How would you move 64 in this position?
You probably that this position is all about what to do with the checkers on the 14 and 16 point:
- 15/9 13/9 makes the important 9 point, extending the 4-prime to a 5-prime that will make it very hard for white to escape. On the other side, it offers white a double hit, 20 of 36 rolls will hit, 11 and 31 even hit two checkers, and white’s 4 point board could bring black into a losing situation.
- 15/11 15/9 doesn’t make a point, but slots the 9 point, brings one more builder for the 4 point into the game, and only risks being hit with a 6 (and only being double it with a 62).
- There’s also 15/5 and 13/9 13/7 but these are just flavors of 15/11 15/9.
So, what would you play? Risky or not risky?
I didn’t take the risk, found it too dangerous to run into the double hit, and played 15/11 15/9. That was a serious blunder (-0.2 points of equity). Risking the double hit is the right plan. The 5-prime is just too powerful to miss.