https://www.gammonvillage.com/ GammonVillage.com has been reporting on the online and offline backgammon community since 1999. en-us https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/bgblitz.cfm By Frank Williams: BGBlitz is a world class artificial intelligence chosen by several servers, multiple times winner of the Computer Olympiad, easy to use, and visually stunning. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/philet_of_fish.cfm By Jake Jacobs: One of the forums for backgammon discussions that has evolved in recent years is Facebook. Using tools like XG it is easy to create and post positions, to ask the world for its opinion, and then depending upon whom you have befriended, and who might be paying attention, you will get feedback. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/charlie_mccarthy_or_mortimer_snerd.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Once upon a time there was a backgammon player named John Brussel. John played, directed, and conducted Calcutta auctions with dubious humour. He was a nice guy, and since his passing is missed. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/tora_tora_burning_bright.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Back in the last century when I first played in the Japan Open I called readers' attention to the one Japanese player then whom I believed was playing at a world class level. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/backgammon_pure_strategy_reviewed.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Marc Brockmann Olsen is certainly ambitious. His previous book promised to take the reader from basics to badass; his new one wants to teach us how to think like a neural net. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/birthday_bash_and_vegas_cash.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Last article I talked about picking the brains of some notable experts at the Blackjack Ball after party. The Ball and after party were enhancements to my visit, and spending time with my brother and his family were a prime motivator, but another compelling reason was that I had been "ordered" to attend. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/and_where_she_stops.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Last month I administered Paul Magriel's Genius Quiz. While your brains are still reeling, I'll revisit it. But first, to keep you sharp, here is a bonus quiz! https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/magriel_genius_quiz.cfm By Jake Jacobs: The late Paul Magriel was one in a million. I don't mean that as a hyperbolic compliment, I mean it literally. He was a genius, and the two statements are related. Genius is an overused term. Mensa members are called geniuses, but all it takes for membership is an IQ score that falls two or more standard deviations from the mean https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/strategy_schmategy.cfm By Jake Jacobs: In the spring of 1982 I was living in Las Vegas. Henry Watson's tournament, which included the World Amateur Championship, perhaps better known as the Plimpton Cup, was held in June most years. My friend Craig Chellstorp was ineligible, but saw it as an opportunity. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/xpiration_notice.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Many people knew Paul, and many knew him far better than me. Many writers have written about Paul, and many are better writers than me. Stories about him during his colorful life appeared in prestigious journals including Sports Illustrated and Esquire. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/seven_more_bad_backgammon_habits_70s_players_m.cfm By Mary Hickey: The more we think back to the 1970s, the more changes we recall from the game as it was played in most places then, compared to the way we have learned to play since the bots came along. The bots brought more than knowledge, though. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/the_backgammon_encyclopedia_vol_2_reviewed.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Thirty-five years ago Mike Maxakuli, publisher of the Las Vegas Backgammon Magazine, came to me with an idea. I should write the Backgammon Encyclopedia, which he would publish. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/seven_bad_backgammon_habits_70s_players_must_u.cfm By Mary Hickey: Even if you weren�t born in time for the 1970s backgammon craze, surely you have heard stories about that legendary heyday of our favorite game, before the books and the bots took so much of the mystery out of it. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/must_have_been_something_they_8.cfm By Jake Jacobs: I described last spring how the Japan Open moved to a new venue, and was held at a different time of year. The second biggest backgammon tournament on the calendar, the Ouisen, was traditionally held in May. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/jerrymandering_6.cfm By Jake Jacobs: We left off with me leading 17-15 to 23 in my semifinal match with Jerry Grandell. At the next board Neil Kazaross was winning his semifinal match with Dr. John Simon of Hong Kong. One of us could look forward to an interesting finals match. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/jerrymandering_5.cfm By Jake Jacobs: The horror! The horror! Those who have been following this series know that after leading 14-3 to 23, in just three games I had fallen behind 14-15. We resume with Game 13. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/backgammon_is_nothing_more_than_prioritizing.cfm By Phil Simborg: Years ago I wrote an article about why teaching backgammon to children is valuable. It obviously teaches them math and odds and statistics, and it also clearly teaches them that in backgammon, as in life, there is good luck and bad luck. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/jerrymandering_4.cfm By Jake Jacobs: If you have been following this match from the beginning, or if you saw only last month's installment, you know this is a match Jerry Grandell and I played in the semis of the US Open in 1998, and that when we left off I led 14-7 to 23. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/doubling_from_the_bar.cfm By Mary Hickey: Doubling from the bar can be scary, because almost by definition these cubes will usually be weaker than ones where you have both feet on the ground. Since you have one man you must move before you can do anything else, your choices are automatically constricted. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/jerrymandering_3.cfm By Jake Jacobs: We took a break last month to talk about the Japan Open. Now, back to the match. For those who missed the last installment, or can't recall where things stood, I lead 6-1 to 23. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/osaki_or_oh_sak.cfm By Jake Jacobs: If you tuned in expecting the third installment of my match with Jerry Grandell: thanks for your devotion to this column. But we interrupt that match with breaking news (relatively speaking). https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/jerrymandering_2.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Readers who missed last month may benefit from a quick recap. In 1998 I went to Dallas to play in the world's greatest tournament, the World Cup. After being bumped I had to settle for trying for a repeat win one of the runner up world's best events, the US Backgammon Open. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/jerrymandering.cfm By Jake Jacobs: It's hard to believe that the last World Cup of backgammon was a generation ago. Many of the players back then are no longer playing. Howard Ring, the winner in 1998, has been dead more than ten years. His opponent, Johannes Lieberman, vanished from the scene before that. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/gamesmanship_the_opponent_factor.cfm By Alan Martin: There are some giants that care more about their PR score than considering what has been taught to me, which is referred to as "The opponent factor." As a matter of fact I am sure that some backgammon purists would consider the concept of gamesmanship, or the opponent factor, nonsense. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/hard_ten.cfm By Jake Jacobs: This month I thought I'd try something different. I listened to Phil Simborg's interview with Paul Weaver, and was inspired. Paul's preferred pedagogical method is to teach the first and second moves of the game. Why not go that one better, and if we are going one, why not go eight? https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/how_i_play_an_opening_14_backgammon_roll.cfm By Alan Martin: It's about time someone explained one of the most fundamental and intriguing arguments in backgammon today. Is is better to split your back men or slot your 5 point on an opening roll of 1-2, 1-4, or 1-5? https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/extreme_gammonv.cfm By Frank Williams: https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/almost_xxxactly.cfm By Jake Jacobs: We adjourned the match last month tied 6-6 to 11. For those coming late to the party, this was a match I played against Paul �X-22� Magriel Labor Day, 1996, for the consolation championship in Indianapolis. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/almost_xxactly.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Time to climb back into the DeLorean, and return to those thrilling days of yesteryear: the Labor Day backgammon tournament of 1996. We left the Consolation finals match last month with me leading Paul Magriel 4-2 to 11. It makes sense to start there, and so we will. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/almost_xactly_as_i_remember_it.cfm By Jake Jacobs: The year 1996 was a good one for me. I cashed in almost everything I entered, and I entered a lot of tournaments. I won the Thai Backgammon Open and the US Backgammon Open. (I am still working on the Japan Open.) https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/othello_quiz_2017.cfm By Jake Jacobs: With Japanese players occupying the three top spots on the backgammon Giants list, and a number of other very successful Japanese players making their mark in world competition, foreign players may be pardoned for thinking they have seen the cream of the Japanese crop. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/profitable_proffers_and_pineapple_bluffers.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Like Joe Cocker I get by with a little help from my friends. The friends helping this month are Phil Simborg and Sam Pottle. Thanks guys! Phil likes to tinker, and is constantly experimenting with variations, or new games. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/battle_of_champions.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Backgammon's first World Championship was held in 1964. In the late sixties and early seventies legendary player Tim Holland won three titles while also winning the title International Champion three times. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/third_times_the_charm_backgammon_quiz.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Try as the bots might to turn backgammon players into chess players with better table manners the players' roots are in gambling. Some of the most interesting bets have been made by players. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/zdenek_zizka_interview.cfm By Phil Simborg: Phil Simborg interviews 17-year-old backgammon sensation Zdenek Zizka. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/game_of_stones_a_song_of_dice_and_ire.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Jon looked at the position, looked at the cubes lined up in front of him, looked at his opponent's icy blue eyes. The Box had won the last three games, coming back from the dead each time; Jon was young, but had heard of runs that lasted years. Maybe winter was coming? https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/zombie_checkers.cfm By Mary Hickey: You watch silently from your hiding place behind a banyan tree as the bocor chants and dances in the graveyard under the light of the full moon. Suddenly one of the gravestones begins to shake, and the ground beneath it is disturbed as a bony and badly decayed hand reaches upward out of the dirt. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/paskogammon.cfm By Jake Jacobs: There was a new event at the recent backgammon tournament in Las Vegas: Paskogammon. The brainchild of Phil Simborg as its name suggests, it was inspired by legendary player Jim Pasko. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/fish_island_plays.cfm By Mary Hickey: No, Fish Island isn't a fantasy cruise ship port-of-call for backgammon-shark wannabes. It's a mythical place from the Arabian Nights, where Sinbad the Sailor and some other fellows decide to spend the night after they've been shipwrecked. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/full_philment_quiz.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Sometime in the previous millennium I shared a room with Phil Simborg. I was a night owl, yet when I turned in at two or three Phil would be logged onto some web site playing backgammon and typing a stream of messages. I'd wake at the crack of noon and he'd be gone, up since dawn. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/blast_from_the_past.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Once upon a time when the world was young and backgammon lore was old there lived two young lads in a faraway land called Germany. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/how_to_be_a_great_backgammon_tournament_player.cfm By Alan Martin (Former US backgammon champion): Alan Martin lives in North Hollywood, California with his wife Cookie. He recalls 1979-80 as his best tournament year. Here are his 22 tips on how to be a great backgammon tournament player. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/backgammon_giant_32_in_2015.cfm By Jake Jacobs: It is 2016 of course, but a few years back the deadline for voting was extended into the new year, while the numbering remained the same. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/threeanchor_cubes_the_basics_and_some_applicat.cfm By Mary Hickey: Our noble purpose today is to scratch the surface of cube decisions involving the three point anchor. To keep it simple, all these positions will happen very early in a 13-point backgammon match, and will involve mainly the take decision. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/new_international_collegiate_backgammon_champi.cfm By Mochy and Phil Simborg: On January 1st, Mochy and Phil announced an exciting new initiative for the backgammon world. High school and college students all over the world will be given a chance to compete, without charge, to win college scholarships and many other prizes. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/make_solving_this_backgammon_quiz_your_new_yea.cfm By Jake Jacobs: We haven't had a quiz in quite a while, so let's get the New Year off to the right start. All these problems came up in matches in Japan this past October. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/rising_sun_setting_checkers.cfm By Jake Jacobs: The final of the Japan Backgammon Open once again pitted two gaijin against each other. Representing England was Jericho Eric McAlpine. His opponent was Razi Bobrov of Israel. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/proof_that_better_backgammon_players_are_lucki.cfm By Phil Simborg: A few years ago I wrote an article that stated that poor backgammon players who complain that the better players always seem to be getting better rolls are right. At first glance, this seems a little shocking. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/count_of_monte_cristo.cfm By Jake Jacobs: Who doesn't love pip counts? I can still recall (dimly) the satisfaction of reading Magriel's book, learning about pip counting, and knowing that I had a secret weapon in my arsenal, one most of my opponents knew nothing about. https://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/news/bunching_the_way_to_learn_and_remember_more_re.cfm By Phil Simborg and John OHagan: There are many factors that separate great backgammon players from average players, and in this article we will concentrate on one of the key ones: great players have more reference positions.