One Jump Ahead by Jonathan
Schaeffer The book requires no
technical knowledge of computers or of draughts (and to an extent if one
approaches it expecting technical insights in to either one will be
disappointed).
Deep Blue was not the first computer to take on a world
champion in a beloved game. In August 1994 the greatest checkers player who
ever lived, a 67-year-old born-again math professor named Dr. Marion Tinsley,
faced the toughest challenge of a long career: Chinook, a.k.a. The Beast, a
program written by obsessed Canadian computer scientist Jonathan Schaeffer.
Wisely downplaying the technical side of his odyssey to make a computer into a
world champion, the author focuses instead on a personal quest that began when
he figured that others were too far ahead of him in chess -- so why not take on
checkers? His brainchild does so well that he can see, all too clearly, its
almost tragic effect on the cloistered society of checkers -- and on his fellow
human beings.
In practice it's such a good read as the story is well
told and gathers momentum the nearer the author gets to the goal. Jonathan
Schaeffer is the man behind the new Poker playing bots and more can be read
about this at the Editor's
Page
Improve
Your Backgammon by Paul Lamford Improve Your Backgammon is the ideal book for those
looking to advance from the basics and build a better understanding of the
intricacies of backgammon. In this book, ex-British champion Paul Lamford
follows on from his earlier book, Starting Out in Backgammon, to develop
further the strategies needed to master this fascinating game. * Revolutionary
layout allows readers to absorb the key ideas * Numerous test positions help
players gauge their progress * Explains how strong backgammon players deal with
typical problems Visit the BACKGAMMON
SECTION
501 Essential
Backgammon Problems by Bill Robertie The problems are typical of positions that appear in everyday
backgammon and not unusual or tricky positions that an expert may get wrong.
The difficulty of the problems range from very easy to hard with the majority
in the intermediate/advanced level. It's target audience is everybody from
beginner to expert level. The only group that maybe wouldn't find many parts of
this book valuable would be world class players, but even they would add this
to their collection. A must for a potential world class player and monster
value at the price. Visit the BACKGAMMON
SECTION
Paperback - 360 pages (November 1999) expected price £11.96Buy
This Book
Backgammon
Backgammon for Serious Players by Bill Robertie
The five sample games give some good insight
on tactics to be used in modern backgammon. The author explains why moves are
better than others, gives alternative plays and the general principles behind
them. Some interesting comments are made on how to play the cube in the
situation deriving from the sample games. Getting good at backgammon requires
to study as many matches as possible and this book will give some material to
start with. It is recommended to read the book several times as it brings a new
understand each time. Some occasional mistakes in the diagrams and notations
might make the reading a bit difficult for the beginner at times if he's not
able to spot them! Visit the BACKGAMMON
SECTION
Paperback - 256 pages ( 1
December, 1997) expected price
£10.17Buy
This Book
Cards
Cribbage: How to
Play and Win by Reiner Knizia
This guide to Cribbage first introduces
the game to those who have never played, then explains its intricacies to more
experienced players and gives advice for improving the chances of winning. The
book describes the six-card and five-card games in detail and shows numerous
card combinations. See Cibbage
Section
Paperback - 111
pages ( 5 October, 2000) expected price
£7.99Buy
This Book
Tricks
Card Manipulations
by Jean Hugard This is an excellent collection of card sleights and a
few tricks. My only complaint is that some of its methods require every ounce
of your attention to comprehend them. Not completely clear in some areas but
other than that it is excellent!
Paperback - (15
April, 1974) expected price
£6.68Buy
This Book
Tricks
Great Card Tricks
by Reiner Knizia Most of the card tricks shown in this book require no
sleight of hand, so it should be suitable for beginners. For more advanced
players, six sleights and their numerous variations are explained. The book
shows how to control a card, how to make false cuts and how to force a card. It
also shows the drop sleight and the double lift, and how to baffle an audience
by apparently reading their minds, identifying a chosen card, turning one card
into another, moving cards around, and finding all the aces.
Paperback - 128
pages (30 March, 1996) expected price
£3.99Buy
This Book
Tricks
The
Expert at the Card Table S.W. Erdnase
This is the famous first book on card
magic. It makes no excuses for being originally written as a way to cheat at
cards for money. A few of the sleights have been updated since, you wouldn't
want to deal from bottom as described within, and you wouldn't want to deal
seconds as described here either, but the rest is pure magic. This only deals
with 'PURE' card manipulation, no dodgy decks for erdnase. If you are prepared
to put in the practise, and you want to be more impressive than David Blane,
buy this book, if you want quick easy magic, but only being able to do one
trick, buy a svengali deck. by the way, S.W. Erdnase is actually E.S. Andrews
backwards. A professional gambler and cardsharp of the early 1900's.
Paperback - 130
pages (23 November, 1995) expected price
£5.69 Buy
This Book
Dice
Dice Games Properly
Explained by Frank & Simon
Buttler Everyone plays and enjoys dice
games - dice have been used for longer than playing cards as a source of
amusement. This book goes a long way to explaining why: the sheer diversity of
ways that dice can be used to play games is reflected here. Reiner Knizia has
assembled some eighty dice games, together with an equal number of variations
and game variants, to produce a singularly entertaining book. The games range
from historical favourites, through popular pub and parlour games, betting
(casino) games and even some original designs by the author himself.
Paperback - 224 pages ( 2 November, 1999) expected price £3.99 Buy
This Book
Main Menu
)
One Jump Ahead 
£25.65
$32.97 
Improve
Your Backgammon 
501 Essential
Backgammon Problems 
Backgammon for Serious Players 
Cribbage: How to
Play and Win 
Card Manipulations
Great Card Tricks
The
Expert at the Card Table
Dice Games Properly
Explained 
