In very simple terms, there are 3 main plans employed. You want to be agile enough to hop between techniques quickly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This is comprised of creating a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at a minimum as deep as you can manage, to block in the competitor’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most acceptable tactic at the start of the match. You can build the wall anyplace within your 11-point and your two-point and then move it into your home board as the match advances.
The Blitz
This is composed of locking your home board as quickly as possible while keeping your opponent on the bar. For example, if your opponent tosses an early 2 and moves one piece from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then roll a 5-5, you will be able to play 6/1 6/1 eight/three eight/three. Your competitor is then in serious dire straits taking into account that they have 2 checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inner board!
The Backgame
This plan is where you have 2 or more pieces in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a point consisting of at a minimum 2 of your checkers.) It must be played when you are significantly behind as it much improves your opportunities. The better places for anchor spots are towards your opponent’s smaller points and also on adjacent points or with one point separating them. Timing is integral for a powerful backgame: besides, there’s no reason having two nice anchors and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then required to break down this right away, while your challenger is moving their pieces home, because you do not have other extra pieces to move! In this case, it’s more tolerable to have pieces on the bar so that you might preserve your position up until your competitor provides you a chance to hit, so it will be a good idea to try and get your competitor to get them in this situation!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
