Opening Strategy from Setup

Backgammon is a board game like chess and American checkers but it is played very differently. It uses dice rolls, for instance. Then, it has unique opening strategies, aside from its peculiar win strategies. Here are some pointers for a backgammon opening strategy.

The basic win strategy is to stop the opponent from having enemy checkers from touching home base. The second goal is to hit as many enemy checkers as possible. The same is true with the opponent's win strategies—prevent our checkers from doing touchdowns on our home base and hit them as often as possible.

Here are some basic first moves to help us achieve our win strategies. We should move our checkers from the 13-point. But be careful that they do not rest on a point 6 or less pips away from an enemy checker. This makes them susceptible to hits. We should make use of checkers from the 13-point to establish "builders" within and around our home board. This is an effective backgammon opening strategy.

Builders are potential primes we can rely on to assist incoming ally pieces to the home board. They are 2 checkers or more on a single point—actually they are minor primes. If we build them on successive points then we have powerful or major primes. When we have lots of builders at home (successive minor primes forming a major prime) then we have a major obstacle for the opponent.

We may also consider dividing the back pair located on 24-point. This will position us for an escape route. We cannot have our strong points (builders, primes, and anchors) positioned there forever. We have to move them out sometime to bear them off later. So, we must provide escape routes for them and move them out when the opportunity presents itself. Move out checkers from the 24 to 22 points as soon as possible.

It is important to always take 4 and 5 points to hit enemy checkers around them through builders. Avoid hitting enemy checkers on the ace (the first point) and on the second point because doing so forfeits us of the opportunity to block the enemy. However, hitting checker pieces early on in the game is a better strategy than establishing points, though that is also good. But don't neglect a chance to establish anchors on 4 and 5 points on enemy home board whenever possible.

A backgammon opening strategy should be carefully considered. We can have a smooth and wining mid play through a smooth and strong opening.