Newcastle Backgammon Club

"WEB-BLOTTER"
Edition Date 08/11/2020 22:35
Next Meeting:
TBA
Club Championship suspended until further notice
18:45 for 19:15
Charlestown Bowling Club, Lincoln St, Charlestown

Club Championship and Activities ABANDONED for 2020

Queensland Open Results
Newy Open result
Mick Dyett wins Eva Bitel Tounament Final
The Newcastle Champion of Champions: Mick Dyett!!
The 2020 Novocastrian Challenge
Winner! 2020 Australia-New Zealand Challenge

 

Queensland Open Results 6-8 November 2020

From Simon Woodhead via Facebook:

Congratulations to Morteza Ghanei, winner of the Queensland Open from Adrian Pitt. Tipsy Pig stars Craig Duffy and Rhys Osborne were the semi finalists. A terrific performance by Morteza to best a field of 32 in his first major tournament.
The 2020 Australian Speedgammon champion is Steve Roberts who somehow managed to turn the DMP final game against Simon Woodhead. Which was ok actually, because sometimes the dice gods do play nice with the dice...
The Queensland Masters title was taken from 2019 champ
Michelle Taubman by Simon Woodhead who could do no wrong against Craig Duffy, who, like Morteza was playing in his first major tournament final.
Another first time winner was Chris Muir, winner of the Sunday Tournament from Sasha Senica.
Thanks to all who came, and all who helped, especially Barbara Salomon and Sharne Dyett for running the desk so efficiently, the Surfers Paradise Surf Life Saving Club for accommodating us and a special mention for the Newcastle contingent who braved the border crossing only to return home empty handed! How often does that happen?
A clean sweep for the Tipsy Pig club here on the Gold Coast. Nice   Pics to come.

The "Newy" Open Tournament

Congrats to Tom Chrysostomou (ACT) on winning the final of The Newy from the Fighter's bracket 9-8, 9-7 over Robert Disney (Newcastle).

Thank you again to everyone who joined and played and good luck to all in your next events.

Tom now wins the kudos of having his name on the Newcastle Hall of Fame list and the opportunity, should he want it, of playing in the Newcastle Champion of Champions next year, if it can be held, against players from NEBA in the UK

 The full results are now available via this link to the Open Details Page .

Latest News

Update 29/9: Mick Dyett has won a tense and back and forth Final of the Eva Bitel Tournament. defeating Simon Ustick of Melbourne 17/14 today.
Mick picked up the winner's check as well as the bonus pool with the win continuing on his streak in online tournaments this year. Congratulations Mick

More 28/9: The Final of the Eva Bitel will be played on Backgammon Galaxy on Tuesday 29/9 @ 1730. Userids are beekind2me and Ueyustick

Update 28/9: Mick Dyett has made it to the Final of the Eva Bitel Tournament with a come from behind 15-11 win over Breck McCormack in today's Semi. In a marathon 2.5 hour match, Breck was up 10-5 and 11-8 before Mick got on his bike rattling off the last 7 points.
Mick plays Simon Ustick of Melbourne, the winner of the other Semi over Martin Pikler from Canberra 15-13.

Update 24/9 @ 1045 EBT: Gin Jones' run of 7 straight wins in the competition ended with a 15-5 loss to Martin Pikler in the Quarter Final knockout match. Mick Dyett defeated Tim Hochgrebe and then Syd Moore to reach the SemiFinal at a time yet to be decided.

Update 21/9/20 @ 20.45: Eva Bitel Tournament : Mick Dyett plays Tim Hochgrebe to 13 points in a round of 16 match on GridGammon at 1700 AEST Tuesday 22/9/20. Gin Jones plays Martin Pikler to 15 in a quarter final TBA. Final Grid can be found at http://results.ausbgf.org.au/international-and-inter-club-challenges/tournament?tid=554

The Eva Bitel Tournament is approaching the knockout stage with the majority of the round robin matches, 8 groups of 8, having been played.
Five Newcastle players entered with 2 going on to the knockout phase.
Gin Jones is one of only 2 players (Syd Moore the other) to win all 7 matches in their group. Mick Dyett is the other to qualify whilst Michelle Taubman, Tony Walker and Robert Disney missed out.

Qualifiers are as follows. The criteria to qualify was 1st and second in the group as well as any player that won more than 5 matches thus a 4 player and possible 3 player group going on. The knock out grid is to

G1 Syd Moore, Kevin Jessup

G2 Taeed Athari and Mick Dyett

G3 Simon Ustick and Ian Dunstan

G4 Breck McCormack, Cynthia Belonogoff, Stephen Davy and David Kinston

G5 Tim Hochgrebe locked but other to be determined as incomplete

G6 Gin Jones and Hossein Haydari

G7 Martin Pikler and Shane McNally

G8 Steve Quinn and Tim Chambers locked with Michael Myska needing to win

out (2 matches) to qualify.
 

 If Gin and Mick post on to me game times and site info I'll pass them on for those who'd like to watch.

Remember, to view a match via a link on Galaxy:
1) log on to your Galaxy account bringing up the match list page

2) click on the link in the email and the match SHOULD open in another window (depending on how your browser is set up).

Accounts on Galaxy are free to set up and are played in a normal browser window

To view matches on Gamesgrid you need a Gamesgrid account.

