In very simple terms, there are 3 basic plans employed. You must be agile enough to hop between techniques instantly as the course of the game unfolds.
The Blockade
This is composed of creating a 6-deep wall of checkers, or at least as thick as you can achieve, to barricade in your competitor’s pieces that are located on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most adequate strategy at the start of the match. You can assemble the wall anywhere between your 11-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This is composed of locking your home board as fast as possible while keeping your opposer on the bar. e.g., if your opponent tosses an early two and moves one piece from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then toss a 5-5, you can play 6/1 6/1 eight/three 8/3. Your opponent is now in big-time difficulty since they have two pieces on the bar and you have locked half your inside board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have two or more anchors in your competitor’s home board. (An anchor spot is a point consisting of at a minimum two of your pieces.) It needs to be played when you are decidedly behind as it greatly improves your opportunities. The best places for anchor spots are near your opponent’s smaller points and either on abutting points or with a single point separating them. Timing is crucial for a competent backgame: besides, there’s no reason having 2 nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then required to dismantle this right away, while your competitor is getting their pieces home, considering that you do not have any other spare checkers to move! In this case, it is more favorable to have checkers on the bar so that you might maintain your position until your competitor provides you an opportunity to hit, so it can be an excellent idea to try and get your competitor to get them in this situation!
Comments