primetime - usbgfusbgf.org/media/2015/primetimebg_2015_0102_vol06n1.pdfprimetime. backgammon. mark...

PRIMETIMEB A C K G A M M O N

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE USBGF JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2015

Us Backgammon federation visit us at usbgforg

online master poinT leaderS

Ted Chee tops the Online Circuit leaderboard

2014 player of the year

Ray Fogerlund wins the coveted ABT title

for the 4th time

American backgammonhall of fame13 of the games most extraordinary contributors are honored for their achievements

Early GameStick analyzes the 64 split

52 second roll sequence

Simply the Worldrsquos nestBackgammon since 1961

wwwgeoreyparkercom

H A N D M A D E I N E N G L A N D


wwwgeoreyparkercom


wwwgeoffreyparkercom

Karen Davis is Chairman of the USBGF Board of Directors and Managing Editor of PrimeTime Backgammon

KAREN DAVIS

Featuring the inaugural American Backgammon

Hall of Fame and USBGF Awards

5USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

This issue features the

inaugural American

Backgammon Hall

of Fame inductees mdash

with snapshots of each

of the 13 honorees

an insightful essay by

Jeremy Bagai on the

class and a description

of the process used to

derive the winners hellip

ldquoBy Karen Davis Managing Editor

january - February Issue PrimeTime Backgammon

A special treat is in store for our

readers This issue features the

inaugural American Back-

gammon Hall of Fame inductees mdash with

snapshots of each of the 13 honorees an

insightful essay by Jeremy Bagai on the

class a description by Karen Davis of the

process used to select these individuals and

plans going forward by Bill Riles USBGF

President and Executive Director

Ted Chee USBGF All-Time and 2014

Online Master Points winner was honored

along with the Hall of Famers at the USBGF

Awards dinner in San Antonio on January

30 2015 He is featured in a report on the

online master point leaders since the launch

of the USBGF Online Tournament Circuit

in the fall of 2012

Ray Fogerlund who won the coveted 1

spot on the American Backgammon Tour

for 2014 is profiled by Karen Davis A

feature on Frank Raposa 2 ABT winner

for 2014 is reprinted with permission from

his hometown Fitchburg Massachusetts

newspaper the Sentinel amp Enterprise

Stick makes his debut as a regular columnist

for PrimeTime Backgammon with his first

article on common errors in the early game

that result in significant match equity loss

This issue also showcases Bill Phipps ldquoThe

Wolf of Wall Streetrdquo in an article by Iancho

Hristov Other player profiles by Karen

Davis include Jonah Seewald 2014 USBGF

Grand Champion and Zdeněk Žižka from

the Czech Republic winner of the online

Masters Divisional IV

And there are tournament reports galore

the inaugural UK Open by Peter Bennet

the Japan Open by Jake Jacobs and the 2nd

Merit Open in Cyprus by Sabri Buumlyuumlksoy

on the international scene and the Illinois

State by Linda Rockwell closer to home

The Kansas City Backgammon Club formed

a decade ago by Eric Barr is thriving with

the addition of Julius High and his popu-

lar Backgammon Study Group It is the

newest addition to the USBGF list of 15

Prime Clubs

Finally USBGF President Bill Riles brings

us up to date on the Federation with the

recent election of Board members Julius

High and Michelle Steinberg Make plans

to attend 2015 Prime Tournaments includ-

ing the upcoming DC Capital Classic

the Ohio State Championships the US

Open in Las Vegas Atlanta Spring Classic

Chicago Open Los Angeles Open and the

Michigan Summer Championships and

take home added money exclusively for

USBGF members

Check out the live and online tournament

rankings and Get in the Game

- KAREN DAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

2015INDUCTEES

50 90

16

54Questions or comments about PrimeTime

Backgammon We want to hear from you

Contact us via e-mail at infousbgforg

32

2014 PLAYER OF THE YEARRay Fogerlund employs psychology serious study and lots of tournament play to make it to the top of the ABT

6 7USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

2014 USBGF GRAND CHAMPION After a couple of years of disciplined study

Jonah Seewald had a breakout year in 2014

THE INAUGURAL UK OPENJapanese team of World Champion Akiko with

Giant 2 Michy (L) and Giant 1 Mochy (R) shown with UKBGF Board member Peter Bennet

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEESAmerican Backgammon Hall of Fame recognizes 13 inductees who paved the way for modern backgammon

2ND MERIT CYPRUS OPENThe ultimate backgammon playing experience

In This Issue

FEATURED 16 AMERICAN BACKGAMMON HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Respect paid to 13 inaugural Hall of Famers for their

accomplishments and contributions to the game

BY JEREMY BAGAI KAREN DAVIS amp BILL RILES

32 RAY FOGERLUND ABT 2014 PLAYER OF THE YEAR AGAIN

Ray Fogerlund tops the American Backgammon

Tour for the fourth time and takes the title

BY KAREN DAVIS

40 USBGF AWARDS ONLINE MASTER POINT LEADERS

Ted Chee is recognized for his outstanding perfor-

mance in the popular USBGF Online Circuit

BY KAREN DAVIS

46 THE EARLY GAME 64 SPLIT 52Stick analyzes the opening sequence of 64 split

followed by 52 and demonstrates the importance

of avoiding errors in second-roll positions

BY STICK

50 JONAH SEEWALD 2014 USBGF GRAND CHAMPION

The coveted Grand Champion title goes to Jonah

Seewald winner of National Championship West

BY KAREN DAVIS

January -February 2015

CY

PR

US

OP

EN I

AN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

UK

OP

EN D

AV

ID S

TAR

TIN


FEATURED 54 THE INAUGURAL UK OPEN

Peter Bennet captures the highlights of the

inaugural UK Open with photos by David Startin

BY PETER BENNET

64 THE STORY OF BILL PHIPPSBill Phipps has found success on Wall Street and

over the backgammon board

BY IANCHO HRISTOV

74 LOTS OF FISH THE JAPAN OPENJake Jacobs provides witty and insightful coverage

of the highly acclaimed 2014 Japan Open

BY JAKE JACOBS

88 TOUGH MIDDLE-GAME PLAYMaster teacher Phil Simborg discusses the

intricacies and pitfalls of middle game play

BY PHIL SIMBORG

90 THE 2ND MERIT OPENThe 2nd Merit Cyprus Open raises the bar on

backgammon tournament perfection

BY SABRI BUumlYUumlKSOY

PLAYER PROFILES amp CLUB NEWS 98 FITCHBURGS KID IS NO 1

Hometown boy Frank Raposa makes it to the big

time in this featured piece from the Fitchburg

Massachusetts Sentinel amp Enterprise

BY ANNE OCONNOR CORRESPONDENT

FOR THE SENTINEL amp ENTERPRISE


100 ZDENĚK ŽIŽKAYoung star Zdeněk wins the Cyprus intermediate

division in his first international tournament foray

BY KAREN DAVIS

102 KANSAS CITY BG CLUBEverything is state-of-the-art in this recently

designated Kansas City USBGF Prime Club

BY KAREN DAVIS

104 QUALIFYING PRIME CLUBSUSBGF Prime Clubs reflect growing local club

interest and participation

In This Issue

ON THE COVERAnother amazing achievement by Ray Fogerlund to win the title of American Backgammon Tour Player of the Year for 2014 photographed by Tara Mendi-cino at the recent Las Vegas Open in November

CONGRATULATIONS UKBGFThe US Backgammon Federation congratulates Peter Bennet Sean Williams Raj Jansari Ian Tarr Jon Barnes Simon Morecroft and Eric McAlpine as newly elected members of the Board of the UKBGF We look forward to working with you in the future

In This Issue

TOURNAMENT NEWS 94 ILLINOIS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Illinois with its Halloween-themed tournament is a

consistent standout on the ABT tour

BY LINDA ROCKWELL

108 LIVE TOURNAMENT RESULTSSee all the results from ABT tournaments held in

Florida Connecticut Las Vegas and Los Angeles

plus results from the Merit Cyprus Open

113 ONLINE CIRCUIT WINNERSView recent winners of USBGF Online Circuit

tournaments from late June through October 2014

USBGF NEWS 12 HAPPY NEW YEAR TO THE USBGF

Bill Riles provides succinct insight into 2014

achievements and 2015 priorities

BY BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O

GEO

FFR

EY P

AR

KER

GA

MES

13 USBGF BOARD OF DIRECTORSElections bring fresh enthusiasm and

energy to the USBGF Board of Directors

14 FOUNDING SPONSORSWe thank Vladimir Gudgenov Stuart Domeshek

Frank Talbot John Bird Victor Ashkenazi Jason

Pack and Albert Steg for their support

USBGF LIVE amp ONLINE RATINGS 114 LIVE LEADERBOARD

Open Advanced and Novice leaders in USBGF Elo

ratings in live events and 2014 ABT Points

BY BARRY SILLIMAN

116 ONLINE LEADERBOARDSee the latest leaders from USBGF online tourna-

ments plus wins losses and tournaments won

118 UPCOMING TOURNAMENTSMark your calendar for upcoming ABT events


MARK ANTRANIKIANMark Antranikian Assistant Editor was a member of the USBGF Team Championships winning team Scared Hitless

BOB WACHTELBob Wachtel Editor of PrimeTime

Backgammon is a renowned author ranked 8 on the 2013

Giants of Backgammon


publisherBill Riles

editorBob Wachtel

Founding EditorMatt Cohn-Geier

Managing EditorKaren Davis

Production EditorTara Mendicino

Assistant EditorMark Antranikian

Assistant Editor and Design AnalystLisa Rockwell

USBGF PhotographerSteve Sax

Rankings EditorBarry Silliman

Feature EditorAnnotated MatchesMarty Storer

Editorial Advisory BoardKaren Davis (Chair) Chuck Bower Matt Cohn-Geier Carol Joy Cole Gus Contos Mike Corbett Bill Riles Justin Nunez Bob Wachtel Kit Woolsey

informationPrimeTime Backgammon is the official magazine of the US Backgammon Federation

contact usE-Mail infousbgforg Website usbgforg

Volume 6 Issue 1copy 2015 US Backgammon Federation

Staff ampVolunteers

from the editorOpinions expressed in these pages are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the US Backgammon Federation B

ILL

RIL

ES S

TEV

E SA

X

PresidentExecutive Director TreasurerWilliam Riles

Chair Education CommitteeArt Benjamin

Governance and Nominating CommitteeDorn Bishop

Board Chair Co-Chair Membership and Marketing CommitteeKaren Davis

Executive Committee Chair Tournament Directors liaison Rules and Ethics CommitteePatrick Gibson

Membership and Marketing CommitteeJulius High

Rules and Ethics CommitteeNeil Kazaross

SecretarySteve Mellen

vice president Vice-Chair Membership and Marketing Committee Governance and Nominating CommitteeTara Mendicino

Chief Technology Officer Chair Ratings and Stats Committee Governance and Nominating Committee Rules and Ethics CommitteeRichard Munitz

Director Local Club Initiative Rules and Ethics CommitteeJustin Nunez

Executive CommitteeJoseph Russell

Membership and Marketing CommitteeMichelle Steinberg

Special Adviser to Board of Directors Carol Joy Cole

Education AdviserPhil Simborg

Accounting ManagerSheryl R Lennon

USBGF Boardof Directors

TARA MENDICINOTara Mendicino Production Editor Vice President and member of the USBGF Board of Directors and co-director of the Texas Backgammon Championships

KARE

N D

AVI

S

KA

REN

DA

VIS

12 USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

presidents columnHappy New Yearto the USBGFBy Bill Riles President and Executive Director

At this special time of year appro-

priate for reflection on the past

and anticipation of the future I

would like to share with you a few thoughts

We have accomplished many things and

many more are on the horizon Our oppor-

tunities are abundant

Prime TournamentsWith the New York Metro and Texas Back-

gammon Championships in January the

USBGF will begin our Prime Tournament

Initiative with the USBGF contributing

added money for USBGF members We

are confident that this program designed

to increase membership and tournament

attendance will be successful However we

will need more benefactor support and the

assistance of as many tournament directors

as possible

Master PointsIn 2015 the USBGF Master Points program

will be in place Initially members will be

able to earn and accumulate master points

for online USBGF tournaments and for live

ABT tournament play and be recognized

through annual awards and recognition

in the USBGFs PrimeTime Backgammon

magazine Facebook page and website

The plan after that is to phase in local

and regional live-tournament-play master

points mdash something that several local club

directors and players have requested

Hall of FameI am excited by the establishment of the

American Backgammon Hall of Fame and

the election of the first thirteen inductees

As a game and as an organization we can

best define our identity and goals by first

recognizing where we have been and who

has contributed to our growth and direc-

tion This recognition will represent a

significant step forward for backgammon

in the United States

Board of Directors ElectionWith the recently completed second annual

Board of Directors elections nine of the

thirteen Directors have now been demo-

cratically elected by the membership Next

year we will complete the process by then

all of the Board members will be so elected

Irsquod like to thank retiring Board members

Alfred Mamlet and Jeb Horton for the

years of service they have provided to the

USBGF Both are friends and valued advis-

ers Their support for the USBGF and for

backgammon itself is warmly appreciated

I wish to also extend congratulations to

Art Benjamin Julius High Joe Russell and

Michelle Steinberg upon their election to

the Board of Directors As reelected incum-

bents I expect Art and Joe to continue to

provide the organization with their valuable

service and counsel By the same token

I am excited by the election of Julius and

Michelle I am confident that their new

blood will bring the energy enthusiasm

and creativity that the USBGF will require

to progress

Congratulations to Tara Mendicino on her

promotion to Vice President It is going to

be a great year for the USBGF

ldquoGet Into the Game ndash Become a Memberrdquo

usbgf board of directorsJulius High amp Michelle

Steinberg Join the Board

The US Backgammon Federa-

tion is pleased to announce that

Julius High and Michelle Stein-

berg have been elected to the Board of

Directors Upon being informed of the

result Bill Riles President and Executive

Director of USBGF issued this statement

ldquoThe US Backgammon Federation is

fortunate to have acquired Julius High

and Michelle Steinberg as members of

the Board of Directors Julius High brings

his experience in leading the Kansas City

Backgammon Study Group his cutting-

edge computer programming skills and

his extensive tournament experience to

the Board He will serve as Co-Chair of

the USBGF Membership and Marketing

Committee Michelle Steinberg is likewise

an important addition and will serve as

director of USBGF streaming services She

brings important insight into the interests

of a new generation of backgammon play-

ers The pairrsquos exuberance social skills and

visibility in the backgammon community

will serve the USBGF well in our outreach

and growth campaignrdquo

Art Benjamin and Joe Russell were re-

elected to the BOD Both have been vital

contributors to the USBGF Education

Committee The newly-elected directors

join Karen Davis Bill Riles Dorn Bishop

Patrick Gibson Neil Kazaross Steve Mellen

Tara Mendicino Rich Munitz and Justin

Nunez on the BOD

Julius High is a frequent presence on the

American Backgammon Tour His achieve-

ments include the 2009 Midwest Backgam-

mon Championship the trifecta of the 2014

Atlanta Spring Championship Atlanta Cup

and Seniors events the 2014 Wisconsin

Badger Classic and second place in the 2014

Florida State Championships At home

he won the 2014 Kansas City Champion-

ship

Michelle Steinberg is a fierce competitor

in USBGF online tournaments and is also

a frequent participant on the American

Backgammon Tour She won the 2013-2014

USBGF National Internet Championship

Intermediate division and the Advanced

Divisional III She has generously volun-

teered her time in transcribing streamed

and videotaped tournament matches and

is a frequent contributor to the USBGF

Facebook site and the bgonline forum She

studied history liberal arts and elementary

education at Brooklyn College receiving a

Masterrsquos degree in Environmental Sciences

for elementary school teachers She lives

in New Jersey with her husband where

she pursues a variety of interests including

wildlife photography hiking and craft-

beer brewing


usbgf founding sponsorsOutstanding Supporters of our Organization

The US Backgammon Federations

Founding Sponsors initiative has

attracted donors who share its

vision of drawing thousands of people

throughout the country to the exciting

skill-based game of backgammon through a

rich array of activities appealing to all play-

ers young and young-at-heart alike The

support of our Founding Sponsors during

this critical period will be appreciated for

years to come and includes recognition on

our website in perpetuity and benefits not

available to any other class of Membership

The USBGF salutes the individuals and orga-

nizations who have generously supported

our Federation by becoming Founding

Sponsors and Prime Benefactors These 106

Founding Sponsors and Prime Benefactors

have provided the seed capital needed for

the launch of the US Backgammon Federa-

tion andor have contributed to the Prime

Tournament Initiative In appreciation of

this support a doubles event pairing Found-

ing Sponsors and Prime Benefactors with

Giants of Backgammon mdash The Tournament

of Stars mdash is held annually honoring the

Founding Sponsors and Prime Benefac-

tors who have been instrumental in the

success of the organization We welcome

additional Founding Sponsors and Prime

Benefactors who wish to help us grow the

game we all love

Thanks to Vladimir Gudgenov Stuart

Domeshek Frank Talbot John Bird Victor

Ashkenazi Jason Pack and Albert Steg for

their support in becoming the most recent


More information on the benefits of becom-

ing a Founding Sponsor may be found at

USBGF Founding Sponsor Benefits

FOUNDERS CUBES BY LAWRENCE SONNEacuteFounding Sponsors are presented with an exquisite personalized engraved doubling cube specially designed for the USBGF by Lawrence Sonneacute of Backgammon Elegance

106

Founding Sponsors

Within each level names are presented in the order of becoming Founding Sponsors

DiamondMalcolm DavisAlan and Joan GrunwaldHugh SconyersMike Svobodny

platinumKaren DavisMorten Holm

goldAnna Covlin Myles Covlin Rod Covlin Patrick and Carla Gibson Harvey GillisPerry GartnerLarry TaylorAlfred MamletEdward B BennettRichard Munitz Joseph Russell Jeffrey Acierno Masayuki Mochizuki Falafel NatanzonJim PaskoDavid LeibowitzJason LeeMichael Louis RosenJamie Erin RosenArt BenjaminLloyd E Webber (LEW)Saba BejanishviliFrank Talbot

silverLynn EhrlichChiva Tafazzoli

Silver cont Alex GerdingBruce NewbergLarry LiebsterBen FriesenJim StutzGus ContosDion HoganAlbert Steg

bronzePat McCormick Carol Joy ColeNeal and Kathy WeinerNeil Kazaross Kit WoolseyMichael WeinbergerChuck BowerPreston GuidryJake JacobsSean CearleyKristina VigPlay65 Backgammon Judy FieldRory PascarGreg Cottle Bill FinneranJames G AllenSean Williams Pat GeoffroyMark Gordon Rochelle HassonDennis CulpepperAndrew MartinezDrew Giovanis James E Roland Bill RilesJosh RackoRussell Sands

bronze contSteve SchreiberBob GlassJohn CalcottJeff BurdsallJustin and Rynell NunezSteve SaxDorn BishopScott KellandArthur SteinStepan NuniyantsPowhatan FrenchRobert E StollerJoe PottsArkadiy TsinisCarla GibsonDavid KettlerMichael FlohrMario SavanJeb HortonCloyd LaPorteSecil BaysalDavid RennieAlan PrucePhil SimborgEd SawyerTwain PigottJerry GodseyJulius HighMichelle SteinbergTariq SiddiqiSteve BlanchardJohn HamlinAnthony AntonVladimir GudgenovStuart DomeshekJason Pack

youthIstvaacuten Eacuteger

FRO

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KA

REN

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Hall of Fameinductees

2015AMERICAN BACKGAMMON

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

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HALL OF FAM

E

NACKBALLARD

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

CAROLJOY COLE

Nack Ballard - San Francisco California

Regarded as a consummate gentleman Nack Ballard is one of only seven players to have

been voted onto every Giants of Backgammon listing since its inception in 1993 He has

also distinguished himself at Scrabble Go and Color Lines

Notable Awards and Accomplishments

raquo Voted to the 32 Giants of Backgammon eleven consecutive times including three successive times as 1 twice as 2 and a sixteen-year span in the top ten

raquo Won 1982 World Professional Championship in Las Vegas

raquo Voted 1 player in the world at US Invitational in Washington DC in 1984

raquo Won the prestigious Pro-Am Doubles Championship three times 2001 with Harvey Huie 2003 and 2004 with Wayne McClintock

raquo Co-authored Backgammon Openings (2007) with Paul Weaver

2015 American Backgammon Hall of Fame Inductees

Carol Joy Cole - Flint Michigan

Widely regarded as the Queen of backgammon in the United States Carol Joy Cole

is revered and beloved by all She founded the Flint Area Backgammon Club in 1978

publishing the Flint Area Backgammon News She has directed the Michigan Summer

Championships and the Fleet Underwood Charity Tournament since 1982 and served

on the staff of numerous tournaments She has played a pivotal role in maintaining US

backgammon tournament events and results on the Chicago Point website since 1993

and created and maintains the Giants of Backgammon website


raquo US Open Champion 2009 Washington DC

raquo Paul Dingwell Amateur Jackpot 2014 Los Angeles CA

raquo Finalist in the inaugural USBGF National Championship (2011)

FRO

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CO

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BIL

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AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

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HALL OF FAM

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MALCOLMDAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KENTGOULDING

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BARCLAYCOOKE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLDAVIS

2015 American Backgammon Hall of Fame Inductees 2015 American Backgammon Hall of Fame Inductees

Barclay Cooke (1912-1981) - Englewood New Jersey

Named by Sports Illustrated as ldquothe father of modern backgammonrdquo Barclay Cooke was

renowned for his fairness and generosity and was eulogized by Les Levi as ldquoperhaps

backgammonrsquos most gracious ambassador and eloquent spokesmanrdquo


raquo Champion with his son Walt of the 1973 British-American Cup

raquo Champion with Oswald Jacoby Paul Magriel and Lee Genud of the 1979 ITT Telecom USA vs Europe match

raquo Six time champion of the Vietor Cup (1963 1966 1974 1979 1980 1981)

raquo Author of Backgammon The Cruelest Game (1974) with Jon Bradshaw Paradoxes and Probabilities (1978) and Championship Backgammon (1980)

Bill Davis - Chicago Illinois

Bill Davis is widely respected for his contributions innovations and promotion of the

game He is the founder of the American Backgammon Tour has directed the Chicago

Bar Point Club since 1983 directed the Midwest Backgammon Championships from 1984

thru 2009 and has directed the Central States Invitational since 2010 He has published

the Chicago Point newsletter website and the Facebook page reaching thousands of

backgammon players around the world


raquo Founder and director of the American Backgammon Tour

raquo The 15 all-time leader on the American Backgammon Tour in career points with 5 career ABT tournament victories

raquo 2 all-time points leader in Chicagoland Backgammon (1974 ndash 2014)

raquo Winner of the 2012 Chicago Open

Malcolm Davis - Dallas Texas

The epitome of a gracious gentleman Malcolm Davis is one of only seven players to have

been voted onto every Giants of Backgammon listing since its inception One of the first

to videotape and analyze his matches he has been a consistent winner of Championship

and Masters Jackpot events


raquo Won the World Cup in 1996 and the Williams Island Pro-Am with Jim Scott in 1986

raquo Defeated IBMrsquos TD-Gammon in 1997 and 1998

raquo Voted to the 32 Giants of Backgammon eleven consecutive times

raquo The 3 all-time leader on the American Backgammon Tour in career points 2 all-time with 9 career ABT tournament victories and was 1 in the ABT rankings in 2003

raquo 1st or 2nd in more than 75 major events over 40 years (1975-2014)

Kent Goulding - Germantown Maryland

An innovative force in the game Kent Goulding is esteemed as a backgammon player

publisher directororganizer witty auctioneer and raconteur extraordinaire He intro-

duced the first US backgammon rating system and as director of the World Cup he

instituted the use of clocks and recorded matches


raquo Winner Tournament of Champions Paradise Island Bahamas 1978

raquo Publisher of Backgammon with the Champions (12 issues of annotated matches 1981-1982) and Inside Backgammon magazine with Bill Robertie (1991 to 1998)

raquo Organizerdirector with Bill Robertie of the World Cup (known as the US Invita-tional in early years) from 1984 through 1998

raquo He was voted to the 32 Giants of Backgammon six consecutive times from its inception

FRO

M T

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FA

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OLD

K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

FRO

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UN

KN

OW

N B

ILL

RO

BER

TIE


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

PAULMAGRIEL

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLROBERTIE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

OSWALDJACOBY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NEILKAZAROSS


Oswald Jacoby (1902 ndash 1984) - Dallas Texas

One of the preeminent gamesmen of the twentieth century Oswald Jacoby was regarded

both as a leading backgammon player and co-author of the first analytic book on backgam-

mon He is also a member of the American Contract Bridge League Hall of Fame (1965)


raquo Backgammon World Champion 1972 Las Vegas

raquo Champion with Barclay Cooke Paul Magriel and Lee Genud of the 1979 ITT Telecom USA vs Europe match

raquo Author of The Backgammon Book (1970) with John R Crawford

raquo Namesake of the Jacoby Rule

Neil Kazaross - Chicago Illinois

Noted for his brilliant analytical mind Neil Kazaross is famous for inventing ldquoNeilrsquos

Numbersrdquo a short-hand method of calculating match equities over the board and co-

author of the RockwellKazaross MET (Match Equity Table) He is one of only seven

players to have been voted onto every Giants of Backgammon listing since its inception


raquo Voted to the 32 Giants of Backgammon eleven consecutive times including ten con-secutive top ten ratings since 1995 Since 2005 he has been in the top five each poll

raquo The 1 all-time leader on the American Backgammon Tour in numerous categories ndash career points 1 six times top three eight times 17 career tournament victories and much more

raquo Inaugural USBGF National Championships winner (2011)

Paul Magriel - Las Vegas Nevada

Author of the ldquoBiblerdquo of backgammon the name Paul Magriel has been synonymous

with backgammon since the publication of his groundbreaking book Backgammon in

1976 still viewed as backgammonrsquos leading textThe original backgammon celebrity he

helped popularize the game


raquo World Champion 1978 Bahamas

raquo Voted to the 32 Giants of Backgammon list eight consecutive times from its inception

raquo Author of Backgammon (1976)

Bill Robertie - Boston Massachusetts

A gifted and prolific author publisher and promoterdirector widely respected for his intel-

ligence and insight Bill Robertie is a two-time World Champion He is one of only seven



raquo World Champion 1983 and 1987 Monte Carlo


raquo Author of Advanced Backgammon Volumes 1 and 2 (1991) Backgammon for Winners (1993) Backgammon for Serious Players (1997) 501 Essential Backgammon Problems (2000) and Modern Backgammon (2001)

raquo Publisher of Inside Backgammon magazine with Kent Goulding (1991 to 1998)

raquo Organizerdirector with Kent Goulding of the World Cup (known as the US Invi-tational in early years) from 1984 through 1998

FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

GA

MM

ON

LIFE

CO

M O

PP P

AG

E K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

TEXA

S BACKGAMMON CHAMPIONSH

IPSTEXA


IPS

Congratulations2015 American Backgammon

Hall of Fame Inductees- Bill Riles amp Tara Mendicino

lsquoRiv

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alk

Brid

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rsquo by

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ix

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AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KITWOOLSEY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MIKESENKIEWICZ

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

WALTERTRICE


Mike Senkiewicz - New York New York

Master chess player Scrabble legend backgammon champion and mainstay of the New

York games scene for four decades Mike Senkiewicz raised the level of backgammon

play since the early 1980s with his insightful analyses of the game He is one of only seven



raquo Voted to the 32 Giants of Backgammon eleven consecutive times including once as 1 twice as 2 and a ten-year span in the top ten

raquo Author of articles in Backgammon Times and Backgammon Galore among others

Walter Trice (1948 ndash 2009) - Boston Massachusetts

Backgammonrsquos preeminent mathematical theorist Walter Trice is known for development

of the Effective Pip Count and his best-selling book Backgammon Boot Camp


raquo Voted to the 32 Giants of Backgammon five times

raquo The 14 all-time leader on the American Backgammon Tour in career points tied for 6 all-time with 6 career ABT-event tournament victories including the Las Vegas Open in November 2004

raquo Author of Backgammon Boot Camp (2004) and Can a Fish Taste Twice as Good (1996) with Jake Jacobs

Kit Woolsey - San Francisco California

Noted bridge and backgammon author Kit Woolsey is one of backgammonrsquos leading

experts on the doubling cube and tournament play Kit has been on the vanguard of the

computer revolution ndash writing his own programs for analysis in the early 1980s and

running the First Internet Backgammon Server (FIBS) created by Andreas Schneider

He is editor of the first online backgammon magazine GammOnLine (53 issues) on the

GammonU website He is one of only seven players to have been voted onto every Giants

of Backgammon listing since its inception He was inducted into the American Contract

Bridge League Hall of Fame in 2005



raquo Winner of Backgammon Pro-Am Championship (2005) with Tami Jones

raquo Author of How to Play Tournament Backgammon (1993) New Ideas in Backgammon (1996) with Hal Heinrich Backgammon Encyclopedia Vol 1 (2002) Understanding Backgammon (2003) with Tami Jones 52 Great Backgammon Tips (2007) with Patti Beadles MatchQiz computer software with Hal Heinrich among other works


