Nevertheless, every once in a while an organization puts out a release that says it all. Hence this week, something from the U.S. Backgammon Federation….

Why am I doing this? Because I want you all to know about how to get involved in the world championships.

It all begins (in this country) at the U.S. Online Qualifying Events, where players have the opportunity to compete in numerous ABT and USBGF tournament events from now (it’s already started)  and September 5th, 2011,  to enter the playoffs to win one of four coveted seats representing the USA in the 1st International Backgammon Championship.

The 1st International Backgammon Championship (IBC) will challenge four players from each of approximately 15 countries from around the world, in a competition to be held between October 12th, 2011 through the end of December, 2011.

Early rounds will be played on an online venue to be announced.  The four semi-final contenders will compete for the title of World Champion in a possibly live, televised grand finale playoff, tentatively scheduled during the first quarter of 2012.  These details are not finalized and are subject to change.

Specifically, the path to become the International Champion will occur in four phases.

Phase I

The first phase takes place between now and September 5, 2011 and has a number of avenues into the second phase Playoffs. These include:

Contributing $20 to an  IBC Donor Pool at an ABT Open event and being the donating player(s) going the furthest in the event. The number of qualifiers in any given event is dependent on the number of persons playing in the event (both donors and non-donors). For up to 31 players in an event, there will be only one Qualifier. For 32-63 entrants, there will be two Qualifiers. For 64 or more, there will be three Qualifiers. Players may re-enter ABT Open qualifying events, but a donation of $20 is required for each qualifying event or re-entry. If donors tie for the same place, all that tie will gain seats in the U.S. Online Playoffs.

ABT Open events during this period include:

• Nevada Open April 2011 – Ray Fogerlund and Patrick Gibson, Qualifiers
• Atlanta Open April-May 2011
• Chicago Open end of May 2011
• 1st Golden Gate Open May 2011
• LA Open June 2011
• Michigan Open July 2011
• Minnesota Open July 2011
• Florida Open August 2011
• Wisconsin Open September 2011

Winning selected USBGF sponsored events:

• USBGF National Championships in Los Angeles June 9-12, 2011
• USBGF World Giants’ Challenge Quiz in LA June 11, 2011
• USBGF National Club Team Tournament — playoff among players on winning team

ABT Winners/Leaders:

• 2010 ABT Champion — Kit Woolsey, Qualifier
• 2011 ABT leader as of September 5, 2011

Other qualifying events:

• Giants Invitational in Chicago May 2011
• U.S. Local Club Qualifiers — details to be announced
• Such other events as the organizers may designate

PHASE II

September 5th and October 10th, 2011.

Online Playoffs to select the top four U.S. players will be selected by an online competition among those qualifying in Phase One.

PHASE III

October 12 starts the international phase and ends in December 2011 by online competition.

The USBGF will pay the entry fees of the four US representatives of 1000 Euros and 50 Euro registration for each player.

PHASE IV

The semi-finals and Grande Finale competition will be held during the first quarter of 2012 in a location to be announced.

Check out the USBF for more information.

Pretty cool, huh?

So here goes. Advanced strategies using the doubling cube.

Beginners, bear with us.

Although, the Doubling Cube is unknown to most of the backgammon casual players, it is an essential tool in advanced backgammon strategies and in money matches and tournaments.



This cube is designated for raising the stakes of the match and its introduction to the backgammon world is one of the main reasons for the rise of popularity of backgammon.



The cube has 6 faces and the numbers written on it- 2, 4, 8,16,32,64.



At the beginning of the match, the doubling cube is placed beside the board or on the Bar between the players.

Any player, who feels at any stage of the match, that he is leading sufficiently in the match, before throwing his dice, may suggest to double the stakes by placing the doubling cube with the number 2 facing up.



You get it?

For example player A decided to raise the stakes.

Player B, his opponent, the player the offer is given to, after reviewing his situation, has two options:

He may refuse the offer and thus lose the game and one unit.

He may agree to double the stakes, and in this case the match continues with higher stakes.



Player B, who agreed to the offer, is now the owner of the doubling cube, meaning only him (player B) has the option to double the stakes again at any stage of the game.

