Backgammon – 3 Basic Strategies
Wednesday, 19. April 2023
In astonishingly general terms, there are three fundamental plans used. You need to be able to hop between strategies quickly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves building a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at a minimum as deep as you are able to achieve, to barricade in your opponent’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most acceptable strategy at the start 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 closing your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your competitor on the bar. For example, if your competitor rolls an early 2 and shifts one checker from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a five-five, you will be able to play six/one six/one eight/three 8/3. Your competitor is now in serious dire straits considering that they have 2 pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This course of action is where you have 2 or more checkers in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor spot is a point filled by at a minimum two of your checkers.) It needs to be used when you are decidedly behind as it greatly improves your chances. The better locations for anchors are towards your opponent’s smaller points and also on adjacent points or with a single point in between. Timing is integral for a powerful backgame: besides, there is no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then required to break up this right away, while your opposer is getting their pieces home, because you do not have other extra checkers to move! In this case, it’s better to have checkers on the bar so that you might preserve your position up till your opponent provides you an opportunity to hit, so it will be a great idea to attempt and get your challenger to hit them in this case!
Posted in Backgammon by Jada