Backgammon – Three Basic Techniques
Posted in Backgammon on 10/28/2020 05:25 am by Lillie
In very simple terms, there are three main game plans employed. You need to be able to switch tactics almost instantly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves assembling a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as thick as you might achieve, to barricade in the competitor’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most suitable procedure at the begining of the game. You can build the wall anywhere within your 11-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game progresses.
The Blitz
This is comprised of locking your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your opponent on the bar. For example, if your competitor rolls an early 2 and shifts one piece from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then toss a five-five, you are able to play 6/1 6/1 eight/three eight/three. Your opponent is now in big-time difficulty due to the fact that they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inside board!
The Backgame
This course of action is where you have 2 or more pieces in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor is a point consisting of at a minimum two of your checkers.) It must be played when you are extremely behind as this action greatly improves your circumstances. The strongest places for anchor spots are close to your competitor’s smaller points and either on abutting points or with a single point in between. Timing is crucial for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there is no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to dismantle this straight away, while your opponent is shifting their checkers home, taking into account that you don’t have any other spare checkers to move! In this case, it’s more favorable to have checkers on the bar so that you might maintain your position up till your opposer gives you an opportunity to hit, so it can be a wonderful idea to try and get your challenger to get them in this situation!