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Stick! the Game's Foremost Technician Takes the Masters at Ohio

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Stick! the Game's Foremost Technician Takes the Masters at Ohio PRIMETIME BACKGAMMON OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE USBGF SUMMER 2017 sTICK! The game's foremost technician takes the Masters at Ohio cherry blossom Neil championship Final Kazaross Joe Russell battles Germany's Bob Stoller interviews the Tobias Hellwag for the title ABT's all-time point leader U.s. Backgammon federation visit us at usbgf.org New USBGF Streaming Sponsorship The U.S. Backgammon Federation has acquired an amazing state-of-the-art laptop to bring the highest quality streaming possible to be enjoyed by the global backgammon community. Official 42nd World Championship Live Streaming Sponsor We are excited to announce that live match streaming for the 42nd Backgammon World Championship is sponsored by the U.S. Backgammon Federation. Streaming pages are already set up and may be viewed at Live Stream 1 and Live Stream 2. Make a Donation to the Streaming Fund and Show Your Support! Show your appreciation of our live broadcast by donating to the U.S. Backgammon Foundation Streaming Fund PayPal account at [email protected], and/or by joining or renewing your U.S. Backgammon Federation membership. Streaming at Select Prime Tournaments The new enhanced streaming capability will also be made available to select USBGF Prime Tournaments on an on-going basis. LIVE STREAMING ON TWITCH Live Streaming Sponsor 4 USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine 5 PrimeTime Backgammon Summer Issue Karen also outlines an exciting new USBGF Local Club Initiative that will provide added money based on USBGF membership to PRIMETIME an annual club tournament, with winners BACKGAMMON Summer Issue eligible for an inter-club champion online OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE USBGF SUMMER 2017 competition leading to award of an ABT sTICK! PrimeTime Backgammon tournament entry fee of the winner’s choice. The game's foremost By Marty Storer, Deputy Managing Editor technician takes the You’ll also find in this issue a summary of Masters at Ohio hree new American Backgammon Tour (ABT) tourna- Interviews by Karen Davis introduce us to two relatively unknown the great benefits offered by the USBGF, ments kicked off in the first half of 2017: (1) the Boston top players who showed their expertise at the Chicago Open in with tips on how to ensure you get the Open in February; (2) the Viking Classic in Bloomington, May: Grant Hoffman and Gerry Tansey. Grant has directed the most out of your membership. Check out TMinnesota in March; and (3) the Cherry Blossom Championship New Zealand Backgammon Championship and has won several the latest statistics and upcoming events, in Dulles, Virginia (Washington, D.C. area) in April. The Boston Australian and New Zealand championships. Gerry, from the and work on moving up in the rankings Open was directed by Ross Gordon of the Connecticut Backgam- “Show-Me” state of Missouri, won the Backgammon Olympiad list in 2017. mon Club and sponsored by the New England Backgammon in Chicago as well as Mochy’s 7th Backgammon Proficiency Test. Club. The Viking Classic was co-directed by April Kennedy and His score of 37 topped the field in Chicago as well as those who “Get Into the Game — Become a Member”” Michael Mesich. The Cherry Blossom Championship was directed took the test at the Japan Open. by Bill Riles and organized by Karen Davis. These events provided Marty Storer stunning venues, stirring themes, and innovations that attracted Several articles in this issue contain suggestions for fine-tuning players from across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan. your game. Ed Rosenblum shares his system of producing flash- cherry blossom Neil cards tailored to his own errors. I offer shortcuts for calculating championship Final Kazaross This issue is replete with reports on these and other U.S. events. the best gammon-saving play as you bear the last checker in. In Joe Russell battles Germany's Bob Stoller interviews the Tobias Hellwag for the title ABT's all-time point leader Paul Weaver treats us to an analysis of difficult cube decisions in addition, Art Benjamin and Patrick Gibson explain a mathemati- U.s. Backgammon federation visit us at usbgf.org the final of the Cherry Blossom Championship, while Steve Sax cal system for equitably compensating players in events with two hits the high notes of the tournament and his path to winning the starting times where only the second group is eligible for byes. Cherry Blossom Jackpot. Blake Fleetwood, former journalist for The New York Times, captures the Nordic lore on display at the Joe Russell, Chairman of the USBGF Board of Directors, brings Viking Classic in prose and photos — and Stick, host of the popular us up to date on the draft revised USBGF Tournament Rules and BGonline forum and one of backgammon’s leading theoreticians, invites suggestions during a 30-day