The major events
| Tournament | Where / when | Format | Match length |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Backgammon Championship | Monte Carlo (July) | Single-elimination KO + consolation; Championship, Intermediate, Beginner, Doubles and Speedgammon divisions | 13 pts early rounds → 23–25 pts final |
| Nordic Open | Copenhagen (around Easter) | Europe's largest — ~400 entries, KO + consolation + side events | 11–21 pts |
| Merit Open / Cyprus Festival | North Cyprus (twice yearly) | Major Mediterranean event; strong Turkish, Greek, Cypriot and Israeli fields | 13–25 pts |
| Las Vegas Backgammon Festival | Las Vegas | Premier US event with large prize pools | 13–25 pts |
| US Open / American Backgammon Tour | US cities (year-round) | ~25–30 sanctioned ABT events; year-end US Player of the Year | 11–17 pts |
| WBIF World Team Championship | Rotating host | National teams, organized by the World Backgammon Internet Federation | Multi-match team format |
The World Championship is the sport's crown: founded in Las Vegas in 1967, resident in Monte Carlo since 1979, drawing 300–500 players from 30+ countries each July. Online, Backgammon Galaxy monthlies, GammonTour and Heroes ladders carry the same competitive itch year-round.
How tournaments run
- Single-elimination knockouts with double-elimination consolation flights — a first-round loss doesn't end your weekend.
- Chess-style clocks with Bronstein delay or Fischer increment — typically a 2-minute bank per match point plus ~12 seconds a move. Flag falls lose.
- Standard rules + Crawford only — no Jacoby, no beavers, no automatic doubles. The full procedure is in rules §22.
- Escalating match lengths — 11–13 points early, 21–25 in championship finals. Multi-day formats at the majors.
Pre-bot era legends
- Tim Holland — three-time world champion (1967, 1968, 1971), the game's first dominant modern figure.
- Paul Magriel ("X-22") — author of Backgammon (1976), the game's most influential book; New York Times columnist. The nickname came from his numbered self-play games.
- Bill Robertie — two-time world champion (1983, 1987); author of Modern Backgammon and 501 Essential Backgammon Problems; also a chess and poker master.
- Kit Woolsey — theorist and author; namesake of the Woolsey rule ("if you're not sure whether it's a take, double") and the Woolsey match-equity tables.
- Joe Dwek — multi-time international champion and event co-founder.
Modern stars
- Mochy (Masayuki Mochizuki), Japan — two-time world champion (2009, 2014), long the world #1, and a prolific teacher.
- Akiko Yazawa, Japan — first female Monte Carlo world champion (2014); among the top-rated players globally.
- Nack Ballard, USA — top-ranked 1999–2005; inventor of Nackgammon; co-author of the post-bot opening bible.
- Falafel (Matvey Natanzon) — celebrated chouette and tournament player; subject of a documentary.
- Jörgen Granstedt, Sweden — three-time Monte Carlo champion (1999, 2001, 2016).
- Carlos Estenssoro, Michy Hatzigeorgiou, Kazuyuki Aoyama, Frank Frigo — championship winners and perennial finalists from four countries.
The Hall of Fame
Located in Las Vegas, the Backgammon Hall of Fame inducts players, theorists, organizers and popularizers: Holland, Magriel, Robertie and Woolsey; Oswald Jacoby and John R. Crawford, whose names live on in the rules; organizer Lewis Deyong, who brought the championship to Monte Carlo; theorist Danny Kleinman; 1970s popularizer Hugh Hefner; and Gerald Tesauro, creator of TD-Gammon — the program that taught machines the game.
Matches that made history
- 1979 — Berliner vs Villa. Hans Berliner's BKG 9.8 defeats reigning world champion Luigi Villa 7–1 — the first time a computer beat a reigning world champion at any classic game.
- 2014 — Mochizuki and Yazawa. Japan takes both the Championship title and the first female championship in the same era, confirming the analytical East's arrival at the summit.
Governing bodies
- WBIF — World Backgammon Internet Federation: international online competition and the team world championship.
- USBGF — U.S. Backgammon Federation: US play and the ABT.
- EUBGF and national federations in Denmark, Germany, France, Greece, Turkey, Israel and beyond; the JBL runs Japan's famously competitive tour.