Game number 1

The score (after 0 games) is: Rida Hassan 0, Johan Segers 0 (match to 9 points)

Match Information

Date	januari 04, 2009
Event	5th Backgammon Masters
Round	8
Place	Antwerp, Belgium
Annotator	Johan Segers
Comment	The 2009 Masters tournament took place in Antwerp on 3 - 4 January. The tournament format was 9 rounds Swiss, with matches being played to 9 points and timed with electronic clocks (Bronstein system, 15 minutes for the match plus 15 seconds per move). The following analysis is performed with the help of GNU Backgammon at 3-ply search depth, setting "grandmaster". In cases of doubt, roll-outs have been done.

Move number 1: Rida Hassan to play 34

+--1--2--3--4--5--6-+---+--7--8--9-10-11-12-+

+-24-23-22-21-20-19-+---+-18-17-16-15-14-13-+

Pip counts: Rida Hassan 167, Johan Segers 167
Position ID: 4HPwATDgc/ABMA Match ID: MIAxAQAAAAAA

• Rida Hassan moves 24/20 13/10

#		Ply	Move	MWC
	1	3	13/10 13/9	49,91%
			49,1 15,1 0,6 - 50,9 14,0 0,8
•	2	3	24/20 13/10	49,86% ( -0,04%)
			49,2 13,6 0,5 - 50,8 13,7 0,5
	3	2	24/21 13/9	50,22% ( 0,32%)
			51,0 14,4 0,7 - 49,0 13,5 0,5
	4	2	24/21 24/20	50,06% ( 0,15%)
			50,6 12,6 0,7 - 49,4 13,2 0,4
	5	2	13/6	49,77% ( -0,13%)
			48,8 13,7 0,6 - 51,2 14,3 0,5

Move number 2: Johan Segers to play 42

Pip counts: Rida Hassan 160, Johan Segers 167
Position ID: 4HPiASHgc/ABMA Match ID: cAkqAQAAAAAA

• Johan Segers moves 8/4 6/4

#		Ply	Move	MWC
•	1	0	8/4 6/4	49,82%
			48,9 13,5 0,4 - 51,1 13,5 0,5
	2	0	24/22 24/20	48,86% ( -0,95%)
			45,3 9,6 0,3 - 54,7 15,4 0,4
	3	0	24/18	48,80% ( -1,02%)
			45,3 9,4 0,3 - 54,7 16,0 0,4
	4	0	24/22 13/9	48,73% ( -1,08%)
			44,4 10,7 0,3 - 55,6 15,9 0,6
	5	0	24/20 13/11	48,66% ( -1,16%)
			44,2 10,3 0,3 - 55,8 16,4 0,6

Move number 3: Rida Hassan to play 64

Pip counts: Rida Hassan 160, Johan Segers 161
Position ID: mGfwATDgc+IBIQ Match ID: MAEzAQAAAAAA

• Rida Hassan moves 20/10

#		Ply	Move	MWC
•	1	3	20/10	50,37%
			52,5 12,1 0,5 - 47,5 13,1 0,3
	2	3	24/20 10/4	50,09% ( -0,28%)
			49,5 11,8 0,3 - 50,5 9,5 0,2
	3	3	24/20 13/7	50,05% ( -0,32%)
			49,2 12,4 0,3 - 50,8 9,9 0,2
	4	3	10/4 8/4	50,02% ( -0,35%)
			49,8 15,7 0,8 - 50,2 15,0 0,6
	5	3	24/20 8/2	49,54% ( -0,82%)
			46,8 11,5 0,3 - 53,2 10,7 0,3

Annotation

Although the 4-point (10/4 8/4) is better than the 10-point, the move played seems best because it also escapes a chequer.

