Bearing Off

Bearing-off is one of the most important roles in backgammon, if for no other reason than it comes into play in practically every game. There are two basic types of bearing-off:

1. Unopposed. If your adversary has no men in your inner table or on the bar, the bearing-off process is pretty simple. Since safety is no longer a factor in your strategy, you have only to guarantee the speed of the process. As you play your last pieces into your inner table, you should already be planning the closing stages of the game.

2. Opposition. If your enemy still has one or two pieces in your inner table or on the bar while you are bearing-off your men your primary task is to make sure that you don’t provide them with a shot. If you have managed to play all your pieces into your inner table and thereby trap one or several enemy pieces there or on the bar, you certainly have a clear advantage but you must bear-off your men with extreme caution because the pieces with which you have use as a blockade up to now are suddenly changed from predator into prey! If you are forced to leave a hit on the board, the game could very well swing to your opponent’s favor. It is imperative that you avoid exposing your pieces to possible shots. If you’re careful in your strategy, this is something you can plan for before the bearing-off stage.

Here are two simple rules, appropriate to nearly all positions, which should help you to avoid mistakes when bearing-off pieces with opposition.
1. Always try to leave an even number of pieces on your two highest points combined, thus ensuring that a future double throw of a high number, will not leave a piece exposed.
2. Always play your highest pieces first to avoid leaving gaps.