This manuscript encompasses the rudimentary combinations as well as advanced, unexpected and non-traditional checkmates. The strategies scrutinized involve checkmating adversaries with merely a pawn’s advantage, orchestrating a pair of rooks into an indomitable offense, and discerning the optimal time to employ a knight or a bishop for victory.
In his youth, when Bill Robertie embarked on his journey with chess, he was unaware that his unwavering dedication to this board game would culminate in significant global accomplishments in three distinct games – chess, backgammon, and poker.
In his early years, Robertie was a chess player for Arlington High School, where he encountered Dan Harrington, another player from the Metropolitan league who attended Christopher Columbus High School. He served as the leader of his chess team for three years while attending Harvard College. He prevailed in the U.S. Speed Chess Championship and also shared the top spot in the Golden Knights, the U.S. postal chess championship. Additionally, he gave simultaneous blindfold demonstrations on eight boards. Being a lifelong enthusiast of the game, Bill Robertie has produced a significant amount of literature on chess (Master Checkmate Strategy; Easy Endgame Strategies) and has an extensive collection of chess books that includes every edition of “Chess Life” since 1932, except for the years 1991 and 1992, which he is diligently seeking.
Robertie transitioned to backgammon in 1976, leveraging the skills and knowledge he had gained from years of chess study and gameplay. His aptitude for the game quickly propelled him to the global stage, where he clinched victories in numerous tournaments such as the Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship (twice), the Boston Black & White competition, the Bahamas Pro-Am, and the Istanbul World Cup. Robertie has also penned 10 revered and top-selling backgammon books, which include titles like Modern Backgammon, Advanced Backgammon V1, Advanced Backgammon V2 and 501 Essential Backgammon Problems.
In 2003, Robertie’s notable gaming career took an essential shift as he and Dan Harrington (a poker player and World Series of Poker champion) joined forces to write their debut poker book, Harrington on Hold’em/Strategic Play (published by Mason Malmuth’s 2+2 Publishing). The book was the first of its kind to simplify the complexities of poker, enabling players to easily grasp the game’s intricate subtleties. Harrington on Hold’em/Strategic Play quickly gained fame as a groundbreaking classic, revolutionizing the poker playing landscape and becoming an obligatory read for devoted students of the game. The duo continued their success with subsequent books such as Harrington on Hold’em/The Endgame, Harrington on Hold’em/The Workbook, Harrington on Cash Games V1 and Harrington on Cash Games V2. Further volumes in the “Harrington” series are currently in development.