Move number 4: Johan Segers to play 44

Pip counts: Rida Hassan 150, Johan Segers 161
Position ID: 4HPGAyCYZ/ABMA Match ID: cAkyAQAAAAAA

• Johan Segers moves 24/20(2) 13/9(2)

Alert: lucky roll! (+2,126%)

#		Ply	Move	MWC
•	1	2	24/20(2) 13/9(2)	51,87%
			57,6 14,5 0,3 - 42,4 4,8 0,1
	2	2	13/5(2)	51,33% ( -0,54%)
			54,5 19,6 0,5 - 45,5 10,1 0,4
	3	2	24/16(2)	51,31% ( -0,56%)
			56,9 10,0 0,2 - 43,1 7,0 0,1
	4	2	24/20(2) 6/2(2)	51,29% ( -0,58%)
			54,5 13,9 0,2 - 45,5 5,4 0,1
	5	0	24/20(2) 13/5	50,69% ( -1,17%)
			51,8 12,5 0,3 - 48,2 6,4 0,1

Annotation

Black has two chequers back against only one for White. Because of this, White will have the advantage if the game develops into a priming game: Black is likely the one to have to give up his blockade first. Because of this, Black must prevent that his two back chequers get blocked. Making an advanced anchor, 24/20(20), is an excellent way to do so.

Even though 6/2(2) would make another home-board point, 13/9(2) leaves a more balanced structure: spares on the 6-point and the mid-point, and the makings of a full prime extending from the 4-point to the 9-point.

Move number 5: Rida Hassan to play 42

Pip counts: Rida Hassan 150, Johan Segers 145
Position ID: mGfDAQPgc8YDIA Match ID: MAEqAQAAAAAA

• Rida Hassan moves 8/4 6/4

#		Ply	Move	MWC
•	1	2	8/4 6/4	48,32%
			43,6 5,7 0,1 - 56,4 14,7 0,3
	2	2	6/4 6/2	47,67% ( -0,65%)
			41,0 6,3 0,1 - 59,0 18,5 0,4
	3	2	24/18	47,66% ( -0,66%)
			41,2 5,0 0,1 - 58,8 17,0 0,3
	4	2	13/9 6/4	47,60% ( -0,72%)
			40,2 7,0 0,1 - 59,8 18,3 0,5
	5	2	24/20 6/4	47,56% ( -0,76%)
			41,2 6,3 0,2 - 58,8 19,4 0,4

Move number 6: Johan Segers to play 61

Pip counts: Rida Hassan 144, Johan Segers 145
Position ID: mGfGAyCYZ8MBAw Match ID: cAknAQAAAAAA

• Johan Segers moves 13/7 8/7

Cube decision
3-ply cubeless MWC		51,60%	(Money: +0,291)
	59,0 15,9 0,3 - 41,0 5,1 0,1
Cubeful equities:
1.	No double	52,26%
2.	Double, pass	55,49%	3,23%
3.	Double, take	51,64%	-0,63%
Proper cube action:		No double, take (16,2%)

#		Ply	Move	MWC
•	1	2	13/7 8/7	51,95%
			58,0 15,6 0,3 - 42,0 5,7 0,1
	2	2	13/6	51,40% ( -0,54%)
			55,3 13,5 0,3 - 44,7 5,1 0,1
	3	0	13/7 6/5	50,53% ( -1,42%)
			51,7 13,3 0,4 - 48,3 9,3 0,3
	4	0	13/7 9/8	50,49% ( -1,46%)
			50,7 12,9 0,3 - 49,3 7,3 0,2
	5	0	9/8 9/3	50,27% ( -1,68%)
			49,5 11,9 0,3 - 50,5 6,7 0,1

Annotation

Black blocks White's rear chequer's sixes, threatening to imprison it behind a prime. Black has the initiative.

