Three Elements That Make a Backgame a Success

The backgame is not an obvious favorite in backgammon. Most of the time when a player goes for a backgame it means he is really behind and is going for a last ditch effort to save a game. Whether a player really uses the backgame as his strategy to win or to salvage a game, there are key elements to make this plan a success.

When a player executes a backgame that player would most likely be behind in the pip count. The enemy checkers are beyond the reach of any of his own checkers -- except for a few checkers that he used to build an anchor (or perhaps two up to three) on the opponent's home board.

The backgame relies heavily on the chance to hit the opposing checkers as they jump into the home board or as the checkers are bearing off. It may seem at first that the player doing a backgame is relying too heavily on his luck to make that hit. Chances are he would need to ensure two things to make this strategy a success.

To increase the chances of making that successful hit in a backgame would be the position of the anchor or anchors. Deep anchors appear to be more effective when playing a backgame strategy. Deep anchors at the opponent's 1-, 2-, or 3-point are more beneficial to a backgame. Anchors placed there tend to force the opponent to bear off or enter the home board awkwardly.

When a player who is using a backgame has more than one anchor on the opponent's home board, best advice is to have these stay close together. Consider positioning them on your 22- and 23-points for best results. But having the anchors separated is also effective for other strategic purposes.

The big advantage of having the anchors close together that they delay the game enough so a player who is behind can build his own home board to make a more decisive trap. Positioning the anchors correctly let's a player build his own home board and adds to the general success of the backgame.

Timing is basically the amount of time a player can hold on to a desired position. In a backgame the player in the lead would want to keep his prime secure or at least positioned in a way as to not expose any checker to attack. The player with the anchors would want to hold on to those anchors for quite a while until he has his home board built and a chance to make a hit becomes available.

The number of anchors, their position on the home board, and timing are three key elements of a successful backgame.