Wednesday December 16

 The last night of the (Sydney Backgammoners) year and we welcomed 17 players, including two new members , Peter Koorey and Paul Barnett.

 

Andre Marootians was drawn as the jackpot player (again!!)

but missed out, so there is a healthy purse to start the new year.

 

 

The final placings were:

 

1^st Peter Voulgaris 

 

2^nd Jim Bean

 

3^rd Garry Byrne

 

Please have a wonderful and safe holiday period and we shall meet again on 6th January.

A worried looking Ben Anderson (R) tussles with Andre Marootians

New member Peter Koorey and Breck McCormack battle it out

Garry Byrne and Giancarlo Yannoulis in a serious game watched by some interested observers

Wednesday December 9

 Tonight's roll-up was a healthy 17 players with 1 additional kibitzer observing with a view to joining us .

 

Ned Marootians was  drawn as the jackpot player but a middle round loss put paid to that possibility.

 

Final results were :

 

1^st John Symon

 

2^nd Giancarlo Yannoulis

 

3^rd Andre Marootians 

 

Well done all...

 

Look forward to having you all back next week for the final competition of what has been a very different year – hopefully next year will be a little less logistically challenging and we can continue to play face to face and enjoy the social aspects of this wonderful game as well as the competing aspects.

Susan Wan and Ben Anderson in what was a very long last game of the night

Giancarlo Yannoulis battles Peter Voulgaris with Angelo Voulgaris cheering from the sidelines

Andre Marootians and Hammon Mans looking very serious

 

Wednesday December 2

 And the numbers increase.... again!!

 17 members turned up tonight – welcome back David Reitzin, Hammon Mans and George Avramides  

 

Andre Marootians was drawn as the jackpot player but a 2^nd round loss saw an end to his chances. 

 

The last date for play in 2020 is December 16th - if you get withdrawals there is always Galaxy or Safe Harbor games …..

 

Play will resume on  January 6, 2021 

 

Final results were...

 

1^st  David Reitzin

 

2nd Ned Marootians

 

3^rd 
Susan Wan

Hammon Mans shows his lucky dice to George Avramides who doesn't seem too worried.

The backgammon version of the three wise men Andre Marootians, Gary Stavrou
and Giancarlo Yannoulis

Another Voulgaris joins the club ...Peter battles Ben Anderson

Angelo Voulgaris and Susan Wan in the 2nd round

Wednesday November 25

 Our second night back saw an increase of 4 players from last week with the return of Breck, Mohammad, Ned and Andre.

 

Jim Bean was drawn as the jackpot player but a defeat at the board of Carol Wakelin put paid to that in the 1st round... better luck next time Jim!

 

The final result was:

 

1^st Ben Anderson

 

2^nd Breck McCormack 

 

3^rd John Symon.

 

 Some housekeeping:

 

I realise that we all have our own style and pace of play, but in the interest of sportsmanship, can we all try to be a bit more mindful of the time clock so all games are finished with a full score.....losing a position in the top 3 by a point is soul-destroying enough, but losing it because your game ran out of time is worse!

John Symon and Rafael Chattah in their first match of the night.

Susan Wan Takes on TD Gary Stavrou.

 

Breck McCormack and Andre Marootians look pretty happy to be back on the boards.

Wednesday November 19

 “We're back”

 

 

After a year that has been alternately bizarre, scary, confining and unbelievable in so many ways, Sydney Backgammoners finally got the  OK to return to play at North Ryde RSL.

 

The bistro is again open for dinner and are now starting service at 5pm .

 

A select little group of 10 aficionados (tragics) turned up the 1^st post-covid match – hopefully we will be joined next week by a few more of both old and new players as we resume play in the “new normal”  world.

The Jackpot carried over from pre-Covid with a value of $212.

Angelo drew the Jackpot spot but failed to convert it to a win.

 

Final positions were:

 

1^st  Rafael Chattah

 

2^nd David Layman

 

3^rd Angelo Voulgaris

 See you all next week!!

Gary Stavrou and John Symon

David Layman and Susan Wan

Jim Bean and Giancarlo Yannoulis

Wednesday March 11

Despite the Coronavirus threat, we still managed a good turnout last night with 14 stalwarts arriving to play.

