Bill Robertie

How to Play the Opening in Backgammon/Part 2 – Everything Matters continues the explanation of opening play, this time moving on to two new topics: plays involving the low points in the home board and plays where hitting one or two blots in the board are possibilities.

What causes many players to stall out in their backgammon development is the idea that backgammon is governed by a few simple rules. If you learn and follow these rules – like “Make the 5-point if you can” or “Never make the ace-point” – then you’re supposed to become a good player. But the reality isn’t that simple, and many other features of the position – stacks, stripped points, and the race (for instance) will have a powerful influence on whether plays are right and wrong.

A careful study of How to Play the Opening in Backgammon/Part 2 – Everything Matters will help you develop a sense of how these different positional features will help guide your play. Putting these pieces together combined will let you take a big step toward playing better backgammon.

Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Info: 168 pages, 258 diagrams, softbound
Price: $50 + S/H