 

2020 Club Championship now Abandoned

Further to the below, as of 10/8/20 all Newcastle Backgammon Club live activities have been abandoned for 2020 including the Club Championship, the 2020 Newcastle Open (scheduled for September 13) and the Presentation/AGM scheduled for December 4. Any future activity for the club will be dependent on issues concerning Covid-19 and the ability of players to be able to play in a safer environment than can be assured at this time.

A recent announcement posted on Facebook by Sonia Hornery as to community sport resuming on July 1st prompted Tony Walker to ask if that meant backgammon would be resuming.
Following is the chat stream from that question for those not on Facebook.

Michelle Taubman: How many are allowed in clubs now
Robert Disney: I think it's 50 per area

Robert Disney: There will have to be some sort of discussion amongst the group on that. As far as the Club Championship is concerned, I think we've now probably lost too many rounds for a viable competition as well as it being unfair to those who will not be able/willing to come along in the early meetings back. Any play will be social which could be good if there is anyone that has joined the public group or page on here that wants to come along, there will be no competition pressure. There are also issues we have no real control over as in the availablity of space at the Club. Distancing over the board (which I think has got to be less than the 1.5m even over the large boards), shared pieces/equipment and cleansing of such if required will need to be the responsibility of individual players to assess their own risk. I'll go up to the Club tomorrow to see how they are set up and what we may be able to do.

Tony Walker: yep... it was a starter for discussion... there are lots of valid points there and its probably not the safest thing to do until we get things in better shape

Robert Disney: With the 1.5m rule in force it is impractical to play face to face at the club. The tables are about 80cm squares which means you still have to sit back from the edge about 40cm each side. I had someone sit opposite me and you would have to be shifting the chairs in and out to make a play and to reach the other side of the board to play back men. The cleaning of pieces has the concern of whatever is in the sanitizer possibly affecting the playing surface of boards (I'm not a chemist so don't know but always a chance of happening). So, as we don't want to run foul of our hosts (free room is greatly appreciated) we're still in limbo.

The Newcastle Champion of Champions  

The NBC and NEBA  have organised a Newcastle Champion of Champions event pitting the winners of the respective Newcastle Opens and the Club/League Champions of 2019 in a knockout competition.
2019 Open winner, Robert Disney, plays Alastair Woods of Scotland (diz vs aliwoods) on Friday June 5th on GamesGrid at 1900AEST/1000UK.
Mick Dyett, 2019 Newcastle Club Champion will play a rematch from the Novocastrian Challenge against Tim Cross on Tuesday June 9th, 1930AEST/1030UK on GridGammon (beekind2me vs timcrazy)

It's an Aus vs UK Final after Alastair Woods defeated Robert Disney 13-9 in the Open winners section and Mick Dyett won 13-3 over the newly crowned Los Angeles Online Open winner, Tim Cross, in the Club Champion/League Winners heat.

The Final of the Newcastle Champion of Champions between Mick Dyett and Alastair Woods culminated with a 53 move marathon game at 11-11 on a 2 point cube. The reason for so many moves was that at one stage Alastair had 11 men back in a backgame. Mick eventually managed to get by the assembled masses to become the inaugural Newcastle Champion of Champions 13-11. Congratulations to both on a great match.

2020 Novocastrian Challenge

The 2020 Novocastrian Challenge has been completed!
Newcastle Backgammon Club players recently did battle with players from the North East Backgammon Association (NEBA) based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.

On team NBC were Robert Disney, Mick Dyett, Michelle Taubman and Tony Walker.
Team NEBA was made up of Martin Barkwill, Pol Lapidakis, Gary Bratton and Tim Cross.

All the results are on the 2020 Novocastrian Challenge page or on FaceBook through https://www.facebook.com/groups/3367725816588896
 

Congratulations to NEBA on their victory 10 matches to 6 over NBC

 

2020 Australia-New Zealand Challenge

The 2020 Australia-New Zealand Challenge (organised by the Australian Backgammon Federation and Backgammon NZ)  has pitted 32 Australian and 32 New Zealand players in 16 round robin qualifiers. Four players from Newcastle, the Novocastrian Challenge players, Mick, Michelle, Tony and Robert played on the Australian side with Robert Disney going through to the 16 player knockout.

Robert Disney has managed to wriggle through to the last 4 which means 2 more matches to complete the Tournament.
Hossein Haydari (SA) is already through to the Final with a win over Steve Clarry.
RD plays Grant Hoffman (NZ) for the second place in the Final Tomorrow (Sunday 31/5) at 1000 local time on Backgammon Galaxy. Links will be available via the NBC Facebook pages and email just after the start of the match.
The winner will play Hossein in the Final whilst the loser will play Steve in the 3rd/4th playoff.
 

31/5/2020 Robert Disney has won the 2020 Australia-New Zealand Challenge defeating Grant Hoffman in the semi and Hossein Haydari in the Final. The last 16 grid is below.

 

2020 Club Championship Round 3

Round 3 of the 2020 Newcastle Backgammon Club Championship was held on March 6th with 17 players. It was a welcome back to Kyle Rhoades  and Gheorghe Baleanu for their first meetings of the year. This brings the total number of players for the year so far to 22. It will be an interesting night if all are able to attend on the one night.

Kate Smith won her first round robin and the resultant $10 winnings came as an unexpected bonus

Winners on the night were Cassie Crebert, Kate Smith, Tony Walker, Adrian Marisescu and Greg Mitchell.
 

New Upcoming Tournaments

Preliminary details added for the 2020 Australian Open, Masters and Speedgammon, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, November 6-8, 2020 on the Upcoming Tournaments page

 

2019 AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Huge Congratulations to Newcastle stalwart Greg Mitchell on taking out the 2019 Australian Open on the weekend on November 23 and 24.
Mick Dyett's report on the Australian Open and Masters is below.
 

