Category: Positions

Player, teacher, and progenitor of the eponymous O’Hagan’s Law, John O’Hagan is also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

In honor of John, today begins our Wednesday Would You Double/Would You Take series, featuring sample problems provided by John O’Hagan himself.

Redouble or not for White?

Here’s the approach John O’Hagan suggests:

First, use Woolsey’s Rule, which says if you’re Red and not sure if it’s a take, then it’s a double (unless of course, White is too good).

Red is behind by 14 pips so the race is basically impossible to win, and Red has few chances to hit (White’s 5-1, 6-1, 4-4, 5-5, or 6-6 followed by a hit), approx. 6%. There’s no way Red will take, at virtually any match score.

Next, see if you as White are too good: That’s the question for today’s doubling problem.

Even if White leaves a shot and Red hits, especially if White rolled doubles to leave the shot, Red is still not even a favorite because Red has no board.

Can White win gammons? It’s been known to happen from this position 🙂

So why double? Even if you get hit, you can still probably double out Red, so you lose close to nothing by waiting. Recommendation: No double, go for gammon.

Here’s the XG file. Was this analysis correct? What did I miss or get wrong?