As makers of the world’s finest games, its only right that we pay our respects to an amazing player, and gaming legend.
We’re extremely saddened to hear the news that an incredible Backgammon, chess and poker champion Paul “X-22” Magriel passed away yesterday, age 71.
Our thoughts are with his family, friends and those who had the pleasure of working with him throughout his career.
News quickly spread amongst fans, friends and students of the talented player. His death was announced by fellow backgammon author and World Champion Bill Robertie who wrote:
“I’m sad to have to report that Paul Magriel passed away yesterday,” Robertie wrote. “He was found dead in his apartment by his assistant who was helping him work on a new book. No other details are immediately available.”
<h3>Our Leather Checkers</h3>
We were honoured to have worked with Paul Magriel on our famous weighted leather checkers. They were designed to feel heavy in the hand yet slide perfectly across the board at speed. His dedication to the game, the backgammon community and our brand will be greatly missed.
<h3>About Paul Magriel</h3>
Magriel was a mathematical genius who became famous amongst players as a junior Chess champion before turning his hand to Backgammon; in 1978 he won the World Backgammon Championship.
He’s also well known amongst players for a book he co-wrote alongside Renee Margriel Roberts which quickly became an essential read for players.
After taking the Backgammon world by storm he turned his hand to poker where he’s known for his help in delineating the concept of measuring one’s stack against blinds and antes. This was outlined in Dan Harrington and Robertie’s 2005 book Harrington on Hold’em, Volume II: The Endgame.
As the gaming community comes to terms with the loss of such an incredible player we look back at some of his table antics including his famous “quack quack”.
<h3>Max Parker On Magriel</h3>
“Fond memories of Backgammon great and former World Champion, Paul Magriel, who worked with my late father in the seventies developing our now famous leather weighted Backgammon checker. Proud owners of a signed leather-bound edition of what many regard as the definitive book on the game entitled “Backgammon”. His on-line match commentary was always a revelation. RIP Paul”. <em>Max Parker, Chairman, GEOFFREY PARKER.</em>