Clear from the rear

There’s a number of common backgammon idioms. One of them is to “Clear from the rear and don’t ask questions.¹” This refers to situations where you’re trying to bring your checkers home safely. An example is shown in the position below:

You’re ahead in the race and if you could just skip over your opponent’s point in your homeboard, you’re a huge favorite to win the game. Hitting you is, in fact, your opponent’s only chance to win. You roll a 52 and need to decide which point to clear. You have 2 options for points to clear safely without leaving any direct shots: the 11-pt and the 8-pt. Well, clear from the rear! In this position, that is the 11 point, so just play 11/9, 11/6. Bingo, bango, you’re done!

The reason for this rule of thumb is fairly straightforward. Though you aren’t putting yourself in any immediate risk by clearing the 8-pt first, your checkers on the 11-pt and 9-pt both have fewer landing spots for when it’s their turn to be cleared. What happens if you clear the 8-pt and then roll a 32? You would have been able to clear the 9-pt if it was still there, but now you’re left shuffling checkers around in your homeboard waiting for a better roll. If rolls like this happen too many times, you’ll end up leaving your opponent that direct shot they’re hoping for!

So, if it can be done safely, clear from the rear!

1. I’m not sure who it is that coined this term, or how old it is, but Kit Woolsey used it in a 1983 Backgammon Times article. If you happen to know, please tell me! ↩︎

Next lesson: Bear off safely