The UK Backgammon Federation
Back at the start of August the UK took on the USA in an online backgammon match. There were twelve players on each team and four different formats were used over three days of very competitive play. However, before we look at the 2020 match, we need to use a Tardis to step back forty-seven years to 1973 to find the origins of the match
The 1973 Match
In October 1973 the Clermont Club in London’s West End hosted a match between the UK and the USA. [Read more…]
It’s been a significant ambition to hold a UK / US team match. However, for a real-world event you need an awful lot of backgammon to make the travelling – and the jet-lag – worthwhile. In a way it was therefore helpful that the virus intervened and got various people into organising online events. We still have a big time difference to contend with, but that’s a small issue for those of us who are familiar with long sessions stretching into the night!
The Clubs Championship is back – online! Register now!
The weekend of 15-16 August was booked to be our physical Clubs Championship. Although we can’t hold it this year, we will instead be running an online version, and if it’s successful we’ll make it into an annual event. The Online Clubs Championship will follow the tried and tested format of its real world sister, with teams of five representing physical clubs throughout the UK playing on Gridgammon, Backgammon Galaxy or Backgammon Studio Heroes over the course of the weekend. We’ll have group stages on Saturday afternoon, the early knockout rounds on Saturday evening, and the final stages on Sunday afternoon.
Martin Barkwill writes:
The WBGF World Team & Individual Championships, Forges-Les-Eaux, France, January 2020
If ever there were a hard act to follow, it is surely following Tim Cross under whose captaincy the UK team won the Worldwide Team Tournament in Tbilisi in 2016, the Nordic Open team event in 2018 and were runners up in the European Team Championships in 2017.
Chris Rogers writes:
As the current captain of the UK Online Team, I am very pleased to announce our participation in the WBIF World Team Championships commencing on 1 September.
The team contains the usual suspects in the form of myself (Chris Rogers), Gaz Owen, Leo Waters, Sebastian Wilkinson and Tim Cross, but I am pleased to announce the participation of our new secret weapons in the form of Oliver Squire and Chris Bray.
This will be both Oliver’s and Chris Bray’s debuts in the team competition and I am hopeful of strong performances from both. They both have excellent PRs and high grid gammon ratings, so I am sure my hopes will not be unfounded.
The UK came third in 2015 and won the competition in 2017. “Odd” years seem to be good for us, so I am hopeful for more success in 2019! With the competition being opened up to more and more nations worldwide, the challenge will be tougher than ever, but I have full confidence in our team – the old stalwarts and the newbies alike!
If you have a Gridgammon account and see any of us involved in a 13 point match, then please come and support us, as the more support we get, the better.
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