Position 470

 How should White play 33 here:

You need to ask yourself what your goal is here. Your goal should be to bring your checkers home without leaving any shots, building inner board points to give you more landing spaces.

The first move to consider is clearing the rear most checker with 14/11(2) 6/3(2):

This does make another inner board point, but it only gives you 2 points with spares on them. You really want to have 3 points with spares on them, and all of them aimed at your inner board.

Consider 14/11(2) 13/10:

Again, you have cleared your rear most point and created more landing spots for your checkers on your 13 point to move to. This is good, but you want to create a position with 3 points with spares on them.

Consider 13/10(2) 6/3(2):

With only 2 points with spares on them, this is like TMP (Two Many Points). TMP positions are very awkward, brittle, and inflexible. You end up making moves you do not want to make unless you are fortunate enough to roll more than one set of doubles.

Consider 13/10(4):

Now we have created 3 points with spares on them. And two of those points have 2 or more spares on them. This is the most flexible position.

This position illustrates why it is important to try out the different options in critical positions. Sometimes players are worried about using up all the time on their clock if they try positions. While you do not want to use all your time, most players do not use enough and end up with a lot of time on their clocks.

The best advice I have received about clock usage came from Anthony Marquette, after he watched one of my matches. He told me, “There is no prize for finishing a match with more time on your clock than your opponent.”