Cash game, center cube.

White to play 1-1.

This position shows a slightly unusual mutual holding game structure. Both sides have anchors, White on his 21-point and Black on his 18-point. Right now White trails in the race by 16 pips (123 to 107), but trailing in the race isn’t much of a disadvantage in these positions because the side that’s ahead in the race usually has to break anchor and expose himself first.

White has two decisions to make:

(1) Should he move the checkers on the 21-point or the 13-point, or leave them alone?

(2) What’s the best way to improve his inner board?

The first question is the easiest. Since White trails in the race, he wants maximum contact. The way to get maximum contact is to stay back as much as possible. so White doesn’t want to move the checkers on the 21 and 13-points unless there’s no recourse. In this case it’s even more important than usual to keep both points, because Black’s sixes are horrible if White stays where he is. Notice that in the current position 6-1, 6-3, and 6-4 all leave shots, while 6-2 and 6-6 continue stacking checkers.

So let’s leave those checkers on the 21 and 13-points alone and concentrate on the inner board.

If White wants to play only in his inner board, the obvious first choice is 4/1 6/5, building a 4-point board. It’s a perfectly safe play, and if White gets a shot next turn and hits, he won’t have to worry about an exposed blot. However, although it’s perfectly safe, it’s also poor technique. When building a board to prepare for future shots, the right idea is to build it as quickly as possible by slotting, covering, slotting, and covering. Playing 4/1 6/5 creates a 4-point board, but making the important fifth point will take a while.

A better try is 6/4 3/2(2), which creates a 4-point board with the fifth point slotted. Still, that slot on the ace-point is a little hard to cover. Better still is 6/4 3/1! which moves the slot backwards, where it’s in direct range of the 8-point. Now White has a 4-point board with the fifth point slotted and easy to cover. That approach gives him the best chance of having a 5-point board when he finally hits a shot.