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BGonline.org Forums
Wish list for Backgammon Encyclopedia volume 2
Posted By: Timothy Chow
Date: Saturday, 26 November 2011, at 12:01 a.m.
I know that there will probably never be a sequel to Kit Woolsey's excellent compendium of cube reference positions: the Backgammon Encyclopedia, volume 1. However, I have started thinking about what kinds of positions ought to go in volume 2. It's easy, of course, to spout off all kinds of things I would like to see, but since there's at least a 10% chance that I might try to produce such a thing myself, I want to be realistic. In particular, what kinds of positions are truly fundamental, and belong in volume 2 and not some later volume? What positions are simple enough to treat somewhat systematically, so that the book doesn't just become a random collection of difficult cube decisions?
The three candidates I've come up with so far in thinking about this are:
1. High-anchor holding games with a third checker back.
2. Opening blitzes where the defender has made a point somewhere.
3. Backgames, at the point when the backgame player gets an initial shot.
Note that I've deliberately limited the scope of these three categories. There are almost infinitely many blitz or backgame cube decisions that one could imagine assembling. However, the above special cases seem to me to be fundamental—fundamental enough that one might feel slightly surprised that they aren't already in Volume 1 of the Encyclopedia. At the same time, they're rich enough that one could easily fill a book with just these types of positions.
You'll note that I haven't just gone through all the chapters of Volume 1 and suggested that Volume 2 take the next step in each case. I don't think that this would necessarily produce the best Volume 2. For example, I see no real need to have a bunch of reference positions in Volume 2 for races. Races are best treated by formulas, not by a list of positions. I also don't see an obvious sequel to the sections on one-checker and two-checker closeouts.
Primes and containment present a different problem. There is certainly room for expanding the list of cube reference positions, but the problem is that once you get past what's in Volume 1 already, the possibilities branch out very widely very fast. I don't yet see a good way to peel off a manageable chunk from this embarras de richesses for Volume 2. However, if someone has some good ideas, I'd like to hear them. I note that MCG published an article on Gammon Village on prime-versus-prime cubes, and labeled it "Part 1"; however, that was over a year ago, and Part 2 has yet to materialize.
I'm not promising to actually create Volume 2. However, if there is enough interest, perhaps the BGO community as a whole could collaborate on the project. It might make a nice change of pace for those who are tired of opening rollouts and bot comparisons and want to work on something different.
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