SAMPLE GAME 2: THE BLITZ! Up to now, weve described moves in a pretty lengthy fashion, so as to be crystal clear. In most books, backgammon moves aren described this way, because it takes up too much space and is clumsy to read. Instead, games are recorded in backgammon notation. It was first invented by Paul Magriel, one of backgammons greatest players and writers, back in the 1970s. Heres how backgammon notation works: o Instead of saying Black rolls 3-2, well just write Black 32. o Instead of saying 13-point to 10-point, well write 13/10. o If an opposing blot is hit, we put an asterisk after the play, like this: 12/6*. o If two men move from one point to another, well say this: 20/16(2). o If a checker enters from the bar, well write Barl20. o And if a player bears off a checker, well write 3/off. The example above looks like this in standard backgammon notation: Black 32: 13/10,8/6*. Quite a savings in space, and just as clear, once you get used to it. Set up your board in the initial position, and follow along. 1. White 64: 1/11 2. Black 55: 6/1 *(2) 8/3(2).  Black has played 55 With his opening 64, White ran out to the II-point. That wasn our recommended play back in our chapter on dynamic openings, but its a common way of playing the roll, and youll see it a lot. Black was hoping to hit this checker by rolling a 2, but instead he rolls a 55. To play the 55, he uses checkers from the 6-point and the 8-point to make two of his inner board points in one swoop, putting White on the bar at the same time. This is a very aggressive way of playing double- fives, and it starts a new type of game which we haven seen before, called the blitz. In a blitz (sometimes called an attacking game), one side tries to close his inner board very quickly, before the opponent can establish an anchor anywhere. This game plan can only be tried if your opponent has broken the anchor he started with, back on the one-point. As long as your opponent retains the anchor on the onepoint, he has no blots for you to hit. Once he breaks that anchor, the blots he creates become vulnerable to attack. When a blitz works, your opponent gets a checker or two trapped on the bar before hes had a chance to develop his game at all; the result is usually a gammon for you. When it fails, the other player usually gains a steady advantage, because youve moved your checkers too far forward too quickly. Its a double-edged game plan, suitable for players with an aggressive style. Lets see how it works in this game. 3. White 66: No move With Black owning his 6-point, White is stuck on the bar and can enter. This rolls illustrates some of the power of an early attack. White throws one of his very best numbers, which would normally make him a significant favorite in the game, and instead has to waste it completely. 4. Black: Doubles to 2 A blitz is a powerful game plan, and Black wastes no time in doubling the stakes. Hes already a favorite in the game. 5. White: Takes the double Whites in some trouble, but he still has plenty of chances to win. All top players would agree with this take. 6. Black 62: 13/7,13/11* . Black has played 62 With this roll, Blacks blitz is in full swing. White now has two checkers stuck on the bar, while Black has moved an impressive array of builders into position to make the open points in his board. 7. White 65: Bar/5 Since the 6-point is occupied, White can only enter one checker, using the 5 he rolled. This was not a good roll, since Black can hit this checker with any combination of ones, two, threes, and sixes. 8. Black 63: 11/5*,8/5 A good shot by Black. He uses to builders to make the 5point on Whites head. Black has now strengthened his 3point board to a 4-point board, and White is in serious trouble.  Black has played 63 9. White 53: No move Once again, White rolls a number that does not enter either checker from the bar, since Black has made both the 3-point and the 5-point. 10. Black 64: 13/7,13/9 More ammunition! At this point Black is not concerned with his own back checkers. Hes throwing all his energies into the blitz, trying to close out Whites two checkers before White can gain a foothold. If he succeeds, hell be able to escape his own back checkers at his leisure. If he fails, it won matter very much whether Black shuffled his back men a little or not. Remember the Foreman-Ali fight in Zaire? Foreman used all his energy trying to knock Ali out in the first few rounds. Thats analogous to what Black is trying to do here. If Blacks knockout punch fails (as did Foremans) then the advantage will swing quickly back in the other direction. 11. White 43: Bar/4 White was hoping to throw fours or twos. He threw a single four, which enabled him to enter one of his two men. 12. Black 54: 9/4* 13/9  Black has played 54 Black had another choice here. He could have made his 2-point, by playing 7/2, 6/2. Many players would have chosen that move, which gives Black a five-point inner board. However, if White then throws any four, he has his anchor and the security that it offers. Black is trying as hard as he can to prevent White from ever making any anchor at all. With that in mind, he aims to hit any White checker that lands in his board. Its all or nothing for Black at this point. 13. White 52: Barl2  White has played 52 White wanted to roll a four and hit back. Black would then lose time bringing that checker in, and White would have a better chance of anchoring. But at least White was able to get one checker in. Now he has a chance to anchor if he throws a two next turn. 14. Black 52: 7/2*,4/2  Black has played 52 Excellent play by Black! He had a couple of chances to go wrong here. One possibility was playing something like 9/4 and 24/22. This makes a five-point board, but doesn put White on the bar. Thats too passive. White could roll a two, anchor on the 2-point, then win the game later on. Another possibility was 6/4 and 7/2*. This makes a 5point board and leaves White on the bar with both men, but it exposes Black to a direct return shot from the bar. If White rolls a two in response, he hits Black and slows down his attack. Blacks actual play was much better. He hits White, puts two checkers up in the air, makes a 5point board, and doesn expose any blots to a return shot. Its the perfect combination of aggression and safety. 