Backgammon – 3 Main Schemes
Saturday, 5. September 2020
In exceptionally general terms, there are three main tactics employed. You need to be agile enough to hop between tactics almost instantly as the course of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of creating a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at a minimum as thick as you are able to manage, to barricade in the opponent’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most adequate procedure at the begining of the match. You can assemble the wall anyplace inbetween your 11-point and your two-point and then move it into your home board as the match advances.
The Blitz
This involves closing your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your opponent on the bar. i.e., if your competitor rolls an early two and moves one checker from your one-point to your 3-point and you then toss a 5-5, you can play 6/1 6/1 eight/three 8/3. Your opposer is then in serious difficulty considering that they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inside board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have 2 or higher pieces in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor spot is a point filled by at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It must be played when you are extremely behind as this strategy greatly improves your opportunities. The strongest areas for anchor spots are towards your opponent’s lower points and either on adjacent points or with one point separating them. Timing is essential for an effectual backgame: at the end of the day, there is no reason having two nice anchors and a complete wall in your own home board if you are then required to break up this right away, while your opponent is getting their pieces home, owing to the fact that you do not have other extra checkers to move! In this situation, it’s more tolerable to have pieces on the bar so that you might maintain your position until your challenger provides you an opportunity to hit, so it may be an excellent idea to try and get your competitor to get them in this situation!
Posted in Backgammon by Jada