INTRODUCTION In this section, well show you how to play dynamic backgammon so that right from the opening you e in control. Dynamic play lets you set the pace and deter­mine the course the game will take. Passive play, on the other hand, lets your opponent call the shots. Thats not what we want. In this section, well show you how to play your openings so you e in control.   Before we look at how to play particular rolls, however, we need to step back for a minute and consider the big picture. What are our goals in the opening? What are we trying to do?   WINNING GOALS Lets look again at Diagram 2, the starting position. Take a good look at Blacks checkers. His goal, remember, is to maneuver all 15 of his checkers into his home board (points 1-6 in the diagram), then bear them off. And he needs to do all this before White does the same thing. Of his 15 checkers, five are already in his home board-the five located on the 6-point. Three others are close by, on the 8-point. And five others are located not too far away, on the 13-point.   These 13 checkers constitute the bulk of Blacks army, and they don have far to go to get home. Whats more, because they e close to each other, they can cooperate in making new points. With a throw of 3-1, for instance, Black can move one checker from the 6-point and the 8­point to make the 5-point. In the same way, a throw of 4­2 will make the 4-point, and a throw of 6 -1 will make the 7 -point (also known as the bar-point, because its lo­cated right next to the bar in the middle of the board).   Thats goodnews for those 13 checkers. They e close to home, and they support each other by being able to make new points. But what about Blacks other two checkers?   Take a look at those other two checkers. They e stuck way back on the 24-point-a long way from the rest of Blacks army. In order to connect with the rest of Black s forces, those checkers are going to have to make their way through a minefield -the 23 through the l4-points, an area which is pretty well controlled by Whites army.   That, in a nutshell, is the real problem in the opening of a backgammon game-how to get your rear checkers forward to join the rest of your army, while White is doing his best to control their escape route and either hit them and send them back to the bar, or block their escape route by making new points. White, of course, has the very same problem. His rear checkers are trying to get out of your home board, through your outer board (the 7 through l2-points), and home to safety. The opening of most backgammon games is a constant seesaw struggle, with both players trying to simultaneously block and hit their opponents men while mobilizing their own.   Here are the Four Key Opening Goals.   FOUR KEY OPENING GOALS 1. Hit Your Opponents Men This is key. When you can hit a checker, its usually right to do it. Since your opponents checker has to go to the bar and then reenter your home board before he can do anything else, you gain time in the race. If your opponent rolls some unlucky numbers, he might have to stay on the bar and lose a whole turn or two. That could give you time to escape with your backmen. 2. Build Blocking Points This is very important, although usually a little less important than hitting your opponent. (But not always!) Every blocking point makes it more difficult for your opponents back men to escape. The longer you can keep those back men trapped, the bigger your advantage. 3. Build An Anchor Whats an anchor, you ask? Answer: an advanced point in your opponents home board. From Blacks point of view, the 20-point, the 2 I-point, or the l8-point would constitute an anchor. If Black can move his two back men up to one of those points, he would have a strong defensive position which would be hard to block. Black could then bide his time and look for a chance to run home later. 4. Mobilize Your Checkers By mobilize, I mean move your checkers into positions where they more easily accomplish goals 1-3. For instance, with a 4 on the dice you might move a back checker from the 24-point to the 20-point (hoping to make an anchor there next turn); with a 3 you might bring 37   CARDOZA PUBLISHING o ROBERTIE a checker from the 13-point to the 10-point (hoping to make a new blocking point the following tum). Since neither player has many dice throws on the opening tum to directly accomplish one of our first three goals, these mobilization plays are critical. Thats the overall picture. In the opening, you e trying to block, anchor, hit, and mobilize-BAHM for short. Now lets see how youd play each of your 15 possible opening rolls. Remember, since you have to win the opening roll by throwing a bigger number than your opponent, you can start the game with a double. Also, you can do any hitting on the opening roll-in the starting position, neither you nor your opponent have any blots. (That situation will quickly change, however.) 38