In backgammon, planning cannot be so precise. The problem is that you don'tknow what the upcoming dice rolls will be, and your possible moves arerestricted by these dice rolls. Thus, it is impossible to plan exactlywhat your next sequence of plays is going to be.

Despite the luck of the dice, having a game plan is just as important inbackgammon as in chess. It may not be such a precise plan, and you mustbe prepared to change your plan as dictated by the dice, but you shouldstill have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish for a given position.This will help you examine the candidate plays to find the best choice.

You undoubtedly have noticed that top players are capable of playing almostinstantly most of the time. As soon as the dice hit the table, they seemto know exactly what to do. This isn't a matter of lightning speed intheir brains. The reason they are able to do this is because they havealready pretty much planned things out. Certainly they haven't examinedall 21 possible dice rolls and worked out how to play each roll. However,they have a general idea of what they are trying to do, and how variousnumbers on the dice can be optimally played. When the dice hit the table,they know where the checkers should be going for these numbers and theyplace the checkers there.

The ability to play fast does have some practical value if you cando it accurately. You may be able to get your opponent playing faster thanhe is comfortable playing, and so induce errors. However, this is notnecessary. What is important is that you have an idea of what you are tryingto do at all times in the game.

Let's first examine the simplest position of all, a straight bearoff, andsee what our plan looks like:

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White money game Blue

What's the game plan? To get the checkers off as fast as possible. We knowthat if we roll an ace it is always correct to use it to take achecker from the ace point in a bearoff, so that is no problem. As soonas an ace appears on the dice, we know exactly what to do with it. Similarlyfor fours, fives, and sixes, we will use that die to rip a checker off.Threes obviously will be played 6/3, except 3-2 with which we will haveto consider the merits of taking a checker off from the five point. Twos aretrickier. We will have to decide whether it is better to unstack the sixpoint and reinforce the four point, or to use the two to fill in the holeon the two or three points but risk later wastage if the four or five pointgets thin. The key is that we know pretty much what we are going to do withall of the numbers, and most of them can be played automatically. We knowwhat the game plan is.

The same thought of thinking can be applied to bearing in for a race.

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White money game Blue

What's the game plan? First, and foremost, we need at least a couple morecheckers on the five point to have a smooth bearin. If we don't get somecheckers on the five point and start to roll a bunch of fives in thebearoff, we will be forced to dump checkers onto the ace point which willresult in potential wastage. If we can't bring a checker to the fivepoint we want to diversify in the outfield, so we will have more ways totake checkers into the five point. Now that we know the game plan, therolls will play themselves. If we roll an ace or a six, onto the five pointwe go. Otherwise, we will be grabbing checkers from the midpoint and bringingthem into our outer board. No kind of calculations will be required. We knowwhere the checkers belong. Our hand will be instinctively reaching for thecheckers we want to move.

When we have a closed board, our goal is to take them off safely and win.Of course, speed may be a factor also. This will depend upon our opponent'sposition. Let's see what our game plan looks like for various positions.

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White money game Blue

The gammon isn't totally gin, but it is very likely that Blue will win agammon if White doesn't hit a shot. Even if White barrels off the bar with6-6 at his first opportunity, White has so many checkers in the outfield thathe will still be a clear underdog to get off the gammon. This means thatBlue's overwhelming priority is safety. Blue will choose his plays withthat in mind. Ripping extra checkers off isn't so important, but safety is.For example, suppose Blue rolls 5-2. It will be safer to play 11/4 than11/6, 8/7. Picture the resulting positions if Blue follows up with 6-6 andyou will see why. 11/6, 8/7 will allow Blue to retain the closed board longer,but that is not a high priority here. The game plan is safety.

Let's change the position a bit:

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White money game Blue

Now the gammon race could be very close. In this position, it is importantfor Blue to hold as many inner board points as he can for as long as possiblein order to keep White on the bar. If Blue bears in leaving only twocheckers on the six point, then if he rolls a six he will be forced toclear the point, taking only one checker off in the process. For speedconsiderations, it is better for Blue to have a third checker on the sixpoint. Thus, in this position I believe Blue is better off playing 11/6, 9/7,with the 5-2 roll despite the fact that the chances of leaving a Shot are somewhat greater.The increased gammon chances more than compensate. While we aren't going tobe taking reckless chances to go for the gammon, it must be worth takingmild risks in order to hold our board another roll. The gammon race is soclose that our game plan puts a lot of emphasis on speed.

A further modification:

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White money game Blue

This time it would take a miracle to win a gammon. On the other hand, thegame is virtually assured unless White hits a shot. Even if White rolls6-6 at his first opportunity to enter, Blue will be a big favorite. Gettinghit, however, would be the end of the world. This time safety has numberone priority, and our game plan is to play as safely as possible. Our 5-2roll will be played 11/4.

