Backgammon Short

Starting Position

Backgammon is a game for two players, on a board consisting of twenty four narrow triangles, called points. The triangles alternate in color and are combined into four groups of six triangles in each. Points are numbered for each player separately, starting with the player’s home. The farthest point is the 24th point; it is also the first point for the opponent. For the whites (in the diagrams are drawn below) the points are numbered clockwise, for the black ones - counterclockwise.

Items are grouped together. These groups are called the house (1-6), the yard (7-12), the house of the enemy (19-24), the yard of the enemy (13-18). The house and the courtyard are separated by a strip, which stands above the playing field and is called a bar. Each player has 15 checkers. The initial placement of checkers is as follows: each player has two checkers in the twenty-fourth paragraph, five in the thirteenth, three in the eighth and five in the sixth. Each player has his own pair of dice and a special glass that is used to mix the dice. The cube (Dave’s cube) with the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 on its faces is used to keep track of the current rate of the game.

Game Purpose

The goal of the game is to transfer all your checkers to your home and then remove them from the board. The first player who took all his checkers wins the game.

Initial lot

To start the game, each player rolls one bone . This determines which player goes first and which numbers for his first move he uses. If both players have the same numbers, they both roll the dice until different values ​​fall out.

Checker Movement

A player who has a greater number during the draw moves his checkers in accordance with the numbers on both dice. After the first turn, players alternately roll two dice and perform moves.

The numbers on each dice indicate how many points, or pips, the player must move his checkers. Checkers always move in only one direction, from points with large numbers to points with smaller ones. For whites - counterclockwise. For black - clockwise. The following rules apply: A checker can only move to an open point, that is, one that is not occupied by two or more checkers of the opposite color.

1. The numbers on both bones make up separate moves. For example, if a player has dropped 5 and 3, he can go one checker to three fields, and the other five, or he can go one checker to eight (five plus three) fields at once, but the latter only if an intermediate point (at a distance of three or five fields from the starting point) is also open.

2. The player who has a double, plays each of the numbers on each of the bones twice. For example, if you fell 6-6, the player must make four moves of six points each, and he can move the checkers in any combination as he sees fit.

3. A player is obliged to use both numbers that he dropped, if they are allowed by the rules (If he has a double, he must use all four numbers). When you can play only one number, the player must play this number. If each of the numbers can be played separately (but not both), the player must play a larger number. If the player cannot make a move, then he misses the move. In case a double has happened, if a player cannot use all four numbers, he must play as many moves as possible. You can not refuse a move if the result of the move is unprofitable.

How to beat and charge a saber

The item occupied by only one checker is called a blot. If the checker of the opposite color stops at this point, the blot is considered beaten and placed on the bar. At any moment when one or several checkers are on the bar, the player’s first duty is to charge the checkers in the opponent’s house. The checker enters the game, moving to the point corresponding to the value of the dice thrown. For example, if a player has dropped 4 and 6, he can charge a checker in the fourth or sixth points, if they are not occupied with two or more opponent's drafts. If both points corresponding to the values ​​of the discarded bones are occupied, the player misses his turn. If a player can enter some of his checkers, but not all, he must charge all the checkers that are possible, and then skip the rest of the turn. After all the checkers are entered from the bar, unused bone values ​​can be used, as usual, by moving the checker that you loaded, or any other checker.

How to throw checkers out of the game

When the player has brought all of his fifteen checkers to his home, they are thrown from the board. The player throws a checker as follows: a pair of dice is thrown and then you can:

1. remove the checker, which is on the point corresponding to the value on the cube (for example, if a five rolls out, then a checker is thrown out from the fifth field)
2. move any checker inside the house from a point with a higher number (that is, if a triple fell out, then move the checker from the fifth field to three fields (that is, to the number two field), even if the third field also has a checker)
3. remove a checker that stands on a point with a lower number, if there are no checkers on the item corresponding to a larger than the value of the rolled bone (that is, if the fourth fell out, and in the fourth, fifth and sixth field there are no checkers, then the checker is cleared from the third , if not in the third field, off from the second, if not in the second, then from the first.
4. when moving the checkers in the inner board, killing the opponent’s checker, it is forbidden to throw this checker or a couple of checkers (even if the bones are thrown when playing according to prison rules).

