Strategy of Narde: How to think about the position

Game rules — on a separate page, terms — in glossary. Here, something else: how to think about a position, when the rules are already known.

Where did these tips come from, and why is this said right away

How Narde strategy relates to backgammon — on the comparison page.

What Changes Without a Hit

In backgammon, a lone checker is an invitation to hit, and half the strategy grows from this risk. In Narde, hitting is not allowed, and the consequences ripple throughout the game.

The position is irreversible. A point occupied remains yours until you yourself vacate it; one checker holds it as securely as five. You cannot spoil your opponent’s position—you can only prevent them from occupying it. Without hitting, the game becomes a struggle for space and rhythm, and positional play is rewarded more strongly than in backgammon.

Time cannot be regained. A checker that has moved forward cannot be brought back by a backward move, so the moment when you build a barrier is more important than its shape. Unlike backgammon, lost tempo here is not recovered.

The score counts more. In backgammon, a hit overrides the count; here, no race is interrupted, and the difference in pips means exactly what it means.

Here is the tension around which the entire game revolves: run or hold. It is the choice between a running game and a holding game, and switching to the running game is right when you are clearly ahead in points, cannot improve your position further, and your opponent can no longer hinder you.

Numbering of points on this page

Further on the diagrams, the points are numbered the same way as in the game analysis in our application, and labeled directly on the board: White’s Head — the farthest right point of the top row, White’s Home — the right half of the bottom; Black’s Head — the farthest left point of the bottom row, their Home — the left half of the top. Both players move one round, counterclockwise, toward decreasing numbers. On the diagrams, White is you.

First move and the rule of one checker

Limitation defining the opening: one checker is removed from the head per move. Everything else follows from it.

The speed of checkers on the Head is lower than in any other quarter of the board—exactly because of this limitation. Thus, fifteen checkers initially stacked together will have to be dispersed one by one, and each move splits into two: one number is played from the Head, the other from an already started checker.

The numbers are distributed like this: the smaller one is played from the Head, the larger number — from the checker moving toward the opponent’s Head. The logic is simple — a checker at one’s own Head occupies a point and remains useful in place, whereas a checker moving toward the opponent’s Head needs distance.

Move 6-5 with one checker: from the head to six, then to five. The marked point is the last one before the opponent’s base: from there any number brings the checker inside.

Two clarifications to the rule “one from the head” should be kept in mind. First: exceptions exist. If your opponent is about to complete a long wall near their head, it’s wiser to occupy a free point inside that wall—even if in this move you don’t remove any checkers from the head. Second: high numbers early on are valuable. High rolls in the opening moves are worth welcoming—they disperse the head fastest. And the opposite end of the same idea: keeping many checkers on the head until the late stage is unwise, as you’ll later have to catch up.

Here, too, is the only place where play differs. Whether to occupy the point on six or the one on five first: some favour the higher point, others note that a checker placed on six later proves inconvenient for jumping to the opponent’s head. There is no settled answer.

Attacking the opponent’s base

This is the main task of the first half of the game. The attack on the opponent’s head ranks first among all the tasks of the game: the entire first half is built around the attempt to block the opponent’s moves from the head.

The attack has two goals, and they are of different sizes. The maximum — Mars: the opponent fails to bear off a single checker. The minimum, and much more achievable, — to immobilize his checkers and seize the initiative.

The details are on a separate page: the two zones of attack, how many points you need, and when it is time to come out of the attack.

Caravan Trail

Several points are valuable at all stages of the game except the last. Their value lies not in themselves, but in the fact that large amounts pass through them: from the head you reach them with a three or a five, and from there a six-point hit moves the checker directly into the opponent’s home.

Points of the caravan trail are marked: two near ones — transfer points at their head, two far ones — targets in the opponent’s home.

Here is the practical rule: checkers are better placed consecutively, and gaps between them are undesirable. Checkers placed next to each other cover each other by numbers; a checker left aside often turns out to be the one that cannot move.

How many points to occupy and which ones

The first points in the opponent’s home board are not the extreme points, but the two that are closer to the center: from them it is easier to reach the others. The extreme points of the opponent’s home board should only be occupied when, in the second quarter, you still have checkers ready to pick up and complete the bridge — otherwise, the occupied extreme point remains isolated.

Next, the count proceeds by points, and it is more important than any general words.

• Three occupied points — unstable equilibrium. The opponent is still alive, but each subsequent move of yours is dangerous for him.
• Fourth point — turning point. If there is a chance to occupy it, it is worth taking the risk: do not leave the head, do not occupy a free point in your own home.
• More than three points in his home, and many checkers still on his head — play for Mars: maintain the siege and force out the last checkers that cover his escape.

The other side of the same coin is defense. Do not allow your opponent to occupy three or more consecutive points near your head, and do the same to your opponent. If your opponent has five points occupied near the head and the sixth is free but inaccessible, rearrange your checkers so that it becomes more accessible.

