Winning with the Doubling Cube
by Peter Bell
This is the first book from the Gammon Press devoted entirely to the proper use of the doubling cube. Players have long understood that mastery of the cube is the key difference between top pros and struggling amateurs. In this book, Peter Bell explains the secrets behind the doubling strategy of the masters. He shows how to evaluate positions, when to double, when to take or drop, and how to adjust your cube strategy to take advantage of your opponent’s weaknesses. Winning with the Doubling Cube is a groundbreaking book that should be part of every player’s library.
Level: All
Info: 196 pages, softbound
Price: $30 + S/H
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Backgammon
by Paul Magriel
Back in print after 15 years! Backgammon is the classic textbook by Paul Magriel that teaches the fundamentals of backgammon in a clear, easy-to-understand, yet profoundly deep manner. Chapters include: The Basics, Builders and Flexibility, Duplication and Diversification, Modern Opening Theory, Safe Play vs. Bold Play, Slotting, Action Plays, One Man Back, The Golden Point, Splitting, Doubling Theory, Priming and Blocking, Outfield Control, Timing, Holding Games, and Backgames.
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Info: 404 pages, softbound
Price: $45 + S/H
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In the Game Until the End: Winning in Ace-Point End-Games
by Bob Wachtel
You’ve played an ace-point game; your opponent is down to his last few checkers. Should you run? Should you stay? If your opponent wants to settle, what’s your game worth? How aggressively should you try to pick up a second checker? If you don’t know the answers to these and other ace-point game questions, you’ll want this book. In Chapter 4, for instance, you’ll discover the secrets of the famous “Tino Road Position”, an endgame so complicated that you can, once you know how, play the position from either side and win! Olympiad Champion Bob Wachtel has thoroughly analyzed hundreds of ace-point game positions to generate a complete picture of what's really happening in these common situations.
Level: Advanced
Info: 110 pages, softbound
Price: $25 + S/H
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Backgammon Encyclopedia
Vol. 1 - Cube Reference Positions
by Kit Woolsey
Players have understood for some time that the best way to learn cube strategy was through the use of reference positions: key positions that recur (with small variations) over and over, whose equities can be memorized and understood. By comparing your actual position to a known reference position, you can make a very reasonable guess as to the correct cube action for the position in front of you. Having an adequate library of reference positions at your fingertips is one of the keys to backgammon mastery.
In Volume 1 of the Backgammon Encyclopedia, Kit Woolsey has collected the key cube reference position for a variety of standard position types, including blitzes, races, primes, backgames, containment games, ace-point games, and holding games. By careful study of the more than 200 reference positions in this book, you’ll be able to time your doubles and takes much more accurately. All positions are accompanied by tables of Snowie 3 rollouts conducted at 3-ply for extra accuracy. The Backgammon Encyclopedia is a must for any serious player.
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Info: 124 pages, softbound
Price: $30 + S/H
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How to Play Tournament Backgammon
by Kit Woolsey
“I’m a damn good money player, but I just don’t seem to catch a break in tournament play.” Does this sound like you? It might not be bad luck -- tournament play requires very different skills from money play. Up to now there’s been no single source for learning the special features of backgammon tournament play that make it so different from normal head’s-up or chouette. Now that’s changed. In How to Play Tournament Backgammon, world-class player and tournament theoretician Kit Woolsey covers everything you need to know to be a successful tournament player. Here’s a partial list of topics: Checker Strategy in the Crawford Game -- Post Crawford Play -- The New Match Equity Table and How to Learn It -- Janowski’s Formula -- The Doubling Window -- Using Gain-Loss Tables -- Cube Leverage in Gammonish Positions -- and a lot more.
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Info: 50 pages, softbound
Price: $20 + S/H
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Mika Lidov vs. Hal Heinrich
by Kit Woolsey
Backgammon can be played in several styles. The most aggressive and complicated approach to the game is the “pure” style, developed in New York during the 1970s and refined by many of the world’s best players right up to the present day. The pure style is built around aggressive slotting and prime-building, with a willingness to play the back games that may result when the all-out forward game fails. This match features a clash of styles between Mika Lidov, one of the strongest exponents of the pure style, and Hal Heinrich, possessor of a powerful all-around game. Each game abounds in complex play, and Kit Woolsey supplies an expert’s guidance to the several back games which result. About the players: Mika Lidov is considered to be the best woman player in the world. In 1989, she was runner-up to Joe Russell in the World Championship. Hal Heinrich of Canada won the World Championship in 1990 and was runner-up in the World Cup of 1992.
