Backgammon Bearing Off - the race

Backgammon Races

Backgammon is fundamentally a race so it is important to understand when to double when all contact has been broken.

We start with the "Pip Count". In case you don`t know what a pip count is, it is the number of pips you must roll with the dice to bear off all your remaining checkers. The pip count in the starting position is 167 for each side.

The pip count is calculated by multiplying the number of checkers on each point by the value of the point and summing the total. In the diagram above black`s count is: (2x24) + (5x13) + (3x8) + (5x6) = 48 + 65 + 24 + 30 = 167

To understand a simple racing formula we need some definitions:

Leader`s Pip Count: The number of pips required by the leader to bear off all his checkers.

Trailer`s Pip Count: The number of pips required by the trailer to bear off all his checkers.

The race formula is simple but for all that it is reasonably effective

Let the leader`s pip count be
Let the trailer`s pip count be T.

If T.   is 8% greater than L then the Leader should double.
If If T. T   is 9% greater than L then the Leader should redouble.
If T.   is 12% greater than L then the Trailer should pass the double or redouble.

Here is a simple example:

Black is on roll with a pip count of 100. Red`s pip count is 110. Therefore we have L=100 and T=110.

As T is 10% greater than L black should double (or redouble). As T is less than 12% more than L the trailer (red) should accept the double.

There are far more complicated formulae for races that take account of distributional factors but this simple formula will handle the vast majority of straightforward races.

Bear - Offs

Bear-offs, the removal of checkers from the board, are relatively straightforward. In no contact positions it is normally correct to take a checker off the points corresponding to the dice rolled, e.g. with a 54 take a checker off the 5 and a checker off the 4. If you roll a number bigger than the highest occupied point then you must take a checker off the next highest point, e.g. if you only have checkers on the 3-pt, 2-pt and 1-pt then you must take a checker off the 3-pt with any 3, 4, 5 or 6.

The difficulty plays are when your opponent holds an anchor (or two) in your board or has checkers on the bar. Then your prime consideration is not to leave shots. Some broad guidelines are:

• Clear the highest points first.
• Try to stay even (have an even number of checkers on highest occupied point and preferably on the two highest points combined).
• Avoid stacks of checkers on one point.
• Don`t leave gaps, i.e. a point with no checkers on between two that have checkers

One final point, remember that you can play your moves in any order:

Here black is on roll and red has a checker on the bar. If black plays 5/off with his six then any 1 leaves a blot for red to aim at. However, the rules of backgammon allow black to play 5/4 and then 4/off and not leave any shots.

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