Backgammon – Three General Strategies
Posted in Backgammon on 08/20/2023 11:25 pm by Lillie
In very general terms, there are three main strategies employed. You must be able to hop between techniques almost instantly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of building a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at least as thick as you can achieve, to barricade in your competitor’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most adequate strategy at the start of the match. You can build the wall anyplace inbetween your eleven-point and your 2-point and then move it into your home board as the game progresses.
The Blitz
This consists of locking your home board as quick as possible while keeping your opposer on the bar. e.g., if your opposer rolls an early two and moves one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you will be able to play six/one 6/1 eight/three 8/3. Your opposer is now in serious difficulty taking into account that they have 2 pieces on the bar and you have locked half your home board!
The Backgame
This tactic is where you have 2 or higher checkers in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor is a point consisting of at least two of your checkers.) It must be employed when you are extremely behind as it much improves your circumstances. The strongest places for anchor spots are close to your opponent’s smaller points and either on adjacent points or with one point separating them. Timing is integral for an effectual backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then required to dismantle this right away, while your opponent is getting their pieces home, because you don’t have other extra checkers to shift! In this case, it’s better to have checkers on the bar so that you are able to maintain your position until your challenger provides you an opportunity to hit, so it can be an excellent idea to try and get your challenger to hit them in this case!