Backgammon – Three Main Strategies
by Karla on Thursday, September 23rd, 2021
In astonishingly general terms, there are three general tactics employed. You want to be able to hop between tactics instantly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of building a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at a minimum as thick as you might achieve, to barricade in the competitor’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most adequate tactic at the begining of the game. You can create the wall anywhere between your 11-point and your two-point and then move it into your home board as the game continues.
The Blitz
This involves closing your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your competitor on the bar. i.e., if your opponent tosses an early two and moves one piece from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then roll a five-five, you will be able to play 6/1 6/1 8/3 eight/three. Your opponent is now in big-time dire straits seeing that they have two pieces on the bar and you have locked half your inner board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have two or higher anchors in your opponent’s home board. (An anchor spot is a position consisting of at a minimum two of your checkers.) It must be played when you are extremely behind as it much improves your chances. The best areas for anchors are towards your competitor’s lower points and also on abutting points or with a single point separating them. Timing is crucial for an effective backgame: after all, there is no reason having two nice anchor spots and a complete wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break apart this right away, while your competitor is shifting their checkers home, considering that you do not have any other additional checkers to shift! In this situation, it’s more tolerable to have pieces on the bar so that you are able to maintain your position up till your competitor provides you an opportunity to hit, so it will be a good idea to try and get your opposer to get them in this case!
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