The InducteesBy Jeremy Bagai

I first heard of the of the American Back-

gammon Hall of Fame when Patrick

Gibson asked me to be a member of

the select committee along with Dennis

Culpepper Doug Mayfield and Joe Russell

I was honored to be considered I often

feel like a newbie but apparently Irsquove been

plugging away at this game for some time

now I first met Patrick just as I started

playing in 1990 He was my introduction

to organized backgammon I was happy to

help him in any way

It turned out that my biggest contribution

to the selection process stemmed not from

any backgammon-related wisdom but

from my having taught some uncountable

number of college classes mdash and having

thereby created some uncountable number

of grade-distributions I quickly saw that

the problem of separating lsquoArsquos from lsquoBrsquos was

similar to the problem of separating our

inductees from hopefuls Patrick told us that

our goal was to end up with ten to fifteen

inductees Richard Munitz provided some

thoughtful vote-modeling and suggested

using a cutoff criterion somewhere between

60 and 75 of total votes But my grading

experience had shown me that distributions

tend to be stranger than you expect and

that any criterion based on percentage of

total votes might well generate far too few

or far too many Hall of Famers

Instead I proposed that we let the shape

of the distribution be our guide We knew

we wanted ten to fifteen inductees mdash so

we should just say so We could draw the

specific cutoff within that ten-to-fifteen

range by looking for a gap in the distribu-

tion For example suppose the top thirteen

candidates each received at least 18 (out of

a possible 26) votes and that the next best

candidate (number fourteen) received only

16 votes In that hypothetical case there is

a gap in the distribution since no candidate

received exactly 17 votes That gap would

become our cutoff criterion and the top

thirteen candidates would be inducted

In fact I proposed something just a little

more complicated for dealing with unlikely

edge cases and there was some debate Pat-

rick did that thing that all good tournament

directors must do he made a decision We

used the simpler version of this system and

the voters cooperated by producing a clean

distribution with a lovely gap between the

top thirteen candidates and the rest of the

field Well done voters And my heartfelt

congratulations to our inaugural inductees

Karen and Bill asked me to write some

notes on the incoming class So here are

some personal reflections on thirteen indi-

viduals that Irsquom terribly proud to have

associated with

Nack BallardHis impact on backgammon cannot be

overstated Certainly one of the all-time

great players (simultaneous multiple event

wins at the World Cup and Las Vegas tour-

naments winner of three Pro-Am Doubles

events in four years etc) Voted 1 Giant

three consecutive cycles But then therersquos

the other stuff His book on Openings with

Paul Weaver Nactation Nackgammon

I donrsquot have much personal experience with

Nack as a competitor but he does drop

by our local club now and again to watch

his wife play In a world overfilled with

showmen hersquos a quiet pleasant decent

and thoughtful guy Itrsquos always a pleasure

to talk with him

Oh and hersquos also one of the worldrsquos best

Scrabble players one of the (European)

worldrsquos best Go players and perhaps the

worldrsquos best at Color Lines Irsquove recently

seen him reading books on poker Watch

out poker

Carol Joy ColeWhere would backgammon be today with-

out Carol Without her longest-ever con-

tinuously published newsletter Without

her always-updated Tournament Calendar

Without her Backgammon Boutique

Without her running the largest and most

beloved US tournament Just where would

we be I donrsquot like to even think about it

CJC is indisputably the nicest person in the

world Therersquos no need for me to back that

statement up because no one would dispute

it She has been my friend my confidant

my supporter my adviser and my silent

partner in most all things backgammon

Maybe shersquos been yours too Thanks for

sharing these past twenty-five years with

me and making them so special Carol

Congratulations once again on winning

the 2009 US Open And welcome to the

Hall of Fame

Barclay Cooke I never met the man but feel a connection

of sorts by way of my book Classic Back-

gammon Revisited (2001) In it I went over

the ldquobiggest errors from the best authorsrdquo

with the help of computer analysis And

by far the biggest criticism of my book

was that I was too cruel to the author of

The Cruelest Game Barclay Cooke There

may be some truth to this mdash I am not the

best person to judge My honest defense

is that I was merely trying to write prose

as engaging as Barclayrsquos

Cooke won many tournaments (six Vietor

Cups including a consecutive run of three)

but he will be best remembered for his

popular books which brought genera-

tions of players to the table Backgammon

The Cruelest Game (1974) Paradoxes and

Probabilities (1978) and Championship

Backgammon (1980) His first was very

successful and still serves as an excellent

and charming introduction to the game

His last is an important and entertaining

historical document capturing the state

of play in the late 70s His middle book

is indeed paradoxical Yes over half the

answers are now known to be wrong to

some degree But as I once wrote ldquoWhere

else can one find a reference to Debussy

and an extended baseball analogy together

on the same page much less accompanied

by a backgammon positionrdquo

Thank you for all your many contributions

Mr Cooke I wouldnrsquot change a word

Bill DavisI think itrsquos safe to say that no American has

done more to organize backgammon than

Bill Davis Itrsquos quite possible that no human

has done more to organize backgammon

since the beginning of time The newslet-

ter The list of American clubs The web

resources The Bar Point Club The Midwest

Championships The Central States Invita-

tional The American Backgammon Tour

Bill is not generally known for his modern

viewpoints (see Clocks Computers Politics

etc) He is an old-fashioned gentleman

He likes dress codes for his tournaments

But he has been a constant innovator in

organized backgammon for forty years


the 2012 Chicago Open And welcome to

the Hall of Fame

Malcolm Davis Malcolm wins a lot of backgammon tourna-

ments An awful lot For a long long time

now From the 1996 World Cup and the

1998 Nordic Super Jackpot to the 2013

Texas Championships and the 2014 Las

Vegas Super Jackpot Malcolm keeps win-

ning He won the ABT Player of the Year

in 2003 Hersquos been voted to the Giants List

(top 32) in every cycle (1993ndash2013)

Interestingly hersquos not known as a top ana-

lyst You wonrsquot see him at tournaments

discussing positions at length with the

gang He doesnrsquot write articles He just wins

matches I had the pleasure of interviewing

Hall of FameAMERICAN BACKGAMMON 2015 American Backgammon Hall of Fame Inductees


him at length to collect material for Marty

Storerrsquos Backgammon Praxis The Matches

of Malcom Davis He told me

If I knew why I make the plays I make Irsquod

feel better but I donrsquot I just really have to

play enough so that it looks right to me and

I do it you know Irsquove noticed years ago that

good players who are well-intentioned and

honest and talented and knowledgeable

would give me reasons and the reasons

just turned out not to be right The only

thing I could do any better was just not

give reasons I hate to give them if Irsquom not

pretty sure theyrsquore right

Refreshingly modest sentiment from a man

who has so much to be proud of

Kent GouldingSimply the best auctioneer of all time That

alone should be enough to put him in the

Hall of Fame You want more Ok therersquos

his Backgammon with the Champions (our

gamersquos first series of annotated matches)

Inside Backgammon (the highest-quality

instructional magazine ever published)

The KG Rating List The World Cup tourna-

ments Kent has done a lot for backgammon

He also won lots back when he was playing

The 1977 Paradise Island Tournament of

Champions The 1978 Florida State Cham-

pionships A gazillion events throughout

the 80s and 90s of course And then he

won the Czech Open in 2000 and cashed

in the Party Gammon Million in 2007

But what really sets Kent apart from the

typical superstar hellip is how much fun it

is to hang around with him Hersquos a nice

helpful funny cheerful light-hearted yet

droll competitor with more than enough

amusing anecdotes to distract you from

the fact that he just took you out of the

main flight Come back anytime KG We

miss you

Oswald Jacoby Winner of the 1972 Backgammon World

Championship (Las Vegas) Co-author of

The Backgammon Book which Robertie

later described as the first ldquoto approach

the game from an analytic point of viewrdquo

Hall of Fame contract bridge player and

author Immortalized by the Jacoby rule

in backgammon (no gammons awarded

in money play unless the cube has been

turned) and by several contract bridge

bidding conventions that bear his name

Died in 1984 at the age of eighty-one I

wish I had met him

Neil KazarossClearly one of the very best players the

game has ever seen Won the American

Backgammon Tour a record six times (Is

that even possible) Seventeen individual

ABT victories Author of innumerable

high-quality articles Essential contributor

to newsgroups Frequent collaborator on

projects ranging from Match Equity Table

construction to the training of the current

BG bots The Neil behind Neilrsquos Numbers

Somehow he has managed to give back to

backgammon a sum even greater than all

the prize pools he has taken

I worked on the floor of the Philadelphia

Options Exchange for a brief period and

would occasionally run into folks who had

worked with him ldquoNever had to ask how

his day had beenrdquo was one memorable

comment Not a shy man that Neil

Or is it possible that observation is out-

dated Has there been something of a hellip

mellowing of late Time will on occasion

smooth out some rough edges However

he got there Neil has become backgam-

monrsquos venerated elder statesmen Perhaps

our greatest playeranalystambassador

Who is still more likely than not to win

next yearrsquos ABT

Paul MagrielCan you be granted backgammon immor-

tality on the basis of one book Yes if itrsquos

as good as Magrielrsquos Backgammon

Not that he hasnrsquot done a lot more There

was that World Championship in 1978 The

New York Times column All those seminars

and live commentaries The return to the

public eye through poker But a hundred

years from now when all of us are gone and

most else has faded there will still be that

book Perhaps yoursquove read it

The year 2001 saw my second trip to Monte

Carlo but this time I had copies of my just-

published Classic Backgammon Revisited

with me I was a little nervous I knew Paul

was there I knew he wanted to meet me

And I didnrsquot know what he thought of my

book Was it possible he had a problem

with my ldquocorrectingrdquo his masterpiece Soon

enough I found myself eating pizza at the

Tip Top across the table from a legend

Braced for the worst what I got instead was

a deluge of near stream-of-consciousness

observations concepts enthusiasms and

idiosyncrasies And an invitation to col-

laborate on his next book Heady times

That book never happened nor did the next

few he proposed Still Irsquoll never forget the

times Irsquove spent with him nor will I ever

forget the elegant structure and magnificent

prose of his wonderful book Long live

backgammonrsquos unique mad-genius

Bill RobertieMy vote for backgammonrsquos best author His

ideas and his voice defined backgammon

analysis in the 80s and 90s Remember the

pre-bot era When ldquodoing a rolloutrdquo meant

spending a few hours playing both sides of

a position over a board Robertie owned

that era Lee Genud Vs Joe Dwek (1982)

Advanced Backgammon (1984 1991) Reno

1986 (1987) Learning From The Machine

(1993) Modern Backgammon (2001) And

eight full years of Inside Backgammon (1991-

1998) the highest-quality periodical that

backgammon has ever seen Thatrsquos a lot of

indispensable writing (And thatrsquos just the

serious stuff mdash intermixed with those were

the mass-market books for beginners and

intermediates)

Billrsquos prose reflects his personality smart

organized wry and reserved Bill tells

wonderful stories mdash both in person and

in print But he doesnrsquot tell three-page

stories that have you looking at your watch

before skimming ahead for the punchline

He writes exactly enough to make his

point clearly yet finds room within for

understated irony or a sardonic turn of

phrase Would that more authors were to

emulate this

I suppose I should mention somewhere that

he won the World Championship Twice

For the past decade Bill turned his atten-

tion to poker and produced with Dan

Harrington some of the very best poker

books ever written But he tells me that

more backgammon writing is on the way

and I couldnrsquot be more excited

Mike SenkiewiczChess master Scrabble legend (is it true that

he first proposed what would later become

the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary)

backgammon champion Part of the famed

crew at New Yorkrsquos Mayfair Club in the

70s and the Coterie Club in the 80s The

professional gamesman gambler

I first met him at the Ace Point Club in

the 90s My memory is that he was mostly

playing cards but perhaps I wasnrsquot aware

of the higher-stakes backgammon games

I remember the acerbic wit of course We

did not become friends to speak of but I

was pleased and touched when he pointed

out an error in the first edition of my book

(problem 32) Thanks again Senk

Ok there is one other story that comes to

mind Dinner with a bunch of players at

some Vegas buffet As usual there were

the talkers and the listeners And there was

Senk who might well have been reading

a newspaper One of the talkers hit upon

the subject of unfair taxes and began some

generic conservativelibertarian rant against

government interference I may have thrown

in a contrasting comment or two but lacked

the courage of my convictions So the rant

continued But then seemingly from out

of nowhere in stepped Senk hellip who pro-

ceeded to eviscerate the ranterrsquos arguments

world view and perhaps a large fraction of

his social confidence Senk held the floor

for an impassioned three minutes There

was an extended games analogy mdash how the

country used to offer a level playing field

but now only the rich get a seat at the table

and the super-rich get to play by different

rules Or something like that How I long

for a recording It was magnificent

Respect to you Senk

Walter TriceBackgammonrsquos preeminent mathematical

theorist His contribution of the Effective

Pip Count alone would guarantee him

immortality But there was also his Bearoff

Quizmaster the first race-database training

program Can A Fish Taste Twice as Good

his collaboration with Jake Jacobs on the

theory of unequal matches And his many

many articles Convincing Walter to publish

his set of Beginnerrsquos Boot Camp columns

as a book may well prove to be my greatest

contribution to the game Itrsquos one of my

proudest achievements

It was a joy to work with him We did a



lot of editing together and conversations

that started on language and backgammon

often found their way to art and politics

He seemed to know at least one delightful

something about everything Boot Camp

was published in 2004 and Walter proved

himself a master of marketing technique by

winning the Las Vegas Open that November

He signed a lot of books that day

Walter died unexpectedly at the age of 60

I spoke at his funeral and hearing others

speak I learned for the first time about his

enthusiasm for cycling and his virtuosity

at the piano He contained multitudes I

miss him just as you do

Kit WoolseyKit and Oswald Jacoby before him are the

only members of this inaugural class to

also be members of the American Contract

Bridge League Hall of Fame Like Jacoby

Kit has written definitive ground-breaking

books for both games and like Jacoby he

even has a bridge convention named after

him He doesnrsquot yet have a backgammon

rule named after him so I hereby propose

for the sake of parity that our next official

rule change bear his name (Sure there

is the justly famous ldquoWoolseyrsquos Lawrdquo for

doubling but thatrsquos more of a guideline

rather than a rule Your call Kit)

Perhaps more than any other player Kit

has been on the vanguard of the computer

revolution mdash both in backgammon study

and also in the world at large Long before

the neural nets Kit was writing programs

for his own backgammon analysis back in

the early 80s And then there was MatchQiz

a fantastic use of the early 90s personal

computer to display his annotated matches

on screen (I still have all my discs and get

frustrated every time my modern laptop

fails to run them) And then there was the

First Internet Backgammon Server cre-

ated by Andreas Schneider in 1992 Once

again Kit somehow got involved to the

result that he has effectively run the server

since 1996 And yes when TD-Gammon

changed everything somehow Kit was

there convincing Gerry Tesauro to analyze

matches with him (One such match was

against me mdashplayed on FIBS of course Kit

invited me to write commentary in parallel

with him and our joint effort became some

of the very first instructional backgammon

writing to appear online) And certainly not

least there was GammOnLine backgam-

monrsquos first online magazine discussion

board and interactive match

I once asked Kit why his published analysis

so often makes use of odds notation (Black

is a four-to-one favorite) instead of the more

common percentage lingo (Black has 80

winning chances) Kit broke into a wide

grin mdash ldquoFrom a well-spent youth playing

the ponies my boyrdquo Congratulations on

your second-place finish at the 2014 Las

Vegas Open Kit And welcome to your

second Hall of Fame

An impressive group no

Was this exactly the list of candidates I

voted for Of course not But this list is bet-

ter than mine mdash it reflects the communal

judgment of many more years of experience

than Irsquoll ever have Congratulations to our

inaugural class

- JEREMY BAGAI

About JeremyJeremy Bagai received his doctorate

in Psychology from the Univer-sity of Pennsylvania in 1999 where he studied the ways in which we evaluate outcomes assign prob-abilities and select actions He has taught at the Wharton School of Business and UC Berkeley and enjoyed his four years as Senior

Product Manager at CyberArts writing software specifications and managing teams of developers

He wrote the critically acclaimed Classic Backgammon Revisited and published it along with Backgam-mon Boot Camp (Trice) and Back-gammon Praxis (Storer) through his company The Fortuitous Press


On January 30 2015 at the USBGF

Annual Awards Dinner held

in conjunction with the 3rd

Texas Backgammon Championships in San

Antonio TX Federation President Bill Riles

named the inaugural class of 13 inductees

into the American Backgammon Hall of

Fame This honor is intended to recog-

nize the extraordinary contributions that

these individuals have made to the theory

growth and enjoyment of the mind game

of backgammon Plaques honoring each

inductee will be maintained in perpetuity

on the USBGF website

Origin of the Hall of FameIn June 2014 in an e-mail addressed to

USBGF Board of Directors Chairman

Karen Davis Mr Riles wrote ldquoIrsquove come

up with another idea hellip that I think is

creative exciting interesting and enter-

taining I suggest we create hellip a USBGF

Backgammon Hall of Famehellip I think Hall

of Fame members should be elected based

on their total contribution to the USBGF

and to backgammon -- skill play results

support visibility sportsmanship citizen-

ship and contributions of every sort hellip

Some organization or group is ultimately

going to do this ndash I think it should be

the USBGFrdquo Karen suggested forming a

committee of respected members of our

community to think through the issues

and oversee the process

Billrsquos draft proposal for the establishment

of a Hall of Fame was accepted in concept

at the June 24 2014 Board meeting The

document stipulated in part ldquoThe USBGF

will initiate a USBGF Hall of Fame to recog-

nize and honor those players directors and

other individuals who have made significant

contributions to the game over a substantial

period of time Nominees and candidates

do not have to be USBGF members may

be from abroad and may be posthumously

consideredhellip It is anticipated that the Hall

of Fame would be a very exclusive group-

ing of the most significant individuals in

the history of the modern game hellip The

select committee should comprise members

of long and extensive participation and

expertise in the backgammon community

possessing the knowledge and perspective

of individual contributions ndash absolutely

and relatively ndash over timerdquo

Process of SelectionAt the next monthrsquos Board meeting Bill

reported that a Select Committee chaired by

Patrick Gibson (one of the longest-serving

tournament directors in the US and a

Board member) would choose a slate of

candidates and set the parameters for the

process The Select Committee would be

comprised of Directors and of representa-

tives from the USBGF membership Patrick

had researched the procedures used by vari-

ous sports as well as other games like chess

in establishing and maintaining similar

honorary groups and after some discus-

sion the Board unanimously approved a

motion to proceed with the Hall of Fame

in accordance with the committeersquos written

proposal with the understanding that the

The Origin amp Selection ProcessBy Karen Davis

Hall of FameAMERICAN BACKGAMMON


initiative would be implemented with limited costs to the USBGF

and executed within the currently-approved budget

The Select Committee was formed and provided regular updates

to the Board on its progress On September 30 it recommended

raquo Name US Backgammon Hall of Fame (subsequently changed

to American Backgammon Hall of Fame)

raquo Criteria Important contributions accomplishments and

achievements relating to the game of backgammon in the United

States Skill and success over the board will be considered as

will comportment and reputation within the backgammon

community It should be difficult to get selected ndash an excep-

tional body of work over a significant period of time Not a

mere popularity contest

raquo Eligible individuals Players authors directors promoters

publishers teachers and similar individuals will all be worthy

of consideration For the initial year candidates for ballot

will be chosen by a Select Committee in future years back-

gammon community may also be allowed to submit names

for consideration although not all submitted names would

necessarily appear on ballot

raquo Initial ballot Each of the members of the Committee submitted

15 names for consideration (self-nomination not allowed)

resulting in a total of 50 individual names 11 of these were

categorized as ldquoold-timersrdquo who were barely recognized even

by several experienced members of the Committee individuals

in this category might be chosen through a separate process

possibly as a different category of historical contributors

raquo Electors Individuals responsible for choosing HOF inductees

should be experienced members of backgammon community

This mirrors the procedure used by most other halls of fame

Holding a vote of the entire membership is less desirable

because many will not have the experience to select among

the candidates and induction is a permanent honor The

proposal is that each member of the Committee would choose

2 more electors for a total of 15 adding the remaining Board

members would bring the total electors to 26 Elected HOF

members can serve as electors in future years

raquo Class size The initial class would have a maximum of 15

inductees all of whom should be clearly recognized as ldquounas-

sailable choicesrdquo Historical contributors would not be part

of the initial class Future years would have a class size of

4-8 or 5-10

The Board discussed these and other items at length most notably

the process for selecting names to appear on the ballot and the

question of whether electors and committee members should be

precluded from appearing on the ballot or simply prohibited from

voting for themselves It concluded that the Select Committee

would be reconstituted to include only individuals willing to be

excluded from consideration for the current year

The reconstituted Select Committee consisted of Patrick Gibson

Jeremy Bagai Dennis Culpepper Doug Mayfield and Joe Russell

It presented a ballot of 36 individuals to the Board at its November

6 meeting and the ballot received unanimous approval Voting

was conducted by confidential e-ballot by members of the Board

of Directors the Select Committee and electors chosen by the

Select Committee a total of 26 electors

Based on the Boardrsquos recommendation the goal was to end up

with ten to fifteen inductees The Select committee decided to

make the cutoff depend on the shape of the distribution of votes

by looking within that ten-to-fifteen range for a gap in the dis-

tribution Such a gap did in fact emerge between the top thirteen

candidates and the rest of the field The result was a final inaugural

set of 13 distinguished inductees

- KAREN DAVIS

The Origin amp Selection Process

Going ForwardBy Bill Riles


In this initial year of the American Backgammon Hall of Fame the US Backgammon Federation (USBGF) Hall of Fame Com-

mittee chose to provide for an inaugural induction class of thirteen members The Committee felt a large group was necessary to

appropriately include a number of significant individuals from the decades-old history of the modern game In subsequent years

the Committee believes smaller induction classes will be appropriate

The Committee is currently working on the refinement of Hall of Fame selection processes and procedures going forward and will

submit their recommendations to the Board of Directors for approval Members are invited to submit suggestions for candidates or

the selection process at HallofFameusbgforg Subsequently the policies will be made public and distributed to the membership

Candidates should include individuals who have

raquo made important contributions to the game of backgammon in the US over a significant period of time as players directors

authors publishers promoters teachers or innovators

raquo realized exceptional accomplishments

raquo demonstrated remarkable skill through success over the board or

raquo gained achievements and recognition among the community

The USBGF applauds the 2015 American Backgammon Hall of Fame inductees for their contributions to the game We look forward

to the recognition of other deserving individuals in the future

- BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O


4-Time ABT Player of the Year

KA

REN

DA

VIS

By Karen Davis

ray fogerlund American Backgammon Tour2014 Player of the Year Again

Ray Fogerlund has done it again

winning the American Backgam-

mon Tour Player of the Year award

for the fourth time (2007 2009 2011 2014)

not to mention his other achievements

highest all-time annual points winner (8880

points in 2011) holder of most cumulative

points in three consecutive years (14792 in

2009-2011) most years in a row winning

ABT points (13) highest points in past five

years hellip you get the drift

How does he do it Bill Davis Director of

the American Backgammon Tour has this

take ldquoRay Fogerlund is the most dedicated

player on the American Backgammon

Tour Although Ray doesnrsquot believe he has

the technical skills of backgammon greats

like Neil Kazaross and Mochy nobody is

better at winning on a psychological level

Ray is a streak player mdash a requirement for

winning tournaments In 2014 he won

three ABT main events in a year when his

win-loss record was just a couple points

over 50 Thatrsquos impressive When 2015

comes to an end Ray Fogerlund will likely

have surpassed Neil Kazaross as the all-time

ABT master point leader over the circuitrsquos 23

year run And nobody is more deservingrdquo

Mike Senkiewicz once said that only an

insane desire can lead to consistent winning

and Ray certainly has a deep competitive

streak He confesses to not being a good

loser saying itrsquos a constant struggle and that

he is working on it though conflicted To

learn to be a good loser he says you have to

do a lot of losing He quotes a buddy ldquoI may

not be the worst loser in the world but Irsquoll

do until we find himrdquo He says hersquos working

at controlling his temper but doesnrsquot want

to lose his intensity for winning Hersquod rather

just work on getting better and beating the

other guy noting that ego and financial

interest are powerful stimulants

Ray spent 27 years as a firefighter which

he describes as one of the most difficult

occupations to get into Once he was one

of over 3000 people who showed up at

the Anaheim (CA) Stadium for five job

openings in Orange County It took him

9 years from ages 17 to 26 testing all over

California before getting a coveted spot in

the Kern County (CA) fire department

following in the footsteps of his dad who

was a Santa Monica fireman Successful

candidates must pass a series of tests 1) a

background investigation that establishes

a good citizen record 2) a written test with

only 300 out of 3000 applicants permitted

to proceed to the next test (Ray got an

associate degree in fire science as well as

one in automotive technology from Santa

Monica Community College to master

the field) 3) an endurance gauntlet that

only those in top-notch physical shape can

pass and 4) finally an oral interview that

probes interpersonal skills and leadership

qualities But those who pass muster have

the reward of a well-paying challenging

job and a comfortable pension check in

retirement that can support an avocation

mdash like playing backgammon

Ray was promoted to engineer in his last

ten years of service bringing with it the

awesome fun responsibility of driving the

fire engine But he passed on pursuing the

career path to captain recognizing it would

be hard to combine those responsibilities

with backgammon Still he misses the

friendly rivalry among firemen whether

on the golf course or in the stationhouse

That rivalry however did not extend to

the backgammon board his fellow fire-

men wouldnrsquot play with him because they

hated losing

Ray took up backgammon after college

when a buddy from Venice High School

challenged him to a chess match after a

basketball game on Muscle Beach His

buddy was city chess champion in high

school and taunted Ray that he could

never beat him When Ray did so twice

he never played him again Instead the

pair gravitated to Chippendales in Los

Angeles the famous disco that featured

ladies-only nights with male strippers

But most of the time Chippendales was

a regular disco with backgammon boards

and tournaments

Ray got hooked and started playing in local

tournaments all over the San Fernando

Valley Burbank and other locations The

clubs changed locations a lot mdash because

Ray says backgammon players donrsquot tip He

therefore makes a point of always leaving

a 100 percent tip himself and of tipping

tournament staff generously or taking them

out to dinner recognizing how hard they

work for very little compensation

Ray characterizes his study of backgammon

as one of total immersion Like others he

early on read Bruce Beckerrsquos Backgammon

for Blood mdash which he now names as the

worst backgammon book ever written Hersquos

read Magrielrsquos Backgammon at least ten

times and still goes back to it whenever

hersquos struggling He was also fascinated by

Barclay Cooke a great writer (even if he

got a lot of stuff wrong) who was fond of

the precepts of the Chinese warlord Sun

Tzu He says hersquos read anything and every-

thing mdash including Kit Woolseyrsquos books and

magazines or newsletters by Kent Goulding

(Backgammon with the Champions) Carol

Joy Cole (Flint Area BackgammoNews) Bill

Mike Senkiewicz once

said that only an insane

desire can lead to

consistent winning and

Ray certainly has a deep

competitive streak

ldquo

Ray Fogerlund 2014 ABT Player of the Year Again


1st Place Tournament Wins from 1993 to 2014 Date Place Event Tournament

2014 Sep 1st Open ABT 2nd Capital Classic2014 Jul 1st Gopher Classic ABT 19th Minnesota Open2014 Jun 1st Open ABT Los Angeles Open2014 Apr 1st Championship ABT US Open 2013 Dec 1st Open ABT California State2013 Mar 1st Grand Crystal Beaver XVI ABT Central States Invitational2011 Jul 1st Open ABT 36th Michigan Summer2011 Mar 1st Ohio Masters ABT 17th Ohio State2011 Feb 1st Open ABT 33rd Pittsburgh2010 Oct 1st ProAm Doubles wGerding EBGTWBGT 6th European2010 Apr 1st Georgia Masters ABT Atlanta Spring2009 Oct 1st European Doubles-wTaherzadeh EBGT 5th European2009 Jun 1st Open ABT Los Angeles2009 Feb 1st Super Jackpot ABT 2009 Pittsburgh2008 Aug 1st Al Tesoro Palm Classic ABT Florida State2008 Jul 1st Masters Jackpot ABT 13th Minnesota2008 Jun 1st Open ABT 2008 Los Angeles Open2008 Jun 1st Super-32 ABT 2008 Los Angeles Open2008 Feb 1st Grand Crystal Beaver ABT 2008 Midwest2006 Nov 1st Super Jackpot ABT Las Vegas Open2006 Aug 1st Al Tesoro Palm Classic ABT Florida State2006 Jul 1st Nations Cup-wGartner amp Markowitz Nations Cup amp Riviera Backgammon Festival2005 Nov 1st $1000 Jackpot Backgammon Pro Am2005 Oct 1st 1st Super Jackpot 3rd Lucien Barriegravere Enghien-les-Bains2005 Jul 1st Super Jackpot 1st Lucien Barriegravere Cannes2004 Oct 1st Royal Palm Classic Masters ABT Florida State 2003 Aug 1st Championship ABT 51st Indiana Open2002 Apr 1st Open ABT 49th Gammon Associates1998 Apr 1st Masters Invitational ABT Las Vegas 5th Worldwide Twin1993 1st Open Nevada State

Davis (Chicago Point) and Bill Robertie

(Inside Backgammon with Kent Gould-

ing) Hersquos used all the bots that have come

along mdash JellyFish Gnu Snowie and now

eXtreme Gammon and hersquos played on vari-

ous online sites starting with Games Grid

(which is now GridGammon) The biggest

problem with having learned the game 30

years ago says Ray is adapting To keep

current one has to constantly unlearn or

modify old techniques and conclusions

After a slow start his game took off when

he tore an Achilles tendon in a firemanrsquos

Olympics and was off work for six months

He made a two-hour drive from Bakersfield

to LA to play on Tuesdays and Sundays And

at the end of the evening when he lost he

had that two-hour drive home to reflect on

his errors Once he got over fuming about

his opponentrsquos lucky doubles he realized

that the outcome might have been differ-

ent if he had made better cube decisions

Rayrsquos dad was his gaming mentor They

played pinball together on the Santa Monica

pier where Ray learned about the ldquosucker

shotrdquo (which lost you the ball) Ray applied

this lesson to backgammon by trying to

determine the most harmful mistakes that

he could make over the board He then

worked to avoid them

Rayrsquos dad also used to buy him backgammon

boards every time he came across one Ray

eventually donated this extensive collec-

tion to the US Backgammon Foundation

Boards for Kids program

Many find the key to Rayrsquos winning ways in

his application of psychology to the game

Ray is a believer in activating his opponentrsquos

imagination Rather than doubling quickly

or rolling quickly in a kneejerk way he rubs

his chin looks at the score mentions his

opponentrsquos blots and gives his opponent

plenty of time for his imagination to envi-

sion bad scenarios instead of just slamming

down an aggressive cube He finds fear

feeds on itself His attitude induces many

opponents to pass cubes they should take

He asks himself what he doesnrsquot like mdash

being blitzed being primed mdash and tries

to put himself in the opponentrsquos shoes Itrsquos

important he says to test the waters early

in a match He might send an early cube

to see if they pass and adjust if they snap

it up And to send a message that your

opponent canrsquot steal a point from you Ray

may take a small pass early Gather and give

information let your opponent know you

wonrsquot be pushed around

He also keeps a mental notebook on his

opponents He has me pegged accurately

as playing too fast and notes that Irsquom cash-

ing more in the masters since Irsquove slowed

down He recognizes players who are tech-

nically accomplished (like Neil Kazaross)

and does not try to fool around as much

with them Malcolm Davis says Ray is a

formidable adversary who rarely makes a

cube error Another stubborn opponent

is Ed OrsquoLaughlin who wonrsquot back down

sometimes even to his detriment He can

steal a point or two from his former student

Julius High whom he urges to be braver

and even from his friend and tournament

director extraordinaire Patrick Gibson

Ray just finds it pays to know your cus-

tomers and to do that he plays more than

anybody else He got the USBGF started into

entering drawsheets at ABT tournaments

back in 2009 by sharing his photographs

of brackets from ABT tournaments he

attended Patrick Gibson assembled a team

to enter the results in Michael Daroogersquos

backgamesorg software arranged to get a

copy of the drawsheets of all ABT tourna-

ments by photograph or assistance from

the tournament director and the rest is

history Since 2009 Ray has entered 171

USBGF-recorded ABT events (Champion-

ship and Masters Jackpots) By comparison

Ed OrsquoLaughlin is second with 134 Bill

Riles third with 120 and Malcolm Davis

fourth with 100 Ray notes that after hersquos

been to Ohio ten times he knows more

about Mary Hickeyrsquos game than most local

players He gets to know the personali-

ties mdash whether itrsquos Atlanta Connecticut

Florida Peoria Minnesota or Wisconsin

and makes mental notes

Hersquos had such success on the backgam-

mon circuit that itrsquos hard to pick his most

memorable experience His first big win

was the 1993 Nevada State tournament

He had just stepped up to playing in the

Championship division from the Intermedi-

ate division because he wanted to compete

at a higher level For one thing he decided

it was less annoying to lose to a player who

plays well A fellow player from LA stuck

with the Intermediate division and lost in

the finals to a ldquocareer intermediaterdquo in one

Ray Fogerlund 2014 ABT Player of the Year Again Ray Fogerlund 2014 ABT Player of the Year Again


game on a 16 cube Ray defeated Harvey

Huie a multi-millionaire Texan who loved

high-stakes play in the finals of the Open

division

His biggest prize was in the 1998 Las Vegas

Masters Invitational which he won over

Dean Muench and Mike Senkiewicz He

remembers well losing to Kit Woolsey in the

finals of the Nevada State Championships

in 2003 in a field of 92 players He was up

9-4 when Kit made a comeback and won

He had offered Kit 6-5 odds to hedge since

there was a $14000 difference between

first and second but Kit declined He later

analyzed the match on Snowie and while

his PR was better it was the big swings on

little mistakes that did him in

A high point was winning both the Super-32

Jackpot and the Open at the Los Angeles

Open in 2008 but there have been many

major wins along the way including the

LA Open in 2002 Indiana Open in 2003

Royal Palm Classic Masters in Florida in

2004 Super Jackpot in Cannes in 2005 over

Mochy and the Grand Crystal Beaver at the

Central States Invitational twice (in 2008

and 2013) While he doesnrsquot enter a lot of

international tournaments he treasures

winning the 2006 Nationrsquos Cup in Cannes

with Howard Markowitz and Perry Gartner

and the European Doubles Championship

in Paris with Sasan Taherzadeh in 2009

Not surprisingly that impressive string of

victories has landed him on every Giants

list (where he is currently ranked 20)

since 2007 He also made the US team in

the inaugural International Backgammon

Championship co-sponsored by the USBGF

the Japanese Backgammon League and the

Danish Backgammon Federation mdash the

veritable Olympics of backgammon

Hersquos certainly been on a roll of late In 2014

he won the US Open in Las Vegas in April

the LA Open in June the Gopher Classic in

Minnesota in July and the Capital Classic

in Washington DC in September (and 2nd

in the Masters Jackpot to Ed OrsquoLaughlin)

