Dear backgammon players,
It was during the summer holidays of 1999 in Greece that I first discovered the great game of backgammon. Watching and talking with local players, I became fascinated by the game’s unique blend of skill and chance, the rattle of the dice, the strategic movement of the checkers, the powerful handling of the cube—combined with the thrill, the fun, and the people. Everything about it was a perfect match.
Around 2005, I joined the backgammon club in Leuven, and soon, my involvement went beyond playing. I began organising events, first locally, maintaining the club’s website since 2006. The old website, still available at https://www.backgammon-leuven.be/arxiv/, contains articles dating back to January 2006, including an early report on a visit to the club in Gent (link). Over the years, Leuven became home to a vibrant backgammon scene with biweekly or monthly club meetings, the Leuven Open tournament series (since 2009), annual club championships (since 2011), promotion events at Leuven’s summer fair De Langste Dag, interclub duels, and more.
Beyond Leuven, I have always been driven by the urge to bring players together for live play. Since 2012, I maintained for many years the website of the successful Brussels Friendly tournament series (link). Around the same time, BGFed.be was created, with its earliest post celebrating the Brussels Friendly’s 10th-anniversary edition (link). Other initiatives I was involved in include the 4 Cubes (encouraging encounters between clubs since 2009), the annual Backgammon Barbecue (BBBQ), and the national rating list, which originated as a Leuven-based list maintained by and for local players since 2005 and which gradually expanded to a nationwide system (see early history and statistics), under my management since the end of 2014.
Since late 2024, I have been coordinating the efforts of a highly motivated team to strengthen the foundations of the federation, ensuring its future growth. While some progress has been made, much remains to be done. For personal and professional reasons, I have decided to step back from this role, making room for others to carry forward the mission with renewed energy. However, this is not a farewell—I look forward to continuing to play the game I love, alongside players from across Belgium and beyond.
I would like to thank everyone with whom I have had the privilege to collaborate over the past two decades, particularly in the Leuven club, my home base, and in BGFed.be, the umbrella organisation uniting backgammon players, clubs, and tournaments in and around Belgium. I extend special thanks to the current pilot team for stepping in and catching the dice that my departure might otherwise have left on the floor.
Though the Belgian backgammon community is not the largest, it is strong, diverse, and home to both experienced players and emerging young talent. New initiatives and tournament formats continue to take shape, keeping the game alive and evolving. To those who will carry the federation forward, I wish you the best of luck. May your efforts—however modest or imperfect, as mine surely have been—have a positive impact on the Belgian backgammon community, as I will surely appreciate them myself.
Playful greetings,
Johan Segers
