Alan Alsop: 24/21, 13/7.First and foremost Blue has to get his back men moving He does not want to be overdoing this otherwise White will go all out in attack. Breaking from the 24 pt with the three will suffice. Blue's bar pt is the best six here.
Chuck Bower: 13/7, 8/5*.
All indicators point towards a bold play, meaning 8/5*.Of the three remaining 6's, 7/1* looks like a weak attemptto blitz with too few checkers in the zone and 24/18 leaveslots of blots with the the checker on the 18-point positioned for White to thrash away. 13/7 brings extraammo into position. Blue can work on an advanced anchorlater. The action is on Blue's side for now.
Doug Doub: 23/14.
Lots of reasonable choices, but I don't think that it is quite worth it to break our 8pt to hit on the 5pt, though it is close. 13-7,24-21 brings more offense to bear on our 5pt, and starts a good anchor whileduplicating 4's, and certainly is a strong consideration. I decided to gowith the simple play of running a man out. White has to give up hismidpoint to hit with a two, so the cost of getting hit is fairly small. Westill have good chances in a race, and are likely to have several possibleways to attempt to win this game, depending on what the dice give us nextturn.
Oystein Johansen: 13/7, 8/5*.
Chapter 16 says it all! More checkers back, stronger board, behind inthe race, got an anchor. All chapter 16 arguments calls for an aggressive move. 8/5* is clear. 13/7 must be the best six. It gives ammo to further attacking. The back checkers can wait, and 7/1* is too much for my taste. Chapter 16 rules again!
Neil Kazaross: 13/7, 8/5*.
This looks like a position where we want to attack with 8/5x but thatbreaks our 8 point. Is there something better ? 13/7, 24/21 could work out, but just seems too risky compared to 23/14 which takes advantage of the stripped midpoint, but still doesn't accomplish all that much since two back checkers remain. So, I slightly prefer the hitting 8/5x and after that 13/7 is clearly better than the very blotty 24/18. If hit back, I may get some more attacking chances before forced into some back or holding game.
George Klitsas: 13/7, 8/5*.
Although it breaks the 8 point, I have a preference for 13/7 8/5*. Blue has the ammunition in place in order to fight for his 5 point, even if hit back from the bar. Also, White has some awkward rolls (apart from the 4 dancing numbers, 1-6 and 1-3).
Laila Leonhardt: 24/21, 13/7.
Putting pressure on White to make the anchor or attack. If White doesn't make the anchor next role, he is going to be in a rather vulnerable position forcing him to run or hit loose to avoid Blue establishing advanced anchor or making/attacking his 5-point.
Achim Mueller: 13/7, 8/5*.
Lazy as I am: "When in doubt, hit (Kit Woolsey?)!" I only see threecandidats here: 23/14; 23/20, 13/7 and 13/7, 8/5*. Sure, Blue won't behappy if he gets hit. But will he be more happy giving White the chanceto make a good homeboard point or the golden anchor?
Snowie: 23/14.
Nothing fancy is needed here. White doesn't have many great threats, sohitting loose on the five point and breaking my eight point isn't calledfor. I can use another checker in the outfield. White may make animprovement next turn, but he can't do everything. If White fails to anchoron my five point, I will be much better placed to attack him next roll.
Marty Storer: 23/14.
This is a tough one. Blue doesn't like to let White move freely, buthe hates to break his 8 point to hit. Though Magriel's safe-vs.-boldcriteria call for a bold play, breaking the 8 point 8/5* is very risky.13/7 8/5* gains on White's 14 misses, but if White hits, or Blue failsto cover after a miss, Blue's structure is seriously damaged. The raceis still close; 23/14 duplicates many of White's numbers to hit andto make points, and White isn't eager to break his midpoint to hitanyway. Blue can probably afford a weenie play; he may have a betterattacking opportunity next time. 23/14 isn't exactly catch-up becauseBlue already has a better forward structure than White.
Bob Stringer: 13/7, 8/5*.
Have to hit. The race isn't that big of a deal, but White isthreatening either to make my 5 point or to escape with one of hischeckers. Hitting gives me a chance to make a 4 point prime, andif I'm hit the chances are that I'll make a good anchor. I'll take13/7 over 24/18 because I would rather not give him a chance tohit twice. Also, the extra checker on my bar point is a goodbuilder.
Kit Woolsey: 23/14.
Hitting on the five point is tempting, but that breaks the eight pointand leaves several return shots. I don't have much ammunition up front,so I don't like breaking points I have made -- I may not have the chanceto get them back. White isn't threatening too much, so the simplerunning play looks quite reasonable. I can always use another checker formy attack force, and maybe I'll roll something better next turn.
Chris Yep: 24/21, 13/7.
Blue has more men back and a stronger board, so contact may be beneficial. For example 24/21 24/18 fights for strong points (advanced anchors), but gives White too many strong double-hits in my opinion. Instead I like 24/21 13/7, which looks like a very balanced move, giving White problems on both sides of the board. Additionally note that many of White's 4s are duplicated.
Summary: Does Blue really have enough ammunition to justify breakingthe eight point and hitting loose? That play will work very will if Whitedoesn't hit back, but if he does Blue's position may fall apart. Manyof the panel went for this aggressive play, but I have my doubts.
