Problem of the Week #109: May 31


Cash game, center cube. Black on roll.




Black to play 5-2.



Note: All ‘cash game’ problems assume the Jacoby Rule is in effect. That is, you can’t win a gammon unless the cube has been turned.

Note: I’ll be travelling for a few weeks, so I’m releasing the next four problems (106-109) now, so you’ll have plenty to chew over while I’m gone. Look for the solutions around June 7th or so.

Not sure, but keeping those spares on the midpoint might be good here.

I'll try 8/3 6/4 but maybe I'm getting too cute.

Im just going to try to clear the midpoint as directly as possible with 13/8 6/4.

I'm inclined to agree with this ^ and my reasoning is that it seems like there's a reasonable chance of bringing the black pieces around without exposing them to any shots. O

I'm kind of new to backgammon and still trying to learn so if my thinking is wrong I'd really enjoy hearing why. Thanks in advance.

I like 8/3 6/4

The 3 point is the next battle and now is a great time to slot it with the home board blot and limited rolls to cover.

I don't really see the three point being a battle as white would have to roll 1 and 1 to secure that spot. Being shot could potentially be a disaster for black. White's wall is far from being the great wall of china but it wouldn't take but a few moves to rectify that. Slotting the 3 point just seems a little to risky aggressive at this point. I'm the new guy though so please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks again.

I think I play 13/8 6/4. Reading the thread makes me like 8/3 6/4 also, but I would play 13/8 6/4 over the board and think Ill stick to it here. Cant be that much in it?

otb its 13/8 6/4 without much thought but the slot may be right for reasons I have yet to learn.

OTB I would almost certainly play 13/8 6/4. Because of QF I'm guessing something fancier like slotting the 3 point probably the right play because of whites board and centered cube.

8/3 6/4

13/8 6/4

Move along. Nothing to see here. 13/8, 6/4.

Problem 109

What is this?

It's a backgame, but is it good. It might be a little better than a 5-1 backgame, but not a lot.
So its more a sort of holding game, in Roberties book a protobackgame, and black wants to play checkers of the midpoint.
Hoping for a double or a 65 and in the meantime dumping checkers.
He can dump 5's and 7's allright now. But those numbers also play well from the midpoint.
For that reason it might be right to play 13/8 6/4. So all numbers play allright in the next move.

I think this is 8/3 6/4. You're looking at the long term prospects, and having an open 3 point is a long term liability. Even if he hits you, you're so far ahead in the race, and white has so little structure developed that you don't really care. (You also duplicate 1s, but that's a somewhat minor issue.) So put the checkers where they need to go, and play from there.

This seems exactly right to me.

Would you play this to the end with an open 3 point? Is clearing the 7 and 8 easier with a closed 3 ? What is easier to make? A slotted point or a point with builders alone? Center cube. White shooting from the 2. Battle. White has no board. Dancing. Or just not able making a second point again. Holding game against a position with the bar point made is easier to double. A 25 backgame looses less gammons and produces surprisingly shots out of nowhere. I am happy, if he shoots from the three. Cubing him very aggressivly, if he abondons the 2.
Summing up. Slotting the three. And with the two developing the six. Now is the hour.

Slotting seems like FPS here. We have a perfectly good way to play the roll safely (13/8 6/4) that does two constructive things (clearing a checker from the midpoint and distributing a spare). gives us another turn to make it with 3 spares, and we can generally just slot it next turn if we don't have anything better to do. White's board is still not going to be frightening. OTOH, this is a problem, so 8/3 6/4 probably is right over the most obvious safe boring move in the world, but I just don't see it.

13/8 6/4

On this web site, I think, we have all learned to be suspicious of the obvious. Hence, the pedestrian 13/8, 6/4 must be wrong! Noticing that ones are duplicated, Black should play 8/3, 6/4.

My solution: 8/3, 6/4.

For the Record
I am so often wrong that I like to post my record in these messages. It's kind of a truth-in-advertising thing. Grunch: I have been answering these problems without the use of a bot, and before checking the excellent solutions of others, since Problem 28. My record at this writing is 50%.

I'm a complete n00b but why is 13/6 a terrible move? thanks in advance.

The reaon that there is little discussion around 13/6 is that it just stacks another checker on the already overlaoder 6 point. We are trying to achieve two primary objectives. Clearing the midpoint while trying to distribute checkers to make our three point. I think that once we play 13/8 the superior two is played to unstack the 6 point and create a new builder with 6/4, rather then 8/6.

Safety first, so either 13/6 or 13/8 6/4 I guess.

I prefer the distribution after 13/8 6/4, it looks easier to make the 3-pt.

13/8 6/4

My first backgammon post, definitely a novice.

What makes 13-8 13-11 unattractive?

You are leaving a direct shot from a point on which white has a spare. So he can basically hit you at no cost. (Also, after you get hit, you're going to have a stripped midpoint which may make for some awkward rolls down the line as you try to scramble that checker back around again.)

This is an especially important consideration since you could play 6-4 instead of 13-11. That also helps your distribution, but it doesn't leave a direct shot.

Your play would do better if that spare were not there, and if you didn't have a safe alternative for that 2.

Valid points of course. Isn't it likely that if he hits us at the 11, that we nail him back at either the 20 or 11 (or both ) coming back? I think our offense is much better than his at this point, trading pieces seems advantageous. Let me know if this is just plain wrong

If he rolled a 61/63, then no since he would cover the 5 point. And no if he rolls 66. But even if he doesn't cover, you might hit, but you're not gaining as much as you think you are. This starts to get into longer term ideas, which is that you're so far ahead in the race and he's got two points in your home board, so sending checkers back tends not to hurt him nearly as much. What you gain from hitting on the return is small relative to what you've lost when you don't hit in return.

You might want to play this position out a few times (by that, I mean a few dozen). You'll see that bearing in against two points isn't that easy. White will have a sufficient amount of time to hold those points, and try to force you into leaving blots. Then he's got the opportunity to unload those checkers into the outfield, and keep pounding your lone checker until he's built up enough of an offense. It's not quite as easy to win as it may initially appear. You'll find that the gap on the 3 point becomes problematic, as well.

Let's go with the obvious 13-8 6-4.