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BGonline.org Forums
1975 backgammon memories
Posted By: capecodbob63
Date: Friday, 30 July 2010, at 2:52 p.m.
every morning as i bring up this truly great site,i can't help but think back to my early backgammon days. i would stay up half the night,playing both sides of the board.trying to learn the game.back then we had books like backgammon the cruelest game by Braclay Cooke paradoxes and probabilities championship backgammon.also by Cooke,players back then thought that early game and end game, could be learned to a point of believing strongly in your play. as where the middle game was thought of as something we could never master. not to impliy we have,but we have come further than most players of that time would have dared to dream!! back then i would fantasize about a computer to play, that would have all the correct moves. it was such differnt game back then. but in some ways more fun, as there was not often a definitive move we all thought right. we would debate plays as to which was correct. to dream of taking a picture in a chouette and getting the answer 30 seconds later still gives me a thrill i don't tell the younger guys!!they break my b_ lls enough as it is.to read this site every day, is wonderful.the writing is brilliant the puzzles are great. the love of the game that is expressd,is heart warming.so many brlliant mathematicians it is humbling for me ,to study your posts!! as gifted as you all are, those of you under 50, don't remember what it was like when backgammon huge!! boards in every bar, coffee shop,the beach,etc,everyone was playing!!for those of us who played a little better than the crowd,it was a dream come true!i spent my winters in Palm Beach and summers on Cape Cod. life was great! back then we had what we don't have now,i say this to todays truly great players you all are the best of players in backgammon history!!! most are known by first name only. but in the golden era, we had a king a humble one at that. he wrote the backgammon bible, that still pretty much stands the test of time!he has still won more tournaments than anyone.but it was his presence at the tournaments of the time ,that created such excitment in the room.you would hear his name being said,before you saw him most times. always humble as if not noticing so many people stopping to see his entrance!! answering questions for any and all.when it was time to play ,the crowd that watched him play,was fasciated by his play as at the time,his book had only been out a few weeks,other than the few good players of the time all most everyone else,was learning ,by leaps and bounds some leaps were bigger than others.it was a time that backgammon will not see again.not because of level of play,we just have many more gifted players,who are also willing to study very hard. those of you under 50 maynot have seen that era,but you are the lucky ones.as you have all the tools to work with know .i would like to tell you about those who came before you,but i know you had enough of my rant. for those who don't kown any names from the past take a moment,Prince Obolensky,Tony GOBLE, LEWIS DEYONG,ARTHUR DICKMAN,TIM HOLLAND,TOBIAS STONE,LES BOYD,SUE BOYD,HENRY WATTSON,OSWALD JACOBY just a few of so many that helped early on.i believe it is time to think of a backgammon hall of fame!!the first name on the ballot should be the king aka Paul Magriel
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