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Q's for Danish Players (way too long)

Posted By: adambulldog
Date: Sunday, 12 July 2009, at 4:54 a.m.

Last year I met a Danish player who mentioned that there is a backgammon league (or system of leagues) in Copenhagen with over 1,000 players. I was really surprised at this--we have nothing remotely comparable anywhere in the United States.

I didn't get to ask many questions since we were in a hurry to play our match. So I was hoping to float the following questions to someone in the know. Please answer to the extent that you care to:

1. Is it true? Are there really 1,000 people playing in Copenhagen backgammon leagues?

2. How are the teams selected?

3. How are the leagues structured? Is there a hierarchy of leagues, with relegation and promotion like European soccer?

4. What are the stakes? What are the prizes?

5. What do the contests look like? How many players are on each team, what length are the matches? Do the contests consist solely of head-on-head competitions or is there any element of consulting or coaching?

6. How often do teams meet?

7. Imagine the weakest couple of players on a middling team. Are these players students of the game and dedicated to improvement, or are they playing more for the social atmosphere? What percentage of players overall are committed to improvement?

8. Is coaching available during off-nights? Are the strong players trying to help the weaker players improve or is the atmosphere more relaxed?

9. Are beginners welcome, or do you need to be pretty decent to get involved?

10. Do teams get any kind of sponsorship?

(Tangential questions--extra credit)

11a. Is it true that backgammon is played in cafes throughout Copenhagen regularly? What are typical stakes?

11b. Why is backgammon so big in Denmark? It's a pretty marginal activity in the U.S.

I'm really interested in the Danish backgammon experience. Since Denmark is one of the only nations with a really robust backgammon culture, at least relative to the size of its population, I believe we in the U.S. could learn something from Denmark about growing the game here.

Messages In This Thread

• Q's for Danish Players (way too long)
  adambulldog -- Sunday, 12 July 2009, at 4:54 a.m.
  • Q's for Danish Players (way too long)
    Christian Munk-Christensen -- Sunday, 12 July 2009, at 9:14 a.m.
    • Q's for Danish Players (way too long)
      Chiva Tafazzoli -- Sunday, 12 July 2009, at 3:26 p.m.
      • Q's for Danish Players (way too long)
        Rich Munitz -- Sunday, 12 July 2009, at 4:31 p.m.
    • Q's for Danish Players (way too long)
      adambulldog -- Monday, 13 July 2009, at 4:13 a.m.
  • Q's for Danish Players (way too long)
    Seth -- Sunday, 12 July 2009, at 1:03 p.m.