Ian has been playing backgammon regularly since 2016, having learned the game as a young man when his parents brought home a wooden board and a ‘Backgammon for Beginners’ book from their holiday to Greece.
Playing occasionally over the years Ian had always found the game both thrilling and fascinating, somewhat on a similar adrenalin level he says as skydiving, a hobby Ian pursued in his 30s.
In 2016 his son Oliver and he started playing regularly and Oliver quickly improved his game. As a result Ian felt the need to do some study into strategy by reading a few books and using Extreme Gammon, analysing games and trying to work out the best plays.
In 2018 Oliver and Ian set up St Annes Backgammon Club, receiving much appreciated help from the UK Backgammon Association (UKBGF) and from Grandmaster Tim Cross who kindly visited the club to give free tuition and encouragement.
The club has now grown to close to 30 members and we hold leagues and tournaments including the St Annes Open held in December.Ian particularly enjoys playing live tournaments when he can and playing money game sessions with friends. Ian has learned to keep the stakes low when playing his eldest son.Ian is originally from Durham City and he has lived in St Annes since 1991.
Ian was a school teacher for 23 years and he now owns and operates a small cleaning company on the Fylde. Ian also enjoys playing golf, crown green bowls and racquet sports.
Here is Ian pursuing his other passion, crown green bowls with his 3 sons, Oliver, Zac and Asher.
