Opening Concepts

by Michihito Kageyama, Roland Herrera

This book is designed to improve your Backgammon skills by using proverbs that I have made. They represent the basic concepts in backgammon and play a major role in the book. You solve problems by applying suitable proverbs, then you will find the essence of the positions.In chapter 1 & 2, Beginner level, announcing 12 basic proverbs, which I really hope you will memorize.In chapter 3 & 4, Intermediate level, introducing you to 6 advanced proverbs. Together, these 18 proverbs cover most of the opening phase.In chapter 5, 6 and 7, Advanced level, I confront another 3 important concepts, tough even for advanced players.Appendix, If you are a new comer, you really should start from this chapter. I explain the basic and important three actions in backgammon. In my opinion, the more you understand Backgammon, the more you will enjoy it. I really hope this book helps you feel better while playing Backgammon, an unbelievably well-crafted game.

238 pages, Paperback

Published October 19, 2017

Reviews

[Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "proverbs" proposed and explained in this book are helpful to build some intuition and rules of thumb for opening moves and early stages of backgammon games. That being said, they frequently collide with each other in different ways, and there is no single hierarchy that you can expect to categorize them under. I'd like to think that is due to the complexity of the game :-D Despite the collisions I found the explanations helpful, and it was quite easy to read!


"List of Proverbs

Beginners: 12 Proverbs on Commonplace Truths
1: The most important point is the 5-point
2: Make an outfield point
3: Fight for a good point
4: Break the mountain
5: Keep at least 3 checkers on the mid-point
6: To double hit is Tiger Play!
7: Attacking with 8 checkers is weak
8: Attacking with 10 checkers is strong
9: Split against the stripped 8-point
10: Split against a prime
11: Never split facing a blitzing structure
12: Hit and split

Intermediates:
13: Making a point is better than hitting loose
14: Avoid stacked points
15: Counter an advanced anchor with an advanced anchor
16: Each time you roll an ace, think about slotting
17: Make sure you can play a 6
18: The best builder is the one on our 9-point

Advanced Players: The 3 Final Proverbs:
19: A builder cannot work with only one dice
20: Feel good about your priming battle?
21: Double Tiger Play"

[Mazin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Changed my perspective on the game. A necessary tome to take your skills from intermediate to advanced

[Mr Peter MacDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing .... great explanations ... my opening game improved loads ... going into a deeper study of mid game and end game with From Basics to Badass now

[Hairold Gelderkorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

In addition to being an absolutely charming man, Michy is a backgammon sage and is skilled in the way of making simple & playful (oh, dear Nono), tough concepts. My only knock on the book is that it doesn’t explicitly discuss what part of a game constitutes the “opening game” portion, which occasionally makes it difficult for me to apply his proverbs under the appropriate circumstances.

[Amir Zahavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that teaches very practical concepts to follow at the early stages of the game.
Highly recommended (and fun to read) for intermediate and advanced players likw.
If you are a beginner I would start with "Conquering Backgammon" by Ed Rosenblum as it covers more aspects of the game.