Black – Pips 79 (-59)
Black to Play 5-1
With the 5-1, Black has just three reasonable plays. Let’s take a look at them.
Pay Now or Pay Later
Black – Pips 79 (-59)
Black to Play 5-1
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Bill Robertie
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Black – Pips 79 (-59)
Black to Play 5-1
An Early Blitz
Black – Pips 135 (-44)
Black to Play 6-4
In this game Black launched a blitz after a few moves were made on both sides, and now White is in serious trouble with two men up in the air facing a four-point board with more blots floating around. Black’s 6-4 gives him several excellent options; his job now is not to get too excited, but to just find the most efficient way to bring the game home.
Hit loose or make an anchor?
Black – Pips 168 (=)
A. Black to Play 3-2
In Position A, Black has two choices: he can enter and hit on the 5-point, or he can enter and make the anchor on the 22-point. To hit or not to hit: what’s right?
The 5-point is a strong point. In the abstract, it’s the best point there is, so hitting to make the 5-point later is often a good idea. But making an anchor is a good idea too, and very often correct. If we could only do one of these good things, we’d do it. But here we can do either but not both, so we have to pick and choose.
Playing a Middle Game Blitz
In backgammon, the term ‘blitz’ refers to a position where one side is caught on the bar without an anchor, and the other side is trying to close him out before he can get in and organize his defenses. If the attacking side is successful, the result is often a gammon. If the defender can get in, he’ll usually save the gammon and may quickly take the advantage, especially if his opponent has become overextended. Blitzes are an important class of positions, and the aspiring player needs to understand them well.
Blitz positions fall into three main categories. The first is the familiar early game blitz, where one side (say, White) runs out or splits his back men and Black then throws a double, making a couple of inner points while sending White to the bar. When White dances, we’re in an early blitz situation. Most of these positions are doubles and takes, although there are exceptions, depending on how many builders are available to continue the blitz and how many vulnerable checkers the defender has.
Phillip Vyvian Martyn, 1938-2019
Phillip grew up in England, attended Sherborne School, spent three years as an officer in the British Army, serving in Germany, and finished his education at Lincoln College, Oxford. During those years “Phil” became an excellent Rugby player, representing his county, Cornwall, and capped by the Greyhounds, the Oxford University second fifteen – for those interested he played fullback. Further in that vein he also became an excellent skier, and did in fact live for some years in Switzerland.
Post university Phillip Martyn began to travel, Europe first and then the USA, eventually living in New York City. It was there and then, in the early to mid-1960s, that he (and I) learned backgammon, and swiftly got hooked. Phil struck up a camaraderie with Ted Bassett a smooth and amiable golf and backgammon expert, whose own year divided into segments — Palm Beach, St Moritz, Monte Carlo, Biarritz and the airports between. Phil saw nothing wrong with that and so for the next three decades his lifestyle was set.
Playing a Deuce-Point Game
Black – Pips 113 (-23)
Black on roll. Cube action?
In this position, White has been reduced to a deuce-point game, and Black is in the process of bringing his men home and trapping White behind a prime. Black’s made a lot of progress, but there are still a few hurdles to overcome:
> Black’s open 3-point needs to be filled in before he starts his bearoff.
> The open 7-point is a small nuisance.
> Black still has to clear the 16-point.
Are all these problems serious enough to stop Black from doubling? Or is the 2-point game so weak that White already has a pass? Before we answer these questions, let’s take a little look at the structure of the 2-point game itself.
