Enjoy this match between Anna Price (UK) and Karen Davis (US), played in the quarterfinals of The World Backgammon Internet Federation (WBIF) 2024 Women’s World Championship. Expert commentators include Julia Hayward, Chair of the UK Backgammon Federation Board of Directors, and Irina Litzenberger, Chair of the US Backgammon Federation Women's Committee. The tournament attracted a field of 110 women entrants from around the world. The final eight played ten rounds of 13-point matches to reach the quarterfinals. They began their journey in mid-July 2024, finishing in the top third of competitors in each of three regions – the Americas; Europe and Africa; and Asia, Australia, and Oceania – after five rounds of play! The finals pitted the remaining top third of the field in another five rounds. Learn more about the players here: https://www.womensworldofbackgammon.com/post/wbif-women-s-world-championship-quarterfinal-match-betweenwith-karen-davis-anna-price #backgammon #WBIF #WorldBackgammonInternetFoundation

View a recap of the Difficult Cube and Checker Decisions that arose in the Final of the Annie Oakley Shootout held in Denver, Colorado, on October 8–10. Twenty women competed for the beautiful Annie Oakley trophy provided by the producers of the Wild West Shootout Backgammon Championships. Irina Litzenberger took that honor, edging out Karen Davis, both WWB Board members. The best way to improve is to learn from your own mistakes. To that end, the Difficult Decisions series features a review by players of their errors/blunders as well as the difficult decisions they got right, to reinforce the lessons they contain. Irina and Karen review over a dozen interesting positions that arose in their match and explain their thinking both over the board and after reviewing the eXtreme Gammon analysis. Irina Litzenberger was born in Argentina and lives in Virginia, USA. She is a member of the Board of the Women’s World of Backgammon and chairs the Women’s Committee of the U.S. Backgammon Federation. In 2023, she was awarded the Backgammon Masters Awarding Body Master Class 3. She was on Team USA that won the inaugural WBGF Women’s Championship in Sweden in 2024. Other backgammon accomplishments include: finishing 3rd/4th in the Backgammon World Championship Ladies event (2022); winning the Sunny Florida Championship Consolation (2022); serving as a member of the USA Women’s Team in the 2024 and 2022 Genud Cup; placing second in the Cherry Blossom Women’s Cup in 2023; and finishing second in the New York Metro Lady Liberty Cup in 2024. Karen Davis lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She is a BMAB Master Class 2 and a member of the American Backgammon Hall of Fame. She was captain of Team USA that won the inaugural WBGF Women’s Championship in Sweden in 2024. She served on the Board of the U.S. Backgammon Federation from 2009–2022 and was President from 2017–2020. She is a co-founder of the Women’s World of Backgammon. Her notable backgammon accomplishments include: winner of the USBGF Women’s National Championship (2022); winner of the NY Metro Super Jackpot (2019); and achieving the #2 ranking in USBGF All-Time Online Master Points. #backgammon #backgammontournament #playbackgammon

Enjoy this review of a recent match in the Super Jackpot of the 1st Backgammon Festival in Aachen Germany in August 2024 between two of the world’s strongest women players, Akiko Yazawa from Japan and Josefin Bichler from Germany. They played at a nearly flawless World Class level, both with 3 Performance Ratings. Grandmaster Marty Storer moderates the review, providing his insights. Josefin and Akiko share their thinking over the board and after reflecting on the eXtreme Gammon analysis of 20 interesting positions. Josefin joined the discussion in a Zoom session sponsored by the Women’s World of Backgammon (WWB). Written comments from Akiko Yazawa from Japan were read by WWB Board member Irina Litzenberger.  Highlights of Josefin Bichler’s recent tournament successes include winning the 2022 Merit Open in Cyprus doubles event in a field of 185 teams with backgammon partner Will Cockerell from England as well as reaching the semifinal of the Last Chance Championship flight. In 2023 she came in fourth at the Nordic Open. She’s had a great year in 2024reaching the Final in Speedgammon in Gibraltar, winning the Super Jackpot in Beaulieu, and then taking home three trophies in Bad Dürkheim Germany: semifinal Doubles (with Thomas Kazemieh), second place in the Main, and winning the Super Jackpot.  Akiko Yazawa has appeared on the Giants of Backgammon list 5 times, starting in 2013, ranking as high as 3rd in 2015. She reached the pinnacle of backgammon, winning the Backgammon World Championship in Monte Carlo in 2014, and then again in 2018.  Akiko has won numerous events in Europe, Japan, and the U.S.A., including the prestigious Dual-Duel event in San Antonio Texas in 2013 and back-to-back victories in the Monte Carlo Super Jackpot in 2012 and 2013. In 2024 she won the Merit Open in Montenegro, finished runner-up at the World Doubles Championships with backgammon partner Andreas Bünz from Germany in Aachen Germany, and third at the Merit Open Middle East Invitational in Cyprus.

The Final of the Inaugural Women’s World Team Championships, held in Stockholm, Sweden, from July 8-10, 2024, was a historic and thrilling event. Women from eight countries competed for the title of World Champions. In the end, women’s teams from the U.S. and the United Kingdom fought for the World Champion title in a tightly contested final round. A dozen difficult decisions that arose in the final were revisited by members of the two teams and grandmasters during a Women’s World of Backgammon Learning Session on September 10. These champion players explained their thinking during the high-profile final in a discussion led by Roberto Litzenberger, co-director of the BMAB Players Cup. Women’s Team UK finished second with team members: Julia Hayward (captain), Rachel Rhodes, Merrin Rose, Becca Bell, Anna Clark, and Anna Price. Women’s Team USA won the event with team members: Karen Davis (captain), Irina Litzenberger, Leyla Zaloutskaya, Lynda Clay, Teri Harmon, and Rain Ackerman. The first-ever Women's World Team Tournament by the World Backgammon Federation is not just a competition; it's a celebration of progress, inclusivity, and the enduring allure of backgammon.

Hanna Polyakova is a rising star in the backgammon world, known for her clever YouTube channel (@hanna_gammon) and, more importantly, for her ferocious commitment to learning the game. She bemoans a 7 PR during her interview, sharing that she is hoping for a 4. You will find her focus in all things to be admirable, and her start, which was in chess, is never a surprise for a backgammon player. #backgammon #hannapolyakova #backgammontournament CORRECTION: Christine mentions that chess will be played in the Olympics. It will NOT be played in this year's Olympics but has been designated as an Olympic sport.

After four months of top-caliber play, the third Women's World of Backgammon Mixed Doubles online tournament drew to a close Sunday, June 30. In all, 47 mixed doubles teams competed in the Championship and Intermediate divisions. Sixteen countries had players in the event. In this exciting final Championship match, Kara Schultz, winner of the 2023 Online World Women's Championship, and her backgammon partner David Vakil, a Backgammon Masters Awarding Body Master Class 2 and Karen Davis, WWB co-founder and Giant of Backgammon along with her backgammon partner Kent Goulding, both American Backgammon Hall of Famers, encountered numerous difficult decisions. You can watch the match here, https://youtu.be/Ui3IXhT_l1c In this video listen as these world-class players discuss cube and checker decisions with their backgammon partners. In this detailed post-match play-by-play analysis by Grandmasters Marty Storer and Kit Woolsey, aided and abetted by the players. It’s a lot of backgammon expertise and insight packed into these fascinating videos.