He came in second in the Texas Dual-Duel

in February losing to World Champion

Mochy (and 3rd4th in the Longhorn Clas-

sic Masters Jackpot) second in the Atlanta

Wilensky Masters Jackpot in April and the

Florida Gator Masters in October 3rd4th

in the Super Jackpot in Seattle in September

as well as 3rd4th in the Super Jackpot in

Las Vegas in November to name a few

No wonder he captured the ABT crown

yet another time

But he remembers the losses and keeps

working on his game He lost to Malcolm

Davis in the Las Vegas Super Jackpot in

November after being up 11-3 to 15 He

never scored another point after that los-

ing in four games (unusual since he views

himself as a grinder) He thinks he was

affected by a key mistake he made in a

match against Malcolm in Peoria the month

before where he wasnrsquot aggressive enough

He overcompensated in Vegas and took

a cube he shouldnrsquot have mdash so one step

forward two steps back But he tips his hat

to Malcolm ldquoI just got outplayedrdquo he says

Ray has thought long and hard about how to

make backgammon flourish in the US He

admires Carol Joy Cole Bill Davis Patrick

Gibson and Howard Markowitz mdash who

have put on ABT tournaments year after

year out of their love for the game even

though itrsquos hard to just break even Hersquod

like to see every ABT tournament charge

a $100 registration fee to Open players

maybe $40-$50 for Advanced players and

$20 for beginners instead of having to charge

hospitality fees or set high entry fees for

Main events and Jackpots with a rake to

cover tournament costs Lower entry fees

he reckons would attract more entrants to

those events

The economics are tough for players as

well Travel costs can run $300-$500 for

a flight $300-$500 for a hotel and with

entries running $1000-$1500 players have

to make $2000 just to break even Some

players he says have a life and canrsquot get

away from jobs or family but others just

canrsquot afford the expense As a result many

players canrsquot attend tournaments other than

those in their own locale In this regard

Ray counts himself lucky He loves to play

at the highest level for the most money

against the best players and is glad he has

the wherewithal to put his money down

put his hat in the ring and face down the

best in his quest for the trophies and prize

winnings

Player recognition he says is also important

to increasing participation in both online

and live events He loves the USBGF online

tournament circuit (run by Tara Mendicino

whom Ray credits with doing a fabulous

job) Now that the USBGF is implementing

its master point system and giving annual

awards for leading online master point

players he plans to participate in more

USBGF online tournaments

He also thinks the American Backgammon

Hall of Fame is a good idea Hersquos pleased

that the ABT Player of the Year award is

continuing He also looks forward to the

annual USBGF awards dinner as well

thinking it just adds to the glory motiva-

tion and interest in participating as does

the USBGF Prime Tournament initiative

(with added money for USBGF members)

He tries to do his part Hersquos always happy to

give seminars at tournaments Hersquos joined

in Julius Highrsquos Backgammon Study Group

which is being streamed to participants

around the world The more people who get

hooked on learning the endless intricacies

of the game Ray says the more tournament

attendance will grow and the more enjoy-

ment everyone will get out of the game

- KAREN DAVIS

IN HIS ELEMENTRay keeps up his patter in a

match with Stepan Nuniyants as onlookers enjoy the repar-

tee and first-class play KA

ELEY

KIN

G


7th Annual Atlanta Spring ClassicApril 30 - May 3 2015Sheraton Gateway Hotel Atlanta GA

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US OPENBACKGAMMON CHAMPIONSHIPS

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events across the nation

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M L

EFT

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EAS

HU

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E B

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RIL

ES


usbgf awards online master point leadersBy Karen Davis

Ted Chee has won two-thirds of over 100 matches on the USBGF Online Circuit making him the All-Time USBGF Online Master Point Leader

GREAT PERFORMANCEAt an awards dinner held in con-

junction with the Texas Back-

gammon Championships in

San Antonio TX on January 30 2015 Bill

Riles President and Executive Director of

the US Backgammon Federation crowned

the all-time USBGF Online Master Point

Leader Ted Chee who also ranked 1 on

USBGF Online Master Points in 2014 and

2 in 2012-2013 The festivities which will

become an annual event are designed

to recognize USBGF members for their

accomplishments and to highlight the

newly-implemented USBGF Master Points

System That system tracks the achieve-

ments of USBGF members in both the

Online Tournament Circuit (directed since

October 2012 by Tara Mendicino) and in

live play at American Backgammon Tour

(ABT) and live USBGF events

A goal of the Master Points system is to

encourage regular participation in competi-

tive live and online backgammon tourna-

ments and to provide players with concrete

goals extending the spirit of competition

beyond a single event Master Points accu-

mulate over time mdash and once earned are

never lost Master Points are awarded

to players based upon matches won and

placing Details and formulas are posted


With this issue we are pleased to announce

the top twenty online Master Point lead-

ers since initiation of the USBGF Online

Tournament Circuit the top twenty lead-

ers for 2014 and the top twenty leaders

for 2012ndash2013 The Leaderboard will be

updated in subsequent issues of PrimeTime

Backgammon

As shown in the accompanying table Ted

Chee is not only the All-Time Online

Master Point Leader he also led the field

in 2014 and was second for 2012ndash2013

One of the most active participants in the

USBGF Online Tournament Circuit Ted

has won 77 matches overall and some big

events (1) the 32-entrant Masters Divisional

II (restricted to players above 1650 online

USBGF Elo and featuring matches up to 21

points) and (2) the December 2013 Circuit

Monthly Hersquos an active live player as well

in 2012 he won the Championship divi-

sion of both the 4th US Open and the 2nd

Golden Gate Open And he regularly wins

side events in Las Vegas and Los Angeles

Second on the All-Time Online Leader-

board (and number one in 2012ndash2013)

is the indefatigable Mario Savan Mario

has played more matches than any other

player on the Online Circuit a total of

120 with 72 wins (a 60 percent record)

Mario has a solid background in live play

he got hooked when he won a Blitz at the

2002 Nevada State Championship in Las

Vegas (320 entries) He went on to win the

Advanced division at the 10th International

Cup Backgammon Tournament in Las

Vegas in 2004 (248 entries) Two years

later (June 2006) he won the Advanced

All Time - Online Master Points Leaderboard Name Master Pts Match Pts Rank Pts Win - Loss Win Rating

1 Ted Chee 779247 684075 95172 77 - 39 6638 1838322 Mario Savan 714323 653262 61061 72 - 48 6000 1727143 Eva Zizkova 578858 500684 78174 68 - 40 6296 1806604 Peter Toftsoe 566230 507499 58731 70 - 40 6364 1825905 Dmitriy Obukhov 522953 480521 42432 38 - 21 6441 1895376 David Presser 521946 455800 66146 59 - 25 7024 1922767 Alfred Mamlet 501424 443234 58190 57 - 33 6333 1841948 David Kettler 476488 426863 49624 60 - 35 6316 1878959 John Klein 465324 404636 60688 47 - 32 5949 185507

10 Jan Cerny 460827 424837 35990 54 - 39 5806 17882711 Jacob Atie 456798 396080 60719 41 - 28 5942 18101212 Jason Lee 445856 424445 21412 47 - 41 5341 17265213 Adam Versaw 441017 385274 55743 18 - 6 7500 19479414 Karen Davis 430190 389038 41152 57 - 45 5588 17620615 Joseph Russell 420480 379951 40530 38 - 27 5846 18395816 David Rennie 373086 336659 36427 57 - 40 5876 17731717 Lynda Clay 371841 363991 07850 40 - 45 4706 16504518 Toby Tabet 368572 348986 19586 43 - 37 5375 16939919 Jason Marshall 363512 349406 14105 36 - 42 4615 16140220 Tilman Soumlhnchen 359363 321953 37410 25 - 11 6944 190558

Master Points are calculated by adding Match Points + (Rank Points 06)

USBGF Awards Online Master Points Leaders

PA

TRIC

K G

IBSO

N


2014 - Online Master Points Leaderboard Name Master Pts Match Pts Rank Pts Win - Loss Win Rating

1 Ted Chee 357628 307435 50193 40 - 24 6250 1838322 David Presser 352519 290631 61889 32 - 5 8649 1922763 Dmitriy Obukhov 322798 288556 34242 18 - 9 6667 1895374 Jacob Atie 320806 270896 49910 20 - 14 5882 1810125 Eva Zizkova 297630 249527 48103 39 - 18 6842 1806606 Peter Toftsoe 290367 262321 28047 32 - 18 6400 1825907 Zdeněk Žižka 267225 216920 50305 30 - 18 6250 1792578 Jeffrey Acierno 266956 241827 25128 27 - 16 6279 1891219 Igor Erovenko 259485 230826 28658 39 - 16 7091 171381

10 John Klein 258349 222074 36276 18 - 8 6923 18550711 David Kettler 216967 193787 23180 31 - 17 6458 18789512 Maya Peycheva 200828 177732 23096 25 - 18 5814 18170813 Jan Cerny 198146 178546 19600 25 - 20 5556 17882714 John Manning 183812 172087 11725 25 - 16 6098 16298515 Karen Davis 174313 147323 26990 23 - 21 5227 17620616 Tilman Soumlhnchen 174271 154758 19513 11 - 4 7333 19055817 Michelle Steinberg 170529 139409 31119 21 - 13 6176 15963118 Tom Christner 168512 139114 29398 10 - 11 4762 16197419 John Graas 162319 159129 03190 23 - 15 6053 18053020 Bill Riles 162035 143712 18323 22 - 12 6471 178705

2012-2013 - Online Master Points Leaderboard Name Master Pts Match Pts Rank Pts Win - Loss Win Rating

1 Mario Savan 552751 507356 45396 52 - 25 6753 17272 Ted Chee 421619 37664 44979 37 - 15 7115 18383 Alfred Mamlet 393007 34272 50287 36 - 15 7059 18424 Joseph Russell 333652 302146 31506 31 - 19 6200 18405 Adam Versaw 315913 26767 48243 12 - 3 8000 19486 Lynda Clay 311105 306855 0425 27 - 25 5192 16507 Jason Lee 306005 287783 18222 29 - 24 5472 17278 Petko Kostadinov 298909 278807 20101 14 - 3 8235 19429 Eva Zizkova 281228 251157 30071 29 - 22 5686 1807

10 Toby Tabet 276229 271516 04713 26 - 22 5417 169411 Peter Toftsoe 275862 245178 30684 38 - 22 6333 182612 Jan Cerny 26268 246291 1639 29 - 19 6042 178813 Doug Amenda 260285 226515 3377 24 - 16 6000 187714 David Kettler 259521 233076 26444 29 - 17 6304 187915 Karen Davis 255877 241715 14162 33 - 24 5789 176216 Jason Marshall 252531 251008 01523 20 - 27 4255 161417 Bruce Newberg 242107 218423 23684 23 - 6 7931 182118 Svilen Todorov 223315 209768 13547 18 - 14 5625 183819 Michael Ginat 223216 210867 12349 24 - 17 5854 170520 David Rennie 222623 2081 14523 33 - 24 5789 1773

division at the LA Open and in 2013 he

won the Paul Dingwell Amateur Jackpot at

the California State championships Mario

has great determination discipline and

stamina often lasting to the very end of

long tournaments and often cashing in

large-field side events like the Frank Talbot

Newcomers Free Roll at the 2013 Michigan

Summer Backgammon Championships

and the $100 Jackpot at the 2013 Texas

Backgammon Championship

Two international players Eva Zizkova and

Peter Toftsoe have also risen to the top of

the USBGF Online Leaderboard ranking

3rd and 4th respectively in the All-Time

Online Master Points list and 5th and

6th in 2014 Eva has earned 579 points

to Peterrsquos 566 points since the beginning

of the USBGF Online Circuit Eva from

the Czech Republic has won two Circuit

Monthly events mdash June 2013 and Janu-

ary 2014 She is one of the most frequent

entrants to USBGF Online events having

played 108 matches with an impressive

score of 63 wins While shersquos only been

playing competitive backgammon for 10

years and can rarely play outside her home

country her name is starting to appear in

the winnerrsquos circle of major tournaments

She placed 2nd in the Ladies Tourna-

ment at the 2nd Merit Open in Cyprus

in November 2014 Her 16-year old son

Zdeněk Žižka captured the Intermediate

division in Cyprus (71 entries) Zdeněk

ranked 7th on the 2014 Leaderboard only

a few paces behind his mother and won

the very strong Masters Divisional IV as

well They are a mother-son team to watch

Peter Toftsoe a top Danish player won

the Masters Divisional I landing him in

4th place in the All-Time Leaderboard

Peter has played 110 matches with a 64

winning record He reports that his fondest

backgammon memory is being part of the

2007 winning Mama Lustra team at the

Danish Team Championship in 2007 His

teammates were international superstars

Peter Jes Thomsen Gus Hansen Karsten

Bredahl Steen Groslashnbech Lars ldquoBusterrdquo

Bentzon and Mik Larsen (two world cham-

pions a double Nordic Open winner and

the current Nordic Open director)

Sixth in the All-Time Online Master Points

race and 2nd in 2014 was David Presser

with an incredible 70 winning record in

84 matches He won back-to-back USBGF

Online Circuit tournaments in February

and March 2014 each with 128 entrants as

well as the Masters Divisional III in August

2014 One of our younger stars David has

notched a number of live victories as well

In 2013 as a graduate student in finance at

Northwestern University he was captain

of the winning Northwestern team in the

USBGF Collegiate tournament It was only

at the 2013 Chicago Open that he entered

his first championship flight but since

then he has gone on to capture a number

of trophies He won the Limited Jackpot at

the NY Metro in January 2014 was a finalist

in the 2014 Central States Invitational in

March won the 2014 Minnesota Masters

Jackpot in July and was the finalist at the

2014 Wisconsin Badger Classic in August

In addition he cashed at a number of other

2013 and 2014 tournaments and aced

Master Points are calculated by adding Match Points + (Rank Points 06) Master Points are calculated by adding Match Points + (Rank Points 06)

USBGF Awards Online Master Points Leaders USBGF Awards Online Master Points Leaders


USBGF quizzes in Chicago and Carolina

In 2014 Dmitriy Obukhov a member of

the coveted PR 40 Club consisting of those

who have finished ten pre-announced live

matches with an average performance

rating under 40 was in 3rd place in the

2014 Leaderboard Fourth place in 2014

went to Jacob Atie who racked up lots

of points by winning the Championship

division of the 2013-2014 National Internet

Championship Because Jacob lives far away

(in Panama) he does not make it to many

live events but makes it count when he

does For example he came in 3rd in the

consolation at Las Vegas in 2013 defeating

top-ranked players John OrsquoHagan Rick

Barabino and Bill Riles

And hats off as well to Alfred Mamlet 3rd

place winner in 2012ndash2013 to the 4th place

2012ndash2013 finisher Joe Russell winner

of the 1989 World Championship and to

Adam Versaw in 5th place in 20122013 by

virtue of winning the 2012-2013 National

Internet Championship division

But past is prologue The race for USBGF

Online Master Point Leaders is on Get

in the game and join the list of winners in

2015 See your name on the scoreboard

and collect cash awards at the 2nd Annual

Awards Dinner

- KAREN DAVIS

DAVID PRESSERDavid Presser won the February and March 2014 USBGF Monthly Circuit tournaments to catapult him into second place on the 2014 USBGF Online Master Points Leaderboard



Growing Membership amp Growing the Game

The goal of the three-year USBGF Prime Tournament Initiative is to increase USBGF membership among tournament

attendees increase tournament attendance and participation in events and enhance the USBGF role visibility and influence Approximately 2000 players have participated in ABT tournaments since 2009 mdash only 25 are USBGF members We want to encourage the remaining 75 and many others to become USBGF members enjoy our resources and help us fulfill our mission to promote and grow the game The Prime Tournament Initiative attempts to accomplish this and allows the USBGF to target a membership of 1000 by the end of 2015 We need your support to reach our goalLearn more at usbgforgmediaprimept-initiativepdf Contribute at usbgforgmediaprimebenefactor

Become a Prime Tournament Benefactor

fileC|UsersuserDesktopPositionhtm[162015 103412 PM]

is Player 2

score 0pip 157

Unlimited GameJacoby Beaver

pip 167score 0

is Player 1XGID=-a----EaC---dE--ac-e----B-00152003010

to play 52

1 Book1 2422 61 eq -0205PlayerOpponent

4489 (G1203 B041)5511 (G1544 B073) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0213-0197) - [1000]

2 Book1 2422 138 eq -0261 (-0056)PlayerOpponent

4365 (G1079 B040)5635 (G1535 B064) Conf plusmn 0007 (-0268-0254) - [00]

1 Generated by David Rockwell on 3232012 using eXtreme Gammon 2005184 Games rolled with Variance ReductionDice Seed 47698798Moves and cube decisions 3-ply

eXtreme Gammon Version 219206pre-release

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 157 WhiteUnlimited Game

Unlimited Game BlackPip 167

Position 1

Money Game Black to play 52

Going through the matches from the recent

ABT event in Las Vegas I stumbled over

this one for the nth time There are only

two reasonable choices or one according

to XG Why is it so correct to hit and split

When we hit so deep in our inner board

itrsquos usually at least partially a tempo hit

A tempo hit is a hit that deprives your

opponent of half his roll so that he isnrsquot

able to clean up his position by making a

new point safetying a blot anchoring etc

Often when the opponent splits in the early

game and we miss his blot on the 18pt we

will use a five to swipe at him on the ace

point It is overly clear here because if left

to his own devices he is assured of doing

something good on his roll Letrsquos look at a

portion of his position only

The Early Game 64 Split Followed by 5246 47USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

By Stick

The early game 64 Split Followed by 52

MASTER OF THE EARLY GAMEStick stresses studying early game second-roll positions

I can never stress enough how important

the early game is in backgammon for

a variety of reasons When I started

playing oh so many years ago (okay it hasnrsquot

been that long but it was still during the

Snowie days when lengthy and strengthy

rollouts were a rarity) what jumped out at

me immediately was the lack of opening

game rollouts Now turns out there were

some people like Nack Ballard and Paul

Weaver already amassing a collection but

as far as I could tell there were no readily

available rollouts for the early game

I immediately went home and tossed on

various opening move rollouts letting them

go a full 1296 trials I then brought them

back the next week to show to Chris Yep and

Mary Hickey the big dogs at my local club

They were rightfully less impressed than I

expected because they had probably done

them on their own seen someone elsersquos or

knew that 1k rollouts with Snowie were not

the end-all of backgammon answers Still

I was on a mission Having dabbled too

much in chess I felt an understanding of

the early game was essential hellip yada yada

yada hellip my website bgonlineorg was born

Why is correct opening play so important

Because every game has an opening You

will always have an opening roll a reply a

third and even a fourth roll Always For

you nitpickers out there nobody cares about

your free drop situations If you take the

time and understand the opening roll it

will greatly help you understand the second

roll If you understand the first and second

rolls it will deepen your understanding of

potential third and fourth-roll situations

and so on and so forth Now the backgam-

mon world has come a long way since

my younger years and there are far fewer

mistakes on the second roll of the game

thanks to some jackassrsquos web site A well-

known player from Chicago sent me one of

his matches recently to look over where he

played a nice PR I went through the match

and he made over 100 of mistakes on the

second roll having lost the opening roll

only a handful of times Unacceptable to

have a mistake so easy to rectify plaguing

your game time and time and time again

So this month Irsquom only going to discuss one just one second-roll

reply The way you should go about learning the replies is slowly

over time You canrsquot understand and memorize them all in just a

sitting or three If nothing else at the end of this article you will

hopefully have added one more feather to your cap mdash if it didnrsquot

exist already For the most part when ranting on about proper

replies I try to focus on the bigger errors players are still making

With more and more live matches being recorded and shared

therersquos a lot more material we can study

This is a common early game occurrence

Take a minute and go through all the rolls

imagining how they play Pretty power-

ful arenrsquot they So often we make either

a higher inner board point such as the

five point or four point or a strong block-

ing point in the bar point There are a

few scraggly numbers such as [51 32] but

the overwhelming majority are a major

improvement If we now add on to this the

back checkers being split it is an even more

threatening position It is a structure that

should send a message from your eyes to

your brain that says if your roll doesnrsquot do

anything especially productive a tempo

hit is called for We need to hit and keep

the opponent off balance Doing this in

our original position 64S-52X will force

the opponentrsquos sixes to play not too well

Splitting is way too passive here

When you study one position such as

this you can couple it with other similar

positions like 63S-52 and 62S-52 and ask

yourself if yoursquod make the same play what

has changed and then check it with the bot

If the bot tells you something you didnrsquot

expect dig further into the positions until

you understand them This is often how I

memorized groupings of similar positions

by studying them all at once and picking

out the similarities and differences among

them

- STICK

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2

About StickStick is a member of the USBGF

Board of Governors and ranked 10 on the Giants of Backgam-mon 2013 list He has one of the most popular online backgammon

forums bgonlineorgforums which is frequented by many world-class players and Giants He won the Ohio State Championship in 2012 and the Consolation in Las Vegas in 2012

The Early Game 64 Split Followed by 5248 USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

PrimeTime in Print Subscribe for $150 annually not including shipping

6 issues for $25 each E-mail infousbgforg for details

ADVERTISEIN PRIMETIME

Full Page $100frac12 Page $50


jonah seewald2014 USBGF Grand Champion By Karen Davis

BIL

L R

ILES

KA

REN

DA

VIS

Winner of USBGF NationalChampionship West

IN THE WINNERS CIRCLE2014 was a great breakout year for Jonah cashing in every tournament he entered and coming in second to Mochy in the final of the Texas Back-gammon Championships

2014 GRAND CHAMPIONJonah won USBGF National Championship West in San Antonio and then went on to best Sweet Mary Hickey in the USBGF Grand Championship in Vegas shown here with Mary and Bill Riles

A highlight of the live tournament season for USBGF

Premium members is the Grand Championship The

tournament begins in two regions the USBGF National

Championship West held in San Antonio at the Texas Backgam-

mon Championships and the USBGF National Championship

East held in Charlotte at the Carolina Invitational Championships

Premium members (92 of all members) receive a free entry to

each Cash prizes are generated by optional side pools (100 return)

and re-entries ($50 85 return) with re-entries still eligible for

side-pool money Once the preliminaries have been decided the

East and West winners meet to play for the Grand Championship

with a trophy and three-year membership extension going to the

winner as added prizes The losing finalist in addition to his cash

prize receives a one-year membership extension

This year Jonah Seewald was the West champion (defeating Phil

Simborg) while Mary Hickey won the East (over Bob Koca) The

playoff took place at the Las Vegas Open and Mary (whom Jonah

affectionately describes as a ldquogreat ladyrdquo and whom he has listed

in his cellphone contacts as Sweet Mary) never had a chance It

was a blitzkrieg with the dice going Jonahrsquos

way throughout Normally he takes two to

three pictures of positions per match for

later analysis but not this time He would

double Mary would appropriately take and

he would gammon her Jonah sympathized

with his friend but still holding up that

trophy at the awards ceremony felt good

Like many of us Jonah grew up in a games-

playing family ndash Monopoly Scrabble back-

gammon and various card games His aunt

who ran a bar in Breckenridge Colorado

whetted his appetite for the game at age

nine It gets cold in Colorado in the winter

and board games (it was the pre-video-

game era) passed the time In high school

in Denver Jonah played chess checkers

and backgammon but found little time

for these hobbies after he joined the Navy

In 1998 he came across Yahoo backgam-

mon and while he says that he was largely

ldquogoofing aroundrdquo he became highly rated

on that site He then moved on to Games

Grid and TrueMoneyGames and started

taking the game seriously reading books

and analyzing matches with Snowie His

two favorite books are Bill Robertiersquos 501

Essential Backgammon Problems and Walter

Tricersquos Backgammon Boot Camp

Jonahrsquos first major tournament was the

Nevada State Backgammon Tournament

in April 2003 where he was second in

the consolation in the Intermediate divi-

sion (108 players) He followed that up in

November by making it to the semi-finals

of the Limited Jackpot (64 players) of the

2014 USBGF Grand Champion


Las Vegas Open where he lost to Masayuki

ldquoMochyrdquo Mochizuki

Jonah ventured to the Midwest Backgam-

mon Championship in Illinois in March

2005 where he won the Bear-Bluff Back-

gammon contest (16 qualifiers) a combi-

nation of poker and backgammon using

cards with a bear theme First prize was a

$1200 Taki Beargammon Board ndash but what

made it really special is that his nickname

is Jonah Bear

He won the consolation in the Intermedi-

ate division (128 entrants) at the Las Vegas

Open in November 2004 and a Limited

Jackpot (16 players) at the 10th International

Cup in Vegas in May 2004 He continued

to cash in the intermediate division win-

ning consolation in April 2005 at Nevada

State (84 players) the semis of the Las

Vegas Open intermediate consolation (128

players) in November 2006 winning the

intermediate consolation of the Las Vegas

Open (120 players) in November 2007 and

in April 2008 breaking into the winnerrsquos

circle winning the intermediate division

of Nevada State (98 players)

He was then urged by Vegas tournament

director Howard Markowitz to ldquomove uprdquo

to the Open even though many other long-

term intermediate players were permitted

to continue on in intermediate Jonah didnrsquot

think it made sense to risk money playing

the best in the world when he was far from

their level Instead he took a break from

out-of-town backgammon tournaments

although in 2011 he won the Royal Gorge

Limited Jackpot (16 players) at the Colorado

State Championship and placed second in

the doubles with Alain Azoulay

He turned to online poker until it was

crippled by the Unlawful Internet Gambling

Enforcement Act (UIGEA) On April 15

2012 it was shut down and he decided

to make a commitment to studying back-

gammon in earnest and began readying

himself to play at the Championship level

rereading Robertie and Trice and buying

eXtreme Gammon in 2013

Jonahrsquos confidence got a huge boost when

he won the Colorado State Championship

in November 2013 Following a promise he

had made to himself he visited backgam-

mon buddies in LA mdash David Taniguchi

and Alain Azoulay mdash who had befriended

him at his first Vegas tournament a decade

earlier when as a young 32-year-old he

found himself a stranger in a room full of

older players He entered the California

State Open division in December 2013 and

cashed in the Consolation (3rd4th) Now

having at least broken even he decided

to go to San Antonio and play in the 2nd

Texas Backgammon Championships It was

a major turning point He placed second in

the Open (72 players) losing to Mochy in

the finals and he won the USBGF National

Championship West All of a sudden he had

gained major visibility on the American

tournament circuit

He followed it up with an amazing string

of victories in 2014 He came in second

in the Grand Crystal Beaver in the Cen-

tral States Invitational in March won a

$100 Saturday Jackpot (23 players) at the

US Open in Vegas in April and finished

4th5th in the LA Open in June He won

the Colorado State championship for the

second year in a row in November ndash which

he calls along with his wins in Texas one

of the highlights of his career In Vegas in

November he scored a second place in the

doubles with fellow Denver player Charlie

Raichle And he capped off the year by plac-

ing 2nd in the Super-32 at the California

State Championships in December losing

to Norm Wiggins in the final What a year

It landed him among the top 20 spots on

the American Backgammon Tour

When asked how he managed to cash in

every tournament he entered in 2014 Jonah

responded that you ldquohave to be lucky for

surerdquo But he also cited an inner overwhelm-

ing desire to compete battling in every

position good or bad He says his play has

improved from sometimes playing at a 3

PR level sometimes 8 or 9 to more 3s and

4s and fewer 7s and 8s Most importantly

his confidence has taken a major leap He

really enjoys playing the top Giants and

perhaps because of his poker experience

he doesnrsquot get nervous against them In

fact he finds that he plays better against

stronger opponents

Jonah studies hard In a typical week he

plays an average of three hours a day on

GridGammon and studies another 10 hours

on top of that He analyzes his matches on

eXtreme Gammon and when he doesnrsquot

understand a cube or checker play he hits

ldquoplay from hererdquo and plays the position

many times over or adjusts it slightly until

it is hard-wired into his brain Instead of a

photographic memory he thinks of this gift

as a ldquoreference memoryrdquo Once he under-

stands the theory behind a decision he

doesnrsquot have to think about it again When

hersquos preparing for a major tournament he

will increase his study time even more

But he isnrsquot a rote ldquobotrdquo player Sometimes

when he realizes he doesnrsquot understand a

position he may pass a borderline take

(since XGrsquos calculations are based on the

assumption of perfect play) On the other

hand when he knows there is a good chance

his opponent will misplay a position he

may take a marginal pass especially if

he has a good lead He rates himself as

good at math (he tutored his Navy mates

at college algebra) but thinks there is an

element of ldquofeelrdquo (what he calls the inner

Jiminy Cricket) telling him he should

make a certain play that may be right or

not wrong by much

To be a serious player it helps to have a

supportive family and a day job that accom-

modates it With his Associate degree in

electronics he has worked as a mechanic at

the Denver airport for a major aerospace

transportation manufacturer for the last 21

years He gets an early start to the day mdash

which rules out late night local tournament

play He arrives at 6 am but gets off work

and is home by 3 pm mdashwhere he can play

for three hours undisturbed Evenings are

family time with his wife and two sons

now ages 15 and 22 He feels lucky that his

wife supports him in his love of backgam-

mon tolerating his long hours of study

and long weekends away at tournaments

Though they will watch their dad play a

streamed crucial match his sons havenrsquot

taken to backgammon preferring music

and video games

When asked what the US Backgammon

Federation can do to promote the growth

of backgammon he points to the need for

sponsorship and added money to make the

equity better for players As things stand

only a few people can come out ahead The

future of the game will depend on finding

a way to get more money involved The

hard economics are that most tournaments

cost around $1400-1500 to enter mdash $800

for entry fees $400 for hotel and $200

for airfare Hersquos very selective about the

tournaments he attends ndash depending on

availability of cheap flights from Denver and

hotel rates And he has to carefully gauge

use of his vacation time and wonrsquot attend

tournaments which require an extra day off

While he hasnrsquot turned to backers to share

the action and lower the financial risk many

top players do so But with a backer even

if a player wins therersquos rarely much money

left after expenses to split with the backer

Thatrsquos like playing for free and then you

need backing again for the next tournament

Itrsquos like a ldquoliving contractrdquo that needs to be

continually renewed one tournament at a

time To play competitive backgammon he

says ldquoYou gotta love it you gotta winrdquo

- KAREN DAVIS

2014 USBGF Grand Champion2014 USBGF Grand Champion

The Inaugural UK OpenSeptember 19 - 21 2014 By Peter Bennet with photos by David Startin