public comment period before Featuring expert analysis regales us with tales of multiple triumph in his home-state tour- seeking ratification of the Rules by a vote of the membership. nament, the Ohio State Championships in March. Stick won the Masters Jackpot and the Open Consolation. Karen Davis, in her President’s Column, reminds us of some of the MARTY STORER by Stick, Paul Weaver, USBGF’s accomplishments this year, particularly in its programs Marty Storer is a member of For this quarter’s history lesson, USBGF historian Robert Stoller designed to attract newcomers to tournament play. Almost 200 the USBGF Board of Directors and Marty Storer. shares his research on the 40-year history of the U.S. Open. This Novices entered ABT events in 2016, and the numbers for 2017 and Deputy Managing Editor of issue also features Bob’s interview of Neil Kazaross, all-time Ameri- are trending even higher, with five of the ten ABT tournaments PrimeTime Backgammon magazine. can Backgammon Tour point leader, and American Backgammon held through the end of May having double-digit Novice entrants. Hall of Fame honoree. 6 USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine 7 In This Issue Summer 2017 FEATURED 24 ABRIDGED INTERVIEW WITH NEIL KAZAROSS The all-time American Backgammon Tour leader and Backgammon Hall of Famer is interviewed. 24 BY ROBERT STOLLER 36 2017 OHIO STATE INTERVIEW WITH NEIL KAZAROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS For four decades, Grandmaster and all-time ABT point leader Neil Kazaross has been a The host of the popular BGonline forum recaps the leading analyst and outstanding player. 36 action at the 2017 Ohio State Championships. BY STICK STICK TAKES THE MASTERS 44 CUBE ACTION IN THE Stick's Ohio stomping ground CHERRY BLOSSOM FINAL showcased his skill — proving that he is definitely 'awesome sauce'. A big swing in the Cherry Blossom Championship final between Joe Russell and Tobias Hellwag provides excitement and cube decision insights. IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS BY PAUL WEAVER Correct your engrained errors using 44 72 personalized flash cards. 58 SAVING THE GAMMON ON THE LAST ROLL CHERRY BLOSSOM CUBE ACTION Learn tips and tricks to make counting gammon- Timely cube action was key to winning saving numbers much easier. the Cherry Blossom Championship. BY MARTY STORER 66 FORTY-YEAR MILESTONE FOR THE U.S. OPEN Our USBGF historian presents a fascinating recap of VIKINGS LOVE PRIMETIME! forty years of the U.S. Open Championship. A Nordic theme made for terrific trophies BY ROBERT STOLLER and great fun at the Viking Classic. DORIS AUER; T. MENDICINO; ROSENBLUM MENDICINO; T. AUER; DORIS TARA MENDICINO; APRIL KENNEDY APRIL MENDICINO; TARA 72 HOUSE OF CARDS Questions or comments about PrimeTime Personalized flash cards focus study on the Backgammon? We want to hear from you! weaknesses in your game. Contact us via e-mail at [email protected]. 100 LEFT: FROM TOP: FROM BY ED ROSENBLUM 8 USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine USBGF PrimeTime Backgammon Magazine 9 In This Issue In This Issue Summer PRIMETIME 2017 BACKGAMMON OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE USBGF SUMMER 2017 TOURNAMENT NEWS sTICK! 78 2017 CHERRY BLOSSOM The game's foremost CHAMPIONSHIP technician takes the Masters at Ohio ON THE COVER The winner of the Cherry Blossom Mega Jackpot Insight into the intricacies of the game reports the highlights from D.C. contributed to Stick's win in Ohio Masters and BY STEVE SAX stature in the field. Photo by Tara Mendicino. 100 CONQUERING BACKGAMMON: LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE! VIKING STYLE! Yuji Ogura came from Japan to tie for The debut of the Viking Classic sets a new 2nd in the Swiss-style Chicago Open, and standard in Minnesota. won the After Tourney Overflow. BY BLAKE FLEETWOOD 106 HOW TO COMPENSATE PLAYERS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR BYES How to determine equity for non-byes in events cherry blossom Neil with double start times. championship Final Kazaross Joe Russell battles Germany's Bob Stoller interviews the BY ART BENJAMIN AND PATRICK GIBSON Tobias Hellwag for the title ABT's all-time point leader U.s. Backgammon federation visit us at usbgf.org PLAYER PROFILES 14 PRESIDENT'S COLUMN 92 GRANT HOFFMAN TOURNAMENT RESULTS USBGF NATIONAL & ONLINE STATS USBGF President and Executive Director discusses The talented New Zealander reveals his zeal for 110 LIVE TOURNAMENT RESULTS new ideas and plans to grow the game. 119 MASTER POINT LEADERS backgames in Chicago. See all the results from ABT tournaments BY KAREN DAVIS Check out the top-ten players in both the USBGF BY KAREN DAVIS held in Ohio, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, National and Online Master Points races for 2017. Atlanta, Chicago, and Michigan. 16 YOUR USBGF MEMBERSHIP 96 GERRY TANSEY Learn all about getting the most out of your new Midwestener leaps to new heights in the 118 2017 ABT STANDINGS TOP 60 120 ONLINE LEADERBOARD USBGF membership.
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