"I've just finished Chapter 6 of Volume II. I must say that if you aren't the greatest BG player who ever lived, you certainly are the greatest writer. It's not even close. Your explanations are so clear and logical that anyone can and will improve by studying them."
A practical way to become a winner at backgammon is to glean instruction from the best players. Some of the backgammon world’s highest awards have written books to assist players both novice and advanced.
A good book by a backgammon expert can provide game-changing information at a reasonable price which players (and would-be players) can absorb at their own pace. The Gammon Press store stocks essential reads by Bill Robertie and Kit Woolsey, along with the works of Bob Wachtel, Peter Bell and others. If you want to improve your backgammon game, this is the place to start.
Use the form to search books, blogs, and resources.
This position shows a pretty normal-looking mutual holding game. White was two pips down in the race (114-112) prior to rolling. But he fired a great shot, double-fives, which moved him to an 18-pip lead. What should he do?
Money game, center cube, White on roll.
White to play 5-5.
These next two positions show a couple of closely related holding game situations. Black has the 20-point, but now he’s got a man stuck on the bar. White has a nice 5-point board, and a couple of blots not in direct range of Black’s anchor. He also has the 9-point, which was an asset for a while, but is now a liability to be cleared. How much risk should he be willing to take while Black is on the bar?
Money game, Black owns the cube, White on roll.
(A) White to play 6-5, 6-3, 5-4, 5-3, 5-2, and 3-2.
(B) Slightly different position, White to play all the same numbers as in (A).
These next two positions show an unusual holding game situation, with Black’s board somewhat collapsed while he still has outfield points to clear. As compensation for his messy position, Black is ahead by 35 pips in the race, and as such is a solid favorite no matter how White plays.
(A) Money game, White owns a 2-cube.
White to play 6-4.
(B) Money game, White owns a 2-cube.
White to play 6-4.
This position is a fairly typical mutual holding game, a holding game where both sides have an anchor in the other player’s territory. Your first job in these games is to count the race and see where you stand. Here the pip count is 124 for White, 121 for Black. White trails by 3 pips, but after he plays his 5-2 he’ll actually lead by 4 pips.
Money game, center cube.
Black to play 5-2.
With the 5-1, Black has just three reasonable plays. Let’s take a look at them.