2019 Presentation and Annual General Meeting Night Report

The 2019 Presentation Night and Annual General Meeting took place at Charlestown Bowling Club on Friday night December 6th.
There were a couple of new initiatives adopted by the club.
Firstly, Club Membership fees have changed to the following: $10 General Membership, $5 Concession Membership and $5 Junior Membership. Club Charlestown memberships will still be paid for by the Backgammon Club for all current financial members.
Life Members of the Backgammon Club will have their Club Charlestown Memberships paid for by the Backgammon Club.

From General Business: a) A member may get 2 points credit on the Club Championship Table if they are unable to attend but pay the $5 per night playing fee either before the date of the missed meeting(s) or the at the meeting directly after the missed week(s). This is a rule that was in vogue a number of years ago but was discontinued.

b) In order to play in the Captain's and President's Finals, a member must have played at least 1 week in the 10 week qualifying cycle.

See the AGM page for the minutes of the 2019 AGM

 

Australian Open and Masters Report

The 2019 Australian Backgammon Championships and Master’s was played over the weekend of the 23^rd and 24^th November. 34 players competed for the National Championship. There were players from New Zealand, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Newcastle and of course Sydney. The venue for the tournament was The Persian Rose Restaurant in Turramurra.

The format for the Open was Round Robin with the top two players from each group advancing to a 16-player knockout.

As is normally the case before such a big tournament there was much excitement in the room as players anticipated winning Australia’s most coveted Backgammon Competition and becoming the 2019 Australian Champion.

The Games began at 10 am. By mid-afternoon the Round Robin brawling had stopped and there were 16 players left standing. The rest were …well…defeated. It was time for the knockout, sudden death where insanity can be just one roll away, (this game is not for the faint hearted). After two rounds and 12 deaths we had four survivors. These Gladiators were Greg Mitchell from Newcastle, Habib Shalala from Sydney, Martin Sagradian also from Sydney and Pat Halpin from the Central Coast. Greg overpowered Habib while Martin outmuscled Pat. The scene was set for a blockbuster match between two very fine players. They certainly did not disappoint the crowds as they fought a long and very exciting match, their experience was evident in their play. The match was very tight with Greg Mitchell coming out the victor. Congratulations Greg, you are the 2019 Aussie Champion and congratulations to Runner Up Martin for putting up a hell of a fight.

Next up was the Master’s with 11 players competing. The format was knockout with five byes in the first round. After two rounds we got to the Semi-finals. The match-ups were Zvi Bendavid against Habib Shalala and Ian Dunstan playing Ron Shaked. Both these matches were very close with Habib defeating Zvi while Ian took care of Ron. Both Habib and Ian are very seasoned players. The match reached 6 away 6 away when Habib found a backgammon on a two cube to finish Ian off. A big congrats to the Masters Champion Habib and to runner up Ian.

There are some people that deserve a big thank you for making the weekend a huge success. In no particular order, a big thanks to Taeed Athari who has made The Persian Rose Restaurant home to the Australian Open and New South Wales Open for many years without cost. Thank you also goes to Zvi Bendavid who has donated all trophies for both these tournaments for years as well. The kind generosity from both these wonderful men has enabled me to return all entry fees as prize money. And last but not least I thank my wife Sharne Dyett for her selfless engagement in running these tournaments while I play. If not for her I would be unable to lose as often as I do. (thanks honey).

All in all, everyone I spoke to had a ball and look forward to next year.

Mick Dyett.

2019 Top 8 Result

Brian Ramsey has won his second Top 8 Trophy in a row, defeating Dave Bower 9-1 in the Final on November 29. Following is the grid (incomplete score wise as I had to leave early)

	2019 TOP 8 TROPHY
1	GERHARDT MACOR	7
			GERHARDT MACOR	3
8	ADRIAN MARISESCU	0
					BRIAN RAMSEY	9
5	TONY WALKER	3
			BRIAN RAMSEY	7
4	BRIAN RAMSEY	7
					BRIAN RAMSEY
3	ALAN CATHCART	0			WINNER
			GREG MITCHELL	6
6	GREG MITCHELL	7
					DAVE BOWER	1
7	ROBERT DISNEY	6
			DAVE BOWER	7
2	DAVE BOWER	7
	7  POINTS		7  POINTS		9 POINTS

 

 

2019 President's Trophy Results

Mick Dyett continued on his merry way in 2019 by taking out last week's President Trophy Final. Mick defeated Tony Walker 7/5.
The second division was taken out by emergency starter Costea Ianculescu over Les Pierpoint. The grids are below.

