Bill Robertie welcomes the opportunity to share his knowledge of backgammon with experienced players and beginners alike.
On his blog, Robertie publishes set and equipment reviews, creates quiz contests and provides free lessons. He would be remiss not to include his Robertie’s Rules! He also educates readers of the Gammon Press blog on the history of the game, offers backgammon instruction and more.
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(a) Tournament match, double match point.
(b) Money game, center cube.
(c) Money game, Black owns the cube.
I’m pleased to announce that my new book, How to Play the Opening in Backgammon, Part 1, has been published and is available for purchase here at the Gammon Press. To order, click here.
The book is built around the kinds of typical choices that players face in the opening part of the game. For example: you throw a number that can be used to make the 5-point or the 20-point. Which point do you make? You throw a number that can make the 20-point or hit in the outfield. What’s right? A few opening plays are forced, but the non-forced plays boil down to choices like this. How do you make these decisions?
Unfortunately for people just learning the game, choices like this can’t be reduced to simple slogans like “When in doubt, make the 20-point.” When a real choice exists for an opening play, the answer will hinge on a number of factors which in varying degree will be contributing to the ultimate decision. Here are some of the ideas that bear on opening decisions:
> What’s the race? A significant racing lead favors plays that don’t leave blots and plays that contribute to escaping the back checkers. Trailing in the race favors plays that maximize contact.
> Does one play make a point? A point is an asset that may last a long time. During every turn that you hold a point is a turn where that point is restricting some of your opponent’s rolls. For a point-making play not to be best, the alternative needs to create some powerful assets or reduce some major liability.
> Has your opponent made a blocking point? If so, splitting rises in value.
> Do you have a stripped outside point? If so, adding a spare will increase its value.
> Do you have a stacked point? Unstacking it will improve your position.
These and other ideas will factor into the decision-making for any non-forced play.
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I’ve had a number of requests to show the Table of Contents for Part 1, so here it is.
Chapter 1: The Opening Move
Chapter 2: The Reply to the Opening Move
Chapter 3: The 5-Point
3.1 The 5-Point or the 20-Point?
3.2 The 5-Point or the 21-Point?
3.3 The 5-Point or the 4-Point?
3.4 The 5-Point or the 3-Point?
3.5 The 5-Point or an Outside Point?
3.6 The 5-Point or the 7-Point?
3.7 Make the 5-Point, Breaking the 7 or 8-Point?
3.8 The 5-Point or Some Other Improvement?
3.9 Make the 5-Point or Hit Somewhere? – 1
3.10 Make the 5-Point or Hit Somewhere? – 2
3.11 Make the 5-Point or Hit Two Checkers?
Chapter 4: The 20-Point
4.1 The 20-Point or the 4-Point?
4.2 The 20-Point or the 9-Point?
4.3 Make the 20-Point or Hit? – 1
4.4 Make the 20-Point or Hit? – 2
Chapter 5: The 4-Point
5.1 Make the 4-Point or Hit?
5.2 Make the 4-Point or Double-Hit?
5.3 Make the 4-Point or a Good Anchor?
5.4 Make the 4-point, Breaking the 8-Point?
The opening in backgammon is a big subject, and trying to fit it all into a single book would have been too unwieldy. The book will appear in three parts, spaced about three months apart. Look for Part 2 sometime in June.
Stuck indoors in these trying times? Cabin fever starting to close in? Getting uncomfortable watching The Andromeda Strain and too scared to watch the market?
For a change of pace with a backgammon theme, try watch a little-known but unexpectedly charming film called The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner. If you can’t find it on a streaming service, Amazon usually has it in stock. You won’t regret it.
This position is not an especially difficult problem, although most players will get it right for the wrong reason.
Sometimes a six from the bar will allow us to do something obvious and good, like hitting a blot or building a point. When we can’t do anything good, we’re usually faced with a choice among several unappetizing alternatives. That’s the case here. We have four legal sixes: 8/2, 13/7, 21/15, and 22/16. None look great, but we have to pick one. Let’s set up some guidelines and see if they can lead us to the least unappealing six.
With the 5-1, Black has just three reasonable plays. Let’s take a look at them.
The 5-point is a strong point. In the abstract, it’s the best point there is, so hitting to make the 5-point later is often a good idea. But making an anchor is a good idea too, and very often correct. If we could only do one of these good things, we’d do it. But here we can do either but not both, so we have to pick and choose.
In backgammon, the term ‘blitz’ refers to a position where one side is caught on the bar without an anchor, and the other side is trying to close him out before he can get in and organize his defenses. If the attacking side is successful, the result is often a gammon. If the defender can get in, he’ll usually save the gammon and may quickly take the advantage, especially if his opponent has become overextended. Blitzes are an important class of positions, and the aspiring player needs to understand them well.
Blitz positions fall into three main categories. The first is the familiar early game blitz, where one side (say, White) runs out or splits his back men and Black then throws a double, making a couple of inner points while sending White to the bar. When White dances, we’re in an early blitz situation. Most of these positions are doubles and takes, although there are exceptions, depending on how many builders are available to continue the blitz and how many vulnerable checkers the defender has.
