Backgammon

Nordic Open Dilemma

This position comes from a semi-final of the World Series of Backgammon Nordic Open, currently being televised on Eurosport UK. Mathiesen of Denmark (black) trails Parchemi of Sweden (white) 4-6 in a match to 17.

This looks like a powerhouse redouble. Black will hit with 2's, 4's and 5's and if black closes out two men then a gammon win and eight points are very likely. It didn't take long for Mathiesen to redouble but after long thought Parchemi dropped, the spectre of the gammon looming just a little too large for him.

Up in the commentary box, Gus Hansen and John Clark were fairly sure the position was a take. As is often the case, white had overlooked his own strengths: he has a broken 5-pt prime restraining black's last rear man; if hit with a 2 he might return hit and prime two or three of black's men; he might get a playable ace-point game and finally notice that black cannot hit with 64 and 65.

A Snowie rollout shows that black is only just strong enough to redouble. Of course, in practice this a mandatory redouble as a large number of players would drop despite the fact that the equity loss through doing so is a staggering 0.4.

The key lesson when doubled in positions like this is to calmly evaluate your winning opportunities. Of course, it's easier to analyse after the match than when playing under time pressure in a major tournament.

Parchemi went on to lose the match but who knows what might have happened if he had correctly taken?

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