	2019 PRESIDENT'S TROPHY FIRST 8
1	GERHARDT MACOR	4
			TONY WALKER	7
8	TONY WALKER	7
					TONY WALKER	5
5	ADRIAN MARISESCU	5
			BRUCE PARR	2
4	BRUCE PARR	7
					MICK DYETT
3	MICK DYETT	7			WINNER
			MICK DYETT	7
6	ROBERT DISNEY	5
					MICK DYETT	7
7	ALAN CATHCART	6
			DAVE BOWER	5
2	DAVE BOWER	7
	7 POINTS		7 POINTS		7 POINTS

 

	2019 PRESIDENT'S TROPHY 2ND DIVISION
1	BRIAN RAMSEY	6
			COSTEA IANCULESCU	7
8	COSTEA IANCULESCU	7
					COSTEA IANCULESCU	7
5	MICHELLE TAUBMAN	7
			MICHELLE TAUBMAN	4
4	GREG MITCHELL	2
					COSTEA IANCULESCU
3	CASSIE CREBERT	5			WINNER
			LES PIERPOINT	7
6	LES PIERPOINT	7
					LES PIERPOINT
7	JULIE CASTLES	1
			ROBERT SEBOK	4
2	ROBERT SEBOK	7
	7  POINTS		7  POINTS		7 POINTS

 

2019 Newcastle Open

The 2019 Newcastle Open Backgammon Tournament final was an all Newcastle affair but who were the finalists and the winner? Go to the Open Details page for the report and some photos!!

The Championship Ladder can be viewed via this link .
The remainder of the 2019 dates are on the Dates Page

2019 NSW Backgammon Championships

25 players attended the 2019 NSW Championships. The placegetters were all from Sydney with Peter Brown defeating Arthur Ramer in the final and John Symon and Steve Clarry finishing 3/4. Sunday's $300 Jackpot tournament was split between Taeed Athari and Mick Dyett.

Sydney Open Tournament

Regular Newcastle Open player and former member Paul Barnett took out the first Sydney Open played on Sunday April 7th.

A Report and pics is available on the ABF site at https://ausbgf.org.au/home/news/

New Sydney Monthly Tournaments

Monthly tournaments began on Sunday, 10/2/2019, at the Persian Rose Restaurant, Turramurra. Next to be played April 14th.
Registration from 9:30 for a 10 am start. Entry $50 with an optional $50 side pool, Round Robin play.
Chouette and Jackpot tournaments run to demand for players knocked out of the main.
These tournaments will be held on the second Sunday of each month from February to October.

For further details contact either Mick Dyett ( dyett_michael@yahoo.com.au ), ph 0497286149 or Taed Athari ( taeed.athari@gmail.com ), ph 0418207708

President's Trophy

The 2018 President's Trophy was held on Friday, November 23rd. Unfortunately not all those who qualified were available on the night so the second division was reduced to six players.

Dave Bower is the President's Trophy winner, defeating Michelle Taubman 7-6. None of the top 4 qualifiers made it past the first round as Robert Disney beat Adrian Marisescu, Bruce Parr got past Gerhardt Macor, Mick Dyett went down to Michelle Taubman and Dave Bower was too good for Robert Sebok. Dave won 7-1 over Robert and Michelle defeated Bruce 7-6.

In the second division, Costea Ianculescu got a late call-up and made it all the way to the final before losing 7-4 to Tony Walker. Tony defeated Mel Dyett and Les Pierpoint on the way to the final whilst Costea got by Cassie Crebert and Alan Cathcart.

The final grids for the President's Trophies are below:

	2018 PRESIDENT'S TROPHY FIRST 8
1	ADRIAN MARISESCU	4
			ROBERT DISNEY	1
8	ROBERT DISNEY	7
					DAVE BOWER	7
5	DAVE BOWER	7
			DAVE BOWER	7
4	ROBERT SEBOK	3
					DAVE BOWER
3	MICK DYETT	4			WINNER
			MICHELLE TAUBMAN	7
6	MICHELLE TAUBMAN	7
					MICHELLE TAUBMAN	6
7	BRUCE PARR	7
			BRUCE PARR	6
2	GERHARDT MACOR	5
	7 POINTS		7  POINTS		7 POINTS

 

	2018 PRESIDENT'S TROPHY 2ND DIVISION
1	LES PIERPOINT	1
			LES PIERPOINT	6
8	BYE	0
					TONY WALKER	7
5	MEL DYETT	3
			TONY WALKER	7
4	TONY WALKER	7
					TONY WALKER
3	CASSIE CREBERT	2			WINNER
			COSTEA IANCULESCU	7
6	COSTEA IANCULESCU	7
					COSTEA IANCULESCU	4
7	BYE	0
			ALAN CATHCART	4
2	ALAN CATHCART	1
	7  POINTS		7  POINTS		7 POINTS

 

2018 ROUND 20

Round 20 of the 2018 Newcastle Backgammon Club Championship was held on November 2nd with 16 players. Welcome back to Costea Ianculescu and Alan Cathcart.

MIck Dyett's had wrapped up the 2018 Club Championship after winning his Round 19 heat and, in the process, completing a treble of Club Championships.
Adrian Marisescu maintained second spot 8 points behind and Gerhardt Macor nosed out Dave Bower and Greg Mitchell for third.

Winners of Round 20 were Gerhardt Macor, Greg Mitchell, Alan Cathcart and Costea Ianculescu..
The full table is available via this link.

The Australian Backgammon Federation ratings site seems to be working fine now but the latest version, after Round 20 of the Newcastle Club Championship is available on the Club Championship table page (link above)

 

2018 Australian Open and Masters Championships

Ian Dunstan defeated Newcastle's Gerhardt Macor in the Final of the 2018 Australian Open held on the 3rd and 4th of November. Newcastle provided two of the last 8 players as Mick Dyett also qualified but Gerhardt and Mick were drawn in the same half of the draw and played a semi-final. The other semi-finalist was Jan Spillikom.
The 2018 Master's (18 players) was taken out by Peter Brown from Simon Woodhead. Habib Shalala and Steve Roberts were the semi-finalists. Both Gerhardt and Mick played in the Master's but lost their first matches.

