2010 NSW Open Backgammon Championship

Report, Results and Photos

March 13/14 2010, Ryde Ex-Services Club, Sydney. Congratulations to Andre Rizk !

Virginia Jones with NSW Champion Andre Rizk and organiser Ben Phillips

Report by Stephen Davy

34 eager backgammon players decended on Ryde Ex Services Club last Saturday for the 2nd Annual NSW Open. With a great structure and a prize pool of around $5000 up for grabs, players couldn't wait to pick up their cups and start rolling dream dice.

The 1st round saw some interesting matchups between some of the greats such as last years winner Steve Clarry vs Jim "never out of it" Bean. Spectators commented it was like Sampras playing Agassi in round one of the French Open. 2009 Australian Open winner Mick "Monster" Dyett drew first time player Andre Rizk and quickly sent him to registration desk for a re entry. One observer thought they heard Mick say "Welcome to first grade son" but further investigation revealed Mick actually said "Better luck next time mate". Malcolm Hudson defeated Sydney scene regular, Stefan Post, Simon Woodhead ran into a hot rolling Alex Ivanovski and Ben Phillips accounted for Jason O'Brien.

Some of the 2nd round action saw Novacastrian crew member Virginia Jones send Ron Claringball packing, South Australian Chris Benham account for 2009 runner up Jim "new dice" Giallussi and Robby "holiday in the sun" Soloman, clinically take apart Danny Joukhadar. 1994 Australian Open Champ Alex Falon dutifully disposed of the in form Ben Phillips whilst Alex Ivanovski summonsed the crowd, called for a double, rolled it, and then waved goodbye to Steve Davy's dreams of victory.

Action really started to heat up in the 3rd round with Marijo Udoviciv, Stefan Post and Andre Rizk slipping under the radar whilst the crowds witnessed epic battles between Pat Halpin & Mick Dyett and old sparring partners Alex Falon and Malcolm Hutson. Avedis Varvarian ended the solid run of Chris Benham and Virginia Jones started to find her rhythm against Alex Ivanovski.

Quarter final action was intense with Stefan losing to Andre in a corker of a match, Alex taking revenge on the previous nights chouette against Pat, Avedis saluting against Ben in a game that featured double match point and Virginia (with her bright pink board in tow) showing why she was one of the pre tournament favourites by taking care of Marijo.

In any tournament of any sport, Semi Final action usually provides the greatest matches as players know they are one win away from their shot at glory. They can taste the finsh line and can visualize their hands on the cup. Andre showed he can handle the nerves in a pressure cooker situation by calmly accounting for a "hyper" aggressive player in Avedis whist Virginia keep her foot on the throat of Alex at every turn to come up trumps over her more experienced opponent. In what was to become a fascinating talking point for the crowd (and one that will be debated for a long time!) Alex "tanked" on an offer from Virginia for almost 10 minutes as he deciphered what was in front of him. Some said under their breath "Is he mad, how could he consider that cube!" whilst other more experienced players knew Alex could re-cube and play on for the immediate win. Later investigation by Alex on a backgammon software program revealed it was a very, very close drop.

The final was going to be decided by a first to nine, best of three match series. A fired up and in form Andre was matched up against a fiercely determined Virginia in a match that had the young backgammon revolutionaries salivating, and the old brigade happily content that the future of Australian backgammon was in capable hands. Andre came out swinging, keen to take the early advantage and made quick work of game one. The score was 9-2. Game two was a match for the ages with both players pulling no punches in their quest for the title. Virginia went 2-0 up before Andre came over the top to lead 4-2. Virginia knew the next game was a vital one and proceeded to show the man they call "Rizky Business" that he was in for one hell of a fight. She took the lead at 7-4. The match swung back and forth over the next few games with Virginia getting first to Crawfords at 8-5. Andre knew that if he was going to beat the Novacastrian, he needed to do it and do it now. Anything can happen in the deciding "set" and he wasn't prepared to give Virginia that chance. He creeped back to 8-6 down before equalling at 8's in the next game. In a tense final game, Andre was the first to bear off and subsequently raise his hands in the air as the 2010 New South Wales Champion.

Ladies and gentlemen, The revolution has begun.

The final 16:

Photos courtesy Simon Woodhead. Click on thumbnail for full size image.