Backgammon – Three Main Plans
Posted in Backgammon on 02/20/2023 04:25 pm by Lillie
In astonishingly general terms, there are three chief techniques used. You must be agile enough to hop between tactics instantly as the course of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This is comprised of assembling a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at least as thick as you might manage, to barricade in the opponent’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most acceptable course of action at the begining of the game. You can assemble the wall anywhere between your 11-point and your two-point and then shift it into your home board as the match advances.
The Blitz
This involves closing your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. i.e., if your competitor rolls an early 2 and moves one piece from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then toss a five-five, you will be able to play 6/1 6/1 8/3 8/3. Your opponent is now in big-time trouble since they have two pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This course of action is where you have two or more pieces in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor is a position occupied by at least two of your pieces.) It should be employed when you are decidedly behind as this strategy greatly improves your circumstances. The better places for anchor spots are towards your competitor’s smaller points and also on adjoining points or with one point in between. Timing is integral for a powerful backgame: at the end of the day, there is no point having two nice anchors and a complete wall in your own home board if you are then forced to dismantle this right away, while your opposer is shifting their pieces home, taking into account that you don’t have any other spare checkers to move! In this situation, it’s better to have checkers on the bar so that you might maintain your position up till your opponent gives you an opportunity to hit, so it can be a good idea to try and get your competitor to hit them in this case!