Backgammon strategy: when to attack, block or run

You have several strong home-board points and an opposing checker sitting alone nearby. You are looking for a hit, but your opponent brings a second checker onto that point before you get another turn. You can no longer hit the pair.

Your home board is still useful, but it now helps you win by blocking that pair rather than attacking it.

That is the practical purpose of a game plan: deciding what you want your moves to achieve in the position you have now. The familiar names, such as blitz and prime, become easier to remember once you have seen the problem each one solves.

Watch an attack become a blocking game

In our original teaching position, you play Ivory towards point 1. Red has a checker on the bar and another exposed on point 2. Ivory has enough nearby checkers to hit on 2 and cover the hitter with a second checker if the opportunity survives.

Red plays first, with 2–1. The two enters on point 2, making a protected pair, and the one moves a checker from 17 to 18. That pair is an anchor: a point held inside the opponent’s home board.

Watch Red’s entry change the plan

Red plays 2–1. Its lone checker on 2 is exposed, and another is on the bar. Ivory is ready to attack.

Ivory moves toward 1; Red toward 24. Numbers are from Ivory’s side.

Read the position

Ivory, point: number of checkers. 3: 3, 4: 3, 5: 2, 6: 2, 8: 3, 9: 1, 10: 1. Red: 2: 1, 12: 4, 17: 3, 19: 3, 20: 3. On the bar: Ivory 0, Red 1. Borne off: Ivory 0, Red 0.

Ivory now gets 2–1 as well. The attack on point 2 has gone, but these dice can close the gap on 7 with 8/7 and 9/7. Points 3 to 8 become six consecutive closed points, called a prime. Red’s pair cannot get past it.

The goal has changed from hitting an exposed checker to keeping a protected pair trapped. We use fixed rolls to make the change visible; the next roll in a real game may offer different possibilities.

The boards below illustrate the different goals. Every point number is from Ivory’s side, moving towards 1. Your home board is points 1 to 6; a point is closed when it holds at least two checkers of one colour.

Attack: keep the opponent on the bar

A blitz attacks exposed checkers, usually in your home board. You hit, bring more checkers into range and try to close the entry points before the opponent can recover.

The important combination is a vulnerable checker, useful home-board points and enough support to cover the checker that makes the hit. A hit without support can leave you exposed to a return hit. Well-placed spare checkers can also give more rolls something useful to do next turn.

Try the 5–4

Red has a checker on the bar and another exposed on point 1.

Ivory moves toward 1; Red toward 24. All numbers are from Ivory’s side.

Read the position

Ivory, point: number of checkers. 2: 2, 3: 2, 4: 2, 5: 3, 6: 3, 8: 1, 13: 2. Red: 1: 1, 12: 4, 17: 3, 19: 3, 20: 3. On the bar: Ivory 0, Red 1. Borne off: Ivory 0, Red 0.

Here, the 5–4 hits with 6/1* and covers with 5/1. Red has two checkers on the bar and all six entry points are closed. Neither checker can enter while that board stays closed.

Reconsider the attack when: the opponent makes an anchor or your attacking checkers no longer have enough support. As the opening sequence showed, a useful barrier may remain even after the easy hits disappear.

Block: stop their checkers escaping

A prime works by closing consecutive points in front of opposing checkers. Unlike an exposed checker, a protected pair cannot be hit, but it can still be trapped.

A six-point prime cannot be crossed. Each die is a separate move of at most six points, with a legal landing required after each. Adding the dice together does not let a checker leap over the whole barrier.

Try the 2–1

Ivory owns points 3–6 and 8, with a gap on 7. Two red checkers are behind them on 2.

Ivory moves toward 1; Red toward 24. All numbers are from Ivory’s side.

Read the position

Ivory, point: number of checkers. 3: 2, 4: 2, 5: 2, 6: 2, 8: 3, 9: 2, 13: 2. Red: 2: 2, 12: 4, 17: 3, 19: 3, 20: 3. On the bar: Ivory 0, Red 0. Borne off: Ivory 0, Red 0.

Use the one for 8/7, then the two for 9/7. The gap on 7 closes and the two red checkers on 2 are behind a complete six-prime.

Reconsider the barrier when: its targets escape, or keeping it would force you to damage something more important. You must continue playing your dice while you wait, so spare checkers and useful waiting moves matter. Our example of a hit that buys time makes that waiting problem visible.

