Blue is priming, and the aim is to wreck White’s timing, not to pick up checkers. White holds a 2-3 back game on Blue’s 2 and 3 points with a third checker loose on the 4 point, trails by 31 pips, and needs this game to last. Blue plays 13/9(2), turning the 5 through 8 points into a five-point prime from the 5 point to the 9 point; the checker left on the midpoint faces 13 shots, and a hit there costs Blue little while the prime stands. Hitting with 8/4*(2) looks forceful, but it strips the 8 point to a blot facing 12 return shots from the anchors, and a White checker on the bar is a checker that never has to break White’s front position. It loses 0.154 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue is priming, and with seven White checkers already back the job is to lock them in and let White’s timing run out. White trails by 74 pips, holds Blue’s 2 and 3 points, and has a seventh checker loose on the ace point. Blue plays 13/7 8/7, making the bar point and completing a five-point prime from the 4 point to the 8 point; only a 6 from the 3 point gets a White checker out, and every other roll must be played in front. Hitting with 8/1* puts a checker on the bar where it costs White almost nothing, since dancing is exactly what White wants while the front position holds, and it leaves a Blue blot on the ace point in front of six White checkers instead of a prime. It loses 0.171 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue is priming, and against a 2-3 back game the 5 point is the blocking point that matters most. White has five checkers back, trails by 42 pips, and keeps a comfortable front position, so the game will be decided by how many points stand in front of the anchors when White’s spare moves run out. Blue plays 9/5 6/5, making the 5 point and holding the 4, 5, 6 and 8 points. The checker left on the 9 point can be hit by 15 rolls, but a hit costs Blue 16 pips from a big lead, and White’s board has only three points to hold the returning checker. Playing safe with 13/8 keeps everything covered and makes nothing new, and the 5 point may not come again. It loses 0.150 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue is attacking, because this back game is overloaded: seven White checkers sit on Blue’s side of the board, one of them already on the bar, with two more blots loose in White’s outfield. White’s front position is only the 3, 5 and 6 points, so timing is not White’s problem; a gammon is. Blue plays 10/1*, putting a second checker on the bar behind the five-point prime from the 4 point to the 8 point. White can enter only on the 1, 2 and 3 points, and every checker that comes in late must be carried home with no front position waiting for it, so Blue wins a gammon in nearly half the games. The quiet 10/5 10/6 keeps every Blue checker safe but lets White enter freely, cover the 1 point and start building a third anchor. It loses 0.156 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue is priming, and the plan is to build in front of the anchors without handing White’s timing a gift. White holds Blue’s 2 and 3 points, trails by 68 pips, and has a loose checker on the 9 point that White would be happy to see sent back. Blue plays 13/11(3) 7/5, making the 5 point, clearing the midpoint, and stacking three builders on the 11 point that bear on the 7 and 9 points. The lone checker left on the bar point is a builder, not a worry: a White hit from an anchor breaks that anchor, and a 68-pip lead can absorb one return trip. Hitting with 13/9* 7/5 6/4 scatters Blue’s checkers, sends White’s straggler back for free, and gives White fresh spare moves to hold the back game together. It loses 0.204 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue is bearing in against a 2-3 back game, and the question on every roll is which point the dice can clear. Blue holds six points from the 4 point to the 9 point, leads by 69 pips, and must clear the 9, 8 and 7 points without leaving a shot while White’s timing is still good. From the 9 point a 5 plays safely to the 4 point. From the 8 point there is no safe 5 or 6, because the 3 and 2 points belong to White, so the 8 point can be cleared only with 1s, 2s, 3s and 4s. Blue plays 8/4 8/5, clearing the hard point while the right numbers are here. Clearing the easy point first with 9/5 9/6 leaves the 8 point for later, when the 5s and 6s will have nowhere to go. It loses 0.097 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue is bearing in against a 2-3 back game with six White checkers back, and White’s timing is excellent: 198 pips and a four-point front position. Blue cannot wait for White to crack; the outside points must be cleared one at a time with the dice that fit them. A 5 plays only from the 9 point, since a 5 from the 8 point lands on White’s 3 point, so when a 5 arrives it tells Blue which point is clearing. Blue plays 9/4 9/5, clearing the 9 point completely and keeping two checkers on each of the 8 and 7 points. Taking one checker from each with 9/4 8/4 leaves blots on both the 9 and 8 points, in direct range of six White checkers that are waiting for exactly that. It loses 0.402 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue is bearing in, and White’s back game has already lost its timing: the front position is only the 1, 2 and 3 points, with four checkers still parked on the 10 and 14 points. Blue leads by 77 pips and needs only to come home without leaving a shot. Blue plays 7/4 7/6, clearing the bar point cleanly and keeping the 6 and 4 points stacked with spares for later. The checker on White’s 6 point stays put; White’s blot on the 7 point is a target only on paper. Hitting with 19/18* 4/1 sends back a checker White is glad to recirculate, leaves the hitter exposed to a return shot from the 10 point, buries a checker on the 1 point, and still leaves the bar point to clear. It loses 0.032 equity, an ERROR.

Blue is bearing in against a 2-3 back game whose timing is perfect: White has a five-point prime from the 5 point to the 9 point with one spare checker on the 13 point, so White’s next several rolls can be played without breaking anything. Blue leads by 98 pips and holds the 4, 5, 6 and 7 points with four checkers on each inner point. The bar point is the problem. From the 7 point, 4s and 5s land on White’s anchors, so only 1s, 2s, 3s and 6s can ever move those two checkers. Blue plays 7/4 7/6, clearing the bar point with the exact roll that does it and bringing every checker home with no blot anywhere. Playing 5/1 keeps the bar point and buries a spare, leaving two checkers that a later 6 may force off one at a time. It loses 0.551 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue is bearing in against a 2-3 back game and must clear three outside points, the 8, 7 and 6, from the back forward. White holds Blue’s 2 and 3 points, has a four-point front position from the 5 point to the 8 point, and trails by 89 pips, so White’s timing will hold for several more rolls. Blue plays 8/5 8/6, clearing the rearmost point completely and leaving two checkers on the 7 point, three on the 6 point, and the 5 and 4 points stacked to receive them. Clearing the bar point instead with 7/4 7/5 strands the 8 point behind an empty 7 point: its two checkers can leave only with 2s, 3s and 4s, so 1s, 5s and 6s must then be played inside the board, stripping the points Blue still needs. It loses 0.152 equity, a BLUNDER.