Today’s topic is centered around these kind of very annoying errors where the alarm bells go off too late – like one second after you made your move.
A nice vacation with time to read some (backgammon)books and relax has come and gone. Thankfully I only have one more week at work before I have another two weeks of vacation. This time I’ll go to England and play a BMAB tournament. These kinds of tournaments have focus on how well you can play according to the computer programs. This is more a battle of theoretical prowess than a battle to score the most points.
A lot of time has gone into preparations for this tournament. I have been studying some reference positions, gotten some inspiration from books and last but not least a lot of practice against other people. XG Masters did not go well but that was a wake up call for me to also get some experience playing against people.
I have played more than 100 matches at Backgammon Galaxy with a satisfactory result. The backgammon server is still in beta but overall it is working well. If you would like to sign up and try out a few games you can use the beta code “galaxystar” when signing up to gain access.
Example 1
In this example I’m playing the white checkers and rolled a nice 62. Without spending more then 2 seconds on it I moved 13/5*.
The score is 0-0/5 and I have already doubled and of course I’d like to win a gammon and why not go for the win (gammon) with such a strong roll? When looking a little closer it becomes clear that White has really good chances to win the game with very little risk by just running. White is ahead 18 pips before the roll. Black has a nice prime that White would do best not to get closed in behind by being hit on the 5-point.
Suddenly it seems very clear that the right move is not to hit and just play the safe 13/7 6/4.
Example 2
This one still hurts and I’m sure I’ll wake up in the middle of the night screaming thinking of this. The score is 0-0/3 and I rolled 51.
I start by hitting with 13/12*. Then I look for the 5. Playing either 13/8 or 22/17 sucks, so I make a quick decision to jump the prime while Black is on the bar.
Basically everything went wrong here. After my move Black can actually double from the bar and I have to pass it! Looking at the position is it clear that Black will soon have some issues with his timing (I’m down 27 pips in the race before the roll) where he can be forced to leave his anchor and most likely also leave a blot too. If I just play the simple and beautiful move 13/8 6/5 I’ll have all the counter-play I need.
Example 3
The next one is a bit tricky. Once more the score is 0-0/3 and I rolled a nice 44. But it was not quite clear what needed to be taken into consideration.
Making the 4-point is quite clear. Should I go for the nice 5-prime with 6/4(2) or should I go for more control with 24/20(2). Both candidates look fine but there is an interesting point here. I would like to be able to double next roll. By playing 24/20(2) I’m almost certain that I have a nice double next roll. What I forgot was that I in most cases will play on for a gammon if I make the 2-point which is also clearly the strongest move.
Unfortunately I made the 20-point which is a huge mistake at this match score. In money game the two moves are equally good because you need to have doubled to win a gammon. In both situations you would end up doubling next roll with Black forced to pass.
Good luck with your training. See you at the tables.