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125 Backgammon

125 years ago there was no doubling cube so in keeping with that we will be running a tournament without the cube. The format is a Swiss event so that you are guaranteed four (or five) matches. Each round will be contested as the best of three one-point matches. So, no doubling and gammons/backgammons don’t count. What could be simpler?

The event will be run on Sunday 17th May starting at 1pm. After the first two rounds we will be providing afternoon tea. There will then be two (or possibly three) more rounds after tea. There will be a small trophy for the winner. The entry fee is £5 so that we can have some prizes at the end of the day but the club is kindly funding the afternoon tea.

There will be a maximum of fifty entries permitted. Places will be strictly allocated on a first come, first served basis. To enter you must be able to play backgammon, so no beginners please. However, you do not need to know how to use the doubling cube.

To register please let us know at: braycl@gmail.com and we will then give you details of how to pay the entry fee. Closing date for entries is Saturday 2nd May.

Chris and Gill Bray

Backgammon 20th Anniversary Event

October 2025

 

Just over twenty years ago Roehampton Club received an invitation to join the newly formed London Clubs Backgammon League. This was the brainchild of Edward Baliszewski of the RAC. We received the invitation because Chris Bray, a Roehampton Club Member for some fifteen years, had by then been the backgammon columnist for The Independent for over ten years (he moved to The Times in 2018) and was well-known to Edward and other members of the RAC. It was hoped that Chris could devote some column inches to the new league as well as getting the Club involved.

 

Chris and his wife, Gill, had been considering starting backgammon at Roehampton Club for some time and the invitation to the Clubs’ League provided the necessary impetus to get things started. And so, In September 2005, the first meeting of backgammon enthusiasts at the Club took place. Many of the group that gathered that day, including Marcel Bancroft, Jane Trueman and Paul Viita, are still playing for the Club.

We couldn’t quite get a team together for the 2005/6 season, but we were up and running for 2006/7. We kept coming second in the ten-team league but finally, in 2017, we were crowned champions.

 

On the evening of 30th September, we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the backgammon group by holding a reception (generously funded by the Club) and a consulting doubles tournament for the newly created Bray Cup. As well as current Members we were also joined by past Club champions, Bora Garson and Emma Lawson. The tournament was won by Simon Edwards and Tony Taylor. The runners-up were Hassan Dajani and John Tyrwhitt.

The Bray Cup Doubles Tournament will now become an annual autumn event.

Meanwhile, the summer tournaments are reaching their concluding stages with the finals scheduled for October. On Wednesday 3rd December we will be holding our annual Mulled Wine and Mince Pies Backgammon evening. This has become a major fixture in the London backgammon calendar. The mince pies are all hand made by Gill, Judith Dyson and Danit Birn. Members of all the London League Clubs join us for a short presentation from Chris followed by multiple eight-player jackpots. It is a chance to meet old friends and enjoy some light-hearted backgammon.

 

For more backgammon information please contact Chris or Gill Bray at braycl@gmail.com or gillianbray18@gmail.com