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Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?

Posted By: Daniel Murphy
Date: Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 5:23 p.m.

In Response To: Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past? (Timothy Chow)

Compared to 30 or 40 years ago, tournament attendance is down. Among those who attend, average skill overall and among master players is up; widespread use of bots make ignorance of skill relative to competitors anomalous. Whether attenders are more likely to be motivated by the chance to test their skill or to "bet (and hopefully win) money" I do not know. They are not mutually exclusive aims. I question whether the current backgammon tournament formats are capable of or are viewed as "determin[ing] who is most skillful at the game." I note, rather, a lot of opposition to (and infeasibility of implementing of) suggestions, such as longer tournaments, longer matches, and seeded flights, that would make our better players more likely to bring home the trophy, or the dough.

Messages In This Thread

• Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
  Timothy Chow -- Sunday, 11 January 2015, at 8:45 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    trichard -- Sunday, 11 January 2015, at 10:14 p.m.
    • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
      Mick Z -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 12:30 a.m.
    • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
      Colin Owen -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 6:20 a.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Casper Van der Tak -- Sunday, 11 January 2015, at 10:24 p.m.
    • +1:-) *NM*
      garyo -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 2:02 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Bob Koca -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 12:13 a.m.
  • Attempt at clarification
    Timothy Chow -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 5:25 p.m.
    • Attempt at clarification
      Bob Koca -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 7:15 p.m.
      • Attempt at clarification
        Taper_Mike -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 8:09 p.m.
        • Attempt at clarification
          Jakob Garal -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 9:50 p.m.
          • Attempt at clarification
            Taper_Mike -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 11:13 p.m.
        • Attempt at clarification
          Casper Van der Tak -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 10:48 p.m.
          • Attempt at clarification
            Tom Keith -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 11:42 p.m.
        • Attempt at clarification
          Jakob Garal -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 1:57 p.m.
          • Attempt at clarification
            Timothy Chow -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 5:15 p.m.
          • Attempt at clarification
            Casper Van der Tak -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 5:55 p.m.
        • Luck in chess
          Chuck Bower -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 6:24 p.m.
          • Luck in chess / Bill Robertie Position
            Wolfgang -- Saturday, 17 January 2015, at 4:36 p.m.
            • Luck in chess / Bill Robertie Position
              Philippe Michel -- Saturday, 17 January 2015, at 8:49 p.m.
              • That's great!
                Wolfgang -- Saturday, 17 January 2015, at 9:19 p.m.
          • Links to Interviews with Jake Jacobs & Kent Goulding
            Taper_Mike -- Wednesday, 21 January 2015, at 6:16 a.m.
    • Attempt at clarification
      Stick -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 8:47 p.m.
    • Attempt at clarification--the answer is obvious
      Phil Simborg -- Wednesday, 14 January 2015, at 8:37 a.m.
      • Attempt at clarification--the answer is obvious
        Albert Steg -- Wednesday, 14 January 2015, at 1:34 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Chuck Bower -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 5:47 p.m.
    • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
      Bob Koca -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 7:36 p.m.
      • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
        Chuck Bower -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 6:38 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Jakob Garal -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 6:28 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    ah_clem -- Monday, 12 January 2015, at 9:38 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Daniel Murphy -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 5:23 p.m.
    • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
      Albert Steg -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 6:58 p.m.
  • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
    Albert Steg -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 6:15 p.m.
    • Backgammon more of a "game of skill" now than in the past?
      Timothy Chow -- Tuesday, 13 January 2015, at 10:54 p.m.