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Things went badly for Black in the early part of the game, and after getting a couple of men hit, he wound up making his 20-point. White has made some progress, securing his own 10-point to make the start of a blockade. Now it’s Black’s turn, and he has a 4-1 to play.
I call these positions proto-backgames. A proto-backgame is a position where one side (Black in this case) has had several men hit and sent back, but the opponent (White) hasn’t yet been able to make a prime to contain the checkers.
These positions are very difficult to play because they can branch off in so many directions. One branch leads to a genuine backgame, in which White manages to build a real prime while Black maintains a couple of points in White’s board. Another branch leads to a standard holding game, where White gets hit a few times and builds an anchor in Black’s board, while Black keeps the 20-point and releases his rear checkers. Sometimes both sides build an assortment of holding points throughout the opponent’s position.
Proto-backgames are governed by two key strategic considerations.
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Key idea #1: In these very long games, the value of key points rises. In typical holding/racing games, your 20-point is a good defensive anchor, but with the game moving along rapidly, you may be able to hold that point for only 10-15 moves. In a proto-backgame, however, you may be able to keep the 20-point for 30-40 moves. During that whole stretch, the 20-point is working hard to keep your opponent from building a prime, making the point even more valuable than usual. In this position, for example, Black will not yield the 20-point unless he’s forced to, or unless he’s managed to prime some White checkers and is now looking to disengage.
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Key idea #2: As in true backgames, Black is currently so far behind in the race that he doesn’t really mind falling a little further behind, as long as he’s battling for key points. Right now Black has no board, so White can take chances with little risk. As soon as Black makes a board, White’s play becomes much more constrained. So Black will vigorously fight for his 4-point, 5-point, and bar-point, and he won’t mind slotting those points if he can.
With these ideas in mind, our 4-1 roll plays pretty easily.
Since Black has no fear of being hit, 6/5 is the best play with an ace. Black unstacks and starts a great point. The four can be played in several ways. He can slot with 11/7 or 13/9, which are both good. But if you’re happy leaving extra shots (which is perfectly OK in this position) just play 8/4*! Compared to 11/7 or 13/9, it has the merit of knocking out White’s point-making numbers like 4-2, 5-3, or 6-1.
Plays like 8/4* 6/5 are routine in positions where you’re way behind in the race, have at least two anchors, and your opponent has no board. However, you must have these conditions present for the ‘pure’ plays to work. (‘Pure’ was what we called these plays in the 1970s and 80s – it just means putting your checkers where you’d like them to go and ignoring the chance your opponent might hit.)
