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Backgammon – 3 General Schemes

Posted in Backgammon on 11/26/2015 03:21 am by Madisyn
[ English ]

In very simple terms, there are three chief plans used. You must be able to hop between strategies almost instantly as the action of the game unfolds.

The Blockade

This is composed of assembling a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at a minimum as deep as you can achieve, to barricade in the opponent’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most suitable course of action at the start of the match. You can create the wall anywhere inbetween your 11-point and your two-point and then move it into your home board as the match continues.

The Blitz

This consists of locking your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your competitor on the bar. For example, if your opposer tosses an early two and moves one piece from your 1-point to your three-point and you then toss a 5-5, you will be able to play 6/1 six/one eight/three eight/three. Your competitor is now in serious difficulty considering that they have two pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inner board!

The Backgame

This plan is where you have 2 or more checkers in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor spot is a point consisting of at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It would be played when you are decidedly behind as it greatly improves your chances. The strongest areas for anchors are close to your opponent’s smaller points and also on adjacent points or with one point separating them. Timing is essential for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no point having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break up this right away, while your opponent is moving their pieces home, considering that you do not have any other additional checkers to shift! In this situation, it’s better to have pieces on the bar so that you are able to maintain your position up till your challenger gives you a chance to hit, so it can be an excellent idea to attempt and get your challenger to get them in this situation!