Backgammon Champion Peter Hallberg

Back in the dark ages the Vikings pushed around Europe like a high school bully takes money from math club nerds. Since those old days of glory, the most dominant thing the Norse countries have managed to produce was the pop quartet Abba. In the 21st century the Viking spirit seems to have been reborn in the Scandinavian backgammon players.

Since the year 1999, six of the eight backgammon champions have come from those northern European countries that spawned the Vikings. Among these Scandinavian backgammon champs is Danish player Peter Hallberg. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Peter was uprooted from the nation of his birth early in life and moved to Denmark. It is here where he has spent most of his life.

As an adult Peter was educated at the University of Copenhagen. He left this prestigious school in 2000 with a degree in computer science. Despite his interest in the computer arts, a life of debating whether a Macintosh was superior to a PC wasn't to be his course.

His love of computers was simply an extension of a mind that appreciated logical and analytical challenges. His introduction to backgammon came in 1990, and the inherent nature of the game quickly piqued his interest. It wasn't long before Peter had graduated from beating his friends in the common room of U of C, and went on to some impressive victories in local tournaments. As a way to immerse himself in the game on a more social level, Hallberg started a backgammon club at the student hostel that he called home. This provided him with an environment that was almost entirely dedicated to backgammon (with the occasional interference of having to attend classes).

In 2004 Peter became a semi-professional player and went on to win the World Backgammon Championship. He found it difficult to keep one foot in the world of backgammon, and the other in the standard working world. He was elected to the board of the Danish Backgammon Federation, so now his entire professional life is dedicated to the play, and nurturing of the backgammon community.