Move number 7: Rida Hassan to play 22

Pip counts: Rida Hassan 144, Johan Segers 138
Position ID: mLeGAQOYZ8YDIA Match ID: MAEpAQAAAAAA

• Rida Hassan moves 24/20 13/11(2)

#		Ply	Move	MWC
•	1	3	24/20 13/11(2)	47,64%
			41,9 5,5 0,2 - 58,1 18,0 0,4
	2	3	24/22 13/11(2) 6/4	47,58% ( -0,06%)
			41,6 5,8 0,2 - 58,4 19,1 0,5
	3	3	13/9(2)	47,09% ( -0,55%)
			38,0 5,1 0,1 - 62,0 16,4 0,3
	4	3	13/11(2) 6/2	46,85% ( -0,79%)
			37,7 5,5 0,1 - 62,3 19,0 0,5
	5	3	13/11(4)	46,85% ( -0,79%)
			36,9 4,5 0,1 - 63,1 17,2 0,3

Annotation

Liberating his back chequer is important for White and well worth the risk of being attacked. Moreover, 13/11(2), blocking the anchor, restricts Black's flexibility.

Move number 8: Johan Segers to play 31

Pip counts: Rida Hassan 136, Johan Segers 138
Position ID: mGc2AwKYt4YBAw Match ID: cIklAQAAAAAA

• Johan Segers moves 8/5* 6/5

Cube decision
3-ply cubeless MWC		51,59%	(Money: +0,289)
	58,1 18,0 0,4 - 41,9 5,5 0,2
Cubeful equities:
1.	No double	52,36%
2.	Double, pass	55,49%	3,13%
3.	Double, take	51,58%	-0,78%
Proper cube action:		No double, take (20,0%)

Alert: lucky roll! (+1,826%)

#		Ply	Move	MWC
•	1	0	8/5* 6/5	53,88%
			66,5 23,1 0,5 - 33,5 4,7 0,1
	2	0	8/5*/4	51,47% ( -2,41%)
			55,2 15,0 0,4 - 44,8 5,6 0,1
	3	0	13/10 6/5*	50,96% ( -2,91%)
			53,4 15,7 0,5 - 46,6 9,2 0,4
	4	0	6/5*/2	50,61% ( -3,27%)
			51,1 14,4 0,4 - 48,9 7,7 0,2
	5	0	9/5*	50,52% ( -3,36%)
			50,8 14,4 0,4 - 49,2 8,3 0,3

Move number 9: Rida Hassan to play 65

Pip counts: Rida Hassan 141, Johan Segers 134
Position ID: 2G6GAQOYZzYDQA Match ID: MAE3AQAAAAAA

• Rida Hassan cannot move

#		Ply	Move	MWC
			Cannot move

Move number 10: Johan Segers on roll, cube decision?

Pip counts: Rida Hassan 141, Johan Segers 134
Position ID: mGc2A0DYboYBAw Match ID: cAkgAQAAAAAA

• Johan Segers doubles

Cube decision

Rollout cubeless MWC

53,20%

(Money: +0,574)

Cubeful equities:

Double, take

54,67%

Double, pass

55,49%

0,82%

No double

54,39%

-0,29%

Proper cube action:

Double, take

Rollout details

	Win	W g	W bg		Lose	L g	L bg	Cubeless	Cubeful
Centered 1-cube	67,3	27,5	0,6	-	32,7	5,0	0,3	53,20%	54,39%
Standard error	0,5	0,5	0,1	-	0,5	0,2	0,1	0,07%	0,20%
Player Rida Hassan owns 2-cube	66,6	27,9	0,8	-	33,4	5,2	0,4	56,41%	54,67%
Standard error	0,7	0,6	0,2	-	0,7	0,3	0,1	0,19%	0,27%

Full cubeful rollout with var.redn.

144 games, Mersenne Twister dice gen. with seed 867997887 and quasi-random dice

Play: 0-ply cubeful prune [expert]

Cube: 0-ply cubeful prune [expert]

Annotation

Black has a clear positional advantage (a better board, a prime, a high anchor, a lead in the race) plus some tactical threats against the White chequer on the bar. Time to flip the cube.

Move number 11: Johan Segers doubles to 2

Pip counts: Rida Hassan 141, Johan Segers 134
Position ID: mGc2A0DYboYBAw Match ID: cBEgAQAAAAAA

• Rida Hassan rejects

Alert: wrong pass ( -0,82%)!

