Conquering Backgammon, by Ed Rosenblum

Backgammon Books

Conquering Backgammon
The path to advanced play

AUTHOR: Ed Rosenblum

YEAR: 2015

PUBLISHER: Essential Backgammon

CITY: Santa Fe, New Mexico

ISBN: 1936672944

ISBN-13: 978-1936672943

BINDING: Hardcover

PAGES: viii+256

SIZE: 26 cm high, 18 cm wide

WEBSITE: http://www.essentialbg.com/conquering-backgammon.html

DESCRIPTION:
This full-color hardcover book contains two volumes. Volume 1 (the first 100 pages) is a refresher if you haven't played in a while or if you are a complete novice. Once you've mastered the skills in Volume 1, you will move on to Volume 2. There you will hone your play to become an advanced player.

READERS
COMMENTS:

     "I liked this book and I learned from it. There were several positions that I had to set up and do some variants to understand but I learn best that way. Worth reading."—Ken Bame, BGOnline forum, January 2016


     "I regard 'Conquering BG' and 'From beginner to badass' as the best current books for people that want to learn more than the basics."—Frank Berger, BGOnline forum, January 2016


CONTENTS:

Volume 1: Refining the Basics
1. Introduction
Why backgammon
About this book
Methodology
2. Basic Rules
Setting up the board
Beginning your turn
Checker movement
Doubles
Making a point
Blots, hits, and the bar
Bearing off
Ending your turn
Gammons and backgammons
Notation
3. Probability
Dice
Computing probabilities
Probability table
Direct versus combination shots
Blocked combination shorts
Multiple checker shots
Shot counting exercises
Entering from the bar
4. Basic Strategy
Criitical Points
Builders
Creating builders
Point making
Eligible and ineligible builders
Anchors
Creating anchors
Anchor or cover
Anchor or hit
Barpoint anchor
Anchors as a defense
Multiple anchors
Abondoning anchors
Primes
Building primes
Escaping primes
5. Opening Moves
6. Doubling basics
When to double
When to take/drop
Doubling in a race
7. Counting
Basic counting
Crossover counting
Cluster counting
Cluster counting problems
Cluster counting answers
Mental shifting
Mental shifting problems
Mental shifting answers
8. First Game
Opening roll
Reply to the opening move
Make a decision
Establish an anchor
Build a four point prime
Take half a roll away
Create and eligible builder
Run to the midpoint
Build a board
Clear a stack
Make a run for it
Commit to the race
Race to the finish
9. End Game
Trice triangle
Bearing in
Unimpeded bear in
Impeded bear in
The last desperate roll
Avoiding gammons
Volume 2: The Path to Advanced Play
10. Equity
11. Game Plans
Race
Prime
Basic priming
Prime vs. prime
Attack
Ambush
Basic ambush
Backgames (evolved ambush)
Transition
Exercise — choosing the right game plan
Game plan exercise
Game plan answers
12. Strategic Concepts
Timing
Duplication
Diversification
Connectivity
Board strength
13. Playing Tactics
Distraction
Play now or pay later
Slotting
Double hit
Close out
Switching points
Saving numbers
14. Doubling tactics
TRAP
Woolsey's law
Simborg's law
Market losers
Racing doubles — Keith count
Racing doubles — Reichert count
Reichert quick computational formula
Priming doubles (prime vs. prime)
Early doubles
Too good to double
Reference positions — doubling
15. Match play
Automatic doubles (post crawford strategy)
Free drops
Gammon go, gammon save, and DMP
Introduction to match equities
Rockwell-Kazaross match equity table
Neil's numbers
Turner match equity formula
Match equity problems
Introduction to take points
Take point formula
Take point computational formula
Take point table: 2 away to 7 away
16. Challenging Positions
Second man up
A choice of three sixes
Pressure from a four cube chouette double
Is it a take with 13 men off
Blot inside or blot outside
Tough choice for a four
Can red escape in time
Goldilocks and the three moves
An abundance of fives
17. Appendix
Replies to opponent's opening moves
18. Bibliography

QUOTES: "Conquering Backgammon is impressive in its content and masterful in its presentation. With the included bot support, I can imagine the volume supplanting a book such as Magriel's 'Backgammon' as the standard introductory backgammon primer. In addition, the second part of the book will elevate intermediate players to an advanced level and beyond."—Bill Riles, President, USBGF

"I recommend Conquering Backgammon to all of my students and to anyone interested in improving their game. The book is extremely well-organized, beautifully illustrated, and the information is current and spot on. It is presented in two volumes. The first volume is designed for beginners or as a refresher for people getting back into the game. The second volume contains all the ingredients to move the beginner or intermediate player to an advanced level. It would be impossible to read this book and not see major improvements in one’s game. Highly recommended."—Phil Simborg, Official Teaching Professional, USBGF

"Wow, Wow, Wow, Ed really has a gift for explanations. I learned a lot, especially how to use strategies and formulas for positional doubling and racing doubles. Best explanation I have ever read regarding the doubling cube. Love the reference positions, especially with blitz. The Appendix that includes plays at Gammon Go, Gammon Save, and Double Match Point is invaluable. I am confident that Conquering Backgammon will take my game to the next level."—Julius High, First place winner of 2014 Atlanta, Madison, & Kansas City Championships

ABOUT THE
AUTHOR: I was addicted to it in the seventies and continued to play often in the ensuing years. I joined clubs, started clubs, played in chouettes, read whatever I could find. After moving to Santa Fe, I joined the Backgammon club of Santa Fe. I headed up to my first ABT (American Backgammon Tour) tournament in the Fall of 2009. I decided to play in the Open and thanks to some backgammon street smarts and very kind dice gods, I went on to finish second against an outstanding field of backgammon giants. More than that, I was re-hooked into this exciting game but realized how much it had changed in the past twenty years. Players could now analyze games and positions with powerful computerized backgammon programs that didn't exist in the seventies. "Correct plays" from the seventies had to be re-examined. Thus began my journey. Much of this book is an outgrowth of that discovery process.
Teaching backgammon for many years has helped me understand what students can learn easily and what is more difficult. Using eXtreme Gammon, I analyzed thousands of positions and categorized them into critical playing concepts. These concepts were continuously refined based on student feedback and then factored into underlying principles.