Recent Backgammon Articles
The Best Lesson I Ever Had
About ten years ago a wonderful thing happened to me that changed my entire vision and thinking about backgammon. My teacher and mentor, Perry Gartner, came to Chicago for a tournament and we had the pleasure of spending a lovely afternoon just taking a walk in the park.
4.82
Douglas Zare
Merrigan's Metric Formula
01 Feb 2012 - by Douglas Zare
Nigel Merrigan wrote an article on backgammon races, which discusses some work on racing theory. The main addition is a formula for estimating the probability of winning a long race, called the Metric formula.
4.80
Ted Chee
Tournament Report - 2012 ABT US Open Backgammon Championships
24 Jan 2012 - by Mary Hickey
Mary Hickey reports on the 2012 ABT US Open Backgammon Championships held in San Francisco, California on January 13 through January 16, 2012.
5.00
Steve Sax
Many Away-Two Away Doubling Decisions
20 Jan 2012 - by Steve Sax
The subject of "four away-two away" has been covered fairly thoroughly by GammonVillage writers and others over the years, but this month, I want to focus on the decision of when to double when your opponent is "two away" and you are "many" away.
4.60
Jake Jacobs
The Tally At Talay
10 Jan 2012 - by Jake Jacobs
We are back on track! Last year the Thai Open came close to becoming the Thai Closed. This year a new director, Joe Somchai took the helm. The new View Talay Villa complex was a definite upgrade.
4.83
Steve Sax
Silver vs Bronze: Falafel vs Neil Kazaross
30 Dec 2011 - by Steve Sax
Some of the positions we will look at today come from the finals of the jackpot event at the California State Backgammon Championship (2011), between Giants Falafel and Neil Kazaross.
5.00
Stick
Lopsided Scores
29 Dec 2011 - by Stick
People seem a little bit lost on how to approach the problem where one player is trailing by an inordinate number of points. They usually lack experience in that area because generally one plays shorter matches and this phenomenon will be a rarity to creep in.
4.78
Backgammon Matches
2011 ABT Ohio State Backgammon Championships Final Match - John O'Hagan vs. Greg Merriman - Game 1
Snowie 4 Pro analyzes the first of two 11-point Final matches from the 2011 ABT Ohio State Backgammon Championships played between John O'Hagan and Greg Merriman.
5.00
Malcolm Davis
2010 California State Backgammon Championships Final Match - Malcolm Davis vs. Wayne Jeffcoat - Game 1
30 Dec 2010 - by Snowie 4 Pro
Snowie 4 Pro analyzes the 11-point Final match from the 2010 California State Backgammon Championships played between Malcolm Davis and Wayne Jeffcoat.
5.00
Las Vegas
2010 Las Vegas Backgammon Open Final Match - Fred Kalantari vs. Julian Fetterlein - Game 1
17 Nov 2010 - by Snowie 4 Pro
Snowie 4 Pro analyzes the 17-point Final match from the 2010 Las Vegas Backgammon Open played between Fred Kalantari and Julian Fetterlein.
5.00
Carter Mattig
2010 ABT Illinois State Championship Match - Carter Mattig vs. Phil Simborg - Game 1
22 Oct 2010 - by Snowie 4 Pro
Snowie 4 Pro analyzes the 13-point Final match from the 2010 ABT Illinois State Championship played between Carter Mattig and Phil Simborg.
5.00
John O'Hagan
2010 ABT Florida Championship Match - John O'Hagan vs. Gregg Cattanach - Game 1
25 Aug 2010 - by Snowie 4 Pro
Snowie 4 Pro analyzes the 15-point Final match from the 2010 ABT Florida Championship played between John O'Hagan and Gregg Cattanach.
5.00
Tobias Hellwag
2010 World Championship Consolation Match - Masayuki Mochizuki vs. Tobias Hellwag - Game 1
18 Aug 2010 - by Snowie 4 Pro
Snowie 4 Pro analyzes this 11-point consolation match from the 2010 World Championships played between Masayuki Mochizuki and Tobias Hellwag.
5.00
Matt Cohn-Geier
2010 World Championship Consolation Match - Masayuki Mochizuki vs. Matt Cohn-Geier - Game 1
16 Aug 2010 - by Snowie 4 Pro
Snowie 4 Pro analyzes this 9-point consolation match from the 2010 World Championships played between Masayuki Mochizuki and Matt Cohn-Geier.