Zhiman Rahmati was drawn as the nights jackpot player but missed out on this occasion. The jackpot now stands at over $200.

Final results were:

Ned Marootians and Jim Bean shared 1st place

Mohammad Nejati and Giancarlo Yannoulis shared 3rd place

It appears that Giancarlo Yannoulis (R) is a smidge in front and David Layman is not impressed.

Angelo Voulgaris and Grayham Rundle are a couple of happy chappies in a friendly match.

Andre Marootians is back on the bar again courtesy of Mahnaz Rostami.

Wednesday March 4

Despite some of our regulars being missing in action we still managed to muster up a very healthy 18 players for tonight's  tournament – correction, 17 healthy and one walking wounded – Hamish has his arm in a sling due to a skateboarding incident! 

Two of these were first-timers and we welcome Garry Byrne and Hammon Mans to the group.

Carol Wakelin was drawn as the jackpot player but a first round loss at the hands of Ned Marootians (AGAIN!!!!) put that well and truly out of reach.

Final results were :

1^st Hammon Mans , one of our new members!!

2^nd Mohammad Nejati

3^rd Hamish Moore

REMINDER:

The Sydney Open is on at the Canada Bay Club on April 5 – please come 

The two cheekiest players of the night Ned Marootians and Zhiman Rahmati ham it up for the camera.

Gary Stavrou looks happy Breck McCormack not so much.

Angelo Voulgaris and Andre Marootians study the state of play.

Three matches in one shot. In the background newcomer Garry Byrne and Grayham Rundle, next pair is Jim Bean and David Layman and  in the front Hammon Mans another newbie playing Mahnaz Rostami.

Wednesday February 26

A turnout of 14 tonight with four of our regular players away.

Ben Anderson was drawn as the Jackpot player but failed to capitalise on the opportunity.
The jackpot is now approaching $200 and certainly worth winning.

John Symon was the clear winner tonight with an impressive 318 point score.
Seeing that 321 is the maximum score, John's achievement was outstanding.

John will be overseas for the next three months so his ladder ranking will suffer greatly.
The current Ladder Leader is, again, Ned Marootians and a Giantslayer will be chosen next week to wrest 82 points off Ned's score.

Second place tonight went to Ned Marootians and third spot was shared by David Reitzin and Gary Stavrou.

Wednesday February 19

There were nineteen players on the boards tonight, and we are pleased to welcome newcomer Sally Weymouth to the group.

Sally found us on Meetup.com – hopefully we will get more new players from this and it would help if current players could join the group and provide occasional feedback.

The jackpot player was Ned Marootians but he missed out tonight, so the $150+ pot is still up for grabs.

The final placings were:

1^stMohammad Nejati

2^ndJim Bean

3^rdJohn Symon 

Newcomer Sally Weymouth enjoys a social match with Angelo Voulgaris with Grayham Rundle cheering from the sidelines.

Ben Anderson and Breck McCormack in the 7 point round.

A perplexed Giancarlo Yannoulis (R) studies the board in his match with Kee Yio Wan.

Wednesday February 12

A very healthy group of sixteen players fronted up to play tonight.

The jackpot player was drawn and tonight Carol Wakelin was given the opportunity to scoop the pool. A loss in the first round put paid to her ambitions!!

Prior to the main event, John Symon and Ned Marootians began their giantslayer match, with John hoping to poach some points from the ladder leader. The match was completed later in the evening with Ned keeping a tight grips on his hard earned points.

Final results in the main event were:

1^{st Angelo Voulgaris}

2^{nd Ned Marootians}

3^{rd Mohammad Nejati}

Ben Anderson and Zhiman Rahmati's match is watched with interest by Mohammad Nejati and Giancarlo Yannoulis.

A very serious battle between Susan Wan and Gary Stavrou.

A pre main event tussle in the giantslayer match between Ned Marootians and John Symon.

Wednesday February 5

A slightly reduced group of fifteen players presented to battle over the boards tonight.

First order of business was to pick the jackpot player, and tonight the honour was bestowed on Gary Stavrou.

The jackpot is safe for another week!!

Next on the agenda was the draw for the  Giantslayer for February.

John Symon will take on  ladder leader Ned Marootians sometime this month.

Final results for the night were:

1^st Giancarlo Yannoulis

2^nd Arthur Ramer

3^rd John Symon 

David Reitzin has Mohammad Netjati scratching his head.

