Hey all,

I'm ~11ER right now and am making my way through "501 Essential Backgammon Problems". I'd love to be sub 7ER in 6 months but understand that's somewhat ambitious.

Anyone else trying to get a lot better quickly? I'd love someone to chat with as we both try to get better.

Talk soon,
Mariogs

Hey Mariogs.

Count me in. I've been an USBGF member for 2 weeks now and I've been reading through the magazines, quizes and Walter Trice's "Backgammon Bootcamp".

I've taken some lessons with Phil Simborg as well, but I still consider myself very, very amateurish, after all, this is a damn hard game!

Count me in your chat. I'll send you a PM with my contacts.

Cheers.

i think i play like decent advanced level like 1900-1950 extreme gammon
i study some books, 501 backgammon problems is on the way. i also have modern backgammon, and new ideas in backgammon. and studied it a bit.
i mostly play against myself now on a board. i record all the moves and after 1-3 games depending on lenght i enter the games into the computer. i have been doing this since a few days and i find it much more effective than to play against the bot. you will play fewer games but you will think about the decisions more and from both side of the board.

Interesting approach. Anyone else try this?

Selected GnuBg rollouts by Timothy Chow for Robertie's 501 Essential Backgammon Problems can be found on Chow's web site.

http://math.mit.edu/~tchow/robertie/robertie501.html

A note from Chow's site:

I have included rollout information only and have not included diagrams of the positions. This is intentional. I do not want to violate copyright, and I do not want this website to act as a partial substitute for Robertie’s book. It is intended solely as a study tool for those who have already purchased the book.

I'm really glad to see someone who wants to improve like I do. I'm currently interested in the game and FIBS, but since I'm a learner and take things slow, I prefer playing other people with that learning mindset, as opposed to just playing for fun [or messing about/dropping on the FIBS Server]
I'm looking for backgammon partners to play on a regular basis on FIBS [or possibly Play65] in order to learn and discuss tactics etc. while we play e.g. on skype [this is only an idea].
This can then bring up the ratings and experience

Was wondering, are you still into backgammon and are you up for this idea as a possibility?

Definitely, skype: Claymangs07

I've been trying to improve my game on and off over the last 5 years. I go through periods where I play often and periods where I don't play much.

I've managed to get my error rate down to 7.5.(over the last 100 matches) and in over 1000 11 point matches against Snowie (3ply) my ELO rating is 1795 (currently).

What I've found to be the best method to improve (for me) is the following...

I like to play whole matches (against Snowie) and then analyse them after the match is over.

During my match, I note positions where I was not sure what the best play (or cube decision) was and then I look up these positions after the Snowie analysis.

I also look at all the blunders I made to see why they occurred. I would say that more than 75% of my blunders are due to over-looking(not considering) the best play due to playing too fast or to fatigue.

For my true blunders, I try to understand why the play I chose (or cube decision) was wrong. Usually I can deduce why my play was wrong by looking at the equities (gammon and single wins). If it is not obvious to me why my decision was wrong. I'll play the position against Snowie multiple times until I understand the different ways the position plays out. This is a great way to gain insight on the position in question and I find that I remember these positions and the lessons I learned from them much more easily than other reference positions.

Reading backgammon books is also indispensable if you want to improve. These will help you better understand how to approach the game and how to think while you are playing.