The following is position 460 from Robertie’s 501 Essential Backgammon problems.
Firstly from Blue's point of view:
| Player 1 | 110 |
|---|---|
| |
| Player 2 | 100 |
Position ID: 6F6tBADY3s4AAA Match ID: cAngAAAAAAAA | |
In terms of the count
Blue
Most of it is a poof except one spare on n2 and two checkers on n4. The checker on n2 can go forward two pips for a count of 0 and one of the checkers om n4 can go back two pips for a count of 1 that just leaves the remaining checker on n4 needing to go 4 pips forward for a total count of 1(4)
From White's point of view:
| Player 1 | 110 |
|---|---|
| |
| Player 2 | 100 |
Position ID: 6F6tBADY3s4AAA Match ID: cAngAAAAAAAA | |
White
I may not have counted this as well as I could as I have two separate mini pip counts.
The checkers in the outer board are a six sym around the n3 for a count of 3.(I have to confess that I didn't see this immediately). I moved one checker on n-1 to n-2 to create a block for a count of -1 and then moved the checker on n7 one pip forward for an offsetting count of 1. This gives a total count of 3(2)
Clearly Blue is leading the race because Blue has a lower score to add to 90 if you were trying to generate a traditional pip count.
What I am not sure about is how you would then use Nack 57 to decide if Blue should double and if White should take if doubled. Would Nack mind going very slowly through the approach you would take over the board if you were either blue considering whether to double and if you were white deciding whether or not to accept a double using Nack 57?
More generally when counting –
Should you count the side you think is behind or ahead first or just count your own position first?
Do you have tips for retaining one score as you then count the other?
Are there any other tips for tackling this other than obviously practice, practice and practice !
Thanks as always for your help.
Jim