When to move off of anchors?
Dave Hicks
off of anchors and make the push for my home board, particularly when I'm
holding the good ol' 20-point. I know there probably isn't one golden rule
on when to relinquish points, as its more likely dependent on the specific
game, but is there any kind of general knowledge on the topic?
Here's a hypothetical situation (I'd make diagrams, but I don't have a clue
how to): I've built a 4-point prime from the 4-point to the 7-point,
trapping three of my opponent's checkers on the 3-point. I also hold the
20-point... the only other two checkers of my opponent that haven't cleared
have made the 16-point.
Where I run into problems is, for instance, if I were to roll a 6... do I
break the prime down off the bar-point, leaving my checkers on the 20? Or
do I finally begin to move the checkers on the 20-point home, running the
danger of being hit by either of the checkers on the 16-point or checkers
escaping from the 3-point?
I know that's a bit confusing without diagrams, and I know maybe this might
seem like a dumb question to some folks, but it's a concept that this
beginner hasn't completely worked out... any help or advice, as always, is
appreciated.
Bob Newell
>OK... one problem I've noticed I'm having is deciding exactly when to move
>off of anchors and make the push for my home board, particularly when I'm
>holding the good ol' 20-point. I know there probably isn't one golden rule
I am very much in the beginner category, and have the same question
in much simplified form. I've learned enough to make the 20 point, but
then I have many-many-many games where it ends up that all contact has
been broken *except* for my two men on the 20 point. The other guy is racing
for home, I'm trying to set up my home board, and hoping like mad that he
leaves a blot in his outer table, or else I have no chance... could any
of the better players comment on:
1. why I seem to get in this situation a lot - is there some generic type
of mistake that leads to this and
2. when do I break and run?
TIA for any help.
--
Paul Epstein
I'll let the experts (I'm not one) handle the substance of your
question, but I'd like to address one source of error in the
literature. One popular book (I forget which one, or there may be
several) says that the 20 point is so valuable that, in general, you
should avoid breaking your anchor prematurely to hit blots in the
opening. Assuming that JF is a good player (and I think it's a great
player), this is nonsense! JF breaks the 20 point almost whenever it
can hit a blot. The only exceptions are obvious: JF might have more
than one blot on its home board or some other very clear reason.
Play JF or Snowie and learn from what they do. You will get good
guidelines by watching when JF moves off the 20 point.
Paul Epstein
> --
a...@qfd.fr
> off of anchors and make the push for my home board, particularly when I'm
> holding the good ol' 20-point. I know there probably isn't one golden rule
> on when to relinquish points, as its more likely dependent on the specific
> game, but is there any kind of general knowledge on the topic?
There is a golden rule, but it is useful only about 50% of the time :
if you are behind in the race, keep the anchor and hope for a shot
since if you run and escape sucessfully, you are still the underdog,
and if you are hit, you are in trouble.
In the other cases, the significant factors are the race status (the
bigger your lead, the more you wish to disengage) and the timing.
Timing is possibly the most important concept in backgammon. It is the
ability to play without weakening your position. If your opponenent has
a better timing, your position is likely to deteriorate first and you
will usually have to take some risks (to either "lock" the win, with
some kind of attacking play, or in the case of holding games by breaking
contact with a substantial racing lead, or to improve your own timing).
On the the other hand, if your timing is better, you can (and usually
should) wait.
> Here's a hypothetical situation (I'd make diagrams, but I don't have a clue
> how to): I've built a 4-point prime from the 4-point to the 7-point,
> trapping three of my opponent's checkers on the 3-point. I also hold the
> 20-point... the only other two checkers of my opponent that haven't cleared
> have made the 16-point.
>
> Where I run into problems is, for instance, if I were to roll a 6... do I
> break the prime down off the bar-point, leaving my checkers on the 20? Or
> do I finally begin to move the checkers on the 20-point home, running the
> danger of being hit by either of the checkers on the 16-point or checkers
> escaping from the 3-point?
+13-14-15-16-17-18------19-20-21-22-23-24-+
| X O | | O X O O O |
| X O | | O X O O O |
| | | O O |
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | X X O |
| X | | X X X O |
| X | | X X X O X |
+12-11-10--9--8--7-------6--5--4--3--2--1-+
In this position for instance, your timing is fine. You can play from
the midpoint and you must not break your anchor. Good things are quite
likely to happen : O may have to break the 16 point, or he may spring a
checker from the 3, be hit and dance, allowing you to break the 20pt
relatively safely, or you may roll doubles... Time is on your side and
you should play conservatively. Moreover, you don't have much of a
racing lead.
+13-14-15-16-17-18------19-20-21-22-23-24-+
| O | | O X O O O |
| O | | O X O O O |
| | | O O |
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | |
| | | |
| X | | X X X O |
| X | | X X X O |
| X | | X X X O X |
+12-11-10--9--8--7-------6--5--4--3--2--1-+
In this one, the situation is trickier. If you play on your side of the
board, O is a favorite to extricate a checker from your 3pt and obtain a
better timing. You should still play 61 and 51 in your board since leaving
a blot on the 20pt is much more dangerous than on the 17 or 18, but you
should probably run with 63 and 53 (62 an 52 are less clear). You may
be hit and gammoned, but you just have to take the chance. If you wait,
your position is likely to deteriorate while O's will improve.
+13-14-15-16-17-18------19-20-21-22-23-24-+
| O | | O X O O O |
| O | | O X O O O |
| | | O O |
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | X X O x |
| X | | X X X O x |
| X | | X X X O X |
+12-11-10--9--8--7-------6--5--4--3--2--1-+
And here your timing is even worse. You should run from the 20pt with
all 6s and 5s (except 51 ?) and maybe even with some "small" rolls like
32 (note that keeping the bar point is important : if O cannot play
his 4s from your 3pt, his position will degrade considerably and
moreover 4 landing places for your back checkers is better than 3).