Backgammon opening moves
The opening roll can never be a double, so there are only fifteen first moves to learn. Here is the play strong players use for each, and the idea behind it.
6-minute read · Beginner
The best play for every roll
Computer programs have played out each opening move millions of times, so the best plays are well known. The differences between good choices are often small, but the ideas behind them carry through the whole game: make points close to home, get your back checkers moving, and bring down builders to make more points.
The plays are written in standard notation: 13/8 means a checker moves from your 13-point to your 8-point. 24/13 means one checker moves all the way from the 24-point to the 13-point.
| Roll | Best play | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 3-1 | 8/5 6/5 | Makes your 5-point, the best point in the game. |
| 4-2 | 8/4 6/4 | Makes your 4-point, the next best. |
| 5-3 | 8/3 6/3 | Makes your 3-point. Deep, but a point now is worth it. |
| 6-1 | 13/7 8/7 | Makes your bar point, the start of a blockade. |
| 6-5 | 24/13 | Runs one back checker all the way to safety. |
| 6-4 | 24/18 13/9 | Splits and brings a builder down. 8/2 6/2 and 24/14 are close. |
| 6-3 | 24/18 13/10 | Splits the back checkers and brings a builder down. |
| 6-2 | 24/18 13/11 | Splits the back checkers and brings a builder down. |
| 5-4 | 24/20 13/8 | Splits, and brings one checker down safely. |
| 5-2 | 13/8 13/11 | Brings two builders down for your next point. |
| 5-1 | 13/8 24/23 | One safe builder, and a small split. |
| 4-3 | 24/20 13/10 | Splits to the opponent's 5-point and brings a builder down. |
| 4-1 | 24/23 13/9 | A builder aimed at your 5-point, and a small split. |
| 3-2 | 24/21 13/11 | Splits the back checkers and brings a builder down. |
| 2-1 | 13/11 24/23 | A builder and a small split. |
Make a point when you can
Four rolls make a new point straight away: 3-1 makes your 5-point, 4-2 your 4-point, 5-3 your 3-point and 6-1 your 7-point, also called the bar point. A point you own blocks your opponent's back checkers and can never be hit.
Your 5-point is the most valuable of all. It sits right where your opponent's back checkers want to land, and it starts a blockade they have to climb over. That is why 3-1 is the best opening roll in the game.
Run with 6-5
6-5 takes one back checker all the way to your mid-point, where it is safe. This play is called the lover's leap. One of your checkers has escaped before the game has really begun, and your opponent has nothing to aim at.
Split or build with the rest
The other rolls can't make a point, so they balance two jobs. Moving one back checker up, which is called splitting, gives it more ways to escape and makes it harder for your opponent to build points in front of it. Bringing a checker down from the mid-point gives you a builder: a spare checker that can help make a point next turn.
Most of these plays do a little of each, such as 6-2 played 24/18 13/11. The checkers you leave alone can be hit, but early in the game being hit costs little, because you have a long way to go anyway. Avoiding every risk is a bigger mistake than taking a small one.
After the first move
From the second roll onwards doubles are possible, and you also have to answer your opponent's move. The same ideas still guide you: if you can hit a blot or make a good point, it is usually right; if not, split or bring down builders. OneGammon's computer at its Expert level makes these same plays, except that with 6-4 it prefers the close alternative 8/2 6/2, so watching it is a good way to learn them.
Put it into practice: play a game against the computer, free and with no sign-up.
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