Two bear-in positions of interest appear below. The first position occurred in a recent game. Black to play but first Black considers making a Double. Extensive rollouts confirm that the position below is NoDouble/Take by 2mp (or two cents in ten dollars of equity). The position is therefore a reference Double, where waiting or cubing…
gameplan — run until …
Backgammon is about the mixtures of game plans. Black opens with the roll 52s on the dice and splits his backmen then stacks his 8pt. White replies with the roll 36s and bolts her runner blot into the outfield. The running opening for White is slightly better than the standard big split opening because the…
simple games breed quiet tactics
Here is a recent game. The early opening creates a parallel game plan where both Black and White are waiting in a mutual holding pattern. Even quiet games require careful checker plays, especially to squeeze out some small advantages. Black makes a mistake early on. Sometimes, in a close game, it is worth injecting a…
study trick (1)
A benchmark position must be set up by memory, no exceptions. To remember, a short narrative may be attached to the backgammon situation, where the herald proclaims a royal position with its entourage a chorus of backgammon ideas. Tweets blare the bling: a closed board, a number puzzle. How to spread the three black spares?…
An opening question
One-six. White opens by making her barpoint. Six-one. Black responds by making his barpoint. One-three. White makes her golden point. Three-one. Black also makes his golden point. Monkey see, monkey do. Two-four. White continues to build assets. White makes her four-point, the home trinity. So far in this game the sentiment mirrors the quiet yet…
the baron talks backgammon 