IN THE PRESS

In the mallorcan German weekly newspaper,  Mallorca Zeitung  20/10/2011




In the Cala d'Or Magazine of what's on
http://www.caladorscene.com/

Getting Lucky – Underwater…

It has been called many names and is said to be the cause of heartbreaks, marriage crises and flat out addiction. Even after hours upon hours of marathon-like competition, many still see the dice falling in their sleep. Some know it as tavli, sheshbesh, tabla and ROM however whatever the name, the game of backgammon is a deep seated passion for many.

From its early roots in the Mediterranean basin and Eastwards, backgammon has captured the hearts and imagination of millions of gaming afficionados worldwide.

For the past three years and entering their fourth year running now, three backgammon cracks have taken the game to new and exciting heights, adding a never before seen twist to the internationally loved game called backgammon.

Right here on the Mediterranean Island of Mallorca with their headquarters in the semi-secluded town of Cala Egos, Ilya Petrou and Lottie and Henrik Undén have combined their indelible passion for the game with their equally strong love for scuba diving and founded the sport of Underwater Backgammon. This new paradigm in the sporting and gaming world is run by the underwater backgammon team (www.underwaterbackgammon.com) who since 2008, stage the Annual Underwater Backgammon World Championship (UBWC).

“The dawn of underwater backgammon”, said 3-time Underwater Backgammon World Champion Ilya Petrou, “was simply a matter of time. Lottie, Henrik and I have been playing the game for years but as avid divers, we often found it difficult to play backgammon with our dive gear next to us always ready to go. We decided to combine the two sports, allowing us to play the best board game on the planet and enjoy a dive at the same time. It’s simply perfect!”

The rules of underwater backgammon are very similar to the above-water version of the game. Major differences and nuances include the speed of the die falling/sinking down to the board and the ability to dive and conserve air, even when losing. In the finals, the last two players have to share one single air tank and regulator.

“We like to call this sudden death, allowing you only to take air between your own moves. This angle can be very exciting as it forces you to think fast and play faster,” Petrou said.

Last year the UWBG World Championships were held on the island of Zakynthos, Greece and drew quite a crowd and support from fans and backgammon lovers. This year, the competition returns to Mallorca in September. An international mötley crue of players have already signed up including Sweden, Spain, Greece, Hungary and the UK.

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Mallorca Ambiente 2009 November Issue

Underwater Backgammon World Championship.

 A seemingly strange thought occurred to us after playing countless joyful hours of riveting backgammon under the full moon of a typical hot summer Mallorcan night. “Hey. Why don’t we take this game to the next level? Let’s get our scuba gear and play backgammon at the bottom of the sea…”

The apparently off-the-wall idea did take several long seconds to eclipse any sense of healthy logic or reason however, the brilliant idea was born and we acted fast to set it in motion. The following morning, we found ourselves at the bottom of the pool located at our newly dubbed “Backgammon World championship Headquarters”, testing the weight of the dice (roll and sink speed) and brain-stormed in regards to everything and anything that would propel the game to an even more exciting level, under the sea.

 Underwater backgammon rules include a single tank per player rule and a final twist (just to make it real interesting) is that in the final, only buddy breathing is allowed meaning, no own air. Here, one tank is given to both players and a single octopus is shared between moves. The two finalists do not have access to any air until their move is completed. This means that players must think fast, …and play faster.

The first Underwater Backgammon World Championship took place in Cala Sineu, September 2008. After the close to 5 hour dive, we designed a website (www.underwaterbackgammon.com) where we uploaded assorted images as well as a video (which can also be seen on youtube as well as other assorted internet backgammon sites), documenting the groundbreaking novel addition to internationally recognized water sports. The response was huge.

For the 2009 Underwater Backgammon World Championship, the logistics were a bit challenging in terms of competitors that could also scuba dive as well as deciding on the championship date which heavily depends on the sea conditions. However after some twists and turns which included bad weather and no visibility (even at 6m depth), we could finally successfully launch the 2009 challenge on the 12^th of October, with the professional help from the Port Petro Divers team.

The 2008 World Champion, Ilya Petrou (Greece), once again threw down the gauntlet and challenged heavyweights of the likes of Nicke Forsberg (Sweden), who ultimately fell in the semi-final. Game was on and the stakes were high for the 2008 silver medalist Lottie Undén (Sweden) who once again challenged Petrou in the final. Unden remained cool under pressure and demonstrated her solid play by taking the first game, 1-0. The pressure was on for Petrou who quickly reacted and took the second game, leveling the fight to 1-1.

In the third and deciding game, the shared octopus rule was instituted and the battle was a fierce one.

With a twist of the wrist and luck of the dice, Petrou edged ahead of Unden and managed to repeat the victory, and was crowned the Underwater Backgammon World Champion 2009.

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It started off well for her winning the first set, Ilya soon reacted and took a quick second set, the shared octopus final was a battle and either player could win… the air was shared and even fought for as one of the players totally forgot to give it back to the other. A very hard battle not only for good dice even a breath of air was crucial. The game was leaning towards Lottie when Ilya decided to keep his title and beat the dice to do so. And we had to crown Ilya, now two times worldchampion in UnderwaterBackgammon.

Have a look on our web page to see more about us and where we’re playing next year.  We also have the films on YouTube underwaterbackgammon and underwaterbackgammon09