What Is an Anchor?

An anchor is a made point (2 or more of your checkers) in your opponent’s home board (their points 1-6). Anchors are one of the most important defensive tools in backgammon.

An anchor provides:

  • Safety — if you’re hit elsewhere, you have a landing point in the opponent’s board
  • Blocking — the opponent can’t use that point
  • Counterplay — from your anchor, you can hit blots the opponent leaves during bearing off

Types of Anchors

Advanced Anchors (Opponent’s 4, 5, or 6-Point)

The strongest anchors. Benefits:

  • Close to escape (fewer pips to travel home)
  • Block the opponent’s most valuable home board points
  • Opponent’s 5-point anchor (the “golden anchor”) is the single best point to hold

Mid-Anchors (Opponent’s 3-Point)

A decent anchor that provides safety without being as strong as an advanced anchor. It’s further from escape but still blocks the opponent.

Deep Anchors (Opponent’s 1 or 2-Point)

The weakest anchors. They’re very far from escape and block the least useful points. However, they still provide:

  • Re-entry safety
  • Potential for a back game if combined with another anchor
  • Last-ditch defensive positions

Anchor Strategy

The Holding Game

A holding game is a strategy based on maintaining a single anchor:

  1. Secure an anchor (preferably on the 4 or 5-point)
  2. Build your home board and outer board
  3. Wait for the opponent to leave a shot while you try to escape
  4. If you hit, you have a strong home board to trap them

The holding game is strongest when:

  • You’re slightly behind in the race
  • You have a strong home board
  • The opponent must eventually risk leaving a blot

When to Make an Anchor

As soon as possible in most games. The opening moves often focus on establishing an anchor:

  • Splitting your back checkers (24 to 20 or 21) to aim for a specific anchor
  • Using small dice rolls to slide into anchor position

When to Leave an Anchor

Leave your anchor when:

  • You’re ahead in the race and don’t need the safety
  • A large roll gives you a clean escape
  • The timing is right — your other checkers are well-positioned
  • Holding the anchor serves no further purpose

Don’t leave your anchor:

  • When you’re behind in the race (you need the safety)
  • When the opponent’s home board is strong (re-entering after a hit is hard)
  • When you don’t have a clear plan for the escaped checkers

Anchor Combinations

When you hold two anchors in the opponent’s board, you’ve entered back game territory:

  • Two anchors double your chances of hitting
  • But they require proper timing to work
  • Back games are high-risk, high-reward

The best two-anchor combinations have the anchors spread apart (e.g., 1 and 3, or 2 and 4) for maximum board coverage.

Anchor Defense in Practice

Scenario: You’re Behind in the Race

  1. Hold your anchor securely
  2. Build your home board to 4-5 points
  3. Wait for the opponent to leave a shot
  4. Hit, and use your strong home board to trap them

Scenario: You’re Getting Blitzed

  1. Fight to establish an anchor — any anchor
  2. Even a single anchor on the 1-point gives you a chance
  3. From the anchor, wait for the blitz to stall
  4. Counter-attack when opportunities arise