In the stage of throwing out checkers, all the player’s checkers must be in his house. If the checker is beaten in the process of throwing the checkers, the player must bring the checker back to his house before he continues to throw the checkers. The one who first removed all the pieces from the board wins the game.

Dave

Backgammon, as a rule, is played for money at an agreed rate for one point won. Each game starts with a one-point bet. During the game, a player who feels that he has a fairly large advantage in the game can offer a chance (that is, double the stakes). He can only do this before starting his turn, before he rolls the dice. If the player who was offered to double the bets, folds, then he hands over the game and loses one point. Otherwise, he must accept dave and play with double bets. The player who accepted dave becomes the owner of the cube, and only he can now double the bet again. Counter doubling of bets in the same game is called bass (or redable). If a player surrenders at this moment, he loses as many points as was at stake in front of this redable. Otherwise, the cube proceeds to it, and the game continues further with a double value of the bets. There are no restrictions on the number of redables.

Dave's special cube has faces with numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 - for the multiplicity of the rate increase. It shows how many times the current rate is increased. The use of the cube to Dave significantly increases the excitement in backgammon, because the initial rate may increase 64 times.

Mars and Coke

At the end of the game, if the losing player managed to remove at least one checker from the board, he loses as many points as is on the cube at this point (one point if none of the players said anything later). However, if the loser did not manage to throw a single checker off the board, he loses Mars and loses twice the number of points. If, moreover, the loser did not take a single checker and one or more of his checkers were left on the bar or in the opponent’s house, he loses coke and loses the tripled number of points.

Additional rules

Some additional rules are widely used in the game.

Auto-double If both players have the same number of points on the first move, the bets will double. The cube rotates in two and remains in the middle of the board. Players usually agree in advance on limiting the number of auto-doubles at the beginning of the game. This rule is mainly used when playing for money to give more excitement.

Beaver If a player is declared a dave, he can immediately overdraw the bets by declaring a counter redirect beaver, in this case the cube remains with this player. The player who first announced Dave has the opportunity to accept this beaver or to fold, as in the case of a simple dave, but at the same time he loses the double bet.

Jacobi's rule . Mars and coke are counted as one point, if none of the players announced this during the game. This rule speeds up the game, since it eliminates situations where the player does not announce the game, because he is keen to play on Mars.

In 2006, a translation from English of the fundamental book by Paul Magrill (two-time world champion) “Backgammon” was published.

There is a nuance in the classic rules of the Caucasian backgammon, which says: you cannot kill the enemy’s sword in your house and hide. In other words, the sword that beat the opponent's sword cannot be moved with the same move so that it stands on another sword and is double, that is, out of reach for a strike. Kill and cover the beat up checker other - you can. Kill and move further to the free field, but not to hide - you can. Kill and throw away (if there is no other move) - you can.

Caucasian

Initial set up: Standard.

It is forbidden to hide or throw away after a fight in your house.

Nakgammon

Initial arrangement: from slots five checkers, moved by one checker to the second point. ^[one]

Hypergammon

Initial arrangement: for White in 1, 2 and 3 slots, one checker each. Black symmetrically. ^[2]

Longgammon

Initial arrangement: checkers in the first slot. Black symmetrically. ^[3]

Shot on the spot

Initial set up: Standard.

Whoever beats the opponent's chip first wins. Without coke and mars. ^[four]

Nuclear

Initial set up: Standard.

In this game, there is an additional chip called the "atomic bomb." At the beginning of the game, the atomic bomb does not belong to anyone (similar to the doubling cube). At any time during the game, each player can declare an "atomic explosion." In this case, all single checkers (blots) are considered to be beaten and put on the bar, but the “bomb” is transferred to the side of the enemy. ^[five]

Plakoto / Tapa

Initial arrangement: as for Longgammon. ^[6]

A single opponent's checker is not knocked out on the bar, but locked. Until the opponent releases the checker, she cannot walk. The lowest chip in the initial slot is the mother chip. When an opponent prohibits a maternal chip, a defeat with Mars is counted.

The backgammon notation is intended to record the ongoing game, it was developed by Paul Magrill ( Eng. Paul Magriel ), one of the most famous backgammon players and teachers, in the 1970s ^[7] .

