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IBF

Posted By: christian munk-christensen
Date: Sunday, 21 December 2025, at 11:26 p.m.

A new backgammon federation, the IBF (International Backgammon Federation), has recently been established.

It is chaired by Umar Kremlev, a Russian national who has allegedly been linked to Vladimir Putin.

The IBF has announced plans to offer extremely large prize pools—for example, $2 million for a World Championship and $500,000 for regular events.

They have just held a major event in Dubai, which I attended. My participation came about rather spontaneously: in November I discovered I had 11 unused vacation days that had to be taken before year-end (in Denmark it’s “use it or lose it”). While looking for ways to use them, I noticed a backgammon event in Dubai (a new country for me) with $70,000 added and no registration fee. That alone convinced me to go, without digging much into the details.

Only upon arrival did I realize the event was organized by the newly formed IBF—and that it was a Russian-led federation.

Some observations from the Dubai event:

Top-notch playing equipment throughout: boards, baffle boxes, clocks, and recording equipment at every table

A luxury hotel with excellent backgammon rates (I suspect the organizers subsidized the remainder to attract players)

Approximately 20 staff members distributing dice and collecting signed score sheets from every match

A dedicated tournament app showing draws, playing times, table assignments, and upcoming opponents

Three live streams, including two hosted by Bill Riles

A large gala dinner and prize-giving ceremony at Dubai Marina

A boat trip around Dubai on the first day

Around 150 players from many different countries, including a notable number of Ukrainian players

Overall, this was by far the best-organized backgammon event I have ever attended. I doubt any other tournament has matched this level of attention to detail or the degree of luxury extended to the players.

I’ve heard that the IBF spent roughly $1.5 million on the Dubai event alone, with about $500,000 of that allocated to the playing hall.

There is no doubt that these organizers are serious, and that the backgammon landscape is likely to change. I expect significant disruption.

The WBGF is reportedly considering some form of partnership with the IBF in order not to be sidelined entirely.

The big open questions remain: Will the promised prize pools actually materialize? Will players be able to accept such prizes, or could that violate sanctions related to Umar Kremlev? Does having a sanctioned chairman automatically place the organization itself under sanctions?

At this point, there are far more questions than answers, and it will be very interesting to see how this develops.