World Backgammon Championship

The World Backgammon Championship is the most prestigious annual competition in backgammon. It was first held in 1967 in Las Vegas, United States. Since 1979, the championship has been held in Fairmont Monte Carlo Monte Carlo, Monaco, where it became the universally recognised world championship event for the sport.

Overview The tournament attracts several hundred players from around the world and includes multiple divisions, including championship, intermediate and beginner events. In addition to the open championship, women's, doubles and team competitions are also organised in connection with the event.

The early editions of the championship were held in Las Vegas from 1967 to 1975. Between 1975 and 1978, another major world championship event was held in the Bahamas, while Monte Carlo hosted the European Open Championship. In 1979, the two competing circuits were merged into a single world championship in Monte Carlo.

The Monte Carlo championship is typically played over one week and includes knockout rounds, consolation events and last-chance brackets. Main championship matches are usually played to a fixed number of points, with later rounds and finals played over longer formats.

History The first recognised world championship in backgammon was held in Las Vegas in 1967, with Tim Holland becoming the inaugural champion. Holland also won the 1968 and 1971 editions. There was no championship in 1969 or 1970.

From 1975 to 1978, the Bahamas hosted the American-based world championship, while Monte Carlo staged the European Open Championship. In 1979, promoter Lewis Deyong proposed combining the two events, leading to Monte Carlo becoming the permanent host of the World Backgammon Championship.

By the 21st century, the World Backgammon Championship had become one of the leading events on the international backgammon circuit..

List of champions The following is a list of world backgammon champions.

Year Open Champion Female Champion Tournament Location 1967 Tim Holland Las Vegas 1968 Tim Holland Las Vegas 1969 no championship 1970 no championship 1971 Tim Holland Las Vegas 1972 Oswald Jacoby Las Vegas 1973 Carol Crawford Las Vegas 1974 Claude Beer Las Vegas 1975 Billy Eisenberg Bahamas 1976 Baron Vernon Ball Bahamas 1977 Ken Goodman Bahamas 1978 Paul Magriel Bahamas 1979 Luigi Villa Monte Carlo 1980 Walter Coratella Monte Carlo 1981 Lee Genud Monte Carlo 1982 Jacques Michel Monte Carlo 1983 Bill Robertie Monte Carlo 1984 Mike Svobodny Monte Carlo 1985 Charles-Henri Sabet Monte Carlo 1986 Clement Palacci Monte Carlo 1987 Bill Robertie Monte Carlo 1988 Phillip Marmorstein Monte Carlo 1989 Joe Russell Monte Carlo 1990 Hal Heinrich Monte Carlo 1991 Michael Meyburg Monte Carlo 1992 Ion Ressu Monte Carlo 1993 Peter Jes Thomsen Monte Carlo 1994 Frank Frigo Monte Carlo 1995 David Ben-Zion Monte Carlo 1996 David Nahmad Monte Carlo 1997 Jerry Grandell Monte Carlo 1998 Michael Meyburg Monte Carlo 1999 Jörgen Granstedt Monte Carlo 2000 Katie Scalamandre Monte Carlo 2001 Jörgen Granstedt Monte Carlo 2002 Mads Andersen Monte Carlo 2003 Jon Kristian Røyset Monte Carlo 2004 Peter Hallberg Monte Carlo 2005 Dennis Carlston Monte Carlo 2006 Philip Vischjager Monte Carlo 2007 Jorge Pan Monte Carlo 2008 Lars Trabolt Scarlett Serrero Monte Carlo 2009 Masayuki Mochizuki Sara Utku Monte Carlo 2010 Lars Bentzon Zoe Cunningham Monte Carlo 2011 Takumitsu Suzuki Lynn Ehrlich Monte Carlo 2012 Nevzat Dogan Laura Monaco Monte Carlo 2013 Vyacheslav Pryadkin Laura Monaco Monte Carlo 2014 Akiko Yazawa Laura Monaco Monte Carlo 2015 Ali Cihangir Çetinel Laura Monaco Monte Carlo 2016 Jörgen Granstedt Cecilia Sparke Monte Carlo 2017 Didier Assaraf Anna Clarke Monte Carlo 2018 Akiko Yazawa Alexandra Knupfer Monte Carlo 2019 Eli Roymi Antoinette Williams Monte Carlo 2020 no championship 2021 Masayuki Mochizuki Annalisa Agosti Monte Carlo 2022 Sander Lylloff Annalisa Agosti Monte Carlo 2023 Frank Frigo Maggie Diamantidis Monte Carlo 2024 Johan Moazed Miho Macleod Monte Carlo 2025 Timo Väätäinen Miranda Moulton Monte Carlo 2026 Petko Kostadinov Martha Ghio Monte Carlo

World Backgammon Championship

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