The loss of dice is recorded as a pair of numbers separated by a dash, for example, “5-2” means that 5 fell on one dice, and 2 on the second dice. Points on the board (triangles) are numbered from 1 to 24, while the numbering for the opponent is opposite , that is, point 24 for it will be point 1, point 23 - point 2, and so on. The writing of moving chips is done in the form of two numbers separated by a trait, for example, “8/4”, which means that the player has moved one chip with clause 8 to clause 4. A full stroke record consists of the values ​​drawn on the dice and the movements made For example:

4-2: 8/4 6/4

This means that the player has fallen on dice 4 and 2 and that he has moved two chips: from points 8 and 6 to point 4.

Identical moves are indicated by a number in brackets, for example, “8/4 (2)” means that two pieces were moved from point 8 to point 4. If a situation arises when it is impossible to make a move according to the rules, the “Ø” symbol is used. For example, “6/1, Ø” means that a player has played one chip from point 6 to point 1, however, he cannot use the second number dropped on the dice, since there is not a single legal move.

If, as a result of the move, an opponent's chip is captured, the move is marked with a “*” symbol. For example, the entry “13/7 *” means that the chip has moved from point 13 to point 7, where the opponent's chip was beaten. The record “6-2: 13/7 * / 5” means that the dice fell 6-2, and the move was made from point 13 to point 5 with an intermediate take of the opponent’s chip at point 7.

In the event that a beaten chip returns to the game from the bar, the bar / 22 type is recorded, which means that the player returns the bar from the bar to the game, putting it at paragraph 22. When the chip is removed from the field, the record is used "6 / off", which means removing the chips from the field from paragraph 6 ^{[7] [8]} .

Due to the fact that the game of backgammon, unlike, for example, checkers or chess, greatly depends on chance, when it is impossible to predict which combination of moves will be rolled into dice, the player must try to provide himself with the maximum number of possible moves during each stage of the game. , limit the number of combinations that may be beneficial to his opponent. When making a move, the player should not think so much about how much further he can move his chips to the finish line, but how to create the most favorable position for the chips on the field, taking into account what combinations of numbers can occur in the next throws from him, and how to create the most inefficient arrangement of chips from an opponent.

Reducing the game only to the race, when the priority is only moving the chips from the beginning to the finish, will almost always lead to a loss, because backgammon suggests a rather tight interaction with the opponent, who can, having a large number of chips and seemingly more moves. required to complete the game, nevertheless to win, depriving the opponent of the ability to move, locking his chips with his own.

Experienced players are able to calculate the possible future moves with different variants of the falling numbers on the dice. Thus, they have the ability to use even seemingly disadvantageous combinations, which in fact may be included in the options for the development of the situation that they considered. Thus, the player's experience consists in the ability to control the game regardless of the random nature of the cubes falling out, by creating the most advantageous positions for himself, when the successful combination allows him to make not just a good move, but the most effective ^[9] .

In general, when making a move, the targets should not be the maximum advancement of chips or the taking of opponent's chips. The main strategic goal should be to create an advantage, and if beating the opponent’s chips does not give such an advantage, then it should be avoided. At the same time, you need to ensure that your opponent has as few opportunities as possible to beat your chips. To do this, you should try to avoid direct shots (six or fewer steps) or, if you have to leave the chip without protection, limit the number of straight shots to their minimum number. It is better if the chip falls under the indirect shot (seven or more steps). When making moves, one should also strive to create closed points, which are basic points for defense and attack ^[10] .

Creating closed points, as one of the most important tactical tasks, leads to the notion of “builder-tokens”, that is, to consider chips not as “runners” who need to be forced to run the field as quickly as possible, but as a building material with which the creation of closed points. Each piece has the potential to participate in the "construction", and the player's goal should be the most efficient use of this building material. Having the goal to capture any field, you should place the chips so that they are in close proximity to the desired field, that is, at a distance of six steps or less. It should be borne in mind that the appearance of even one additional chips in the vicinity of the target, increases the likelihood of a point being captured twice. The creation of "chip builders" is one of the important attributes of a professional game. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between active builders, that is, chips that are in close proximity and which can be used, and inactive builders, who, although they are located at the required distance, cannot be used (for example, due to the fact that relocation blot appears, which is under the direct blow of the opponent's chips) ^[9] .

There are several strategies for playing backgammon. One of them is the strategy of “fast-paced game”. The basis of this strategy is the principle of race, when the focus is to move your chips as quickly as possible to the finish line in order to overtake an opponent. In the general case, a “clean race” in backgammon is not possible, since player's chips meet with opponent's chips, which can lock your chips or beat them. The essence of the fast-paced strategy lies in the safe passage of obstacles by chips and their entry into the race - a situation where the opponent's chips can no longer prevent progress to the finish.

