Backgammon News - Page 2

Modern Backgammon Bill Robertie's new book Modern Backgammon develops the theme of how our understanding of the game has been changed forever by the advent of the neural Net programs, such as TD-Gammon, Jellyfish and Snowie. Robertie takes his thinking a

Some time ago I wrote a column about proto-backgames, those positions where one or both sides had a number of men back, but the character of the game had not yet crystallized.

Last time, we looked at how to play the 2-2 roll in response to White's various opening rolls. This time, we'll consider how to play another small roll: 3-2. Here's a table of the best plays.

In one of my previous articles, I expressed my thoughts about the cube as unacceptable in the context of the philosophy of backgammon.

Every starting move has a direct effect on the following moves. A good opening move has a motivating effect encompassing the complete game. Unfortunately, it is impossible to have a good roll each time you start a game.

Last time, we looked at how to play the 2-1 roll in response to White's various opening rolls. This time, we'll consider how to play one of the small doubles: 2-2. As before, we'll start with a table of the best plays, and then try to draw some gene

Every so often, you get into a situation in which your roll can take your last checker to the safe region, where your opponent can no longer hit you, or you can hit one of your opponent's blots.

Earlier in this series, we looked at the various possibilities on the opening roll. Of the 15 opening rolls, five were virtually forced: 3-1, 4-2, 5-3, 6-1, and 6-5. In these cases, either making a blocking point or running to the midpoint was far better

Blitzing positions are very double-edged and dangerous, and as a group are probably less well understood than almost any other group of positions, even for the very best players.

High-level backgammon is played in two ways. In clubs, people normally play cash games, either heads-up or in chouettes. In these contests, each game is independent of any games that might have come before or after.

Six-point primes are backgammon's ultimate weapon. Five-primes are strong, but six-primes are better. No matter how well you roll, you can't escape from behind a six-prime. It's maximum security. There's no tunneling out; you have to wait for the

In most positions, the correct play with a given roll is the same regardless of the position of the doubling cube. This isn't always the case, however, and a good player needs to be alert to the situations where the position of the cube can determine th

Almost every backgammon player, as a strategy, tries to own some points and leave no moves for the opponent at the beginning of the game.

Back games are among the most interesting categories of backgammon positions. (Some enthusiasts, like myself, consider them by far the most interesting.) Obvious plays are often wrong and counter-intuitive ideas abound.

DO YOU remember backgammon? You couldn't walk into a club, pub or cafe in the late 1970s without tripping over a backgammon board or being disturbed by the rattle of dice. Famous personalities were often to be seen in fashionable locations avidly playing

M2 PRESSWIRE-9 July 1998-WIREPLAY: Wireplay rolls out Backgammon service (C)1994-98 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD RDATE:090798 Wireplay, the UK's premier dial-up gaming network, has enhanced its roster of classic board and card games with the addition of a custom

Classic Backgammon Revisited BACKGAMMON IS essentially a game of pattern recognition. This has been understood by authors since the advent of books on the game in the Seventies. Five books that should be in a serious player's library are: The Backgammon B

Armenian Reporter, The 03-19-2005 Fifteen expert backgammon players (related to Delaware Valley Armenians) recently assembled at Hayatyan Hall of St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church, Wynnewood, PA in order to determine who was the best play

Byline: Dan Ephron In the living room of his home in suburban Maryland, Ibrahim Soliman unfolds a topographical map of the Golan Heights, the territory Israel captured from Syria in 1967 that remains at the heart of their dispute. Covered on both sides wi

The short list ONE THING YOU REALLY SHOULD KNOW CEBE ARCHIVES SUNGLASSES Cebe has been producing sports eyewear for more than 100 years. Now it has extended its range to include a Fashion Instinct collection by delving into its design archives and reprodu