Inspired and morally supported by Chicago Point, last week we introduced you to the bald truth and asked you to recognize the bright backgammon minds behind the shiny scalps. And now – the answers:

1.   

Our number 1 in the best baldest backgammon players parade is Bob Wachtel, number 9 in the 2007 Giants of Backgammon list, former World Backgammon Championship finalist and the author of the bestselling backgammon book In The Game Until The End, which presents a fresh and original approach to backgammon endgames.

2.

Howard Markowitz, the director of the Nevada Backgammon Association, which organizes the prestigious Las Vegas Open backgammon tournament and the director of the Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship, also closed the last Giants of Backgammon list on number 64.

3.

Kenny Nissen, the director of the Dansk Backgammon Forbund, the Danish Backgammon Federation, that organizes the very prestigious Nordic Open and raises generations of hairy and hairless backgammon champs, such as the upcoming number 4 and number 5 in our list.

4.

Dane Lars Trabolt is the current World Backgammon Champion. The close up of his hairless head was taken in Monte Carlo last year during the trophies ceremony.

5.

Lucky for Michael Larsen, his backgammon career advances faster pace than his balding. The Great Dane was one of the winning Play65 team in 2008 Nordic Open, championing the Nations Cup and Team Event and finishing on number four at the Consultation Doubles.

6.

Bald and balding: right to left: Giant of Backgammon Falafel Natanzon of Israel with nothing to hide and Tassilo Rzymann of Austria with some cover up, getting ready for a soccer marathon aimed to determine the best kicker among backgammon players.

And who is the mysterious bald from our bonus question?

Maybe a little bit of context can clarify the mystery:

Following Chicago Point, Play65* Blog is happy to reveal the bald and shiny truth of the world’s top backgammon players. Some hide it under a baseball cup, others beneath a mane of thinning hair, while some others carry it pridefully, polished and exposed. Here they are, bare and unadorned, the baldest backgammon pros:

1.   2.    3.

4.    5.   6.

Do you know to whom these smooth skulls belong? Send us your answers; the first three correct answerers will receive a free hair loss treatment.

*Play65 wishes to state that there’s nothing wrong about being bald, but the other way around: according to Wikipedia bold men are (a) wiser (b) more sexually active.

Now, a bonus question:

Alopecia totalis or a thumb?

 Find out to which bright backgammon minds these bald heads belong to!

Play65 quiz had just come back from a short break last week, and it is already rolling. A new backgammon quiz was asked yesterday and submission forms are being sent nonstop. Before we go over this week, 23rd quiz, let’s give our curious, impatient readers the answer to last week’s quiz:

Play65 22nd backgammon quiz asked about the 6th Abu Dhabi International Backgammon Championships in 2004, in which one of the participants, a backgammon pro named Andreas Humke won a drawing and was asked to open a door to find the grand prize – apparently not a pair of diamond-studded dice, neither a $10,000 backgammon board and nor a trip around the world, but a brand new car. Same Humke had also lost the championship to Norwegian backgammon pro Arild Idsoe.

Play65 23rd quiz is asking about the Green Bay Packers, an American football team, whose players are known for their passion for backgammon. The question then is what percentage of the team plays backgammon? If you know the answer, press submit and get into the weekly $20 bonus draw.

Play65 backgammon quiz is back after a short break, with a new question and a brand new winner.

On our last backgammon quiz update, we asked about the magazine that published a whole backgammon book by Lewis Deyong back in 1977. The correct answer is Playboy, which in addition of publishing backgammon books, the famous magazine used to organize backgammon tournaments in its infamous mansion.

The 21st backgammon quiz wondered about the name of the Costa Rica Backgammon Association. In the choice between "Dixie", "Nancy", "Kookla" and "Chica", a new Play65 member of Aberdeen, Scotland marked "Nancy" and got $20 bonus added to her online account.

Nancy

To win $20 bonus in this week’s backgammon quiz, you should, for starters, to mark the correct answer to the following question:

Pro player Andreas Humke was the winner of a drawing for what door prize at the 6th Abu Dhabi International Backgammon Championships in 2004? Is it a pair of diamond-studded dice, a $10,000 backgammon board, new car or a trip around the world?

Play65 is celebrating its 20th backgammon quiz this week with an especially challenging backgammon question: which famous magazine published a backgammon book by Lewis Deyong in 1977? Was it Life, Vanity Fair, Playboy or Lifestyles? If you know the answer, submit it and maybe you’ll get to be Play65 20th quiz winner!

And now to last week’s 19th backgammon quiz. The James Bond movie in which a backgammon game has been played is Octopussy, in which Roger Moore as the charming secret agent, plays backgammon against a wealthy Afghan prince, Kamal Khan (played by Louis Jourdan), and wins, evidently.

Backgammon in Italy

The James Bond/backgammon fan who knew the correct answer to last week’s backgammon question, came from Italy, and with less then 6 months experience on play65, he was awarded with a $20 bonus.

