Bray's Learning Curve

Each week, author Chris Bray lends his sharp insight and easy-to-understand analysis to help you improve your game. 

Chris is the author of multiple backgammon books, including Backgammon for Dummies, and is the backgammon columnist for The Times of London. 

Expert Backgammon Player and TeacherChris Bray Photo

A New Puzzle Every Week

Every Monday Chris posts an interesting backgammon position on our Facebook page.  We encourage you to join in the lively discussion and return here to our website on Tuesdays to read his extended analysis. 

Bray’s Learning Curve in-depth analysis is one of the great benefits of a USBGF membership.
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Time to go time

This is a good lesson on how to treat positions like this one where you have quite a few back checkers and your opponent is on the bar against your strong board.

The basic theory is to go

Make them work

The key to solving this problem is to understand what type of position we are dealing with.

Here are they elements:

  1. The basic structure is that of a prime versus prime game with White

Tempo Time

Orange could play safe with 23/22, 8/6 but that will just invite a blitz attack from White and Orange has no defence. Orange must make a tempo hit with 6/4*. That will stop White from making

Bray’s Principle

I am indebted to my colleague, Paul Lamford, for showing me this position.

I have written before about Bray’s Principle which says that in such positions you should not mind giving

Break the rules

I love this problem because I have 100% record with it. Nobody I have given it you has ever got the right solution.

We are taught that the 5-pt is the most important point on the board and

Crawford Thinking

I hope you considered hitting with 22/16* and then swiftly rejected it. The last thing Red wants to do here is lose a gammon. Losing a single game is of little consequence because White

Keep it very simple

After the forced bar/23* Red has the choice of (a) 23/20; (b) 13/10 (c) 8/5.

The worst place for a single checker in your opponent’s home board is on the 23-pt because its sixes are blocked.

Chouette

This position came up in a chouette at the London Open this last weekend and caused a heated debate with arguments put forward for all the plays listed in the rollout. In the end the captain

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