9-point full-consulting match between

the two teams Sadly for Team UK Japan

capitalised on their 3-0 advantage and

were the runaway winners 9-2 Several

of the 3-point match files are available on

the UKBGF website and the video of the

entire consulting match can be followed

in two parts Part 1 and Part 2

Much like its sister organization the USBGF

a principal aim of the UKBGF is to grow

interest in backgammon so it was pleas-

ing to see fourteen aspiring Beginners

on Saturday morning all hoping to win

a luxury roll-up travel board donated by

our sponsor Geoffrey Parker Games Ltd

The youngest of these was eight-year-old

David Broomfield who fought off all the

other hopefuls to claim his board mdash an

impressive achievement for such a young

player Although he was allowed to play

on the Sunday as well David wasnrsquot eligible

to win another boardhellipwell we had to

give the other Beginners a chance Flavia

Losniceriu was the lucky Sunday winner

In the Intermediate Flight Yan Kit Chan

had reached the semi-finals but was trail-

ing Donna Sherred 5-9 to 11 It looked

as though it could soon be all over for Yan

in the following position mdash with Donna

(White) on roll


is Yan Kit Chan

score 5pip 108

11 point match

pip 12score 9

is Donna SherredXGID=--BCBBB-AA------------bcB-00-1005901110

on roll cube action

Analyzed in XG Roller++ No double DoubleTakePlayer Winning Chances 9300 (G7169 B5275) 9297 (G7354 B4558)Opponent Winning Chances 700 (G000 B000) 703 (G000 B000)Cubeless Equities +1984 +2244

Cubeful EquitiesNo double +2004DoubleTake +2079 (+0075)DoublePass +1000 (-1004)

Best Cube action Too good to double PassPercentage of wrong take needed to make the double decision right 930

eXtreme Gammon Version 210 MET Kazaross XG2

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Pip 12 Donna Sherred2-Away

6-Away Yan Kit ChanPip 108

Position 1

Game 10 White (Donna Sherred) on roll

The Inaugural UK Open54 55USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

It will probably never happen again

No I donrsquot mean that there wonrsquot be

another UK Open mdash the next one is

already on the calendar What is unlikely

to happen again is the formation of a team

comprising the current Backgammon

World Champion and the number 1 and

number 2 players in the world hellip all from

the same country These three Japanese

players mdash Akiko Mochy and Michy mdash were

visiting the UK not only to play in the first

UK Open Backgammon Championships

but also to take part in a challenge match

against the UKrsquos best

The idea of staging a UK Open tourna-

ment which would hopefully be worthy

of that title and establish itself as a major

international event emerged in April 2013

Planning for the tournament was initially

driven by John Wright of the Liverpool

Backgammon Club who solicited the

cooperation of a group of tournament

directors and players from around the

UK including Ian Tarr Sean Williams

Raj Jansari and myself Within a short

time this group evolved into the Interim

Board of the nascent UK Backgammon

Federation which has just held elections

to form a new Board More information

on that process and its implications for

British Backgammon can be found on the

ukbgfcom website

The Ricoh Arena in Coventry was chosen

as the venue for the first UK Open This

is a football stadium and entertainment

conference complex which is the home of

Coventry City Football Club mdash as well as

more recently Wasps Rugby Football Club

The Legends Lounge within the Ricoh

was the perfect size for the 140 or so pre-

registered players For some who began to

gather on the Friday afternoon this was a

kind of backgammon reunion there hadnrsquot

been a UK tournament this large outside

London for many years Others came early

to watch the much-anticipated challenge

match between the lsquoJapanese Giantsrsquo and the

formidible UK team of Julian Fetterlein

Raj Jansari and Lawrence Powell

In the first phase of this battle each team

member played a 3-point match against

every member of the opposing team

The result was 6-3 in Japanrsquos favor which

translated to a 3-0 start in phase two a

Itrsquos great fun to play single-color-checker

backgammon with Yan As implied all

thirty checkers are the same color and you

have to remember which are yours and

which are your opponentrsquos The under-

sides of the checkers can be marked to

show what colors they lsquoreallyrsquo are in case

of dispute As Yan is completely blind

this variant provides a more level playing

field where both players have to remember

who owns which checkers If you want to

go one step further try a game of lsquovirtual

backgammonrsquo in which you cannot see or

touch the checkers because the entire board

only exists in your head These games are

fun to try but playing a whole tournament

blind as Yan does is an awe-inspiring feat

of concentration and stamina

In Position 1 Donna obviously played on

for the gammon but left a shot on her next

roll Yan hit it and fought his way back to

win that game and eventually the match

11-9 Yan then went one better beating

Andreas Sophocleous in the final mdash his

biggest win to date Both the semi-final

and the final were recorded and in the

former Yan played at a sub-5 XG PR mdash a

result which few of the worldrsquos best could

match under the same conditions

In the Championship Flight the Japanese

Giants did not fare as well as they had in

the Team challenge The final was con-

tested between Jason Pack (from the USA

but a longtime UK resident) and Martin

Birkhahn of Germany The second game

of this match was the most dramatic each

player at different times was threatening to

blow his opponent away Martin (White)

trailing 0-1 to 13 was attempting a blitz

when the following doubling decision arose


is Jason Pack

score 1pip 172

13 point match

pip 157score 0

is Martin BirkhahnXGID=-ac---DBC--AbB--a--baabAbB00-1D1001310

on roll cube action

Analyzed in Rollout No double DoubleTakePlayer Winning Chances 5751 (G3431 B249) 5807 (G3474 B303)Opponent Winning Chances 4249 (G1147 B064) 4193 (G1142 B062)Cubeless Equities +0401 +0877

Cubeful EquitiesNo double +0539 plusmn0015 (+0525+0554)DoubleTake +0535 (-0004) plusmn0026 (+0509+0561)DoublePass +1000 (+0461)

Best Cube action No double TakePercentage of wrong pass needed to make the double decision right 09Rollout details1296 Games rolled with Variance ReductionMoves 3-ply cube decisions XG Roller

Double Decision confidence 612Take Decision confidence 1000Duration 29 minutes 24 seconds


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Pip 157 Martin Birkhahn13-Away

12-Away Jason PackPip 172

Position 2

Game 2 White (Martin Birkhahn) on roll Cube action

DA

VID

STA

RTI

N

The Inaugural UK OpenThe Inaugural UK Open56 57USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

Jason has two men on the bar and Martin is a big favorite to make

another point in his board Many of his wins will be gammons

but the ammunition to complete the attack is in short supply XG

says the doubling decision is a tossup so itrsquos an easy take despite

the possibility of quickly losing four points

QUIZ MASTERAkiko draws attention to Tim

Lines world-beating score of 42 out of 50 in Mochy and Michys Backgammon Proficiency Test

TOUCH AND GOFeeling his way round the board Yan Kit Chan salvages an almost lost posi-tion watched by his girlfriend Su Lim who played in the Beginners Flight

Continued on page 60

Championship finalist Martin Birkhahn fully focused on his game01

A more-relaxed Martin Birkhahn receiving his trophy from UKBGF co-founder and Board member Peter Bennet

04

Eight-year-old David Broomfield surveys the battlefield on his way to becoming Saturday Beginners Champion

02

Who let that dude in Is there a tournament on this planet which Carter hasnt attended

05

Tim Lines outstanding result in the Backgammon Proficiency Test earns him a special trophy presented by Mochy

All photos (except 03) courtesy of David Startin

07

The UKJapan Team Chal-lenge decider - a consulting match with (counter-clockwise from left) Michy Mochy and Akiko versus Julian Fetterlein (standing) Raj Jansari and Lawrence Powell

03

Flavia Losniceriu Sunday Begin-ners Champion receiving her trophy from Eric McAlpine recently elected to the UKBGF Board of Directors

06

01 02 03

04

05

06

07



is Martin Birkhahn

score 0pip 156

13 point match

pip 149score 1

is Jason PackXGID=aaaB-bCCBA---A--a-abAbbBb-111D1001310

on roll cube action

Analyzed in XG Roller++ No redouble RedoubleTakePlayer Winning Chances 7116 (G3290 B300) 7144 (G3390 B307)Opponent Winning Chances 2884 (G718 B031) 2856 (G729 B032)Cubeless Equities +0713 +1376

Cubeful EquitiesNo redouble +0933 (-0067)RedoubleTake +1098 (+0098)RedoublePass +1000

Best Cube action Redouble PasseXtreme Gammon Version 210 MET Kazaross XG2

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 156 Martin Birkhahn13-Away


Position 3

Game 2 Black (Jason Pack) on roll Cube action

Jason did take and turned the tables he

eventually reached this position where

he has one of Martinrsquos checkers on the

roof and is shooting at two more blots in

the outfield On the plus side Martin has

the 20-point anchor and a stronger board

However recirculating the hit checkers will

not be easy Jason is likely either to extend

his outside prime or to switch the attack

to his own inner board Martin loses too

many gammons and should have let this

gohellipbut he took and regained the upper

hand There was more excitement to follow

a few rolls later


is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 125score 0

is Martin BirkhahnXGID=---BbbCCBC----A----bcbb-bA2-1-1001001310

on roll cube action

Analyzed in Rollout No redouble RedoubleTakePlayer Winning Chances 6203 (G3543 B046) 6233 (G3473 B072)Opponent Winning Chances 3797 (G702 B021) 3767 (G940 B009)Cubeless Equities +0545 +0807

Cubeful EquitiesNo redouble +0675 (-0039) plusmn0017 (+0658+0693)RedoubleTake +0714 plusmn0025 (+0690+0739)RedoublePass +1000 (+0286)

Best Cube action Redouble TakeRollout details162 Games rolled with Variance ReductionMoves 3-ply cube decisions XG Roller



13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 4


Would you redouble to 8 here I regard

crunching as a speciality of mine even when

I have three escaping numbers In Martinrsquos

position I would have been dreading to

see one of the 16 non-escaping rolls pop

out of my dice cup But if we look more

closely seven of those rolls (41 31 21 and

11) donrsquot crunch the board at all mdash and a

further five (43 32 and 22) retain some

kind of five-point board Only 42 44 and

33 are seriously destructive And from

Jasonrsquos side of the board wouldnrsquot he hate

to see that 8-cube coming towards him with

a match-ending gammon looming large

So this was a chance for Martin to pile on

the pressure Not redoubling at this score

is actually only a small error and the take

is scary but clear but with the cube at this

level it is interesting to note how a small

change in the score can make a huge dif-

ference in the correct cube action In the

first game of a 13-point match redoubling

to 8 here would be a big error while if

White is trailing 0-3 instead of 0-1 he has

a monster recube and now taking would

be close to a blunder Because of overage

every extra point already chalked up by

the match leader significantly reduces the

value of 8-cube ownership

The Inaugural UK OpenThe Inaugural UK Open

Continued from page 57


A total of 9 matches were recorded from the 2014 UK Backgammon Open The match files in XG format are available for download at ukbgfcom


is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 118score 0

is Martin BirkhahnXGID=---BbaCCBC--a-A----bcbb-bA2-1-1D1001310

on roll cube action


Cubeful EquitiesNo redouble +1130RedoubleTake +1449 (+0318)RedoublePass +1000 (-0130)

Best Cube action Too good to redouble PassPercentage of wrong take needed to make the double decision right 291


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 5


Martin held onto the cube and rolled an

escaping 52 (2013) Jason danced again

and so Martin had another cube decision

It is fairly obvious that Jason now has a pass

but Martin has no crunching numbers (even

44 can be handled hellip just) so he should

play on At this score the position is much

too good to redouble but with an 8-cube in

the offing merely reversing the score from

0-1 to 1-0 makes the play-on borderline

Give Martin a 3-1 lead and now the correct

action is no redoubletake In the match

Martin cashed but went on to win only

one more game as Jason added the UK

Open to his growing list of tournament

victories The entire match as well as Yanrsquos

previously mentioned semi and final can

be downloaded from the UKBGF website

When the last dice had been rolled early

on Sunday evening and players were either

heading for home or converging on the

Grosvenor Casino for a late dinner over

pound30000 in prize money 18 trophies and

three Parker backgammon boards had been

distributed to the winners As the players

left the question I was most frequently

asked was ldquoWhenrsquos the next onerdquo At the

time I didnrsquot have an answer but the second

UK Open is now scheduled for the first

weekend in September 2015 once again

at the Ricoh Arena Coventry Maybe you

US players should make a quick hop across

the pond to join us there

- PETER BENNET

JAPAN TRIUMPHS OVER UK hellip hellip but Peter Bennet muscles in on Team Japans victory photo


All photos courtesy of David Startin


JASON DOES IT AGAINFollowing his victory in the Nordic Open Super Jackpot earlier in the year Jason Pack takes the 2014 UK Open Championship title

The Wolf of Wall Street

KA

REN

DA

VIS


Iancho To start please introduce yourself

What do you do for a living How did you

end up working on Wall Street

Bill Irsquom 51 years old I started playing back-

gammon in 1981 when I was still in high

school actually Backgammon was pretty

popular back then There were tournaments

in bars and restaurants across the country

hellip I fell in love with the game immediately

Actually my trajectory is that I dropped out

of college to play chess backgammon and

poker for a living

Iancho What did you study

Bill I was in college but was undecided

about what to study I was not interested in

school but rather in girls and playing games

so after one year of college I dropped out

And of course my mother was horrified and

all the people in my family were worried

about me but I went and did what I loved

which was backgammon poker and chess

I did that for about a decade and ended up

being recruited to work for a Wall Street

firm by Howard Ring mdash a very famous

backgammon playertrader who died a

few years ago Howard was fantastic He

actually was looking to recruit professional

gamblers I went for my interview and was

very nervous but when they took out some

dice and a deck of cards I immediately

relaxed My interview started with a bunch

of probability questions just what I had

been studying the last 10 years I ended

up getting the job leaving gambling and

going to Wall Street as an options trader

Iancho But when you started working on

Wall Street didnrsquot you miss this lifestyle

Bill Usually gamblers know that they have

all the free time in the world mdash they can

gamble they can go to bars or do whatever

It is not like working every day when you

have to wake up at a certain hour and stay

busy all day

Iancho This must have been a huge change

in your life

Bill It was a huge change There are a lot

of attractive things about being a profes-

sional gambler You get to make your own

schedule and you are your own boss That

is nice but I got pretty sick of it At that

time if you were a professional gambler

you were not in mainstream society I

could not get a credit card for example I

remember going to a Blockbuster and try-

ing to rent a movie mdash and I couldnrsquot rent

one even though I had like $25000 cash

in my pocket And if you are interested

in a woman and tell her ldquoI play poker or

backgammon for a livingrdquo it did not really

play that well And a lot of things about the

lifestyle were not healthy for me mdash staying

up late lack of physical activity So I real-

ized that (since nobody else would hire me)

options trading was an opportunity I had

no job resume and this was really my one

chance to switch professions If it did not

work out I was going to commit fully to

poker and backgammon But interestingly

they hired David Wells at the same time as

me I had never met David before then We

actually met for the first time in a training

program in Philadelphia And we lived

there for two and a half months together

We had very similar backgrounds he had

not gone to college he was playing games

professionally For David it was never a very

good fit to have a normal job and a more

structured life so I ended up staying with

it and David ended up leaving mdash but we

have been good friends ever since

Iancho So when you started working

on Wall Street did you completely quit

gambling

Bill Yes I completely quit for several

years Well that it is not entirely true mdash I

completely quit backgammon and anything

outside my profession but on Wall Street I

did a lot of sports betting and poker playing

with brokers and co-workers because it was

sort of a way of networking with people

Iancho So hellip but when you were playing

backgammon before you became an options

trader how and when did you realize that

you were a good player

Bill When I first saw backgammon it was

in a coffee shop and I was playing speed

chess for 25 cents a game trying to make

some money so I could eat And I saw

that a lot of the people that I was better

than in chess were playing chouette and

the amount of money they were winning

or losing was over $100 a night while at

speed chess I was trying to make $6 mdash

enough to go and buy a hamburger So I

started watching the backgammon games

and started playing with my sister at home

I really liked the game so I went out and

bought every backgammon book I could

find and threw myself into studying Only

six months later I was one of the best players

in Seattle (along with Alan Steffen) And I

could tell this just because my results were

very good and at that time people were

making extraordinary mistakes The level

of play in 1983 was very very poor

Iancho So back then when there were no

computer programs like XG and Snowie

What was the main method to improve

You said you read all possible books but

was that the main method

Bill Yes books were the best way to learn

mdash and playing over recorded matches But

I also solved a lot of positions by hand


the Story of Bill PhippsInterview by Iancho Hristov

QampA

The Wolf of Wall Street The Wolf of Wall Street66 67USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

I had a friend who created a computer

program to solve all the non-contact posi-

tions and back then you could not store it

on a disk There was limited access to the

computer so he printed it all out and had

10 big cardboard boxes filled with results

He had it organized and I tried to learn

about non-contact positions from it Or I

would do hand rollouts hellip Sometimes I

would just spend hours rolling a position

out and recording the results Which can

be a pretty unreliable method but it is bet-

ter than nothing mdash and if you are the only

person doing that you gain an advantage

It was hard to get good back then and this

is why nobody was very good

Iancho Wow This is amazing I canrsquot

imagine now sitting and doing hand roll-

outs (smile)

Bill We used to play a lot of propositions

mdash just playing the same position over and

over again for money

Iancho So when you were away from

backgammon for so many years what

brought you back Backgammon is not

as popular as it once was mdash not so many

tournaments not so many players

Bill I reached the point where I started

having some free time I actually retired

about 10 years ago for a few years and I

played a lot of poker during that time I

found out I did not like poker as a game

that much I get pretty bored with it I never

really loved poker the way I love backgam-

mon And I think there is some part of me

that loves playing games and I just picked

backgammon back up to satisfy that And

a lot of that was about MCG (Matt Cohn-

Geier) He made me more interested in the

game It helps to have a friend in the game

Iancho Irsquom sure especially if it is this

kind of friend

So what do you like to do aside from back-

gammon and work Do you have any other

hobbies You said you play poker but do

you enjoy playing or doing something else

Bill Not so much just the normal things

I have a big movie hobby I watch a lot

more movies than most people and I read

a lot of books One of my weaknesses is I

should be exercising more I used to play

basketball I should do this more because

Irsquom very sedentary these days Most of my

time off is spent on games like backgammon

or sports betting or some project involving

numbers It is always numbers

Iancho So basically you came back to

backgammon as you did not like poker

so much and you realized that you love

backgammon more so backgammon is

giving you something Can you compare

playing backgammon with anything else

That feeling

Bill Let me think for a secondhellipI noticed

it feels good to know you are becoming

pretty good at something For me I have

a challenge of trying to become one of the

top players I feel Irsquom not too far away and

I want to challenge myself to see if I can

become much better at the game Irsquom also

very fascinated by how much the game has

changed since I left it I left right as JellyFish

was produced and seeing how the game

has evolved since then has been fascinating

for me So many of the things we took for

granted were actually totally wrong

Iancho You play a lot online at Grid-

Gammon Which do you prefer live or

online play

Bill I prefer live play but unfortunately

there is just not a lot of it I play a lot online

but most of that is after a whole day of

work It is just pure relaxation I am way

too tired to think

Iancho Yes but it is still a good way to

prepare for live events hellip

Bill It is but it is not as good as organized

study You can improve some by just playing

a lot of games but I think over the last two

weeks in Denmark I learned a lot more and

grew a lot more as a player than I have in

my last several months online

Iancho What do you think is the key

Bill Well it is focus for one thing When

you play live it is just that match There is

nothing to focus on but the move in front

of you But if you are around other top

players you can exchange ideas you can

debate positions and you get an idea of

how other people are thinking about the

game and this can help you grow

Iancho Recently you were selected to

represent the World team in the Denmark

vs The World challenge What does this

mean to you

Bill Well I considered it a big honor I

felt hellip my initial reaction was that I felt

honored that I had been asked but also

I felt somewhat undeserving as there are

some players who are clearly better than I

am who were not invited So I asked Falafel

and Mochy rdquoWhat about Paul Weaver or

what about Ralf Jonas etcrdquo but it turns out

these players did not want to play this year

For me being chosen for the team mdash I love

the idea of the best players getting together

and competing against each other and I feel

that everybody grows I feel that the game

benefits It is good for the spectators the

players themselves get a lot out of it hellip It

is good for everyone And I felt privileged

to be part of that environment I feel it was

really good for my game

Iancho But exactly how do you think

they selected you

Bill My understanding of how the team

is selected is Falafel Michy Mochy and

Matt sit on top and I donrsquot think you can

find anyone who would disagree that those

four people belong on the team Those are

four of the best players in the world and

they deserve to be there Then they started

proposing names I donrsquot know how they

got to my name but I know that Falafel

and Matt know me well I donrsquot think that

Mochy and Michy knew me very well

until recently But I think that Falafel and

Matt understand that I play pretty well I

donrsquot play as well as they play but I play

pretty well

Iancho How did you prepare We know

that each year the World team runs a boot

camp just before the start of the challenge

Can you tell us please what exactly did you

do there and how you trained

Bill For me the boot camp was my favorite

part of the entire experience For a couple

of weeks leading up to Denmark you saw

Victor Petko Wells and Falalel playing

online and they were trying their best

they knew they would be playing and

they were training for the event So when

we were in Denmark we actually rented

an apartment David Wells Matt and I

stayed there And we had group training

sessions at the apartment And everyone

except Victor was there because he arrived

just the day before his event So for several

days we gathered there and played speed-

gammon doubles lot of DMPs singles

matches and everything was recorded All

the matches were taken seriously It was a

very pure backgammon experience It was

great seeing how everyonersquos mind works

And I think we all had a certain amount of

pride where you see other people playing

at a phenomenal level and you donrsquot want

to be the one guy who sucks We were all

trying to bring the best out of ourselves

and it was a very positive experience

Iancho And I also think that this year

was the first when the team was so solid

I mean that every year there is a player


who is clearly worst and is not as good as

the others mdash but this year there were no

real flaws all the players were very solid

world-class players

Bill For me what was great also was the

way everybody supported each other There

was a good sense of teamwork For example

Petko was supposed to play speedgammon

During the first few practice matches Petko

was playing pretty badly He ran out of

time a few times got some high PRs and

people got a bit worried thinking maybe

speedgammon is not a good fit for Petko

Remember though he had just gotten off a

plane across six time zones And as a team

we worked through it There was a meet-

ing to discuss possibly switching him to

another event but people were supportive

and Petko rose to the occasion and found

his stride By the end he was playing speed

matches with low 20 PRs mdash just phenom-

enal backgammon

Iancho So you think that everybody

grew as players just for those 2 weeks in

the disciplines they were about to play

Bill It is not like you can relearn backgam-

mon in a few days What it really does is

your pride kicks in and I think people can

find another level of focus All of the people

inside that room are capable of playing great

backgammon and it is just a question in

finding that level of focus and determina-

tion and I think everybody found it the

level of play was very very strong

Iancho You played in the doubles event

with David Wells Did you two play a

lot of consultation matches against other

players there

Bill The first night we played doubles

against Matt and Petko I believe and the

combined PRs were I think 16 or 17 I think

they played 9 and we 7 something crazy

(laugh) but then we slept more and the

next day started playing recorded doubles

matches against MichyMochy and Falafel

Petko We played 3 consecutive matches

under a 2 and MM played 2 matches

under a 2 It helped build confidence for

playing the Danes

Iancho But when you play doubles do

you split the tasks for example I will do

the running pip count or anything like that

Bill Well as far as pip count no but in my

opinion and I think Dave will agree we

play our best when I make the moves and

he is consulting The reason for this is that

it helps me engage by playing and touching

checkers but more importantly the person

with the dice kind of controls the ultimate

decisions and also controls the flow of the

game I know Davidrsquos game very very well

He is a brilliant backgammon player and I

know what his strengths are and what he is

weak at For instance in our match against

the Danes we were trailing 0-4 and a very

difficult cube came up We talked about it

for a long time and I was leaning towards

the pass and he was leaning towards a take

Finally the way we made the decision was

I asked Dave Do you want to bet And

I could tell by the way he said yes that he

had a lot of confidence in his opinion We

gamble with each other on a lot of things

and trust me mdash you donrsquot want to be bet-

ting against David Wells when he feels that

confident about something So it was clear

that we were going to take

Iancho Wow I like your method very

clever ) So this is kind of how you work

on Wall Street

Bill I work with a lot of models I have

a lot of computer programs that give you

numbers and things but ultimately it is my

job as a trader to know what those tools are

good for and not good for and same thing

for Dave I know my partner I know what

he is good at and what he is not good at

Iancho So basically you used what he

likes to bet on to find the right decision hellip

Bill Right we treated it like that we try

to see how confident we are by how much

money we will bet And by the way a lot

of strong players in the room thought this

was a pass Dave found a very good take

Iancho It looks like you get along very

well with David Wells What is important

in creating a good team such as yours

Bill You have to be comfortable with

each other you have to not be afraid to say

something stupid and also have to not be

overly attached to your own opinion Some

people are very good players but they are

not good doubles partners because they

think they are always right And also some


kind of too passive in speaking up and

they donrsquot effectively help their partner

find the right move

Iancho Then do you think you can make

a good team with someone you donrsquot know

Is your friendship with David important

Bill I tried to play doubles with Matt I did

not think we did very well He did not think

we did very well I think it takes some time

to play with each other to get used to it

Iancho So for sure you need to know the

person and have some experience with

them hellip So when you were there what

was your feeling Who was the player you

were most impressed by from each team

Bill Well I think that everybody from the

World team will agree that during the train-

ing session nobody was more impressive

than David Wells In the training sessions

for several days and even at the tournament

he was playing at a phenomenal level he

was just on his game Obviously Mochy

always impresses but we have come to expect

that But I think Dave showed what he is

capable of On the Danish team Sander

was special When you get good enough

at the game you can spot talent right away

mdash and he has a crazy amount of talent

Also Thomas Kristensen impressed me a

lot mdash especially in the doubles He is very

clear thinking and open to his partnerrsquos

ideas He was playing the checkers for the

team consultation and the way he led the

discussion mdash I was very impressed by the

way he conducted himself He is a student

of the game and overall his play is very

strong I liked everything about him If he

ever needs backing in a high stakes game

I hope he calls me

Iancho Would you like to attend the event

next year as well

Bill Since I was right on the cusp of being

in it is my job over the next year to get

better and to earn my spot on the team

But yes I would like to play

Iancho And maybe next year you would

like to play singles or speed I think you

will be very suitable for speed

Bill The first goal is just to be good enough

to make the team

Iancho In the July-August 2014 edition

of PrimeTime magazine Mochy told us the

story of how you met Matt It looks like after

that you became very good friends Could

you say a few words about him

Bill Letrsquos see hellip he is a super sweet kid

and very smart I liked him right away

and I guess I feel some paternal instinct

toward Matt We are good friends but I

also feel protective of him like a mentor

in some way

We talk every day by instant messaging

he comes to visit me in NY frequently

and we travel to tournaments I value that

backgammon is only a small piece of our

friendship In my opinion in the last few

years I have seen Matt really grow he is

finding his voice and coming into his own

I like that I have gotten to watch that and

I feel proud of him

Iancho From your posts in the forums it

is obvious you like numbers What do you

think is the best way to compare playersrsquo

strength

Bill Obviously PR is the best measure

However I think something is missing from

the way we currently look at it which is

the component of how the opponent plays

against you Because it is possible to steer

games towards complexity and if you do

that you are going to raise your PR but you

will also raise your opponentrsquos PR And what

matters of course is having the maximum

spread between the PRs Letrsquos take Mike

Senkiewicz for instance he is possibly the

greatest player in the history of the game

I have played with him online and his PR

is not the lowest but he plays to increase

complexity in his games and I think it is

quite possible that he makes everyone play

a little bit worse My PR after 25 matches is

higher than my average PR and it would

not surprise me if everybodyrsquos PR is a bit

higher when they play him

Iancho What is your own PR

Bill Seems to be about 385

Iancho Can you explain to all our readers

who try very hard to achieve this level what

does it take to achieve a world-class level

or letrsquos say around 4 on average


Bill Well when you see natural players like

Sander and Abe Mosseri what strikes me

about them is that they have a positional

sense of where the checkers belong and

understand various structures I think

a good way to learn is to answer some

strategically important questions like

When are you slotting or splitting When

are you trying for a priming game When

are you trying for a blitz or a race This

is how beginners should start and then

you begin to refine over time into more

complex positions

I know some people will give lessons and

part of the package will be ldquowhat is your

doubling windowrdquo ldquowhat is your take-point

at the scorerdquo and I will say that if you are

a beginner intermediate or even a low-

level Open player you might do well to

totally ignore that mdash because what is really

important about the game is what is going

on in this position and how to address key

elements of the game strategically For

instance in the World final match when

we were leading 120 to 17 we asked each

other what is the match equity -5 away -17

away Nobody on the team knew and the

reason that nobody knew is that honestly it

is not that important As long as you can get

a reasonably accurate approximation that

is good enough Just making plays that are

reasonably close and avoiding 200 errors

will get you a long way in backgammon

If I were an intermediate player trying to

get good I would play over the matches of

top players I would want to find out why

Irsquom thinking this and they are thinking

that and then check XG and find who was

right and try to discover what was going on

with each decision Try to find the thought

process behind the moves

I also think people learn differently so if

you are not a numbers person donrsquot try to

force yourself to become one Falafel for

example can barely count pips You can

still become one of the best players in the

world even with that kind of weakness It

is really about strategic understanding of

the game

Iancho You said that now you average

around 38 What level do you aim to

achieve

Bill I think I have 33 in me I think if I

work hard it is kind of realistic to be a low

3rsquos player If I just quit doing the dumb stuff

I think I can get to 33 easily

Iancho So talking about 3s who do you

think is the best player in the world now

Bill I donrsquot know hellip I donrsquot know It is

Falafel Mochy and Matt and among the

players who are not that active Gus and

Sander and from that pool of 5 you can

debate I guess

Iancho You are known as a very open and

straightforward person You often speak

directly even when people donrsquot like it you

get into debates in the forums and you

are never afraid to separate yourself from

the crowd to express your opinion Often

people talk about something or someone

privately but they are afraid to say it pub-

licly and I think that if there were more

people like you it would be better for the

community What does it take to be like

you in this closed backgammon society

Bill (Laugh)You will see Irsquom not posting

that much anymore and there is a reason

I was maybe idealistic and naiumlve I thought

that if I just expressed my opinion and

tried to be fair and logical and fact-based

other people would join me and together

we would find the way to the truth But

actually what happened was a lot of people

got defensive and took things personally I

found myself disappointed in many people

in the backgammon community and I found

that posting wasnrsquot particularly construc-

tive So I stopped

Iancho Can you tell us the sickest story

of your gambling life

Bill Ah this is an easy one Irsquove been

looking for the opportunity mdash this is such

a good story this is the luckiest Irsquove ever

been in any gambling activity So was

playing at Mike Svobodnys tournament in

Cancunhellip I donrsquot remember the entry fee

is $5000 or $10000 so I was playing the

first round against Christian Toth who is

a good player from Brazil who was there

with his family He is a very nice man and

his family is very very nice I was playing

that match and he got a big lead I donrsquot

remember all the details but it was a long

match (15 points) and Irsquom down something

like 13 to 6 and a game comes up where

I have an ace-point game and if he gam-

mons me he wins the match We reach a

position where he has taken 14 men off and

I have a shot at his last checker I have to

roll a 1 to hit then to try to contain him (I

had absolutely no forward position) Well

I miss the shot and the people watching

start to congratulate him his family and

friends etc And I had to be the jerk who

says ldquowait wait you can roll 11 and then

I can hit you etc hellip and I made him roll

Sure enough he rolled 11 I hit him I won

that game and then I won all the remain-

ing games to win the match Then I went

on to win first place and $125000 At the

point where I made him roll my equity in

the tourney was something like $5 And

somehow I turned that into $125000 Very

lucky And he was such a gentleman I was

very impressed the way he took the loss

Iancho Tell us something that people

donrsquot know about you

Bill Maybe that I exist))) Maybe that in

my 20s I went to massage school I lived

in the mountains I was a vegetarian who

had long hair and I did not eat meat for

10 years mdash basically the whole alternative

lifestyle and now Irsquom on Wall Street with

short hair wearing suits and things

Iancho Usually people do that in the

other direction hellip Do you miss that kind

of lifestyle now

Bill Yes I do it is still part of me

Iancho Ok now letrsquos go 30 years back in

time Would you change anything about

your life 30 years back Ok letrsquos say 40

what did you want to be when you were

a kid

Bill I wanted to go into psychology I

think it would have been a good fit and

I actually kind of regret not doing some-

thing more people-involved Everybody

has some regrets but in the big picture I

did pretty well So no I would not really

change anything hellip

Iancho Do you feel you can challenge the

top players in the world and be in the top

10 in the Giants list for example

Bill No I think that best players in the

world are better than I am I have played

them I know their PRs I know the amount

Irsquom expected to lose but you knowhellipMochy

and Falafel and these guys are better than

I am but I still play them and take it as a

challenge If I get to the Giants list it will

be nice but I also think that would not

measure how good a player I am anyway

You can tell who the best players are from

who wants to play and who does not want

to play you

Iancho Ok now we said that after the

Nordic you have been very motivated to

work hard and improve that you can get to

33 In the next few years if you can do this

do you see yourself in the top 5 or top 10

Bill Probably I think probably I think

it will be hard to find 10 players who are

playing below 33 on average and are active

Iancho I agree maybe less hellip are you

The Wolf of Wall Street72 USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

willing to take this road

Bill I donrsquot know As long as things are

interesting and fun for me Irsquom planning

to do that It also depends on other things

as backgammon is just a hobby

Iancho When you lose in a tournament

do you get upset or depressed Or does

this motivate you to work even harder

Bill Honestly winning or losing mdash I could

care less It is about playing well or poorly

Playing poorly is the thing that bothers me

It bothers me because mdash letrsquos face it Irsquom

now over 50 years old Mentally Irsquom going

to be getting worse as I get older so Irsquom

motivated to stay sharp I hang around with

MCG a 27-year-old kid who is mentally

very sharp and his memory is very good

It motivates me to stay sharp because I

remember myself at 27 and I am fighting

to try to keep up So honestly I donrsquot care

about winning or losing but I do have

pride and I care if I play badly I care if I

embarrass myself

Iancho Are there any things you donrsquot

like about the current rules of the game

tournaments or something you would

like to change

Bill Ok first I donrsquot like the Last Chance I

think it is quite crazy to make people show

up on Sunday when many do not want

to be there (or at least not there playing

short matches for small amounts of prize

money) Also I think the game should move

into the technology age It is starting to do

that but the more matches we can get on

the Internet the more opportunities for

people to play online mdash the better for the

game For me it is ridiculous that after so

many years of running events we have

not learned how to manage them All the

delays all this waiting the whole LC thing

is ridiculous people waiting and sitting for

2 hours for their match I think we should

keep the clocks Speedgammon is another

interesting thing to do

Iancho What is your favorite tournament

venue Director Why

Bill NY Metro It is close to home I can

sleep in my own bed The venue is gorgeous

and a lot of old school players like Senk

and Kent Goulding show up

Iancho How do you think the game can

grow and especially the USBGF What

are your ideas

Bill Any TV time would be great any

internet time the way all the matches from

the Nordic were posted on YouTube the

Falafel commentary mdash those are all great

things for the game

Iancho Do you read PrimeTime maga-

zine

Bill Yes every edition )

