End Contacts Are a Mini-Game Themselves in Backgammon

In backgammon, the end-contact positions or scenarios are a sign of a game nearing its end and that the game is almost a dead-heat or tie thus far as the final pieces are about to face and cross each other on their final route home.

End contacts are those final one or two checkers that each player has and are the trailing or last pieces to make the journey home. A scenario that best describes this happening in a high-stakes fashion would be when both players have their bearing off courts totally blocked (filled) – let's say Black with his pips 1-6 holding two or more checkers on each, and White holding two or more checkers on each of his pips in his 19-24 side. Black, in our imaginary game here, has two checkers remaining to travel, one sitting on pip 13 and one on 9. White, meanwhile, has only one checker in the open field, sitting on pip 10.

Sometimes equity like this and its subsequent cube actions could be calculated to a high degree of accuracy for both players, but more often than not the succeeding play will call for a mix of judgment, intuition and calculation. One wrong role and the game is over, as a hit by either player will put the other player into a "wait and see" position on the bar as the hitter begins to rapidly bear off his pieces. This is a time where good memory or strong math skills (in calculating the percentage of higher success rolls) does some good. But then, even if your palms are sweating and your teeth are clattering at moments like these, this is what we play this game for, right?