Anchoring Backgammon Checkers in Defensive Strategy

admin · Site Admin Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 860

Do you know what the term "anchoring backgammon" means? Anchoring your position on the backgammon board is similar to anchoring a ship in nautical terms. Placing your checkers on strategic points on the board within your opponent's home area is a way of securing your presence there.

Anchoring backgammon serves as a way of protecting checkers. If you have one checker on a point within your opponent's board, he can potentially land on this point, which will result in your checker being hit. When this happens, your checker must reside on the bar that separates the backgammon board in half. It can only be introduced back into the game by rolling the correct number on the dice. However, if you protect this checker by placing other checkers on the same point, it cannot be hit. This is because your opponent cannot land on a point if it is occupied by more than one of your checkers.

Anchoring backgammon checkers is recommended if you want to keep control of crucial points on the board and build a strong defensive strategy. For example, if your opponent is ahead of you in the game, erecting an anchor can help to slow him down. He may have problems transporting his checkers past your anchor toward his home board. This delay can give you valuable time to work on your offensive game and catch up to him.

You may also find that anchoring backgammon checkers deep in your opponent's home board can cause considerable difficulty for him when it comes time for him to bear off. For this reason, it is worthwhile studying the backgammon board and learning how to identify the points where anchors should be placed to give you maximum advantage.