Iancho What are your future backgammon

goals ) What would you like to achieve

Bill Hopefully if things work all right

I should be retired in 2 years and I will

have a lot more free time to go to more

tournaments In the next year or two Irsquom

planning to go to Chicago maybe Monte

Carlo San Antonio Nordic I want to go

to events which attract other top players

I like that competition

- IANCHO HRISTOV

About IanchoIancho Hristov shown with his dog

Sunny fresh from a dip in the sea is a rising Bulgarian backgammon star He has won 20 or so trophies including the Porto Caras in Greece in 2012 and the doubles event with Petko Kostadinov at the North

Cyprus Open in 2014 His analy-sis of player performance ratings of GridGammon online matches has spurred interest in worldwide player rankings based on quantitative metrics ndash not just opinion of peers

Mobile The power of eXtreme Gammon in the palm of your hands

eXtreme Gammon is now available on your Android device iPhone and iPad

Play with instant feedback using the Tutor Mode

Setup a position and analyze it using the same engine than XG desktop (up to 3-ply)

Games are saved and can be emailed for a full analyze in XG

2 player mode use XG Mobile as a portable board

High Quality Graphics

Track your Progress results and dice statistics

iOS

wwwxg-mobilecom

US

BG

FB

GS

HO

P

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Transparent Baffle Box with Etched USBGF Circular Logo by Phil Simborg A USBGF BG Shop exclusive Absolutely gorgeous transparent baffle box with the beautiful USBGF logo etched on the front

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A single baffle box purchase ships FREE within the USA International purchases will be credited with a $700 shipping discount at checkout

usbgforgshop

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er B

alle

t G

olde

n Ja

pane

se K

oirsquo b

y M

artin

a Ra

thge

ns

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

rivie

ra20

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6246

1

Lice

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0


Lots of FishSome Totally Raw Some

slightly NaiumlveBy Jake Jacobs

I have been attending the Japan Open

since back in the last Millennium I

have only missed two or three over

the years but I decided to miss this one

There were a number of reasons for doing

so but here is the best one I was putting

the finishing touches on my book

Yes I have a new book out The Battered

Butterfly This one I started working on

around the time of my first Japan Open

When I went to work full time overseas ten

years ago it was put on a shelf awaiting a

final polish Then two years ago an editor

pried loose a copy He was eager to get it

in print but his publisher cancelled the

house fiction line So I did it myself with

a little help from some paid consultants

who designed my cover The print version

is available through Amazon Amazon

UK and Amazon Europe the Kindle

edition through Amazon Reviews have

been enthusiastic

Meanwhile despite the demands of this

project events were tugging me Tokyo-

ward Carter Mattig was going to Tokyo

Carter who had traveled halfway around

the world hacking his way through the

Thai jungle to serve as best man at my

wedding then hacking his way through

his own arm trying to prove how adept

he was at opening beer And from Phil

Simborg came word that he was bringing

a number of his students which in turn

seems to have prompted a horde of foreign

players to tag along

Actual conversation between two of the

naiumlfs while in Tokyo

Player One ldquoAfter she tried to run me and

my mother over with the car I had to sit on

her for twenty minutes until the paramedics

showed up with restraintsrdquo

Player Two ldquoThatrsquos nothingrdquo

In good conscience how could I let guys

like that loose in Roppongi without being

there to chaperone them

I neednrsquot have worried I was the only one

who managed to get lost The night before

the tournament Akiko Yazawa Japanrsquos

third World Champion of the past five

years was feted at a party at Argento Aso

a Michelin-starred restaurant in Ginza Itrsquos

a place I have been to several times and on

this go-round I even had a Google map

But after circling the block all I managed

to find was Roberto Litzenberger Luckily

Japanese people are incredibly helpful mdash

and Ginza is chock-full of Japanese people

We asked a local touting one of the area

nightclubs if he knew where the restaurant

was mdash and with the combination of my

map and his knowledge of the area we only

had to circle the block twice more before

Roberto spotted a sign I should explain

that the restaurant was on the eighth floor

of an office building and its sign was a

small plaque in a vestibule near an eleva-

tor practically around the corner from the

street But at least it was in English

You can see some of the lights of Ginza

through the drapes behind Kenji Shimod-

aira On the mike offering a toast to Akiko

is Masaki Takemiya Before Takemiya took

up backgammon he earned a 9-dan ranking

in Go along with two world championships

He is a decent backgammon player and

would be better than that mdash but his current

competitive passion is ballroom dancing

This fellow is some sort of performance

artist I am told he is very famous the

BALANCING ACTFamous Japanese performance

artist pours champagne from a bottle on his head

AKIKO HONOREDGo champion Masaki Takemiya offers a toast to backgammon World Champion Akiko Yazawa

Lots of Fish Some Totally Raw Some Slightly Naiumlve

JAK

E JA

CO

BS


Japanese all recognized him He placed a

bottle on top of his head and then refilled

Akikorsquos glass by bowing to her He also

spilled some on her He then balanced a

can on its rim where it stayed until people

tried tapping the table to see what would

happen It also spilled By then Keiko the

magician was ready with her act

That isnrsquot Keiko thatrsquos her son He is already

as adept as some professionals I have seen

so you can imagine how good his mom is

HALLOWEEN IN JAPANIt sometimes seems that every day is Halloween in Japan but as you see from the decorations outside the restaurant downstairs in Shidax Tower the official holiday was approaching

MAGIC VIRTUOSITYThe festivities included a magic act by Keikos son

FOLLOW THE SIGNThe tournament was upstairs via an interior elevator this sign points the way

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 1

Othello Quiz Black to play 64

Another year another Othello Quiz Each

year ten fresh problems are posted on

the entry wall along with pencils answer

blanks and a box into which to drop your

choices Players are on the honor system

since you may enter as late as Sunday night

at the end of the second day of play No

one has ever taken advantage Irsquoll reveal

the answer at the end of the article For

those who would like to try the entire quiz

yoursquoll find it on Othello Itikawas website

Lots of Fish Some Totally Raw Some Slightly Naiumlve Lots of Fish Some Totally Raw Some Slightly Naiumlve

fileC|UsersuserDesktopPositionhtm[152015 104017 AM]

is Player 2

score 0pip 160


pip 167score 0

is Player 1XGID=-b----E-C---dE---bbe----B-00152003010

to play 52


4490 (G1142 B048)5510 (G1596 B064) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0226-0211) - [1000]


4337 (G1223 B070)5663 (G1713 B114) Conf plusmn 0011 (-0295-0273) - [00]

3 XG Roller++ 138 64 eq -0324 (-0106)PlayerOpponent

4246 (G1075 B044)5754 (G1736 B104)

4 XG Roller++ 136 eq -0357 (-0139)PlayerOpponent

4129 (G1059 B044)5871 (G1723 B083)



eXtreme Gammon Version 210

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3

4th Backgammon Proficiency Test Black to play 52

Now try Position 3 Your choices are a)

2422 138 b) 138 1311 c) 138 64

d) 136

It is the second roll of the game shouldnrsquot

we all know the right play As it happens I

know a couple of general principles posited

by pros positive that they know profound

things about precocious positions One

is that you usually prefer to mimic the

opponentrsquos strategy If you mentally clas-

sify some positions as defensive others as

offensive then if he chooses offense so do

you and vice versa That is if he plays an

opening 21 by slotting and you roll 21 you

slot If he splits you split Second I have

seen learned lore warning that if he opens

with 61 you should not split because that

would give him options with numbers that

might otherwise play awkwardly

Or so I heard back when everyone was

rolling the openings out 128000 times

on 5-ply gargantuan space Today I sup-

pose they are busy rolling them all out

128000000 times on 13-ply hyperspace

and we will find out that Bruce Becker

was right after all Meanwhile I had two

perfectly good principles that both pointed

the same way 1311 138 But no (sigh)

it is correct to splitJA

KE

JAC

OB

S


Another quiz awaited me that morning

Actually it was a full-blown test the 4th

Backgammon Proficiency Test Maestros

Mochy and Michy created it Takers have

one hour to answer fifty questions covering

all aspects of the game Unlike the Othello

Quiz which is known for fiendishly dif-

ficult plays the test tries to confine itself

to bread-and-butter plays with sections

covering early game middle game and

end game checker plays and cube decisions

Some are very easy

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2

4th Backgammon Proficiency Test

Playing as safely as possible how many rolls will force Black to leave a shot It is multiple choice with any number from eight to twelve

available The answer is twelve 13 15 35 36 44 56 and 66 Easy isnrsquot it

GEOGRAPHY QUIZPlayers were encouraged to place a red dot to show where they came from Can you guess which of those is mine Can you guess the locations of all three



is Player 2

score 3pip 139

11 point match

pip 91score 7

is Player 1XGID=aBBBaBBAB---b-a-AbAdb-b---001557301110

to play 55

1 XG Roller++ 188 166 eq +1515PlayerOpponent

8786 (G5403 B049)1214 (G079 B003)

2 XG Roller++ 183 1611 eq +1471 (-0044)PlayerOpponent

8650 (G5238 B045)1350 (G104 B004)

3 XG Roller++ 188 1611 72 eq +1459 (-0056)PlayerOpponent

8772 (G4714 B035)1228 (G069 B002)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 139 Michihito Kageyama4-Away

8-Away Jake JacobsPip 91

Position 4

Black (Jake Jacobs) to play 55

I drew Michy in the first round of the Super

Jackpot I didnrsquot play well but here was a

bright spot How should I play 55

I chose 188 166 leaving a 43 Michy rolled

a 43 Now what

There was some discussion afterward I had

decided before playing 55 that my play was

clearly better than 188 1611 72 unless

he rolled 43 If he did roll 43 I would cube

and it would be up to him to decide if he

should take My play proved 5 better and

I have a strong double after he rolls 43 He

did correctly take but I went on to win the

match only to lose in the second round to

Robin Swaffield


Later I won a first-round fifteen-point

match in the Open and then at ten was

off to Fukumoto Sushi Fukumoto was

recently on Japanese television and it

is in the Michelin Guide so it isnrsquot quite

under the radar But it is in a residential

neighborhood twenty minutes by taxi from

Shibuya heading away from town and is in

a basement beneath a dental practice Kenji

was able to book the entire restaurant for

our party and with so many neophytes in

JAK

E JA

CO

BS


If you are guessing I did not score well on this yearrsquos quiz you are correct I got more than half right and had very good excuses for a

couple of others (That is if mismarking an answer and not noticing it counts as a ldquogood excuserdquo)

MUSHROOMSYou thought I was kidding about those mushrooms Yama-moto is a happy winner

MYSTERIOUS EVENTSThere are lots of mysterious events There are events for ladies and events for gents events for youngsters and events for not-so-youngsters events where the prizes are mush-rooms and events where the play-ers are mushrooms Stick with the basics the Super Jackpot the Open the Doubles and if you are knocked out early the special jackpots

MEET KENJI EAT SUSHIKenji gives sushi eating

lessons at Fukumoto



is Player 2

score 2pip 149

15 point match

pip 145score 10

is Player 1XGID=-a---BCBBA--fCA--b-cb-a--A001D10201510

on roll cube action


Cubeful EquitiesNo double +0363DoubleTake -0100 (-0463)DoublePass +1000 (+0637)

Best Cube action No double TakePercentage of wrong pass needed to make the double decision right 296


6

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 149 Jake Jacobs13-Away

5-Away Robin SwaffieldPip 145

Position 5

Black (Robin Swaffield) doubles to 2

If there is such a thing as a ldquoscore beaverrdquo

this would qualify But I have found that

two qualities of tournament winners are

aggression mdash and really good dice Robin

had the dice ndash and as this cube indicates

was not hesitant about doubling

I lost 15-2 and when my consolation match

rolled around was knocked out by Yuri

Nakamura Yuri is one of the younger play-

ers She is around twenty or twenty-one

which is impressive especially when you

realize she has been coming to the Japan

Open as long as I have (She wasnrsquot playing

Open back in 1999 but still hellip)

Once again it was time for dinner

If you play in Japan you will notice the JBL

backgammon boards advertise ldquoMogami

Restaurantrdquo Kazuko Numazawa owns sev-

eral restaurants by that name which offer

kushiage a type of Japanese cooking you

seldom find outside Japan I once described

it as ldquoHush-Puppyingrdquo anything you could

skewer Items are placed on thin wooden

sticks covered with breading and fried

There is a plate with dipping sauces before

you and when the waiters serve the skewers

they position them so that the base of the

skewer points to the sauce you should use

By Monday afternoon the finals were in

progress World Champion Nevzat Dogan

of Denmark defeated Masahiko Nasu in

the Super Jackpot There was an upset in

the Consolation Pat Gibson Los Angelesrsquos

long-time tournament director led Lon-

donrsquos Jysen Quah 7-1 to 9 when his time

ran out Pat said that he didnrsquot notice that

he was in trouble

The finals of the main saw Mick Dyett of

Australia squaring off against Robin Swaf-

field (As both of them run clubs it meant

that three of the four main and consolation

finalists were club directors)

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 164 Mick Dyett14-Away


Position 6

Black (Robin Swaffield) to play 55

JAK

E JA

CO

BS


the crowd he asked Mr Fukumoto to make it a ldquoTuna Paradiserdquo

by scoring the best tuna to be had at Tsukiji Market It was that It

was more than that One bite and you expected Poseidon himself

to appear and snatch back the rest

I won some matches the next day but then met Robin Swaffield

once again in the round of sixteen




is Player 2

score 3pip 164

17 point match

pip 204score 0

is Player 1XGID=-a--BaC-a---cE--bb-eA-AAB-001550301710

to play 55


5180 (G1579 B097)4820 (G1562 B120)

2 XG Roller++ 138(2) 83(2) eq -0005 (-0116)PlayerOpponent

4834 (G1378 B078)5166 (G1378 B070)

3 XG Roller++ 2010 138(2) eq -0044 (-0155)PlayerOpponent

4829 (G1259 B064)5171 (G1530 B093)


4802 (G1152 B051)5198 (G1353 B071)


Mick took the early lead and Robinrsquos choice of 238 138 was a blunder here Correct is 205 138 But Robin was not to be stopped

this weekend and went on to win the match


is Player 2

score 0pip 158

7 point match

pip 131score 5

is Player 1XGID=--BaBbDB----bC--bbbbbB----00164500710

to play 64

1 XG Roller++ 2111 eq -0613PlayerOpponent

3863 (G1339 B042)6137 (G1371 B052)


3612 (G1103 B025)6388 (G1277 B047)


3541 (G946 B016)6459 (G1239 B042)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 7


Now its time to reveal the answer to the

Othello Quiz from Position 1

Othello gets his problems from his own

matches He includes the original score

whether it matters or not which adds a

level of complexity We are accustomed to

seeing quiz problems and telling ourselves

ldquoAha this hinges on that scorerdquo But in an

Othello Quiz maybe it does and maybe it

doesnrsquot If this were a money game I would

shrug my shoulders and run 2111 Black is

running out of time and if you donrsquot want

to run the other option would seem to be

hitting What does hitting accomplish Letrsquos

suppose you hit and White fans are you

doubling Are you even close to doubling

Of course not In other words sometimes

you are hit back and that is very bad The

rest of the time you arenrsquot hit back and

yoursquove gained little or nothing But leading

5-0 to 7 perhaps you need to play super

safe Could 137 62 be right

No it isnrsquot You should shrug your shoulders

and play 2111

There was still one more meal to be eaten


SWAFFIELD WINSHong Kongs Robin Swaffield brings it home defeating Austral-ian Mick Dyett in the final

MCG GETS A MEDALThatrsquos Matt Cohn-Geier receiving a medal from Mochy for scoring

910 on the Othello Quiz


JAK

E JA

CO

BS


ONE MORE MEALThirty-six stories above Tokyo as may be seen through the windows in the background high atop the ANA Intercontinental Hotel in Akasaka Carter Mattig Mick Dyett and Phil Simborg are ready for teppanyaki

LEGENDARY KOBE BEEFMagnificent dinner of

Japanese Kobe beef

Perhaps you have heard stories of Kobe

beef the beef from legendary Japanese

cattle that are fed a diet of beer and receive

daily massages to make the meat as tender

as possible If you look closely I think you

can see the masseusersquos fingerprints

All of the innocents made it home after all

mdash some a little wealthier all a bit heavier

but all safely home And after weighing me

shrugging their shoulders and crossing their

fingers Singapore Airlines let me board I

returned home too

- JAKE JACOBS

About JakeJake Jacobs is a member of the

USBGF Board of Governors and serves on its Education Committee He is a prolific writer well-known to those in the backgammon commu-nity for his wit and insight He also manages interconnected compa-nies in Singapore and Japan Mr Jacobs spends a lot of time in Tokyo but lives in Singapore with his wife Khampha and daughter Sasithon


FRO

M T

OP

JA

KE

JAC

OB

S J

AKE

JA

CO

BS P

ATR

ICK

GIB

SON

tough middle-game checker playExclusive USBGF Teaching VideoBy Phil Simborg USBGF Teaching Pro

Video Lesson USBGF resident Teaching Pro

Phil Simborg has been creat-

ing videos covering just about

every aspect of the game you can imagine

He does anywhere from 1 to 3 a week and

is often joined by guest lecturers to offer

their insights into these checker and cube

decisions

Phil has created over

100 videos thus far

and all can be viewed

by going to usbgforgcategorybg-prob-

lemsvideo Most of Phils videos are from

10 to 25 minutes long but here is a short

5-minute sample of the kind of wonderful

insights you can gain from these videos

Phil is a full-time professional backgammon

teacher and lecturer and has given private

lessons to more than 300 students all over

the world via the Internet In addition

Phil is an adviser to our Education Com-

mittee and has started backgammon clubs

at elementary high schools and colleges

throughout the country and he donates free

lessons and seminars to students on behalf

of the USBGF Phil encourages members

to become sponsors of clubs and mentors

of children locally and he will help you

get started provide backgammon boards

on consignment and help with teaching

materials For more information contact

Phil at pjsimborggmailcom

- PHIL SIMBORG

To be able to view this video you must have Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader installed and set as the default PDF viewer in your browser Internet Explorer does this by default Chrome and Firefox users should see Adobe Acrobat Help for complete Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader plug-in configuration instructions

PHIL SIMBORGPhil Simborg was honored at the 2013 London Open for being the No 1 contributor to the game worldwide He is the USBGF Teaching Pro and Manager of the USBGF Facebook page as well as being a highly ranked tournament player and the leading lecturer on the US Tour

KA

REN

DA

VIS


The 2nd Merit Open held in Kyre-

nia North Cyprus from October

29 to November 2 was the peak

experience of my 20+-year backgammon

career I would therefore like first and

foremost to thank the organizers and the

backgammon community for making it

happen What remains is that we resolve

to learn enough from this success story to

ensure that events like this one will become

the norm rather than the exception Then

we can talk about an official acceptance of

backgammon similar to the ldquonoblerdquo game

of chess

Not only was the Merit Open beautifully

organized it was huge Some 325 play-

ers from 33 countries put the lie to the

grumblings we have heard in recent years

about the ldquodeclinerdquo of backgammon Both

the Merit Park Casino and WBF went to

great lengths to keep the players happy

comfortable mdash and well fed The opening

and prize-giving ceremonies were fabu-

lous As the winner Katsios put it North

Cyprus was a ldquobackgammon paradiserdquo

Before presenting some pictures from the

tournament I would like to stress again

that with proper planning we should be

able to recreate this paradise over and over

again More is better

In the Championship flight Athanasios

Katsios (Greece) emerged from a field of

235 players to win the tournament Hen-

rik Veje (Denmark) was second In the

Intermediate flight a 16-year-old Zdenek

Zizka of the Czech Republic beat out 70

other competitors The Doubles event was

huge mdash 104 teams mdash and was won by two

German experts Volker Sonnabend and

Rainer Witt 32 players put up 1000 euros

each for the Super Jackpot won by Steen

Groslashnbech (Denmark) As an indication

of how much the Turkish players have

improved three of them mdash Cuumlneyt Argun

Genccedil Atila Malccedilok and Guumlltekin Uygur mdash

reached the top eight of the Championship

flight The complete results may be found

on pages 109-110 in this current issue of

PrimeTime Backgammon magazine

2nd merit open Showed the Way

By Sabri Buumlyuumlksoy

2nd Merit Open Showed the Way

IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE


Akiko and Massoud

Athanasios Katsios (Greece) won the tournament

Championship 4th place Cuumlneyt Argun Genccedil (Turkey)

Ladies finalist Eva Zizkova (Czech Republic) at left and the winner Scarlett Serrero (France)

Part of the huge tournament team

Draw time

It is wonderful when four birth-days are also added to the celebration

16-year-old talent Zdeněk Žižka who won the Intermediate category at his first tournament

- SABRI BUumlYUumlKSOY

01

04

02

05

07

03

06

08

07

08

01

02

03

04

05 06

2nd Merit Open Showed the Way 2nd Merit Open Showed the Way

IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

ŞEB

NEM

BUuml

YUuml

KSO

Y


By Linda Rockwell

illinois statechampionships

BIGGEST LOSERKeene Marin loved being the Biggest Loser with the worst roll in the Zombie Zeroes free roll

CHUCK WINS THE PRAIRIE CLASSICChuck Bower receives his Prairie Classic trophy

SKELETAL STAFFBone-weary staff made sure everyone had a frighteningly fun time

The CD ldquoSounds of Horrorrdquo

greeted players on October 10

as they arrived for the Illinois State

Backgammon Championships weekend in

Peoria The Halloween-themed tourna-

ment highlighted new ghosts and goblins

amongst this yearrsquos decorations Attendees

were each provided a pumpkin stress ball

to help alleviate their fear

Fridayrsquos Prairie Classic warm-up event

attracted its usual full field of 32 The iconic

American Eagle trophy was won by for-

mer Indiana University professor Chuck

Bower Illinoisan Chris Scott was Chuckrsquos

final victim

On Saturday morning guest lecturer F

Raykenstein (who bore a striking resem-

blance to Ray Fogerlund) shared several

terrifying situations from past matches

and emphasized the importance of ldquonot

being afraid of sudden deathrdquo by making

the right play The Calcutta auction festivi-

ties featured a Halloween costume contest

where the pirate (Eric Barr) swashbuckled

a victory away from Santa Claus (Joe Potts)

Additional entries included a Chicago sewer

engineer (Bill Davis) and Keene Marin as

hellip himself

Players proved that their hearts could be

as big as their cube errors when it came to

supporting one of our own Julius High

was the winning bidder for a spectacular

backgammon-patterned quilt handmade

by Grand Rapids seamstress Karen Drexel

with proceeds benefitting nurse Mary Ann

Meesersquos medical mission to Haiti Nearly

two dozen additional players contributed to

the fund with a total of more than $1100

raised Thank you to all who supported

this worthy cause

A lively new competition this year was

ldquoZombie Zeroes LOST Chancerdquo This ldquofree

rollrdquo event was open to players in all divi-

sions who lost their first two main event

matches The seventeen qualifying losers

were given a free roll - a scrumptious cin-

namon roll fresh-baked at a local bakery

mdash and a chance to roll the lowest possible

number to be the ldquobiggest loserrdquo A hot finals

tie-breaker for the worst roll between Open

Illinois State Championships94 95USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L

F RAYKENSTEINRays lectures have never been more spell-binding

Illinois State ChampionshipsIllinois State Championships

veteran Georgina Flanagan Mickrsquos son

David and daughter Mary competed in the

Novice division with David reaching the

finals but falling to Michigander Amber

McLean (David did come out on top in the

Peoria Quickies 2) Peoriarsquos own Cinda

King won the Advanced Consolation with

Larry Whittenberg capturing Last Chance

Giant Petko Kostadinov scored a Land of

Lincoln Masters victory over David Todd

(from the ldquoShow Me (the money)rdquo state of

Missouri) An all-Wisconsin Doubles final

resulted in the ldquomarried teamrdquo of Bill Minser

and Beth Martinson over the ldquofriends teamrdquo

of Keene Marin and Vadim Nuniyants The

Midstate Microblitz winner was Faddoul

Khoury (Sean Garber was second) and the

Peoria Quickies champion was Scott Day

The tournament staff of Sue Will Mary

Ann Meese Butch Meese and Tournament

Director Linda Rockwell is grateful to all

who made the trip to central Illinois Be sure

to rev up your broom and head to Peoria

on October 2-4 for another frighteningly

fun weekend

- LINDA ROCKWELL

player Keene Marin and Novice player Bijie

Zhu resulted in Keene rolling a total of a

7 using four dice (three 2s and a 1) Keene

drowned his biggest loser sorrow with the

grand prize a 175 ml bottle of Jack Daniels

The tradition begun last year of providing

the Giants of Backgammon with their own

private tables and special amenities was

retained Giants Malcolm Davis Petko

Kostadinov and Ray Fogerlund showed their

appreciation of the service with gentlemanly

behavior and top-notch play

The weekendrsquos winners ranged from the

veteran to the up-and-coming Master

board designer Tak Morioka collected his

second Illinois State Championship Divi-

sion victory over seasoned competitor Don

Marek The Consolation flight was won by

Grand Dame Wendy Kaplan with youngster

Vadim Nuniyants capturing Last Chance

First-timer to Peoria Mick Zakrajsek wrested

the Advanced Division title from Chicago

HALLOWEEN SPIRITCinda King winner of Advanced Consolation and Peoria player Ed Zell got into the Halloween spirit


LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L

FITCHBURG mdash The world of com-

petitive backgammon is small mdash a

core group of players flying around

the country meeting for weekend tourna-

ments at airport hotels

The top-ranked player in the US Backgam-

mon Federation knows the competition

Its tough to be great and fly under the

radar Frank Raposa said When I travel

I know everyone

His goal is to hold the title for the rest of

the year and be named the player of the

year in the American Backgammon Tour

There are some very good players out there

and quite a few tournaments to go before

the year is over

Raposa a 2002 Fitchburg High School

graduate started playing the game as a child

Its a family thing he said

The Raposas live in the apartment building

in the Greektown neighborhood of Fitch-

burg that his great-grandfather Nicholas

G Maravell bought in 1912

Backgammon has been part of the family

since Maravell who emigrated from Greece

taught his family how to play the game

His descendants grew up using the board

the carpenter carved

His daughter Raposas grandmother bought

backgammon boards for all the men in the

family Her daughter Raposas mother

occasionally adds to the trove of boards in

the bottom shelf of a living-room bookcase

At first backgammon was a way for Raposa

to spend time with his brothers Later while

enrolled at Clark University it was a way

to refresh his mind

After earning a degree in government and

international relations Raposa moved to

the Washington DC area with his cousin

There he discovered a backgammon club

The popularity of the game has diminished

since it peaked in the 1970s and the play-

ers mostly men over 50 welcomed the

younger man

They taught me a lot he said Before I

knew it I was playing 30 hours a week

For the last two years Raposa has been

Player of the Year at the Beltway Backgam-

mon Club They call him The Kid

New technology plays a big part in helping

players develop skills Using computer bots

makes polishing backgammon strategies as

effective as learning a language as a baby

Raposa said

A world champion of 40 years ago would

probably be crushed by an average inter-

mediate he said

Backgammon is a game where players eke

out the best positive expected value he

said adding that probability plays a big

part in planning a game

Art is also part of it said Raposa who says

he is not a numbers guy He thinks in

terms of controlling the board

Backgammon is a part-time job He comes

home with enough cash prizes to cover

travel expenses

Right now in the ABT he is placed ahead of

world champion Mochy Mochizuki who

travels to the US for Japan to compete in

the USBGF tournaments

The world tournament is in Monte Carlo

this year Raposa is not planning to go but

hopes to compete in the worlds in the future

By day Raposa is an administrator at the

Pan American Health Organization the

Latin American branch of the World Health

Organization of the United Nations He

lives in Arlington Va

Raposa says he knows almost everybody

he plays but not always from tournaments

In Chicago he sat across from a local com-

petitor and they introduced themselves

Steve Blanchard recognized the name

The businessman went to Fitchburg High

School with Raposas father Joe Raposa

Raposa would like to see younger players

Im willing to help anyone thats willing

to learn he said

Be warned though Backgammon can

become addictive Raposa recently sat

outside and played from 8 pm until 11

am the next day

Its a lot of fun he said

copy 2014 Sentinel amp Enterprise All rights

reserved Reproduced with the permission

of Digital First Media

By Anne OConnor Correspondent

Fitchburgs Kidis No 1 at backgammon in US


FRANK RAPOSAFrank Raposa has already made his mark as the 2 player on the 2014 American Backgammon Tour standings

