you get access to this companion blog article that includes an expanded explanation.  More about Chris Bray

Money Play. How should Red play 41?

XGID=aBCCBBB———aa-bcbbba-:1:-1:1:41:0:0:3:0:10

What could be easier than a simple bear-off? However, while there is still contact, there will always be an opportunity to make an error. I have seen many players get this position wrong.

Red has three choices: (a) 6/5, 6/2 (b) 5/4, 5/1 (c) 4/off, 4/3

Given this position as a problem many players choose (c) because then Red has only two bad numbers on his next turn, 62 and 26. (a) leaves nine bad numbers (66, 55, 44, 65, 56, 64, 46, 54, 45) and (b) leaves seven bad numbers (66, 55, 44, 61, 16, 51, 15). Thus, it would seem that (c) must be correct but that is not the case, because of the concept of extended jeopardy.

After 6/5, 6/2 if White enters with a six any jeopardy disappears. And Red’s problems are over. After either of the other plays the gap that is created by those plays may live for quite some time and, even if White enters into the gap from the bar, the point(s) above the gap must still subsequently be cleared. This is called extended jeopardy.

How does one weigh extended jeopardy against immediate jeopardy? The answer for most players is one of experience. I have seen this type of position many times and so I “know” the answer. The other answer is to use computers that can calculate this position exactly.

As you will see from the rollout (a) is correct. The extended jeopardy from the other two plays outweighs the immediate jeopardy of the extra shots. Note also that (a) wins more gammons because Red is able to keep a stronger home board for longer. The three plays are close in terms of equity, but it pays to get this type of position correct as it will reoccur frequently.

Rollout Information from Extreme Gammon

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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 view an interesting backgammon position and join in the lively discussion, return on Tuesday to view the answer. In addition, as a USBGF member, you get access to this companion blog article that includes an expanded explanation.  More about Chris Bray