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Blue does not have to make his 5pt in this position. Playing pick-and-pass against White as he enters his checkers is usually good enough to get the win. That strategy should get Blue a significant number of gammons as well. The only number White might throw to upset the plan is 55. Ideally, then, Blue should spread out his checkers in direct range of his open 5pt, but avoid putting one on either his 10pt or 15pt. Unfortunately, the only plays that accomplish that involve playing the 2 from the 15pt to the 13pt. Then, no matter how Blue plays the 5, there is no way to create a new builder for the 5pt. For that reason, I think Blue should risk White’s 55 by playing the 5 from the 15pt to the 10pt. Then the best 2 seems to be 13/11, linking two blots, and bringing another checker within range of the 5pt. BTW: Instead of using Copy as HTML in XG, you should try Copy as BgOnline. It’s the preferred way to post here. Mike | ||||||||||||
