Backgammon – Three Main Schemes
Posted in Backgammon on 12/17/2017 09:25 am by Jillian
In very general terms, there are 3 chief strategies employed. You need to be able to hop between strategies instantly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of creating a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as deep 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 adequate tactic at the start of the match. You can create the wall anywhere between your 11-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This is comprised of locking your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your opposer on the bar. i.e., if your opponent rolls an early 2 and shifts one checker from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then roll a five-five, you will be able to play 6/1 6/1 eight/three eight/three. Your competitor is now in big-time calamity taking into account that they have 2 pieces on the bar and you have locked half your inner board!
The Backgame
This tactic is where you have 2 or higher checkers in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor is a point filled by at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It needs to be employed when you are extremely behind as it greatly improves your circumstances. The better places for anchor spots are towards your competitor’s lower points and also on adjoining points or with one point separating them. Timing is integral for a powerful backgame: after all, there is no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a complete wall in your own inner board if you are then required to break down this straight away, while your competitor is getting their pieces home, owing to the fact that you do not have any other extra pieces to shift! In this case, it is better to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position up until your opposer provides you a chance to hit, so it will be a great idea to try and get your opponent to hit them in this case!