Zdeněk ŽižkaInternational Backgammon StarBy Karen Davis

QampAZdeněk Žižka the talented 16-year-

old son of Eva Zizkova is already

an international backgammon

star In October at his first international

tournament he won the Intermediate

Division (71 entrants) of the Merit Open in

Cyprus Zdeněk also plays a lot on the net

this year he entered 19 USBGF online tour-

naments winning the Masters Divisional

IV event where he defeated San Francisco

Backgammon by the Bay director Ted Chee

top German player Frank Simon North

Carolina math professor Igor Erovenko

and top-ranked Jeff Acierno His USBGF

online ranking is 1809 putting him in the

top 15 percent of 500+ online players Hersquos

won two-thirds of his matches close to his

Momrsquos stellar online record

We posed some questions to this young

Czech player which he answered by email

When and why did you start playing backgammon

I started to play backgammon when I was 5

years old My parents taught me the game

because I love math and counting

How have you tried to improve your game

Analyzing all my matches in eXtreme

Gammon and consulting with my mom

and with our friend Honza Cerny (he is

the best player in the Czech Republic)

Do you play in live tournaments as well as online

I play more online because there are not

many players and opportunities to play

live games In Prague we play live every 2

weeks in a backgammon league

What have been your most memorable experiences playing live online

Two weeks ago I came back from the Merit

Open tournament in Cyprus where I

won the intermediate division Both the

great tournament organization and my

win made it a fantastic experience for me

This tournament was my first international

tournament

Which do you prefer and why

I prefer live play where I can roll the dice

myself The advantage of online play is that

I can analyze and learn from my mistakes

How did you find your experience participating in the USBGF Online Circuit

I really like playing on the USBGF Online

Circuit It is a good opportunity to play

with many strong players

Tell us a little about your life outside backgammon

I am 16 years old a student at a mathemat-

ics-specialized high school I live in Prague

with my parents younger brother and dog

I play basketball We practice four times a

week and on weekend have matches

What suggestions would you have for USBGF to enhance playing opportu-nities for members

I would like it if the Leaderboard included

only active players meaning that if a player

does not participate in any tournament in a

given period of time (for example 3 months)

he would be out of the rankings

- KAREN DAVIS

Winner of the 2nd Merit Open Intermediate Division and USBGF Masters Divisional IV Online Tournament


IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

The Kansas City Backgammon Club

recently became a USBGF Prime

Club with ten USBGF members

Its Kansas City Backgammon Study Group

led by Julius High has become quite popu-

lar with over 40 attendees of this monthly

session in person or by Internet streaming

Interview questions posed by Karen Davis

and answered by Eric Barr and Kathleen

Davis Barr

What is the history of the club mdash when formed number of attendees over time

Eric ldquoThe club formed 10 years ago in

2004 when I moved to Kansas City from

Oakland California Bill Davis helped me

get started providing some names and email

addresses of people in the area from a list

that Bill had and providing some brackets

and materials

Wersquove tried many different formats and

locations over the years And wersquove rotated

directors too with Steve Miller helping out

as director for several years Wersquove always

had between 4 and 12 people showing up

for tournaments Of course those have

been different people over time and our

total list of players in the area has grown

to over 100rdquo

How have you tried to grow atten-dance

Karen From the time they met through

the club Kathleen has worked as a partner

with Eric to help build attendance When

some players from the north end of Kan-

sas City complained about the drive she

started tournaments at Black Dog Cafeacute in

Overland Park where she lived at the time

to entice people to come She says it didnrsquot

really expand attendance just shortened

their drive and added to Ericrsquos

ldquoWersquove used the local free newspaper

Craigslist Meetupcom and a couple other

thingsrdquo says Kathleen ldquoBut usually people

find us when they look for us online and

find our website The Kansas City club does

make a special effort to make new attendees

feel welcome Therersquos no entry fee when we

play on the Kansas side of the border mdash now

meeting at Johnnyrsquos Tavern That brings

out people who wouldnrsquot feel comfortable

paying $20 every other week but it also

builds interest in the annual tournaments

on the Missouri side of the border which

have a $20 entry fee and $20 side poolrdquo

How do you communicate with your members

Eric ldquoWe have an email listserv that is

provided by our web hosting company so

that mass emails can be sent out without

exposing the addresses of the membersrdquo

Do you use a point system have a player of the year or other forms of recognition Do you enter tournament drawsheets into backgamesorg

Eric ldquoWe do use a master point system

to keep track of player performance and

recognize the player of the year Since we

donrsquot play for money now our club is part

of the US Backgammon League which is

only for clubs that donrsquot play for money The

USBL website provides forms for entering

results and gives reports on master points

and club Elo ratings We also have one

money tournament a year in Missouri with

trophies and prizes that is not part of the

normal club points-racerdquo

How has having Julius High move to Kansas City affected the club

Kathleen ldquoItrsquos been great fun having Julius

High join the Kansas City Club Before

he came only a few members spent any

time studying I would read a book like

Bill Robertiersquos 501 Essential Backgammon

Problems on the plane on my way to a rare

out-of-town tournament in California or

Chicago The Backgammon Study Group

has met in our home and the gathering

has forged deeper friendships among par-

ticipantsrdquo

What USBGF benefitsservices are attractive to members and what could USBGF do to attract local club mem-bers

Eric ldquoThe members of our club that are

USBGF members enjoy the online tourna-

ments Wersquove participated in the 3-player

Club Team online tournaments on a couple

of occasions And we enjoy the magazine

too I think if the USBGF were willing to

provide some free memberships to local

clubs to be offered as prizes that might

allow more players to try out membership

and see the benefits The membership

prizes could even have a restriction of new

members onlyrdquo

What could USBGF do to help sup-port local clubs

Eric ldquoProviding a library of tournament

brackets would be great so that different

types of brackets could be downloaded

from the site Particularly we often look for

better ways of handling awkward numbers

like 9 or 10 peoplerdquo

- KAREN DAVIS

QampA

lsquoKansas City Skylinersquo by Zach Werner httpswwwflickrcomphotoszachwerner7730952314

Licence at httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby20

Kansas City Backgammon ClubBy Karen Davis

KA

THLE

EN D

AV

IS B

AR

R


Kansas City Backgammon Club

NEW EXCITEMENT IN KANSAS CITYJulius High (R) brings new excitement to the Kansas City Backgammon Club formed by Eric Barr (L) a decade ago Julius has formed a Backgammon Study Group and gift-ed USBGF memberships to participating KC players out of his tournament winnings

Qualifying Prime Clubs104 105USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

GAMMON ASSOCIATESDirector Patrick Gibson Location Los Angeles California

Phone (818) 901-0464 E-Mail pgibsonmficgmailcom Website GammonAssociatescom

Details The first club to reach the goal of USBGF Prime Club status is Gammon Associates At the end of December 2014 it had

39 USBGF members Gammon Associates donated their 2013 award to furthering the work of the US Backgammon Federation

NYC BACKGAMMONDirector Richard Munitz Location New York New York

Phone NA E-Mail richusbgforg Website nycbgcom

Details USBGF liaison Richard Munitz and NYC Backgammon has also reached Prime Club designation As of the end of December

2014 the NYC Backgammon group had 24 USBGF members

BACKGAMMON BY THE BAYDirector Ted Chee Location San Francisco Bay Area California

Phone (831) 261-4583 E-Mail tedbgbythebaycom Website bgbythebaycom

Details Backgammon By the Bay had 30 USBGF Premium and Youth members as of December 31 2014 Backgammon By the Bay

donated their 2013 Prime Club award to furthering USBGF application of backgamesorg

The US Backgammon Federation provides financial support

to local affiliated clubs with ten or more USBGF members

including the club director designated as Prime Clubs to

help promote the growth of backgammon in their communities

Prime Clubs with 10-19 USBGF members receive one gift USBGF

Premium membership to award to an individual selected by the

Prime Club Director those with 20-29 USBG members receive

two gift Premium memberships and those with 30+ receive three

gift memberships The awards are made on an annual basis For

more information contact Justin Nunez Local Club Initiatives

Director at justin_nunezyahoocom or infousbgforg

At the end of December 2014 15 clubs qualified as Prime Clubs

including for the first time the Flint Area Backgammon Club

directed by Carol Joy Cole the Houston Backgammon Club

directed by Bill Riles the Kansas City Backgammon Club directed

by Eric Barr and the South Florida Backgammon Club directed

by Rick Wolf Congratulations The fifteen clubs listed below have

received the Prime Club designation

qualifying prime clubsLocal Affiliated Clubs List

BELTWAY BACKGAMMONDirector Barry Silliman Location Washington DC

Phone (240) 674-7222 E-Mail sillybazbeltwaybgorg Website beltwaybgorg

Details Beltway Backgammon had 23 USBGF members as of December 2014 For more information about the Beltway Backgam-

mon club please visit beltwaybgorg

ARIZONA BACKGAMMON CLUBDirector Doug Amenda Location Phoenix Arizona

Phone NA E-Mail dougamendainsurancecom Website NA

Details The Arizona Backgammon Club had 18 USBGF members as of December 31 2014 For more information about the Ari-

zona Backgammon Club email Doug at dougamendainsurancecom

CHICAGO BAR POINT CLUBDirector Bill Davis Location Chicago Illinois

Phone (773) 583-6464 E-Mail on-linechicagopointcom Website chicagopointcom

Details The Chicago Bar Point Club achieved Prime Club with 17 USBGF members as of December 2014 For more information

about the Chicago Bar Point Club please visit chicagopointcombpchtml

DALLAS BACKGAMMON LEAGUEDirector Tom Wheeler Location Dallas Texas

Phone NA E-Mail zwheelsbcglobalcom Website NA

Details The Dallas Backgammon League has 13 USBGF members as of December 31 2014 For more information about the Dallas

Backgammon League email Tom at zwheelsbcglobalcom

DURHAMCHAPEL HILL BACKGAMMON CLUBDirector Ken Larsen Location Chapel Hill North Carolina

Phone NA E-Mail KLarsen1ncrrcom Website DurhamChapel Hill BG Club

Details The DurhamChapel Hill Backgammon Club has achieved Prime Club status as of December 2014 with 12 USBGF mem-

bers For more information about the DurhamChapel Hill Backgammon Club please email Ken at KLarsen1ncrrcom

LAS VEGAS BACKGAMMON CLUBDirector Tony Anton Location Las Vegas Nevada

Phone (702) 458-0926 E-Mail tonyantonearthlinknet Website vegasbgcom

Details The Las Vegas Backgammon Club had 13 USBGF members as of December 31 2014 For more information about the Las

Vegas Backgammon Club email Tony at tonyantonearthlinknet

Qualifying Prime ClubsOhio State

Backgammon Championships

ldquoThe People - Friendly Tournamentrdquo

March 27th - 29th 2015

Featuringbull $750 Prime Tournament added money for USBGF members

who go the farthest in the Main Eventbull Ohio Masters amp Amateur Jackpotbull Blitzes amp Quickiesbull Lecture by Phil Simborgbull $200 from each entry will be donated to support the USBGFbull Complimentary airport transportation amp shuttle service

Make your reservations at the guaranteed rate of $9300 by March 15th

Arrive on Thursday for the pre-tournament warm-up event at 700pm

Joe Miller(330) 268-4610

Email osbcneorrcom

Cleveland Airport Marriott 4277 West 150th Street Cleveland Ohio 44135

800-627-7468



Congratulations to all our Prime Clubs and thank you for all you do to promote the skill-based game of backgammon

CHARLOTTE BACKGAMMON CLUBDirector David Rogers Location Charlotte North Carolina

Phone (704) 965-3573 E-Mail dashrobellsouthnet Website NA

Details The Charlotte Backgammon Club achieved Prime Club status in 2012 As of December 2014 it had 10 USBGF members

For more information about the Charlotte Backgammon Club please email dashrobellsouthnet

FLINT AREA BACKGAMMON CLUBDirector Carol Joy Cole Location Flint Michigan

Phone (810) 232-9731 E-Mail cjcflintbgcom Website flintbgcom

Details The Flint Area Backgammon Club had 12 USBGF members as of December 31 2014 For more information about the

Flint Area Backgammon Club email Carol Joy Cole at cjcflintbgcom

COLORADO BACKGAMMON CLUBDirector Lynda Clay Location Boulder Colorado

Phone NA E-Mail infocoloradobackgammoncom Website coloradobackgammoncom

Details The Colorado Backgammon Club had 11 USBGF members as of December 31 2014 For more information about the

Colorado Backgammon Club email Lynda at infocoloradobackgammoncom

HOUSTON BACKGAMMON CLUBDirector Bill Riles Location Houston Texas

Phone (281) 703-9304 E-Mail billrilessbcglobalnet Website NA

Details The Houston Backgammon Club had 12 USBGF members as of December 31 2014 For more information about the

Houston Backgammon Club email Bill Riles at billrilessbcglobalnet

SOUTH FLORIDA BACKGAMMON CLUBDirector Rick Wolf Location Fort Lauderdale Florida

Phone NA E-Mail wolfrichardiaimcom Website NA

Details The South Florida Backgammon Club had 10 USBGF members as of December 31 2014 For more information about the

South Florida Backgammon Club email Rick Wolf at wolfrichardiaimcom

KANSAS CITY BACKGAMMON CLUBDirector Eric Barr Location Overland Park Kansas

Phone (816) 237-8089 E-Mail misterebgmailcom Website Kansas City Backgammon Club

Details The Kansas City Backgammon Club had 10 USBGF members as of December 31 2014 For more information about the

Kansas City Backgammon Club email Eric Barr at misterebgmailcom

Live ABT Tournament Results108 109USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

live abt tournament resultsFrom October 23 - October 13Complete tournament results may be found at chicagopointcom

October 2014

ABT - FLORIDA STATE BACKGAMMON TOURNAMENTOctober 23-26 2014 Fort Lauderdale Florida

SHARK OPEN (25) 1-Harry Brown 2-Julius High (KS) 1C-Stuart Katz (NY) 2C-Carlos Mendoza 1LC-Mary Hickey (OH)

PANTHER ADVANCED (18) 1-Doug Kranz 2-Raul Tabraue 1C-Alec Izzo 2C-Dan Gruby 1LC-Leslie Lockett (NM)

TORTUGA SENIORS (32) 1-Mary Hickey (OH) 2-Ed Bennett (NM)

OVERFLOW SENIORS (8) 1-Roland Leutert 2-Sam Ahmed (CA)

GATOR MASTERS (8) 1-Stacy Turner 2-Ray Fogerlund (NV)

FLAMINGO LIMITED JACKPOT (18) 1-Alec Izzo 2-Eugen Moebius 34-Michael Klein (Cayman Islands) J P McGirr

WORLD CHOUETTE CHALLENGE (7) 1-Philippe Salnave 2-Lucky Nelson (IL)

DOLPHIN DOUBLES (16 teams) 1-Susan Randall amp Stacy Turner 2-Bob Howayeck amp Tim Shane

PRE-TOURNAMENT (18) 1-Mary Hickey (OH) 2-Vladi Gudgenov (NC)

AFTER-TOURNAMENT (8) 1-Mary Hickey (OH) 2-Kathy Weiner

ABT - 2nd CONNECTICUT STATE BACKGAMMON CHAMPIONSHIPOctober 31-November 2 2014 Hartford Connecticut

OYSTER OPEN (23) 1-Matt Reklaitis (MA) 2-Bill Robertie (MA) 1C-Claude Landry (Canada) 2C-Jim Stutz (CT) 1LC-Larry Shiller (CT)

COPPER ADVANCED (21) 1-Phyllis Shapiro (MO) 2-Eric Stevens (CT) 1C-Feliks Goykhman (NJ) 2C-Patty Geoffroy (MA) 1LC-Daniel Bluestone (MA)

NUTMEG NOVICE (10) 1-Gary Koscielny (NY) 2-Jin Hu (CT) 3-Bogdan Ianculescu (MA)

MILFORD MASTERS (8) 1-Jim Stutz (CT) 2-Victor Ashkenazi (NJ)

DANBURY DOUBLES (12 teams) 1-Marcy Kossar (MD) amp Larry Shiller (CT) 2-Scott Kelland (CT) amp Richard Munitz (NY)

WESTPORT WARM-UP (64) 1-Garry Kallos (Canada)

RIDGEFIELD $50 BLITZ (12) 1-Tom Coash (CT) 2-Larry Shiller (CT)

FAIRFIELD $20 BLITZ (28) 1-Phyllis Seidel (MA) 2-Mike Pollack (CT)

WBF - 2nd MERIT OPEN INTERNATIONAL BACKGAMMON CHAMPIONSHIPOctober 29-November 2 2014 Kyrenia North Cyprus

MASTERS (235) 1-Athanasios Katsios (Greece) 2-Henrik Veje (Denmark) 3-Michihito Kageyama (Japan) 45-Cuneyt Argun Genccedil (Turkey) Maya Peycheva (Bulgaria) 68-Paul Gilbertson (England) Atila Malccedilok (Turkey) Guumlltekin Uygur (Turkey) 912-Boris Mamporia (Russia) Ary Nogueira (Brazil) Kimon Papachristopoulos (Germany) Jacek Wojciechowski (Poland) 1LC-Juumlrgen Orlowski (Germany) 2LC-Franz Munk Rediin (Denmark) 3LC4LC-Mehmet Ali Akpolat (Turkey) Konstantinos Mitrelis (Greece) Ladies Prize Maya Peycheva (Bulgaria)

INTERMEDIATE (71) 1-Zdenek Zizka (Czech Republic) 2-Kazuko Numazawa (Japan) 3-Sergey Grinev (Russia) 45-Gagik Harutyunyan (Armenia) Kader Tuumlrk (France) 68-Franco Candeo (Italy) Ahmet Sirmaccedilek (Turkey) Marc Werner (Germany) 1LC-Cengiz Dindar (Turkey) 2LC-Sigrid Seyrling (Austria) Ladies Prize Kazuko Numazawa (Japan)

SUPER-JACKPOT (32) 1-Steen Groslashnbech (Denmark) 2-Shahab Ghodsi (Norway) 34-Stepan Nuniyants (USA) Akiko Yazawa (Japan)

LADIES TOURNAMENT (26) 1-Scarlett Serrero (France) 2-Eva Zizkova (Czech Republic) 34-Carol Joy Cole (USA) Marie Gustafsson (Sweden)WARM-UP (270) 1-Mario Sequeira (Portugal) 2-Dario Bertola (Italy) 34-Gagik Harutyunyan (Armenia) Sami Sallak (Germany)869 (128) 1-Scarlett Serrero (FR) 2-Philippe Vouheacute (FR) 34-Timur Bulekbaev (RU) Boris Martinello (IT)

Live ABT Tournament Results Live ABT Tournament Results110 111USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine

PRESIDENTS ONE-POINT MATCH (128) 1-Goumlkhan Kazandag (Turkey) 2-Kemal Aksu (Turkey) 34-Honza Czerny (Czech Republic) Boris Martinello (Italy)

MERIT ION RESSU MEMORIAL DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP (104 teams) 1-Volker Sonnabend (Germany) amp Rainer Witt (Germany) 2- Philip Kazemieh (Germany) amp Thomas Kazemieh (Germany) 34-Carol Joy Cole (USA) amp Bob Wachtel (USA) Athanasios Katsios (Greece) amp Ioannis Passialias (Greece)

MOCHYS QUIZ (102) 1-Franck Stepler (France) 2-Honza Czerny (Czech Republic) 3-Michel Serrero (FR)

November 2014

ABT - LAS VEGAS OPEN BACKGAMMON TOURNAMENTNovember 19-23 2014 Las Vegas Nevada

CHAMPIONSHIP (88+34 rebuys) 1-Akiko Yazawa (Japan) 2-Kit Woolsey (CA) 34-Doug Mayfield (CA) Matt Reklaitis (MA) 1C-Dennis Culpepper (VA) 2C-Walter Busato (Germany) 3C4C-Michihito Kageyama (Japan) Masayuki Mochizuki (Japan) 1LC-Bob Stringer (CA) 2LC-Robert Tansi (MA)

INTERMEDIATE (78+32 rebuys) 1-Lawson He (CA) 2-Cem Aslan (TX) 34-Len Dangremond (NV) Tara Mendicino (TX) 1C-Milton Gonzalez (Costa Rica) 2C-Jenny Galaugher (Canada) 3C4C Steve Bowen (MI) Roz Ferris (IL) 1LC-Leyla Zaloutskaya (NY) 2LC-Doug Johnson (FL)

BEGINNER (13) 1-Pierre Mendicino (TX) 1C-Kaeley Loskutoff (NV) 1LC-Sherril Harlow (ID)

SUPER JACKPOT (16) 1-Malcolm Davis (TX) 2-Stepan Nuniyants (WA) 34-Ray Fogerlund (NV) Paul Magriel (NV)

LIMITED JACKPOT (16) 1-Ken Bame (CA) 2-Bob Stringer (CA) 34-Ramon Eleazar (NV) David Kettler (TX)

BEGINNER JACKPOT (8) 1-Susanna Oumlhman (Sweden) 2-Daniel Raybol (NM)

SENIORS (128) 1-Walter Busato (Ger) 2-Herb Roman (IL) 34-Eduardo Maciel (Brazil) Steve Bowen (MI)DOUBLES (22 teams) 1-Masayuki Mochizuki (Japan) amp Shohei Noguchi (Japan) 2-Charlie Raichle (CO) amp Jonah Seewald (CO)BLITZ (152) 1-Ted Chee (CA) 2-Gary Fries (VA)

MINI-MATCH (64) 1-Howard Markowitz (NV) 2-Steve Diano (NV)

$100 SATURDAY JACKPOT (32) 1-Ethan Nissani (NM) 2-Jysen Quah (SingaporeEngland)

USBGF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFF 1-Jonah Seewald (CO) 2-Mary Hickey (OH)

AFTER TOURNAMENT TOURNAMENT (37) 1-Paul Baraz (CA) 2-Howard Markowitz (NV)

December 2014

ABT -CALIFORNIA STATE BACKGAMMON CHAMPIONSHIPDecember 5-7 2014 Los Angeles California

OPEN (64) 1-Odis Chenault (CA) 2-Phil Simborg (IL) 3-Khachik Melikyan (Armenia) 45-Jerry Jabagchourian (CA) Peter Wisniewski (CA) 1C-Justin Nunez (CA) 2C-Art Benjamin (CA) 3C4C-Matt Reklaitis (MA) Ed Rosenblum (NM)

ADVANCED (40) 1-Michael Showkati (CA) 2-Matt Soomakh (CA) 1C-Michael Derylo (CA) 2C-David Cohen (CA) 3C4C-Ergin Bayrak (CA) Mark Weiner (CA)

LIMITED (8) 1-Daniel Saltzman (CA) 2-Tom McGraw (CA) 1C-Jerry Nussbaum (CA)

SUPER-32 JACKPOT (32) 1-Norm Wiggins (CA) 2-Jonah Seewald (CO) 34-Ted Chee (CA) Joe Russell (CA)

PAUL DINGWELL AMATEUR JACKPOT (22) 1-Carol Joy Cole (MI) 2-Cheryl Andersen (CA) 3-David Taniguchi (CA)

BLITZ (56) 1-Jon Vietor (CA) 2-Tuvya Felt (TN)

SENIORS (32) 12-Ron Bruns (CA) Alfred Mamlet (MD)OVERFLOW SENIORS (16) 12-Paul Baraz (CA) John Isaac (CA)

2-POINT QUICKIES (32) 1-Phil Simborg (IL) 2-Mario Savan (CA)

DOUBLES (8 teams) 1-Mark Astemborski (CA) amp Alan Martin (CA) 2-Paul Berg (MI) amp Jim Slomkoski (MI)


usbgf online circuit winners By Tara Mendicino Updated 01042015

Recent Online Circuit Tournament WinnersStart Date Status Tournament Winner

Oct 24 2014 Completed Membership Blitz 11 Treena BouqueOct 15 2014 Completed USBGF Intermediate Divisional I Istvan EgerOct 15 2014 Completed USBGF Advanced Divisional III Michelle SteinbergOct 06 2014 Completed Membership Blitz 10 James AllenSep 27 2014 Completed USBGF Masters Divisional V Cuneyt Argun GencSep 21 2014 Completed Membership Blitz 9 Ronald LoeroSep 06 2014 Completed USBGF Masters Divisional IV Zdenek ZizkaSep 01 2014 Completed USBGF Advanced Divisional II Walt SmithSep 01 2014 Completed Circuit Monthly for September Bruce NewbergAug 25 2014 Completed Membership Blitz 8 Ron LewisAug 15 2014 Completed USBGF Masters Divisional III David PresserAug 13 2014 Completed Membership Blitz 7 Mario Savan

Jul 26 2014 Completed Membership Blitz 6 John ManningJul 26 2014 Completed USBGF Masters Divisional II Ted CheeJul 26 2014 Completed USBGF Advanced Divisional I Ed SawyerJul 08 2014 Completed USBGF Masters Divisional I Peter ToftsoeJul 08 2014 Completed Membership Blitz 5 Julius HighJul 01 2014 Completed Circuit Monthly for July Karen Davis

Jun 25 2014 Completed Membership Blitz 4 Lynda Clay

2014 USBGF Online CircuitTournament of ChampionsAll 2014 Online Circuit tournament winners will be invited to participate in the 2014 USBGF Online Circuit Tournament of Champions This exclusive event will start in mid-February 2015 Dont miss it

Backgammon World Championship Fairmont Monte Carlo Monaco

Monte Carlo OpenAugust 2nd - 3rd 2015

World ChampionshipAugust 4th - 9th 2015

40th

Book early Discounted Fairmont Monte Carlo room rates are in high demand Rates start at euro325 and reservations must be made by June 15th to secure this discount Make your reservations online at wwwbwcmccom or contact Antoinette-Marie Williams at 2122227177

Presented by the IPATT Group | Patti Donner-Rubin | E-Mail pattirubinaolcom

August 2nd - 9th 2015

Pre-Register Online at wwwbwcmccom

Double-Elimination FormatDouble-Elimination Format for the Championship Division

Exclusive New Side Events amp Tournament of World Champions

Save the Dates


Name Points

1 Ray Fogerlund 51562 Frank Raposa 37333 Matt Reklaitis 33504 Masayuki Mochizuki 27305 Gary Bauer 27226 Kit Woolsey 26577 Odis Chenault 26168 Akiko Yazawa 26079 Julius High 2317

10 Ben Friesen 2147

Name Rating

1 Masayuki Mochizuki 1667142 Ed OLaughlin 1665743 Odis Chenault 1658014 Kit Woolsey 1631605 John OHagan 1617186 Stick Rice 1616507 Dennis Culpepper 1611688 Matt Cohn-Geier 1609569 Joe Russell 160922

10 Bill Phipps 160722

Top-Ranked PlayersIn USBGF-Rated Events

Top-Ranked Players InAmerican Backgammon Tour Events

Name Points

1 Mick Zakrajsek 13322 Lawson He 11563 Paul Stebbing 10184 Christopher Shanava 9925 Tim Lawless 8506 Farid Khalili 8207 Alex Owen 8008 Michael Showkati 8009 Samuel Wang 770

10 Scotty Kelland 729

Name Rating

1 Josh Racko 1622682 Artie Sutton 1613673 Neal Weiner 1592324 Brandon Macklin 1586115 Cheryl Andersen 1584836 Cliff Mayoh 1573427 Bob Howayeck 1572408 Scott Kelland 1571269 David Rennie 157100

10 Mick Zakrajsek 156420

Top-Ranked PlayersIn USBGF Rated Events


usbgf live leaderboard By Barry Silliman - Rankings Editor

Intermediate Advanced

Open Championship Updated 12252014

Name Points

1 Sharon Torres 2702 Josh Avery 2333 Pierre Mendicino 1864 Kathy Quentan 1805 Gary Koscielny 1776 Paul Turdik 1757 Amber McLean 1568 Cem Yorulmaz 1389 Genna Cowan 138

10 Chuck Young Robert Domaine 135

Name Rating

1 Maria Heiner 1535802 Sheri Peters 1534753 Gary Koscielny 1534364 Victor De Oliveira 1532125 Larry Andersen 1529256 Fran Miller 1527547 Kathy Quentan 1527498 Genna Cowan 1527119 Diane Westra-Hanaback 152706

10 Norma Lunsford 152673



usbgf live leaderboard

Novice Beginners

Qualifications for inclusion in USBGF-Rated Events

The numbers following the player names show their Elo ratings cumulative since 2009 Open and Advanced

player listings are restricted to USBGF members To be listed a player must have played in the listed division

of a live USBGF-rated tournament in the past thirteen months

Qualifications for inclusion in American Backgammon Tour Events

ABT Points are awarded only in the main events of ABT tournaments no points are awarded in any side events

The numbers following the player names show the total ABT Points earned in 2014 competing in the specified

division


usbgf online leaderboard By Tara Mendicino Updated 01042015

Online Circuit Top 10 Name GG ID Rating Win - Loss Win Trnys Won High Rating

1 Adam Versaw adamV 194794 18 - 6 75 3 1965322 Jim Stutz NaturalDog 194392 15 - 3 83 1 1958733 Petko Kostadinov bulgari 194231 14 - 3 82 1 1953244 Dorn Bishop dorn 192619 9 - 3 75 2 1939385 David Presser Gasman 192276 59 - 25 70 5 1922766 Cuneyt Argun Genc caggammon 192233 14 - 5 74 1 1922337 Chris Yep cyep 192161 7 - 2 78 1 1932888 Bill Phipps bjp 191949 5 - 0 100 1 1919499 Neil Kazaross neilkaz 190892 7 - 2 78 0 192799

10 Arthur Sutton im4tunet 190835 5 - 1 83 1 191269

Up-to-date ratings may be found at usbgforgtrnyleaderboard

Qualifications for inclusion in USBGF Online Circuit Events

The numbers following the player names show their Elo ratings cumulative since September 2012 in the USBGF

Online Tournament Circuit To be listed a player must be a current or past member of the USBGF

Upcoming Online CircuitTournamentsCircuit Monthly for FebruaryStart Date February 1 2015Registration Link usbgforgtrnyregistrationtrny=182

Masters and Advanced Divisional TournamentsMasters Divisional IX Registration Link usbgforgtrnyregistrationtrny=181Advanced Divisional V Registration Link usbgforgtrnyregistrationtrny=179

Membership Blitz TournamentsMembership Blitz 14 Registration Link usbgforgtrnyregistrationtrny=183

Like us on Facebookfacebookcomusbgf


Be sure to mark your calendar and attend these exciting ABT tournaments amp USBGF events For complete tournament listings see chicagopointcom

upcoming tournamentsUpcoming ABT Tournaments and USBGF Sponsored Live amp Online Events

ABT 8th NEW YORK METRO OPEN

Dates January 8 - 11 2015Place Hyatt Jersey City NJ Details Website Phone 408529-6769

JAN

ABT 2015 TEXAS BACKGAMMONCHAMPIONSHIPS amp USBGF AWARDS

Dates January 29 - February 1 2015Place Menger Hotel San Antonio TX Details Website Phone 281703-9304

JAN

ABT 3RD CAPITAL CLASSIC

Dates February 20 - 22 2015Place Dulles Marriott Herndon VA Details Website Phone 540222-6431

