I didn't even consider running the stop sign.

XGID=-BBbB-DC-B-------a-cbcbaa-:1:-1:1:44:0:2:0:7:10

Score is X:0 O:2 7 pt.(s) match.
+24-23-22-21-20-19------18-17-16-15-14-13-+
| O O O O O O | | O | +---+
| O O O O | | | | 2 |
| O O | | | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | |
| X | | |
| X | | X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
+-1--2--3--4--5--6-------7--8--9-10-11-12-+
Pip count X: 77 O: 101 X-O: 0-2/7
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 44

1. XG Roller++ 9/1(2) eq:+0.547
Player: 78.74% (G:1.57% B:0.01%)
Opponent: 21.26% (G:0.51% B:0.01%)

2. XG Roller++ 9/5(2) 6/2(2) eq:+0.477 (-0.071)
Player: 75.19% (G:1.85% B:0.01%)
Opponent: 24.81% (G:1.02% B:0.02%)

3. 1-ply 9/5 9/1 6/2 eq:+0.203 (-0.344)
Player: 64.30% (G:3.48% B:0.02%)
Opponent: 35.70% (G:3.33% B:0.02%)


eXtreme Gammon Version: 2.10, MET: Kazaross XG2

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 4/27/2023 8:34 PM, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

I didn't even consider running the stop sign.

XGID=-BBbB-DC-B-------a-cbcbaa-:1:-1:1:44:0:2:0:7:10

Score is X:0 O:2 7 pt.(s) match.
+24-23-22-21-20-19------18-17-16-15-14-13-+
| O O O O O O | | O | +---+
| O O O O | | | | 2 |
| O O | | | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | |
| X | | |
| X | | X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
+-1--2--3--4--5--6-------7--8--9-10-11-12-+
Pip count X: 77 O: 101 X-O: 0-2/7
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 44

Nice one. Once you realize that leaving interior gaps is not
always a bad thing, you'll start to notice that such situations
crop up more frequently than you might think. Below are a couple
of examples from my files that you might find interesting.

XGID=-ECbB-E-a---a------bcbbb--:1:-1:1:11:0:0:0:0:10

Score is X:0 O:0. Unlimited Game
+13-14-15-16-17-18------19-20-21-22-23-24-+
| | | O O O O O | +---+
| | | O O O O O | | 2 |
| | | O | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | X X |
| | | X X |
| | | X X X |
| | | X X O X X |
| O O | | X X O X X |
+12-11-10--9--8--7-------6--5--4--3--2--1-+
Pip count X: 49 O: 119 X-O: 0-0
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 11

1. Rollout¹ 6/4 1/Off(2) eq:+0.840
Player: 84.40% (G:21.64% B:0.08%)
Opponent: 15.60% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.837..+0.843) - [100.0%]

2. Rollout¹ 1/Off(4) eq:+0.801 (-0.039)
Player: 80.73% (G:26.80% B:0.30%)
Opponent: 19.27% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.005 (+0.796..+0.806) - [0.0%]

3. Rollout¹ 6/5(2) 6/4 eq:+0.787 (-0.053)
Player: 85.21% (G:13.41% B:0.02%)
Opponent: 14.79% (G:0.28% B:0.01%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.784..+0.790) - [0.0%]

4. Rollout¹ 6/5(3) 1/Off eq:+0.752 (-0.088)
Player: 82.44% (G:16.95% B:0.05%)
Opponent: 17.56% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.749..+0.755) - [0.0%]

¹ 1296 Games rolled with Variance Reduction.
Dice Seed: 271828
Moves: 3-ply, cube decisions: XG Roller

eXtreme Gammon Version: 2.19.211.pre-release

---

XGID=--CbBDD--B---------abcbcb-:1:-1:1:33:0:0:0:0:10

Score is X:0 O:0. Unlimited Game
+13-14-15-16-17-18------19-20-21-22-23-24-+
| | | O O O O O O | +---+
| | | O O O O O | | 2 |
| | | O O | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | |
| | | X X |
| | | X X X |
| X | | X X X O X |
| X | | X X X O X |
+12-11-10--9--8--7-------6--5--4--3--2--1-+
Pip count X: 76 O: 86 X-O: 0-0
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 33

1. Rollout¹ 9/6(2) 4/1(2) eq:+0.724
Player: 87.34% (G:1.63% B:0.01%)
Opponent: 12.66% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.721..+0.727) - [100.0%]

2. Rollout¹ 9

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 4:31:38 AM UTC+1, Timothy Chow wrote:

On 4/27/2023 8:34 PM, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

I didn't even consider running the stop sign.