15. White 64: Bar/4  White has played 64 Whites still fighting. 16. Black 43: 7/4*,24/20  Black has played 43   Black hits, of course, with the three. What about the four? Theres no way he can improve his blitzing possibilities with the four, because he already has his only two spare checkers within range of the 4-point: the checker on the 9-point and the checker on the 6-point. Now its time to get the back checkers moving. 17. White 54: Bar/4*  White has played 54 Ouch! Finally White hits a shot from the bar. Will he roll another four and put an end to Blacks attack? 18. Black 64: Bar/21,  Black has played 64 Black can use the 6 to enter, since a 6 takes him to the 19-point, which is blocked. So Black has to enter with the 4, on the 2 I-point. That leaves him with a 6 to play, which he uses to move the checker from the 20-point to the 14point. The 14-point is 10 pips away from the 4-point, so Black now can hit on the 4-point with rolls totalling 10: 6-4 and 5-5. In fact, by moving out to the 14-point, the roll of 5-5 next turn will actually close the 4-point, assuming, of course, that White stays out. 19. White 52: Stays out. A bad shot for White. 20. Black 55: 14/4*,9/4,21/16.  Black has played 55 Success! With this excellent shot, Black finally succeeds in closing the board. Now Black has only a few technical problems to overcome to secure the gammon. Notice that there is no longer any need for White to roll until Black eventually opens up an inner board. With all the points 16 occupied, White can enter no matter what number he rolls. 21. Black 63: 24/15  Black has played 63 Blacks correct strategy is to bring his two back men out together. Hes trying to avoid being in a situation where rolling a big double (like 5-5) would cause him to open up points in his home board because his back checker is blocked. When he can move his two back men beyond Whites midpoint, this possibility will disappear. 22. Black 41: 16/11 23. Black 65: 15/10, 11/5  Black has played 65 According to plan. Black has succeeded in breaking contact, and in a moment he will start his bearoff. If he can avoid being hit as White tries to come in, he will almost certainly win a gammon. 24. Black 52: 10/3 25. Black 61: 610ft, 5/4  Black has played 61 The safest way to bear off is to try and remain even on the highest points in your home board. That way, you can remove two checkers from the last point without leaving a shot. (If you had three checkers on your last point, removing just two of them would leave a costly blot.) Blacks last play leaves him with two men on his 6-point, and a total of four men on his 6-point and 5-point combined. This is a safe formation. Well soon see an example of the danger of not remaining even on the high points. 26. Black 63: 6/off, 6/3  Black has played 63 Black could take two men offby playing 6/off, 3/off, but this would leave a blot on the 6-point that White could hit by rolling a six. Instead, he correctly plays that blot to the 3-point, leaving himself safe for this turn. Since Black has finally opened a point in his board, White gets to roll again. 27. White 54: Stays out 28. Black 65: 5/off(2)  Black has played 65 A forced play. Since Black has no checkers on the 6point, he uses the six to bear a checker offthe next highest occupied point, the 5-point. He then uses the five to bear the other checker off the 5-point. 29. White 51: BarIS  White has played 51 With the five, White can enter on the newly opened 5point. The ace-point is still blocked, so he can enter there. 30. Black 64: 4/off(2) Black has played 64 Oops! With this roll Black is forced to remove two of the three men on his 4-point. That shows why its so important to keep an even number of men on the highest point when you e bearing off. Now White is back in the game if he can roll a four. 31. White 43: Bar/4*, 12/15  White has played 43 Thats exciting! White hits a last-ditch shot, and now the game enters a new phase. White will try to build some points and hopefully trap the Black checker behind a blockade. If he succeeds with this plan, hell certainly save the gammon and may even win the game. 32. Black: 55: Bar/20/15*/10/5* Black has played 55 What a shot! At a backgammon tournament, this is the kind of roll that has the spectators screaming and sends the players into ecstasy or despair, depending on which side of the table you e on. Many years ago, one of backgammons all-time great players and writers, Barclay Cooke, called backgammon he cruelest game. Its rolls like this, just when White thought he had crept back into contention, that Cooke had in mind. Of course, the games not over yet. White can still roll a five and get back into contention. 33. White 61: Bar/6 Not this time. Now it looks like White really is finished. 34. Black 51: 5/4*, 4/0ff  Black has played 51   Many players would automatically play 5/off, then look around for their best ace, which would be 3/2. But Blacks play is perfectly legal and considerably better. Remember that you e allowed to play your two numbers in any order, as long as you play your entire roll. Black has played his ace first, 5/4*, and then uses the five to bear off his checker from the 4-point, since he has no checker on a higher point. Thats considered to be a legal and complete play of a five. Why hit this checker when Black essentially has the gammon wrapped up? Black is greedy-he wants to win a backgammon worth 6 points (with the cube on 2) and not just 4 points for a gammon. Backgammon is a very seductive game (much like real life, some say) and offers many chances to be greedy, some justified, some not. You be the judge here. 35. White 53: Bar/5 36. Black 63: 3/off(2) 37. White 43: Bar/417  White has played 43 Now the outcome is settled. Even if Black throws a double next turn, nothing can prevent White from moving the men on the 5 and 6-points into Blacks outer board, thus avoiding the backgammon. At the same time, theres no way Black can fail to win a gammon. Result: four points to Black.