FEB

ABT CSI ABT AWARDS

Dates March 13 - 15 2015Place Holiday Inn Oakbrook Terr IL Details Website Phone 773583-6464

MAR

ABT SUNSHINE STATE CLASSIC

Dates February 27 - March 1 2015Place Ramada Inn Tampa FL Details Website Phone 727743-0500

FEBABT SUNSHINE STATE CLASSIC


FEB

ABT US OPEN

Dates April 15 - 19 2015Place Flamingo Hotel Las Vegas NV Details Website Phone 702218-8238

APR

ABT OHIO STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Dates March 27 - 29 2015Place Marriott Cleveland OH Details Website Phone 330268-4610

MAR







Upcoming Tournaments

ABT MICHIGAN SUMMERCHAMPIONSHIPS

Dates July 2 - 5 2015Place Sheraton Novi MI Details Website Phone 810232-9731

JUL

ABT LOS ANGELES OPEN

Dates June 5 - 7 2015Place Hilton LAX Los Angeles CA Details Email Phone 818901-0464

JUN

ABT CHICAGO OPEN GIANTS INVITATIONAL

Dates May 21 - 25 2015Place Rosemont IL Details Email Phone 617699-9100

MAY

ABT 7th ATLANTA SPRING CLASSIC

Dates April 30 - May 3 2015Place Sheraton Atlanta GA Details Website Phone 404403-1957

APR

3rd Capital ClassicBackgammon Championships

February 20 - 22 2015Marriott Suites Washington Dulles13101 Worldgate DriveHerndon VA 20170

bull Double-elimination with progressive consolationbull USBGF Prime Tournament with $750 in added money and prizesbull Freeroll side event with $500 donated added moneybull 90 or 95 return in most eventsbull Clocks required in Masters amp Open Jackpots Open ABT amp Doublesbull All events are Legal Movesbull Group hotel rate of $79night for reservations made by February 5thbull Complimentary airport shuttle and free parking

Contact Ed OLaughlin at edolaugaolcom or 540-222-6431or Barry Silliman at sillybazyahoocom or 240-674-7222Tournament Brochure available at beltwaybgorgcapitalclassic






INTERIOR DES IGNERS

MON THRU FR I 9-5 | 210 226 8251 | ORV ILLECARRCOM

8015 BROADWAY SAN ANTONIO TEXAS 78209

FURNITURE | ACCESSORIES | LAMPS | DRAPES | PA INT INGS

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

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_GoBack

_GoBack

App Store 4

Google Play 4

App Store 3

Google Play 3

Button 5


wwwgeoreyparkercom



wwwgeoreyparkercom


wwwgeoffreyparkercom


KAREN DAVIS





inaugural American

Backgammon Hall



of the 13 honorees


Jeremy Bagai on the























in the fall of 2012






























Prime Clubs












USBGF members



- KAREN DAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

2015INDUCTEES

50 90

16




32









In This Issue








BY KAREN DAVIS




BY KAREN DAVIS




BY STICK




BY KAREN DAVIS


CY

PR

US

OP

EN I

AN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

UK

OP

EN D

AV

ID S

TAR

TIN





BY PETER BENNET



BY IANCHO HRISTOV



BY JAKE JACOBS



BY PHIL SIMBORG













BY KAREN DAVIS



BY KAREN DAVIS



In This Issue



In This Issue




BY LINDA ROCKWELL









BY BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O

GEO

FFR

EY P

AR

KER

GA

MES









BY BARRY SILLIMAN










publisherBill Riles

editorBob Wachtel













Staff ampVolunteers


ILL

RIL

ES S

TEV

E SA

X



















KARE

N D

AVI

S

KA

REN

DA

VIS




















as possible














































to progress








































Nunez on the BOD










ship



















beer brewing


































game we all love










106

Founding Sponsors










FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

KA

REN

DA

VIS




AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NACKBALLARD

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

CAROLJOY COLE
























FRO

M T

OP

BK

GM

CO

M

BIL

L D

AV

IS

KA

REN

DA

VIS


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MALCOLMDAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KENTGOULDING

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BARCLAYCOOKE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLDAVIS












































FRO

M T

OP

FA

ING

OLD

K

AR

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AV

IS

FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

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N B

ILL

RO

BER

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AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

PAULMAGRIEL

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLROBERTIE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

OSWALDJACOBY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NEILKAZAROSS







































FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

GA

MM

ON

LIFE

CO

M O

PP P

AG

E K

AR

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TEXA


IPSTEXA


IPS



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erw

alk

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pho

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ream

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e at

http

cr

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ecom

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by

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AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KITWOOLSEY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MIKESENKIEWICZ

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

WALTERTRICE











































help him in any way



















































associated with
















to talk with him






out poker




















Hall of Fame




















































the Hall of Fame

























































miss you













wish I had met him




























next yearrsquos ABT

















































intermediates)











emulate this
















































Respect to you Senk



















































































second Hall of Fame







inaugural class

- JEREMY BAGAI
























































































































4-8 or 5-10






















- KAREN DAVIS



















- BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O



KA

REN

DA

VIS

By Karen Davis





















































































hated losing














and tournaments





























desire can lead to



competitive streak

ldquo
























































































































division






















































yet another time






























those events

















winnings





























- KAREN DAVIS




ELEY

KIN

G















LIVESTREAM

ARCHIVE


M L

EFT

AN

DR

EAS

HU

MK

E B

ILL

RIL

ES










































Backgammon




































PA

TRIC

K G

IBSO

N




















































































































Awards Dinner

- KAREN DAVIS









is Player 2

score 0pip 157


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4489 (G1203 B041)5511 (G1544 B073) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0213-0197) - [1000]


4365 (G1079 B040)5635 (G1535 B064) Conf plusmn 0007 (-0268-0254) - [00]



13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 1





















By Stick






























































































them

- STICK

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2











BIL

L R

ILES

KA

REN

DA

VIS







































































is Jonah Bear


























































tournament circuit


































stronger opponents






























not wrong by much




















and video games





























- KAREN DAVIS
































(White) on roll


is Yan Kit Chan

score 5pip 108

11 point match

pip 12score 9


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 1


































ukbgfcom website
































































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 172

13 point match

pip 157score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 2


DA

VID

STA

RTI

N













04


02


05



07


03


06

01 02 03

04

05

06

07



is Martin Birkhahn

score 0pip 156

13 point match

pip 149score 1


on roll cube action




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3















a few rolls later


is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 125score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 4




































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 118score 0


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 5



































- PETER BENNET







KA

REN

DA

VIS













poker for a living































busy all day


in your life






































gambling











































QampA




















outs (smile)























kind of friend





















That feeling
















online play





too tired to think





















mean to you




















they selected you















pretty well






































world-class players


















enal backgammon
















players there











playing the Danes































on Wall Street




























find the right move




































I hope he calls me


next year as well









to make the team











in some way









I feel proud of him




strength








































complex positions




































the game



achieve











debate I guess

























tive So I stopped

















































of lifestyle now






a kid






















to play you

































embarrass myself




like to change




















venue Director Why







are your ideas





things for the game


zine












- IANCHO HRISTOV












iOS

wwwxg-mobilecom

US

BG

FB

GS

HO

P

USBGF Baffle Box





usbgforgshop

lsquoWat

er B

alle

t G

olde

n Ja

pane

se K

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y M

artin

a Ra

thge

ns

http

sw

ww

flick

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pho

tos

rivie

ra20

084

2586

6246

1

Lice

nce

at h

ttp

crea

tivec

omm

onso

rgli

cens

esb

y2

0

























been enthusiastic






























































JAK

E JA

CO

BS
















13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 1















is Player 2

score 0pip 160


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4490 (G1142 B048)5510 (G1596 B064) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0226-0211) - [1000]


4337 (G1223 B070)5663 (G1713 B114) Conf plusmn 0011 (-0295-0273) - [00]


4246 (G1075 B044)5754 (G1736 B104)


4129 (G1059 B044)5871 (G1723 B083)




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3



2422 138 b) 138 1311 c) 138 64

d) 136



























KE

JAC

OB

S













Some are very easy

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2







is Player 2

score 3pip 139

11 point match

pip 91score 7


to play 55


8786 (G5403 B049)1214 (G079 B003)


8650 (G5238 B045)1350 (G104 B004)


8772 (G4714 B035)1228 (G069 B002)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 4






a 43 Now what










Robin Swaffield













JAK

E JA

CO

BS







lessons at Fukumoto



is Player 2

score 2pip 149

15 point match

pip 145score 10


on roll cube action





6

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 5






































he was in trouble






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 6


JAK

E JA

CO

BS











is Player 2

score 3pip 164

17 point match

pip 204score 0


to play 55


5180 (G1579 B097)4820 (G1562 B120)


4834 (G1378 B078)5166 (G1378 B070)


4829 (G1259 B064)5171 (G1530 B093)


4802 (G1152 B051)5198 (G1353 B071)





is Player 2

score 0pip 158

7 point match

pip 131score 5


to play 64


3863 (G1339 B042)6137 (G1371 B052)


3612 (G1103 B025)6388 (G1277 B047)


3541 (G946 B016)6459 (G1239 B042)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 7

























and play 2111







JAK

E JA

CO

BS




Japanese Kobe beef












returned home too

- JAKE JACOBS




FRO

M T

OP

JA

KE

JAC

OB

S J

AKE

JA

CO

BS P

ATR

ICK

GIB

SON









decisions


100 videos thus far























- PHIL SIMBORG



KA

REN

DA

VIS















of chess







































IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE


Akiko and Massoud





Draw time




01

04

02

05

07

03

06

08

07

08

01

02

03

04

05 06


IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

ŞEB

NEM

BUuml

YUuml

KSO

Y


By Linda Rockwell



















final victim













hellip himself












this worthy cause












LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L



























fun weekend

- LINDA ROCKWELL

























LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L










I know everyone






the year is over





















to refresh his mind








younger man










Raposa said



mediate he said










travel expenses






















to learn he said




am the next day



















































tournament





















- KAREN DAVIS



IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE










Davis Barr








and materials









to over 100rdquo























































ticipantsrdquo













members onlyrdquo








- KAREN DAVIS

QampA




KA

THLE

EN D

AV

IS B

AR

R




































































Joe Miller(330) 268-4610

Email osbcneorrcom


800-627-7468






























October 2014






























November 2014













December 2014





















40th







Save the Dates


Name Points


10 Ben Friesen 2147

Name Rating





Name Points



Name Rating








Name Points



Name Rating






Novice Beginners








division



















JAN



JAN



FEB

ABT CSI ABT AWARDS


MAR





FEB

ABT US OPEN


APR



MAR










JUL



JUN



MAY



APR










INTERIOR DES IGNERS




_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

App Store 4

Google Play 4

App Store 3

Google Play 3

Button 5


KAREN DAVIS





inaugural American

Backgammon Hall



of the 13 honorees


Jeremy Bagai on the























in the fall of 2012






























Prime Clubs












USBGF members



- KAREN DAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

2015INDUCTEES

50 90

16




32









In This Issue








BY KAREN DAVIS




BY KAREN DAVIS




BY STICK




BY KAREN DAVIS


CY

PR

US

OP

EN I

AN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

UK

OP

EN D

AV

ID S

TAR

TIN





BY PETER BENNET



BY IANCHO HRISTOV



BY JAKE JACOBS



BY PHIL SIMBORG













BY KAREN DAVIS



BY KAREN DAVIS



In This Issue



In This Issue




BY LINDA ROCKWELL









BY BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O

GEO

FFR

EY P

AR

KER

GA

MES









BY BARRY SILLIMAN










publisherBill Riles

editorBob Wachtel













Staff ampVolunteers


ILL

RIL

ES S

TEV

E SA

X



















KARE

N D

AVI

S

KA

REN

DA

VIS




















as possible














































to progress








































Nunez on the BOD










ship



















beer brewing


































game we all love










106

Founding Sponsors










FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

KA

REN

DA

VIS




AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NACKBALLARD

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

CAROLJOY COLE
























FRO

M T

OP

BK

GM

CO

M

BIL

L D

AV

IS

KA

REN

DA

VIS


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MALCOLMDAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KENTGOULDING

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BARCLAYCOOKE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLDAVIS












































FRO

M T

OP

FA

ING

OLD

K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N B

ILL

RO

BER

TIE


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

PAULMAGRIEL

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLROBERTIE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

OSWALDJACOBY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NEILKAZAROSS







































FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

GA

MM

ON

LIFE

CO

M O

PP P

AG

E K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

TEXA


IPSTEXA


IPS



lsquoRiv

erw

alk

Brid

ge 3

rsquo by

Jim N

ix

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

jimni

x15

4211

9406

2in

pho

tost

ream

Li

cenc

e at

http

cr

eativ

ecom

mon

sorg

lice

nses

by

20


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KITWOOLSEY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MIKESENKIEWICZ

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

WALTERTRICE











































help him in any way



















































associated with
















to talk with him






out poker




















Hall of Fame




















































the Hall of Fame

























































miss you













wish I had met him




























next yearrsquos ABT

















































intermediates)











emulate this
















































Respect to you Senk



















































































second Hall of Fame







inaugural class

- JEREMY BAGAI
























































































































4-8 or 5-10






















- KAREN DAVIS



















- BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O



KA

REN

DA

VIS

By Karen Davis





















































































hated losing














and tournaments





























desire can lead to



competitive streak

ldquo
























































































































division






















































yet another time






























those events

















winnings





























- KAREN DAVIS




ELEY

KIN

G















LIVESTREAM

ARCHIVE


M L

EFT

AN

DR

EAS

HU

MK

E B

ILL

RIL

ES










































Backgammon




































PA

TRIC

K G

IBSO

N




















































































































Awards Dinner

- KAREN DAVIS









is Player 2

score 0pip 157


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4489 (G1203 B041)5511 (G1544 B073) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0213-0197) - [1000]


4365 (G1079 B040)5635 (G1535 B064) Conf plusmn 0007 (-0268-0254) - [00]



13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 1





















By Stick






























































































them

- STICK

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2











BIL

L R

ILES

KA

REN

DA

VIS







































































is Jonah Bear


























































tournament circuit


































stronger opponents






























not wrong by much




















and video games





























- KAREN DAVIS
































(White) on roll


is Yan Kit Chan

score 5pip 108

11 point match

pip 12score 9


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 1


































ukbgfcom website
































































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 172

13 point match

pip 157score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 2


DA

VID

STA

RTI

N













04


02


05



07


03


06

01 02 03

04

05

06

07



is Martin Birkhahn

score 0pip 156

13 point match

pip 149score 1


on roll cube action




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3















a few rolls later


is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 125score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 4




































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 118score 0


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 5



































- PETER BENNET







KA

REN

DA

VIS













poker for a living































busy all day


in your life






































gambling











































QampA




















outs (smile)























kind of friend





















That feeling
















online play





too tired to think





















mean to you




















they selected you















pretty well






































world-class players


















enal backgammon
















players there











playing the Danes































on Wall Street




























find the right move




































I hope he calls me


next year as well









to make the team











in some way









I feel proud of him




strength








































complex positions




































the game



achieve











debate I guess

























tive So I stopped

















































of lifestyle now






a kid






















to play you

































embarrass myself




like to change




















venue Director Why







are your ideas





things for the game


zine












- IANCHO HRISTOV












iOS

wwwxg-mobilecom

US

BG

FB

GS

HO

P

USBGF Baffle Box





usbgforgshop

lsquoWat

er B

alle

t G

olde

n Ja

pane

se K

oirsquo b

y M

artin

a Ra

thge

ns

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

rivie

ra20

084

2586

6246

1

Lice

nce

at h

ttp

crea

tivec

omm

onso

rgli

cens

esb

y2

0

























been enthusiastic






























































JAK

E JA

CO

BS
















13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 1















is Player 2

score 0pip 160


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4490 (G1142 B048)5510 (G1596 B064) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0226-0211) - [1000]


4337 (G1223 B070)5663 (G1713 B114) Conf plusmn 0011 (-0295-0273) - [00]


4246 (G1075 B044)5754 (G1736 B104)


4129 (G1059 B044)5871 (G1723 B083)




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3



2422 138 b) 138 1311 c) 138 64

d) 136



























KE

JAC

OB

S













Some are very easy

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2







is Player 2

score 3pip 139

11 point match

pip 91score 7


to play 55


8786 (G5403 B049)1214 (G079 B003)


8650 (G5238 B045)1350 (G104 B004)


8772 (G4714 B035)1228 (G069 B002)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 4






a 43 Now what










Robin Swaffield













JAK

E JA

CO

BS







lessons at Fukumoto



is Player 2

score 2pip 149

15 point match

pip 145score 10


on roll cube action





6

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 5






































he was in trouble






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 6


JAK

E JA

CO

BS











is Player 2

score 3pip 164

17 point match

pip 204score 0


to play 55


5180 (G1579 B097)4820 (G1562 B120)


4834 (G1378 B078)5166 (G1378 B070)


4829 (G1259 B064)5171 (G1530 B093)


4802 (G1152 B051)5198 (G1353 B071)





is Player 2

score 0pip 158

7 point match

pip 131score 5


to play 64


3863 (G1339 B042)6137 (G1371 B052)


3612 (G1103 B025)6388 (G1277 B047)


3541 (G946 B016)6459 (G1239 B042)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 7

























and play 2111







JAK

E JA

CO

BS




Japanese Kobe beef












returned home too

- JAKE JACOBS




FRO

M T

OP

JA

KE

JAC

OB

S J

AKE

JA

CO

BS P

ATR

ICK

GIB

SON









decisions


100 videos thus far























- PHIL SIMBORG



KA

REN

DA

VIS















of chess







































IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE


Akiko and Massoud





Draw time




01

04

02

05

07

03

06

08

07

08

01

02

03

04

05 06


IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

ŞEB

NEM

BUuml

YUuml

KSO

Y


By Linda Rockwell



















final victim













hellip himself












this worthy cause












LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L



























fun weekend

- LINDA ROCKWELL

























LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L










I know everyone






the year is over





















to refresh his mind








younger man










Raposa said



mediate he said










travel expenses






















to learn he said




am the next day



















































tournament





















- KAREN DAVIS



IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE










Davis Barr








and materials









to over 100rdquo























































ticipantsrdquo













members onlyrdquo








- KAREN DAVIS

QampA




KA

THLE

EN D

AV

IS B

AR

R




































































Joe Miller(330) 268-4610

Email osbcneorrcom


800-627-7468






























October 2014






























November 2014













December 2014





















40th







Save the Dates


Name Points


10 Ben Friesen 2147

Name Rating





Name Points



Name Rating








Name Points



Name Rating






Novice Beginners








division



















JAN



JAN



FEB

ABT CSI ABT AWARDS


MAR





FEB

ABT US OPEN


APR



MAR










JUL



JUN



MAY



APR










INTERIOR DES IGNERS




_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

App Store 4

Google Play 4

App Store 3

Google Play 3

Button 5

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

2015INDUCTEES

50 90

16




32









In This Issue








BY KAREN DAVIS




BY KAREN DAVIS




BY STICK




BY KAREN DAVIS


CY

PR

US

OP

EN I

AN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

UK

OP

EN D

AV

ID S

TAR

TIN





BY PETER BENNET



BY IANCHO HRISTOV



BY JAKE JACOBS



BY PHIL SIMBORG













BY KAREN DAVIS



BY KAREN DAVIS



In This Issue



In This Issue




BY LINDA ROCKWELL









BY BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O

GEO

FFR

EY P

AR

KER

GA

MES









BY BARRY SILLIMAN










publisherBill Riles

editorBob Wachtel













Staff ampVolunteers


ILL

RIL

ES S

TEV

E SA

X



















KARE

N D

AVI

S

KA

REN

DA

VIS




















as possible














































to progress








































Nunez on the BOD










ship



















beer brewing


































game we all love










106

Founding Sponsors










FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

KA

REN

DA

VIS




AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NACKBALLARD

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

CAROLJOY COLE
























FRO

M T

OP

BK

GM

CO

M

BIL

L D

AV

IS

KA

REN

DA

VIS


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MALCOLMDAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KENTGOULDING

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BARCLAYCOOKE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLDAVIS












































FRO

M T

OP

FA

ING

OLD

K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N B

ILL

RO

BER

TIE


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

PAULMAGRIEL

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLROBERTIE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

OSWALDJACOBY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NEILKAZAROSS







































FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

GA

MM

ON

LIFE

CO

M O

PP P

AG

E K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

TEXA


IPSTEXA


IPS



lsquoRiv

erw

alk

Brid

ge 3

rsquo by

Jim N

ix

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

jimni

x15

4211

9406

2in

pho

tost

ream

Li

cenc

e at

http

cr

eativ

ecom

mon

sorg

lice

nses

by

20


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KITWOOLSEY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MIKESENKIEWICZ

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

WALTERTRICE











































help him in any way



















































associated with
















to talk with him






out poker




















Hall of Fame




















































the Hall of Fame

























































miss you













wish I had met him




























next yearrsquos ABT

















































intermediates)











emulate this
















































Respect to you Senk



















































































second Hall of Fame







inaugural class

- JEREMY BAGAI
























































































































4-8 or 5-10






















- KAREN DAVIS



















- BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O



KA

REN

DA

VIS

By Karen Davis





















































































hated losing














and tournaments





























desire can lead to



competitive streak

ldquo
























































































































division






















































yet another time






























those events

















winnings





























- KAREN DAVIS




ELEY

KIN

G















LIVESTREAM

ARCHIVE


M L

EFT

AN

DR

EAS

HU

MK

E B

ILL

RIL

ES










































Backgammon




































PA

TRIC

K G

IBSO

N




















































































































Awards Dinner

- KAREN DAVIS









is Player 2

score 0pip 157


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4489 (G1203 B041)5511 (G1544 B073) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0213-0197) - [1000]


4365 (G1079 B040)5635 (G1535 B064) Conf plusmn 0007 (-0268-0254) - [00]



13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 1





















By Stick






























































































them

- STICK

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2











BIL

L R

ILES

KA

REN

DA

VIS







































































is Jonah Bear


























































tournament circuit


































stronger opponents






























not wrong by much




















and video games





























- KAREN DAVIS
































(White) on roll


is Yan Kit Chan

score 5pip 108

11 point match

pip 12score 9


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 1


































ukbgfcom website
































































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 172

13 point match

pip 157score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 2


DA

VID

STA

RTI

N













04


02


05



07


03


06

01 02 03

04

05

06

07



is Martin Birkhahn

score 0pip 156

13 point match

pip 149score 1


on roll cube action




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3















a few rolls later


is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 125score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 4




































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 118score 0


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 5



































- PETER BENNET







KA

REN

DA

VIS













poker for a living































busy all day


in your life






































gambling











































QampA




















outs (smile)























kind of friend





















That feeling
















online play





too tired to think





















mean to you




















they selected you















pretty well






































world-class players


















enal backgammon
















players there











playing the Danes































on Wall Street




























find the right move




































I hope he calls me


next year as well









to make the team











in some way









I feel proud of him




strength








































complex positions




































the game



achieve











debate I guess

























tive So I stopped

















































of lifestyle now






a kid






















to play you

































embarrass myself




like to change




















venue Director Why







are your ideas





things for the game


zine












- IANCHO HRISTOV












iOS

wwwxg-mobilecom

US

BG

FB

GS

HO

P

USBGF Baffle Box





usbgforgshop

lsquoWat

er B

alle

t G

olde

n Ja

pane

se K

oirsquo b

y M

artin

a Ra

thge

ns

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

rivie

ra20

084

2586

6246

1

Lice

nce

at h

ttp

crea

tivec

omm

onso

rgli

cens

esb

y2

0

























been enthusiastic






























































JAK

E JA

CO

BS
















13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 1















is Player 2

score 0pip 160


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4490 (G1142 B048)5510 (G1596 B064) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0226-0211) - [1000]


4337 (G1223 B070)5663 (G1713 B114) Conf plusmn 0011 (-0295-0273) - [00]


4246 (G1075 B044)5754 (G1736 B104)


4129 (G1059 B044)5871 (G1723 B083)




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3



2422 138 b) 138 1311 c) 138 64

d) 136



























KE

JAC

OB

S













Some are very easy

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2







is Player 2

score 3pip 139

11 point match

pip 91score 7


to play 55


8786 (G5403 B049)1214 (G079 B003)


8650 (G5238 B045)1350 (G104 B004)


8772 (G4714 B035)1228 (G069 B002)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 4






a 43 Now what










Robin Swaffield













JAK

E JA

CO

BS







lessons at Fukumoto



is Player 2

score 2pip 149

15 point match

pip 145score 10


on roll cube action





6

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 5






































he was in trouble






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 6


JAK

E JA

CO

BS











is Player 2

score 3pip 164

17 point match

pip 204score 0


to play 55


5180 (G1579 B097)4820 (G1562 B120)


4834 (G1378 B078)5166 (G1378 B070)


4829 (G1259 B064)5171 (G1530 B093)


4802 (G1152 B051)5198 (G1353 B071)





is Player 2

score 0pip 158

7 point match

pip 131score 5


to play 64


3863 (G1339 B042)6137 (G1371 B052)


3612 (G1103 B025)6388 (G1277 B047)


3541 (G946 B016)6459 (G1239 B042)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 7

























and play 2111







JAK

E JA

CO

BS




Japanese Kobe beef












returned home too

- JAKE JACOBS




FRO

M T

OP

JA

KE

JAC

OB

S J

AKE

JA

CO

BS P

ATR

ICK

GIB

SON









decisions


100 videos thus far























- PHIL SIMBORG



KA

REN

DA

VIS















of chess







































IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE


Akiko and Massoud





Draw time




01

04

02

05

07

03

06

08

07

08

01

02

03

04

05 06


IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

ŞEB

NEM

BUuml

YUuml

KSO

Y


By Linda Rockwell



















final victim













hellip himself












this worthy cause












LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L



























fun weekend

- LINDA ROCKWELL

























LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L










I know everyone






the year is over





















to refresh his mind








younger man










Raposa said



mediate he said










travel expenses






















to learn he said




am the next day



















































tournament





















- KAREN DAVIS



IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE










Davis Barr








and materials









to over 100rdquo























































ticipantsrdquo













members onlyrdquo








- KAREN DAVIS

QampA




KA

THLE

EN D

AV

IS B

AR

R




































































Joe Miller(330) 268-4610

Email osbcneorrcom


800-627-7468






























October 2014






























November 2014













December 2014





















40th







Save the Dates


Name Points


10 Ben Friesen 2147

Name Rating





Name Points



Name Rating








Name Points



Name Rating






Novice Beginners








division



















JAN



JAN



FEB

ABT CSI ABT AWARDS


MAR





FEB

ABT US OPEN


APR



MAR










JUL



JUN



MAY



APR










INTERIOR DES IGNERS




_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

App Store 4

Google Play 4

App Store 3

Google Play 3

Button 5





BY PETER BENNET



BY IANCHO HRISTOV



BY JAKE JACOBS



BY PHIL SIMBORG













BY KAREN DAVIS



BY KAREN DAVIS



In This Issue



In This Issue




BY LINDA ROCKWELL









BY BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O

GEO

FFR

EY P

AR

KER

GA

MES









BY BARRY SILLIMAN










publisherBill Riles

editorBob Wachtel













Staff ampVolunteers


ILL

RIL

ES S

TEV

E SA

X



















KARE

N D

AVI

S

KA

REN

DA

VIS




















as possible














































to progress








































Nunez on the BOD










ship



















beer brewing


































game we all love










106

Founding Sponsors










FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

KA

REN

DA

VIS




AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NACKBALLARD

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

CAROLJOY COLE
























FRO

M T

OP

BK

GM

CO

M

BIL

L D

AV

IS

KA

REN

DA

VIS


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MALCOLMDAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KENTGOULDING

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BARCLAYCOOKE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLDAVIS












































FRO

M T

OP

FA

ING

OLD

K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N B

ILL

RO

BER

TIE


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

PAULMAGRIEL

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLROBERTIE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

OSWALDJACOBY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NEILKAZAROSS







































FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

GA

MM

ON

LIFE

CO

M O

PP P

AG

E K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

TEXA


IPSTEXA


IPS



lsquoRiv

erw

alk

Brid

ge 3

rsquo by

Jim N

ix

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

jimni

x15

4211

9406

2in

pho

tost

ream

Li

cenc

e at

http

cr

eativ

ecom

mon

sorg

lice

nses

by

20


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KITWOOLSEY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MIKESENKIEWICZ

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

WALTERTRICE











































help him in any way



















































associated with
















to talk with him






out poker




















Hall of Fame




















































the Hall of Fame

























































miss you













wish I had met him




























next yearrsquos ABT

















































intermediates)











emulate this
















































Respect to you Senk



















































































second Hall of Fame







inaugural class

- JEREMY BAGAI
























































































































4-8 or 5-10






















- KAREN DAVIS



















- BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O



KA

REN

DA

VIS

By Karen Davis





















































































hated losing














and tournaments





























desire can lead to



competitive streak

ldquo
























































































































division






















































yet another time






























those events

















winnings





























- KAREN DAVIS




ELEY

KIN

G















LIVESTREAM

ARCHIVE


M L

EFT

AN

DR

EAS

HU

MK

E B

ILL

RIL

ES










































Backgammon




































PA

TRIC

K G

IBSO

N




















































































































Awards Dinner

- KAREN DAVIS









is Player 2

score 0pip 157


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4489 (G1203 B041)5511 (G1544 B073) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0213-0197) - [1000]


4365 (G1079 B040)5635 (G1535 B064) Conf plusmn 0007 (-0268-0254) - [00]



13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 1





















By Stick






























































































them

- STICK

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2











BIL

L R

ILES

KA

REN

DA

VIS







































































is Jonah Bear


























































tournament circuit


































stronger opponents






























not wrong by much




















and video games





























- KAREN DAVIS
































(White) on roll


is Yan Kit Chan

score 5pip 108

11 point match

pip 12score 9


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 1


































ukbgfcom website
































































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 172

13 point match

pip 157score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 2


DA

VID

STA

RTI

N













04


02


05



07


03


06

01 02 03

04

05

06

07



is Martin Birkhahn

score 0pip 156

13 point match

pip 149score 1


on roll cube action




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3















a few rolls later


is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 125score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 4




































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 118score 0


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 5



































- PETER BENNET







KA

REN

DA

VIS













poker for a living































busy all day


in your life






































gambling











































QampA




















outs (smile)























kind of friend





















That feeling
















online play





too tired to think





















mean to you




















they selected you















pretty well






































world-class players


















enal backgammon
















players there











playing the Danes































on Wall Street




























find the right move




































I hope he calls me


next year as well









to make the team











in some way









I feel proud of him




strength








































complex positions




































the game



achieve











debate I guess

























tive So I stopped

















































of lifestyle now






a kid






















to play you

































embarrass myself




like to change




















venue Director Why







are your ideas





things for the game


zine












- IANCHO HRISTOV












iOS

wwwxg-mobilecom

US

BG

FB

GS

HO

P

USBGF Baffle Box





usbgforgshop

lsquoWat

er B

alle

t G

olde

n Ja

pane

se K

oirsquo b

y M

artin

a Ra

thge

ns

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

rivie

ra20

084

2586

6246

1

Lice

nce

at h

ttp

crea

tivec

omm

onso

rgli

cens

esb

y2

0

























been enthusiastic






























































JAK

E JA

CO

BS
















13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 1















is Player 2

score 0pip 160


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4490 (G1142 B048)5510 (G1596 B064) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0226-0211) - [1000]


4337 (G1223 B070)5663 (G1713 B114) Conf plusmn 0011 (-0295-0273) - [00]


4246 (G1075 B044)5754 (G1736 B104)


4129 (G1059 B044)5871 (G1723 B083)




