Backgammon Tournaments | Play Backgammon for Money

In clubs and places where players meet at regular intervals, a tournament is the most welcome event. If entry is restricted to the members of the club, it can be conducted under the same rules as the regular meetings. However, if members from other clubs are invited, it is necessary to organise the tournament on a more formal basis. You will have to state clearly:

What kind of tournament it is.
On which system it will be conducted.
What prizes will be given.
Who will referee it.

Types of backgammon tournaments

A tournament may be local, national or even international. It also may be open - which means that everyone may apply to participate or invitational. In invitational tournaments you undertake to invite players who are goodenough to participate in it. In all cases, there should be a clear summary of the prevailing rules. Unlike chess and bridge, the rules for backgammon tournaments vary different from club to club and from area to area. If there are a large number of participants, you should explain how and when the eliminating rounds will take place in order to reach the last eight or sixteen players. If more than sixteen players participate in the finals a tournament becomes chaotic.
When you advertise your tournament, you should ask the interested players to send a large self addressed envelope for the rules, the venue and the dates.

Systems

If fewer than eight players participate, the best system is for each player to meet all the others in a series of prearranged contests. The winner is credited with one point. There are no points for the loser. When all the matches are completed, the player with the most points is the winner, or champion. If there are sixteen players or more the best system is the "knock out". The losers are out of the tournament and the winners play each other until a single champion is arrived at. However, if the number of players is between eight and fourteen, the "Swiss System" is both fair and highly competitive. Its only disadvantage is that it may take some time. In the Swiss System, a player who loses once is not out of the tournament. A player has to lose twice before being eliminated. There could be sixteen or even thirty two but then a tournament would last too long. If there are more than eight players - say eleven - you must eliminate the three surplus players. These form a preliminary round of three pairs. The three losers are out of the finals.

Another point that must be clarified is whether gammons or backgammons (triple games) are acceptable. Many master players feel that if the cube is allowed, then neither double nor triple games should be counted as such; all the games should be considered as single ones, unless a player has used his cube. This rule allows the loser to reject the double game and thus lose only a single point.

If you want to learn more about the different types of backgammon tournaments offered by online backgammon room, you can find a detailed guide to online backgammon tournaments.