Chuck Bower: 13/9.Keep the pressure on White. The back checker is covering a lot of territoryand is in no danger. Likewise keeping the 10-point hinders White's escape.As White, which plays would you like to see Blue make? 13/9 makes Whiteroll really well to not leave targets for Blue next roll.
Steve Clark: 13/10, 8/7.
24-20 seems so obvious. We bring our back checker up to the jumping offplace, increasing our flexibility and preparing to escape. It probablywould even be the right roll if we weren't 25 (or so) pips behind in therace; particularly with White being rather awkwardly placed if we stayback. Oh well, I guess having freedom to escape with my upcoming double 6'sisn't everything.
10-7, 8-7, making 4 in a row and threatening to make 5 of 6, is veryattractive but it does give White good 6's in a situation where otherwisethey are pretty bad. I suppose that is enough of detriment so that I willhave to find something else.
I suppose I will play 13-10 and either slot the bar point or play 24-23.When I play I tend to be quite conservative about slotting, and I find Ishould slot more than I do. If I slot here and get hit, White will be quitevulnerable to return hits. Further if we are missed, we will have a highprobability of making our bar point. Perhaps I am overcompensating for aweakness in my game, but I will slot it.
Ray Fogerlund: 24/23, 13/10.
Maintain pressure on White to avoid blots by stayingback, and add a builder for the 9 or bar points. Breaking the 10 point to make a solid 4 prime would be a BIG blunder, btw, because it unblocks 6's and leaves a shot... a terrible play to make a less useful (in this case) point. Blocking 6s is very important!
George Klitsas: 13/10, 8/7.
Behind in the race, it looks like a blunder to move to the 20 point , letting White play safely behind Blue. Interesting and probably the best move is 13/10 8/7!?, which is my choice. With some rolls (6-3 for example), White will simply choose not to hit. With other rolls that hit (for example 3-1), he might regret abandoning his anchor and hitting, if Blue comes up with a successful return hit.
Laila Leonhardt: 24/23, 13/10.
White is ahead in the race which means Blue has two important plans:Prevent White from escaping by improving the prime andtry to catch another of Whites checkers to even out the race.Adding a builder is important. Blue is not concerned with the fact that hemight have to break the midpoint to make another point in the prime sinceBlue is behind no prime and does not fear the outlook of having to run thecheckers around with no outside landing spot.
Rob Maier: 13/10, 8/7.
Behind in the race, so don't move the back checker. Concentrate on improving the prime, force White to break the anchor or leave other shots. I wouldn't put much hope in White's racing lead holding up.
Snowie: 13/10, 11/7.
Humans accuse me of not slotting frequently enough. They are wrong. I amperfectly willing to slot a key point, but only when the risk/rewardratio is sufficient. That is the case here. I am behind in the race, Ihave the stronger inner board, I have an advanced anchor, and it will costWhite his anchor to hit the blot on the bar point. If White doesn't hit,I have a lot of numbers to cover the blot. Yes, this is the time to slot.
Marty Storer: 24/23, 13/10.
Blue is in no hurry to slot; White isahead in the race, partly blocked and with worse timing,and would welcome an opportunity to hit, making a breakfor home with tempo. I'll just add another builder forthe 9 point and the bar, mostly keeping control of White'sinner board, and waiting for White to come to me.
Bob Stringer: 13/10, 8/7.
Behind in the race, and with White's having no board as yet, I'll keepthe man on the 24 point to make things awkward for him. 10/7, 8/7,making a 4 point prime seems plausible; however, I currently have theadvantage, and if White hits on the 10 and escapes, that advantageevaporates. Of the waiting plays, 24/23, 13/10 and 24/23, 8/5, I likethe former much better than the latter, since 8/5 takes a man a bitout of play. Each of the remaining two plays leaves a blot, either onthe 7 or the 9 point. 13/9 isn't good, because even if the blot isn'thit, there's nothing to be done with it, unless I break the midpointto cover it, which I may not want to do on my next roll. Also, it'seasier to hit back on the 7 than on the 9. The choice, then, isbetween the waiting play 24/23, 13/10 or the more dynamic 13/10, 8/7.I go for the latter because of the better distribution. It makes itvery dangerous for White to break the anchor (he won't be doing itsoon, unless he rolls doubles), and some rolls (6-2 or 5-2, forexample) are extremely awkward for him.
Casper van der Tak: 24/23, 13/10.
White has a racing lead; therefore Blue must try to retain contact. However, White is also stripped on his two rear points, and Blue outboards White. Hitting variations are therefore in Blue's favor. White would like to break his anchor with a hit; therefore, Blue should not provide a target. Hence my preference is 13/10 24/23, even though it reduces contact a little bit, followed by 13/10 8/7 and 10/7 8/7, in that order (the 10-point is more important than the bar in this position, being 6 away from White's anchor).
Kit Woolsey: 13/10, 8/7.
We are behind in the race, we have an anchor, and we have the stronger innerboard. Everything points to a bold play. 13/10, 13/7 goes after a keypoint, and keeps all our checkers in ideal places. It will be dangerousfor White to hit on our bar point, and if he doesn't hit we will have alot of numbers which cover the blot and make the fifth part of our prime.
Chris Yep: 13/10, 8/7.
Blue's large race deficit, advanced anchor, and better board suggest that Blue should look for a bold move. 13/10 8/7 looks right. Blue would love to make the bar point to constrain White's back men. 8/7 puts Blue's 8 point spare to good use, while 13/10 gives Blue more ways to cover next turn if he is missed. At the same time, by keeping a checker back on the 24 point, Blue makes it difficult for White to play safely.
Summary: The panel did quite an impressive job finding this incisiveslotting play. I'm convinced it is best. The more you look at it, the moreit grows on you. I just hope I would be able to find the play at the table.