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3



2422 138 b) 138 1311 c) 138 64

d) 136



























KE

JAC

OB

S













Some are very easy

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2







is Player 2

score 3pip 139

11 point match

pip 91score 7


to play 55


8786 (G5403 B049)1214 (G079 B003)


8650 (G5238 B045)1350 (G104 B004)


8772 (G4714 B035)1228 (G069 B002)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 4






a 43 Now what










Robin Swaffield













JAK

E JA

CO

BS







lessons at Fukumoto



is Player 2

score 2pip 149

15 point match

pip 145score 10


on roll cube action





6

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 5






































he was in trouble






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 6


JAK

E JA

CO

BS











is Player 2

score 3pip 164

17 point match

pip 204score 0


to play 55


5180 (G1579 B097)4820 (G1562 B120)


4834 (G1378 B078)5166 (G1378 B070)


4829 (G1259 B064)5171 (G1530 B093)


4802 (G1152 B051)5198 (G1353 B071)





is Player 2

score 0pip 158

7 point match

pip 131score 5


to play 64


3863 (G1339 B042)6137 (G1371 B052)


3612 (G1103 B025)6388 (G1277 B047)


3541 (G946 B016)6459 (G1239 B042)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 7

























and play 2111







JAK

E JA

CO

BS




Japanese Kobe beef












returned home too

- JAKE JACOBS




FRO

M T

OP

JA

KE

JAC

OB

S J

AKE

JA

CO

BS P

ATR

ICK

GIB

SON









decisions


100 videos thus far























- PHIL SIMBORG



KA

REN

DA

VIS















of chess







































IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE


Akiko and Massoud





Draw time




01

04

02

05

07

03

06

08

07

08

01

02

03

04

05 06


IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

ŞEB

NEM

BUuml

YUuml

KSO

Y


By Linda Rockwell



















final victim













hellip himself












this worthy cause












LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L



























fun weekend

- LINDA ROCKWELL

























LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L










I know everyone






the year is over





















to refresh his mind








younger man










Raposa said



mediate he said










travel expenses






















to learn he said




am the next day



















































tournament





















- KAREN DAVIS



IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE










Davis Barr








and materials









to over 100rdquo























































ticipantsrdquo













members onlyrdquo








- KAREN DAVIS

QampA




KA

THLE

EN D

AV

IS B

AR

R




































































Joe Miller(330) 268-4610

Email osbcneorrcom


800-627-7468






























October 2014






























November 2014













December 2014





















40th







Save the Dates


Name Points


10 Ben Friesen 2147

Name Rating





Name Points



Name Rating








Name Points



Name Rating






Novice Beginners








division



















JAN



JAN



FEB

ABT CSI ABT AWARDS


MAR





FEB

ABT US OPEN


APR



MAR










JUL



JUN



MAY



APR










INTERIOR DES IGNERS




_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

App Store 4

Google Play 4

App Store 3

Google Play 3

Button 5







publisherBill Riles

editorBob Wachtel













Staff ampVolunteers


ILL

RIL

ES S

TEV

E SA

X



















KARE

N D

AVI

S

KA

REN

DA

VIS




















as possible














































to progress








































Nunez on the BOD










ship



















beer brewing


































game we all love










106

Founding Sponsors










FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

KA

REN

DA

VIS




AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NACKBALLARD

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

CAROLJOY COLE
























FRO

M T

OP

BK

GM

CO

M

BIL

L D

AV

IS

KA

REN

DA

VIS


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MALCOLMDAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KENTGOULDING

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BARCLAYCOOKE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLDAVIS












































FRO

M T

OP

FA

ING

OLD

K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N B

ILL

RO

BER

TIE


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

PAULMAGRIEL

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLROBERTIE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

OSWALDJACOBY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NEILKAZAROSS







































FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

GA

MM

ON

LIFE

CO

M O

PP P

AG

E K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

TEXA


IPSTEXA


IPS



lsquoRiv

erw

alk

Brid

ge 3

rsquo by

Jim N

ix

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

jimni

x15

4211

9406

2in

pho

tost

ream

Li

cenc

e at

http

cr

eativ

ecom

mon

sorg

lice

nses

by

20


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KITWOOLSEY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MIKESENKIEWICZ

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

WALTERTRICE











































help him in any way



















































associated with
















to talk with him






out poker




















Hall of Fame




















































the Hall of Fame

























































miss you













wish I had met him




























next yearrsquos ABT

















































intermediates)











emulate this
















































Respect to you Senk



















































































second Hall of Fame







inaugural class

- JEREMY BAGAI
























































































































4-8 or 5-10






















- KAREN DAVIS



















- BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O



KA

REN

DA

VIS

By Karen Davis





















































































hated losing














and tournaments





























desire can lead to



competitive streak

ldquo
























































































































division






















































yet another time






























those events

















winnings





























- KAREN DAVIS




ELEY

KIN

G















LIVESTREAM

ARCHIVE


M L

EFT

AN

DR

EAS

HU

MK

E B

ILL

RIL

ES










































Backgammon




































PA

TRIC

K G

IBSO

N




















































































































Awards Dinner

- KAREN DAVIS









is Player 2

score 0pip 157


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4489 (G1203 B041)5511 (G1544 B073) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0213-0197) - [1000]


4365 (G1079 B040)5635 (G1535 B064) Conf plusmn 0007 (-0268-0254) - [00]



13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 1





















By Stick






























































































them

- STICK

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2











BIL

L R

ILES

KA

REN

DA

VIS







































































is Jonah Bear


























































tournament circuit


































stronger opponents






























not wrong by much




















and video games





























- KAREN DAVIS
































(White) on roll


is Yan Kit Chan

score 5pip 108

11 point match

pip 12score 9


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 1


































ukbgfcom website
































































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 172

13 point match

pip 157score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 2


DA

VID

STA

RTI

N













04


02


05



07


03


06

01 02 03

04

05

06

07



is Martin Birkhahn

score 0pip 156

13 point match

pip 149score 1


on roll cube action




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3















a few rolls later


is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 125score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 4




































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 118score 0


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 5



































- PETER BENNET







KA

REN

DA

VIS













poker for a living































busy all day


in your life






































gambling











































QampA




















outs (smile)























kind of friend





















That feeling
















online play





too tired to think





















mean to you




















they selected you















pretty well






































world-class players


















enal backgammon
















players there











playing the Danes































on Wall Street




























find the right move




































I hope he calls me


next year as well









to make the team











in some way









I feel proud of him




strength








































complex positions




































the game



achieve











debate I guess

























tive So I stopped

















































of lifestyle now






a kid






















to play you

































embarrass myself




like to change




















venue Director Why







are your ideas





things for the game


zine












- IANCHO HRISTOV












iOS

wwwxg-mobilecom

US

BG

FB

GS

HO

P

USBGF Baffle Box





usbgforgshop

lsquoWat

er B

alle

t G

olde

n Ja

pane

se K

oirsquo b

y M

artin

a Ra

thge

ns

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

rivie

ra20

084

2586

6246

1

Lice

nce

at h

ttp

crea

tivec

omm

onso

rgli

cens

esb

y2

0

























been enthusiastic






























































JAK

E JA

CO

BS
















13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 1















is Player 2

score 0pip 160


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4490 (G1142 B048)5510 (G1596 B064) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0226-0211) - [1000]


4337 (G1223 B070)5663 (G1713 B114) Conf plusmn 0011 (-0295-0273) - [00]


4246 (G1075 B044)5754 (G1736 B104)


4129 (G1059 B044)5871 (G1723 B083)




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3



2422 138 b) 138 1311 c) 138 64

d) 136



























KE

JAC

OB

S













Some are very easy

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2







is Player 2

score 3pip 139

11 point match

pip 91score 7


to play 55


8786 (G5403 B049)1214 (G079 B003)


8650 (G5238 B045)1350 (G104 B004)


8772 (G4714 B035)1228 (G069 B002)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 4






a 43 Now what










Robin Swaffield













JAK

E JA

CO

BS







lessons at Fukumoto



is Player 2

score 2pip 149

15 point match

pip 145score 10


on roll cube action





6

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 5






































he was in trouble






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 6


JAK

E JA

CO

BS











is Player 2

score 3pip 164

17 point match

pip 204score 0


to play 55


5180 (G1579 B097)4820 (G1562 B120)


4834 (G1378 B078)5166 (G1378 B070)


4829 (G1259 B064)5171 (G1530 B093)


4802 (G1152 B051)5198 (G1353 B071)





is Player 2

score 0pip 158

7 point match

pip 131score 5


to play 64


3863 (G1339 B042)6137 (G1371 B052)


3612 (G1103 B025)6388 (G1277 B047)


3541 (G946 B016)6459 (G1239 B042)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 7

























and play 2111







JAK

E JA

CO

BS




Japanese Kobe beef












returned home too

- JAKE JACOBS




FRO

M T

OP

JA

KE

JAC

OB

S J

AKE

JA

CO

BS P

ATR

ICK

GIB

SON









decisions


100 videos thus far























- PHIL SIMBORG



KA

REN

DA

VIS















of chess







































IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE


Akiko and Massoud





Draw time




01

04

02

05

07

03

06

08

07

08

01

02

03

04

05 06


IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

ŞEB

NEM

BUuml

YUuml

KSO

Y


By Linda Rockwell



















final victim













hellip himself












this worthy cause












LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L



























fun weekend

- LINDA ROCKWELL

























LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L










I know everyone






the year is over





















to refresh his mind








younger man










Raposa said



mediate he said










travel expenses






















to learn he said




am the next day



















































tournament





















- KAREN DAVIS



IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE










Davis Barr








and materials









to over 100rdquo























































ticipantsrdquo













members onlyrdquo








- KAREN DAVIS

QampA




KA

THLE

EN D

AV

IS B

AR

R




































































Joe Miller(330) 268-4610

Email osbcneorrcom


800-627-7468






























October 2014






























November 2014













December 2014





















40th







Save the Dates


Name Points


10 Ben Friesen 2147

Name Rating





Name Points



Name Rating








Name Points



Name Rating






Novice Beginners








division



















JAN



JAN



FEB

ABT CSI ABT AWARDS


MAR





FEB

ABT US OPEN


APR



MAR










JUL



JUN



MAY



APR










INTERIOR DES IGNERS




_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

App Store 4

Google Play 4

App Store 3

Google Play 3

Button 5

KA

REN

DA

VIS




















as possible














































to progress








































Nunez on the BOD










ship



















beer brewing


































game we all love










106

Founding Sponsors










FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

KA

REN

DA

VIS




AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NACKBALLARD

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

CAROLJOY COLE
























FRO

M T

OP

BK

GM

CO

M

BIL

L D

AV

IS

KA

REN

DA

VIS


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MALCOLMDAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KENTGOULDING

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BARCLAYCOOKE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLDAVIS












































FRO

M T

OP

FA

ING

OLD

K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N B

ILL

RO

BER

TIE


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

PAULMAGRIEL

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLROBERTIE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

OSWALDJACOBY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NEILKAZAROSS







































FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

GA

MM

ON

LIFE

CO

M O

PP P

AG

E K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

TEXA


IPSTEXA


IPS



lsquoRiv

erw

alk

Brid

ge 3

rsquo by

Jim N

ix

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

jimni

x15

4211

9406

2in

pho

tost

ream

Li

cenc

e at

http

cr

eativ

ecom

mon

sorg

lice

nses

by

20


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KITWOOLSEY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MIKESENKIEWICZ

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

WALTERTRICE











































help him in any way



















































associated with
















to talk with him






out poker




















Hall of Fame




















































the Hall of Fame

























































miss you













wish I had met him




























next yearrsquos ABT

















































intermediates)











emulate this
















































Respect to you Senk



















































































second Hall of Fame







inaugural class

- JEREMY BAGAI
























































































































4-8 or 5-10






















- KAREN DAVIS



















- BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O



KA

REN

DA

VIS

By Karen Davis





















































































hated losing














and tournaments





























desire can lead to



competitive streak

ldquo
























































































































division






















































yet another time






























those events

















winnings





























- KAREN DAVIS




ELEY

KIN

G















LIVESTREAM

ARCHIVE


M L

EFT

AN

DR

EAS

HU

MK

E B

ILL

RIL

ES










































Backgammon




































PA

TRIC

K G

IBSO

N




















































































































Awards Dinner

- KAREN DAVIS









is Player 2

score 0pip 157


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4489 (G1203 B041)5511 (G1544 B073) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0213-0197) - [1000]


4365 (G1079 B040)5635 (G1535 B064) Conf plusmn 0007 (-0268-0254) - [00]



13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 1





















By Stick






























































































them

- STICK

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2











BIL

L R

ILES

KA

REN

DA

VIS







































































is Jonah Bear


























































tournament circuit


































stronger opponents






























not wrong by much




















and video games





























- KAREN DAVIS
































(White) on roll


is Yan Kit Chan

score 5pip 108

11 point match

pip 12score 9


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 1


































ukbgfcom website
































































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 172

13 point match

pip 157score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 2


DA

VID

STA

RTI

N













04


02


05



07


03


06

01 02 03

04

05

06

07



is Martin Birkhahn

score 0pip 156

13 point match

pip 149score 1


on roll cube action




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3















a few rolls later


is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 125score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 4




































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 118score 0


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 5



































- PETER BENNET







KA

REN

DA

VIS













poker for a living































busy all day


in your life






































gambling











































QampA




















outs (smile)























kind of friend





















That feeling
















online play





too tired to think





















mean to you




















they selected you















pretty well






































world-class players


















enal backgammon
















players there











playing the Danes































on Wall Street




























find the right move




































I hope he calls me


next year as well









to make the team











in some way









I feel proud of him




strength








































complex positions




































the game



achieve











debate I guess

























tive So I stopped

















































of lifestyle now






a kid






















to play you

































embarrass myself




like to change




















venue Director Why







are your ideas





things for the game


zine












- IANCHO HRISTOV












iOS

wwwxg-mobilecom

US

BG

FB

GS

HO

P

USBGF Baffle Box





usbgforgshop

lsquoWat

er B

alle

t G

olde

n Ja

pane

se K

oirsquo b

y M

artin

a Ra

thge

ns

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

rivie

ra20

084

2586

6246

1

Lice

nce

at h

ttp

crea

tivec

omm

onso

rgli

cens

esb

y2

0

























been enthusiastic






























































JAK

E JA

CO

BS
















13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 1















is Player 2

score 0pip 160


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4490 (G1142 B048)5510 (G1596 B064) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0226-0211) - [1000]


4337 (G1223 B070)5663 (G1713 B114) Conf plusmn 0011 (-0295-0273) - [00]


4246 (G1075 B044)5754 (G1736 B104)


4129 (G1059 B044)5871 (G1723 B083)




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3



2422 138 b) 138 1311 c) 138 64

d) 136



























KE

JAC

OB

S













Some are very easy

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2







is Player 2

score 3pip 139

11 point match

pip 91score 7


to play 55


8786 (G5403 B049)1214 (G079 B003)


8650 (G5238 B045)1350 (G104 B004)


8772 (G4714 B035)1228 (G069 B002)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 4






a 43 Now what










Robin Swaffield













JAK

E JA

CO

BS







lessons at Fukumoto



is Player 2

score 2pip 149

15 point match

pip 145score 10


on roll cube action





6

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 5






































he was in trouble






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 6


JAK

E JA

CO

BS











is Player 2

score 3pip 164

17 point match

pip 204score 0


to play 55


5180 (G1579 B097)4820 (G1562 B120)


4834 (G1378 B078)5166 (G1378 B070)


4829 (G1259 B064)5171 (G1530 B093)


4802 (G1152 B051)5198 (G1353 B071)





is Player 2

score 0pip 158

7 point match

pip 131score 5


to play 64


3863 (G1339 B042)6137 (G1371 B052)


3612 (G1103 B025)6388 (G1277 B047)


3541 (G946 B016)6459 (G1239 B042)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 7

























and play 2111







JAK

E JA

CO

BS




Japanese Kobe beef












returned home too

- JAKE JACOBS




FRO

M T

OP

JA

KE

JAC

OB

S J

AKE

JA

CO

BS P

ATR

ICK

GIB

SON









decisions


100 videos thus far























- PHIL SIMBORG



KA

REN

DA

VIS















of chess







































IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE


Akiko and Massoud





Draw time




01

04

02

05

07

03

06

08

07

08

01

02

03

04

05 06


IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

ŞEB

NEM

BUuml

YUuml

KSO

Y


By Linda Rockwell



















final victim













hellip himself












this worthy cause












LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L



























fun weekend

- LINDA ROCKWELL

























LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L










I know everyone






the year is over





















to refresh his mind








younger man










Raposa said



mediate he said










travel expenses






















to learn he said




am the next day



















































tournament





















- KAREN DAVIS



IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE










Davis Barr








and materials









to over 100rdquo























































ticipantsrdquo













members onlyrdquo








- KAREN DAVIS

QampA




KA

THLE

EN D

AV

IS B

AR

R




































































Joe Miller(330) 268-4610

Email osbcneorrcom


800-627-7468






























October 2014






























November 2014













December 2014





















40th







Save the Dates


Name Points


10 Ben Friesen 2147

Name Rating





Name Points



Name Rating








Name Points



Name Rating






Novice Beginners








division



















JAN



JAN



FEB

ABT CSI ABT AWARDS


MAR





FEB

ABT US OPEN


APR



MAR










JUL



JUN



MAY



APR










INTERIOR DES IGNERS




_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

App Store 4

Google Play 4

App Store 3

Google Play 3

Button 5


































game we all love










106

Founding Sponsors










FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

KA

REN

DA

VIS




AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NACKBALLARD

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

CAROLJOY COLE
























FRO

M T

OP

BK

GM

CO

M

BIL

L D

AV

IS

KA

REN

DA

VIS


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MALCOLMDAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KENTGOULDING

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BARCLAYCOOKE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLDAVIS












































FRO

M T

OP

FA

ING

OLD

K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N B

ILL

RO

BER

TIE


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

PAULMAGRIEL

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLROBERTIE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

OSWALDJACOBY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NEILKAZAROSS







































FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

GA

MM

ON

LIFE

CO

M O

PP P

AG

E K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

TEXA


IPSTEXA


IPS



lsquoRiv

erw

alk

Brid

ge 3

rsquo by

Jim N

ix

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

jimni

x15

4211

9406

2in

pho

tost

ream

Li

cenc

e at

http

cr

eativ

ecom

mon

sorg

lice

nses

by

20


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KITWOOLSEY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MIKESENKIEWICZ

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

WALTERTRICE











































help him in any way



















































associated with
















to talk with him






out poker




















Hall of Fame




















































the Hall of Fame

























































miss you













wish I had met him




























next yearrsquos ABT

















































intermediates)











emulate this
















































Respect to you Senk



















































































second Hall of Fame







inaugural class

- JEREMY BAGAI
























































































































4-8 or 5-10






















- KAREN DAVIS



















- BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O



KA

REN

DA

VIS

By Karen Davis





















































































hated losing














and tournaments





























desire can lead to



competitive streak

ldquo
























































































































division






















































yet another time






























those events

















winnings





























- KAREN DAVIS




ELEY

KIN

G















LIVESTREAM

ARCHIVE


M L

EFT

AN

DR

EAS

HU

MK

E B

ILL

RIL

ES










































Backgammon




































PA

TRIC

K G

IBSO

N




















































































































Awards Dinner

- KAREN DAVIS









is Player 2

score 0pip 157


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4489 (G1203 B041)5511 (G1544 B073) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0213-0197) - [1000]


4365 (G1079 B040)5635 (G1535 B064) Conf plusmn 0007 (-0268-0254) - [00]



13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 1





















By Stick






























































































them

- STICK

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2











BIL

L R

ILES

KA

REN

DA

VIS







































































is Jonah Bear


























































tournament circuit


































stronger opponents






























not wrong by much




















and video games





























- KAREN DAVIS
































(White) on roll


is Yan Kit Chan

score 5pip 108

11 point match

pip 12score 9


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 1


































ukbgfcom website
































































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 172

13 point match

pip 157score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 2


DA

VID

STA

RTI

N













04


02


05



07


03


06

01 02 03

04

05

06

07



is Martin Birkhahn

score 0pip 156

13 point match

pip 149score 1


on roll cube action




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3















a few rolls later


is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 125score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 4




































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 118score 0


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 5



































- PETER BENNET







KA

REN

DA

VIS













poker for a living































busy all day


in your life






































gambling











































QampA




















outs (smile)























kind of friend





















That feeling
















online play





too tired to think





















mean to you




















they selected you















pretty well






































world-class players


















enal backgammon
















players there











playing the Danes































on Wall Street




























find the right move




































I hope he calls me


next year as well









to make the team











in some way









I feel proud of him




strength








































complex positions




































the game



achieve











debate I guess

























tive So I stopped

















































of lifestyle now






a kid






















to play you

































embarrass myself




like to change




















venue Director Why







are your ideas





things for the game


zine












- IANCHO HRISTOV












iOS

wwwxg-mobilecom

US

BG

FB

GS

HO

P

USBGF Baffle Box





usbgforgshop

lsquoWat

er B

alle

t G

olde

n Ja

pane

se K

oirsquo b

y M

artin

a Ra

thge

ns

http

sw

ww

flick

rcom

pho

tos

rivie

ra20

084

2586

6246

1

Lice

nce

at h

ttp

crea

tivec

omm

onso

rgli

cens

esb

y2

0

























been enthusiastic






























































JAK

E JA

CO

BS
















13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 1















is Player 2

score 0pip 160


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4490 (G1142 B048)5510 (G1596 B064) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0226-0211) - [1000]


4337 (G1223 B070)5663 (G1713 B114) Conf plusmn 0011 (-0295-0273) - [00]


4246 (G1075 B044)5754 (G1736 B104)


4129 (G1059 B044)5871 (G1723 B083)




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3



2422 138 b) 138 1311 c) 138 64

d) 136



























KE

JAC

OB

S













Some are very easy

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2







is Player 2

score 3pip 139

11 point match

pip 91score 7


to play 55


8786 (G5403 B049)1214 (G079 B003)


8650 (G5238 B045)1350 (G104 B004)


8772 (G4714 B035)1228 (G069 B002)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 4






a 43 Now what










Robin Swaffield













JAK

E JA

CO

BS







lessons at Fukumoto



is Player 2

score 2pip 149

15 point match

pip 145score 10


on roll cube action





6

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 5






































he was in trouble






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 6


JAK

E JA

CO

BS











is Player 2

score 3pip 164

17 point match

pip 204score 0


to play 55


5180 (G1579 B097)4820 (G1562 B120)


4834 (G1378 B078)5166 (G1378 B070)


4829 (G1259 B064)5171 (G1530 B093)


4802 (G1152 B051)5198 (G1353 B071)





is Player 2

score 0pip 158

7 point match

pip 131score 5


to play 64


3863 (G1339 B042)6137 (G1371 B052)


3612 (G1103 B025)6388 (G1277 B047)


3541 (G946 B016)6459 (G1239 B042)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 7

























and play 2111







JAK

E JA

CO

BS




Japanese Kobe beef












returned home too

- JAKE JACOBS




FRO

M T

OP

JA

KE

JAC

OB

S J

AKE

JA

CO

BS P

ATR

ICK

GIB

SON









decisions


100 videos thus far























- PHIL SIMBORG



KA

REN

DA

VIS















of chess







































IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE


Akiko and Massoud





Draw time




01

04

02

05

07

03

06

08

07

08

01

02

03

04

05 06


IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

ŞEB

NEM

BUuml

YUuml

KSO

Y


By Linda Rockwell



















final victim













hellip himself












this worthy cause












LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L



























fun weekend

- LINDA ROCKWELL

























LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L










I know everyone






the year is over





















to refresh his mind








younger man










Raposa said



mediate he said










travel expenses






















to learn he said




am the next day



















































tournament





















- KAREN DAVIS



IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE










Davis Barr








and materials









to over 100rdquo























































ticipantsrdquo













members onlyrdquo








- KAREN DAVIS

QampA




KA

THLE

EN D

AV

IS B

AR

R




































































Joe Miller(330) 268-4610

Email osbcneorrcom


800-627-7468






























October 2014






























November 2014













December 2014





















40th







Save the Dates


Name Points


10 Ben Friesen 2147

Name Rating





Name Points



Name Rating








Name Points



Name Rating






Novice Beginners








division



















JAN



JAN



FEB

ABT CSI ABT AWARDS


MAR





FEB

ABT US OPEN


APR



MAR










JUL



JUN



MAY



APR










INTERIOR DES IGNERS




_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

_GoBack

App Store 4

Google Play 4

App Store 3

Google Play 3

Button 5

FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N

KA

REN

DA

VIS




AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NACKBALLARD

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

CAROLJOY COLE
























FRO

M T

OP

BK

GM

CO

M

BIL

L D

AV

IS

KA

REN

DA

VIS


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

MALCOLMDAVIS

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

KENTGOULDING

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BARCLAYCOOKE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLDAVIS












































FRO

M T

OP

FA

ING

OLD

K

AR

EN D

AV

IS

FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

N B

ILL

RO

BER

TIE


AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

PAULMAGRIEL

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

BILLROBERTIE

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

OSWALDJACOBY

AM

ERI

CAN BACKGAM

MO

N

HALL OF FAM

E

NEILKAZAROSS







































FRO

M T

OP

UN

KN

OW

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IPS



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KITWOOLSEY

AM

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MO

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MIKESENKIEWICZ

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WALTERTRICE











































help him in any way



















































associated with
















to talk with him






out poker




















Hall of Fame




















































the Hall of Fame

























































miss you













wish I had met him




























next yearrsquos ABT

















































intermediates)











emulate this
















































Respect to you Senk



















































































second Hall of Fame







inaugural class

- JEREMY BAGAI
























































































































4-8 or 5-10






















- KAREN DAVIS



















- BILL RILES

TAR

A M

END

ICIN

O



KA

REN

DA

VIS

By Karen Davis





















































































hated losing














and tournaments





























desire can lead to



competitive streak

ldquo
























































































































division






















































yet another time






























those events

















winnings





























- KAREN DAVIS




ELEY

KIN

G















LIVESTREAM

ARCHIVE


M L

EFT

AN

DR

EAS

HU

MK

E B

ILL

RIL

ES










































Backgammon




































PA

TRIC

K G

IBSO

N




















































































































Awards Dinner

- KAREN DAVIS









is Player 2

score 0pip 157


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4489 (G1203 B041)5511 (G1544 B073) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0213-0197) - [1000]


4365 (G1079 B040)5635 (G1535 B064) Conf plusmn 0007 (-0268-0254) - [00]



13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 1





















By Stick






























































































them

- STICK

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2











BIL

L R

ILES

KA

REN

DA

VIS







































































is Jonah Bear


























































tournament circuit


































stronger opponents






























not wrong by much




















and video games





























- KAREN DAVIS
































(White) on roll


is Yan Kit Chan

score 5pip 108

11 point match

pip 12score 9


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 1


































ukbgfcom website
































































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 172

13 point match

pip 157score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 2


DA

VID

STA

RTI

N













04


02


05



07


03


06

01 02 03

04

05

06

07



is Martin Birkhahn

score 0pip 156

13 point match

pip 149score 1


on roll cube action




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3















a few rolls later


is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 125score 0


on roll cube action






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 4




































is Jason Pack

score 1pip 127

13 point match

pip 118score 0


on roll cube action





13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24



Position 5



































- PETER BENNET







KA

REN

DA

VIS













poker for a living































busy all day


in your life






































gambling











































QampA




















outs (smile)























kind of friend





















That feeling
















online play





too tired to think





















mean to you




















they selected you















pretty well






































world-class players


















enal backgammon
















players there











playing the Danes































on Wall Street




























find the right move




































I hope he calls me


next year as well









to make the team











in some way









I feel proud of him




strength








































complex positions




































the game



achieve











debate I guess

























tive So I stopped

















































of lifestyle now






a kid






















to play you

































embarrass myself




like to change




















venue Director Why







are your ideas





things for the game


zine












- IANCHO HRISTOV












iOS

wwwxg-mobilecom

US

BG

FB

GS

HO

P

USBGF Baffle Box





usbgforgshop

lsquoWat

er B

alle

t G

olde

n Ja

pane

se K

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artin

a Ra

thge

ns

http

sw

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flick

rcom

pho

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rivie

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084

2586

6246

1

Lice

nce

at h

ttp

crea

tivec

omm

onso

rgli

cens

esb

y2

0

























been enthusiastic






























































JAK

E JA

CO

BS
















13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 1















is Player 2

score 0pip 160


pip 167score 0


to play 52


4490 (G1142 B048)5510 (G1596 B064) Conf plusmn 0008 (-0226-0211) - [1000]


4337 (G1223 B070)5663 (G1713 B114) Conf plusmn 0011 (-0295-0273) - [00]


4246 (G1075 B044)5754 (G1736 B104)


4129 (G1059 B044)5871 (G1723 B083)




13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 3



2422 138 b) 138 1311 c) 138 64

d) 136



























KE

JAC

OB

S













Some are very easy

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 2







is Player 2

score 3pip 139

11 point match

pip 91score 7


to play 55


8786 (G5403 B049)1214 (G079 B003)


8650 (G5238 B045)1350 (G104 B004)


8772 (G4714 B035)1228 (G069 B002)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 4






a 43 Now what










Robin Swaffield













JAK

E JA

CO

BS







lessons at Fukumoto



is Player 2

score 2pip 149

15 point match

pip 145score 10


on roll cube action





6

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 5






































he was in trouble






13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



Position 6


JAK

E JA

CO

BS











is Player 2

score 3pip 164

17 point match

pip 204score 0


to play 55


5180 (G1579 B097)4820 (G1562 B120)


4834 (G1378 B078)5166 (G1378 B070)


4829 (G1259 B064)5171 (G1530 B093)


4802 (G1152 B051)5198 (G1353 B071)





is Player 2

score 0pip 158

7 point match

pip 131score 5


to play 64


3863 (G1339 B042)6137 (G1371 B052)


3612 (G1103 B025)6388 (G1277 B047)


3541 (G946 B016)6459 (G1239 B042)


13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Pip 158 White7-Away

2-Away BlackPip 131

Position 7

























and play 2111







JAK

E JA

CO

BS




Japanese Kobe beef












returned home too

- JAKE JACOBS




FRO

M T

OP

JA

KE

JAC

OB

S J

AKE

JA

CO

BS P

ATR

ICK

GIB

SON









decisions


100 videos thus far























- PHIL SIMBORG



KA

REN

DA

VIS















of chess







































IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE


Akiko and Massoud





Draw time




01

04

02

05

07

03

06

08

07

08

01

02

03

04

05 06


IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE

ŞEB

NEM

BUuml

YUuml

KSO

Y


By Linda Rockwell



















final victim













hellip himself












this worthy cause












LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L



























fun weekend

- LINDA ROCKWELL

























LIN

DA

RO

CK

WEL

L










I know everyone






the year is over





















to refresh his mind








younger man










Raposa said



mediate he said










travel expenses






















to learn he said




am the next day



















































tournament





















- KAREN DAVIS



IAN

MA

CFA

RLA

NE










Davis Barr








and materials









to over 100rdquo























































ticipantsrdquo













members onlyrdquo








- KAREN DAVIS

QampA




KA

THLE

EN D

AV

IS B

AR

R




































































Joe Miller(330) 268-4610

Email osbcneorrcom


800-627-7468






























October 2014






























November 2014













December 2014





















40th







Save the Dates


Name Points


10 Ben Friesen 2147

Name Rating





Name Points



Name Rating








Name Points



Name Rating






Novice Beginners








division



















JAN



JAN



FEB

ABT CSI ABT AWARDS


MAR





FEB

ABT US OPEN


APR



MAR










JUL



JUN



MAY



APR










INTERIOR DES IGNERS




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