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Defending vs. a 1/3 backgame

Posted By: Timothy Chow
Date: Monday, 29 April 2013, at 1:22 a.m.

In Response To: Defending vs. a 1/3 backgame (John O'Hagan)

I've had a couple of positions like these lately and haven't been entirely successful in deciphering what the computer is thinking and whether it's thinking correctly.

There are a lot of possibilities here. Most obvious is the straightforward 18/16* 18/13. The plan is to get our back checkers around so that the opponent can't harass us by hitting us and either forcing us to hit more blots or perhaps even winning going forwards. Hitting on the opponent's side of the board typically helps his timing, though. It also doesn't add another builder for the back of our prime.

On the other end of the spectrum is the super-pure 18/11 aiming another builder at the back of our prime. This play is predicated on the assumption that we don't care if Black hits our blots because Black can't win going forwards anyway. The trouble is that this assumption may not be correct. If Black does start attacking all four of our blots, he may either succeed in sending lots of his own checkers back, or prime us enough to get our own five-prime to crack. I don't know if the bots really understand this kind of game since it could lead to the sort of fifteen-checkers-back position that they have trouble with.

An in-between move would be 18/13 10/8 leaving only one blot, or perhaps 18/13 6/4. Bot 10/8 and 6/4 are kind of awkward though.

Then there are the safe plays, of which 13/11 10/5 and 13/6 look the best. These are waiting moves that force Black to just move forwards. Black will probably bear in his outfield checkers and then we'll probably have to break anchor next turn when Black's board is stronger and he has better chances of counterpriming us.

The move I like best, though, is 18/16*/11. Like 18/11, this move has the advantage of pointing three checkers at the back of our prime, but it gains a tempo and reduces Black's chances of trying something clever like counterattacking immediately.

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