🔴🎲 BEYOND THE BOARD – MIDDLEGAME FLASHCARDS

Set 3 | Red Series 🔴 | 40 Expert Backgammon Positions

🏆 Where Strategy Meets Tactics — Master the Art of the Middlegame!

Develop your strategic understanding with 40 carefully selected middlegame backgammon positions, complete with XG analysis and detailed explanations using the Backgammon MOT™ IPEAR teaching framework.

Created by Connor Dickinson – BMAB Master, England International and Backgammon Coach, these digital flashcards are designed to help players evaluate competing game plans, recognise changing positional priorities and make stronger decisions in complex middlegame situations.

Join the growing number of backgammon players discovering the Beyond the Board Flashcard Collection.

With a growing number of sets already sold, the collection is gaining momentum among players looking to deepen their strategic understanding and improve their decision-making.

The Red Series builds upon the Openings and Blitz collections, exploring the fascinating complexities of the middlegame.

The middlegame is where strategy and tactics become increasingly intertwined. Players must constantly reassess their positions, balancing attacking opportunities, defensive responsibilities, timing and flexibility.

Rather than simply memorising the best move, learn why it works, when to change plans and how to apply the same principles in your own matches.

🎲 WHAT'S INCLUDED?

Your digital flashcard collection contains 83 pages:

• 1 title card
• 1 introduction card
• 40 illustrated question cards
• 40 corresponding answer cards
• 1 Collect the Series card

Each answer provides detailed XG analysis alongside practical explanations of the strategic and tactical considerations behind the decision.

Series: Red – Middlegame

Format: Digital PDF

Card dimensions: 13 × 18 cm

Delivery: Instant digital download through Payhip – no physical cards supplied

🎓 HOW THE FLASHCARDS WORK

Study the position shown on the question card and decide how you would play the roll.

Then turn to the following answer card to compare your choice with the leading XG moves and explore the reasoning behind the correct decision.

Each answer uses the Backgammon MOT™ IPEAR framework:

I — Insight

Identify the important positional features, strategic tensions and clues that influence your decision.

P — Plan

Evaluate the competing game plans and understand which strategic objective best suits the position.

E — Equity

Examine XG evaluations, winning chances, gammon potential and the cost of alternative decisions.

A — Alternatives

Compare competing moves and understand why apparently attractive choices may be inferior.

R — Refinement

Extract a practical, transferable lesson that sharpens your judgement and improves future decision-making.

This structured approach encourages players to think beyond individual moves and develop stronger positional awareness, strategic flexibility and decision-making skills.

Don't simply memorise the best move. Understand WHY it's the best move!

🔴 THE MIDDLEGAME – WHERE STRATEGY MEETS TACTICS

The middlegame is one of backgammon's most challenging and fascinating phases.

Unlike the opening, where established principles frequently guide our decisions, the middlegame presents an evolving contest between competing strategic objectives.

Both players are attempting to impose their preferred game plans while responding to the changing strengths and weaknesses of their opponent's position.

Four major game plans frequently compete for attention:

🔵 PRIME – Building structures that restrict opposing checkers, while managing timing, flexibility and escaping opportunities.

🟠 BLITZ – Developing attacking threats, strengthening the home board and exploiting opportunities to trap opposing checkers on the bar.

🟡 RACE – Evaluating pip counts, racing efficiency and opportunities to convert positional advantages into winning chances.

🟢 CONTACT – Maintaining defensive resources, preserving anchors and exploiting future hitting opportunities.

The challenge is recognising which plan offers the greatest potential and when changing circumstances demand a different approach.

Strong middlegame play requires a constant balancing act between safe and bold decisions, strategy and tactics, and immediate opportunities versus long-term positional strength.

Timing, flexibility, the pip count, match score and doubling cube must all be continually reassessed.

These flashcards help develop the judgement required to navigate that strategic tightrope.

