Learning Defensive Backgammon Strategy

admin · Site Admin Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 862

Once you've learned the basics of backgammon rules, it is important to understand how strategy affects your game. In particular, a defensive backgammon strategy is crucial to master. This will protect your checkers as you move them around the board and make it more difficult for your opponent to move his checkers and to bear them off in the final stages of the game.

Implementing a defensive backgammon strategy is often called playing a "back game." In theory, playing a back game is not dissimilar to playing a game of chess, where your aim is to conserve your pieces. If you play a back game, you are less likely to have your checkers hit by your opponent than if you adopt a running strategy. In practice, a defensive backgammon strategy involves erecting anchors on crucial points on the backgammon board. These make it more difficult for your opponent to move his checkers to his home board and increases the chances of you being able to hit them.

Let's consider how these anchors play out in defensive backgammon strategy. The three, four and five points are considered advanced points on the board. If you can build a single anchor on one of these points, you are adopting a "holding” strategy. This will slow down your opponent's race toward his home board considerably. By building two or more anchors on the board you can play a successful back game.

If you are skilful at playing the back game, you could find yourself winning far more backgammon games than you thought. "Backgamers" are notoriously difficult to play against and providing you combine your strategy with the appropriate offensive moves, you'll soon experience positive results.