One more adjustment to White's position.

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White money game Blue

This is another story. Now the race is a very serious consideration. IfWhite barrels out big doubles at his first opportunity to enter and Bluedoesn't have some checkers off, White will be a very serious contender.Getting hit, while not a happy situation, is no longer necessarily fatal dueto White's weak board. This time, safety is not the overwhelming priority.It is important to maintain the closed board as long as possible. that is themain game plan. Our 5-2 roll will now be played 11/6, 9/7.

Let's look at some middle-game positions. First, we'll examine apotential blitz.

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White money game Blue

The main plan is to attack. If we roll an ace or a three, it will bealmost automatic to hit. If the only game plan were to attack, then wewould automatically use the rest of the roll to bring more ammunition down.However, we must take other contingencies into account when we formulateour game plan. If White hits back, the blitz could blow up in our face.This means we would like to structure a good defense in case the attackdoesn't work. If we roll something like 4-1 or 4-3 we will hit loose, butinstead of bringing a builder down from the midpoint it looks more prudentto lock up the defensive anchor. In fact, if we roll 6-2 it might be rightto switch plans somewhat and play 24/18, 20/18 rather than hitting loosewith 13/5*. After all, we are currently well ahead in the race. The pointis that we must be flexible in our thinking when we form a game plan. We don'tknow what the dice will bring us, so we want to do our best to keepalternative game plans open in case our main plan doesn't work out. Thisis especially true with blitzes.

Let's look at a typical Holding Game and see what the game plans for bothsides are.

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White money game Blue

Blue's goal is very simple -- clear the midpoint. The first order ofbusiness is to come down to two checkers on the midpoint, so Blue can clearit completely with small doubles. As Blue is shaking his dice, he ismentally reaching for that third checker on the midpoint. Only if Blueis unable to move the checker safely will he not move it. Additionally,if Blue is able to stop on the eight point he will do so. Every checkerBlue can get on the eight point gives him another six to play, which delaysthe evil day when Blue is finally squeezed off the midpoint and forced toleave a shot. The longer Blue can delay that day, the more chance he hasto roll those game-winning doubles. Thus, if Blue rolls something like4-2, he will not move the spare from the eight point. Instead, he willshuffle the checkers in his inner board as smoothly as possible.

How about for White? The first order of business is to make the fourpoint, and to do that White needs to slot the point. Inner board blotsare not a consideration, since Blue isn't going to be leaving a shot fora while. If White rolls a two or a four, he will be grabbing a checkerfrom the six point or the eight point and slamming it onto the four point.White will not hesitate to break the eight point. That point is of littlevalue to him. He needs to make inner board points. After the four pointis secure, the next point in line is the two point. White will slot thatas quickly as possible also. He will try to hang onto the midpoint aslong as he can do so without making a mess of his board, but if hisboard is threatening to crumble he will give up the midpoint. Thus,White will get the spare off the midpoint as fast as possible so he willhave the option of clearing the midpoint is that seems right. Most of thetime White will be forced to break off the midpoint before Blue leaves ashot, so White will have to settle for a single shot from the defensive barpoint.

As can be seen, these game plans make the play of the checkers prettyautomatic for both sides. There is no calculation necessary -- both sidessimply grab the checkers they want to move and put them where they belongaccording to the game plans.

Let's take a look at a potential backgame and see what the game plan is.

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White money game Blue

The number one priority is to activate the spare checker on the 24 point.Getting that checker out into the outfield is likely to make the differencewhether Blue's timing will survive or not. As we are shaking the dice weare mentally reaching for that checker, and we know that if an ace or twoappears we will grab that checker and ask questions later. So important isit to move that checker that even if we roll 6-1 we would play 24/17rather than make the five point.

What about larger numbers. The idea is to slot key points, forcing Whiteto hit and improve our timing or not hit and risk getting stuck behinda prime. With a three or a six we unhesitatingly slot the five point,and with a four we slot the bar point. We will try to hang onto ourmidpoint as long as possible, since that point is our link between thetwo divisions of our army. Once that point goes, our timing is likelyto fall apart.

Now that we have the concept of a game plan, let's look at a typicalearly game position and formulate some ideas. As we are shaking thedice, we will be looking at where certain numbers play and have a goodidea of what we are trying to do with most rolls. When the dice hit thetable, it is likely that we will know exactly how to play the numberrolled.

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White money game Blue

Our thoughts are as follows: We sure would like to take a poke at White'soutfield blot if we can. On White's side of the board, we wouldn't mindmaking an advanced anchor. On our side of the board, we could build anew point someplace or perhaps attack White's blots in our inner board.There may be some conflicting priorities, but these are generally thethings we would like to do. It isn't clear yet what direction the gameis going.

