Backgammon – 3 Main Plans
In astonishingly simple terms, there are three main plans employed. You must be agile enough to hop between tactics instantly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of creating a 6-deep wall of pieces, or at least as deep as you are able to manage, to block in your opponent’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most adequate course of action at the begining of the match. You can create the wall anywhere between your 11-point and your two-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the game advances.
The Blitz
This is comprised of closing your home board as quickly as as you can while keeping your opponent on the bar. For example, if your challenger rolls an early 2 and moves one piece from your one-point to your three-point and you then roll a 5-5, you are able to play 6/1 6/1 eight/three 8/3. Your opposer is now in big-time trouble taking into account that they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inner board!
The Backgame
This course of action is where you have two or more anchors in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor is a position filled by at least two of your pieces.) It should be employed when you are significantly behind as it much improves your chances. The strongest areas for anchor spots are towards your opponent’s smaller points and either on adjacent points or with a single point separating them. Timing is integral for a powerful backgame: at the end of the day, there is no reason having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break apart this straight away, while your challenger is moving their pieces home, because you don’t have other spare checkers to shift! In this case, it’s better to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position up till your competitor provides you an opportunity to hit, so it will be a great idea to try and get your opposer to get them in this case!
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