Black – Pips 168 (=)
Black to Play 6-2
This position shows a typically awkward moment in the early game. Black’s game is temporarily a little loose, and now he throws a 2-6 from the bar.
Sometimes a six from the bar will allow us to do something obvious and good, like hitting a blot or building a point. When we can’t do anything good, we’re usually faced with a choice among several unappetizing alternatives. That’s the case here. We have four legal sixes: 8/2, 13/7, 21/15, and 22/16. None look great, but we have to pick one. Let’s set up some guidelines and see if they can lead us to the least unappealing six.
