The opening moves in backgammon are as important as any part of the game. The opening is an important way to set up the rest of the plot in a backgammon strategy. Making a good opening paves the way to other strategic possibilities that may lead to one player's advantage over the opponent. We'll discuss two goals that need special attention when making your opening strategies. When we play backgammon one important thing we need to keep in mind when making our decisions is flexibility. During the opening we must make room enough to accommodate possible changes in plans in case we make an odd roll or the results don't actually favor our initial opening strategy. To play the opening very well in backgammon we need to keep in mind two goals or strategies so that we can avoid problems in the next few moves. First strategy is make points on the home board especially during the opening. There are a couple of good reasons why this opening goal is necessary. One good reason is that the more points we make at our home board the better we mess up our opponent's strategy. Having points on the home board especially in the opening gives our opponent a tough time entering from the bar. One fundamental skill a player must master therefore is to remember how to play the opening rolls correctly. We would like to emphasize on the point-making opening rolls (includes playing the double rolls on the dice during the opening). The second reason why making home board points are necessary during the opening is because it gives a player a head start. The primary goal in backgammon is to be the first to bear off all of your pieces. Having points on the home board also serves to give a player a good head start. When checkers are on the home board, they're ready to be borne off. Remember that when building points on the home board during the opening, make sure that you secure the five-point, then the six- and four-point, and then the three-point. This would facilitate maneuvering for your checkers during the opening and the mid game. The second opening strategy and goal we'd like to point out concerns the back men. Often enough when these checkers are caught or blocked they become impediments to winning a backgammon game. One good piece of advice is on should try to move the back men gradually from the opening to the mid game. Never leave them behind stranded behind enemy lines. One good tip is that when you get a double on an opening roll use half of that to move the back men. If doubles on the dice don't come around that much then you may have to split the back men and reunite them as soon as the next roll makes that possible. The opening is an important part of a backgammon game. Making points on the home board and moving the back men during the opening makes up a good strategy to advance your game.
Two Backgammon Opening Strategies