The UK Backgammon Federation
A top backgammon Giant described the recent match series between Cary Hoarty (USA, age 20) and Kentaro Meijo (Japan, age 16) as some of the best backgammon he had ever seen, while world #1 and commentator on the match, Masayuki Mochizuki (Mochy) lamented surely, given their strength at such a young age, he would soon become a dinosaur of the game!
With his Mochy Challenge, hosted by Backgammon Galaxy, the talent of young players is being brought to the fore, and we should all take notice.
After two successful years, seeing Alex Polden in 2018 and then Anna Price in 2019 reach the frothy heights of Supreme Champion, the Harris + Hoole Cup returns with a bold new flavour in 2020, overseen once again by Backgammon in Ealing (BGiE).
‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…’, no wait, that is something entirely different. This is backgammon, in a nearby London borough, on the 18th April 2020! However, I have no doubt that similar drama awaits, roll the opening sequence… Episode 1 – Ealing: A New UKBGF Intermediate Tour event.
The title gives away the ending a bit. I’d be a terrible novelist. However, it’s worth taking a moment to celebrate Anna’s achievement on 30 November in winning the 2019 Harris + Hoole Cup, besting the other 39 hopefuls who entered and started play all the way back in March.
In one of Chris Bray’s fine books I seem to remember him channelling the military strategist Sun Tzu to add weight to his narrative that backgammon was a battle, a representation of war even. With this in mind I conjured up images of Cheryl Oliver, Tariq Siddiqi, and Mike Ireland, all bedecked in martial garb, approaching on the horizon, on horseback no less, coming to lay waste to all who stood in their way on that brisk November morning… in the Ealing Bowls Club. [Read more…]
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