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| XGID=-a-CABCC----bA---bcbbBb-a-:0:0:1:64:0:2:0:5:10 | |||||
| Blue to play 64 | |||||
Attack or Duplicate?
Hitting, H = 13/9 7/1*, leaves two inside blots, sure, but it also gives your opponent nine dancing numbers. I am tempted, however, to reject hitting. The main reason I don’t like it is because White’s checker on the 1pt is exactly where I want it to be, primed behind a 4.5-point block. Putting it on the bar and leaving two blots to shoot at instead of one is not an improvement.
Unfortunately, I see few alternatives.
Determined to keep the anchor, Blue could try slotting his 2pt, $ = 13/7 6/2. Otherwise, stacking the 3pt, T = 13/3, is the only way to hold onto the anchor. Both of these approaches tend to leave Blue with no choice but to attack on his next turn, so maybe attacking now would be better.
The play that is hard to find over the board is giving up the anchor. Splitting, s = 21/15 13/9, duplicates 3, and also gives Blue a triple shot to complete his five-point block. Because White has a vulnerable blot on his 1pt, even the variations where Blue is hit give him lots of counterplay. This could turn out to be the best play. To be honest, however, I am not sure I would see this play, let alone have the courage to play it over the board!
Mike