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BGonline.org Forums
Backgammon is not chess!
Posted By: Phil Simborg In Response To: Backgammon is not chess! (Joe Russell)
Date: Friday, 8 March 2013, at 1:55 p.m.
I completely agree with everything you say relative to tournament backgammon. The game is still very much a gambling game with potentially big money involved outside of the tournament room, however, as there are all kinds of private games for significant amounts of money being played all over the world.
Relative to tournament play, however, I have always wondered why we don't have more Nackgammon played as a side event. If I ran a tournament, Nackgammon would be the game played in the Master's event. Nackgammon is a great way to increase the skill level.
I gave this same issue quite a bit of thought a few years ago and came up with "Simborg's Rules" and we have tried it as a side event at several tournaments and people enjoyed it very much and it works well.
The rules are: you cannot make a point on the opening move, and you cannot move just one checker if your opening move is 6-5.
Not only does that take away some of the luck and advantage of rolling an excellent roll on the first roll, but it means there will be more slotting and splitting and blot-leaving on the first roll which leads to more complicated, and therefore, more skillful games.
I have always believe that this should be the rule for all Open Division and Masters play. This rule does not change the basic game...it simply makes the game a little more complex and removes a little of the luck factor. As you know, if you roll a 3-1 on the opening roll, you are immediately a 55-45 favorite. If you can't make a point with the 3-1 and you make the best play, you are a slight underdog. (By the way, it is slightly better to split than to slot.)
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