By Kaz WellingtonMembers and fans of the World Backgammon Internet Federation (WBIF) are in for a boost, with new website updates rolling in thanks to Italian technological pioneer, digital marketer, father of 3 and backgammon enthusiast Andrea Senneca.
The website, run by WBIF founder Bernhard Mayr, has played host to countless online backgammon tournaments over the years. Those who might struggle to attend a tournament in person for a number of reasons, are able to find community and competition thanks to Bernhard and the WBIF.
Building and supporting the international online backgammon community is a mammoth task that has thankfully been made lighter by Andrea, who has joined Bernhard as a volunteer.
The WBIF is a Team Effort
Joining Bernhard as a volunteer for the WBIF all happened quite organically for Andrea.
“I wrote to Bernhard because of a little issue that I encountered on the web portal. He got back to me, asked how the problem could be solved and if I could help him fix it. As I was going crazy with the problem, I was happy to help”.
“He set me up with access to the website and the accounts, and I was able to quickly fix the issue. Then through a video call, Bernhard started explaining other issues with the website that I might be able to work on”.
“Most of the improvements relate to the large number of processes involved in the WBIF portal. The number of players is increasing. So some of the workflows should be automated to save Bernhard’s time and free him from manual tasks”.
Andrea has been working on the website for the past few months. The new algorithm for the tournaments has been running since Christmas.
“Now we are working on the payment system that is currently too manual, as well as a new tournament creation system. These are all behind-the-scenes tasks that people don’t see.”
These updates have taken a huge load off Bernhard’s plate, and the two have since become friends.
“Bernhard is like a friend now. It’s not a question of customer and supplier. We are friends and he’s also been helping very much to improve my game level”.
The Career of a Digital Pioneer
Andrea is more than a backgammon player and technical problem solver. He is also a digital pioneer involved in the transformation of the Italian media landscape.
Andrea graduated with a degree in political science, with the dream of becoming a political journalist. However, since he was young he always had a passion for coding and digital technology. After finishing his studies, Andrea began a master’s program in digital journalism. He then sought to combine these two passions by joining the development of digital newspapers in the early 2000s. At the time, the major newspapers in Italy were only just beginning to develop their digital editions.
Andrea worked on the digital versions of Italy’s leading newspapers and later took on the challenge of creating the website for one of these publications, a pioneering task at the time.
After three or four years, Andrea moved to a large IT company and worked in the digital department to help develop the first mobile apps. After several years, he transitioned into project management. This involved leading digital marketing projects, including the first campaigns for Google in 2009 and for social networks in 2014.
In 2014, Andrea left his company and became a freelancer. He later founded his own company, which specialises in digital marketing, website development, mobile apps, and other related fields. Although Andrea is not a developer himself, he has always worked in IT and has been surrounded by developers. Today, his company operates in both digital marketing and development.
It All Started With the Commodore 16
Andrea became fascinated by technology from a young age.
He started out at the age of 5 or 6 with a Commodore 16 computer, until his parents upgraded to a Commodore 64. At the time he and his family found it impressive that the monitor was built right into the computer, so there was no need for a large external display to connect to the computer. It had a colour micro display integrated, which was remarkable for its time. Andrea found the Commodore 64 to be a marvel and a miracle!
As a child, Andrea not only played games but also started coding with BASIC, the language of the time. With the Commodore, you could start programming by using a cassette, but you could also code normally, writing in BASIC and launching programs. This was Andrea’s first encounter with technology, coding, and gaming.
He recalls the BASIC language; an acronym for “Beginner’s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code”. Andrea had a seven-inch disk that he would use in the Commodore to load the program. Starting to code on those old computers really made a lasting impression that has been foundational for Andrea’s career in technology ever since.
From Sports to Backgammon
Andrea has always had a passion for sports of all kinds. For a long time he was actively involved in running, football, tennis and basketball. However as many parents can relate, the birth of his first child put a pause on his athletic pursuits. The last entry for running in the running app on his phone dates back to May, 2015 – three days before the birth of his first child.
“I’m a competitive guy who plays everything. So from that moment in my life I switched from sports games to board games”, he said. “Because I can play at night, I can play online, I can play in my home, and I can play without physical effort. To play backgammon is not a question of physical effort, it’s a question of time”.
“Backgammon is very convenient. If you play tennis, it can take an hour to get ready and to go to the court, and an hour to return after playing. However with online board games you can play whenever you like, for even just a short time”.
Competing Online
Andrea explains that during COVID, he started looking for a competitive community to get involved with online.
“I played backgammon with my family when I was a child, so I was naturally drawn back to the game. I did consider chess, but I didn’t like that a match could last for an indefinite amount of time. With backgammon you have much more control over the duration”.
“I started to play online with the WBIF and the Backgammon Federation in Italy. And I saw that I was very behind compared to my opponents. So I started improving my match by watching channels on YouTube. At first I watched channels of all the best players in the world, but then I started searching for a channel suited for beginners”.
“I found the channel of an Italian player, Gianlazzaro Sanna, who is also a player in the WBIF. Though he is a strong master backgammon player, his YouTube channel has videos for all levels: for rookies, beginners, intermediate and more”.
“I watched all his videos and read some of the books that he recommended. And I started to get better. From a PR of 20, to 15, and then to 12. I am now a 10-11 player. All thanks to Gianlazzaro Sanna, the books I read, tips from Bernhard, and also due to my many many losses in tournaments on WBIF”.
The WBIF: A Lifesaver for Online Players
When asked to describe the WBIF in more detail, Andrea laughs and explains:
“The World Backgammon Internet Federation is the perfect place for desperate parents”. He gives an example:
“About two kilometres from me in Naples, there is a backgammon club in my area. And they invited me, I don’t know how many times, because they see me in the online tournaments, and they see I am in Naples, and they WhatsApp me a lot of time”.
“There is an in-person tournament every Thursday during the day. But I can’t make it, because my free time is 11pm to 1am after my work day is done and my children are asleep. I could try and make it there in person, but that would take away time from my family, from my children, and from my sleep time”.
“The WBIF is the perfect place for people who love backgammon but can’t dedicate time to physically enter a tournament. Through the WBIF, you can join tournaments of every level. As you don’t need to travel to participate. The time you dedicate to the game is just the essential time for game play”.
“So all the time to go to another place, to open a physical board, to shake the hands of other people, to wait for the other people to play, waiting for your turn and then going to sleep in another city. All these things are beautiful because it’s a relationship with other people”.
“But there is a phase of your life, mine for example, when it is too difficult to join in person. Maybe when I’m retired I can do that. When my children are 20, I can do that. But now I can’t do that. And the only way to live this passion is to join an organisation online that can provide tournaments.“
“It’s such a great way to improve yourself and to measure yourself with all the people of all the world. Joining the online community at WBIF is an easy way to get involved without costing a lot of time. Through the WBIF you can get involved with just a few clicks”.
So, for all of you reading at home who have been meaning to get involved in the backgammon community but cannot physically attend events in person, this is the sign you have been waiting for.
Visit and sign up to the WBIF today!
