Hi all. I used to post on the poker forums back in the day, but after Black Friday, I haven't really played any online poker. But I just started playing backgammon and like the game a lot.

I've been playing against gnu backgammon, and then after matches, check out the stats to see where I made mistakes. I'm finally able to consistently beat GNU at the lowest difficulty setting.

Anyway, I often wonder how to decide how to move checkers off most efficiently in the late game.

Here is a good example (I'm white):



In this case, I moved 6/3 5/3

My reasoning was that on point 8 I am denying red's checks on point 2 an escape route (needs to roll a 5 exactly. if I moved them, then can roll 5 or 6), and I am positioning my checks closer, so that they can be more easily born off.

More generally, GNUbg often criticizes me for how I play while bearing off, especially if opponent has 1 or 2 points in my home board.

What are some mistakes I'm making in my reasoning?
Are there some rules of thumb for late-game bearing off play to make better decisions?

Generally it's going to be safest to clear the rear-most point against your opponent's anchor. And here, it's a lot safer both in the short and long term. In the short-term, your play leaves several immediate blot numbers -- 65, 64, 61. If you play 8/6 8/5, you leave none.

Also, you don't really want 2 checkers on all your highest points here. Having some spares up there helps you absorb some awkward numbers. For instance, if make your play and roll a 4-1, you have to give up a point in the middle of your position to avoid leaving a shot.

Your reasoning isn't crazy, blocking is often a consideration, and it can be right to forgo clearing a point, taking on some extra risk of getting hit, in hopes of having your opponent crunch his home position. But in this position, Red isn't crunching anytime soon. He has plenty of checkers to play with in his outfield and on his 6 point. And you're putting your spares too deeply in any case. Even if Red was on the verge of crunching I wouldn't keep the 8 point here.

Moving checkers to lower points so that they can "bear off more quickly" is a fallacy. You're ignoring the cost of the roll you had to waste to get them there.

Also, why would you want to block in this specific position since you're ahead in the pip count?

Clear your outter points and get ready to bear off.

This position has nothing to do with bearing off efficiently. It’s about bearing off safely. You are not likely to lose unless your opponent hits a blot and contains it until he has a chance to catch up in the race. When thinking about the value of these checkers as blockers, think instead about your opponent’s point of view — he isn’t trying to escape! Quite the opposite in fact; he’s trying to keep his back checkers right where they are. If I counted it right, you have a 69-120 pop count lead. If he escapes, you win essentially 100% of the time.

The checkers on the 8 point were likely helpful as blockers while you were escaping your back checkers, but now they aren’t an asset anymore, but a liability. Each point you break safely means it is less likely that you’ll leave a blot later. Since you have a gap on your 7 point, the 8 point is especially dangerous in that respect. This is especially true if you move your spare checkers deep into your home board as you do with your play. How would you handle any 4s or 5s after your play, for instance?

It seemed like a no brainer to me 8/6 8/5, breaking the troublesome point safely and putting the spares where you want them, and I probably would have taken about half a second over the board to make that play. Of course that’s dangerous and in this case a small error according to your posted analysis. Gnu likes 8/3 leaving the 8 point blot. I suspect it’s because most rolls that hit you leave many return shots and give you the chance to close out multiple checkers, significantly increasing your gammon chances. I would have missed that OTB.