Main events are eligible for American Backgammon Tour (ABT) master points. The tournament registration fee is $40. Members of the U.S. Backgammon Federation receive a discounted rate of $25. Renew or join at usbgf.org. No registration fee for Novice division entrants.
ABT Championship Division
$300 entry fee; 90% return; $100 side pool, 100% return; double elimination, progressive consolation; 11 points in Main, 9 in Second Chance, and 7 in Consolation; clocks required, 2m/12s settings.Maximum of 64 entrants.
ABT Advanced Division
$150 entry fee, 90% return; $50 side pool, 100% return; open to players not deemed of Championship level and subject to eligibility approval; double elimination, progressive consolation; 9 points in Main, 7 in Second Chance, and 5 in Consolation; clocks required, 3m/15s settings. Maximum of 64 entrants.
ABT Intermediate Division
Sponsored by Gammon Guys
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$50 entry fee, 90% return; double elimination, progressive consolation; 7/5/3; clocks optional, 3m/15s settings; Gammon Guys is donating an Artgammon travel backgammon board to the winner
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ABT Novice Division
$20 entry fee, 90% return; format depends on number of entrants. CHH backgammon board to winner. Registration fee waived. It is anticipated that the Novice division event will be a one-day event on Saturday May 11. A Novice Jackpot with $25 entry will be held at Noon on Sunday May 12 for interested players.
NEW Format -- USBGF National Championship East
Announcing new format for USBGF National Championship East flagship event. There are two ways to enter -- by winning a qualifier or directly entering the final single elimination event.
1) 8-player Qualifiers will be held starting at 2 pm on Thursday May 9 with continuous entries up until 8 pm Saturday May 11; free first entry to USBGF members, $50 re-entries; $100 side pool carries over; winner receives entry into main event and $100 cash; winners still alive in other events Sunday morning receive equity payout;
2) direct entry into main event at 11 am on Sunday May 12 for $250; open to players not alive in other events. Main event -- Single elimination 7-point matches. $500 USBGF added money. USBGF-customized FTH Board prize for winner of match between USBGF National Championship East champion and National Championship West champion
1) 8-player Qualifiers will be held starting at 2 pm on Thursday May 9 with continuous entries up until 8 pm Saturday May 11; free first entry to USBGF members, $50 re-entries; $100 side pool carries over; winner receives entry into main event and $100 cash; winners still alive in other events Sunday morning receive equity payout;
2) direct entry into main event at 11 am on Sunday May 12 for $250; open to players not alive in other events. Main event -- Single elimination 7-point matches. $500 USBGF added money. USBGF-customized FTH Board prize for winner of match between USBGF National Championship East champion and National Championship West champion
JACKPOTS
Cherry Blossom Jackpot
$1000 entry; 95% return; best 2-of-3 matches for 9 points; clocks required, 2m/12s.
$1000 entry; 95% return; best 2-of-3 matches for 9 points; clocks required, 2m/12s.
George Washington Masters Jackpot
$500 entry; 90% return; $200 side pool; 11 points; groups of 4 with redraw of winners; clocks required, 2m/12s.
Abraham Lincoln Open Jackpot
$250 entry; 90% return; $100 side pool; 11 points; groups of 4 with redraw of winners; clocks required, 2m/12s.
Thomas Jefferson Limited Limited Jackpot
$150 entry; 90% return; $50 side pool; 9 points; groups of 4 with redraw of winners; clocks required, 2m/12s.
Doubles
USBGF Tournament of Stars
Doubles tournament pairing USBGF Founding Sponsors with Giants of Backgammon, Grandmasters, American Backgammon Hall of Fame honorees, ABT Champions. $200 entry; 85% return; $100 side pool per team; 7 points; clocks required, 3m/15s settings
Nation's Capital Doubles
$200 entry; 85% return; $100 side pool per team; 7 points; clocks required, 3m/15s settings. Open to players not active in Jackpots.
BMAB-USA EVENT
BMAB-USA
i$100 entry; $50 event fee; four 11-pt rounds; optional side pools; clocks required, 2m/12s. Starts Wednesday evening at 6:30 pm, resumes Thursday at 10:30 am. Reserve a spot in this event by sending an email to Jeb Horton: jeb@carolina.rr.com. Registration is limited to a maximum of 24 players on a first-come, first-serve basis. The registration fee is $50 and the entry fee is $100 (100% return). The top two finishers plus ties will be paid out using the ABT formula for Swiss payouts. If there is sufficient interest, there will also be side pools for PR and placing. The transcription fee is an additional $30; Any player wishing to help with transcriptions, including their own matches, will receive $12 for each match transcribed. Matches to transcribe must be assigned by the Director. The format of the tournament is truncated round-robin where each player plays four rounds of 11-point matches for 44 Experience Points. The first three rounds will be paired in advance by random draw. The final round will use Swiss pairing rules, increasing the chance of having an outright winner. All matches will be played with game clocks, which will be set with 22 minutes of bank time and a 12 second delay for each match. All matches played will be recorded and subsequently transcribed to electronic match files which will then be analyzed by the current version of eXtreme Gammon using BMAB settings (Standard World Class, but with “Gigantic” search interval, 15x8 bear-off database, and resignation errors counting).
SIDE EVENTS
Senior Senators/Young Politicos
60+ eligible for Senior Senators; <60 eligible for Young Politicos; $50 entry; 85% return; 7 points; single elimination; clocks required, 2m/12s settings. Independent events, no playoff between winners.
Mother's Day Event
$50 entry, 85% return. Single elimination. 5 pt rounds. Open to all women players not active in other events. Flowers to the winner and finalist.
Alfred Mamlet Newcomers Freeroll
Free entry, open to first-time Cherry Blossom entrants. 3pt rounds. Single elimination. $200 added money.
Novice Dinner
Intermediate and Novice division entrants are invited to a seminar and dinner with Art Benjamin, a noted Mathemagician and BMAB Master, on Saturday May 11, 5-7 pm. Tickets are $20 for Novice/Intermediate entrants. Tickets for other guests are $40 on a space available basis. Limited to 32 people.
EXHIBITION MATCH
Watch Marty Storer and Steve Sax, both Grandmasters and Giants of Backgammon, play and discuss their rationale, explanations of selected plays and strategies over the board. 9 am Sunday May 12. Players of all skill levels are encouraged to attend.
