In very simple terms, there are three basic game plans employed. You need to be agile enough to switch tactics quickly as the action of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves creating a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at a minimum as thick as you are able to manage, to barricade in the opponent’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most suitable strategy at the start of the game. 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 progresses.
The Blitz
This consists of locking your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your opposer on the bar. For example, if your opposer rolls an early 2 and shifts one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then roll a five-five, you are able to play six/one six/one eight/three eight/three. Your competitor is now in big-time difficulty considering that they have two pieces on the bar and you have locked half your home board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have 2 or more anchors in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor spot is a point filled by at least 2 of your checkers.) It should be played when you are extremely behind as it greatly improves your opportunities. The strongest locations for anchor spots are towards your opponent’s smaller points and also on adjoining points or with a single point separating them. Timing is integral for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there is no reason having 2 nice anchors and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to break up this right away, while your opponent is shifting their pieces home, because you don’t have any other additional checkers to move! In this situation, it’s more favorable to have checkers on the bar so that you might maintain your position up until your opponent provides you an opportunity to hit, so it will be a great idea to attempt and get your opponent to hit them in this case!
This entry was posted on November 17, 2017, 3:25 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.