Alan Alsop: 24/21, 18/16*.Bit of a mess for Blue, I am not surprised he has been doubled. Blue must hit White on the 9 pt, this will give Blue some time to breath. The only logical move to follow this is to bring up a man from the back and consolidate an advanced anchor.
Chuck Bower: 18/16*, 8/5*.
Again, three choices are tempting: pick-and-cover (6/4*/1),hit two (18/16*, 8/5*), hit-and-split (18/16*, 24/21). Iknow you're supposed to cover a blot on the acepoint, butthe resulting position is so stripped, and the juicy blot onthe 16-point won't stay there long. Hitting two strips the8-point leaving only one good cover number. 18/16*, 24/21prepares for a long drawn out game by keeping most checkersin good positions. Although I'm strongly tempted by thediversification of 24/21, 18/16*, I don't think FIVE blots,no anchor, and a worse board compensate. Since I can'thandle the ugliness after 6/4*/1, I'll go all out 70's, beingready for a backgame (as well as a trip to Burger King).
George Klitsas: 18/16*, 16/13.
6/4*/1 is committal in this position and gains only if White dances (6 numbers). One might be attracted by the pure and sophisticated 18/16* 8/5*, which is simply �too rich for my blood�. I am attracted, instead, by the simple and quiet 18/16*/13. The main danger in this position is that White makes a four-prime and this move makes this possibility a remote one. At the same time looks like the move that maximizes Blue�s probability of using the cube effectively in the future.
Snowie: 24/21, 18/16*.
Hitting on the 16 point is a must. I can't let White have thatbuilder. After hitting, best seems to be to make a move for anadvanced anchor while White is on the bar and doesn't havemuch in the way of an attack force.
Marty Storer: 24/21, 18/16*.
Blue has too much work to do for thehit-cover 8/4*/1 to be right; White's structural edge istoo big, and the two checkers out of play will be tooharmful. Because Blue's biggest problem is mobilizingthe checkers on the 24 point, the hit-and-split oughtto be best. It's risky, but so is everything else.
Bob Stringer: 18/16*, 8/5*.
6/4*, 4/1 was my play the first two times I looked at this one, but Idecided I couldn't live with a stripped 6 point this early in thegame. 24/21, 18/16* looks a mite too loose, what with 4 blots spreadaround. And 18/16*, 16/13 is too passive - it invites White to make ahigh anchor, giving him fine points on both sides of the board, whileI have nothing. I doubt that the double hit is significantly moregammonish than the other plays, and it looks like the only way to putup a real fight to build up my own structure.
Casper van der Tak: 18/16*, 8/5*.
What a mess! 6/4* 4/1 is the bot-inspired play, but that looks too anti-positional here (no spare on the 6, and holding both ace-points is bad - especially if the blot on the 18 gets send back as well). 18/16* is useful, to remove a White builder. After that, 8/5* aims for building the 5-point or making an advanced anchor, both of which would be very useful in the upcoming long and complicated positional battle. The main alternative after 18/16* is not 16/13 (stacking the midpoint), but 24/21 to activate the back checkers. However, I am afraid of wipe out sequences starting with double hits or single hits and dance, so I go for 8/5*.
Steve Wood: 18/16*, 8/5*.
The 2 is clear in my mind with the racing gains it achieves. The 3 is trickier, but the double-hit gives me the momentum I want, whilst hindering my opponent in making his golden point.
Kit Woolsey: 24/21, 18/16*.
Hitting on the 16 point has to be right for the race gain and forripping away one of White's valuable builders. Having done that, thislooks like a good time to make a bid for an advanced anchor. White is onthe bar and is very short on attack material, so the split is relativelysafe. My checkers are in good communication with one another, and mynext few rolls should play comfortably.
Chris Yep: 24/21, 18/16*.
When one starts the ace point it's often right to make it as soon as possible. 6/4*/1 does this, but I just can't stomach the look of the resulting front position. I like 24/21 18/16*. Blue is short of checkers in his offensive zone. Blue's position will be awkward for several turns. Blue is very likely to be hit in the near-future. White has a stronger inner board. The action is in the outfield and in White's inner board. For all of these reasons I believe that Blue really needs outfield presence and an advanced anchor. Thus I like 24/21 18/16*.
Summary: In a close vote, splitting the back men won out over theloose double-hit. I'm pretty confident that this is the right decision.Blue doesn't have the ammunition or inner board to want to get involvedin that sort of a battle.
