2021 - Position 222

XGID=-aAB--D-C-a-aa--bc-dABbAA-:0:0:1:65:2:1:0:7:10

Match Play. Red leads 2-1 to 7. How should Red play 65?

8/2, 6/1* splits Red’s army in half and there is no real value in making the 2-pt.

Red needs an outfield presence. 24/18, 23/18 is wrong by a long way. Red needs to keep one of those checkers as a long-term goalkeeper.

Therefore the choice is between 23/12* and 24/13*. If Red does end up in back game then owning the 23-pt will be much better than the 24-pt in most variations.

This gives the nod to 24/12* as the correct play.