Positions from Vegas Today: Mochy vs Michy

62S-41D-41 — Unlimited Games

A couple of well-respected backgammon authors once wrote,

The more of the following that are true, the greater the chance slotting the 5pt is correct:

Blue’s 6pt is stacked.
Blue trails in the race.
Blue duplicates White’s 4s.
Blue owns any anchor (even the 24pt).
White owns a strong anchor.
White’s board is weak.

While many of these conditions hold, my inclination is not to slot. Too often, White will make his 4pt on Blue’s head, and in the resulting scramble, Blue may find it difficult to cover his slot.

For that reason, I would play V (Variant up) = bar/21 24/23. The first decision is to enter on the 21pt rather than meekly remaking the 24pt. After that, I like moving to the 23pt. White may need to break his 8pt next turn, so moving up could inhibit that, or at least yield some return shots.

Nactation Note: White’s 41D on the second move can also be nactated in the Hit family. Doing so yields the move sequence 62S-41H-41. The sequence Paul gave, 62S-41D-41, is just as good. Nactation offers these sorts of variations to a nactator so that he can choose the one that is easiest or most natural for him. There is no right and wrong.

Mike

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