Archive for April 11th, 2018

Backgammon – 3 General Plans

Posted in Backgammon on 04/11/2018 10:25 am by Jillian
[ English ]

In astonishingly general terms, there are 3 chief game plans used. You need to be able to switch techniques instantly as the course of the match unfolds.

The Blockade

This involves assembling a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at a minimum as deep as you might achieve, to barricade in your opponent’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most suitable course of action at the begining of the match. You can create the wall anywhere within your eleven-point and your two-point and then move it into your home board as the game advances.

The Blitz

This consists of locking your home board as fast as possible while keeping your opposer on the bar. i.e., if your opponent rolls an early two and shifts one piece from your one-point to your three-point and you then roll a 5-5, you are able to play 6/1 6/1 eight/three 8/3. Your competitor is now in big-time difficulty considering that they have two pieces on the bar and you have closed half your home board!

The Backgame

This course of action is where you have two or higher anchors in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor is a point occupied by at a minimum two of your checkers.) It would be used when you are extremely behind as this strategy greatly improves your opportunities. The better areas for anchor spots are towards your competitor’s smaller points and either on abutting points or with a single point in between. Timing is essential 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 home board if you are then required to dismantle this straight away, while your competitor is getting their checkers home, taking into account that you don’t have any other spare checkers to shift! In this situation, it’s more favorable to have pieces on the bar so that you might preserve your position up until your challenger gives you a chance to hit, so it will be a wonderful idea to attempt and get your opponent to hit them in this situation!