White – Pips 173 (+38)

Black – Pips 135 (-38)
Black on roll. Cube action?Proper doubles in the very early stages of the game are somewhat unusual. It takes some time to build an advantage strong enough to turn the cube. Most correct early doubles come from blitz positions, where one side rolls a quick double, makes a couple of inner-board points, and catches his opponent on the bar. Here the attacker gets enough gammon chances to compensate for the fact that he still doesn’t have a big positional edge.

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When should you double in the very early part of the game? How soon is too soon? Let’s take a look.

White – Pips 170 (+17)

Black – Pips 153 (-17)
Black on roll. Cube action?
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White – Pips 150 (+2)

Black – Pips 148 (-2)
Black to Play 2-1
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White – Pips 161 (+1)

Black – Pips 160 (-1)
Black to Play 4-2 read more…

We are in the very early part of the game and neither player has much structure. White has, however, made his 4-point.

White – Pips 155 (-5)

Black – Pips 160 (+5)
Black to Play 4-2 read more…

Problem 1.

White – Pips 156 (-6)

Black – Pips 162 (+6)
Black to Play 6-4Problem 2.

White – Pips 136 (-14)

Black – Pips 150 (+14)
Black to Play 6-4 read more…