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| XGID=-aFB--B--b------A------eg-:1:-1:1:41:0:0:3:0:10 | |||||
| Blue to play 41 | |||||
| 1. | Rollout1 | 16/12 2/1* | eq: +0.9449 | |||
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| 2. | Rollout1 | 16/11 | eq: +0.9366 (-0.0083) | |||
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| 1 5184 Games rolled with Variance Reduction. Dice Seed: 30125428 Moves: 3-ply, cube decisions: XG Roller | ||||||
eXtreme Gammon Version: 2.03
| Not being a chess player, I had to look it up:
Zugzwang (German for "compulsion to move") is a situation found usually in chess, but also in various other games, where one player is put at a disadvantage because he has to make a move when he would prefer to pass and make no move. The fact that the player must make a move means that his position will be significantly weaker than the hypothetical one in which it was his opponent's turn to move. Source: Wikipedia Now I can recall the several times I have seen the term applied to backgammon. In this position, it could be applied to both sides, a Zugzwang deadlock. It doesn’t really capture the essence of Blue’s decision here, though. The battle of the boards is a bout between featherweights, crash city. Should Blue open up a second blot? Is the tempo gained worth the risk? We’ve seen a couple like this lately. I wonder if it is enough to call it a category. Mike |