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It is embarrassing to admit I am so confused on only the second turn. I give the responses below as the moves I would make over the board. But I am disavowing them now! If only half of them are correct, then I have done well. Thanks, Dmitriy, for posting such a challenging set of problems. I expect to learn a lot. Mike 21S-61P-11N-41
White has a very strong position, and will only get stronger if left alone. By all means, go for the K = Kill (6/2*/1*). 21S-61P-31P-41
White’s blot on his 11pt is not really in the zone. Because White has made his 5pt already, the 11pt does not bear on any inside points. Of course, it does target the bar point and other outside points, so it might count as half a checker in the zone. The point is that Blue can split. For the 4, I would play down: B = Both (24/23 13/9). Afterwards, White can hit outside with 11 numbers, so this play is not safer than K = Kill (6/2*/1*). I like it better, however, because it gives Blue a chance to advance his anchor. 21S-61P-42P-41
X = Hit and split (24/23 6/2*) unstacks the 6pt, and gives White many awkward 6s. Moving U = Up (24/23 24/20) comes under the gun, which is not automatically incorrect, but I would not do it here. White would gladly hit loose, and has plenty of ammo to assure that he can. Is L = Lift (13/8) an option? I suppose so, but I am tempted to split here, so I would probably play X or B = Both (24/23 13/9). For what it is worth, B duplicates White’s 61 and 44. 21S-61P-41P-41
Against White’s stripped bar point and 8pt, this may be a good time to split. I like playing U = Up (24/23 24/20). The alternative of moving B = Both (24/23 13/9) gives White too many outfield hits. 21S-61P-64P-41
Here is where I like L = Lift (13/8). White has 10 checkers in the zone, all of which bear on inside points. Splitting is less attractive than it was above, where White had only 8 or 9 checkers in the zone. K = Kill (6/2*/1*) is less warranted here than it is in some of the other positions. White’s threats are not so strong that Blue must resort to a tempo hit. So that leaves L, a passive waiting play that suits Blue’s circumstance. 21S-61P-66D-41
White has 13 checkers in the zone, so splitting the rear checkers is out of the question. K = Kill (6/2*/1*) and H = Hit (13/12 6/2*) both look OK to me. K seems to be the better of the two. H tries to begin developing the midpoint, but the blot it creates is out of place. Tactical play, that is, attacking with the double hit, is safer, and will delay White’s consolidation a bit longer. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
