Backgammon – Three Basic Schemes
Posted in Backgammon on 03/03/2020 06:25 am by Jillian
In astonishingly simple terms, there are three chief plans employed. You must be able to hop between game plans almost instantly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of assembling a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at a minimum as thick as you can achieve, to block in the opponent’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most adequate course of action at the start of the game. You can assemble the wall anywhere inbetween your 11-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game continues.
The Blitz
This involves locking your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your opponent on the bar. i.e., if your opposer tosses an early 2 and moves one checker from your one-point to your 3-point and you then roll a five-five, you are able to play 6/1 6/1 eight/three 8/3. Your opposer is now in big-time dire straits because they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inner board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have 2 or higher checkers in your opponent’s home board. (An anchor spot is a point consisting of at least 2 of your pieces.) It must be used when you are extremely behind as this action greatly improves your chances. The best places for anchor spots are towards your competitor’s smaller points and either on abutting points or with a single point in between. Timing is critical for a competent backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a complete wall in your own inner board if you are then required to dismantle this straight away, while your opposer is shifting their checkers home, owing to the fact that you don’t have any other additional checkers to shift! In this situation, it is better to have checkers on the bar so that you are able to preserve your position up till your challenger gives you a chance to hit, so it will be a wonderful idea to attempt and get your challenger to hit them in this case!