 

2018 Newcastle Open Result

Martin Sagradian is the 2018 Newcastle Open winner, played in the Patricia Room at Charlestown Bowling Club on Sunday, September 16th.

Full details and some pics (courtesy of Greg Ash) are available on the Open Details page via this link

 

 

2018 Auckland Backgammon Championship
Date October 6, 2018 / October 7, 2018

Grant Hoffman (Nelson)                 1st Place
Paul Kellett (Auckland)                   2nd Place
Richard Theunissen (Auckland)    3rd Place
Jo Hodder (Auckland)                     Consolation Prize

Result: Special General Meeting

The result of the Special General Meeting, to discuss the letter received from the Australian Backgammon Federation (posted lower on this page) is available on the AGM page via this link.

Captain's Trophy Results

The results for the 2018 Captain's Trophy Finals, played on June 29th, 2018, are below. Congratulations to Brian Ramsey who defeated Robert Disney in the First division Final and Shaun Harding, 7/4 victor over Alan Cathcart in the second division.

	2018 CAPTAIN'S TROPHY FIRST 8
1	MICK DYETT	2
			BRIAN RAMSEY	7
8	BRIAN RAMSEY	7
					BRIAN RAMSEY	7
5	GREG MITCHELL	3
			ADRIAN MARISESCU	5
4	ADRIAN MARISESCU	7
					BRIAN RAMSEY
3	ROBERT DISNEY	7			WINNER
			ROBERT DISNEY	7
6	CASSIE CREBERT	5
					ROBERT DISNEY	4
7	LES PIERPOINT	3
			DAVID BOWER	5
2	DAVID BOWER	7
	7  POINTS		7 POINTS		7 POINTS

 

	2018 CAPTAIN'S TROPHY 2ND DIV.
1	GERHARDT MACOR	5
			SHAUN HARDING	7
8	SHAUN HARDING	7
					SHAUN HARDING	7
5	MICHELLE TAUBMAN	7
			MICHELLE TAUBMAN	5
4	TONY WALKER	2
					SHAUN HARDING
3	ROBERT SEBOK	5			WINNER
			BRUCE PARR	5
6	BRUCE PARR	7
					ALAN CATHCART	4
7	JULIE CASTLES	4
			ALAN CATHCART	7
2	ALAN CATHCART	7
	7  POINTS		7  POINTS		7 POINTS

 

NSW OPEN RESULT

The 2018 NSW Open was conducted at North Ryde RSL in Sydney on Sunday July 15th with 33 players in a Swiss Tournament. The sole survivor, winning all 5 matches, was Martin Sagradian with Peter Brown runner up, George Avramides 3rd and John Symon, who lead the rankings for the first 4 rounds, finishing 4th after losing to Martin in the last round.

Newcastle players Mick Dyett, Robert Disney, Tony Walker, Michelle Taubman and Gerhardt Macor were all out of contention for the top spot after the 3rd round.

Congratulations to the winners. Also to the committee of the Sydney Backgammoners Club who organised the event and Gary Stavrou the Tournament Director. Full report: http://sydneybackgammoners.blogspot.com/2018/

 

 

ABF Letter

Find below the text of an email received from ABF President, Eva Bitel:

TO CLUBS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN BACKGAMMON FEDERATION

Dear all

I am writing today as it is close to the time when we would like current member clubs to renew their affiliation with the Federation by forwarding the $25 membership fee. Bank details:  Australian Backgammon Federation, BSB 082048, Acc. No. 839626033.Please utilise the form under the membership heading on the ABF website and forward to John Symon at johnsymon2191@gmail.com when you have deposited your membership dues and a receipt will be issued.

We are acutely aware that there has not been much advantage in being affiliated (apart from a feeling of solidarity) but we are aiming to offer more in the future such as trophies, financial assistance with venues, advertising expenses etc. This letter is therefore going to all clubs whether affiliated or not in the hope that all clubs will join.

The Board has agreed to provide some financial assistance for approved tournaments, with preference for the smaller clubs to benefit. Please consider what we can do to assist you in any way. We are open to and would appreciate suggestions.

We are also planning to establish a ranking system for members. Therefore I urge you to encourage your members to join the Federation for a small $10 membership fee. Anyone playing in the upcoming 2018 NSW OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS will receive automatic membership.

Sincerely Eva Bitel, President ,                                                           Australian Backgammon Federation                          MAY 2018

 

The results of the AGM held February 2nd are on the  AGM page.

 

The 2018 New Zealand Backgammon Championship was held at the Taksim Turkish Bar and Restaurant, Auckland on April 7th and 8th.
There were no Newcastle entries this year but a couple of Australian names appear in the full results although it seems it wasn't a great tournament for them.

