Backgammon – Three Basic Schemes
by Caden on Sunday, August 25th, 2024
In very simple terms, there are three fundamental tactics employed. You want to be agile enough to hop between game plans almost instantly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of assembling a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at least as deep as you can manage, to lock in your opponent’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most suitable strategy at the begining of the game. You can build the wall anywhere inbetween your eleven-point and your two-point and then move it into your home board as the match advances.
The Blitz
This is comprised of locking your home board as fast as possible while keeping your competitor on the bar. For example, if your opposer rolls an early two and moves one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a five-five, you are able to play 6/1 six/one 8/3 8/3. Your competitor is now in big-time trouble because they have two pieces on the bar and you have closed half your home board!
The Backgame
This plan is where you have 2 or higher checkers in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor is a point filled by at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It should be played when you are extremely behind as this action much improves your chances. The better places for anchor spots are close to your opponent’s lower points and either on adjoining points or with one point separating them. Timing is crucial for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no reason having two nice anchor spots and a complete wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to break up this straight away, while your competitor is moving their pieces home, seeing that you do not have any other additional pieces to move! In this situation, it is more tolerable to have pieces on the bar so that you are able to preserve your position up until your challenger provides you a chance to hit, so it can be a wonderful idea to attempt and get your opposer to get them in this situation!
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