🎯 TOPICS EXPLORED INCLUDE

• Evaluating prime, blitz, race and contact strategies
• Recognising when to change strategic direction
• Balancing safe versus bold checker play
• Understanding timing and positional flexibility
• Building, maintaining and escaping primes
• Evaluating attacking opportunities and defensive resources
• Managing anchors and maintaining contact
• Racing considerations and pip-count awareness
• Recognising tactical opportunities within strategic plans
• Match-score adjustments and gammon considerations
• Evaluating risk against reward
• Understanding checker distribution and structural weaknesses
• Balancing immediate gains against long-term positional strength
• Recognising when apparently natural moves become errors
• Understanding equity losses and XG evaluations
• Monitoring cube implications and changing game conditions
• Developing flexible strategic thinking

🏆 CREATED BY CONNOR DICKINSON

Connor is a BMAB Master backgammon player, England international representative, Backgammon MOT™ coach and seminar presenter.

His competitive achievements include winning the Blackpool Open 2026, reaching the Liverpool Open semi-finals and representing England in international competition.

Drawing on competitive experience and detailed XG analysis, Connor developed the Backgammon MOT™ coaching approach to help players identify weaknesses, improve decision-making and develop a deeper understanding of the game.

The philosophy is simple:

Learn the reasoning behind the move, not merely the move itself.

🌈 PART OF THE BEYOND THE BOARD FLASHCARD COLLECTION

The Middlegame Flashcards form Set 3 – Red Series of a planned 20-set educational collection.

Each series explores different aspects of backgammon strategy and decision-making.

Available now:

🟡 Set 1 – Openings

Explore opening and early-game decisions, positional development and the strategic foundations of strong checker play.

🟠 Set 2 – Blitz

Develop your attacking skills through 40 challenging positions exploring blitzing opportunities, gammon potential and tactical decisions.

🔴 Set 3 – Middlegame

Strengthen your strategic judgement through 40 challenging positions exploring competing game plans, positional flexibility, timing and the balance between strategy and tactics.

🟢 Set 4 – Holding Games

Develop patience, timing, defensive judgement and the art of escape.

💎 Set 5 – One-Man Back

Discover the strategic value of the rear checker, recognising when to race, attack, prime or preserve contact.

Further sets are planned, covering additional areas of backgammon strategy.

Each collection follows the same structured IPEAR approach, allowing players to build a comprehensive personal backgammon study library.

Collect the series and develop your game one decision at a time.

💻 HOW TO PURCHASE AND USE YOUR PDF

Step 1 – Purchase Your Flashcards

Purchase the Middlegame Red Series securely through Payhip.

Step 2 – Download Your Collection

Following successful checkout, your 83-page PDF flashcard collection will be available as an instant digital download.

Step 3 – Study and Improve

The flashcards can be studied on a phone, tablet, laptop or computer. You may also print them for your own personal use.

Read the question card and examine the position.

Decide which move you would play.

Turn to the following answer card.

Compare your decision with the XG analysis.

Study the IPEAR explanation and practical lesson.

Revisit challenging positions to reinforce your understanding.

The cards are suitable for independent study, match preparation and ongoing backgammon improvement.

🎲 EXPLORE THE BEYOND THE BOARD RANGE

Beyond the Board is a growing collection of backgammon educational resources and practical accessories, created by a competitive backgammon player for fellow players.

Our digital training products include:

• Five specialist backgammon flashcard collections
• Professional Backgammon Checker Tracker with Mini MOT™
• Personalised Backgammon MOT™ Performance Reports
• Personalised Two-Game Backgammon Analysis

Explore our digital training collection on Payhip:

https://payhip.com/BeyondtheBoardBackgammon

We also offer practical backgammon accessories, including dice cups, foldable castle dice towers, clock stands, personalised dice storage boxes, doubling cubes and other playing equipment.

Our physical accessories remain available through our Etsy shop:

https://beyondtheboardbg.etsy.com

🔴 IMPORTANT INFORMATION

DIGITAL PRODUCT – NO PHYSICAL ITEM WILL BE POSTED.

This listing is for a PDF flashcard collection containing 83 pages.

Colours may vary slightly between screens and printers. Printing settings may affect the final page dimensions.

This purchase is licensed for the buyer's personal use only. The PDF may not be copied, shared, resold, redistributed or used commercially without permission.

🎲 BEYOND THE BOARD

Created by a backgammon player, for backgammon players.

Beyond the Board — Learn the reasoning. Improve the decision. Master the game.