In extraordinarily general terms, there are three general techniques employed. You want to be agile enough to hop between tactics quickly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This consists of assembling a 6-thick wall of pieces, or at least as deep as you might manage, to block in your competitor’s checkers that are located on your 1-point. This is considered to be the most acceptable procedure at the begining of the game. You can build the wall anyplace between your eleven-point and your 2-point and then move it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This is composed of closing your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your opponent on the bar. e.g., if your opponent rolls an early two and moves one checker from your one-point to your 3-point and you then roll a 5-5, you will be able to play six/one 6/1 8/3 8/3. Your opposer is then in big-time trouble since they have two checkers on the bar and you have locked half your inside board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have 2 or higher pieces in your opponent’s inner board. (An anchor is a position filled by at a minimum 2 of your pieces.) It would be played when you are significantly behind as it much improves your opportunities. The best places for anchor spots are near your competitor’s smaller points and also on adjoining points or with one point in between. Timing is essential for a powerful backgame: after all, there’s no point having 2 nice anchors and a solid wall in your own inner board if you are then forced to dismantle this straight away, while your opposer is shifting their pieces home, seeing that you don’t have other additional checkers to shift! In this case, it is more tolerable to have pieces on the bar so that you can preserve your position until your opponent provides you a chance to hit, so it can be a great idea to try and get your opposer to get them in this situation!
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