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Backgammon to Win

Lelia Hattersley, 1974, 136pp

Award Books

"As in casting dice, so ought we arrange our affairs according to the throws we get, as reason shall best declare" PLATO


Lelia starts you off with that quote a little bit about backgammon in general and then explains the rules and some terminology. Something interesting not found in other books (probably because it is unnecessary) is hints on "Eye Training and Coordination" which is basically just moving around the board from both sides and figuring out where checkers go if they have to move a certain number of pips (without counting them off).



She names the 4 groups of checkers in the starting position the "runners, reserves, musketeers, and guardsmen" which only serves to confuse when getting to strategy examples and opening moves. Dice probability is touched on and then Hattersley gets into types of games, namely Running, Blocking, Shut-out, and Backgame as well as a bit on defending against the backgame.


The last section deals with Psychology, Doubling, and Etiquette. There isn't much mentioned about psychology, and the doubling theory is vague and weak. the etiquette is about chouette and it is obvious she is not a fan of this aspect of the game as it "puts no restraints on it's backseat drivers". One of the goals of the book was to be short (it was), simple (not really), and cover everything the reader would need (it doesn't, and what it does cover is poor and difficult to decipher at times).

Level: Beginner
Ease of read: 3
Quality of material: 3
Overall: 3 Price: Few bucks at an auction

Martin Short, 11/23/01


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