Alan Alsop: 13/10, 8/7.Neither White or Blue are going to break from the 5 pt. Behind in the race Blue has to play a blocking game. Bringing up a back man is not necessary at present. The forward blocking game is in order. Make the bar pt first. This leaves logically 13/10, White will be very reluctant to hit, but with a good roll Blue might cover.
Chuck Bower: 13/10, 8/7.
I think the 7-point is an asset here, and since there is no othergood ace I can't see not starting with 8/7. After that all three3's are reasonable, so the question is: "which one is the mostconstructive?" 13/10 starts a blocking point in front of White'sanchor in relative safety. There will be lots of covering rollsnext turn, and at worst (short of White's 5-5 and 5-3) Blue justadvances that checker.
Nigel Buchan: 13/10, 8/7.
Blue being this far behind in the race, priority must be to block and make home points. I can't sea any further than 13/10, 8/7.
Neil Kazaross: 13/10, 8/7.
The ace is obvious..8-7..but which 3 ? Noting that we're behind in therace and that 21-18 doesn't do much except give White some jokers with 6's, I'll look for a different 3. 6-3 seems to slightly misplace one of our few forward checkers so I give the nod to 13-10 noting the duplication of 5's but also that we might cover if with a 3 and that we can slot it on our 4 point next time with a 6. I think 8-7, 13-10 makes the best use of a mediocre 3.
George Klitsas: 21/18, 8/7.
The solid 21/20 7/4 is not bad, but after close examination 21/18 8/7 looks slightly better. Nobody can say that making Blue's bar point in a position like that, isn't better than starting the 5 point (7/4). I think that 21/18 isn't worst than 21/20 in the given position. If White rolls a 4-1, for example, and tries to gain some more ground by hitting the blot (8/7*/3), he might regret it if Blue enters on the low points of White's inner board. Looking at other rolls that might make a difference after each play, one sees that if White rolls a 6-1, he would definitely want that his opponents would have played 21/20 7/4 rather than 21/18 8/7. For similar reasons, 21/18 8/7 seems to be a better play compared to 8/7 6/3 [since 21/18 looks better than 6/3] as well. I vote for 21/18 8/7 -admittedly tiny differences.
Hannu Lyyjynen: 13/10, 8/7.
Unstacking the midpoint and starting the 10-point has some value. Whites fives are somewhat duplicated and getting hit loses relatively little since Blue is already trailing the race.
Snowie: 13/10, 8/7.
I need to make the bar point, that's for sure. I'd rather not play behindWhite's anchor if I can avoid it. 21/18 doesn't accomplish much, and leavesWhite several good numbers. So, what's wrong with 13/10, 8/7? It costsWhite his anchor if he hits, and if he misses I may be able to make theblocking ten point. Also, note the clever duplication of fives.
Marty Storer: 21/18, 8/7.
I think a point in front of the anchor, in the hand, is worth the best inner-board point behind the anchor, in the bush. I'm not anxious to play 13/10, which doesn't seem to gain enough when the blot is missed. Then 21/18 is the only constructive 3 left.
Bob Stringer: 13/10, 8/7.
Dumping men behind the anchor isn't too productive. 13/10, 8/7makes a point in front of it and prepares to make another. Seemsto make the most sense, since White is ahead in the race (so Idon't mind getting hit) and can bide his time dumping men behindmy anchor.
Casper van der Tak: 13/10, 8/7.
8/7 to start with; a useful blocking point. The 3 is more difficult: 21/18 aims to bring the back checker into play. This is a little anti-thematical since Blue is behind in the race; 6/3 feels awkward, leaving a stack on the midpoint and uses up one of those valuable spares on the 6 point to go for a non-optimal point - Blue is short on building material, and should therefore aim to make the 4 rather than the 3; and finally 13/10, which looks strange, since it leaves an unnecessary shot. But the gain to Blue from making the 10-point would be considerable, and bringing one of the spares on the midpoint into the game would also be valuable. Not many numbers hit and cover.
Kit Woolsey: 21/20, 7/4.
I don't think the bar point is too important here, as I am behind in therace and White is anchored on my five point. The emphasis should be onbuilding a strong inner board so I am ready to contain White when he makesa bolt for it. Also, I would just as soon not fall farther behind. 21/10, 7/4leaves me with a safe and flexible position which will allow me to improvemy board while I sit and wait for my shot.
Chris Yep: 13/10, 8/7.
There's no incentive to play 21/20. If Blue gets a shot in the outfield, he'll happily break his 20 point to hit. Also by keeping a checker on the 21 point Blue gets double coverage of the outfield. Similarly there doesn't appear to be much incentive for 21/18. Since Blue is so far in the race, he would rather stay on the 20 point anchor than to move up to the 18 point anchor. 21/18 also gives White a few numbers which hit while covering White's 3-point blot. Instead, I believe Blue should play 13/10 8/7, making a small prime in front of White and hoping to make the 10 point next turn. If White hits with 5s, Blue will not have lost much since he is already far behind in the race. In fact Blue may be able to hit back or enter deep in White's board.
Summary: I guess I am wrong about the value of the bar point in thisposition, as everybody else voted to make the bar point. Probably they areright, but I'm still not 100% convinced.