XGID=-BBbB-DC-B-------a-cbcbaa-:1:-1:1:44:0:2:0:7:10

Score is X:0 O:2 7 pt.(s) match. +24-23-22-21-20-19------18-17-16-15-14-13-+
| O O O O O O | | O | +---+
| O O O O | | | | 2 |
| O O | | | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | |
| X | | |
| X | | X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
+-1--2--3--4--5--6-------7--8--9-10-11-12-+
Pip count X: 77 O: 101 X-O: 0-2/7
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 44

Nice one. Once you realize that leaving interior gaps is not
always a bad thing, you'll start to notice that such situations
crop up more frequently than you might think. Below are a couple
of examples from my files that you might find interesting.

XGID=-ECbB-E-a---a------bcbbb--:1:-1:1:11:0:0:0:0:10

Score is X:0 O:0. Unlimited Game
+13-14-15-16-17-18------19-20-21-22-23-24-+
| | | O O O O O | +---+
| | | O O O O O | | 2 |
| | | O | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | X X |
| | | X X |
| | | X X X |
| | | X X O X X |
| O O | | X X O X X |
+12-11-10--9--8--7-------6--5--4--3--2--1-+
Pip count X: 49 O: 119 X-O: 0-0
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 11

1. Rollout¹ 6/4 1/Off(2) eq:+0.840
Player: 84.40% (G:21.64% B:0.08%)
Opponent: 15.60% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.837..+0.843) - [100.0%]

2. Rollout¹ 1/Off(4) eq:+0.801 (-0.039)
Player: 80.73% (G:26.80% B:0.30%)
Opponent: 19.27% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.005 (+0.796..+0.806) - [0.0%]

3. Rollout¹ 6/5(2) 6/4 eq:+0.787 (-0.053)
Player: 85.21% (G:13.41% B:0.02%)
Opponent: 14.79% (G:0.28% B:0.01%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.784..+0.790) - [0.0%]

4. Rollout¹ 6/5(3) 1/Off eq:+0.752 (-0.088)
Player: 82.44% (G:16.95% B:0.05%)
Opponent: 17.56% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.749..+0.755) - [0.0%]

¹ 1296 Games rolled with Variance Reduction.
Dice Seed: 271828
Moves: 3-ply, cube decisions: XG Roller

eXtreme Gammon Version: 2.19.211.pre-release

....
This position hardly reinforces Bob's theme!
Bob (if I understand him correctly) is making the point (unfortunate
unintended double meaning) that we don't always get the safest bearoff
by filling in inner points.

However, you say that you are giving a similar situation, but you
present a position where filling in is in fact the safest.
(Look at the percentage of games won by the favourite).

However, we don't fill in because we don't get enough gammons that way.
So this position shows the anti-DMP theme of sacrificing positions
and decreasing wins but compensating for it with gammons made.
In money play, many find this type of sacrifice difficult to make and
cashing when TG is another example akin to missing greedy bearoffs.
Not related to Bob's theme.

However, your subsequent (deleted) variantization was indeed relevant
and thematically similar.
Thank you for all your variantizations and posts whether relevant or not.
They are always interesting.

Paul

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 4:15:25 AM UTC-4, peps...@gmail.com wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 4:31:38 AM UTC+1, Timothy Chow wrote:

On 4/27/2023 8:34 PM, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

I didn't even consider running the stop sign.

XGID=-BBbB-DC-B-------a-cbcbaa-:1:-1:1:44:0:2:0:7:10

Score is X:0 O:2 7 pt.(s) match. +24-23-22-21-20-19------18-17-16-15-14-13-+
| O O O O O O | | O | +---+
| O O O O | | | | 2 |
| O O | | | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | |
| X | | |
| X | | X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
+-1--2--3--4--5--6-------7--8--9-10-11-12-+
Pip count X: 77 O: 101 X-O: 0-2/7
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 44

Nice one. Once you realize that leaving interior gaps is not
always a bad thing, you'll start to notice that such situations
crop up more frequently than you might think. Below are a couple
of examples from my files that you might find interesting.

