Backgammon – Three General Techniques
Posted in Backgammon on 05/30/2018 10:25 pm by Jillian
In very simple terms, there are three basic plans used. You must be agile enough to hop between strategies quickly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of creating a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at a minimum as deep as you can manage, to lock in the competitor’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most adequate course of action at the begining of the game. You can assemble the wall anywhere inbetween your eleven-point and your 2-point and then shift it into your home board as the game progresses.
The Blitz
This consists of closing your home board as quick as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. i.e., if your challenger rolls an early 2 and moves one checker from your one-point to your 3-point and you then roll a five-five, you will be able to play 6/1 six/one eight/three eight/three. Your opposer is then in big-time dire straits due to the fact that they have two checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This tactic is where you have two or more pieces in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor spot is a point consisting of at least two of your pieces.) It needs to be used when you are decidedly behind as it greatly improves your opportunities. The strongest places for anchor spots are close to your competitor’s lower 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 is no point having two nice anchors and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then required to break down this straight away, while your competitor is shifting their checkers home, taking into account that you don’t have any other extra checkers to shift! In this situation, it is better to have checkers on the bar so that you might preserve your position up until your competitor gives you an opportunity to hit, so it may be a wonderful idea to try and get your opponent to get them in this situation!