Tuesday March 10th 2026

 We had 35 players tonight.

Deputy Sheriff Mike reminded players of dice rules and etiquette. Sheriff Gary told players that gaming a situation if time is running out will result in permanent exclusion from the club.

Richard Broug was the drawn Jackpot but failed to achieve.

FINAL	TOT
R3 RANKING	PTS
Zhiman Rahmati	314
Robbie Baudish	313
Morteza Shaabanifar	310
Sadra Mobayyen	308
Robin Lanesman	302
Peter Voulgaris	211
Farshad Hamidi	206
Richard Broug	205
Danny Assabgy	205
Sean Ghodsi	204
Yalli Pleshet	204
Mike Baldwin	203
Gary Stavrou	200
Tony Giannoulis	199
Kee Yio Wan	199
Jim Malafouris	198
Jeremy Whitelaw	197
Angelo Voulgaris	104
Jim Bean	100
Jenny Saunders	100
Paula O'Connell	99
Aram Amirghan	98
Antonio Andolfo	98
Mohammad Nejati	98
Breck McCormack	97
Carol Wakelin	97
Andrew Clarke	96
Michael Raptis	94
Susan Wan	93
Nick Macoun	93
Ken Kershaw	-8
David Holt	-9
Rafael Chattah	-14
Mehdi Kiani	-16

NSW Open Backgammon Tournament

 Sydney Backgammoners hosted the 2026 NSW Open Backgammon Tournament over the weekend of March 7-8 at the North Ryde RSL.

The popular double-elimination Swiss format attracted players from New Zealand, Queensland and Victoria.

The tournament winner and 2026 NSW Champion was Sean Ghodsi.

Runner up was Hammon Mans and in third place was Jim Bean.

The consolation tournament saw Carlinda Roberts and Mohammad Nejati come equal first with Sadra Mobayyan in third place.

Martin and Hammon

Paul McCloskey lost by a whisker

The three place-getters

Third place, Jim Bean

Runner Up, Hammon Mans

2026 NSW Backgammon Champion, Sean Ghodsi

Peter Voulgaris and Deniz Agdiran reading each other's palms

Hammon Mans came second in the main flight

Sadra Mobayyan came third in the consolation flight

Martin Sagradian is quietly confident

Paul McCloskey from Queensland rolls his dice with a vengeance

Ken Vaughan

"Who?, me?" says Jim Bean 

Danny Assabgy is Australia's premier backgammon board maker

Sheriff Gary shows off his crystal doubling cube

Mia Kandidakis

Andy Liepins travelled from Victoria

The stuff of the main flight at Round 4

Amir Sohrabi

Two happy girls, Sarah and Paula

Carlinda Roberts from New Zealand shared first prize in the second flight

Matt Bridges travelled from the Blue Mountains

Jeremy Whitelaw travelled from the Blue Mountains

John Symon came from Tea Gardens

Carol gave name tags, John offered ANZBGF membership and Paula recorded entries

The eager crowd awaits the start of the tournament

The briefing

Tuesday March 3rd 2026

 

37 players graced our rooms tonight.

Paula was the drawn jackpot but failed to convert.

Bruce Stephens was the chosen Giantslayer to take on the formidable Sean, who prevailed 9-4.

Robbie Baudish was the player-of-the-month for February but, as he was absent, forfeits his free entry.

Gary clarified that entries will not be accepted for players not actually present. This has led to difficulties in the past should such a player arrive late, having already been paired. Note that late arrivals are not eligible to the 100 bye points.

FINAL	TOT
R3 RANKING	PTS
David Reitzin	314
Kee Yio Wan	313
Andrew Mowbray	309
Antonio Andolfo	308
Yalli Pleshet	305
Jeremy Whitelaw	211
Aram Amirghan	207
Sean Ghodsi	207
Mahnaz Rostami	207
Mike Baldwin	206
Morteza Shaabanifar	205
Zhiman Rahmati	204
Danny Assabgy	204
Richard Broug	204
Angelo Voulgaris	203
Gary Stavrou	202
Carol Wakelin	202
Peter Voulgaris	202
Susan Wan	201
Mohammad Nejati	99
Ken Kershaw	98
Robin Lanesman	98
Paula O'Connell	98
Mehdi Kiani	97
Ben Anderson	96
Ali Ghadiri	96
Rafael Chattah	96
Sarah Bauling	94
Deniz Agdiran	93
Jim Bean	92
Michael Raptis	88
Bruce Stephens	-10
Sadra Mobayyen	-10
Nick Macoun	-11
Jim Malafouris	-11
David Holt	-16

Zhiman in deep thought

Sadra is always happy

Paula was the jackpot

The briefing

Tuesday February 24th

 We had a good contingent of 33 players tonight.

Mike Baldwin was the drawn jackpot but was denied the prize by Mehdi in the second round.

FINAL	TOT
R3 RANKING	PTS
Andrew Mowbray	313
Susan Wan	312
Angelo Voulgaris	311
Danny Assabgy	310
Nick Macoun	304
Michael Raptis	208
Mehdi Kiani	206
Peter Voulgaris	205
Jim Bean	203
Antonio Andolfo	202
Breck McCormack	201
Mike Baldwin	201
Mahnaz Rostami	201
Robbie Baudish	201
Gary Stavrou	200
Rafael Chattah	198
Jim Malafouris	197
Zhiman Rahmati	104
Dennis Mercovich	102
Robin Lanesman	100
Adam Makda	99
Kee Yio Wan	99
Sean Ghodsi	98
Mohammad Nejati	97
Deniz Agdiran	97
Sarah Bauling	96
Steve Clarry	95
Morteza Shaabanifar	-8
Carol Wakelin	-9
Sadra Mobayyen	-15

The night's winner, Andrew Mowbray

Robbie Baudish

Sean Ghodsi

Deniz Agdiran

So many different and fine boards