In the world of board games, backgammon occupies a unique space. While a beginner can learn the movement of the checkers in minutes, bridging the gap between intermediate play and master-level execution requires deep, structured study. For decades, players looking to make this leap have turned to a single primary source: the legendary works on advanced backgammon Bill Robertie published. As a two-time World Champion (1983 and 1987) and one of the game's most respected theoreticians, Robertie's writings have coached generations of top-tier players. In this comprehensive guide, we will analyze his masterpiece—the two-volume set "Advanced Backgammon"—exploring how its division into Positional Play (Volume 1) and Technical Play (Volume 2) provides a complete blueprint for victory, and how you can modernize his classic teachings using state-of-the-art neural-net engines.
The Legend of Bill Robertie and the Birth of a Masterpiece
Before diving into the mechanics of the books, it is crucial to understand the author behind them. Bill Robertie is not merely a successful tournament player; he is a master analyst. In addition to winning the World Backgammon Championship twice, Robertie is also a distinguished chess master and a world-class poker analyst. His ability to synthesize complex mathematical probabilities into clear, actionable human principles is what sets his writing apart.
First published in 1984 as a single, comprehensive volume, "Advanced Backgammon" quickly earned the nickname the "Blue Book" and became an instant classic. However, as the game evolved, Robertie recognized that a single volume could not fully capture the strategic nuances required at the highest levels. In 1991, he released a major revision, dividing the work into two distinct volumes: Volume 1: Positional Play and Volume 2: Technical Play. This expansion nearly doubled the original 241 problems to a staggering 400 highly detailed positions.
What makes this work historically monumental is Robertie's pioneering methodology. In an era long before the development of commercial neural-net software, Robertie did not merely rely on subjective intuition. To verify correct checker play and doubling cube actions, he manually rolled out critical positions in 108-game sets. While painstaking and physically exhausting, this empirical approach laid the groundwork for modern backgammon analysis, proving that rigorous quantitative testing is the only way to uncover objective truth on the board. For anyone seeking to master advanced backgammon Bill Robertie stands as the ultimate pioneer.
Volume 1: The Art of Positional Play
Volume 1 of Robertie's series focuses entirely on "Positional Play," covering the early game, opening moves, and middle-game construction. Positional play is the art of building structure, establishing key points, and organizing your checkers to maximize future tactical opportunities while restricting your opponent. It is about understanding the flow of the board before contact is broken.
One of the core strategic paradigms Robertie emphasizes is the battle for key points, particularly the 5-point (often referred to as the "golden point"). Robertie illustrates how early-game decisions must constantly balance safety against structural development. For example, when deciding whether to make a safe, passive play or to slot a key point and risk getting hit, Robertie provides a framework for evaluating the risk-to-reward ratio based on the opponent's current board strength. If your opponent's home board is weak, you can afford to take aggressive positional risks to secure the golden point.
Another critical concept covered in Volume 1 is "Duplication and Diversification." Robertie teaches players how to structure their checkers so that the opponent's "good rolls" are duplicated. For instance, if your opponent needs a 4 to hit a vulnerable checker in their outfield, you should try to position your other checkers such that they also require a 4 to make a key point in their home board. By forcing your opponent to use the same number for multiple desirable actions, you drastically reduce their overall active rolls. Conversely, diversification involves spreading your own checkers to ensure that a wide variety of future rolls will yield positive results.
Finally, Volume 1 dives deep into prime-versus-prime battles. When both players have established strong blocking structures (primes), the game becomes a high-stakes race of timing. Robertie breaks down the subtle mechanics of preserving your timing, explaining when to advance your prime, when to attack a trapped checker, and how to safely navigate the edge of your opponent's block. Studying these positional nuances is what separates intermediate players from true experts.
Volume 2: Mastering Technical Play and the Doubling Cube
While Volume 1 focuses on the conceptual framework of building position, Volume 2 deals with the cold, hard mathematics of "Technical Play". This volume covers late-game scenarios, contact positions, holding games, back games, and complex endgame bearing-off procedures. It is the definitive guide to executing your plan under pressure.
One of the most valuable sections in Volume 2 is its treatment of holding games. A holding game occurs when one player holds an anchor in the opponent's territory (often the 20-point or 21-point) and waits to ambush a checker as the opponent attempts to clear their home board. Robertie outlines the precise timing required to maintain a holding game successfully. He explains how to evaluate whether you have enough timing to wait out the opponent, or if you must abandon the anchor and transition into a pure race.
Volume 2 also masterfully untangles the complexities of the back game—a highly defensive strategy where a player holds two or more anchors deep in the opponent's home board (such as the 1-3 or 2-3 anchors). Many intermediate players fail in back games because they do not understand the necessity of losing pips. Robertie illustrates that a back game requires a massive deficit in the race to preserve home-board timing. If your home board "crunches" (collapses) before you hit the opponent's checker, your back game will result in a disastrous double-game (gammon) loss.
Most importantly, Volume 2 is a masterclass in doubling cube strategy. Robertie demystifies advanced cube decisions by introducing concepts like "Action Doubles" and "Crunch Positions". He provides clear guidelines on when to double based on "market losers" (rolls that will put you so far ahead that your opponent will refuse a double on the next turn). By studying his problems, players learn to calculate whether they have enough "recube vigorish" (the value of owning the doubling cube and being able to redouble later) to accept a difficult double. For serious competitors, advanced backgammon Bill Robertie taught in this volume is a masterclass in psychological and mathematical warfare.
