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Potential 234 backgame

Posted By: Daniel Murphy
Date: Tuesday, 13 April 2010, at 12:28 a.m.

In Response To: Potential 234 backgame (Chase)

I wrote the following in 2005:

This is an interesting position to play out.

It's just about impossible for Blue to win by immediately going forward -- his front position is too weak to sustain an attack.

Even so, Blue might try bar/24* 21/18* -- not for an immediate attack but for some kind of holding game. Unfortunately Blue runs into problems deciding which points to hold. If these include the bar point, then Blue must use his most rearward checkers to make a board -- it's not possible to hold the barpoint AND two back points AND make a board. Instead one of four things happen:

would-be winning shots come before Blue is ready, or Blue plays a weak game holding the bar point and one back point, or Blue gives up the barpoint and converts to some kind of backgame -- sometimes with decent timing, but often not -- or Blue finds himself completely and repeatedly squeezed and ends up playing with one anchor.

Tactically, bar/24*, especially with 21/18*, hurts Blue's timing. bar/24* recirculates a dead checker with great advantage to White. 21/18* prevents White from immediately making the barpoint but again hurts Blue's timing for an eventual backgame (but still leaves Blue far behind in a straight race or conventional holding game) and, given Blue's weaknesses, White is happy to enough to have another checker to play as he chooses.

Blue might try bar/24* 6/3. But despite White's loose position -- three tempting blots in the outfield -- Blue has too much to do. The open 5 point is a serious hole in Blue's forward game, and again White benefits from being able to recirculate a dead checker.

Playing Blue against gnubg 2-ply, I've been most successful with an immediate commitment to a backgame with bar/22 23/22. This all but guarantees Blue an eventual 2-3 backgame with good timing and reasonable winning chances.

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