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“Backgammon for Blood”
Bruce Becker was a New York City lawyer and movie producer who had also been operator of a summer theater. His own success at the backgammon board inspired him to write Backgammon for Blood, his first book. (Photo by Jeffrey M. Chester.)
Becker detested a running game. He wanted to win by skill, not by the luck of the dice. He’d much rather play a back game. So his entire early-game strategy was devoted to keeping the back-game option alive. “If you make an early commitment to a running game and then in mid-game are forced to switch to a back game, you are doomed to failure.”
Becker’s primary focus was to set up a blockade against the opponent’s back men. “I love to go for a side prime as soon as possible; I think this is the best way to win.”
To that end he did not want to commit early resources to any other purpose. “If you start making doors on your inner board, such as the 1, 2, or 3 points, these men are effectively out of action for the rest of the game.”
Blitzing wasn’t even a consideration. Becker didn’t want to make deep home-board points; he wanted to leave lots of room for his opponent to reenter after being hit. “By keeping several of his men bottled up in my inner board, yet allowing him to get back in quickly if I should hit him, I am forcing him to break up his blocking points.”
| The IMDb shows “Bruce Becker” as the producer of the move Three (1969). Could this be the same Bruce Becker? |
In order to keep the back-game option open, Becker resisted splitting his back men until his blockade was in place. “Remember, the B1 point is the best point on the board to hold for a back game; once you break it you can re-cover it only from the bar. Don’t break up this point too soon.”
While these ideas all have some merit, Becker took them to ridiculous lengths. It lead him to make some outlandish recommendations. Take, for example, his suggestion of how to play an opening 5-3, or his suggestion for an opening 6-5.
Backgammon for Blood tells an engaging story: You don’t have to depend on good dice to win; you can win by outplaying your opponent. If things go badly, just revert to a back game. (Who doesn’t love pulling victory from the jaws of defeat?) This philosophy contributed to the backgammon boom of the 70s. It changed the perception people had of backgammon being just a lucky dice game. The “new” backgammon was a game of skill and daring.
What follows is a list of the positions in the book. They are presented in the same order as in the book to make it easy to follow along as you read. What would you do in each position? Decide on your play, then click on the board for that position to see the author’s commentary and a rollout of the top plays. Can you do better than Becker?
Page 58
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White to play 3-1. |
Page 59
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White to play 6-1. |
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White to play 4-2. |
Page 61
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White to play 5-3. |
Page 63
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White to play 6-2. |
Page 64
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White to play 2-1. |
Page 65
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White to play 4-1. |
Page 66
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White to play 5-1. |
Page 67
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White to play 3-2. |
Page 68
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White to play 4-3. |
Page 70
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White to play 5-2. |
Page 71
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White to play 5-4. |
Page 73
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White to play 6-3. |
Page 76
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White to play 6-4. |
Page 78
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White to play 6-5. |
Page 81
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White to play 1-1. |
Page 82
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White to play 2-2. |
Page 84
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White to play 3-3. |
Page 88
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White to play 4-4. |
Page 90
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White to play 5-5. |
Page 91
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White to play 6-6. |
Page 93
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White to play 4-2. |
Page 96
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White to play 6-2. |
Page 100
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White to play 5-5. |
Page 104
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Should White double? |
Page 105
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Should White double? |
Page 113
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Should White double? |
Page 116
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White to play 5-4. |
Page 120
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White to play 6-2. |
Page 122
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White to play 2-1. |
Page 123
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White to play 2-1. |
Page 124
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White to play 5-4. |
Page 126
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White to play 5-1. |
Page 128
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White to play 4-1. |
Page 132
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White to play 6-2. |
Page 134
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White to play 6-2. |
Page 135
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White to play 6-2. |
Page 146
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Should White double? |
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Should Black double? |
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Should Black double? |
Page 149
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Should White double? |
Page 150
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Should White double? |
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Should White double? |