Backgammon – Three Main Schemes

by Caden on December 29th, 2015

[ English ]

In very general terms, there are 3 general strategies employed. You want to be agile enough to hop between game plans almost instantly as the action of the game unfolds.

The Blockade

This involves creating a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as deep as you can achieve, to block in the competitor’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable course of action at the start of the game. You can assemble the wall anywhere inbetween your eleven-point and your 2-point and then move it into your home board as the match advances.

The Blitz

This consists of closing your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your opponent on the bar. i.e., if your competitor tosses an early 2 and shifts one checker from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a five-five, you can play six/one six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your opponent is then in big-time calamity since they have two checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inside board!

The Backgame

This plan is where you have two or higher checkers in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor is a point consisting of at least 2 of your pieces.) It must be played when you are significantly behind as it greatly improves your chances. The best locations for anchor spots are towards your competitor’s lower points and also on abutting points or with one point separating them. Timing is essential for an effective backgame: besides, there is no reason having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then required to dismantle this right away, while your opponent is moving their checkers home, owing to the fact that you do not have other spare checkers to shift! In this situation, it’s better to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position until your competitor provides you an opportunity to hit, so it may be a good idea to try and get your challenger to get them in this case!

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