Backgammon · October 13, 2026

Down 6–2.

Final score: 7–6

A seven-point match. Down 0–5 after three games. Then 2–6 in the Crawford game — one game from done, against a higher-rated player, with the dice running the wrong way all match. The engine puts the low point at 13%: an 87% chance of losing. The match finished 7–6.

End of the match: score 6–7, PR 6.24 against 16.92, luck −2.25 against +2.29 — The end screen. Score 6–7. Luck −2.25 against +2.29 — the win did not come from the dice.

The climb

The complete match, replayed move by move — 58 seconds. Every hit, every cube, both comebacks.

Backgammon Studio King victories leaderboard — JFD of Canada ranked 87 with 84 victories — Backgammon Studio — King victories, October 22, 2026: JFD, #87, with 84 victories.

87% against you doesn’t mean it’s over. It means the math has an opinion — and math only counts what’s already happened. It can’t count the next move. Percentages describe the crowd of people who quit at that point. The number is only final if you agree with it.

Tenacity and resilience

Tenacity is holding on. Resilience is coming back. They’re not the same thing.

Tenacity is the grip — refusing to let go when everything says let go. Resilience is what happens after the fall — you don’t bounce back to what you were, you rebuild into what you are now.

And neither one means always pushing the boundaries. Pushing is loud. Tenacity is quiet — it’s showing up again the next day, at your own pace, when nobody’s watching and nothing’s guaranteed. The boundary-pushers burn bright and burn out. The ones who last are the ones who simply don’t stop.

Being down to 13% isn’t the end of the story. It’s the part where most people stop writing it.

You’ll also find me on Backgammon Heroes — username JFD. It’s private — ask me, I can send you an invitation.

— JFD

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