XGID=-ECbB-E-a---a------bcbbb--:1:-1:1:11:0:0:0:0:10

Score is X:0 O:0. Unlimited Game +13-14-15-16-17-18------19-20-21-22-23-24-+
| | | O O O O O | +---+
| | | O O O O O | | 2 |
| | | O | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | X X |
| | | X X |
| | | X X X |
| | | X X O X X |
| O O | | X X O X X |
+12-11-10--9--8--7-------6--5--4--3--2--1-+
Pip count X: 49 O: 119 X-O: 0-0
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 11

1. Rollout¹ 6/4 1/Off(2) eq:+0.840
Player: 84.40% (G:21.64% B:0.08%)
Opponent: 15.60% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.837..+0.843) - [100.0%]

2. Rollout¹ 1/Off(4) eq:+0.801 (-0.039)
Player: 80.73% (G:26.80% B:0.30%)
Opponent: 19.27% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.005 (+0.796..+0.806) - [0.0%]

3. Rollout¹ 6/5(2) 6/4 eq:+0.787 (-0.053)
Player: 85.21% (G:13.41% B:0.02%)
Opponent: 14.79% (G:0.28% B:0.01%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.784..+0.790) - [0.0%]

4. Rollout¹ 6/5(3) 1/Off eq:+0.752 (-0.088)
Player: 82.44% (G:16.95% B:0.05%)
Opponent: 17.56% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.749..+0.755) - [0.0%]

¹ 1296 Games rolled with Variance Reduction.
Dice Seed: 271828
Moves: 3-ply, cube decisions: XG Roller

eXtreme Gammon Version: 2.19.211.pre-release

....
This position hardly reinforces Bob's theme!
Bob (if I understand him correctly) is making the point (unfortunate unintended double meaning) that we don't always get the safest bearoff
by filling in inner points.

However, you say that you are giving a similar situation, but you
present a position where filling in is in fact the safest.
(Look at the percentage of games won by the favourite).

However, we don't fill in because we don't get enough gammons that way.
So this position shows the anti-DMP theme of sacrificing positions
and decreasing wins but compensating for it with gammons made.
In money play, many find this type of sacrifice difficult to make and cashing when TG is another example akin to missing greedy bearoffs.
Not related to Bob's theme.

However, your subsequent (deleted) variantization was indeed relevant
and thematically similar.
Thank you for all your variantizations and posts whether relevant or not. They are always interesting.

Paul

Thanks, Tim, for the additions. My first impulse to post was just motivated by how unusual it is to bring two checkers right past a gap that looks like it was made for them, regardless of whether it is for safety or gammon purposes. Our backgammon
hindbrains just see that spot and say "what a great roll for those checkers to come in with and land!" then look at the usual next step, move in from the back. But yes, as Paul said, safety is the theme here.

Tim's second position is interesting to me in particular because it neatly fits advice from Michi's book, Endgame Technique. The correct move in this position is pretty obvious when you look at the serious consequences of playing wrong, but his advice to
create a gap against a three-point anchor if it leads to a "zero position", namely one that is safe for the next roll, is germane and works. It's a very good book with some novel material.

Bob

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 1:25:25 PM UTC-4, peps...@gmail.com wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 5:54:17 PM UTC+1, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 4:15:25 AM UTC-4, peps...@gmail.com wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 4:31:38 AM UTC+1, Timothy Chow wrote:

On 4/27/2023 8:34 PM, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

I didn't even consider running the stop sign.

XGID=-BBbB-DC-B-------a-cbcbaa-:1:-1:1:44:0:2:0:7:10

Score is X:0 O:2 7 pt.(s) match. +24-23-22-21-20-19------18-17-16-15-14-13-+
| O O O O O O | | O | +---+
| O O O O | | | | 2 |
| O O | | | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | |
| X | | |
| X | | X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
+-1--2--3--4--5--6-------7--8--9-10-11-12-+
Pip count X: 77 O: 101 X-O: 0-2/7
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 44

Nice one. Once you realize that leaving interior gaps is not
always a bad thing, you'll start to notice that such situations
crop up more frequently than you might think. Below are a couple
of examples from my files that you might find interesting.