The tactic of a fast-paced game involves several things. First, long-range chips must start the movement first, as they need to go a long way. At the same time, you need to create obstacles to the advancement of the enemy's distant chips. Secondly, the further the chip advanced, the more seriously it should be protected from beating, since in this case it will have to return to the beginning of the path. Therefore, the chips on the way to the house should be protected, and if you have to substitute the chip under the blow, then you need to make sure that it does not fall under the direct shot, but only under indirect. Accordingly, taking the opponent's chips, especially those that have advanced far, is very effective. Thirdly, it is important to create closed points, which makes it difficult for the enemy to advance and enter his beaten chips into the game. In general, one should strive to remove the maximum possible number of his chips from the board as soon as possible ^[11] .

The second strategy of the game is “retention game”. Its principle is opposite to the "fast-paced game." This strategy allows for a lag in the race, but the player remains in a winning position by placing his chips in the House and Yard of the opponent, which allows you to beat other people's chips as they attempt to enter the House. Keeping a holding game is more difficult, since here a greater emphasis is placed on building a favorable disposition, which requires serious strategic preparation. Important points in the maintenance of the holding game are the closure of your points 5, the bar-point and the point 4, while the point 5 is the most important. The closer to one another are the closed points, the more effective they are. To create these closed points, you will need building chips that you need to take to the desired positions, possibly taking a certain risk. Also determining is the construction of the forward anchor point - these are closed points 4 or 5 of the enemy.

All moves in your house should be seriously justified, only the most necessary moves are possible here, since the main goal is to move the chips in other quadrants. Entering chips into the house should be carried out using small movements - one or two points. If the enemy keeps the point in your house, then you should not insert chips into it, it is better to keep them at a distance. You should always consider the possibility of dropping large doubles in order to be able to safely play them, without leaving blots. Long-range chips should not be left alone, which makes them vulnerable, they should be placed in pairs ^[12] .

Another strategy is “blocking game”. Its essence lies in the fact that several closed points are lined up on the field, which prevents the advancement of the opponent’s chips up to a complete blockade when a barrage of 6 consecutive closed points is created. However, even the 5-point blockade is extremely difficult to cross. Solid blockades are most effective, but broken blockades, when there is a gap between several blocked points, are also not always easy to overcome. Creating a blockade is also effective against a similar blockade of the enemy. Skillful creation of its own blockade may force the opponent to begin to destroy their positions first. If the situation forces you to destroy your own built blockade, then you should begin to do it, starting with the most distant points ^[13] .

You can also highlight the “attacking game”, which can be effective in some positions, for example, when you captured the leading anchor point in the Enemy House or you managed to close more points in your House than your opponent could. It is possible to take an attack even when the enemy has several blots that can be beaten without too much risk. Determining during the attack is the possession of the 5 point of the enemy. An attacking game is associated with greater risks than others, it is permissible to make certain sacrifices in order to carry out a useful attack. For example, taking two opponent's chips in your House is an extremely effective move, for which you can even allow your own blot to appear. Also, if in the general case the closure of internal points is a reasonable tactic, the possibility of closing the removed points as a better one should be considered. In the case when your opponent has chips on the bar, you need to make an effort to accumulate "building material" to capture items in your house. Attempts to protect blots outside the House in this case are not a winning solution ^[14] .

One of the most important aspects of the game of backgammon is doubling the stakes. A timely, thoughtful decision about the doubling proposal significantly enhances the game. In general, the question of doubling is so important that without a high-quality possession of this technique, it is impossible to achieve any meaningful results, even while playing an excellent game of chips. Skillful use of doublings is a sign of professional playing, since there are no definite rules about when and in what positions doubling is beneficial or vice versa.

One of the general principles relating to doubling is the so-called "three to one" principle: if the probability of an opponent winning is more than 75% (that is, more than three to one), you should fold when you offer a doubling. If his chances are less, the offer should be accepted. Exact calculation of chances is not always feasible, so the situation as a whole should be assessed, relying on common sense and experience. It is necessary to offer a doubling of bets very carefully, as there is a chance to deprive yourself of the opportunity to double the bet again. The position of the double cube is critical ^[15] .

• Backgammon

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