In very general terms, there are 3 basic techniques employed. You must be agile enough to hop between tactics quickly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This involves building a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at a minimum as deep as you can manage, to barricade in the competitor’s pieces that are on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most acceptable strategy at the start of the game. You can assemble the wall anyplace within your eleven-point and your 2-point and then shuffle it into your home board as the match continues.
The Blitz
This involves locking your home board as fast as possible while keeping your challenger on the bar. e.g., if your competitor rolls an early two and moves one checker from your one-point to your 3-point and you then toss a five-five, you will be able to play six/one 6/1 8/3 eight/three. Your opponent is then in serious calamity taking into account that they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inner board!
The Backgame
This tactic is where you have two or higher anchors in your opponent’s home board. (An anchor is a position filled by at a minimum two of your checkers.) It must be employed when you are significantly behind as this action greatly improves your opportunities. The strongest locations for anchor spots are towards your opponent’s smaller points and also on abutting points or with a single point in between. Timing is integral for a powerful backgame: besides, there’s no reason having two nice anchor spots and a complete wall in your own inner board if you are then required to break apart this right away, while your opponent is shifting their pieces home, seeing that you don’t have any other extra checkers to move! In this situation, it is more tolerable to have checkers on the bar so that you can maintain your position until your opposer gives you an opportunity to hit, so it can be a wonderful idea to attempt and get your competitor to get them in this case!
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