Position List for Cooke’s and Bradshaw’s
“Backgammon, the Cruelest Game”
Tom Keith, 2013

Backgammon, the Cruelest Game
Barclay Cooke was considered among the strongest players in the world in the early 70s. Whether this was true or not is a matter of some debate, but his deep knowledge of many aspects of the game was widely recognized.

For this book, Cooke teamed up with Jon Bradshaw, an enthusiastic amateur backgammon player and professional writer. Bradshaw’s writing talents and Cooke’s knowledge of the game combined to produce a most enjoyable and educational book. It was the most comprehensive book on strategy and tactics published to that point.

This was the first backgammon book to discuss match play strategy. However, at the time, the Crawford rule was not yet firmly established, so many of the examples given are from matches that didn’t use the Crawford rule. Still, some of the concepts, such as the free drop, still apply today.

While many parts of the book are excellent, you do need to be careful about when to take advice from it. Cooke tends to play overly defensive. He has an inordinate fear of splitting his back checkers early in the game or breaking off an anchor. (He might have done well to read Magriel’s chapter on safe play versus bold play, but in 1974 that chapter hadn’t been written yet!)

As you read the book, be sure to check the rollouts provided below. (View a rollout by clicking on the diagram for the position.) Much of the time the rollout simply confirms Cooke’s good advice, but occasionally his advice is very wrong.

The positions here 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 to see the author’s commentary and a rollout of the top plays. Can you do better than Cooke and Bradshaw?

Page 16

Black to play 1-1.

Page 17

Black to play 6-6.

Page 18

Black to play 3-3.

Page 19

Black to play 4-4.

Page 20

Black to play 2-2.

Page 21

Black to play 3-1.

Page 22

Black to play 4-2.

Page 23

Black to play 6-1.

Page 24

Black to play 6-5.

Page 25

Black to play 3-2.

Page 26

Black to play 4-3.

Page 27

Black to play 5-3.

Page 28

Black to play 6-2.

Page 29

Black to play 6-4.

Page 30

Black to play 6-3.

Page 31

Black to play 5-5.

Page 32

Black to play 2-1.

Page 33

Black to play 4-1.

Page 34

Black to play 5-1.

Page 35

Black to play 5-4.

Page 36

Black to play 5-2.

Page 41

Black to play 6-6.

Page 42

Black to play 6-5.

Page 43

Black to play 6-2.

Page 44

Black to play 2-2.

Page 45

Black to play 6-6.

Page 46

Black to play 6-3.

Page 47

Black to play 4-1.

Page 48

White to play 3-2.

Page 49

Black to play 3-1.

Page 54

Black to play 3-2.

White to play 6-5.

Page 56

White to play 1-1.

Page 57

White to play 6-5.

Page 59

White to play 5-5.

Page 60

Black to play 5-2.

Black to play 5-3.

Black to play 5-4.

Page 62

Black to play 1-1.

Page 75

Black to play 5-1.

Black to play 5-1.

Black to play 5-1.

Page 76

Black to play 5-3.

Page 78

White to play 5-4.

Page 79

White to play 5-2.

Page 80

White to play 6-1.

Page 81

White to play 4-3.

Page 82

White to play 6-1.

Page 84

Black to play 1-1.

Page 86

Black to play 6-1.

Page 87

Black to play 6-1.

Page 88

White to play 2-1.

Page 89

White to play 2-1.

Page 94

Black to play 6-3.

Page 96

White to play 5-2.

Page 98

White to play 2-1.

Page 101

Black to play 4-3.

Page 104

Should White double?
Should Black take?

Page 106

Should White double?
Should Black take?

Page 110

White to play 5-1.

White to play 5-1.

Page 111

Should White redouble?
Should Black take?

Page 115

Should White redouble?
Should Black take?

Page 119

Should White redouble?
Should Black take?

Page 122

Should White double?
Should Black take?

Page 124

White to play 4-1.

Page 126

Should White double?
Should Black take?

Page 130

Should White double?
Should Black take?

Should Black double?
Should White take?

Page 131

Should Black double?
Should White take?

Page 151

Black to play 1-1.

Page 152

Black to play 1-1.

Page 156

White to play 5-4.

Page 158

White to play 3-1.

Page 160

Black to play 2-1.

Page 161

Black to play 2-1.

Page 162

Black to play 2-1.

Black to play 4-1.

Page 173

Black to play 6-4.

Backgammon, the Cruelest Game (1974), by Barclay Cooke and Jon Bradshaw

More articles by Tom Keith

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