Not So Obvious 63 Blunder

My awesome position:

XGID=----b-E-C--AbC-BbcAcb-a---:0:0:1:63:4:9:0:11:10
I managed to blunder this 63. Any thoughts on how you all might have played this? I'll post the answer after some response if you don't look it up. :wink:

Outboarded, race is close, and I have no anchor; I am leaning safe.

11/5 8/5 is tempting for sure, but the blot on the 18 leaves lots of good offensive numbers for White. That said, I like 18/15 11/5 which cleans up the liability of the aforementioned blot while slotting a good point. If White hits, they have to break anchor to do so at least? If White misses, we have freedom and a close race.

Not sure, but that is what I would play :slight_smile:

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Awesome! Well thought out, and you’re on the right path. You’re very close. I think “safe” is the operative word.

We definitely have to safety the blot on the 18. What to do with the 6?

Okay, Brett. Your move is the second best move with an error rate of only .017. I enjoyed reading your thinking process. I'm still learning to slow down to take advantage of the time I have available. I fell for making the 5 point because I thought I could even things up a bit as XG has its 5 point, which awarded me a .088 blunder! The correct move is 18/15 8/2. 8/2 with the 6! Not intuitive! :slight_smile:

OTB, I’d have dove on the 5 point. Taking the quiz factor into consideration led me to Brett’s conclusion. But, I can see how playing past the anchor is correct. Keeping those outfield checkers working together to come home safely while minimizing shots makes way more sense than a priming move. This was a really good position to share.

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This one was fun indeed!

I will second @MadHamish on the quiz factor as aid; the 5-point is always hard to look past. And regarding 8/2, even after being told it is the way, it evokes a negative emotional response when I look at it. Fun stuff.

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I'd weigh in, but I've already seen it... I agree it's not at all obvious! Other than safety, one thing wrong with making the 5 is that you're using the wrong builders to do it. You'd prefer to use that stack on the 6 point. After making the 5, you're left with a stripped and stacked position, and nowhere for those builders on the 6 to go.

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@davidklausa I have seen this exact idea in a book but am blanking on which one. Perhaps it will come to me...

Nice point!

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