Cube decision

Rollout cubeless MWC

53,20%

(Money: +0,574)

Cubeful equities:

Double, take

54,67%

Double, pass

55,49%

0,82%

No double

54,39%

-0,29%

Proper cube action:

Double, take

Rollout details

	Win	W g	W bg		Lose	L g	L bg	Cubeless	Cubeful
Centered 1-cube	67,3	27,5	0,6	-	32,7	5,0	0,3	53,20%	54,39%
Standard error	0,5	0,5	0,1	-	0,5	0,2	0,1	0,07%	0,20%
Player Rida Hassan owns 2-cube	66,6	27,9	0,8	-	33,4	5,2	0,4	56,41%	54,67%
Standard error	0,7	0,6	0,2	-	0,7	0,3	0,1	0,19%	0,27%

Full cubeful rollout with var.redn.

144 games, Mersenne Twister dice gen. with seed 867997887 and quasi-random dice

Play: 0-ply cubeful prune [expert]

Cube: 0-ply cubeful prune [expert]

Annotation

I would not dare taking this cube either. Not only is Black's board quite strong already, he has five more chequers in ideal place for continuing the attack. The risk is therefore great that White gets closed out and loses a gammon. Even if White would manage to bring his chequer into safety, he would have an equal game at best.

On the other hand, the blockade against Black's anchor is quite real.

Johan Segers wins 1 point

Game statistics for game 1
Player	Rida Hassan	Johan Segers
Checker play statistics
Total moves	5	4
Unforced moves	4	4
Unmarked moves	5	4
Moves marked doubtful	0	0
Moves marked bad	0	0
Moves marked very bad	0	0
Error total EMG (MWC)	-0,008 ( -0,043%)	+0,000 ( +0,000%)
Error rate mEMG (MWC)	-1,9 ( -0,011%)	+0,0 ( +0,000%)
Chequerplay rating	Supernatural	Supernatural
Luck statistics
Rolls marked very lucky	0	0
Rolls marked lucky	0	2
Rolls unmarked	5	2
Rolls marked unlucky	0	0
Rolls marked very unlucky	0	0
Luck total EMG (MWC)	-0,170 ( -0,935%)	+0,608 ( +3,339%)
Luck rate mEMG (MWC)	-34,1 ( -0,187%)	+152,0 ( +0,835%)
Luck rating	Bad dice, man!	Go to Las Vegas
Cube statistics
Total cube decisions	5	5
Close or actual cube decisions	1	3
Doubles	0	1
Takes	0	0
Passes	1	0
Missed doubles below CP (EMG (MWC))	0	0
Missed doubles above CP (EMG (MWC))	0	0
Wrong doubles below DP (EMG (MWC))	0	0
Wrong doubles above TG (EMG (MWC))	0	0
Wrong takes (EMG (MWC))	0	0
Wrong passes (EMG (MWC))	1 (-0,149 ( -0,820%))	0
Error total EMG (MWC)	-0,149 ( -0,820%)	+0,000 ( +0,000%)
Error rate mEMG (MWC)	-149,2 ( -0,820%)	+0,0 ( +0,000%)
Cube decision rating	Awful!	Supernatural
Overall statistics
Error total EMG (MWC)	-0,157 ( -0,863%)	+0,000 ( +0,000%)
Error rate mEMG (MWC)	-31,4 ( -0,173%)	+0,0 ( +0,000%)
Snowie error rate	-17,4 ( +0,000%)	+0,0 ( +0,000%)
Overall rating	Beginner	Supernatural
Actual result	-5,49%	+5,49%
Luck adjusted result	-1,22%	+1,22%
Luck based FIBS rating diff.	-14,12
Error based abs. FIBS rating	1907,2	2050,0
Chequerplay errors rating loss	22,7	0,0
Cube errors rating loss	120,2	0,0

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Output generated Thu Sep 03 00:41:46 2009 by GNU Backgammon 0.90-mingw 20090615 (HTML Export version 1.214)