Aernt you blocked?

Huh?

Is the board numbering wrong, or do you have a max prime with 13-9 ?

13/9 (2) 15/11 22/18? Maybe a different combo of back man moves is better for some reason, but I don't see any fancy plays or reason to risk allowing a man out on 6-2

I see two approaches.

Making the prime is the obvious one. After that, I would not leave a blot on the midpoint, because 1s play so badly as entry numbers. If Yellow enters with 21 or 31, and decides to hit, I want to force him to hit with the 2 or the 3, rather than the 1. So, when I make the 9pt, it will be by bringing 2 down. After that, I would run all the way out, 22/14, duping 2s and 3s. These are the numbers Yellow needs to start a second anchor.

The second alternative is to preempt Yellow’s budding backgame. Yellow’s main goal right now is to grab a second anchor. Making a prime, and hoping Yellow cracks before Black does is one way to defeat that. A more direct way is to make the 3pt now, 7/3(2), and then look around for two more 4s. Moving 9/5 brings another builder to bear on the 2pt, and 15/11 tidys up. There is plenty of time to roll a 4 or 6 later, and run the last checker.

Not sure which I would play over the board.

22/14 13/9 13/9

Take a look at Problem of the Week #18 and then play 13/9 15/3. If White doesn't hit, you can roll your prime forward without breaking it, and if he does hit he ruins his own timing.

Nice analysis. I did not see the play.

Problem of the Week #18
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/13...lution-532067/

My numble grunch input.

I'm tempted to make the 3-pt, but it would mean leaving the important bar point as White is pinned on his ace point.

I'll keep the midpoint for now (just in case) and move 22/10 to bring a few more numbers to aim at the 3-pt. Now for the last 4, I'll go with 15/11, bringing even more ammo in the zone. The alternative would be 22/14 15/7. Actually, as I'm typing out loud, I think I prefer this, because I don't want White to add a 2nd low anchor and play a backgame.

My pick: 22/14 15/7

I saw the play, but somehow didn't see the merit in it.

I think keeping the midpoint isn't really important at this point.

Rolled out a few different ideas and Robertie's move is about +2% MWC. The 5 back man moves I picked basically run together for second place (including 22/10 15/11 interestingly, guess a guarantee of no hits is worth allowing the joker for one turn).

Always humbing to see that my 2 picks aren't even in the top-10!

This noob is going to have to look up what "timing" means, in order to translate the end of this.

And thanks for the chart, insideBG. It's always surprising to see how close some of these plays are.

"Timing" is just the ability to play your checkers without destroying your position. The more timing you have, the longer you can play. The less timing you have , the more quickly your board rates to collapse.

If Black play 13/9 15/3 and White then rolls a 3 and hits, White has 5 checkers completely trapped behind a 6-prime, so he'll be making his plays with his other 10 checkers. In a short while, his front position will collapse.