Two attack zones, and each has its own price

The opponent’s board divides into two zones: aggressive and moderate. The difference lies not in the name, but in what one pays for it.

The aggressive zone — the far part of the opponent’s base. It is best at locking his checkers on the Head and forcing him to defend, leaving him few resources for an attack of his own. It is paid for with two things: you must reach it, which takes large numbers, and it gives your opponent a chance for counterplay — fences in the middle of the board.

The moderate zone is closer, cheaper and compatible with defence, but it presses less: blocking points inside it is nearly useless for the attack itself.

And a separate warning worth remembering in advance: from the moderate zone it is hard to bring checkers Home, and the game more often ends with a Home built on few points, sometimes just one, and inconveniently placed. This cost is easy to forget while an attack is underway.

Fence

Fence — a continuous series of occupied points. In Russian books it is also called a block; this is the same thing.

A barrier is always an advantage, and barriers vary greatly in strength. Fully analyzed on a separate page, here — only the scale and the main consequence.

• Three checkers — a barrier that does not pose serious danger, but useful in the right place and in combination with another advantage.
• Four checkers — already a cause for concern for the opponent; its strength depends on how many checkers the opponent has left on the head at the moment of placement.
• Four checkers blocking the opponent’s move from the head to points 3, 4, 5, and 6 — this ensures Mars for the opponent with about 70% probability.
• Five checkers — a very dangerous barrier almost anywhere.

An enclosure of four checkers is four points with one checker each: in Narde, you cannot hit, and one checker securely holds a point. The opponent can only bear off from the head with a one or a two.

Fences are most effective at the beginning of the game precisely where they block the opponent’s higher moves from the head — and this is the same observation as that about the caravan trail, from the other side.

Move shortage

Deficit of moves — the absence of moves in a position for a certain number. If fives cannot be played and they are rolled, the move is lost. The deficit of moves is the fundamental principle of proper checker placement: traps, quiet moves and attacks on the opponent’s home all follow from it. The reserve of moves and the deficit of moves are the same thing viewed from different sides.

From this follow rules that themselves appear non-obvious.

• Look at the deficit, not the surplus. To assess your position, it’s important to focus on what you lack, not on what you have in abundance.
• Deficit can be beneficial — it harms your opponent, while created for your opponent works in your favor. Pay attention to both.
• The barrier is simultaneously a source of deficit for your opponent and a reserve for you. Inside the barrier, you have many options, and it’s hard to corner you into a losing position.
• Eliminate the deficit — yes, sacrifice strategy for this — no. A missed move loses pips, but doesn’t ruin your position; abandoning a strategic point ruins it.
• Look ahead to the next move. When choosing among options, check whether you might end up in a poor position on some point.

Separately — about luck. Constantly relying on luck in the roll leads to frequent losses; several consecutive hits by your opponent can indeed bring you to Mars, and such games are inevitable losses, which are not worth worrying about. This is not fatalism, but a distinction: you should count only what is counted.

How to Understand Who Is Unwell

The measure here is simple: how many points the opponent can afford to fall behind the head.

• Four or more, at least two on points 6, 5, or 4 — he’s fine, focus on other parts of the board.
• Three points — borderline situation. No catastrophe, but cause for concern; usually a balance.
• Three points, and almost no moves elsewhere on the board — catastrophe nearby, all thoughts must be on bearing off from Mars.
• Two points — critical, if more than six or seven checkers remain on the head.
• One or two points — red light: all forces must be devoted to bearing off checkers from the dangerous zone, even at the cost of important points elsewhere.

Apply the same measure to yourself, but with the opposite sign: overlapping three or four points from the Head deprives your opponent of both tactical and positional initiative. And count not only points: criticality also depends on the number of moves remaining and on how many checkers are left on the Head.

A critical position is the one in which the probability of the opponent’s loss becomes noticeably higher than half. Catching that moment matters, and here is why: as soon as it becomes clear that Mars will not occur, one must immediately switch to fighting for points in one’s own home. Continuing the siege after this is to lose the game slowly.

Home and bear off

The end of the game decides not less than half, and mistakes here are more expensive, because they cannot be corrected anymore.

In detail on a separate page: where to bring checkers in, where the pips go, and what can overturn a won game.

• Bring a checker into the home point at the first opportunity, with rare exceptions when there is a more important target on the board.
• Place checkers in the home evenly. Even distribution across points is built up faster than stacks. Poorly occupied points in the home lead to poor accumulation and later, during the bear off.
• Do not move checkers inside the home unnecessarily and do not bring a checker deep into the home immediately — both actions usually lose pips.
• One checker in the opponent’s home is sufficient to serve as a bridge into the home; nothing more is required from it.
• Avoid the lower part of the home. Checkers should not enter it unless necessary; and ones and twos rolled when nothing can be borne off should be reasonably used to correct those very losing points.

There is also a strategy of the opposite nature: keep checkers as close to the opponent’s head as possible, hindering their escape, and rely on a long game. It is rare and is not treated as a general rule.