2024 - Position 131

XGID=---a-BCACa--cB---dBcbA--aA:0:0:1:42:6:5:0:11:10

Match Play. Red leads 6-5 to 11. How should Red play 42?

I switched off here and played bar/21, 7/5. Safe, but very badly wrong.

Correct is bar/23, 13/9*, attempting to take advantage of the fact that White has three blots.

Red trails by 29 pips before the roll so a passive approach allowing White to consolidate his position is completely the wrong idea. My play was nearly a double blunder. Bar/23, 7/3* is merely an error. With nine checkers in the zone Red must play aggressively and put two checkers behind his growing prime.