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Sept./Oct. Prime Time Backgammon

Posted By: Perry
Date: Saturday, 27 October 2012, at 3:34 p.m.

World Class Play Serious students of the game have raised the level of backgammon play to heights unknown in a pre-bot era. In the September-October 2012 issue of PrimeTime Backgammon, http://usbgf.org/download-ptbg/ Paul Weaver analyzes nine key positions from the Monte Carlo match between #1 Giant of Backgammon, Falafel, against #4 Giant, Michy, with stellar 3.2 and 3.5 XG performance ratings, respectively.Test your skills against two of the world’s best players in finding the best decision in these difficult positions.

For high drama, see Marty Storer’s analysis of the finals of the 2012 USBGF National Club Team Championship between two top Washington DC teams: They Might Not be Giants (Grant Schneider, Barry Silliman, and John Klein) and the Beltway Bandits (Bob Koca, Alfred Mamlet, and Frank Raposa). The A, B, and C seeds from each team played their counterparts in a best-two-of-three format, matches to 11. The team score seesawed, and finally the outcome depended on one 11-pointer between Koca and Schneider. Schneider battled back and won after trailing Koca 8-1, but not without a lot of heart-stopping moments. Follow the excitement in 16 key positions analyzed by Storer, as They Might Not be Giants brought the club team traveling trophy home to the nation’s capital. Over 42 teams from 23 local clubs, with a total of 138 players competed in this year’s event.

There’s plenty of information for players at all levels. Mary Hickey helps beginning and intermediate players master early game moves in her column, Starting Off Right. Phil Simborg shares mental tips from three of his mentors that helped him win the Michigan Summer Championships over backgammon great Mike Senkiewicz, and rack up a phenomenal 14 and 0 record in the Open, Senior’s, Doubles, and After Tournament events before finally succumbing to Justin Nunez.

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 October 7, 2012, and USBGF Elo ratings for Open, Advanced, and Novice divisions based on ABT/USBGF tournament play since 2009. Neil Kazaross tops both lists!

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 52-page action-packed issue.

Perry Gartner President, USBGF