In extraordinarily general terms, there are three fundamental strategies employed. You must be able to switch game plans instantly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This is comprised of assembling a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as thick as you can achieve, to lock in your opponent’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most adequate strategy at the start of the match. You can create the wall anyplace between your 11-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game continues.
The Blitz
This involves closing your home board as quick as as you can while keeping your opposer on the bar. e.g., if your challenger rolls an early 2 and shifts one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a five-five, you are able to play 6/1 6/1 eight/three 8/3. Your challenger is now in serious difficulty because they have two checkers on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have 2 or more anchors in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor is a point filled by at least 2 of your checkers.) It would be played when you are decidedly behind as this strategy much improves your opportunities. The strongest places for anchor spots are towards your competitor’s lower points and either on adjoining points or with one point separating them. Timing is integral for an effectual backgame: after all, there is no point having two nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then required to break down this right away, while your opposer is moving their pieces home, seeing that you do not have any other additional checkers to move! In this situation, it is more favorable to have pieces on the bar so that you are able to maintain your position up until your challenger provides you an opportunity to hit, so it will be a great idea to attempt and get your challenger to get them in this situation!
This entry was posted on January 22, 2016, 2:21 pm and is filed under Backgammon. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.