MABC Weekly Update
Amy gets her first win! And NO Study Session Next Week
Hello and Happy Friday, Backgammon Enthusiasts!
Next week, we will not have our 5 PM study session, as Jason Lee will be duking it out at the Cherry Blossom Tournament. I will log in to the Zoom at 5:45 PM, and we will start promptly at 6 PM as usual. Best of luck to all of you playing in the Cherry Blossom Tournament! And don’t forget that the study sessions are being shared on YouTube. Be sure to let your friends know! Also let them know about our humble little club. The thing that makes this club special is that it is a low stakes environment. There is no betting, no cost for travel/registration, no time away from home, etc. It is a great opportunity for players of all skill levels to play, whether they be strong players perfecting their game, or newcomers trying to get their feet wet.
This week, Amy Latek came out swinging in a stacked field of 13, going 5-0 for the night and defeating March Player-Of-The-Month Rick Penn in the final round - no small feat. This is Amy’s first win of the year - well done! The club standings have been updated, and Rick is is second place and quickly closing in on the number one spot.
Since Amy was our winner, I’ll share a cube decision from my match with her (in which she ruthlessly beat me…) in our weekly edition of “did Wes make a cube blunder?” The answer to that question is almost always “yes,” by the way…
Here is the position: Amy (brown) is up 3-2 in a 5-point match. I (white) am on roll, and the race is dead even. Is it a double?
Let’s look at each side of the board. On the one side, white has 2 checkers back, and brown has a rather flexible position to prime/blitz. On the other side though, white has already established a strong 5 prime. So we have brown with a good position, although not as good as white, but brown also has threat. There is really no race consideration. With all of this under consideration, it turns out it is a double, although not a blunder if white doesn’t.
Now, my initial thought is that brown being 2-away made this an easier double for white to find, but that if that were not the case, it may not be a double. However, this is not the case! Below is that same analysis if the match were tied 2-2. Can someone explain this in the comments? Why is it a blunder to not double at 2-2, but only a small error at 3-2?
Unsurprisingly, if white is up 3-2, then it is not a double. If white did double, it would be a take and an instant redouble. This makes sense, because in that scenario the high gammon potential is moot.
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All the best,
Wes Farrell