The winners, as posted by organiser Anthony Marquette were:
Main: Winner Karsten Nielsen, 2nd Sky Koder, 3rd Grant Hoffman
Consolation: Jan Suchanek, 2nd Ray Barley, 3rd Ian Dunstan (Aus)

 

Persian Rose Doubles Tournament

The 2018 Doubles Tournament at the Persian Rose Restaurant was conducted on February 18th, 2018.
Newcastle pair Gerhardt Macor and Lorenzo Caita-Mandra came away with the spoils. Mick Dyett's report is below:

The Doubles Tournament was a huge success with every player keen for a repeat. A big thank you goes to the Tournament Director, Taeed Athari, who was instrumental in making this tournament a reality.
Taeed put together a great tournament and he kindly provided the venue (the Persian Rose Restaurant). Taeed and I would like to thank Zvi Bendavid for donating the trophies. Zvi has supported many backgammon tournaments by donating the trophies. This enables all entry fees to be returned as prize money. 
A big thank you goes to Sharne Dyett who worked tirelessly on the front line making sure everything ran smoothly. Not only did she handle the administration side of things with great expertise, but when a player was short of a partner, she volunteered to enter the tournament to ensure a 16 team event. Having never played in a backgammon tournament before, Sharne rose to the occasion by teaming up with Hussein Haydari. 
I would like to thank all the players who attended for supporting such a fun event, especially those who travelled long distances, Grant Hoffman from New Zealand, Simon Uey from Victoria and Hussein Haydari from Canberra.
It was always going to be very tough to win this Tournament. There were some very tough players attending. The first two rounds were nine point matches while the Semi-Finals and Final were 11 point matches. After two rounds we were at the Semi Finals. 
In the first Semi-Final; Gerhardt Macor and Lorenzo Caita-Mandra played Arthur Ramer and Julian Marroquin, while Richard Crawley-Boevey and Martin Sagradian versed Robbie Solomon and Ian Dunstan. Gerhardt and Lorenzo made it through as did Robbie and Ian. As fate would have it, Gerhardt and Ian played in the finals of the 2017 Australian Backgammon Championships, with Ian winning the title. That they met again in the finals of a tough doubles tournament is no accident, they are both very strong players. This time though they both have help. Robbie Solomon, one of the strongest players in Australia and Lorenzo, who may not have as much experience as Robbie, but is just as determined to win the tournament. The match is a tight one, until Ian and Robbie take the advantage 10-6 Crawford. Gerhardt and Lorenzo win Crawford (making the score 10-7), and then Gerhardt gives an automatic double in the next game. Gerhardt plays for a blitz and it succeeds. Match and Championship win to Gerhardt and Lorenzo. Congratulations to both teams for getting to the finals and putting on a great show, not just in the finals but on the road to getting there. 
The thing which is so interesting about a consulting Doubles Tournament is being able to hear the thought process of the players as they plan their moves and cube strategies. 
We had a $50 knockout with eight players involved. The Final was played between Alex Falon and Simon Uey with Simon taking the win. Congratulations to both.
This Doubles Format proved to be very popular, and it is no surprise that players were making inquiries about organising another one, and we will. After all…we love the game.
Cheers,
Mick Dyett.

 

2017 PRESENTATION NIGHT

The 2017 Presentation night was held at Charlestown Bowling Club on Friday December 8th. A barefoot bowls session was followed by a BBQ dinner.

Mick Dyett and Brian Ramsey collected the majority of the spoils with Mick winning the 2017 Club Championship and the Willy Backes Memorial Top 8 Trophy and Brian winning both the Captain's and President's Trophies as well as runner up in the Club Championship. Gerhardt Macor took 3rd in the CC and Alan Cathcart and Costea Ianculescu won the Captain's and President's second divisions respectively.

Some photos of the night are available on the Presentation night page.

 

2017 Club Championship Final Result

Round 20 of the 2017 Club Championship was played on November 10th with 14 players in four groups at Charlestown Bowling Club.
Mick Dyett ran down long time leader Brian Ramsey to defend the Newcastle Club Championship by 1 point after the final round. With both players in the same part of the draw it was up to who could finish highest in the group as to who would win and Mick's win over Brian in the middle match of the round robin was enough to see him over the line.
Gerhardt Macor finished third by winning the top 4 clash and Adrian Marisescu placed fourth by winning his RR.

Winners of round 20 were Gerhardt Macor, Costea Ianculescu, Alan Cathcart and Adrian Marisescu
The tables page is here.

2017 President's Trophy Result

Brian Ramsey won his third President's Trophy in a row on November 24th by beating Robert Disney in the Final 9-2. Brian defeated Alan Cathcart and Adrian Marisescu in the first 2 rounds whilst Robert beat Bruce Parr and Mick Dyett.
Costea Ianculescu had to survive an extra round on his way to winning the President's second division, defeating Michelle Taubman 7-5 in the Final. Costea and Ian Dews had to play a round 1 match as only 5 players contended. Costea then beat Robert Sebok in the semi and Michelle outlasted Dave Bower 7-6.
The result grids for the President's Trophy divisions are below

A reminder that the Top 8 Trophy on December 1st. The draw grid is below. As noted above Presentation night is December 8th.
 

 

	2017 PRESIDENT'S TROPHY FIRST 8   24/11/17
1	MICK DYETT	7
			MICK DYETT	5
8	LES PIERPOINT	3
					ROBERT DISNEY	2
5	BRUCE PARR	2
			ROBERT DISNEY	7
4	ROBERT DISNEY	7
					BRIAN RAMSEY
3	GERHARDT MACOR	4			WINNER
			ADRIAN MARISESCU	5
6	ADRIAN MARISESCU	7
					BRIAN RAMSEY	9
7	ALAN CATHCART	0
			BRIAN RAMSEY	7
2	BRIAN RAMSEY	7
	7  POINTS		7  POINTS		9 POINTS

 

	2017 PRESIDENT'S TROPHY 2ND DIV.  24/11/17
1	ROBERT SEBOK	1
			ROBERT SEBOK	0
8	BYE	0
					COSTEA IANCULESCU	7
5	IAN DEWS	2
			COSTEA IANCULESCU	7
4	COSTEA IANCULESCU	7
					COSTEA IANCULESCU
3	DAVID BOWER	1			WINNER
			DAVID BOWER	6
6	BYE	0
					MICHELLE TAUBMAN	5
7	BYE	0
			MICHELLE TAUBMAN	7
2	MICHELLE TAUBMAN	1
	7  POINTS		7  POINTS		7 POINTS

