Gammon RoyaleShesh Besh Online
White
167 pips
0–0
Black
167 pips

Arrows: move between points. Enter: move a checker by the active die, or move the selected checker to this point. Space: select a checker and see where it can go. R to roll, E to end turn, U to undo, D to double, S to switch dice.

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Backgammon 6-1 opening: the best move

Rolled 6-1 on the opening roll? This is the best move according to the strongest analysis programs in the world:

13/7 8/7

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White moves from 24 to 1. The arrows show the best move.

Clearly best: make your bar point (13/7 8/7). The 7 and 6 points side by side are the start of a wall your opponent's back checkers will struggle to pass.

All the good moves, best first

MoveChance to winGammon winsBehind the best
13/7 8/753.5%15%—
24/23 24/1849%11.6%−0.212
13/647.5%13.3%−0.245

GNU Backgammon ranks this move first too.

The numbers: eXtreme Gammon (XG) rollouts, money play with the doubling cube. "Behind the best" is how much a move loses compared with the best one, in fractions of a point; less than 0.02 is barely noticeable.

Practice

The best way to learn openings is in a real game: against the computer you get a hint every turn, and an analysis of every move at the end.

All the openings in one table

The other opening rolls

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