Magriel ? Whcich chapters are most important ...
Matt Bickford
player.
Thanks,
Matt
dmg
I am an intermediate player, so my opinions may not be as useful to
you as those you might get from more advanced players, but for what
they are worth:
Magriel's "Backgammon" is an excellent book for players of all levels.
It does a fine job of communicating the fundamentals of sound
Backgammon play. I have read it many times: first, to become familiar
with the concepts; later, to reinforce those concepts and to learn how
to put them into practice; and continually, to maintain the
fundamental ideas upon which the overwhelming majority of BG decisions
are built.
That being said, I would not look to "Backgammon" to bridge the gap
between intermediate and expert play. The difference between a "good
player" and a "great player" is very subtle: I would guess that close
to 90% of the time the "good player" and the "great player" will make
the same over-the-board decisions. I don't think Magriel's book
provides a great deal of incite into how to handle the remaining 10%
of the situations we encounter. (I do not consider this a failing;
this is a book about fundamentals and priorities, not an examination
of the most intricate aspects of the game). For example, a key
component to top-level play is the proper use of the cube, a subject
on which "Backgammon" is all but silent. There are other books, like
Robertie's "Advanced Backgammon," which explore cube decisions and
many of the more subtle aspects of checker play in much more depth.
If you are serious about becoming an "expert," I would suggest reading
some of these more "advanced" books (there are reviews of many BG
books on Stephen Turner's fine BG page:
http://www.gamesdomain.com/backgammon/). I would also recommend that
you purchase one of the fine BG study and analysis software programs,
such as Snowie and Jellyfish (links to information on these programs
can also be found on Stephen's page at the address above).
Finally, not to ignore your actual question, the sections of Magriel's
"Backgammon" which I found the most helpful are Chapter 16, "Safe Play
vs. Bold Play," and Chapter 20, "Golden Point."
Hope this helps,
__
dmg
max_d
dmg <demiga...@hotmail.com> a écrit dans le message :
37db8c7...@news.mindspring.com...
All that is well said and seems right to me.
Just i should want to add:
I've red and rered "Backgammon" including both 16/20 chapters .
I've played and replayed JF a lot of time.
Unfortunately I'm still an intermediate/advanced player
and nothing appears to me able to change this :((((
Hope Matt to succeed being an expert.
Please let us Know !
Thanks .
MD.
Gregg Cattanach
game. After that is built, here's some other literature resources to help
you improve:
Robertie: Advanced Backgammon Volumes I and II.
Woolsey/Heinrich: New Ideas in Backgammon
I've also enjoyed books by Danny Kleinman. (Very mathematical at times.)
These volumes are more technical, but technical play is ONE of the things
separating the competent player from the experts.
And I highly recommend Woolsey's new Gammonline Internet
Magazine/Newsletter. For $3 month, you REALLY can get some great analysis,
interesting problems (with solutions from 10 different commentators), and
play the ongoing match of readers vs. Woolsey. How many $3 have you blown
on a bad cube in a chouette?? lol http://www.gammonline.com
--
Gregg Cattanach
Zox at GamesGrid, VOG
gcattana...@prodigy.net
http://gateway.to/backgammon
max_d <ma...@infonie.fr> wrote in message news:937081402.30344@news1...
Daniel Murphy
<Ma...@saturnpestcontrol.spam.com> wrote:
>for me to read and digest to advance from an intermediate to an expert
>player.
a) All of them, because expertise is built upon fundamentals.
b) The chapters you don't fully understand
c) The chapters that discuss topics you hadn't thought about before.
d) The chapters you skip over because "you already knew that."
e) None of them, because fundamentals alone won't make you an expert.
Paul Magriel's Backgammon is an excellent book. Expertise requires a
bit more effort, though:
(1) Read *all* the backgammon literature until you understand it
well it enough to explain it to someone else.
(2) Study with JellyFish or Snowie, review your matches
and matches between experts.
(3) Play often and play good players.
(4) Ask questions and discuss problems with the best players
you can find.
And Dean Gay's response was excellent advice.
Daniel Murphy www.cityraccoon.com/
Humlebæk Backgammon Klub
2nd Humlebæk Open www.hbgk.dk/
25-26 September 1999
csr
In article <mqvC3.46292$Jl.6...@news6.giganews.com>,
"Matt Bickford" <Ma...@saturnpestcontrol.spam.com> wrote:
> for me to read and digest to advance from an intermediate to an expert
> player.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Matt
>
>
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
ianh...@my-deja.com
morning, and over lunch I managed to read the first six chapters. (OK -
so it was a long lunch hour!)
Magriel certainly has the ability to express in very clear terms the
issues involved in each move.
I am itching for the point where the dividing line between alternate
plays gets finer - at the moment all but about two of the plays have
been as I would have played them.
My thanks to all those who have reviewed the books available, and
suggested this one.
I am looking forward to being an intermediate player.
--
Ian Hirst, Bath UK