The Old Books Were Wrong!

[Simborg]

In the position below, it's a money game, and black to play 5-2. The question is, do you hit the third checker or not?

After you decide, scroll down for the answer and explanation.







scroll down.....




The answer is a BIG YES! Hit that checker. The old books used to tell us that if you had the gammon anyway, don't hit too many checkers because that gives your opponent more of a chance to hit you in the bearoff. The truth is, sometimes he will hit you because of that third checker, and sometimes, because of that, you will lose the game. But not often enough. More times than not, the extra checker will get you more wins even if you do get hit, and it certainly will get you more gammons and backgammons.

In the situation above, that extra checker doesn't increase your wins, but it does give you about 4% more gammons, and believe it or not, 4% is a lot. If you increase your gammons by 4% every time you get the chance, you'll be a lot wealthier person by the end of the year.