Problem of the Week #21: July 26


Cash game. Center cube. Black on roll.




Part (a): Should Black double? If Black doubles, should White take, drop, or beaver?




Part (b): Should Black double? If Black doubles, should White take, drop, or beaver?

No idea why I bother...head still spinning from the last one, but both of these seem like trivial takes and borderline doubles.

I guess the 2nd position might be a speculative double due to some of the gammonish combinations but they arent as many of them as it looks. I still double anyway.

Position 1 might be a double but it is such an easy take that I might wait on sheer principle. Black doesn't have all too many market losers, but maybe enough where giving it now is ok.

As mentioned, trivial take,as white has all kinds of defense here and blacks position is going to be awkward to get home pretty soon.

i think 1 is no double/take because the gap on black's 3 point is going to make it pretty difficult to bear in safely if white builds a 2-5 backgame. if he does build one, it seems like it will have reasonable timing. white could also make a 3-5 backgame a small % of the time. plus it won't be that easy getting the checkers on the 14 and 13 point to safety.

2 i think is definitely a double due to the sheer # of verrry good rolls for black. 14/36 rolls(22 31 21 41 42 33 32 11 44) fill in both the 4 and 5 pts. then all the other 1-x, 2-x, 3-x, 4-x can fill in at least the 4 or 5 pt. plus white has a very weak board with a blot, and he doesn't have an anchor himself.

double/take

a) Double, take

b) No double, take

a) No double, take. While Black has a substantial lead in the race, his position will not be easy to bring home safely. White will probably be able to organise a 4-point board before Black starts bringing the position home, and White's strong points on the midpoint and Black's 5-point will make it tough for Black to bring in his checkers safely. Gammon chances are extremely low due to White's 5-point anchor, and it is hard to attack the blots in Black's home board either, as breaking the 7 or 8 point seems ill advised. White may well form a second anchor in Black's board, which will form a second line of defence if he fails to hit from, and subsequently breaks, his midpoint. Also important is that volatility is low. Even if Black had enough equity for a double/take, which I'm not convinced he does, it's hard to imagine what could happen in the next roll or two that would mean that White had a drop.

b) Double, take. Although Black has less of a lead in the race and less points made, White's position is far inferior to the last problem. He only has one home board point made and his position is somewhat stacked, meaning it will be hard for him to get any kind of board organised. This means that Black can move more or less with impunity. On a roll like 5-1, for instance, a move like 13/8 5/4 or even 13/8 6/5 is entirely acceptable, with White loose in his own home board and Black owning White's bar point (which is a huge asset). Finally and most obviously, White lacks the 5-point anchor he had in the last problem, which gives him a much more substantial risk of being gammoned, as well as making it easier for Black to bring his position home. Also important is that the position is more volatile; rolls like 2-2 and 3-3 are very nasty for White and would very likely turn the position into a double-drop.; White might also have a drop on some random hitting numbers if he danced.

I'm with most others:

a) no double/take
b) double/take

I'm not sure why these two are paired up, unless their raw equity is very similar, in which case it's a good lesson about how the volatility of the positions affects cube decisions.

In a) there are few excellent rolls, and if Hero does lose his market (e.g., double/drop becomes correct) it will not be by much. So his correct strategy is to wait until he is very close to the optimal doubling point, which means he's gonna need an improvement or two. Then turn the cube, and Hero's happy whether or not Villain takes. Meanwhile, if something goes wrong, Hero will be very glad he didn't double.

In b), on the other hand, the next two rolls (Hero's then Villain's) will have a huge impact on the equity of the position. Hero can't wait around for the optimal doubling point. To get some leverage out of the cube, he has to turn it now, with a nice advantage and a bunch of killer sequences, and hope for the best.

It might also be a lesson in the value of an anchor. White's anchor is the main reason the first position is no double and the second double/take. (Assuming we're right about that).

Agree with no double / take and double / take.

PART 1
A 31 pip lead against a straight 5 point anchor where the leader has both his bar and 8 point made is usually a double/pass even if the opponent had a perfect prime in case of a hit. Here black still needs to clear his 14 point and has the nuisance value of two of whites checkers on his ace and duece point. However ALWAYS look at the whole board. What actually makes this position quite devastating for black is white's lack of strength on his side of the board and especially his blot on the 4 point. The blot allows black huge freedom to leave blots in his outfield to strengthen his position. Black has no bad rolls. Double/PASS.
PART 2
Blacks poistion looks very menacing. Big racing lead. Many attackers bearing down. Rear two checkers part escaped on an anchor. White has no defensive anchor and a blot in his homeboard. MUST be a double.
Can white take this? Well Black does only have one point made. Give him and extra point and then it's a solid pass. Looking at this cup half full, many of blacks attacking moves leave white the opportunity to either hit back or anchor and apart from the blot in his homeboard white's position is developable. DOUBLE/TAKE.

Good advice. If you actually take this advice, you may notice that black's forward position is unimpressive, with only two home board points made and a lack of builders/attackers. Meanwhile White has a 5-point anchor and two other checkers back. The last thing White is concerned about is a return hit on the 4-point. Black voluntarily leaving a blot would be a very bad play. Even if White has to give up his anchor to hit, he should do so in a flash, and will be in decent shape in almost all scenarios.

I think you're greatly overvaluing black's position. His position is quite brittle. Maybe he's safe for this roll, but after that he's going to have problems. His spares are all front-loaded and 6s are about to play awkwardly.

White's two home board points are JUST AS MANY AS BLACK'S. Not only that, but white's blot is actually an ADVANTAGE in the board-building contest, so it's not a liability (notice that white has a double shot to cover in the next roll). Black might have one or two rolls where he can be sloppy, but after that he's going to have to tighten up and play safely.

While black is playing safe (and increasing his awkwardness), white will have lots of time and flexibility to start building up his home board. He needs to spring at least one of his back checkers in the next 3-4 rolls, but that's not a big problem.

So this definitely a take for white. I don't even think it's a double, but that one I feel there's room for debate.

Greetings All,
New to this forum.
I think the position in part a is a double and a take.
Double because black has no weaknesses (blots, backmen,timing?) and is a favourite.
Take because White holds a key 5 point in black's board ( shot time later) and may make another anchor on the 2 or 3 point. Also black isn't homefree yet, he has some work to do.
No beaver.

Part b I maybe off on this one but I think it is no double and a beaver. However, black may get too strong after this roll and lose his market. Geez this is tough. I simply don't want to double because I believe there is lots of play left.

ok, now I will read what the rest of you have posted and compare and re-evaluate.

OK Let's give black his worst roll which I reckon is 21 played 13/10 and follow that by white's best roll 52 played 20/15* 6/4. Who's favorite now???

What does that have to do with anything? You don't turn the cube because you have "no bad rolls" if that's what you are getting at.