Backgammon Dictionary

To watch a game or match.

To make a comment during the game within hearing distance of the players (undesirable behavior in a tournament).

Spectator to a game. Good etiquette dictates that kibitzers not discuss the game within earshot of the players.

To move an extra checker deep within your home board where it serves no useful purpose.  See: Dead Checker.

To create a position in which a specific number on the dice cannot be played on the following turn. Killing 6's, for example, is a way to preserve your timing in a priming battle or when defending against a back game.  Compare: Save a Number.

[Proposed by Danny Kleinman.]  A guideline for cube handling in pure race positions. Compute K = (D+4)*(D+4) / (S-4), where D is the player's pip count minus the opponent's count, and S is the sum of the pip counts. Kleinman says a player should make an initial double if K > 0.44, or redouble if K > 0.61, and the opponent should accept a double or redouble if K < 1.2. See post by: Øystein Johansen.

Hit a checker.

A type of tournament where you continue to play until you lose; an elimination tournament.

An ongoing competition in which players are ranked in approximate order of ability. Any player may challenge another player higher on the ladder, up to a given number of steps away. If the challenger wins, he moves up the ladder and his opponent moves down.

Flight.

A player's last opportunity to make a throw which will give him a chance of winning the game or saving a gammon. (From Philipp Martyn on Backgammon, p. 186.)

A tournament for players who lose in the first rounds of the consolation flight or later rounds in the main flight.

A position in which the next roll will decide the game. In a last roll position, you should double if you have greater than 50% game winning chances and your opponent should accept your double if he has greater than 25% game winning chances.

[Named after Andy Latto, who suggested the possibility in an Inside Backgammon article, (Vol. 2, No. 3).]  A position which is a correct redouble but not a correct initial double. See post by Jean-Pierre Seiman.

See: Starting Position.

The player who is ahead in a match or ahead in the race (2).  Compare: Trailer.

A move that conforms to the roll of the dice as defined by the rules of backgammon.

A rule that says that an illegal play should be pointed out by the opponent if he notices it, and such play corrected before the game continues. This is different from the usual rule giving the opponent the option of allowing an illegal play to stand. See post by Marc Gray.

A play that conforms to the roll of the dice as defined by the rules of backgammon.

An feature that contributes to the weakness of a position, such as too many blots, buried checkers, or inflexibility.  Compare: Asset.

A rule of thumb that says: in a well-timed ace-point game, the defending player has about a 17% chance of winning the game. See post by: Oslash;ystein Johansen.

To move a checker that is alone on a point to the safety of an already made point.