Kicked off by winning the World Professional Championship in 1982, Nack Ballard has countless titles and victories the world over, including his crushing defeat of the top computer in a famous 300-game match in 1999. And, since that year, Nack has been continuously recognized by his peers as either the second best or (more often) the best player in the world (Giants: Statistics).

Nack gives seminars,  commentaries,  and lessons (Take Lessons),  and authors a book series (info at Backgammon Openings and Buy the New Book).

Nack invented the variant Nackgammon and created “nactation,” a shorthand notation for opening backgammon sequences and positions.

One of the best Scrabble® players in the world, Nack maintained a rating over 2000 until he retired in 1993. He is currently the top Color Lines player in the world and one of the top Caucasian Go players (5-dan).

Nack, an enthusiastic pianist, resides in the San Francisco Bay area with his lovely wife, Hsiao-Yee.