Backgammon – Three General Plans
Posted in Backgammon on 03/07/2022 06:25 pm by Lillie
In very general terms, there are 3 chief tactics employed. You need to be able to hop between strategies quickly as the course of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This comprises of assembling a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as thick as you are able to manage, to lock in the opponent’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most acceptable procedure at the start of the game. You can assemble the wall anyplace within your 11-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This is comprised of closing your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. i.e., if your competitor rolls an early two and shifts one checker from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then roll a 5-5, you are able to play six/one six/one 8/3 8/3. Your opposer is then in big-time difficulty because they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inner board!
The Backgame
This plan is where you have 2 or higher anchors in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a point consisting of at least 2 of your checkers.) It needs to be employed when you are extremely behind as this plan much improves your chances. The strongest locations for anchor spots are near your opponent’s lower points and either on adjoining points or with a single point in between. Timing is integral for a competent backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no reason having two nice anchors and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to break up this straight away, while your opponent is getting their pieces home, seeing that you don’t have other additional checkers to shift! In this case, it’s better to have checkers on the bar so that you might preserve your position up till your opposer provides you an opportunity to hit, so it can be an excellent idea to attempt and get your competitor to get them in this case!