doubling cube #009, from gammonu.com OLM, commented by Kit Woolsey

is Player 2 score: 5 pip: 149

11 point match

pip: 157 score: 1 is Player 1

XGID=--B-abD-B---bE-a-b-cbb-A-A:0:0:-1:00:1:5:0:11:10

on roll, cube action?

Je li ovo take? Vodim na svim područjima, a bijeli je na baru. Pa ipak, trka je gotovo izjednačena. Imam 3 checkera pozadi i ne izgleda kako mogu uspješto napasti. Uz to vodim u meču. Ovo meni ne izgleda kao take. Ali trebam razmisliti o tome. To je sve što trebam znati. Ako postoji i najmanja sumnja da li je ovo take ili ne, onda mora biti double.

Moguće je da treba nastaviti igrati na gammon. Ne može se puno toga dogoditi u jednom bacanju što može iznenada vratiti bijelog u igru. Ali čak iako je moja pozicija zaista dovoljno jaka da zavređuje igranje na gammon, u praksi je ispravno uduplati. Mora postojati barem neka šansa da bijeli prihvati. Gotovo trećina čitatelja glasali su za take što opravdava double iako je možda teoretski zamalo pogrešno.

Is it a take? I am leading in all departments, and White is on the bar. Still, the race is close, I have 3 men back, and I don't figure to carry out a blitz. In addition, I'm well ahead in the match. It doesn't look like a take to me. But I had to think about it. That's all I need to know. If there is even the slightest doubt about whether or not this is a take, it is a must double.

It is possible that I am worth a playon. Not much can happen which can snap White back into the game in one roll. But even if my position really is strong enough to justify playing on, as a practical matter it has to be right to double. There must be some chance that White will take. The actual vote which had almost 1/3 of the readers taking justifies doubling even if theoretically slightly incorrect.

Lako je reći: Moj protivnik neće uzeti kocku, pa ću zato igrati na gammon. Nikad se ne zna. Prije nekoliko godina igrao sam u finalu velikog turnira protiv vrhunskog igrača. Relativno rano u meču bacio sam jokera i odjednom imao vrlo jaku poziciju, koja mi je izgledala kao prilično očit pass. Razmislio sam nekoliko trenutaka da li nastaviti igrati na gammon, ali sam konačno odlučio da nemam dovoljno i uduplao sam. Naknadna analiza kompjuterom je pokazala kako je teoretski bilo ispravno igrati na gammon. Kakogod, uduplavanje se pokazalo kao odličan potez jer je moj protivnik napravio veliku grešku i uzeo! Dobio sam gammon i 4 boda umjesto 2 koja bi dobio da nisam uduplao. Nikad se ne zna.

It is easy to say: My opponent won't take, so let's play on. You never know. A few years ago I was playing in the finals of a major tournament against a top player. Relatively early in the match I rolled a joker and suddenly had a very strong position, one that looked to me like a pretty obvious pass. I gave some thought to playing on for a gammon, but finally decided I didn't quite have it so I doubled. Later bot rollout showed that I did, in fact, have a theoretical playon. However, doubling turned out to be the big winner, as my opponent blundered and took! I did win a gammon, getting 4 points instead of the 2 points I would have gotten had I not doubled. You never know. 

Bijeli zaista nema ništa. Crni ima mnogo snažniju ofenzivu zajedno sa defenzivnim 5. poljem u slučaju da stvari krenu na gore. Bijeli će imati vrlo snažan redouble ako preokrene igru, ali za okrenuti ovu igru trebati će mu dosta. Ovo izgleda kao prilično solidan pass.

White really has nothing. Black has the much stronger offense along with the defensive five point in case things start to go badly. White would have great recube leverage if he can turn the game around, but turning this game around will take a lot. It looks like a pretty solid pass.

Source gammonu.com. Published with Kit Woolsey kindly permission.