Backgammon – Three General Schemes
In astonishingly general terms, there are 3 basic plans employed. You need to be agile enough to switch strategies quickly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves building a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at least as deep as you can achieve, to lock in the competitor’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most acceptable course of action at the begining of the match. You can assemble the wall anywhere within your 11-point and your two-point and then shift it into your home board as the match advances.
The Blitz
This involves locking your home board as fast as possible while keeping your opposer on the bar. i.e., if your opponent rolls an early 2 and shifts one piece from your one-point to your three-point and you then toss a five-five, you will be able to play six/one 6/1 eight/three 8/3. Your opponent is then in serious dire straits due to the fact that they have two pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inside board!
The Backgame
This plan is where you have 2 or higher anchors in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a point occupied by at least two of your checkers.) It should be used when you are significantly behind as it much improves your opportunities. The best locations for anchor spots are near your competitor’s smaller points and either on adjacent points or with one point separating them. Timing is critical for a powerful backgame: after all, there is no reason having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then required to break down this right away, while your competitor is getting their checkers home, owing to the fact that you don’t have any other extra pieces to move! In this case, it’s more favorable to have checkers on the bar so that you can maintain your position up until your competitor provides you a chance to hit, so it may be a good idea to try and get your competitor to hit them in this situation!