Backgammon – Three Main Strategies
In astonishingly simple terms, there are three chief strategies employed. You need to be agile enough to hop between techniques quickly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of assembling a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as deep as you are able to manage, to block in the competitor’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is judged to be the most suitable course of action at the begining of the game. You can build the wall anyplace within your eleven-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game continues.
The Blitz
This is comprised of closing your home board as fast as possible while keeping your competitor on the bar. For example, if your opponent rolls an early 2 and shifts one piece from your one-point to your 3-point and you then roll a 5-5, you can play six/one six/one 8/3 eight/three. Your challenger is now in big-time difficulty seeing that they have two pieces on the bar and you have closed half your home board!
The Backgame
This course of action is where you have two or higher pieces in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor spot is a point consisting of at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It would be employed when you are significantly behind as it much improves your circumstances. The better areas for anchor spots are close to your competitor’s lower points and also on adjoining points or with one point separating them. Timing is essential for a competent backgame: at the end of the day, 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 up this straight away, while your challenger is shifting their checkers home, because you don’t have other additional pieces to shift! In this situation, it is more tolerable to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position until your opponent gives you a chance to hit, so it can be a wonderful idea to attempt and get your competitor to hit them in this situation!