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BGonline.org Forums
Looking Ahead
Posted By: Chuck Bower In Response To: Looking Ahead (Elizabeth (erichktn @ DG))
Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2026, at 5:01 p.m.
Here are a few things I try to keep in mind OtB, that it seems it takes most players a while to learn:
0) There are (exactly) 30 checkers on the board (including on the bar and in the bearoff tray). Know where every single one is, or look around to find them and determine what they are doing, both statically and potentially (e.g. where they *belong*).
1) Remember there are two dice that both need to be played. Just because you see a play that looks nice for one of them doesn't mean that's necessarily going to be part of the best play overall.
2) (This one I give credit to Kent Goulding -- I learned it from him through his writings 30 years ago.) Never complete your move until you've looked at at least one alternative.
3) (This one is controversial and frequently leads to arguments. Maybe this post will generate such...) When (and only when) you've narrowed down your plays and they all have one part in common, make that part of the move and then contemplate the last part. This fits into the "make things as simple as possible" principle. Why people get into trouble here and why it's controversial has to do with #1 above. This is *not* the same thing. To ramble a bit, someone recently told me "Mochy says to never make part of your move but rather the entire move at once." Then I watch a Mochy match and he does exactly what I recommend here! I don't know what Mochy said but I do know what he practiced that time.
4) The next roll is more important than the one that follows. Although it's valuable to consider what your next move will be, if making your position (i.e. your current play's effect) look good for that conflicts with what your opponent may do in his/her *immediate* turn then the latter should *possibly* get more importance, not the former. For example, you distribute your checkers to make it easier to build a good point next time, but at the cost of giving opp a lot of shots; maybe that isn't the best plan. You may not even get the chance to make that nice point when you've got one (or two) checkers scrambling to get off the bar.
When I post here I tend to go into the future, looking at my opp's rolls, then mine, etc. Although it would be nice to do this OtB, I'm not at the level to be able to execute that in a reasonable time. (Matches are clocked. All matches beyond novice and beginner should be clocked!!!!!!!) Anyway, I do this here because in the long run I hope/expect that it will help me see things more clearly OtB without having to grind through the calculations, etc. Practice makes perfect and the best time to practice is outside of your important matches. Training is for learning. Competition is for performing.
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