Bearing a checker in to the 6pt, or more generally striving to maximize crossovers, is generally a good principle when racing off the gammon and often a bad principle in a close race. If you're playing on autopilot it is easy to overlook the difference between the two scenarios but it's important to keep the two situations distinct.
Here, without even any calculation, you should have a queasy feeling about "stacking up on the 6pt" with 16/6 (even though the stack is only one checker high!) because of the gaps in your board.
I posted the position below to rec.games.backgammon a while back with the title "It makes more difference than you think." Stick fell into my trap by assuming that I played 9/6. Actually I knew enough not to stack up on the 6 but I was carelessly on autopilot and played 9/7 6/5. How much difference do you think there is between this play and the correct 9/8 6/4? Answer
| White | 48 |
|---|---|
| |
| Blue | 35 |
| GNUBg Id: rdsBAODfjQgAAA:QYkIAAAAAAAA XGID=-HCB--A--A---------cbcaba-:1:-1:1:21:0:0:0:0:10 | |
