Tournament play has undoubtedly helped increase the popularity of backgammon everywhere it`s played. With prizes and cash incentives and head-to-head competition in the spotlight, the game has transformed from its position in the elite private clubs of gentlemen, and led to a worldwide craze of competition. Both the player and the spectator are drawn to these tournaments for the drama, intrigue, and spectacle that they produce.

Due to the relatively quick pace and short duration of most matches, backgammon is well-adapted for tournament play. The versatility of the game makes it very easy to orchestrate large tournaments with dozens, if not hundreds, of entrants.

This section is designed with the aim of helping you not only improve your competitive game, but also to illustrate what it takes to organize and run a successful tournament.

Elimination Tournaments

Similar to individual sports such as tennis, squash, and golf, elimination tournaments are best suited for brackets of 16, 32, 64, 96, 128, 192, or 256 players. Remember though that it is much better to have a few less rather than a few more players in these situations.

Top-seeded or highly-regarded players can be, and normally are, given "byes" in the opening rounds. The placement of players can be done randomly, or by some predetermined ranking system. If a player wins his match, he goes on to the next round, and so on and so forth until the winner from the left side of the draw meets the winner from the right side of the draw in the finals.

Depending on time constraints, matches must a have a fixed number of games which determine the winner. As you progress to the later rounds, the number of games in a match usually goes up. For example, the 1st round may feature a 5-point match, in which the 1st player to win three or more points wins the round. The final round may be a 7- or 9-point affair. You must keep in mind the doubling cube is almost always employed in tournament play, so reaching these point totals usually doesn`t require much time.

Round-Robin Tournaments

This type of tournament can be played by any number of players, but is best suited for smaller competitions with an uneven number of contestants. Typically, a player competes in a short match (to 3 points, for example) with each entrant. The player`s name and point total is then recorded on a board for all to see, and the player with the highest number of points is declared the winner. In this type of tournament, the doubling cube is rarely used.

Tournament play is usually taken more seriously. Participating players must keep in mind that backgammon is a social game and good sportsmanship must be maintained at all times. A general list of tournament rules and regulations should be made available for all players and distributed at the time of registration and set-up.

While any such list would most likely be far more extensive, here are a few of the key points that should certainly be posted and emphasized:

  • All entrants are subject to approval by the tournament committee.
  • If dispute arises, all checkers will be left as they are until a judge can be called forth to make a decision.
  • Scoring: Both players should keep score. This rule however is not enforced if both players verbally agree that only one shall keep score.
  • In any dispute, the ruling made by the judge or tournament committee is final and uncontestable.