Quote:
Originally Posted by TroutCatcher
Game 1; play 12:
I automatically went for 10/15 to safety two blots at same time and then hope to run my man on the 5 to the midpoint or to the 15. Making the 16 seems to leave my two blots open to attack unnecessarily. I feel like I’m going under pressure to get my man on the 5 and 10 home safe if I go with the suggested move.
Is making the 16 point that much more important than the safety of two blots? Is part of it because Black has an anchor on specifically 21 which is 6 pips away from the 15 and having the 16 is better being only 5 away from this anchor?
The 16-point (Black's 9-point) is much easier to clear later than Black's 10-point, so yes, you're taking a tiny risk now to make a much better point for the future.
When deciding whether to take a risk to improve your position, the first thing to do is look at your opponent's home board. Here Black has no board, so getting hit can't hurt you very much. Hitting in the outfield would require breaking his midpoint and leaving several blots of his own, so he won't do that even if he enters with 3-x. Instead, he'll hit on his 5-point, leaving plenty of return shots. Right now your board is stronger than his, so a hitting contest is more dangerous for him than you.
