Opening Concepts, This book is mainly for beginners. I like it very much because it breaks down a position in concepts that can be expressed clearly in proverbs. They give you a way to put a position into words. This in turn gives you an opportunitet to talk about and analyse a position. I did get a few things cleared up myself. The book mainly discusses the opening phase of the game talking about how to figure out what type of position you are in and what game plan you need.
Backgammon From Basics to Badass: This book is written by grand master Marc Brockmann Olsen who is one of the people behind Backgammon Galaxy. He is trying to provide a platform where you have integrated play and analysis into the same product. Marc’s dedication to backgammon as a skill game is apparent in his approach to his backgammon site. This book is for beginners but it also covers a lot about match play for the intermediate and advanced players. What I really like about this book is that it gives you some simple concepts that you can try to apply to the game. If you learn them all and manage to utilize them you will be an advanced player. I don’t think there are enough examples in the book but it is also clear that this was not what Marc is aiming for. This book is to be considered as a list of concepts that covers almost all facets of backgammon. It is then your job to work with the material and get a feeling for each concept and how it interacts with other concepts. As a stating point for a new backgammon player I don’t think you will find a better book.
Backgammon Boot Camp: Walter Trice wrote a series of articles for GammonVillage that he put together as a book. This book is supposed to cover all aspects of backgammon which is of course not possible – but this is the best try I have seen so far. The book is basically for everyone. Yes, everyone. There are so many ideas and concepts that you can find something about everything. Sometimes I feel that the book is not connecting the dots. Some sections are too self-contained and it does feel like the book was not written as a book but first as a series of articles. I use it as an encyclopedia where I look up ideas if I need one. I can recommend this book to everyone.
Modern Backgammon: The last book I’d like to mention in this blog post is my favorite book from multiple times world backgammon champion and extraordinaire author Bill Robertie. This book is not for beginners at all. I would say that you will start getting something out of it when you reach strong intermediate level. This book is inspired by the way computer programs play backgammon. Bill set out to put the new concepts and ideas from the computer programs into words that we as humans could understand. The book is very well written and with good structure and many good examples. I believe that this book did the most for my game in helping me understand the over-all goals of the game and how to achieve them in practice. If you are on your way to becoming a strong player this book might be what you need to advance. I can definitely recommend it to all serious players.