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BGonline.org Forums
Zero equity opening plays
Posted By: Nack Ballard In Response To: Zero equity opening plays (Kevin Whyte)
Date: Monday, 8 August 2011, at 5:32 a.m.
Overall the rule is a bigger disadvantage for whoever has to pick a move than I would have expected.
That the opponent gets the first chance at doublets is a (partially) offsetting factor not present in chess.
If your sole objective is to nullify the opening advantage in backgammon, forcing the first player to make a move like 21S (say randomly selecting from a list of near-zero-equity plays, or even near-zero equity first and second play combinations, for variety) seems like the way to go. It's similar to the chess equalizer of putting Black's a7 pawn on a6 (or whatever) in chess and then White plays his opening move.
The "Slot rule" (a.k.a. Slotgammon) states that the first player must "slot" (give the opponent's back checkers a direct shot) with the opening roll. Alternatively, the "Simborg rule" states that the first player is not allowed to make a point or run with 65 with the opening roll. These rules cut down the variance but retain more variance than the solution stated in the previous paragraph. Still, you and your friend might find them interesting.
Personally, I don't see any real need for a rule in backgammon that cuts down the first player's advantage. The volatility in backgammon being so high, the first move is just the tip of the iceberg. Besides, equal-strength players start with an equal chance in backgammon, unlike chess.
[Btw, I did not create the Slot rule to reduce the first player's advantage. Primarily, I feel that it is a nice variant to make games more colorful and complicated -- by increasing the chance of recirculating checkers.]
Nack
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