Backgammon - Hardcover

Paul Magriel

4.45

132 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0600314553 ISBN 13: 9780600314554

Publisher: Littlehampton Book Services Lt, 1978

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2004 edition with a new foreword by Renee Magriel Roberts. Backgammon is the most highly-regarded work on the subject, often referred to as "The Bible" of the game. Written between 1973 and 1976 by Paul Magriel and Ren�ƒ©e Magriel, Backgammon was the first book to lucidly explain the inner workings and advanced positional play of the game. The most important aspects are broken down into their component parts and then explained with a unique, easy-to-understand, step-by-step building-block approach. The book is enhanced by 600 clear and precise diagrams, a glossary and tables, including the betting odds. For any player who means to take the game seriously and wants to play well, Backgammon is an indispensable guide. This new 2004 edition of also includes a lively behind-the-scenes foreword by Ren�ƒ©e Magriel Roberts that illuminates the man behind the name "X-22" and describes the creation of the book. Having stood the test of time for over a quarter-century, Backgammon is still the best and most widely recommended and quoted standard instructional manual and reference work on the game for novice and expert alike. Written, designed, printed and bound in the USA.

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About the Author:

Paul David Magriel, Jr. (known in gambling circles as X-22) was World Backgammon Champion in 1978. A former New York State Junior Chess Champion, Paul was a Courant Institute Fellow while still an undergraduate at N.Y.U. and went on to win a National Science Foundation Fellowship to study probability at Princeton University. He was a professor at the Newark College of Engineering (now New Jersey Technical Institute) before becoming a full-time backgammon and poker player. Paul was also the backgammon columnist for The New York Times and has won more major backgammon tournaments than any other player. He is widely considered the games foremost theorist and teacher and one of its premier players. Renee Magriel Roberts, Ph.D. is a former correspondent for the Boston Globe and owns Clock & Rose Press.

Review:

This book is the first book every aspiring backgammon player should read. After an introductory section in which he gives examples of the four most common types of game (running game, holding game, attacking game and priming game) and some basic doubling cube strategy and maths, Magriel goes on to tackle most of the fundamental points of chequer play in chapters such as 'Safe Play vs. Bold Play,' 'Action Game,' 'When You Are Forced to Leave Shots' and 'The Golden Point' (on making your opponent's five point). An understanding of these chapters will raise anyone's game from the hitting twice is fun, so it must be right level to knowing what are the issues involved in a position, what sort of game one is trying to play, and how best to bring one's objectives about. --gammoned dot com review

By far the best introductory backgammon book is Magriel Backgammon. When I first read Magriel, about 15 years ago, I was very weak, and it transformed my game. I always recommend reading Magriel to anyone trying to improve. For players who don't understand the fundamentals of the game, studying this book and trying to apply its concepts over the board invariably leads to tremendous improvement. --bkgm dot com review

Magriel 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 backgammon decisions are built. --bkgm dot com review

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