Bearing in and off against back games.
Hello,
Just curious if anyone knows of any articles or such to help with bearing in and off against back games? I notice i make a lot of blunders during these specific circumstances. I have been meaning to pick up a copy of Michi’s “Endgame Technique” that i am guessing covers that topic but curious if anyone knows any good resources readily available?
Thanks!
4 Replies
You could start by looking the "backgames" sub-section of the "articles" section on bkgm.com.
Well you find what you want in Alex Eshaghians book: "Backgammon Backgame Strategies".
Maybe more than waht you have asked for 😀
I just posted a video of me defending against two massive backgames where I explain my thinking -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQmChCfs...
This may not be 100% accurate and certainly may not be helpful in all back game defending spots, but I like to think of back games as backwards games. In a normal game where I have a race lead, I am looking to break my points from the back as quickly and safely as possible. The “backwards game” theory therefore tells me that I want to maintain my back points as long as I can and not bear in as safely as possible, but rather leave shots at appropriate times and places.
The idea is to ruin the back game player’s timing. Maintain a prime as long as you can in order to make your opponent crash his home board. Recycle checkers by forcing him to hit shots to maintain your timing to allow you to keep the prime in place. Look for tactical opportunities to force your opponent off one of his back game points (preferably the higher one). Doing this might just transform a threatening back game into an ace point game with 5-6 checkers trapped on your ace point - a very good position for you where you will win tons of gammons.
