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Georges Mabardi & Clare Boothe Brokaw 1930 158pp
Horace
Liveright
(Chuck Bower had invited positions from serious writings which make the worst
recommendations).
Mr Bower throws down the gauntlet, and the challenge is accepted. Without
further ado, herewith my nominee:
"Some self-appointed 'new authorities' have evolved a strange hybrid
which they call 'modern' Backgammon. There is no such thing - unless 'modern'
Backgammon is another name for bad Backgammon... The cause of the present
confusion is... the development of two minor conventions - The Double, and
Chouette. The former, however, is merely a new way of scoring... neither
development in any way affects the fundamental principles of the game.
"... there is no gainsaying that the Double does add excitement, and a
certain gambling color. If you want to gamble, by all means play the Double; if
you are more interested in the strategy of the game, omit it.
"... There is a good deal of skill involved - unbeknown to many of its
admirers - in manipulating the Double...
"... if two perfect players engaged in a match, there would never be an
accepted double... a correct double is made only when definitely ahead, and a
correct acceptance... only when the accepter knows he is not definitely behind.
"Consequently, if every double were perfect, none would be accepted... We
must conclude that accepted doubles can only be the result of imperfect play...
"The author's chief objection to the double is... its only reason d'être is
the incompetent play of those who use it. For there can be no final difference
of opinion on the value of position... two expert players will never disagree.
"Perhaps the most important thing to remember about the Double is that the
the less it is used the better."
One wonders how the authors fared playing propositions.
This book also has a delightful chapter regarding etiquette, which pays the
price of admission. There, vividly and hilariously, the authors portray the
various characters who populate the board's environs. Backgammon theory may have
evolved during the last 60 years, but human nature evidently has not. Excerpts:
"Even worse than the chortler and the grouser, is the coaxer, that
pathetic and heart-breaking wooer of Fate, who announces to his dice box before
every throw what sweet sights he would like to see issue from it... holding the
box between his two hands in a supplicating and prayerful fashion:
'Double-sixes, oh for a pair of double-sixes!'"
"The year 1930 was a memorable one... it saw a crash in the stock market, the
sprightly advent of Tom Thumb Golf, and the sudden vogue for the ancient... game
of Backgammon... Some might find in... this latter fad a combination of the
others... a re-enactment of the market crash, with its... dizzy turns of
fortune. In addition to this heady wine of chance it offers the same mental
hazards and imaginative possibilities as Miniature Golf."
They just don't write 'em like that nowadays, more's the pity.
Paul Tanenbaum, February 1998
Other book reviews welcome! Email them to DocMartin@Gammoned.com
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