Bordeaux Index and Champagne Bollinger Backgammon Cup

Bordeaux Index and Champagne Bollinger recently hosted our first Backgammon Cup. Hosted in partnership with Thom Sweeney and Alexandra Llewellyn, we were delighted to invite clients to enjoy an evening of wine, competition and exceptional prizes.

The event took place at Thom Sweeney's stunning townhouse in Mayfair. Renowned for their refined, tailored aesthetic and commitment to exceptional craftsmanship, Thom Sweeney's London flagship store provided the perfect backdrop for the evening. Thom Sweeney is celebrated for its luxury menswear, blending traditional Savile Row tailoring techniques with a modern, relaxed approach to contemporary fashion. The townhouse itself reflects this ethos, offering an immersive experience that extends beyond clothing to encapsulate a lifestyle of understated elegance.

The tournament was played on a selection of bespoke backgammon boards kindly provided by Alexandra Llewellyn, a designer and maker of award-winning luxury board games. Renowned for her meticulous attention to detail and artistic vision, Alexandra creates unique, handcrafted pieces that are both functional and collectable. Each board showcases intricate designs, often bespoke and using exquisite materials, elevating the game to a work of art.

Chris Bray, journalist and backgammon host, ran the competition for the sixteen-players, writing in The Times:

"When players who primarily play money backgammon venture into tournament play, they quickly learn that match play adds a whole new level of complexity to what they might have thought was a relatively straightforward game (although as we know it is not).

In the first round Oliver Ripley (Black) found himself facing Lord Michael Spencer, more often known simply as Spence. Leading 1-0 to 3 Oliver assessed the position as he would a money game and doubled. If it had been a money game his double would have been perfectly correct.

However, at this score Black should be playing for an undoubled gammon to give him the match. Oliver got a shock when Spence took the cube and then correctly redoubled him to four on his next roll putting the match on the line. If Spence had dropped the double, he would have had 25% match winning chances. By taking he increased his winning chances to 32% (according to XG).

Oliver’s double was a bad mistake. By letting the cube get to four, gammons, of which there are many for Black in this position, were no longer relevant for either player. This game thus became double match point, with the cube effectively out of play. Oliver should have left the cube in the centre and played on for a gammon.

Spence became a strong favourite but went awry in the ending and Oliver won the match. This particular type of doubling error is one that you should only make once as you learn about match play, but sadly there are many more lessons along the way for the aspiring tournament player.

After a fine evening’s backgammon, accompanied by some suitably refreshing alcoholic beverages, the Bollinger Cup was won by Kasper Baasse."

Bordeaux Index and Champagne Bollinger provided the wine list for the evening;

Champagne Bollinger - Shop Now

Bachelet-Monnot, Bourgogne, Blanc 2022 - Shop Now

Bass Phillip 2021 - Bass Phillip 2019 Shop Now

A hugely successful event, we were delighted to bring together four likeminded businesses to collaborate and create a memorable evening filled with remarkable experiences for our valued clients and guests.

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