In this episode, I'll look at Games 3 and 4 of my match with Rachel Rhodes in the New York tournament in January. After the first two games, I was leading 5-0 in a 15-point match. Many players tighten up with a lead, but, as in poker, that's the wrong approach. In this video, I'll explain how you're supposed to handle the cube when the score gets lopsided. The games also feature some interesting racing decisions, and I'll explain how to evaluate positions where you have a choice between hanging back and disengaging into a race.

In this episode, I'll take a look at Game 2 of the finals match in the Main Event, a long game which set the tone for the whole match. Rhodes took an early lead in the game with a timely set of double-aces, which pinned down my back men. She then offered an aggressive double, which I took because her home board wasn't yet strong enough to prevent me from trying to escape. After a few moves I threw my own set of double-aces, which turned the tide and gave me both a blocking position and a lead in the race. I eventually redoubled to 4, but she took and was able to secure an anchor that gave me real problems coming home. I finally had to leave a couple of shots, but when she missed I was able to lock in a 5-0 lead and force her to play catch-up.

In this first episode, I'll look at the structure of a typical tournament, specifically how the Main Event is organized and what other events are usually available. If you go to a tournament, you don't only want to play in the Main Event, because you'll be passing up some opportunities to get valuable practice. But if you play too many events, you can get into scheduling problems and find yourself overwhelmed with matches. I'll give you some tips on the different types of events you'll see, which ones could be most profitable, and where you can get practice against strong players at a cheap price. In the last part of the video, I'll cover Game 1 of the Championship match, where after a little back-and-forth I moved out to a 1-0 lead.

In Episode 8, I'll describe the finish of the game between Howard Ring and Mike Senkiewicz that we started last time. At the end of Episode 7, Senkiewicz had finally seized a clear advantage, so his first job was to decide when his advantage was big enough to double. Once it was clear that Ring was apparently committed to playing a backgame, Senk turned the cube and Ring took. Very quickly, however, Ring wiggled out of the backgame trap and managed to hit one of Senk's blots. As Senk stayed on the bar for several turns, Ring built his board and finally whipped the cube back to 4 when Senk had to take. The final phase of the game showed Ring trying to get his last checker home while Senk controlled the outfield and waited for a shot.

The last game of our series will be another two-part feature: a game between Howard Ring and Mike Senkiewicz, played in the Consolation of World Cup 2. Howard Ring was a terrific player from Chicago who capped his career by winning World Cup 6 in 1998. Mike Senkiewicz is one of backgammon's all-time greats, with countless tournament wins scattered over an almost 40-year career. This game remained balanced for a long time, as both players started out with a lot of men sent back, but neither side was able to build points and establish control. Ring seemed to take the lead when he began to build some outside point, but Senk came back with a couple of terrific small doubles that finally allowed him to establish a clear edge.

In Episode 6, I'll describe the finish of the game we started in Episode 5, where Kit Woolsey established a massive back game, but at the cost of losing some of the high points in his home board. Kent Goulding built a prime, but one that lasted only a couple of moves before he had to start dismantling it. Goulding showed great technique in volunteering some shots in order to take down points that would otherwise be hard to clear. In the end, Goulding got all his checkers home, but Woolsey was well under way to rebuilding his home board. Finally, Woolsey built a perfect board and was rewarded with a last-ditch shot which he managed to hit. With Goulding now closed out, the game entered a long technical phase which I explain in detail. Eventually Woolsey was able to redouble to 4, and the game was decided in a race to the finish.

Episode 5 shows the start of a terrific battle between Kit Woolsey and Kent Goulding, two of backgammon's best players and writers. In the early stages, Woolsey provokes a real fight by aggressively slotting points. Goulding is able to hit some blots, but Woolsey keeps making key points in Goulding's home board, giving himself the option to go forward or backward. When Goulding passes up a chance to create a solid outside prime, Woolsey is able to keep his checkers recirculating. Goulding turns the cube aggressively, and Woolsey has an easy take, but Goulding finally makes his prime with a great shot of double-aces, after which Woolsey's home board starts to crack.

In this episode, I'll show you a great game between two of backgammon's greatest players, Paul Magriel and Mike Svobodny, both former World Champions. The game starts out with a long blot-hitting contest as both players fight for key blocking points. Svobodny ends this phase with a powerful 5-5, which gives him a commanding advantage, and eventually he traps Magriel in a 1-2 backgame. Magriel is able to maintain his timing, however, and eventually hits a checker and traps it behind a prime. The backgame phase shows excellent technique by both sides, and I'll show you the key ideas for this stage, and how you can apply them in your own games.

In this episode, I’ll finish the long game between Nack Ballard and I that started in Episode 2. After doubling, I was able to pin Nack into a difficult 3-point game while his outside points collapsed. I’ll explain how you can play to maximize your gammon chances in these positions, a useful technique that can win you many extra points against unwary opponents. Although my plan seemed to work, Nack was able to enter three checkers from the bat with a miracle 6-6, after which I had to work hard to win the game one final time.

In this episode, I’ll talk about a long, involved game I played against Nack Ballard in one of the Reno Invitationals. Nack has been one of the best players in the world for a long time, and this game was from a 21-point match with the score at 16-all. Whoever won this game would take control of the match. The game begins with a lot of early hitting, typical of good modern backgammon. We then enter a long middle game where I have a lot of men back, but a small prime on my side of the board for compensation. The players then struggle for control of the outfield, and I’ll explain how important the outfield can be in these positions, and point out a number of errors made by both sides. Episode 2 ends with a strong cube turn, just as Nack’s game is about to turn critical. I’ll finish this great game in Episode 3.

In this first episode, I’ll take a look at an amazing game from the final match of the fourth World Cup between Billy Horan and Joe Sylvester. Each was a previous World Cup winner; Sylvester had won World Cup I in 1988, and Horan had won World Cup II in 1990. This match would produce the first repeat winner of the World Cup and settle bragging rights. I’ll show the second game of the match, where Sylvester, leading 2-0 in the match, launched a strong blitz and was poised to take a 6-0 lead. We’ll watch as Horan fights back and tries to turn the tables with some ingenious priming play. Pay special attention to some of Sylvester’s early plays, which were considered state-of-the-art and very aggressive at the time, but which have now been replaced by more solid alternatives.

In this video I’ll finish the discussion of doubling in back games that I started in Episode 7. Most back games consist of several well-defined stages, so I’ll start by looking at the evolution of a typical backgame, from the early positions where one side gets a bunch of men back, all the way to the late game positions where the back game has succeeded in hitting a checker but now needs to contain it. After that I’ll look at some practical examples of interesting back games, and we’ll wind up by looking at a back game that’s so strong that it can double the opponent out before even getting a shot!