The Modern Bot Companion: How to Study Robertie's Books Today
For any modern player researching advanced backgammon Bill Robertie wrote about, an important historical shift must be addressed: the rise of artificial intelligence. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, neural-net programs like Jellyfish, Snowie, and eventually eXtreme Gammon (XG) revolutionized backgammon theory.
When top-tier players rolled out the 400 positions from Robertie's books using these modern engines, they discovered that approximately 20% to 25% of the positions contained minor errors or suboptimal plays. This was a natural consequence of Robertie relying on manual 108-game rollouts, whereas modern computers can run 100,000-game rollouts in a fraction of a second. However, this does not render the books obsolete; rather, it transforms them into an incredibly powerful active learning tool.
Reading a book passively rarely leads to deep skill retention. To truly benefit from Robertie's genius, you should adopt the "Active Rollout Study Method":
- Set Up the Board: Physically set up one of the 400 problems on a real backgammon board. Do not just look at the diagram. Setting up the physical checkers activates spatial memory.
- Formulate Your Decision: Spend five minutes analyzing the position. Identify your candidate plays and write down your chosen move, along with your tactical and positional reasoning.
- Read Robertie's Analysis: Read his explanation of the problem. Compare his strategic concepts with your own. Where did your logic diverge from a World Champion's?
- Run the Bot Analysis: Input the exact position into a modern backgammon program like eXtreme Gammon (XG). Run an XG 3-ply or rollout analysis to see the mathematically optimal play.
- Analyze the Variance: If XG and Robertie agree, you have mastered the concept. If they disagree, investigate why. Often, you will find that Robertie's strategic reasoning was 95% correct, but a subtle tactical factor favored a slightly different play. This process of active contrast and deep analysis is precisely how top-tier Grandmasters train, building a robust, intuitive grasp of complex board states.
"Advanced Backgammon" vs. "501 Essential Backgammon Problems"
For players looking to purchase Robertie's works, a common dilemma arises: Should you buy "Advanced Backgammon" (Volumes 1 and 2) or his highly popular "501 Essential Backgammon Problems"?
While both are masterful books, they serve very different pedagogical purposes. "501 Essential Backgammon Problems" is structured as a categorized library of common board scenarios. It is designed to build rapid pattern recognition for intermediate players. Each problem has a brief, concise explanation, making it highly accessible and easy to digest during short study sessions.
In contrast, "Advanced Backgammon" is a deeper, more rigorous theoretical treatise. It assumes the reader already possesses a firm grasp of intermediate strategy and actively pushes them into highly complex, counter-intuitive scenarios. The explanations are far more detailed, exploring the systemic long-term consequences of each decision.
If you are a rising intermediate player, the ideal path is to first read Paul Magriel's classic "Backgammon" to establish your foundational grammar, progress to Robertie's "501 Problems" to build your tactical muscle memory, and finally tackle the two volumes of "Advanced Backgammon" to refine your master-level strategic planning.
Advanced Backgammon FAQs
Here are real questions players frequently ask when studying advanced backgammon Bill Robertie books:
Is "Advanced Backgammon" suitable for a complete beginner? No. The book assumes you already understand basic opening theory, checker movement, and core tactical concepts. Beginners should start with introductory books such as "Backgammon for Winners" by Bill Robertie or Paul Magriel's "Backgammon" before diving into this series.
Are the 2022 re-issued editions of the books updated with bot analysis? The 2022 re-issues from Gammon Press maintain Robertie's original text and manual rollout analyses. While some modern editions of classic books append computer rollouts, the primary value of "Advanced Backgammon" lies in Robertie's step-by-step human explanations. Reading his thought process is far more educational than simply looking at a table of computerized percentages.
Why does Robertie focus so heavily on the doubling cube? In tournament backgammon, the doubling cube accounts for the vast majority of your overall equity. You can play perfect checker moves, but if you make poor cube decisions (such as passing a takeable double or failing to double when you have a massive advantage), you will consistently lose to inferior players. Robertie recognized this and dedicated almost half of his technical analysis to precise cube handling.
Where can I buy the two-volume set of "Advanced Backgammon"? The books were out of print for several years, making original copies highly sought-after collectibles. Fortunately, in 2022, Gammon Press re-issued both volumes, and they are now readily available on major online platforms such as Amazon, as well as specialty board game and backgammon retailers.
Conclusion
Mastering the game of backgammon is a lifelong journey of balancing risk, probability, and spatial structure. Among the many authors who have attempted to map this complex terrain, Bill Robertie stands as an unmatched guide. His two-volume masterpiece, "Advanced Backgammon," remains an essential milestone for any player serious about moving from intermediate competency to tournament dominance.
By dividing his instruction into the structural, long-term thinking of "Positional Play" and the rigorous, mathematical precision of "Technical Play," Robertie provides a comprehensive framework for decision-making. When paired with modern analytical tools like eXtreme Gammon, studying his 400 problems becomes one of the most effective training regimens available. Dedicate yourself to analyzing his classic positions, wrestling with his deep strategic explanations, and validating them with modern technology. Your reward will be a profound, intuitive understanding of the board that will elevate your game to the master level.
