Timing Deep Anchor Games

by Douglas Zare
1 May 2005

Douglas Zare

Deep anchor games hit many shots in the bearoff. They also get gammoned a lot. The relative frequencies of these depend on many factors, but one of the most important is the race. If the defender is farther behind in the race, it is harder to run off the gammon, but easier to stay back for late shots without crunching. What race deficit is optimal with a deep anchor?

The full answer is complicated. Chances to win forward by hitting a shot in the bear-in are often significant, so the strength of the defender's board becomes important if an early shot is possible. Deep points may make it harder to contain a late shot. The attacker's flexibility affects how safely the anchor can be broken when it is time to run one checker.

To simplify the problem, we'll consider fully primed deep anchor games with no gaps or other contact. We'll assume the defender has a perfect board so far, with no gaps or deep points. We'll give the attacker diversified spares and no immediate shot numbers
 

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Article text Copyright © 1999-2010 Douglas Zare and GammonVillage Inc.

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