2020 - Position 31

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Match Play. Red leads 5-0 to 13. How should Red play 53?

Irrespective of his match lead Red must still follow basic backgammon principles.

With White having a single rear checker Red should follow the standard game plan of attacking it with 5/2*. After that the five should be used to bring another checker into the attack zone. Red should unstack his 16-pt by playing 16/11.

Any non-hitting play is a blunder. Even 10/2* is a blunder because it insufficiently develops Red’s position. The over the board play of 16/13, 10/5 was a really weak effort.