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March-April Prime Time Backgammon

Posted By: Perry
Date: Friday, 30 March 2012, at 5:39 p.m.

Changing of the Guard: March-April 2012 Issue of PrimeTime Backgammon

Matt Cohn-Geier and Justin Nunez, two of the younger stars on the backgammon circuit, battled for the Masters Jackpot at the US Open in January 2012. With Justin taking an early lead, MCG surging ahead in the middle of the match, Justin seeming to have it in the bag in the last game before MCG pulled it out for the win, it made exciting watching for those in attendance and those following it streamed onto their computers. Marty Storer analyzes ten interesting positions from the match in the latest issue of PrimeTime Backgammon. You’ll enjoy the commentary, as well as Marty’s annotation of the entire match on the website.

The inaugural USBGF National Internet Championship attracted 191 players, including 111 in the Open Division, 47 in the Advanced Division, and 33 in the Intermediate Division. The tourney gave a number of players who are not well known on the live-tournament scene a venue in which to test their skills against tough competition. This issue includes profiles of the winners—Dorn Bishop, Open Champion; Svilo Todorov, Open Finalist; Bruce Newberg, Advanced Champion; and Joe Roth, Intermediate Champion—illustrating the varied backgrounds and strong influence backgammon has in their lives.

Live tournament play, however, still has a strong appeal. Bob Wachtel captures the art and ambience of the New Mexico State Championship in Santa Fe with a relaxed pace that included taking in the magnificent museums and vistas, while Karen Davis highlights the Swiss format play that began early and ended late with pizza, hoagies, and other treats fueling players throughout the three-day non-stop-backgammon President’s Day weekend at the Pittsburgh Championships. Attracting new players to online and live tournament play is a major goal of the U.S. Backgammon Federation. We encourage tournament players at every level to check out their ratings and stats on the complete USBGF Player Standings list, and the updated Leader Board prepared by Barry Silliman, USBGF Rankings Editor, with ABT rankings as of March 1, 2012, and USBGF Elo ratings for Open, Advanced, and Novice divisions based on ABT/USBGF tournament play since 2009.

If you’re not yet a member of USBGF, or your membership has expired, sign up now and join the fun. You’ll enhance your playing experience—and enjoy this 49-page action-packed issue.

Perry Gartner

President USBGF