Author: Orad Reshef

  • When up in the race, race

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    by

    Orad Reshef

    Even with all of this discussion about anchors, primes, and board strength, at its core, backgammon is a race. The competing priorities present in any given position can make it hard to see the forest through the trees. Oftentimes, decisions merely boil down to the race: if you’re ahead in the pip count, just run.…

  • Opening rolls

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    by

    Orad Reshef

    We’ve reached the point where it’s finally time to memorize the opening rolls. Because a game can’t start with a doublet, there are only 15 dice combinations we need to learn how to play, and at most about 35 reasonable ways those can be played. The optimal play actually changes a bit depending on the…

  • Module in progress…

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    by

    Orad Reshef

    This module is currently being written! Please come back in a few weeks to read the next lesson 🙂

  • Point on head

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    by

    Orad Reshef

    In backgammon, if given the option, it’s usually better to do two good things than only one good thing. The strongest example of this principle is if you can make an inner board point while also hitting one of your opponent’s checkers. This is known as “pointing on” or “pointing on head.” Let’s adjust the…

  • Anchor up

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    by

    Orad Reshef

    One of the most important assets in a backgammon game, typically undervalued by new players, is an anchor: an inner board point in your opponent’s home board. You actually start every game of backgammon with the 24-pt anchor made, but this turns out to be the weakest one for a variety of reasons, and so…

  • Intermediate checker play

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    by

    Orad Reshef

    We have laid the groundwork, learning about safe play and the different game plans. Finally, we are ready to start improving our play! We will begin with checker play, and will focus on cube play in a subsequent module. Here, we present some basic rules of thumb and the reasons for them, and hopefully will…