Bill Robertie’s Blog

A Tactic Against a Back Game

Nov 14, 2019 | Backgammon Problems: Back Games, Uncategorized

White – Pips 190 (+68)

Black – Pips 122 (-68)
Black to Play 5-2In this position Black has established a solid grip. He’s escaped all his back checkers, built his 4-point and his 7-point, and leads the race by 68 pips (122-190) before rolling.

Playing a Busted Back Game

Oct 21, 2019 | Backgammon Problems: Back Games

White – Pips 77 (-109)

Black – Pips 186 (+109)
Black to Play 6-2In this position Black finds himself at the tail end of an ace-deuce back game. Things seemed promising for a while, then not so good, then downright awful. Now, with seven men trapped behind a full prime and his board completely shot, Black has a 6-2 to play.

Pay Now or Pay Later

Oct 1, 2019 | Backgammon Problems: Holding Game

White – Pips 138 (+59)

Black – Pips 79 (-59)
Black to Play 5-1This position shows White playing a well-timed holding game while Black is struggling to clear his points and get his men home. Black leads in the race by just over 60 pips, so it’s always been highly likely that he’s would have to leave a shot or two unless he rolled a useful set of doubles. Now Black has reached his first key decision point. Out of spares, he can still play safe, but he may not want to.

With the 5-1, Black has just three reasonable plays. Let’s take a look at them.

An Early Blitz

Sep 15, 2019 | Backgammon Problems: Blitzes

White – Pips 179 (+44)

Black – Pips 135 (-44)
Black to Play 6-4
In this game Black launched a blitz after a few moves were made on both sides, and now White is in serious trouble with two men up in the air facing a four-point board with more blots floating around. Black’s 6-4 gives him several excellent options; his job now is not to get too excited, but to just find the most efficient way to bring the game home.