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“Reading every word, slowly studying each diagram and following your analysis was invaluable to strengthening not only my checker play but my understanding of fundamental backgammon.”
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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In this position White got stuck playing an ace-point game which didn’t go well for him. Now he’s lost his 6-point, and next turn he’ll either have to break his board or run off his anchor.
Meanwhile, Black is doing reasonably well. He’s cleared his 6-point and managed to bear off two checkers. The weakness in his position is the stripped 3-point, which might cause problems once the 5-point is cleared.
(a) Assume you are Black, you are a very strong player, and you are playing another very strong player. Should Black double in this position? If Black doubles, should White take or drop?
(b) Same question, but now you are Black playing a weak player.
What are the game plans going forward? White’s is pretty simple. He probably won’t be able to build an effective prime, so he needs to capitalize on his racing lead by scrambling his back checkers home, and the sooner the better. He’ll want to start with the checker on his 24-point, and then follow with the checkers on his 20-point. He’s not averse to building the low points in his board; the spares on his 6, 8, and 9-points don’t really have anywhere else to go, and a strong board might help him if he can hit a lucky shot.
