Cash game. Center cube. Black on move.

Part (A): Black to play 6-2.

Part (B): Black to play 5-4.

In both positions, White’s game suffers from a serious flaw: the big stack of checkers on the 20-point. Stacks are always bad, but in the late middle game they become even worse because so many checkers are tied up in one section of the board. As a rule, repairing the problem by moving the checkers off the stack becomes a very high priority, often outweighing all other considerations.

Problem (A) is very typical. White trails in the race by 35 pips (163 to 127), but he has some chances to contain Black’s rear checker. White has a decent little board and good control of the outfield. The only glaring problem in his game are the four checkers massed on the 20-point.

White can play safe this turn with 13/5, but he shouldn’t. While that move leaves no shots, it does leave the mid-point and 8-point stripped, so next turn White will be virtually required to move from the 20-point. The trouble is, however, that he may not be able. His next roll might be 5-3, or 6-2, or 3-3, any of which play awkwardly once all the remaining points are stripped. Or Black might move his back checker somewhere, after which White is obliged to attack it, while simultaneously trying to release the back checkers.

Instead, White should just play 20/14 13/11! While this play leaves a few shots, it takes control of the outfield and puts the onus on Black to roll a good number. If White gets hit he will probably have return shots, if not he might roll a 6 to make the 14-point, or simply reposition his checkers to control the outfield.

Floating into the outfield like this is a completely standard play once you have several checkers back. The idea is what I like to call mobility. Your goal is to keep your checkers moving and connected, while making new outfield points if possible. Since you’re typically far behind in the race when this situation occurs, counting shots is rarely an issue.

Problem (B) is another application of the same idea. The hit with 8/4* is forced, to stop Black from simply running his last checker home. Now if White didn’t have a stack problem, the logical five would be 13/8, remaking the 8-point. With the big stack on the 20-point, however, the play 20/15 is considerably better, unstacking and grabbing more control of the outfield.