XGID=-ECbB-E-a---a------bcbbb--:1:-1:1:11:0:0:0:0:10

Score is X:0 O:0. Unlimited Game +13-14-15-16-17-18------19-20-21-22-23-24-+
| | | O O O O O | +---+
| | | O O O O O | | 2 |
| | | O | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | X X |
| | | X X |
| | | X X X |
| | | X X O X X |
| O O | | X X O X X |
+12-11-10--9--8--7-------6--5--4--3--2--1-+
Pip count X: 49 O: 119 X-O: 0-0
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 11

1. Rollout¹ 6/4 1/Off(2) eq:+0.840
Player: 84.40% (G:21.64% B:0.08%)
Opponent: 15.60% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.837..+0.843) - [100.0%]

2. Rollout¹ 1/Off(4) eq:+0.801 (-0.039)
Player: 80.73% (G:26.80% B:0.30%)
Opponent: 19.27% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.005 (+0.796..+0.806) - [0.0%]

3. Rollout¹ 6/5(2) 6/4 eq:+0.787 (-0.053)
Player: 85.21% (G:13.41% B:0.02%)
Opponent: 14.79% (G:0.28% B:0.01%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.784..+0.790) - [0.0%]

4. Rollout¹ 6/5(3) 1/Off eq:+0.752 (-0.088)
Player: 82.44% (G:16.95% B:0.05%)
Opponent: 17.56% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.749..+0.755) - [0.0%]

¹ 1296 Games rolled with Variance Reduction.
Dice Seed: 271828
Moves: 3-ply, cube decisions: XG Roller

eXtreme Gammon Version: 2.19.211.pre-release

....
This position hardly reinforces Bob's theme!
Bob (if I understand him correctly) is making the point (unfortunate unintended double meaning) that we don't always get the safest bearoff by filling in inner points.

However, you say that you are giving a similar situation, but you present a position where filling in is in fact the safest.
(Look at the percentage of games won by the favourite).

However, we don't fill in because we don't get enough gammons that way. So this position shows the anti-DMP theme of sacrificing positions
and decreasing wins but compensating for it with gammons made.
In money play, many find this type of sacrifice difficult to make and cashing when TG is another example akin to missing greedy bearoffs.
Not related to Bob's theme.

However, your subsequent (deleted) variantization was indeed relevant and thematically similar.
Thank you for all your variantizations and posts whether relevant or not.
They are always interesting.

Paul

Thanks, Tim, for the additions. My first impulse to post was just motivated by how unusual it is to bring two checkers right past a gap that looks like it was made for them

...

I look forward to reading your next book: "Teleological Backgammon", by Bob Zimmerman

Paul

How I wish Douglas Adams were still alive and writing!
Add to my list of trigger phrases: "Everything happens for a reason".
Bob

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 5:54:17 PM UTC+1, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 4:15:25 AM UTC-4, peps...@gmail.com wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 4:31:38 AM UTC+1, Timothy Chow wrote:

On 4/27/2023 8:34 PM, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

I didn't even consider running the stop sign.

XGID=-BBbB-DC-B-------a-cbcbaa-:1:-1:1:44:0:2:0:7:10

Score is X:0 O:2 7 pt.(s) match. +24-23-22-21-20-19------18-17-16-15-14-13-+
| O O O O O O | | O | +---+
| O O O O | | | | 2 |
| O O | | | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | |
| X | | |
| X | | X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
+-1--2--3--4--5--6-------7--8--9-10-11-12-+
Pip count X: 77 O: 101 X-O: 0-2/7
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 44

Nice one. Once you realize that leaving interior gaps is not
always a bad thing, you'll start to notice that such situations
crop up more frequently than you might think. Below are a couple
of examples from my files that you might find interesting.