 

	2017 TOP 8 FINAL 1/12/17
1	MICK DYETT
8	MICHELLE TAUBMAN
					MICK DYETT
5	TONY WALKER
4	ADRIAN MARISESCU
					MICK DYETT
3	GERHARDT MACOR				WINNER
6	BRUCE PARR
					BRUCE PARR
7	ALAN CATHCART
2	BRIAN RAMSEY
	7  POINTS		9  POINTS		9 POINTS

Players are reminded that should there be any dispute during the playing of a match to please ask for a ruling at the time. We have enough experienced players capable of giving a verdict on any problem that may arise during a match. Copies of the rules are always in the box for perusal at any time.

2017 Australian Open

Newcastle's Gerhardt Macor fell just short of winning the 2017 Australian Open held at the Persian Rose restaurant in Turramurra on the weekend of 11/12 November.
In what was a double elimination tournament (meaning players had to be defeated twice to be knocked out) Gerhardt won the winner's bracket meaning he only had to win once in the finals series to win the tournament. Sydney's Ian Dunstan won through to the final through the loser's bracket (being the only player to have lost only 1 match during the tournament) and went on to defeat Gerhardt in the last 2 matches.

 

 

2017 NEWCASTLE OPEN
 

Congratulations to Ben Phillips on winning the 2017 Newcastle Open from Robert Disney 9-8 on Sunday at Charlestown Bowling Club. Semi-Finalists were Mehmet Tuglu and Jan Spillekom. 25 final entries, from Newcastle, Sydney, Canberra and the Gold Coast, competed in 7 round robins to decide the make up of the field for the knock out Bracket with all round robin winners qualifying. The Final field makeup was drawn from the hat hence "position 2" being the bye.
Ben was down 3-8 but just kept surviving and hitting the "last chance" blots that were forced to be left to take out the title.
The Consolation Tournament, open to all those that didn't qualify for the main was won by Martin Sagradian from Sydney over Newcastle's Adrian Marisescu.
Thanks to all that attended especially those who travelled distance to come.
Special thanks to Charlestown Bowling Club and First Creek wines (via Bruce Parr) for their contributions to the day. Also to Michelle Taubman for her assistance on the day.

The Final grid is below:

	2017 NEWCASTLE OPEN BACKGAMMON FINAL BRACKET
1	STEPHEN DAVY
			JAN SPILLEKOM
8	JAN SPILLEKOM
					ROBERT DISNEY	8
5	JOHN SYMON
			ROBERT DISNEY
4	ROBERT DISNEY
					BEN PHILLIPS
3	BEN PHILLIPS				WINNER
			BEN PHILLIPS
6	SIMON WOODHEAD
					BEN PHILLIPS	9
7	MEHMET TUGLU
			MEHMET TUGLU
2	BYE
	7  POINTS		7   POINTS		9   POINTS

 

 

2017 New Zealand Open

Mick Dyett has finished second in the New Zealand Open completed July 23rd, to local player Julie Hillis.
Pictures below courtesy of Sharne Roxby via Facebook.

 

EXTRAORDINAY GENERAL MEETING

For full details on the result of the Extraordinary General Meetings of the Newcastle Backgammon Club (19/5/17 adjourned to 2/6/17) please see the AGM page.

2017 AGM

The details of the Newcastle Backgammon Club AGM held on January 27th can be found via this link

2016 Presentation Night

The 2016 Club Presentation Night was held on December 2nd at Charlestown Bowling Club, the current "home" of the Newcastle Backgammon Club.
The night began with a number of members taking part in a few heads of barefoot bowls on the CBC's synthetic green. Most had not played bowls before and whilst styles varied from the "norm" a good time was had by all.
The dinner was held in a section of the Function room which was all too large for our modest group but greatly appreciated.
Winners were:
Club Champion: Mick Dyett
Runner Up: Tony Walker
Third: Brian Ramsey
Top 8 Trophy: Bruce Parr
President's Trophy: Brian Ramsey / Les Pierpoint
Captain's Trophy: Adrian Marisescu / Greg Hern
Thanks to Charlestown Bowling Club for hosting all our competition this year and to all members for their continued support of the Newcastle Backgammon Club.
To all players and members of the NBC Facebook pages, Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous 2017 !

Club Championship Trophies	Collecting for Tony Walker, 2nd Club Championship, Michelle Taubman	Club Champion, Mick Dyett	3rd Club Championship, Brian Ramsey
		Top 8 Trophy Winner, Bruce Parr

Top 8 Trophy Result

Bruce Parr won his second consecutive Top 8 Trophy by beating Brian Ramsey 9-0 in this year's Final on November 25th. The bracket is below.
Picture shows the start of the Final, Bruce Parr (left) vs Brian Ramsey. Photo courtesy of Michelle Taubman.

