If, after reading this page, you have any questions about the UKBGF Tour or would like to apply for your tournament to be part of the Tour, please email ukbgftour@gmail.com
About the Tour
It takes both skill and a bit of good fortune to win a tournament. The UKBGF Tour 2024 is designed to identify the most consistent performers, as well as taking top-flight backgammon right around the UK. The tournaments are a mixture of one-day and two-day, single-elimination, double-elimination and Swiss tournaments, supported by some of our leading clubs. Each tournament awards Tour Points to UKBGF members who take part – your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to collect as many as you can. The scoring is explained in more detail here. Our highest scorer over the course of the year will be crowned Tour Champion – and there will be trophies for the top three. Plus, there are potential places up for grabs in the Tour Winners’ Invitational (TWI) tournament, planned to be held in January 2024.
For intermediate level players – that is, people rated 1600 or below on average over the last quarter of 2022 – there’s the UKBGF Intermediate Tour 2024. Accumulate points at at one or more of the events for intermediates, as well as at the single-division events in the same way. Scoring works in the same way as for the main tour – details here.
To check whether you can play in the Intermediates, see the list on the Intermediate Eligibility page (pending an update at year end). The ratings of all the players listed exceeded the relevant threshold and they are therefore NOT eligible. If your name is not listed on this page, you may play in an Intermediate event. Rare exceptions might arise, for example strong overseas players without a UK rating would not be expected to enter Intermediate events.
The qualifying events so far are:
1. Scarborough Grand Backgammon
2nd – 4th February, at The Grand Hotel, Scarborough
Tournament Director: Steve Allott
2. London Intermediates Championship
29th March, at the Clissold Arms, East Finchley, London N2 9HR
Tournament Directors: Andrew Selby, David Potter
3. West Yorkshire Open + Intermediates
5th – 7h April, at Clayton Village Hall, Clayton, nr. Bradford
Tournament Director: Steve Lee
4. St Albans Open
27th – 28th April, at Greenwood Park Community Centre, St Albans
Tournament Director: Chris Purchase
5. London Open + Intermediates
25th – 26th May, at Cecil Sharp House, Regents Park
Tournament Directors: Andrew Selby, David Potter
6. Blackpool Imperial Cup + Intermediates
7th – 9th June, at the Imperial Hotel, Blackpool
Tournament Directors: John Wright, Kevin Jones, Mark Calderbank
7. Cambridge Open
29th – 30th June, at Novotel Cambridge North, Cambridge
Tournament Director: Julia Hayward
8. Liverpool Open
13th – 14th July, at Christ the King Parish Centre, Childwall, Liverpool L16 6AW
Tournament Directors: Tim Brown, Steve Fowles, Ian Turner
9. Brighton Summer Open (Intermediates only)
8th – 11th August, Old Ship, Brighton
Tournament Directors: Tim Parfitt
10. Backgammon UK Open + Intermediates
23th – 26th August, Woodland Grange Hotel and Conference Centre, Leamington Spa CV32 6RN
Tournament Directors: UKBGF (Mark Calderbank, Julia Hayward, Kev Jones, Sean Jones)
11. Midlands Open
20th – 22nd September, at Moseley All Services Club, Birmingham B13 9EA
Tournament Director: Matthew Fisher
12. Newcastle Open
4th – 6th October, at Gateshead Masonic Hall, Gateshead
Tournament Director: Keith Gill
13. Bristol Open + Intermediates
Date & Venue to be confirmed
Tournament Director: Tim Line
14. Worcester Intermediate Open
9th November, at the Claines Royal British Legion Club, Worcester
Tournament Director: Sean Jones
15. Brian Lever Memorial Trophy
23rd – 24th November, at The Bridge, Prestbury, SK10 4DQ
Tournament Director: Danny Cohen, Mark Calderbank, Peter Snape
16. The Players Championship
14th – 15th December, at the Clissold Arms, East Finchley, London N2 9HR
Tournament Directors: Andrew Selby, David Potter
Note that some tournaments have fixed entry limits, so do book early. If any are fully booked, prospective players will have to join a waiting list and await cancellations.
Tour Prizes
The Tour Champion will be able to hold the UKBGF Tour Trophy for a year, and have their name engraved on it – joining our past champions:
- 2022: Rachel Rhodes (masters) – Tom Thorpe (intermediates)
- 2021: Covid – no Tour
- 2020: Covid – no Tour
- 2019: Kevin Jones (masters) – Adrian Farthing (intermediates)
- 2018: Tim Cross
- 2017: Steve Bibby
- 2016: Sebastian Wilkinson
The top three finishers will also receive a personalised memento.
Rules
All tournaments on the tour are played to UKBGF rules.
The full UKBGF Tour Regulations can be found here…UKBGF Tour Regulations 2022 v1.3
Registration
You’ll need to register with each event individually. Registration and entry fees are determined by the Tournament Director at each event. There are reduced fees for UKBGF members at some events on the tour; there may also be a side event or added prize exclusive to UKBGF members.
Eligibility
All UKBGF members are eligible to take part in the Tour, and you need do nothing to be included – we will collect up the results and publish Tour standings. If you qualify as an Intermediate and you enter Intermediate competitions you will automatically be entered into the Intermediate Tour and NOT the Masters Tour.
If you join the UKBGF part-way through the year, then you can still take part for the rest of the Tour, but Tour Points from events that started before you joined are not awarded retrospectively so to maximise your chances, join early! Also, memberships cannot be processed in person by organisers of the Tour events. Therefore you must join online before the day of the tournament in order to accrue Tour Points for that event.
UK Ratings
All match results will count towards the UKBGF UK Ratings.
Recent Comments