Introduction to the Backgame

The backgame is one of the most distinctive positions in backgammon. One player falls far behind in the race, but holds two or more points deep in his opponent's home board and waits for a late shot. This article explains what a backgame is and the basic plans for both the trailing player and the leader. The next part, backgame advanced strategy, goes into timing, the cube and anchor choices.

What is a backgame?

You have a backgame when both of these are true:

• you hold two or more anchors in your opponent's home board;
• your opponent has built several points in front of those anchors, often a four- or five-point block.

Usually your opponent has also escaped his own back checkers and is well ahead in the pip count. Only one player can play a backgame at a time. This is different from a holding game, where both sides may be holding points. A backgame is a more clear-cut situation, but it demands more understanding from the player who adopts it.

A typical picture: White holds two points in Black's home board, for example Black's 2- and 3-points, while Black has most of his checkers home or nearby and is trying to bring the rest in. White has fallen far behind in the race but has a solid structure to wait with.

Basic plans

From that description the plans for both sides follow naturally. Say White is playing the backgame and Black is the race leader.

White, the backgame player

• Hit a Black checker when Black is eventually forced to leave a shot.
• Contain the hit checker, so that it cannot quickly run back around the board.

To contain a checker, White needs a strong home board and ideally a prime in front of it by the time the shot comes.

Black, the race leader

• Bring checkers home and bear off without leaving a shot.
• Keep his position flexible so that awkward rolls do not force him to break points and expose blots.

Keeping checkers in play

Both sides want to keep as many checkers in play as possible. For White this means having enough moves left to build his home board without being forced to give up his anchors too early. For Black it means not having to break his block early, which would make it easier for White's checkers to escape or, worse, force Black to leave a shot.

Keeping checkers in play in this way is called timing. Timing is the single most important idea in backgame strategy. If you are not yet familiar with it, read our priming games article, where timing is explained with an example.

To be continued

A backgame can be a powerful weapon, but it is also risky: if it fails, gammons are common. Before choosing one, it is worth knowing how timing is counted, which anchor pairs work best and how the cube should be handled. Continue with backgame advanced strategy.