	2016 Willy Backes Memorial Top 8
1	MICK DYETT	7
			MICK DYETT	3
8	ALAN CATHCART	4
					BRUCE PARR	9
5	BRUCE PARR	7
			BRUCE PARR	7
4	ADRIAN MARISESCU	6
					BRUCE PARR
3	GREG MITCHELL	5			WINNER
			COSTEA IANCULESCU	6
6	COSTEA IANCULESCU	7
					BRIAN RAMSEY	0
7	ROBERT SEBOK	3
			BRIAN RAMSEY	7
2	BRIAN RAMSEY	7
	7  POINTS		7  POINTS		9 POINTS

 

President's Trophy Results

Brian Ramsey has won the 2016 President's Trophy defeating David Bower 7-6 in the Final on November 18th. The second division was won by Les Pierpoint, 7-5, over Adrian Marisescu. Final brackets are below

	2016 President's Trophy Final
1	TONY WALKER	3
			COSTEA IANCULESCU	2
8	COSTEA IANCULESCU	7
					BRIAN RAMSEY	7
5	BRIAN RAMSEY	7
			BRIAN RAMSEY	7
4	ROBERT DISNEY	2
					BRIAN RAMSEY
3	GREG MITCHELL	4			WINNER
			DAVID BOWER	7
6	DAVID BOWER	7
					DAVID BOWER	6
7	ROBERT SEBOK	5
			GERHARDT MACOR	2
2	GERHARDT MACOR	7
	7  POINTS		7  POINTS		7 POINTS

 

	2016 PRESIDENT'S TROPHY SECOND DIVISION
9	ALAN CATHCART
			ALAN CATHCART	3
16	BYE
					LES PIERPOINT	7
13	LES PIERPOINT	7
			LES PIERPOINT	7
12	BRUCE PARR	5
					LES PIERPOINT
11	ADRIAN MARISESCU				WINNER
			ADRIAN MARISESCU	7
14	BYE
					ADRIAN MARISESCU	5
15	BYE
			MICHELLE TAUBMAN	3
10	MICHELLE TAUBMAN
	7 points		7 points		7 points

The Top 8 Trophy

The results of the 2016 Willy Backes Memorial Top 8 Trophy Final are below.

	2016 Willy Backes Memorial Top 8
1	MICK DYETT	7
			MICK DYETT	3
8	ALAN CATHCART	4
					BRUCE P	9
5	BRUCE PARR	7
			BRUCE PARR	7
4	ADRIAN MARISESCU	6
					BRUCE PARR
3	GREG MITCHELL	5			WINNER
			COSTEA IANCULESCU	6
6	COSTEA IANCULESCU	7
					BRIAN RAMSEY	0
7	ROBERT SEBOK	3
			BRIAN RAMSEY	7
2	BRIAN RAMSEY	7
	7  POINTS		7  POINTS		9 POINTS

2016 Australian Open

Grant Hoffman of New Zealand has won his second consecutive Australian Open defeating Newcastle's Gerhardt Macor 15-9 in the Final on November 13th. It is also the second year in a row that Grant has defeated a Newcastle player for the title after beating Bruce Parr for the 2015 title. The semi-finalists were Darren O'Shaughnessy and Richard Crawley-Boevey.
Adrian Marisescu took out the Jackpot tournament. Congratulations to all concerned.

 

Be advised that Wednesday night backgammon in Sydney has moved to the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, 2 Bourke St, Woolloomooloo as of September 27th. Contact John Hedge ( johnhedge@gmail.com ) for further details.

2016 NEWCASTLE OPEN

Simon Woodhead of the Gold Coast is the 2016 Newcastle Open winner which was held in the Lincoln Room at Charlestown Bowling Club on Sunday, September 18th. 

Photos and report on the Open Details page.

 

Club Challenge Report

The Newcastle Backgammon Club team took out the 2016 Club Challenge from the Persian Rose Club team at the Shelly Beach Surf Club on August 28th.
The two teams of six players were drawn from the hat into groups of 3 with the NBC "Team A" playing individual matches against the PRBC "Team A" and the "Team B" players doing likewise.
At the lunch break 7 matches had been completed with the PRBC holding a 4-3 margin. Lunch in the Surf Club restaurant was considered by all to be value for money and can be recommended.
Back in the playing room and the evenness of the competition continued. The team A side of the draw completed their matches first and with the last 3 matches of the B side all in play the PRBC led 8-7 with a score advantage in 2 of the matches. Michelle Taubman and Mick Dyett both came from behind to kick Newcastle 9-8 up leaving it to Gerhardt Macor to complete the victory and be the only player of the 12 to win all 3 of his matches on the day.
With thank to John Hedge for his part in organization of the day and the Shelly Beach Surf Club for their hosting of the event.
The full teams were: NBC- Mick Dyett (C), Michelle Taubman , Robert Disney , Tony Walker , Gerhardt Macor and Costea Ianculescu.
PRBC- John Hedge (C) , John Symon, Martin Sagradian , Mark Catusanu, Michael Mills, and Ian Dunstan.

Shelly Beach, NSW Central Coast	Team Newcastle	Playing room
Trophy	The two teams (Costea absent)

 

The 2016 Captain's Trophy flights were played on June 17th, 13 players attended.

The Top flight was taken out by Adrian Marisescu over Robert Disney, 7/3. Adrian defeated Tony Walker and Brian Ramsey on his way to the Final.
Greg Hern outlasted Michelle Taubman 7/6 in the Second flight.
The grids for both divisions are below.

	2016 Captain's Trophy Top Flight
1	MICK DYETT	7
			MICK DYETT	1
8	ROBERT SEBOK	2
					ROBERT DISNEY	3
5	BRUCE PARR	1
			ROBERT DISNEY	7
4	ROBERT DISNEY	7
					ADRIAN MARISESCU
3	TONY WALKER	4