A late position in the first game of a three-point match. The score is still zero-zero. Black considers the first cube of the match. Black started this game with monster doubles from favorable dice on the third roll, so Black has been watching and nursing a "too good to cube" situation for many rolls now.…
about learning the game (0)
This position came up last week, a juicy racing tip to entice a study group of aging experts. Nowadays, these little scraps of data fling like fireworks through the internet, raining drops of backgammon positions splattered willy and yonder. In truth, to gain the attention of an aging expert, the situation on the board must…
3ptrs .. the rewhip cube
The castle of three-point matches has a lonely room for those players who push and push and crawl, grinding from the start of the match. These lonely players push the first game of the match into a cube and pass, score now one-zero, thereby improving their match chances from 50% to 60%. Then, encouraged in…
cube 2.7
Black gets ready to roll the dice, but stops. Time to consider a first cube. Before this moment, the white and black outfield checkers were staring each other down, menacingly. But Black's last roll of 63s broke the black anchor. Somehow White missed. Does Black now have the upper hand? The first edict in the…
opinions (pips)
You don't need to count pips, except for very special occasions. A seasoned estimate in dice rolls is more than adequate. Pip counts typically throw the mind into a pool of bad karma. Of note, nobody can do it. Don't believe what you are told. Nobody can. Beyond that, nobody should do it. Counting pips…
Cash Game Cubes (1)
Where does the money come from? Here is a brief scene which may (or may not) have been found in the cutting room, clipped then stuck to the floor. A scene from that classic film: The Three Stooges Discuss Backgammon. Decades later, the screenplay went cold and decidedly devalued, only to morph online into a…
The cube in a three-point match (0)
Why matches? Backgammon has been enjoyed for centuries as a great game, and often as a gambling game. However, not everyone approves of gambling. Fortunately, in the last century, a tournament format of backgammon became popular. Whether or not there is an entry fee, a participating player is assured a certain number of matches and,…
Openings (0)
Three-two. Black splits to the 21pt and brings down a builder to the 11pt. One-six. White makes her bar point. Black rolls 52s. Blot control. The top pair of plays leave only two black blots, and both on the far side of the board. Other sensible candidates leave three black blots. The better of the…
Hell-bent on a pub crawl
Black to play 53s This position shows the shape school can sometimes be right. Yet a good principle still travels with three or four clear examples. As here. The principle stems from the query: How do I manage three loose runners hell-bent on a pub crawl? Bet I'm not the first father to obsess over…
the beauty of dynamic play
Black to play 63s As a problem this position is very easy, but as an insight into backgammon’s intrinsic aggression it reveals a dynamic beauty, a kinetic pace, brimming with action and power. Still in the opening after Black’s third roll, a standard idea for 63s is run with 24/15. But, looking at the run,…
the baron talks backgammon 