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Avoidable Errors in Checker play

Posted By: Timothy Chow
Date: Saturday, 25 July 2015, at 9:30 p.m.

In Response To: Avoidable Errors in Checker play (RobertFontaine)

I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean when you ask, "how do you set up for a shot." However, I do understand the "brain farts" question. This is an important topic that is discussed frequently in other sports (e.g., under the heading of "the mental game") but I have rarely seen it discussed in backgammon.

A few years ago I posted some thoughts about avoidable errors. The main message is that brain farts are not random. When you review one of your matches and you see yourself making a "what was I thinking?" idiotic play, don't take that as a rhetorical question. Do your best to figure out what you were thinking. You were thinking something, and whatever it was, you will probably make the same kind of mistake again unless you hunt it down and consciously try to eradicate it. Don't allow yourself to gloss over your "inexplicable" plays; they always have an explanation and it is your job to find that explanation.

I'd also add that an important part of the "mental game" is to monitor your own emotional state. Probably the most important lesson here is one that everyone knows but that is easier said than done: Don't get steamed. Everyone is different so it is hard to prescribe a general cure, but at minimum, you need to treat steaming as a weakness in your game like any other and consciously address it. When do you get steamed? How do you react? Do you play too fast or handle the cube too aggressively? You need to find a way to catch yourself in flagrante delicto and find a way to rein yourself in.

Messages In This Thread

• Avoidable Errors in Checker play
  RobertFontaine -- Saturday, 25 July 2015, at 12:35 a.m.
  • Avoidable Errors in Checker play
    Timothy Chow -- Saturday, 25 July 2015, at 9:30 p.m.
  • Avoidable Errors in Checker play
    Keene -- Sunday, 26 July 2015, at 2:45 a.m.