The two-exposed-checkers example shows another use for a prime: it can block longer routes that would otherwise allow a hit.

Run: decide when to end contact

You do not always have to keep the opponent under pressure. Sometimes the useful opportunity is to get both back checkers past them and turn the rest of the game into a race.

In this new example, Ivory has 92 pips left to travel and Red has 100. With a 6–5, you can take both checkers out of the anchor on 20: one goes to 14, the other to 15.

Try the 6–5

Ivory leads 92 pips to 100. The 6–5 can take both checkers out of the anchor on 20.

Ivory moves toward 1; Red toward 24. All numbers are from Ivory’s side.

Read the position

Ivory, point: number of checkers. 1: 2, 2: 3, 3: 2, 5: 2, 6: 2, 8: 2, 20: 2. Red: 17: 5, 18: 4, 19: 4, 21: 2. On the bar: Ivory 0, Red 0. Borne off: Ivory 0, Red 0.

After that running play, Ivory has 81 pips left against Red’s 100, with Red to roll. All red checkers are on point 17 or higher, moving the other way. Your two single checkers on 14 and 15 look exposed, but Red can no longer hit them. Contact is over.

Compare “Keep the anchor”. Playing 8/2 and 8/3 uses the same 6–5 and leaves the same pip count, but the pair on 20 stays in contact. You have preserved a possible later hit, while also leaving checkers for Red to contain.

Reconsider waiting when: you have a useful racing lead and a roll that lets you leave safely. If you are badly behind, giving up your last chance to hit may instead help the opponent. The pip count helps you assess that choice; it cannot tell you whether contact has ended.

Wait: keep an anchor as they come home

A holding game often uses an advanced anchor, such as your 20-point, to stay in contact while the opponent brings checkers past. It gives you a safe place to land and a chance to hit later.

While waiting, you build a home board that could keep a captured checker on the bar. Otherwise the eventual hit may give the opponent only a brief delay.

Try the 3–2

The ivory pair on 20 keeps an advanced anchor in Red’s home board.

Ivory moves toward 1; Red toward 24. All numbers are from Ivory’s side.

Read the position

Ivory, point: number of checkers. 4: 2, 5: 3, 6: 3, 8: 2, 13: 3, 20: 2. Red: 12: 3, 15: 2, 17: 3, 19: 3, 21: 2, 24: 2. On the bar: Ivory 0, Red 0. Borne off: Ivory 0, Red 0.

The 3–2 makes point 3 with 6/3 and 5/3 while keeping the anchor on 20. Enough checkers remain to preserve both departure points, so the home board gets stronger without giving up the waiting point.

Reconsider the anchor when: a good escape and the racing count make leaving attractive. An anchor gives you options, but keeping it forever is not the aim. The racing example above shows one moment when it is worth considering the departure.

The backgame: prepare for a late hit

A backgame holds at least two points in the opponent’s home board, usually from well behind in the race. You hope to hit as the opponent clears points or starts bearing off.

Those anchors need a home board that will still be useful when the shot arrives. Keeping it intact while continuing to play your dice is the problem known as timing.

Try the 5–3

Ivory holds deep anchors on 22 and 24, with the rest of its checkers preparing for a later shot.

Ivory moves toward 1; Red toward 24. All numbers are from Ivory’s side.

Read the position

Ivory, point: number of checkers. 4: 2, 5: 2, 6: 3, 8: 2, 13: 2, 22: 2, 24: 2. Red: 12: 2, 15: 2, 17: 3, 19: 3, 20: 3, 21: 2. On the bar: Ivory 0, Red 0. Borne off: Ivory 0, Red 0.

The 5–3 makes point 3 with 8/3 and 6/3, keeping point 6 and the deep anchors on 22 and 24. This prepares for a later hit; it does not guarantee that the home board can survive the wait.

A backgame is often a way to recover from a difficult position. It is a risky opening ambition: at least four checkers still have the whole board to cross, and a failed backgame can lose a gammon or backgammon, scored at twice or three times the cube’s value. Our gammon-saving example compares the cost of waiting with the chance to come back.

What would make you change your mind?

Before your next roll, try to name the way you expect to win: an attack, a trap, a race or a later hit. Then look at what the opponent’s turn has changed. A new anchor, an escaped checker or a large change in the race may alter which moves are useful.

The match score can change the choice too. An attack that is attractive for its gammon chances may become unnecessary when an ordinary win already takes the match.