Paul Magriel "X-22" - USA
Paul Magriel is the most famous of modern-day backgammon players. In addition to winning the 1978 World Championship, when they were held in The Bahamas prior to Monte Carlo, Magriel wrote the book called Backgammon back in 1976. Ever since, this book has been referred to as “The Bible of Backgammon” and even now, more than 30 years later, is still considered a must-read for any serious backgammon player. One of the most frequently cited chapters of Magriel's book, is an excellent criteria he wrote about “Safe Play vs. Bold Play”.
Magriel is known to have given lessons to the rich and famous, and although he has always kept the names of those private and confidential, it is presumed that some of these have been members of royalty and well-known celebrities. Such a player would probably charge $1,000 a day for lessons, and his student would have to also pay for any additional expenses, such as airline tickets, hotel, etc.
Magriel, whose nickname is “X-22”, is originally from New York and began playing Chess before Backgammon – he was the 1965 New York State Junior Chess Champion. Paul was a mathematics professor at the Newark College of Engineering between 1969 and 1973 and wrote a weekly backgammon column for the New York Times from 1977 and 1980.
As one of the most respected theorists on the game, Magriel has done the live commentary for the World Championship final on many occasions as well as the same for final matches of several other major international events.As for other major wins, Magriel has won more Championship tournaments, Super Jackpots and Doubles events than any other player in the world. He once said he ran out of space in a room in his house where he had all his trophies on display.
Paul now lives in Las Vegas and has had good success playing in major poker tournaments but still likes gets out to compete at important backgammon events such as he did for the Atlantis Million tournament in 2007.
