Looking for beach reading? Take along the summer PrimeTime Backgammon! With our shift to quarterly publication, this issue is filled with even more great tournament reports, player profiles, news, and analytic articles designed to take your game to the next level.
We kick off with an instructive article by the Russian expert, Dmitriy Obukhov. In it, Dmitriy analyzes several tough positions that surfaced in the final round of the 4th USBGF Online Club Team Championship. The winning Czech team, which calls itself Hrrrrrrrrr na ne! (it's a Czech battle cry), was composed of Zdenk Žižka, Eva Žižkova and Jan Cerný. The finalist Phoenix Stars were Doug Amenda, Harvey Gillis, and Todd Crosner.
Another treat in store for you is an essay on opening doubling decisions, carefully researched and written by David Presser and Igor Erovenko. While opening rolls and second-roll responses have received a lot of attention in the literature, much less has been written about these initial doubling decisions.
Yet another high-level analytical article, this one on backgames, follows. Written by that perennial Giant and student of the game, Paul Weaver, this study spotlights six extremely difficult backgame positions, taken from streamed matches from this February's Texas Backgammon Championships.
After all that work, lay back in your beach chair and let your mind travel far and wide with tournament reports from our far-flung correspondents. Jesper Carlssen reports on the Nordic Open, PrimeTime Backgammon Editor Bob Wachtel gives us the inside scoop on the Gibraltar Open, Stuart Thomson covers the Atlanta Spring Classic, and Karen Davis highlights the Ohio State Championships.
But it's people that make backgammon so enjoyable. Russian photojournalist Vera Degtiarova interviews our own editor Bob Wachtel on his backgammon travels in the exotic middle-eastern nation of Georgia; we profile the Zakrajsek family, all of whom are garnering success on the backgammon circuit; also profiled is Barry Silliman, director of the Washington DC-area Beltway Backgammon Club. Finally, Tore Christian Helliesen shows us how much fun backgammon can be when played on his "big board" in Norwegian schools.
This issue is completed by USBGF President Bill Riles' column, updating our members on new USBGF initiatives. Check out the live and online tournament rankings and master points, Prime Clubs, upcoming events, and Get in the Game!