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MathFest 2011 Backgammon Quiz

September 27, 2011 By

In August 2011, over 1000 mathematicians gathered in Lexington, Kentucky for MathFest 2011,  the annual summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America. MathFest 2011 featured “Backgammon Night,” a free social event offering backgammon group lessons, a backgammon quiz designed especially for top-level mathematicians, and a backgammon tournament to test their newly-acquired skills.

The quiz, which we are presenting here, poses ten problems, with some weighted more highly than others, so that a perfect score nets 13 points. Art Benjamin, math professor at the Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, and a member of the USBGF Board of Directors, constructed the quiz. Art, along with Jennifer Quinn, math professor at the University of Washington, Tacoma, gave a post-quiz lecture, explaining the answers.

You can see the quiz, with answers, by downloading the PDF version (about 627 kB):  MathFest 2011 Backgammon Quiz.

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USBGF Ohio State Quiz

April 25, 2011 By

By John O’Hagan and Phil Simborg

You can view the problems and answers below, and see how well you do.

The Problems:

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Chuck Bower’s Monte Carlo Quiz, Part 2

January 12, 2011 By 2 Comments

Chuck Bower

Play Along at Monte Carlo, Part 2

By Chuck Bower

This is the second and final piece of a two part Magriel-Gartner Quiz. Part 1, with an introduction is found here.

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Chuck Bower’s Monte Carlo Quiz, Part 1

November 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Chuck Bower

Play Along at Monte Carlo, Part 1

By Chuck Bower

   

Introduction

The move-by-move type of quiz I am presenting here was invented by the great theoretician and teacher Paul Magriel. It is also a favorite of USBGF chairman and master instructor Perry Gartner, who long ago recognized its value as a learning tool. To use it most efficiently, please follow these guidelines:   1) Work through the entire quiz, making all of your play or cube choices before looking at the scoring and commentary section.
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Al Tesoro Memorial Quiz

November 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

USBGF Al Tesoro Memorial Quiz and Lecture

By Karen Davis and Rochelle Hasson    

Al Tesoro, a beloved member of the Florida backgammon community for almost three decades, was no intellectual lightweight. Born in Rome, Italy, he moved with his successful business-oriented family to New York at age 4. He returned to Europe for his education, acquiring a bachelor’s degree in Geneva, and then came back to the USA to complete the process, getting his Masters and Ph.D. in physics from Columbia. His 1967 doctoral dissertation was entitled “On the Production of Neutrino Pairs by the Annihilation of Two Photons.”    

After teaching for a few years, Al focused his intense intellectual curiosity upon games. He loved everything from cards at the Mayfair to chouettes in New York and Fort Lauderdale bars to pick-up chess games on the sidewalks or in the parks of Manhattan. His best backgammon event was the doubles, where he teamed up with Dr. Bob Hill, coming in first or second in 2001 (Florida State); 2002 (Mid-West Championships), and 2004 (Florida), and taking fourth place in the Michigan Open in 2003. But Al would always be a “pre-bot” player. He had worked hard to learn the game before software existed to point out the “right” play, and continued, to his dying day, to study the game “au natural.”
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