Backgammon – 3 Basic Schemes
In extraordinarily simple terms, there are three general techniques employed. You must be agile enough to hop between game plans almost instantly as the course of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves creating a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at least as thick as you can achieve, to block in your competitor’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most adequate course of action at the begining of the game. You can create the wall anyplace within your eleven-point and your two-point and then shift it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This is composed of locking your home board as quick as possible while keeping your challenger on the bar. i.e., 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 can play 6/1 six/one eight/three 8/3. Your opponent is then in big-time dire straits seeing that they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have locked half your home board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have two or higher anchors in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a position consisting of at a minimum 2 of your pieces.) It should be employed when you are decidedly behind as this plan much improves your opportunities. The best places for anchor spots are near your opponent’s smaller points and either on adjacent points or with one point in between. Timing is essential for an effective backgame: after all, there’s no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to dismantle this straight away, while your opponent is moving their checkers home, because you don’t have any other additional checkers to move! In this case, it is more favorable to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position up till your challenger gives you an opportunity to hit, so it will be a great idea to try and get your competitor to hit them in this case!
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