5.00
Beginner Backgammon Tutorials
Backgammon Checker Play For Idiots
Backgammon is an easy game to learn, but a hard game to play well. Over the years, I have learned several excellent guidelines to checker play that generally guide me to the best moves. I teach all of these to my students, and I know they will be helpful to you as well.
4.79
Phil Simborg
The Best Way to Learn and Improve Your Backgammon Game
13 Dec 2007 - by Phil Simborg
I have found that the best way for my students to learn backgammon is to break the game down into single, specific areas of play, discuss then independently, and then practice just that area until they get it.
4.00
Phil Simborg
Make it Pretty: Beautiful Backgammon
01 Oct 2007 - by Phil Simborg
Backgammon is all about odds. It also is possible to play excellent backgammon without calculating numbers and odds in your head constantly, simply by playing moves that "look" more appealing than others.
4.64
Phil Simborg
How To Roll Better
28 Sep 2006 - by Phil Simborg
I can help you. If you think you roll badly, or at least worse than your opponents, the truth is: YOU PROBABLY ARE! The reason, however, might surprise you.
3.00
Strategy Talk
Backgammon Brain Busters #70
28 Mar 2006 - by Michael Strato
Come on in and share your views on these tricky backgammon problems with other members of GammonVillage.
4.50
Strategy Talk
Backgammon Brain Busters #69
21 Mar 2006 - by Michael Strato
Come on in and share your views on these tricky backgammon problems with other members of GammonVillage.
4.00
Strategy Talk
Backgammon Brain Busters #68
14 Mar 2006 - by Michael Strato
Three new backgammon brain teasers to test your skills. Come on in and share your opinion on these with other GV members.
5.00
Advanced Backgammon Tutorials
So You Think Backgammon is Easy?
Here's a good example of how complex backgammon can be. There are two positions in this article where Black holds a 2-cube and is on roll. See if you can guess the proper cube action for both positions. Be prepared to be surprised.
2.65
Phil Simborg
The Backgammon Doubling Cube Made Simple
03 Mar 2008 - by Phil Simborg
What I consider one of the most irritating things in backgammon: You are rolling the dice and playing along and having a really nice time, and then all of a sudden your opponent does something extremely irritating and rude. He doubles you!
4.40
Phil Simborg
Playing for the Gammon: Separating the Women from the Girls!
21 Jan 2008 - by Phil Simborg
One of the many differences between a good backgammon player and a great player is knowing when to play on for the gammon and knowing when to turn the cube. Playing for the gammon also affects checker play.
3.86
Phil Simborg
Alternative Rules to Make Backgammon Interesting
21 Dec 2007 - by Phil Simborg
I happen to believe that backgammon is a great game, just the way it is. From time to time, however, it is fun to change the game up a bit. Here are some "alternative ways to play that you not only will enjoy, but you will find them to be interesting learning exercises as well.
4.40
Phil Simborg
You Can't Always Believe the Backgammon Bots
14 Dec 2007 - by Phil Simborg
Some people say that backgammon is now fully in the computer age. I think these people are right - but they are only right about 97 percent of the time. I believe there are still many plays that the bots simply do not fully understand.
4.11
Phil Simborg
Backgammon Match Equity Quiz
09 Oct 2007 - by Phil Simborg
Phil reveals a backgammon position he uses to teach match equity to his students. Take the quiz and see where you rate.
4.91
Phil Simborg
Backgammon Reference Positions
20 Sep 2007 - by Phil Simborg
Great backgammon players have a huge library, in their head, of "reference positions." In this article, I will attempt to give you some insights into the importance and use of key reference positions.
4.38
FIBS Board:
Re: Should a Player be able to Blind anyone?
Wed, Feb 08, 2012 04:53 PMDorbel Daily:
Backwoods v. zyxtcba Part 2.
Wed, Feb 08, 2012 01:20 AMBig Money Bill:
2 AWAY 4 AWAY
Sat, Feb 04, 2012 11:46 AMUSBGF:
February 2012 Monthly Lecture is now available!
Wed, Feb 01, 2012 11:23 PMBackgammon for Beginners:
Magriel's Safe vs Bold criteria
Thu, Jul 14, 2011 01:01 PM
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