Books

Barclay Cooke was considered among the strongest players in the world in the early 70s. Whether this was true or not is a matter of some debate, but his deep knowledge of many aspects of the game was widely recognized.

For this book, Cooke teamed up with Jon Bradshaw, an enthusiastic amateur backgammon player and professional writer. Bradshaw’s writing talents and Cooke’s knowledge of the game combined to produce a most enjoyable and educational book. It was the most comprehensive book on strategy and tactics published to that point.

This was the first backgammon book to discuss match play strategy. However, at the time, the Crawford rule was not yet firmly established, so many of the examples given are from matches that didn’t use the Crawford rule. Still, some of the concepts, such as the free drop, still apply today.

While many parts of the book are excellent, you do need to be careful about when to take advice from it. Cooke tends to play overly defensive. He has an inordinate fear of splitting his back checkers early in the game or breaking off an anchor. (He might have done well to read Magriel’s chapter on safe play versus bold play, but in 1974 that chapter hadn’t been written yet!)

As you read the book, be sure to check the rollouts provided below. (View a rollout by clicking on the diagram for the position.) Much of the time the rollout simply confirms Cooke’s good advice, but occasionally his advice is very wrong.

The positions here are presented in the same order as in the book to make it easy to follow along as you read. What would you do in each position? Decide on your play, then click on the board to see the author’s commentary and a rollout of the top plays. Can you do better than Cooke and Bradshaw?

Page 16

Position 9  Black to play 1-1.

Page 17

Position 10  Black to play 6-6.

Page 18

Position 11  Black to play 3-3.

Page 19

Position 12  Black to play 4-4.

Page 20

Position 13  Black to play 2-2.

Page 21

Position 14  Black to play 3-1.

Page 22

Position 15  Black to play 4-2.

Page 23

Position 16  Black to play 6-1.

Page 24

Position 17  Black to play 6-5.

Page 25

Position 18  Black to play 3-2.

Page 26

Position 19  Black to play 4-3.

Page 27

Position 20  Black to play 5-3.

Page 28

Position 21  Black to play 6-2.

Page 29

Position 22  Black to play 6-4.

Page 30

Position 23  Black to play 6-3.

Page 31

Position 24  Black to play 5-5.

Page 32

Position 25  Black to play 2-1.

Page 33

Position 26  Black to play 4-1.

Page 34

Position 27  Black to play 5-1.

Page 35

Position 28  Black to play 5-4.

Page 36

Position 29  Black to play 5-2.

Page 41

Position 30  Black to play 6-6.

Page 42

Position 31  Black to play 6-5.

Page 43

Position 32  Black to play 6-2.

Page 44

Position 33  Black to play 2-2.

Page 45

Position 34  Black to play 6-6.

Page 46

Position 35  Black to play 6-3.

Page 47

Position 36  Black to play 4-1.

Page 48

Position 37  White to play 3-2.

Page 49

Position 38  Black to play 3-1.

Page 54

Position 39  Black to play 3-2.

Position 39a  White to play 6-5.

Page 56

Position 40p  White to play 1-1.

Page 57

Position 41  White to play 6-5.

Page 59

Position 42  White to play 5-5.

Page 60

Position 43a  Black to play 5-2.

Position 43b  Black to play 5-3.

Position 43c  Black to play 5-4.

Page 62

Position 44  Black to play 1-1.

Page 75

Position 46  Black to play 5-1.

Position 46a  Black to play 5-1.

Position 46b  Black to play 5-1.

Page 76

Position 47  Black to play 5-3.

Page 78

Position 48  White to play 5-4.

Page 79

Position 49  White to play 5-2.

Page 80

Position 50  White to play 6-1.

Page 81

Position 51  White to play 4-3.

Page 82

Position 52  White to play 6-1.

Page 84

Position 53  Black to play 1-1.

Page 86

Position 54  Black to play 6-1.

Page 87

Position 55  Black to play 6-1.

Page 88

Position 56  White to play 2-1.

Page 89

Position 57  White to play 2-1.

Page 94

Position 59  Black to play 6-3.

Page 96

Position 60  White to play 5-2.

Page 98

Position 61  White to play 2-1.

Page 101

Position 63  Black to play 4-3.

Page 104

Position 64  Should White double? Should Black take?

Page 106

Position 65  Should White double? Should Black take?

Page 110

Position 66a  White to play 5-1.

Position 66b  White to play 5-1.

Page 111

Position 67  Should White redouble? Should Black take?

Page 115

Position 68  Should White redouble? Should Black take?

Page 119

Position 69  Should White redouble? Should Black take?

Page 122

Position 70a  Should White double? Should Black take?

Page 124

Position 71  White to play 4-1.

Page 126

Position 72  Should White double? Should Black take?

Page 130

Position 73a  Should White double? Should Black take?

Position 73b  Should Black double? Should White take?

Page 131

Position 74  Should Black double? Should White take?

Page 151

Position 79  Black to play 1-1.

Page 152

Position 80  Black to play 1-1.

Page 156

Position 83  White to play 5-4.

Page 158

Position 85  White to play 3-1.

Page 160

Position 86  Black to play 2-1.

Page 161

Position 87  Black to play 2-1.

Page 162

Position 88  Black to play 2-1.

Position 89  Black to play 4-1.

Page 173

Position 93  Black to play 6-4.

Backgammon, the Cruelest Game (1974), by Barclay Cooke and Jon Bradshaw

More articles by Tom Keith

Backgammon Galore : Books