Position 60, page 96
From Backgammon, the Cruelest Game, by Barclay Cooke and Jon Bradshaw

White to play 5-2.

The roll is not as unfortunate as it appears to be. White’s mandatory play is to move the 5 from the bar point to the 2 point and the 2 from the 6 point down to the 4 point. Paradoxically, white’s main strategy is not to advance his men in his inner board. He does not want to establish forward positions. And yet to accomplish this, he must move his men down as far as they will go. This tactic saves him from being forced into playing 5’s and 6’s, gives him breathing space and allows him to delay.

7/2, 6/4  *
7/5, 6/1 x
Rollout 
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Tom Keith 2013 
Money play
Centered cube
White rolls 5-2

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5-2: Game BG   Equity
1 7/5, 6/1 W
L
.3432
.6568
.0265
.3945
.0009
.0469
−0.9641 x 
2 7/2, 6/4 W
L
.3256
.6744
.0279
.3855
.0008
.0395
−1.0050 (0.0409)  *
3 23/21, 7/2 W
L
.2977
.7023
.0245
.4135
.0008
.0391
−1.0440 (0.0799) 
4 6/1, 4/2 W
L
.2935
.7065
.0210
.4188
.0005
.0412
−1.0645 (0.1004) 
5 23/21, 6/1 W
L
.2831
.7169
.0209
.4220
.0006
.0416
−1.0678 (0.1037) 

Previous Position
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No. 61, page 98

List of Positions from Backgammon, the Cruelest Game

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

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