In very general terms, there are three general strategies employed. You need to be agile enough to switch techniques almost instantly as the action of the match unfolds.
The Blockade
This comprises of creating a 6-thick wall of checkers, or at least as deep as you are able to manage, to barricade in your opponent’s checkers that are on your 1-point. This is deemed to be the most suitable procedure at the begining of the game. You can create the wall anywhere between your eleven-point and your two-point and then shift it into your home board as the match progresses.
The Blitz
This is comprised of locking your home board as fast as as you can while keeping your challenger on the bar. i.e., if your opponent tosses an early two and moves one checker from your 1-point to your 3-point and you then roll a five-five, you will be able to play 6/1 6/1 8/3 8/3. Your opposer is then in serious difficulty because they have two pieces on the bar and you have closed half your inside board!
The Backgame
This strategy is where you have 2 or higher checkers in your competitor’s inner board. (An anchor spot is a point filled by at least two of your pieces.) It needs to be employed when you are extremely behind as it much improves your chances. The better areas for anchor spots are near your competitor’s smaller points and either on abutting points or with a single point separating them. Timing is crucial for an effective backgame: at the end of the day, there’s no point having two nice anchor spots and a solid wall in your own home board if you are then forced to break up this right away, while your challenger is shifting their pieces home, considering that you don’t have any other additional pieces to move! In this case, it is more tolerable to have checkers on the bar so that you are able to maintain your position until your opponent provides you a chance to hit, so it will be a wonderful idea to try and get your challenger to hit them in this situation!
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