Carol Wakelin is focused on the game with Arthur Ramer.

An interesting match between Ben Anderson and Rafael Chattah

Three happy chappies. Grayham Rundle and David Reitzin are enjoying their game and John Symon is finding it highly amusing  too.

Wednesday January 29

A very robust group of 19 players gathered for the  competition tonight.

Giancarlo Yannoulis was drawn as the jackpot player but was unable to scoop up the cash on this occasion.

The final result was :

1^st Hamish Moore

2^nd Arthur Ramer

3^rd Zhiman Rahmati 

Please ensure that you have the Sydney Open marked in your diary for April 5^th at the Canada Bay club. Full details on our Events page.

Giancarlo Yannoulis and Carol Wakelin in the  final match of the night.

Its all in the way you roll. John Symon hopes a flourish will improve his luck against Zhiman Rahmati . Shame it was only a friendly match.

There is always one. Trying to take serious photos of games with  Zhiman Rahmati in the shot is a waste of time.  Luckily susan Wan and Mohammed Nejati  mananged to carry on regardless.

Wednesday January 22

A slightly reduced complement of 15 rollers arrived to participate in the Wednesday workout tonight.

Giancarlo Yannoulis was picked for the jackpot opportunity but missed out this time.

Final results were -for the 2nd week in a row – a tied result for 1^stplace. This time between Jim Bean and Ned Marootians .

Arthur Ramer took the 3^rd spot.

If you have not already done so, please mark the 5^th of April in your calendar  as the Sydney Open Championship at Canada Bay.

Gary reminded people that observers must make no comment regarding games in play.

I have had a request from an aged care facility in Allambie Heights for a backgammon tutor either fortnightly or weekly on a Sunday afternoon at 3.30. This is a paid position. David Reitzin expressed some interest to me, so if you are also interested talk with David as well re maybe splitting it between two people.

If you are interested please call Tais Froggatt 0411 878 133 or email her on Taisfroggatt@hotmail.com

Another serious confrontation between John Symon and Grayham Rundle

An intense match between David Reitzin and Mohammed Nejati

The final match of the night between Susan Wan and Gary Stavrou drew a crowd of interested observers in Jim Bean ,Kee Yio Wan and Arthur Ramer

Wednesday January 15

A record 19 players arrived for tonight's competition including an overseas visitor from the UK.

Grayham Rundle was selected as the jackpot player for the evening but was unable to take advantage this time.

The final results were unusual – 2 players tied for equal first :

Ned Marootians and Arthur Ramer

Another two players tied for equal third:

Susan Wan and Giancarlo Yannoulis

The Sydney Open date at Canada Bay was announced tonight – please keep Sunday April 5 free and join the day. Gary has further refined his Swiss format and full details are on our Events page.

Susan Wan and Grayham Rundel  seem to be evenly matched

In the foreground are Angelo Voulgaris and David Reitzin who is demonstrating his famous wrist action

Ben Anderson and John Symon in a later match

Andre Marootians takes on our UK visitor, Paul Bolton

Wednesday January 8

The  first night's play for a new year and a new decade got off to a flying start with 16 players attending, despite a few regulars being missing.

First item on the agenda was drawing the jackpot player  with a healthy $53 on offer it would have been a nice start to the year.

David Layman was selected but was thwarted in his quest to scoop the jackpot up on the first night!

Final placings were:

1st Susan Wan 

2^nd Ben Anderson

3^rd Mohammad Nejati

Please join our meet-up group – as Gary stated in his note, it looks much better if a group has at least a dozen members.

Go to www.meetup.com, create profile with interests in board games only, or more if you want , and it should bring up the group – click join – that's all it takes, and it's free!

I have been a member of meetup for many years and have made quite a few friends whilst attending many social occasions for activities as “mundane” as coffee, dinners and movies, plus a few more “exotic” pastimes – indoor parachuting was probably the most random!! Only downside is, the more groups you join, the more emails you have to trawl through – you soon learn to cull!

Mohammed Nejati looking refresed after the break.

TD Gary Stavrou and Breck McCormack look happy to be back in front of a board.

Ned Marootians presents another happy smiling face.

Grayham Rundle and Susan Wan portray a study in concentration.