XGID=-ECbB-E-a---a------bcbbb--:1:-1:1:11:0:0:0:0:10

Score is X:0 O:0. Unlimited Game +13-14-15-16-17-18------19-20-21-22-23-24-+
| | | O O O O O | +---+
| | | O O O O O | | 2 |
| | | O | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | X X |
| | | X X |
| | | X X X |
| | | X X O X X |
| O O | | X X O X X |
+12-11-10--9--8--7-------6--5--4--3--2--1-+
Pip count X: 49 O: 119 X-O: 0-0
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 11

1. Rollout¹ 6/4 1/Off(2) eq:+0.840
Player: 84.40% (G:21.64% B:0.08%)
Opponent: 15.60% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.837..+0.843) - [100.0%]

2. Rollout¹ 1/Off(4) eq:+0.801 (-0.039)
Player: 80.73% (G:26.80% B:0.30%)
Opponent: 19.27% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.005 (+0.796..+0.806) - [0.0%]

3. Rollout¹ 6/5(2) 6/4 eq:+0.787 (-0.053)
Player: 85.21% (G:13.41% B:0.02%)
Opponent: 14.79% (G:0.28% B:0.01%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.784..+0.790) - [0.0%]

4. Rollout¹ 6/5(3) 1/Off eq:+0.752 (-0.088)
Player: 82.44% (G:16.95% B:0.05%)
Opponent: 17.56% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.749..+0.755) - [0.0%]

¹ 1296 Games rolled with Variance Reduction.
Dice Seed: 271828
Moves: 3-ply, cube decisions: XG Roller

eXtreme Gammon Version: 2.19.211.pre-release

....
This position hardly reinforces Bob's theme!
Bob (if I understand him correctly) is making the point (unfortunate unintended double meaning) that we don't always get the safest bearoff
by filling in inner points.

However, you say that you are giving a similar situation, but you
present a position where filling in is in fact the safest.
(Look at the percentage of games won by the favourite).

However, we don't fill in because we don't get enough gammons that way.
So this position shows the anti-DMP theme of sacrificing positions
and decreasing wins but compensating for it with gammons made.
In money play, many find this type of sacrifice difficult to make and cashing when TG is another example akin to missing greedy bearoffs.
Not related to Bob's theme.

However, your subsequent (deleted) variantization was indeed relevant
and thematically similar.
Thank you for all your variantizations and posts whether relevant or not. They are always interesting.

Paul

Thanks, Tim, for the additions. My first impulse to post was just motivated by how unusual it is to bring two checkers right past a gap that looks like it was made for them

...

I look forward to reading your next book: "Teleological Backgammon", by Bob Zimmerman

Paul

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 6:37:40 PM UTC+1, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 1:25:25 PM UTC-4, peps...@gmail.com wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 5:54:17 PM UTC+1, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 4:15:25 AM UTC-4, peps...@gmail.com wrote:

On Friday, April 28, 2023 at 4:31:38 AM UTC+1, Timothy Chow wrote:

On 4/27/2023 8:34 PM, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

I didn't even consider running the stop sign.

XGID=-BBbB-DC-B-------a-cbcbaa-:1:-1:1:44:0:2:0:7:10

Score is X:0 O:2 7 pt.(s) match. +24-23-22-21-20-19------18-17-16-15-14-13-+
| O O O O O O | | O | +---+
| O O O O | | | | 2 |
| O O | | | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | |
| X | | |
| X | | X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
| X X O X X | | X X |
+-1--2--3--4--5--6-------7--8--9-10-11-12-+
Pip count X: 77 O: 101 X-O: 0-2/7
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 44

Nice one. Once you realize that leaving interior gaps is not
always a bad thing, you'll start to notice that such situations
crop up more frequently than you might think. Below are a couple
of examples from my files that you might find interesting.

XGID=-ECbB-E-a---a------bcbbb--:1:-1:1:11:0:0:0:0:10

Score is X:0 O:0. Unlimited Game +13-14-15-16-17-18------19-20-21-22-23-24-+
| | | O O O O O | +---+
| | | O O O O O | | 2 |
| | | O | +---+
| | | |
| | | |
| |BAR| |
| | | X X |
| | | X X |
| | | X X X |
| | | X X O X X |
| O O | | X X O X X |
+12-11-10--9--8--7-------6--5--4--3--2--1-+
Pip count X: 49 O: 119 X-O: 0-0
Cube: 2, O own cube
X to play 11

