Backgammon opening moves: the best play for every roll

At the start of a game, each player rolls one die and the higher number moves first, playing both dice (see how a game starts). A tie is rolled again, so the first move is never a double: there are only 15 possible opening rolls, from 2-1 to 6-5, each as likely as the others.

Fifteen rolls is a small enough list to learn completely. And it's worth it: the opening sets the shape of the whole game. A good opening builds points where you'll need them and gives your back checkers a way out. A poor one leaves blots in the wrong places or wastes a strong roll.

The best plays were settled by computer rollouts, thousands of games played out from each position by neural networks. Some of them overturned decades of expert habit: slotting your 5-point with 4-1 or 5-1, once the textbook play, is no longer considered best.

Moves are written from your side of the board. Your points are numbered 1 to 24, from your home board to your opponent's; 24/18 means “move a checker from the 24-point to the 18-point”. A full move lists both dice: 24/18 13/9 plays the 6 with a back checker and the 4 from the midpoint. Hits, the bar, doubles and full match transcripts are covered in backgammon notation.

Here's the starting position every chart assumes, from the side of the player on roll:

Four checker groups matter in the opening: the two back checkers on your 24-point, the five on your midpoint (13-point), three on your 8-point and five on your 6-point. Not sure about a word? The backgammon glossary defines each one, from blot to prime.

This chart gives the best play for each opening roll in money play (single games, where gammons count double), with the close alternatives that rollouts rate almost as highly. Where two plays are listed, the difference between them is small: pick one and stay consistent.

Four rolls let you make a new point at once, and you should always take that chance. Points in front of your opponent's back checkers block their escape and give you safe landing spots.

• 3-1: 8/5 6/5. The best opening roll in backgammon. Your 5-point is the most valuable point on the board: it blocks your opponent's back checkers and is the heart of a future prime.
• 4-2: 8/4 6/4. The second-best roll. The 4-point is nearly as strong as the 5-point.
• 6-1: 13/7 8/7. Makes your bar point (7-point). With your 6- and 8-points already held, you now have three points in a row, the start of a blockade.
• 5-3: 8/3 6/3. The 3-point is deeper, but making any home-board point beats leaving blots.

6-5: 24/13, nicknamed lover's leap. One back checker travels 11 pips straight to the safety of your midpoint. It leaves no blot to hit, escapes a checker that would otherwise be the hardest to bring home, and puts you ahead in the race.

There's no serious alternative: every other way to play 6-5 leaves blots without building anything useful.

Most other rolls can't make a point, so they do two useful jobs at once: split a back checker forward, and bring a builder down from the midpoint, a spare checker that can make a new point next turn.

The big splits: 6-4, 6-3, 6-2

With a 6, move a back checker to your opponent's bar point (24/18): it starts the escape and blocks their 6-1. The other die brings a builder down: 6-4: 24/18 13/9, 6-3: 24/18 13/10, 6-2: 24/18 13/11.

6-4 is the most flexible opening roll: 24/18 13/9, 8/2 6/2 (making the 2-point) and 24/14 (running a back checker) all score almost the same in rollouts. Pick the style you're comfortable with.

Splitting to the golden point: 5-4, 4-3, 3-2

5-4: 24/20 13/8 splits to your opponent's 5-point, the golden point: if you make it into an anchor, your back checkers are safe for the rest of the game. 3-2 follows the same idea: 24/21 13/11. With 4-3, the main play brings two builders down, 13/10 13/9; splitting to the golden point with 24/20 13/10 is a strong alternative.

These four rolls are among the weakest openings. They bring one checker down and split the back checkers by a pip or two:

• 5-2: 24/22 13/8. The 5 comes down safely to your 8-point; the 2 splits.
• 5-1: 24/23 13/8. Same idea, a smaller split.
• 4-1: 24/23 13/9. A builder on the 9-point, aimed at your 5-point.
• 2-1: 24/23 13/11 or 13/11 6/5. Two plays of almost equal value; 2-1 is the roll where slotting the 5-point is still a top choice; with 4-1 and 5-1, the slot is a playable second choice.

Why not slot the 5-point with 4-1 or 5-1, as players did for years? A slot is a blot your opponent hits with many rolls, and getting hit on the 5-point costs a lot of ground. Rollouts found the quiet split slightly better, because it keeps your position flexible without taking that risk.

The chart is built for money play. In a match, the score can change which of the close plays is best, because gammons are worth more or less depending on what each player needs (see match play and the Crawford rule).

• When a gammon would win you the match, bolder plays gain: more builders, more blots, more chances to attack.
• When losing a gammon would cost you the match, prefer the safer plays among the alternatives.
• At double match point, when both players need one point, gammons don't count at all: the plays that aim for a gammon lose some of their value.

The differences stay small. At the start of a short match, playing the chart is never a real mistake, so learn the chart first and refine later.

After the first move, your opponent replies, now with doubles possible, and the positions multiply too fast to memorize. The ideas behind the chart keep working:

• Make points in front of your opponent's back checkers, your 5-, 4- and bar points first.
• Hit loose blots in your home board when it gains tempo, especially on your 5- or 4-point.
• Escape or anchor your back checkers early, before your opponent builds a prime.
• Keep builders in range of the points you want to make next.
• Count the race with the pip count: ahead, avoid contact; behind, keep it.

For the common errors that follow the opening, see common beginner mistakes in our rules guide.

For the plans that follow the opening, see backgammon strategy: the 5 game plans; for the end of the game, see bearing off fast and safely.

Reading a chart is a start; playing it is what makes it stick. Three steps work well:

• Learn the four families, not 15 separate moves: make a point, run, big split and build, small split and build.
• Play short games and check your opening every time, until the right move comes without thinking.
• Review your mistakes, so the opening rolls you get wrong come back until you get them right.