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A Fresh Perspective

A collection of positions, analyzed by some of the finest minds on the French backgammon circuit, had been passed around from player to player for some twenty years. This document—nothing more than a PDF file—could be found scattered around inboxes and USB sticks for many years after its author had retired from the international scene.

A few years ago, I became part of the lucky circle of readers of this manuscript, the latest version of this man’s unfinished work. I had never seen this kind of quality in backgammon literature before: from openings and anchors to one man back, blitzing, priming, and backgames, this simple document described and dissected the game from start to finish, offering a fresh new perspective on the oldest of games. What a feeling it was to read his explanation of a position and have the mist clear, finding the obvious solution in a previously impenetrable play!

I knew that I had to share this remarkable work with everyone with a passion for backgammon. With the support and advice of its author, I spent a year editing and publishing the book that now sits before you. I hope that you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed setting it to paper and filling in the infinitesimally small gaps left by the author. There is no doubt that the strategy and tactics in this book will take your understanding of backgammon to another level.

Stéphane Chenevière

François Tardieu (04/11/1964) discovered backgammon in the 1980s as a mathematics and finance graduate. He went on to become French National Champion in 2002 and won the European Championship three times in 2001, 2004, and 2005. On the list of the Giants of Backgammon, nominated by his peers, he was named the third greatest player in the world in 2005 and 2007. In 2006, he began to withdraw from the global backgammon circuit to play poker and published a series of technical articles in the dedicated poker press. Upon the birth of his son in 2011, he settled down to become a professor of mathematics in Paris.