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Bot Play

Posted By: Timothy Chow
Date: Tuesday, 3 May 2011, at 11:01 p.m.

In Response To: Bot Play (ah_clem)

I wrote:

With big boardage, seek big blottage.

ah_clem wrote:

I guess I don't understand this dictum.

Half of the point is psychological. Lots of people seem to be stunned when the bot makes a blotty play in such situations. My point is, come on—this is 2011. Bots have been around for a long time. There's no reason to be startled by such a play. If you don't see such plays as candidates then you're suffering from a mental block. When you have a big board advantage, you should suspend your instinct not to leave blots. Take the position at hand, for example. Are you quaking in your boots at the prospect of being hit? Of course not. So why aren't you looking at plays that leave blots? The dictum is helping you unlearn a bad habit, and curing a common blind spot.

Now, just because you can leave blots doesn't always mean you should. However, it's often the case that spreading your checkers out gives you more territorial control. You can slot points that you want to make, and arrange for multiple direct shots at one of your opponent's points that may be forced to break soon. In the position at hand, your opponent has a rather inflexible position, and it would be nice to have a double direct shot if your opponent moves one of the checkers on your side of the board. So there's merit to splitting your outfield checkers.

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