Chuck Bower: 6/5*, 4/1*.How important is it to keep White from making your 5-point? Actually, hittingloose on the 5-point has two advantages: 1) when hit back, at least you keptthe opponent from making it this turn. 2) When he doesn't hit back there,you now become a favorite to make this valuable asset yourself!
White should be punished for leaving his four defenseless blots. A bold play is called for, and fighting for the 5-point seems right in the long run. Unlike problem 2, this time hitting twice in the homeboard doesn't remove a builder and gives Blue better chances of making the 5-point next turncompared to bringing down a builder (13/10, which I see wasn't one of themultiple choices, anyway). "Hit 'em again, hit 'em again, harder,harder..."
Malcolm Davis: 23/20, 16/15*.
Any of the plays that hit 2 checkers leaves the bloton my 7-point quite vulnerable, but getting hit back is just too costly. playing the 3 down to the 10-point duplicates 3's and has merit, but I think it is best just to play with fewer blots, try to maintain a comfortable racing lead and get home.
Hal Heinrich: 16/15*, 4/1*.
Looks like another early, optimistic double by Blue?! Hitting two men feels right here because of the number of White blots lying around. Going after the five point with 6/5* sure is tempting, but hitting inWhite's outfield reduces return hits. As Blue, I'm aiming at making apoint in my outer board to ease the journey home. Of course, I'll takethe five point if I can get it - but by reducing White's return hits, Iincrease my flexibility and the number of objectives available to me.
George Klitsas: 6/5*, 4/1*.
Blue needs badly his five point in order to make any real progress in this position. White's blots in the outfield don't need to be hit right now - they can be hit with return shots in the future, after the best play of 6/5* 4/1*, which unstacks the six point and gets rid of the ugly third checker on the four point. A fine positional move.
Laila Leonhardt: 6/5*, 4/1*.
White owns the cube. The game is still open and Blue has an advantage of having one more point in his home board. There is no cost for Blue to give a Blitz a chance. Put 2 of White's checkers on the bar and then see what happens next.
Rob Maier: 6/5*, 4/1*.
Consistently following the scorched earth policy. Don't give 'em a chance to anchor up, especially with the two other blots lying around.
Kevin McGrath: 16/15*, 13/10.
Hitting on the 5 point and following up with 4/1* is tempting, but Blue is left without much firepower to back his blitz. I chose the less agressive 16/15*, and played 13/10 to lighten the midpoint , duplicate 3s and bring a builder to bear on the 5 point.
Martin Short: 6/5*, 4/1*.
How did I get here and why did I double? I must besteaming again. Being so early in the game I see noreason not to fight for the 5pt and I don't want themto anchor there, leaving me a 3 to play. 2 on the roofis always better than one and this will lead to moregammons. When you're in a steaming game.. steam.
Snowie: 16/15*, 4/1*.
Gotta start hitting, that's for sure. Hitting loose on the ace point getsthat dead checker on my four point into play. Hitting on the 15 pointgains big in the race and rips away an important builder for White.Also, I will be in position to attack White's other blots if he isunable to hit back or cover these blots.
Marty Storer: 6/5*, 4/1*.
Similar to problem 2, but thistime Blue has a worse structure, with totteringskyscrapers demanding to be torn down and rebuilt.The urban renewal play is 6/5* 4/1*, which revitalizesthe neighborhood when White misses. White's outsideblots become very vulnerable when the blots in Blue'sboard go to the bar. 4/1* 16/15* is OK, but a bittoo weenie; that 1 is crying to be played 6/5*.
Bob Stringer: 16/15*, 4/1*.
6/3, 4/3 would be ok if that blot on the 16 point were safe on themidpoint instead. But it's not, so I have to mix it up. The double hitin the inner board is again a play that makes me wary, though it maywell be good here, since my board is stronger and it could be easy tore-enter with a chance to hit the blot on the 15 point. But I'd ratherjust hit it now. It's simple, and forces White to use one of his diceto re-enter. In fact, while I'm at it, hit twice, so that means 4/1*.13/10 would leave too many blots spread around.
Casper van der Tak: 16/15*, 4/1*.
16/15* 4/1* hits two and leaves little by way of return hits. This is slightly better than 6/5* 4/1* I think, which leaves more return hits for white and gains less in the race. The advantage of that play is that it aims to build the 5 point and denies White the opportunity to make an advanced anchor with a 5, and puts a spare on the 6 into play. These two plays seems very close. For me, the decisive factor is that white holds the cube. I expect 16/15* 4/1* to win more games, but less gammons than 6/5* 4/1*. Since white's cube ownership increases in value with the number of White wins, the fact that 16/15* 4/1* wins more games for Blue, and hence reduce the value of cube ownership for White, may be the final argument for selecting that play.
Kit Woolsey: 16/15*, 4/1*.
Why not hit loose on the ace point and activate the relatively deadchecker on our four point? The double-hit in our inner board is tempting,but we don't have the ammunition to follow through and make our five point.It is better to rip White's outfield builder away, so we won't be inany danger of being counter-attacked.
Chris Yep: 16/15*, 4/1*.
Making the 3 point is solid but gives White too many good rolls (1s, 4s, 9s, and 11s to hit; 6s to make the bar point anchor; multiple numbers to build an inner board point, etc.). With nothing better to do, I think Blue should double-hit to ratchet up his gammon chances. With a 2 pt. board and White having 4 vulnerable blots, Blue already has significant gammon chances. I have a slight preference for 16/15* 4/1* over 6/5* 4/1*. 6/5* feels a little too loose for my taste. On the other hand 16/15* gains 10 pips over 6/5*, guarantees a 4th back checker, and rips away part of White's offense. This slightly outweighs the advantages of unstacking the 6 point and hitting White off the 5 point in my opinion. If Blue had another checker in his outfield so that he not only had a 9th checker in attack range, but also had another direct cover for his 5 point, then I would like 6/5* 4/1*. As it is though, I think Blue is just short of enough checkers to launch a full-scale attack. By sending a 4th checker back though, with a little luck Blue will be ready for an even stronger attack in the next few turns.
Summary: The panel was very clear about double-hitting and getting that sparechecker on the four point into play. What was unclear was which of theother blots should be hit. I could understand hitting on the five pointif there were more builders in place to make the point, but in the actualposition with only aces to cover that seems too optimistic to me.
