Backgammon, by Marc Brockmann Olsen

Backgammon Books

Backgammon
From basics to badass

AUTHOR: Marc Brockmann Olsen

TRANSLATOR: Christopher Hostrup-Pedersen

ILLUSTRATOR
BY: Tue Rasmussen

YEAR: 2015

ISBN: 1512200441

ISBN-13: 978-1512200447

BINDING: Softcover

PAGES: 319

SIZE: 23 cm high, 15 cm wide

WEBSITE: https://www.createspace.com/5498383

DESCRIPTION:
My book, Backgammon—from basics to badass, is now out. I hope you will like it. It is especially recommendable for beginners or players with little knowledge of theory, but I think there is stuff that might be interesting for the experienced players as well.

READERS
COMMENTS:

     "Marc deals succinctly with most positions in a single page. For example he urges the reader to: 'Build a prime as soon as possible.' And then he explains that advice: 'One of the primary goals in the opening and middle game is to build a strong prime (a blockade). For this purpose points built in your prime zone are obviously very good. Points built in the outer board (the quadrant on your side of the board outside your home board, i.e. from the 7-point to the 12-point) are also good. Although they are often not directly part of your prime they are still functioning as blocking points when the opponent's back checkers are trying to run away from your home board. Outer board points also act as active building checkers for your prime.'"—Jake Jacobs, GammonVillage Magazine, August 2015


     "Though the information in this book is valuable, this is not a book for beginners in any way shape or form. Yes, it describes how to play and includes opening moves/responses, but then goes on to very advanced gameplay; only someone with years of experience could usefully comprehend.
On a content level, it's about a 3. Buy this book after you've read 4 or 5 other beginner/novice classics and a year of daily play under your belt. It really should be used for polishing once concepts are already fully understood."— M. Graves, Amazon Customer Review, October 2015


CONTENTS:

About the author
About the book
Introduction and rules
What is the game all about?
Starting position
Rules
A turn
The first roll of the dice
Checker play
The dice
To bear off checkers, win a single, gammon or backgammon
points, blots and hits
To enter after you've been his
Doubles
Mandatory rules
The doubling cube
Aids
Etiquette
Backgammon notation
Chapter 1: The basic concepts
Concept no. 1: the race
Concept no. 2: hitting
Concept no. 3: the prime
Concept no. 4: flexibility
Concept no. 5: safety
Concept no. 6: connectivity
Concept no. 7: buried checkers
Concept no. 8: an anchor
Concept no. 9: the golden point
Concept no. 10: aggression in the early stages
Chapter 2: The basic game plans
Running game
Priming game
Blitz
Holding game
Back game
Chapter 3: The opening game
The goals of the opening game
The opening moves
Chapter 4: Advanced strategy
Concept no. 11: dice combinatorics
Concept no. 12: safe or bold play
Concept no. 13: efficiency
Concept no. 14: robustness
Concept no. 15: duplication and diversification
Concept no. 16: initiative
Concept no. 17: aggression
Concept no. 18: the edge of the prime
Concept no. 19: timing
Concept no. 20: placement of blots
Concept no. 21: when should you run from and anchor?
Concept no. 22: vulnerability on both sides of the board
Concept no. 23: containing one checker
Concept no. 24: mobility
Concept no. 25: purity
Concept no. 26: back loaded and front loaded
Concept no. 27: banana split
Concept no. 28: prime or blits?
Concept no. 29: slot?
Concept no. 30: split
Concept no. 31: saving gammon
Concept no. 32: the 6-prime
Concept no. 33: the double hit
Concept no. 34: bear in against an anchor
Chapter 5: The doubling cube
Importance of computer programs
Backgammon equity
Volatility and the doubling window
Strategy with the doubling cube
When should you double, accept or pass
Reference positions
Early cubes
Race
Bear off
Holding games
The blitz
The priming game
Deep anchor games
One man back
On the bar against a closed board
Back game
Too good to double
Chapter 6: Match play
Match equity table
Calculation of take point and doubling point
Formula for match equity
Gammon (and backgammon) price
Gammonful and gammonless positions
Reference positions
Redoubles
Reference positions for redoubles
Chapter 7: The value equation
Chapter 8: Doing the pip count
Multiplication
Symmetry
Cluster counting
References
Efficient arithmetic
The absolute pip count
Counting differences
Chapter 9: Various topics
Bluff doubles
Playing against a stronger/weaker player
Improving your game
Creating your own position database
Paradoxical positions
Zen backgammon
Backgammon computer programs
Alternative ways to play backgammon
Appendix: Backgammon probabilities

COVER: Backgammon—from basics to badass is the cutting edge, modern backgammon book, which teaches you all the basic concepts and principles in the game. It beates the older backgammon theory books by a mile.
It starts out softly, but don't let this fool you! The book is full of insights from a true expert. The philosophy is a thorough and well structured learning, which leaves you no gaps in you game comprehension, as well as bringing new theory to the backgammon literature, for instance "the value-equation" and probability tables on jumping primes
It is very easy to read even for beginners. The purpose of the book is to connect the basic theory with the advanced theory. All earlier backgammon books tend to fucus on just one of these categories.
Since publication in Denmark early 2013, this book is now owned by roughly half of the members of the Danish Backgammon Federation, the worlds largest backgammon federation.

QUOTES: "It's my humble opinion that this is a must-read for everyone who wants to take his game to another level. The book is highly informative, easy to ready, and packed with education positions. I've been privileged to know Marc for many years, and he is currently the bast backgammon tutor in the world. Don't waste this formidable chance. Buy this book right away!"—Sander Lylloff, the best backgammon player in the world
"Tremendous all-round book which suits backgammon players of all levels. It presents the concepts in a sharp but still educational way. The book has numerous new approaches to the facets of the game that can be very complex. It appeals to new, as well as more experienced players. I'm positive that everybody can obtain new knowedge and inspiration. Read it!"—Karsten Bredahl, Super Grand Master and double winner of Nordic Open
"Marc has truly succeeded in writing a book which starts from the bottom and ends on a very high level, without the usual gaps you can encounter. It is a solid book that everybody can benefit from, regardless of experience. The examples and explanations are top notch."—Peter Hallberg, backgammon world champion, 2004

ABOUT THE
AUTHOR: I am a former professional soccer player, having played in the Danish Superliga and 1st Division. In 2010 I began studying economics (Master of Economics) at the University of Copenhagen, and since then soccer has been a part-time occupation.
In backgammon achievements, I just won my first "Grad Slam," the Nordic Open 2014, in my hometown of Copenhagen. The final match is on youtube, with the outsanding live commentary of the legend "Falafel." In the moment of writing this book I am rated #1 in the Danish ranking system. Additionally I have been on the national team for the annual Denmark vs. The World matches, held at each Nordic Open, since its origin in 2010.
Back in 2008/2009, I published the book "World Series Vol 1—basic checker play," which was kind of a nerdy book and sold in only 100 copies, which was decent since it was written in Danish and the target group was very narrow.
My "performance rating" is among the best in my country. My strongest PR achievement was when I managed to play an average of 2.7 over eight speedgammon matches at the Danish Speed Championship 2012. My average PR in longer matches is probably somewhere between 3.5 and 4.0 (perhaps a little bit better which I get in shape for big tournaments). I am, and always will be, a student of the game. I always try to improved, even though I don't spend as much time studying the game as I used to.

BY THE SAME
AUTHOR:

   Backgammon: Pure Strategy
Marc Brockmann Olsen