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White might have covered the blot on his bar point, but again, it would serve little purpose. The vastly superior play is to move two men — one from black’s 1 point and an other from his 2 point — and establish a point on black’s bar point. By doing this, white has exhibited a real grasp of the game. White should make this play under all conditions — in both tournaments and money games.

In this instance, black’s bar is a stronger tactical position that his own. It is a pertinent example of early tactics and logic, and emphasizes the principle that in the early stages of the game your opponent’s bar point is more valuable than your own, especially when the enemy holds an advanced point in your board.

Rollout  Tom Keith 2013

Money play Centered cube White rolls 6-5 1296 games with VR Checker play: 3-ply Cube play: XG Roller

XGID=-----bDAC---eD-----dbb-BA-:0:0:1:65:0:0:0:0

	6-5:		Game	G	BG	Equity
1	24/18, 23/18	W L	.3809 .6191	.0685 .2136	.0027 .0064	−0.5798
2	24/13	W L	.3283 .6717	.0530 .1916	.0019 .0085	−0.7306	(0.1508)

Previous Position No. 40p, page 56

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List of Positions from Backgammon, the Cruelest Game

Backgammon, the Cruelest Game (1974), by Barclay Cooke and Jon Bradshaw