Backgammon, or Tavole Reale, is apparently pretty popular in Italy, maybe due to their Roman roots, who brought the world "Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum" (the game of 12 lines, named after the game board), and "Tabula", which is believed to be the backgammon ancestor mostly similar to modern backgammon.

There are several backgammon clubs in Italy, and the country hosts at least one prestigious backgammon event – the city of Venice international backgammon tournament. And fans of backgammon of Italy can always play on Play65 Italian website…

So who is the well known backgammon expert who won four World Poker Tour titles on last week’s backgammon quiz? The answer is obviously Gus Hansen, who arrived at the recent World Series of Backgammon in Cannes, first as a player at the Riviera Cup and later as a commentator at the WSOB final, immediately from the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Hansen was born in Denmark and currently splits his time between the homeland and Monaco. When he started playing poker in 1997, he was already a famous backgammon pro. Gus also has a rich past as a teenage tennis star. In the present, he prefers to define himself as a "professional gambler". 

Gus Hansen (left) plays backgammon with Falafel (right) on WSOB Riviera Cup 2008

Gus Hansen is not the only backgammon player who also takes part in the professional poker scene. Other well known multidisciplinary players are François Tardieu, Dan Harrington and Paul Magriel. They usually start in backgammon and then move (forward?) to poker, and not the other way around. Maybe because there’s bigger money in poker, or perhaps playing backgammon improves poker skills?  

And now to James Bond on this week’s backgammon quiz. Though recognized with the casino game baccarat, in one of his movies the legendary secret agent played backgammon. Which movie was it? Pick one of the four possible answers and submit your answer and maybe you’ll win the $20 bonus like our previous quiz winners.  

The answer to last week’s backgammon quiz, the one asking about a TV series in which the game of backgammon is taught, is obviously "Lost".

Backgammon starred in the critically acclaimed TV series from its first episodes. On the second part of the pilot, John Locke (played by Terry O’Quinn) reveals the mystery of the game to young Walt Lloyd (played by Malcolm David Kelley) by telling him about the winding history of the game, and instructs him on how to play the game, using the metaphoric piece of poetry: "Two players. Two sides. One is light, one is dark."

As the series continues, it turns out that Locke’s efforts weren’t for nothing. Walt starts playing backgammon with Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia), and even scrapping a sum of $83,000 from him. Is that why the series is called lost?

The lucky Lost viewer who knew the right answer is a new Play65 member of Ankara, Turkey, who has just earned $20 bonus. To answer Play65 17th backgammon quiz, having a photographic memory or a collection of backgammon magazines would be an advantage. On which of magazine’s cover Tina Turner was photographed with a backgammon board?

It is about time to update you with the latest Play65 quiz and quiz results. Starting with the new quiz, number 16, it’s an easy one: in which popular TV series backgammon was taught? If you know the answer, mark, fill in the required details, submit and wait for a surprising extra $20 in your online account. 

Now for last week’s backgammon and hockey quiz. The hockey player who served as a stake in a backgammon game played by two hockey entrepreneurs is Wayne Gretzky, who is regarded by many as the best hockey player of all times. The story, described at Peter Gzowski’s book The Game of Our Lives, goes like this: 

In 1978, Canadian Wayne Gretzky was a young promising hockey player holding a $1.75 million contract with the Indianapolis Racers, Nelson Skalbania owned the Racers, Peter Pocklington owned the Edmonton Oilers, both teams did not belong to NHL and both owners engaged for a backgammon game during a flight in a private jet. 

And it was a high stakes backgammon game: Pocklington put $850,000, Wayne Gretzky and two more hockey players, and Skalbania bet on an artwork from his collection. Skalbania won the backgammon game, so Gretzky started wearing the Edmonton Oilers uniform, and the rest is written in hockey history. 

The answer to last week’s mysterious backgammon quiz will be revealed soon. But first, the 15th backgammon quiz:

Which famous hockey player was won in a backgammon game between two hockey entrepreneurs?

For more details, hints and pointers, or to submit the answer and attempt to capture the $20 bonus, visit Play65 quiz page. 

Emotional backgammon is not the term that describes the coincidence of meeting your true love in a backgammon game (we call it backgammon match-making), and it’s definitely not a sequence of 3 double 6’s and it’s not even the familiar situation of being unable to stop playing backgammon (no, it is called backgammon addiction and it can be cured).

Emotional Backgammon is the name of a forgotten movie of 2003 with the unforgettable tagline: "Love is like a game of backgammon… You take your chances." The relationship comedy-drama uses backgammon as a metaphor for the love game or the battle between the sexes, depending on how you like to see it. And since backgammon is a game of skill more than it a game of chance, the movie’s hero, who was neglected by his girlfriend right before he went down on his knees to propose to her, gets strategy advice from his cynical friend.

While we are on the subject, here is a backgammon strategy advice from our mutual friend Phil Simborg: don’t show emotion or give away what you are thinking to your opponents.

Someone who has no doubts about the meaning of the term emotional backgammon is a Play65 member nicknamed krokrodil based in Zagreb, Croatia, who got away with last week’s $20 bonus.