Now, let's run through all 21 rolls and see what we come up with.

6-5: Easy, 24/18, 23/18. That was one of our objectives.
6-4: 24/14*. Hitting that blot on the 14 point has clear priority overother choices such as 13/7, 11/7 or 8/2*, 6/2. Big gain in the race,good start toward freeing a back checker, and White's main builder istorn away.
6-3: A real choice here -- 23/14* or 11/5, 8/5. The five point is nice,but this gives White freedom to do his own thing and we might not likethat. The hit sends White back and doesn't give him much to do. It isusually right to hit in the early stages, and I don't think this isan exception.
6-2: One of our poorer numbers. We can use the two to lock up the 11 point,and with the six we can hit loose on our two point. Not ideal, but atleast that puts White on the bar and takes away half his roll. The onlyalternative looks to be 24/18, 13/11, but walking into a triple shot isn'tsuch a good idea. We'll go with 13/11, 8/2*.
6-1: 11/5, 6/5. That's easy. The five point is generally better than thebar point, and this play unstacks the heavy six point.
5-4: Another of those hitting numbers we had our eyes open for. 23/14*.
5-3: 8/3, 6/3 appears to be all there is. At least it's a point.
5-2: Not best. Making the 11 point with the two seems clear. With theback men already split, there doesn't seem to be any need to movingup to White's bar point, and hitting loose on the ace point doesn't appearcalled for here. A fourth checker on the eight point is positioned forattack purposes, so 13/11, 13/8 it is.
5-1: Probably the worst roll of all -- this does nothing. Might as welladvance to the 22 point with 23/22, 13/8. Everything else is veryunproductive.
4-3: 24/20, 23/20 -- one of the key points we had our eyes on.
4-2: 8/4, 6/4 seems clear. The value of the inner board point makesthis better than 13/9, 11/9.
4-1: We could try the double-hit of 6/2*, 2/1*, but the asset of the barpoint seems more valuable. 11/7, 8/7, even though the resulting positionis flat. An asset is an asset.
3-2: Simply build with 13/11, 13/10. Moving up with 23/20, 13/10 is areasonable alternative, but since the back men are already split thisdoesn't seem necessary.
2-1: We could make the 22 point anchor, but the blot on the 11 pointis hanging. White doesn't have too much ammunition up front, soprobably 23/22, 13/11 is better. Anchoring on the 23 point is not calledfor facing White's eight point.
6-6: This roll changes the nature of the position. Attacking, not priming.is called for. Making the two point on White's head seems clear. We couldreally attack with 13/1*, 8/2(2)*, but I don't think we quite have theammunition to pull this blitz off. Instead, 8/2(2)*, 13/7(2) makes thevaluable bar point and brings two more attackers into play.
5-5: Once again an attacking roll. The natural play is 8/3(2), 6/1(2)*, butthis leaves the blot on the eight point as well as doing nothing with the backmen. My preference is the odd-looking 23/13, 6/1(2)*. This holds theeight point and escapes a back checker. The naked ace point may seem out ofplay, but it could prove to be quite an annoyance to White in the future.
4-4: Another attacker. This time blasting away with both guns --8/4(2), 6/2(2)*. The loss of the eight point isn't nearly as severe as withthe 5-5 roll. White is no longer on the two point aiming at the eightpoint, and holding the eight point is not so important with the two pointmade. 13/9(2), 6/2(2)* isn't bad, but making the four point is more compact.
3-3: This isn't quite big enough to attack, and making two inner boardpoints loses the eight point and leaves a direct shot there. 11/5, 8/5makes the five point and holds the eight point, so that seems fine.Probably 13/10 for the fourth three. Also possible is 13/10(2), 6/3(2),which makes a new outer board point and unstacks the heavy six ooint, butthe five point is still the five point. My preference is 13/10, 11/5, 8/5.
2-2: Making the four and 11 points is obvious. Could play either 13/11 or24/22 with the last two. I can see more value for advancing the backchecker I think, so I prefer 24/22, 13/11, 6/4(2).
1-1: Make the five point of course. With the five point made, the outfieldchecker is now more valuable on the ten point. And, advancing to the22 point is a good improvement, as that goes after a better anchor andguards White's nine point. 23/22, 11/10, 6/5(2).

That covers all of the rolls. Naturally you may disagree with me on someof the closer choices -- that is not important. What is important is thatby having some game plans and knowing what things we want to do, it iseasy to spot the good candidate choices at a glance and make intelligentdecisions.

These examples should give you a good idea of how to make a good game planconsistent with the position and the dice rolls. Of course every positionis unique, and plans will have to be changed continuously as the fickledice dictate. However, having a good game plan in mind facilitates thesearch for good moves.