Blue should anchor first, then build the front position. The race is level, 160 to 161, and Blue’s back checkers sit split on the 22 and 24 points facing nine White checkers on the 17 and 19 points plus four more on White’s midpoint, all aimed at those two blots. Blue plays 24/20 22/20, making White’s 5 point. Two loose back checkers under that much fire point toward defense, and the 20 anchor is the hardest point Blue wants, so Blue makes it while the roll allows. Anchored there, the back checkers are safe and free Blue to build against White’s loose checkers on Blue’s 1 and 2 points. Anchoring low with 24/22 13/9 takes White’s 3 point instead of the 5 point, leaving the back checkers easier to prime, and adds a blot on the 9 point. It loses 0.215 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue should keep building the prime. Blue trails by 7 pips, 146 to 139, but holds the 5, 6, 7 and 8 points with an anchor on White’s bar point, while White’s back checkers sit alone on Blue’s 2 and 4 points. Blue plays 13/9 13/7, bringing two builders down so that spares on the 9, 7 and 6 points all aim at the 4 point, where pointing on White’s blot would complete a five-point prime. The blot on the 9 point is exposed to 13 rolls, but White’s two-point inner board makes the hit cheap. Playing 13/3 buries a builder behind the prime, where it blocks nothing, and leaves it as a blot that any 1 from White’s checker on the 2 point hits. It loses 0.089 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue should gain ground for a race rather than start a blitz. The race is level at 160 pips each, Blue has a checker on the bar, and White holds an anchor on Blue’s 5 point, so a blitz is not available, but White has left blots on Blue’s 4, 15 and 16 points. Blue plays Bar/16*, entering and hitting with one checker. The hit sends a White checker back 16 pips, turns a level race into a 25-pip lead, and makes White enter before moving any other checker. The blot on the 16 point is exposed to 13 rolls, but White’s inner board holds only the 6 point, so a return hit is a lower risk than usual. Making the anchor with Bar/20 24/20 hands White a free turn to tidy up three blots. It loses 0.136 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue should pursue containment while strengthening the defense of the back checkers. Blue trails by 3 pips, 158 to 155, and has blots on the 24, 18 and 10 points, and White’s builders bear on both back blots, so Blue cannot make both safe this turn. Blue plays 8/5(2) 6/3(2), making the 5 and 3 points so that Blue holds the 3, 5 and 6 points against White’s anchor on Blue’s 1 point. The 5 point is the point Blue wants most, and a stronger inner board has defensive value as well, because a White checker hit later would face three points, so White must attack the back blots with more care. The 8 point becomes a blot, but only White’s anchor checkers can reach it. Making the 3 and 10 points with 13/10(2) 6/3(2) leaves the 5 point unmade, and the 10 point blocks little against White’s anchor on the 1 point. It loses 0.140 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue’s back checker cannot wait. Blue trails by 25 pips, 123 to 98, so the prime is Blue’s game, and Blue holds the 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 points against White’s last checker on Blue’s 2 point. The danger is the three White spares on the 17 point, which aim at the 21 point and would leave the checker on the 23 point with only a 5 to escape. Blue plays 23/21 13/10, making the 10 point and stepping up to White’s 4 point, where 3s, 5s and 6s escape next turn and a 9 hits White’s blot on the 12 point. White can hit on the 21 point, but a hit from the 19 or 20 point breaks White’s board. Running with 23/18 puts the back checker on White’s bar point, where White’s spares on the 12 and 17 points hit it with 1s and 6s, and it leaves the blot on the 10 point uncovered. It loses 0.084 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue should attack to deny White an advanced anchor on the 4 point. Blue leads by 41 pips, 152 to 193, White has three checkers on Blue’s 1 point and a fourth on the 4 point, and White’s inner board holds only the 6 point. Blue plays 14/4* 8/3(2), hitting on the 4 point and making the 3 point with the other two 5s. The hit costs White only 4 pips, but it keeps four White checkers back and denies White the 4 point, where an anchor would give White a home. White has 18 rolls to hit back on the 4 point, and a return hit sends one Blue checker against a one-point board, a lower risk than conceding the anchor. Making the 3 point quietly with 14/9 13/3 8/3 hands White a free roll, and any 3 makes the anchor. It loses 0.153 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue should race home while keeping the checkers active. Blue leads by 15 pips, 109 to 124, holds an anchor on White’s 5 point, and holds the 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 points with a blot on the 3 point, while White’s anchor on Blue’s 5 point waits for a shot. Blue plays 13/10 13/8, leaving builders on the 8 and 10 points that can cover the 3 point or make the 8 point next turn. Clearing the midpoint is the hard part of bringing a race lead home against an anchor. White hits from the anchor with a 3 or a 5, but such a hit usually leaves a White blot on Blue’s 5 point. Covering the 3 point with 13/8 6/3 gives up the 6 point and leaves blots on the 6, 8 and 13 points in range of White’s anchor, with any 1 hitting the 6 point. It loses 0.165 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue should prime White’s back checkers rather than attack immediately. Blue leads by 3 pips, 142 to 145, has both checkers on the bar against White’s three-point board, and holds the 4, 6 and 8 points, while White has blots on Blue’s 1 and 2 points and on the 23 point. Blue plays Bar/24(2) 6/5(2), entering both checkers and making the 5 point, so Blue holds the 4, 5, 6 and 8 points with no Blue blot anywhere. A hit from the bar would send that third checker back a long way, but it costs Blue the 5 point, and White enters easily against a two-point board. Blue makes the 5 point first, and any later hit is stronger for it. Hitting with Bar/23*(2) enters both checkers on White’s blot and makes the 23 point, but it spends the whole roll in White’s board and leaves the 5 point unmade. It loses 0.096 equity, a BLUNDER.

Blue needs an attacking plan to recover from the racing deficit. Blue trails by 52 pips, 175 to 123, with a checker on the bar and two more on the 24 point. White has slotted Blue’s 18 point and has a blot on Blue’s 4 point. Blue plays Bar/18*, entering on the 21 point and hitting on the 18 point, sending the White checker back 18 pips and cutting the deficit to 27. White must enter before covering anything, and Blue’s builders on the 6 and 8 points bear on White’s blot on the 4 point. The blot on the 18 point faces 17 return shots against White’s three-point board, a real risk, but the safe play leaves a large racing deficit and lets White strengthen the blockade. Anchoring with Bar/21 24/21 loses 0.136 equity, a BLUNDER.

The prime is already doing its work, so Blue’s job is to free the back checkers. Blue leads by 25 pips, 138 to 163, and holds the 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 points with three White blots stuck behind them on Blue’s 2, 3 and 4 points, while White’s spares on the 12, 13 and 14 points are ready to make the 18 point. Blue plays Bar/23 24/18, entering and stepping straight onto White’s bar point before White can build it. White hits there often, but a hit against White’s three-point inner board costs Blue little, and every roll White spends on Blue’s back checkers leaves the three blots under the prime. Hitting with Bar/23 9/3* breaks the 9 point, so the five-point prime becomes four, and leaves blots on the 3 and 9 points that White can hit from the bar or from the 2 and 4 points. It loses 0.272 equity, a BLUNDER.