Author: nick

Book Recommendations

Looking to improve your backgammon game? Review this comprehensive list of backgammon reading material and get ready for greater success with better understanding (hopefully!) This list comes courtesy of SABGA’s Matt Ryder:

For beginners, I’d recommend Michihito “Michy” Kageyama’s book “Opening Concepts” and Marc Olsen’s “From Basics to Badass”.

For intermediates, Walter Trice’s “Backgammon Bootcamp”, Bill Robertie’s “Modern Backgammon” and “501 Backgammon Positions” (get the 3rd edition, where the whole thing has been rewritten in the light of recent bot rollouts).

For experts, Nack Ballard and Paul Weaver’s “Backgammon Openings Book A”, Kit Woolsey’s “Backgammon Encyclopedia Vols 1 and 2”, Kit Woolsey & Hal Heinrich’s “New Ideas in Backgammon” and Marc Olsen’s latest, “Cube Like a Boss”.

Of course, I should not leave out our very own backgammon author, Clyde Wolpe! His book on the game, “Priority Thinking”, is well worth a read, especially for the excellent chapter on backgames. It’s currently a steal on Amazon Kindle for only $3!

This list was last updated 08 June 2020.

Drawboss – A guide to getting started.

This blogpost will help you get started on Drawboss, a popular tournament management website created by two Danish backgammon players in 2014. More history here.

Firstly, browse to www.drawboss.com.

If it ‘s your first time there, you’ll need to Register a new account, by clicking on “Register here” and completing the registration information to create a new account. Make sure to use a working email address and a memorable password.

  • 1. Register
  • 2. Complete registration information

Next, you’ll need to verify your email, by clicking the link in the email from DrawBoss.com, as below, clicking the link to complete the process:

  • 3. Verification email
  • 3. Verification successful

You should now be logged in – you can tell by looking for your username in the top right hand corner. Alternatively, click the “Log in” button and enter your email and password.

  • 4. Logged in?
  • 5. Click “Log in” and enter your info

The next critical step is adding your Nicknames. To do so, click your username so that the menu appears, and click on ‘Account’ as below. Then click ‘Add Nickname’ and add in the Platform and your relevant username, then click ‘Add Nickname’.

The list of Nicknames will then appear below, as such.

In Memoriam – Justin Goldman

In May 2016, a long-standing member of Cape Town Backgammon, Justin Goldman, died suddenly after complications following a motor vehicle accident.

A truly heart-wrenching loss to anyone who had the pleasure of meeting him. His soft presence and determined attitude to improve in character and backgammon proficiency will remain memorable.

In his memory, Cape Town Backgammon founded the “Justin Goldman Memorial Cup”, an annual award given out to the player who most exemplified the spirit with which Justin participated – with integrity, honour, politeness and respect. This prize will be awarded following a vote by club members. While Justin can never be replaced, may we at least be inspired with the qualities that we all admired in him so much.

RIP Justin.