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Puzzle: can this position be reached?

Posted By: Nack Ballard
Date: Monday, 25 July 2011, at 6:16 p.m.

In Response To: Puzzle: can this position be reached? (Turz)

Very nice problem, but too complicated for me.

Yes, this is a difficult reconstruction because Blue's army is disjointed: he has many checkers back and yet a crushed board in front. That situation requires that his numbers be blocked earlier in such a way as to make him crack.

Which diagram would you have considered the last "stable" position?

That's a good question. For sure, I would consider the position reached three rolls after the third diagram of the post to be stable, when White played 32U (i.e., Bar/20), and maybe a couple of rolls beyond that, before Blue buried a checker. After that it's really a matter of interpretation.

Perhaps I gave the appearance of setting the bar too high in using the word "stable." In truth, I would have been satisfied with the three-play end-combination (52K-51-32E) as a solution -- see the penultimate diagram. That position may leave some unanswered questions, but it looks reasonable, like a broken backgame where Blue is in the process of remaking his board.

What I would not have been satisfied with is, "White could have reached the final position by having played 16/4(2) with double 6s," with no explanation of how Blue's blots ended up on the 6pt and 5pt the play before.

Nack

Messages In This Thread

• Puzzle: can this position be reached?
  Nack Ballard -- Friday, 22 July 2011, at 11:58 p.m.
  • Puzzle: can this position be reached?
    Nack Ballard -- Monday, 25 July 2011, at 7:42 a.m.
    • Bravo Nack! *NM*
      Casper van der Tak -- Monday, 25 July 2011, at 7:51 a.m.
    • Puzzle: can this position be reached?
      Turz -- Monday, 25 July 2011, at 8:46 a.m.
      • Puzzle: can this position be reached?
        Nack Ballard -- Monday, 25 July 2011, at 6:16 p.m.