Cash game, White owns the cube.
White to play 5-1
In backgammon, much of our thinking revolves around assets. What asset can we acquire with a given roll? What asset do we have to give up? One way to look at backgammon is as a series of decisions regarding the accumulation of assets, and the conversion of one asset into another.
Some assets are quasi-permanent, like inner-board points, or primes. Others are more ephemeral, like a racing lead, which can vanish with a single hit. We tend to prefer permanent assets to temporary assets when we have a choice, although usually we’re happy to get any kind of asset we can.
Some assets are hard to spot and evaluate over the board. In this position, for instance, the obvious play is 23/18 6/5, securing the only permanent asset available, the 18-point, while leaving no blots. White buttons up, gets an anchor, and puts some pressure on the Black blots around the board. In live play, it’s easy to make this move in a shot, without even realizing that there might be an alternative.
There is an alternative, however, and it’s the quiet 18/13 6/5. This play creates a very different sort of asset, namely the ability to move for several turns without breaking any points. In Modern Backgammon I classified positions as robust or fragile: a robust position was one where you had several checkers to move without disturbing the essential points you needed, while a fragile position lacked spares and so was always in danger to collapsing from an awkward shot. That classification fits this position very well.
The safe play, 23/18 6/5, is safe for this turn only; since all White’s points are under pressure, on his next turn he’ll have to break something important – either the 18-point, the 13-point, or his home board. After 18/13 6/5 White has fewer points, but he can keep the points he has for a long time. Now it’s Black, not White, who’s under pressure.
Plays creating mobility aren’t automatically correct. The key question is whether or not the blots you create are a problem. In this case White’s blot on the 23-point is not in much danger; Black can only hit with deuces and a few other numbers, while White’s 5-point home board is a menacing deterrent. If White does get hit, the 20-point is liable to provide a good escape hatch for some time to come. Meanwhile the checker on the 23-point is a real nuisance for Black, preventing him from clearing his midpoint conveniently.
When you practice against a bot, do you find yourself wondering why you seem to face so many more awkward decisions, especially late in the middle game? It’s not magic. The bot is routinely able to find plays like this one, where a simple idea creates a position that’s easy to play for several turns to come. Train yourself to spot these situations, and your games will get easier to play.
