2022 - Position 94

XGID=--a-B-C-B-AA-A---b-ccdbBC-:1:1:1:55:0:0:0:7:10

Match Play. 0-0 to 7. How should Red play 55?

This is not easy.

Over the board 23/13(2) was tried, combining a priming game with the fallback of well-timed ace-point game. This turns out to be a small error.

The best game plan is to keep the 1-2 back game. This is because White’s bar-point is open and will very likely remain open, thus recirculating hit checkers will be relatively easy.

The best move is 13/3, 10/5, 8/3. This maintains the back game, keeps all the checkers in play and retains the small possibility of winning going forwards. Playing 11/6 with one of the fives is wrong because it creates a small stack which is something to be avoided if possible when playing purely.