Andris Liepins wants a Blitz board wherever people play backgammon. So far, the plan is working.
Riga and China
Liepins founded Liepins Import & Export in Riga and runs a backgammon board production line in China, which he visits six times a year. His doubles partner Wei Wang runs the China side day to day: factories, orders and shipments, the whole chain that turns a design into a box on a doorstep. Liepins pushes things forward. Wang catches what he misses. Between them they have made Blitz Boards one of the most widely played brands in the game.
Blitz One
Blitz One is where it starts. It is the budget set: felt field, stitched points, plastic checkers, made in China and sold at the kind of price you see on the big online marketplaces. It is also the set every new member of the club receives after the Invitational, handed over by Liepins himself. Beginners and casual players love it for a simple reason: it is cheap and it plays perfectly well. More advanced players usually move on to something more luxurious, and Liepins has no objection to that. A Blitz One is the board people learn the game on, and he considers that the best advertising there is.
Blitz Pro
Blitz Pro is the step up, and the luxury line of the house. The construction is sturdier, the finish is better and the checkers are marble, in an exclusive range of striking colours that you will not find on any other board. Pro is made for the beginners, casuals and intermediates who have played enough to know what they like, want to spend a little more on a board and expect a little more in return. For many players it is the natural next board after a Blitz One, which is exactly how Liepins designed it.
Quantities, margins and one old board
Liepins talks about boards in quantities, margins, tolerances and shipping dates, and sentiment rarely enters into it. He knows what everything costs, where it was made and when it should have arrived. The one exception is his grandfather's old board from Kurzeme, which is not for sale, not for copying and preferably not for discussion.
The more people play backgammon, the more Blitz boards he sells. He has never seen any reason to pretend otherwise.
