2021 - Position 187

XGID=-BBbBBA-B---a--B------A-A-:0:0:1:31:4:4:0:5:10

Match Play. Double Match Point. How should Red play 31?

A highly complex position and one that worthy of a longer article.

The one thing that Red must not do is to hit the White checker on his 12-pt.

Red’s tactic is to let White reach home with that checker and then force him off his 22-pt anchor. Once those two checkers are separated Red can attack and (hopefully) close out all three white blots.

The correct play is a toss-up between 22/18 and 15/11. Only a computer can separate those two plays and XG gives the nod to 15/11 but for all practical purposes the two plays are equal. Interestingly Red’s winning chances are 70% which is higher than you might think but playing with three checkers against fifteen checkers is nigh on impossible.