1. Rollout¹ 6/4 1/Off(2) eq:+0.840
Player: 84.40% (G:21.64% B:0.08%)
Opponent: 15.60% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.837..+0.843) - [100.0%]

2. Rollout¹ 1/Off(4) eq:+0.801 (-0.039)
Player: 80.73% (G:26.80% B:0.30%)
Opponent: 19.27% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.005 (+0.796..+0.806) - [0.0%]

3. Rollout¹ 6/5(2) 6/4 eq:+0.787 (-0.053)
Player: 85.21% (G:13.41% B:0.02%)
Opponent: 14.79% (G:0.28% B:0.01%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.784..+0.790) - [0.0%]

4. Rollout¹ 6/5(3) 1/Off eq:+0.752 (-0.088)
Player: 82.44% (G:16.95% B:0.05%)
Opponent: 17.56% (G:0.00% B:0.00%)
Confidence: ±0.003 (+0.749..+0.755) - [0.0%]

¹ 1296 Games rolled with Variance Reduction.
Dice Seed: 271828
Moves: 3-ply, cube decisions: XG Roller

eXtreme Gammon Version: 2.19.211.pre-release

....
This position hardly reinforces Bob's theme!
Bob (if I understand him correctly) is making the point (unfortunate unintended double meaning) that we don't always get the safest bearoff by filling in inner points.

However, you say that you are giving a similar situation, but you present a position where filling in is in fact the safest.
(Look at the percentage of games won by the favourite).

However, we don't fill in because we don't get enough gammons that way.
So this position shows the anti-DMP theme of sacrificing positions
and decreasing wins but compensating for it with gammons made.
In money play, many find this type of sacrifice difficult to make and cashing when TG is another example akin to missing greedy bearoffs. Not related to Bob's theme.

However, your subsequent (deleted) variantization was indeed relevant and thematically similar.
Thank you for all your variantizations and posts whether relevant or not.
They are always interesting.

Paul

Thanks, Tim, for the additions. My first impulse to post was just motivated by how unusual it is to bring two checkers right past a gap that looks like it was made for them

...

I look forward to reading your next book: "Teleological Backgammon", by Bob Zimmerman

Paul

How I wish Douglas Adams were still alive and writing!

Me too, but if he were writing while dead, I'd be even more impressed.

Paul

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On Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 5:34:46 PM UTC-7, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

I didn't even consider running the stop sign.

XGID=-BBbB-DC-B-------a-cbcbaa-:1:-1:1:44:0:2:0:7:10

Is there a way to see this position for those who don't have XG software. There used to be a way to set the font to courier but it doesn't seem to be available anymore on google groups

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On Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 5:48:51 AM UTC+1, tetraHydro saved my life wrote:

On Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 5:34:46 PM UTC-7, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

I didn't even consider running the stop sign.

XGID=-BBbB-DC-B-------a-cbcbaa-:1:-1:1:44:0:2:0:7:10

Is there a way to see this position for those who don't have XG software.

...

The diagrams are usually available in https://bglog.org/rgbnews.html
However, I have noticed a significant lag (at least several hours) between diagrams posted and their availability at the above URL.

If you can't find the diagram at the above link, use: https://bglog.org/main.html -> Off-board data -> Show ... IDs

I believe that Simon Woodhead created this website.
He posts to this forum approx once every 3 months or so.

Paul

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On Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 4:19:40 AM UTC-7, peps wrote:

On Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 5:48:51 AM UTC+1, tetraHydro saved my life wrote:

On Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 5:34:46 PM UTC-7, Robert Zimmerman wrote:

I didn't even consider running the stop sign.

XGID=-BBbB-DC-B-------a-cbcbaa-:1:-1:1:44:0:2:0:7:10

Is there a way to see this position for those who don't have XG software.

...

The diagrams are usually available in https://bglog.org/rgbnews.html However, I have noticed a significant lag (at least several hours) between diagrams posted and their availability at the above URL.

If you can't find the diagram at the above link, use: https://bglog.org/main.html -> Off-board data -> Show ... IDs

I believe that Simon Woodhead created this website.
He posts to this forum approx once every 3 months or so.

Paul

sweeet! I'd forgot all about that site. (happens a lot these days) https://apbg.net/bg_diagrams.php works too

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