💎🎲 BEYOND THE BOARD – ONE-MAN BACK FLASHCARDS

Set 5 | Sapphire Series 💎 | 40 Expert Backgammon Positions

Discover the hidden brilliance of the one-man back game — where timing, judgement and the courage to escape can transform a difficult position into a winning opportunity!

Explore 40 carefully selected real-game positions, complete with detailed XG analysis and practical explanations using my Backgammon MOT™ IPEAR teaching framework.

Created by Connor Dickinson – BMAB Backgammon Master, England International, multiple tournament winner and backgammon coach, these digital flashcards help players recognise the strategic subtleties of the one-man back game and develop stronger decision-making skills.

Part of the growing Beyond the Board Flashcard Collection, which has already sold 30 sets in just a few weeks, the Sapphire Series combines serious backgammon analysis with memorable literary imagery and practical psychological insights.

💎 THE SAPPHIRE SERIES – EVERY POSITION HAS HIDDEN FACETS!

🎲 When should you escape, when should you attack, and when should you preserve contact?

The one-man back game presents a fascinating strategic challenge. A single rear checker can become a racing liability, a defensive resource, a tactical threat or the foundation of an entirely different game plan.

Recognising which role it plays is fundamental to making the correct decision.

Drawing upon my interests in psychology, sociology and creative writing, I've developed an extended sapphire and gemstone metaphor throughout this collection.

Positions become precious stones awaiting examination. Attractive moves may conceal hidden flaws, apparently awkward positions may contain unexpected brilliance, and the strongest decisions emerge only when every strategic facet has been considered.

Throughout the 40 positions, memorable captions and strategic reflections explore themes including:

💎 The Flaw in the Jewel – Recognising weaknesses beneath an apparently attractive position.

💎 The False Sparkle of Safety – Understanding why the obvious safe move may conceal strategic danger.

💎 The Missing Facet – Discovering the tactical or positional consideration that changes everything.

💎 The Courage to Leave the Jewel Uncut – Recognising when patience and flexibility are more valuable than immediate action.

💎 The Illusion of Escape – Understanding why running is not always the same as improving your position.

💎 The Jeweller's Eye – Learning to examine the entire position before committing to a move.

These aren't simply literary embellishments. Each reinforces a practical strategic lesson involving timing, racing judgement, contact, tactical opportunities, flexibility or the correct game plan.

The aim is to make the lesson memorable long after the position has been forgotten.

🎲 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 includes XG analysis, equity comparisons and a structured explanation of the reasoning behind the strongest moves.

Series: Sapphire – One-Man Back

Format: Digital PDF

Card dimensions: 13 × 18 cm

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

🎓 HOW THE FLASHCARDS WORK

Study each position, examine the match score and dice roll, and decide how you would play.

Then turn to the corresponding answer card to compare your decision with XG's preferred moves and explore the strategic reasoning.

Every answer follows my Backgammon MOT™ IPEAR framework:

I – Insight: Recognise the positional clues, racing considerations, tactical threats and strategic tensions.

P – Plan: Identify the correct game plan and understand whether the position calls for racing, attacking, priming or maintaining defensive contact.

E – Equity: Examine winning chances, gammon probabilities and the equity cost of competing moves.

A – Alternatives: Compare candidate plays and discover why apparently attractive moves may be inferior.

R – Refinement: Extract a memorable, transferable lesson to improve future decisions.

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

💎 MASTERING THE ONE-MAN BACK GAME

The one-man back game is one of backgammon's most intriguing strategic challenges.

A single checker remaining in your opponent's home board can influence the entire position. Knowing whether to escape, preserve contact, attack or improve your offensive structure requires careful positional judgement.

The Sapphire Series explores:

• Recognising the different strategic roles of the rear checker
• Distinguishing between racing and contact game plans
• Understanding when to escape and when to remain behind
• Evaluating racing leads, deficits and pip-count considerations
• Recognising offensive and defensive responsibilities
• Understanding the value of maintaining contact
• Identifying attacking opportunities and blitzing potential
• Building and maintaining effective primes
• Preserving flexibility and avoiding premature commitments
• Recognising tactical threats and future hitting opportunities
• Understanding when apparently safe moves are strategically inferior
• Balancing immediate gains against long-term positional strength
• Evaluating match-score, gammon and equity considerations
• Recognising when the correct game plan changes
• Learning to examine competing strategic ideas before selecting a move

A single rear checker is not necessarily a weakness. Sometimes it is a liability demanding escape; sometimes it is a valuable resource that keeps your winning chances alive.

The skill lies in knowing the difference.

Like a sapphire, a position cannot be judged from a single angle. Its true value emerges only when every facet has been examined.

🏆 CREATED BY CONNOR DICKINSON

I'm a BMAB Backgammon Master, England International, multiple tournament winner and Backgammon MOT™ coach.

My competitive achievements include:

🏆 Winner – Blackpool Open 2026

🏆 Winner – British Super Jackpot 2023

🏆 Multiple BMAB tournament victories

🏆 England International – representing my country in international competition

Drawing upon competitive experience, detailed XG analysis and my longstanding interests in psychology, sociology and creative writing, I developed Beyond the Board to make advanced backgammon education accessible, engaging and affordable.

My philosophy:

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

🌈 PART OF THE GROWING BEYOND THE BOARD FLASHCARD COLLECTION

The Sapphire Series is Set 5 of a developing collection exploring the strategic and tactical challenges of backgammon.

With 30 sets already sold in just a few weeks, the Beyond the Board collection continues to grow!

Available now:

🟡 Set 1 – Openings: Develop strong foundations in opening strategy and early-game decisions.

🟠 Set 2 – Blitz: Explore attacking opportunities, tactical decisions and gammon potential.

🔴 Set 3 – Middlegame: Master competing game plans, positional flexibility and strategic transitions.

🟢 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 collections are planned, allowing players to build a comprehensive, colour-coded personal backgammon learning library.

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

💻 HOW TO PURCHASE AND USE YOUR PDF

Purchase your Sapphire Series flashcards securely through Payhip.

Following successful checkout, your 83-page digital PDF will be available to download.

The flashcards can be studied on a phone, tablet, laptop or computer, or printed for personal use.

Examine the question card, choose your move, reveal the XG analysis and study the IPEAR explanation.

Revisit challenging positions to reinforce your understanding and improve your ability to recognise similar situations during competitive play.

Ideal for independent study, match preparation, coaching discussions and ongoing backgammon improvement.

Whether you're an ambitious club player or an experienced tournament competitor, the objective is the same: to develop clearer strategic thinking and stronger decisions over the board.

🎲 EXPLORE BEYOND THE BOARD

Beyond the Board also offers professional backgammon training resources, personalised game analysis and the Backgammon MOT™ Performance Report.

Explore our digital training collection through Payhip:

https://payhip.com/BeyondtheBoardBackgammon

Our physical backgammon accessories, including dice cups, foldable castle dice towers, clock stands, dice boxes and doubling cubes, remain available through our Etsy shop:

https://beyondtheboardbg.etsy.com

🔴 IMPORTANT INFORMATION

DIGITAL PRODUCT – NO PHYSICAL ITEM WILL BE POSTED.

This listing is for an 83-page PDF flashcard collection.

Colours may vary between screens and printers. Printing settings may affect final 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.

Learn the reasoning. Improve the decision. Master the game.

Every position has hidden facets. Learn to recognise the brilliance beneath the surface.