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Info: 220 pages, softbound
Price: $25 + S/H
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Philip Marmorstein vs. Michael Greiner
by Kit Woolsey
Do you lose heart when your opponent picks off the first few games of a match? Can you squeeze an opponent playing conservatively to protect a lead, or do you make matters easy for him with overeager doubling? In this 25-point match from the finals of the British Championship of 1991, Greiner jumps off to an early 9-0 lead. Through adroit use of the cube, Marmorstein puts maximum pressure on his opponent, and is eventually able to whittle down the lead. Woolsey’s explanations show the difference between pressure doubles and loose doubles.
About the players: Philip Marmorstein rose to prominence in the late 1980s and won the World Championship in 1988. He has since won many events in Europe (including the tournament from which this match is taken) and is today generally considered the best European player. Michael Greiner has been one of the best German players for several years.
Level: Intermediate/advanced
Info: 240 pages, softbound
Price: $25 + S/H
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Backgammon: Master vs. Amateur, Vol. 1
by Kit Woolsey
Kit Woolsey's new book analyzes an 11-point match between Kit and the readers of his new online magazine "GammOnLine". The readers voted on all interesting plays for their side, and the consensus choice was the play actually made. Kit explains the logic behind both sides' play in great detail, focusing especially on the proper handling of the cube in match play.
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Info: 90 pages, softbound
Price: $20 + S/H
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New Ideas in Backgammon
by Kit Woolsey and Hal Heinrich
New Ideas in Backgammon is Kit Woolsey’s and Hal Heinrich's amazing book of backgammon problems. Kit, runner-up in the 1996 World Cup, and Hal, runner-up in the 1992 World Cup, have assembled a collection of problems that tests the ability of even the best human players, yet provides instructive lessons for everyone from beginner to expert. All the positions in the book are taken from actual tournament matches in which a top expert made an incorrect choice. In each case, the correct play has been verified by an elaborate series of computer analyses using the neural net Jellyfish. In addition, all the problems have been shown to a panel of eight human experts, and only those problems which were able to stump most of the panel were finally included in the book. These are not trick positions or exotic back game plays. The positions are of the sort that arise in every game, yet are misplayed by nearly all players. The authors have drawn on their vast experience to provide you with the theoretical framework behind the often counter-intuitive plays. It’s fair to say that New Ideas in Backgammon stretches our understanding of the game more than any other book in recent years.
Level: Advanced
Info: 336 pages, softbound
Price: $40 + S/H
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Joe Sylvester vs. Nack Ballard
by Kit Woolsey
Do you have difficulty protecting a sizeable lead when you get one? Do your opponents seem to close a deficit more easily then they should? If so, this book is for you. Joe Sylvester moves out in front quickly, then gives an exemplary demonstration of using checker play to steer into the most desirable positions, despite Ballard’s skillful attempts to complicate matters. Kit Woolsey’s annotations explain the nuances of playing to protect a lead without giving too much away.
About the players: Joe Sylvester and Nack Ballard have both been ranked among the world’s top-10 players for many years. Sylvester has an outstanding record in the World Cups, the premier test of backgammon skill. He finished first in World Cup I, third in World Cup III, and second in World Cup IV. Nack Ballard is a legend in backgammon for the extraordinary speed and accuracy of his play. His greatest tournament victory was in the massive Las Vegas Invitational of 1982.
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Info: 150 pages, softbound
Price: $20 + S/H
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Understanding Backgammon
by Kit Woolsey & Tami Jones
According to co-author Tami Jones, “There are many great backgammon books currently on the market. But when I read them I felt as if something were missing. The concepts the authors were explaining made perfect sense but applying them over the board just continued to escape me. Then I figured out what was wrong. These were not the errors I commonly made. Mine were much worse! I would have been thrilled if I would have been struggling with such subtle nuances over the board. These books were written for people who understood things I didn’t even know I didn’t know yet. It was as if I were standing in the barren wilderness of confusion while the authors of these volumes of wisdom were across the river of knowledge in the promised land of backgammon brilliance. As an intermediate player, I barely knew what a bridge was, let alone where it was or how to cross it to gain this vast wealth of knowledge just over the river for the taking. The guards of match equity tables and game winning percentages were holding me at bay."
Have you ever felt this way as you read a backgammon problem book? Have you wished that authors spent more time explaining the sort of common-sense problems that occurred in all your games, rather than the esoteric problems that top players find interesting, but which don’t have much to do with the way you play backgammon? If so, then Understanding Backgammon is a book you’ll like. Kit Woolsey and Tami Jones look at 101 problems that are typical of the situations that cause difficulties for advanced and intermediate players. Tami describes the positions through her eyes, and Kit, with his usual clarity, isolates the key features of the position and shows Tami the best way of visualizing the answer. Understanding Backgammon is a great problem collection and a great tool for taking your game to the next level.
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Info: 308 pages, softbound
Price: $35 + S/H
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