If player B decides to do so, he has to do it on his turn before throwing his dice.

Now he takes the dice and places it so that the number 4 is facing up.



Player A, has now the same two options, only this time if he declines the offer he will lose two units, and if he agrees the stakes will rise to 4 times the original and the doubling cube returns to his control.

The cube can pass from player to player, each time raising the stakes.



There are variations on this. Example, The Crawford Rule: If you are playing a game until N- points, and your opponent is leading and reaches N-1 points, meaning he is short one point from winning the game, you are not allowed to use the Doubling cube in the following game, however, you can use the dice in the following matches if the game continues.



The reason is the weaker player will always want to raise the stakes because he has nothing to lose anymore and we want keep the use of the dice in fairness of both sides.



We’ll talk more about doubling cubes next time.

It all takes place at the Casino Barrière, 85-89, rue de Général de Gaulle, Enghien-les-Bains

The grand final of the first season of the tour takes place right after the last stop of the season, at the French Open, in Enghien-les-Bains near Paris, with only 16 players winners and €32,000 prize pool.

That’s pretty awesome, don’t you think?

Contestants include the winners of the past tour stops (Nordic Open, US Open, Swedish Open London Open and Japan Open) and an online qualifier. on Play65 free backgammon room, which was won by 2008 World champion Lars Tabolt).

The tournament format will include 9-points matches (best out 3), all planned to be clocked.

I’ll let you know what happens.

And why not? Check out the setting. [Got to marinet.com]

What I like about this tournament is it provides an opportunity for amateurs (like me) to watch, play and  learn from, top international players.

The tournament will be held from 8 to12 December at the Trois Hotels de la Chaudanne with 10,000 Euros prize money to play for.



That’s the kind of money that will definitely draw players.

The organizer, current Portuguese Backgammon Champion Clive Kaye, will be better known to most Méribel visitors as owner of Barometer Bar.

He said  that he started the tournament last year “because there wasn’t a serious tournament during the winter and it seemed a good way to bring Backgammon to Méribel during the start of the season.”



For amateur players who would like to turn up and play for an hour or two, there will be Jackpots running throughout the weekend.

These mini-tournaments for 8 people are open to everybody and cost €20 to enter. More serious players can compete in one of two flights: the Méribel Masters is for top players only, and the Mid Flight is a more relaxed event open to all.

Entry fee for the latter is 150€ and 100% of the entry fees are returned as prize money

In addition, the biggest name in Backgammon, the 2009 World Champion Mochy, will be hosting an informal talk.

This will take the form of a discussion with the audience while solving some backgammon problems. “Mochy’s Hour” will be at 7.30pm on Saturday 11 December in the Grizzli Bar, Eterlou Hotel.

So if you are anywhere near Meribel, go to this one.

And I’ll see you there.

But I’m gonna make this exception. And I’ll tell you why.

Bellingham, Washington (state) is one of the most beautiful cities in the U.S. and if you need any excuse to go there, why not make it a backgammon tournament?

I’ve been there. It is totally awesome.

The Bellingham Backgammon Association will begin monthly tournament play Sunday, Sept. 19, according to organizer Michael Cain. Tournaments will be held the third Sunday of each month through May with the Bellingham Backgammon Championships scheduled for June.

League play will begin in October.

Tournaments are held at Pacific Martial Arts, 1308 N. State St., Bellingham. Doors open at 6 p.m. with play beginning at 6:30. Participants are asked to bring their own board, if possible, and snacks to share.

Entry is $15. It’s a “shoes off’ venue, so wear warm socks.

The tournament format will be “modified Swiss,” with each player guaranteed three matches for the evening. The format is designed to give players at all levels of experience the opportunity to improve their game.

The Bellingham Backgammon Association is an informal affiliation of players interested in improving their game through organized tournament play. Anyone who plays in the Sunday night tournament is considered a member.

Like I said, if you happen to be in the area and have some time on a Sunday… check it out.

OK…I’ll try not to do a travel story next time. But damn it…Bellingham is awesome.