Sydney Backgammoners is an affiliated club with the Australia New Zealand Backgammon Federation. As such, results from all completed matches are included in the ANZBGF Ratings.
You can see your rating at anzbgf.org on the Results Page
You can see your rating at anzbgf.org on the Results Page
The Ladder
Sydney Backgammoners run a ranking Ladder system which is simply the players' cumulative scores.
The Ladder starts afresh each January.
All people who have played with us during the current ladder period are represented in the Ladder.
This ranking is purely internal and not related to any national or international rating.
| LADDER AS AT | ||
| 30/6/2026 | ||
| Morteza Shaabanifar | 4963 | |
| Gary Stavrou | 4867 | |
| Kee Yio Wan | 4806 | |
| Zhiman Rahmati | 4719 | |
| Robbie Baudish | 4584 | |
| David Reitzin | 4498 | |
| Aram Amirghan | 4372 | |
| Peter Voulgaris | 4138 | |
| Mike Baldwin | 4035 | |
| Sadra Mobayyen | 4034 | |
| Angelo Voulgaris | 3622 | |
| Carol Wakelin | 3360 | |
| Jim Bean | 3318 | |
| Antonio Andolfo | 3282 | |
| Nick Macoun | 3111 | |
| Rafael Chattah | 3034 | |
| Paula O'Connell | 3010 | |
| Mohammad Nejati | 2947 | |
| Mahnaz Rostami | 2861 | |
| Richard Broug | 2748 | |
| Susan Wan | 2731 | |
| Andrew Mowbray | 2638 | |
| Sean Ghodsi | 2581 | |
| Farshad Hamidi | 2501 | |
| Danny Assabgy | 2488 | |
| Michel Gerges | 2455 | |
| Breck McCormack | 2426 | |
| Robin Lanesman | 2421 | |
| Jenny Saunders | 2201 | |
| Adam Makda | 2034 | |
| Jeremy Whitelaw | 2014 | |
| Jim Malafouris | 1996 | |
| Yalli Pleshet | 1942 | |
| Deniz Agdiran | 1820 | |
| Mehdi Kiani | 1803 | |
| Simon Wattle | 1644 | |
| Dilhun Akpinar | 1636 | |
| Ali Ghadiri | 1610 | |
On the second-last playing day of the year the top four scored players in the ladder play the first round of an 11-point knock-out tournament. The top and third-highest scorers will be paired, as will the second and fourth-highest scorers.
On the last playing day of the year the two finalists play an 11-point match for the Club Championship.
The two losing semi-finalists receive $75 each
The runner-up receives $150
The winner receives $300
These money prizes are supplied by the club from the $2 nightly collections as a way of giving something back to our most regular and successful players.
The Club Champion for the year and is presented with a beautiful trophy which will be cherished long after the prize money is forgotten. It is a useable crystal doubling cube which is sure to intimidate opponents.
If any of the top four ladder scorers are absent or late, the next highest ranked available player will step up.
2021 Champion David Reitzin
2022 Champion Adam Makda
2023 Champion Aram Amirghan
2024 Champion Sean Ghodsi
2025 Champion Gary Stavrou
| Giantslayer Challenge |
Champions must always be prepared to defend their titles.
Each month, the current Ladder Leader has to defend his/her position against a potential Giantslayer.
At the first meeting of each month, from the regular players present, one is randomly chosen to be the Giantslayer.
Whoever is Ladder Leader at the time, whether they are present at that meeting or not, is expected to meet the Giantslayer (either head-to-head or online) for a 9-point match during the month in question.
If the Ladder Leader loses the match then he/she will lose 5% of their total points (as at the beginning of the month) and these points will be transferred to the Giantslayer.
If the Ladder Leader wins there is no change to the scores.
If a match is not played within the designated time the Ladder Leader still forfeits the points but the Giantslayer does not receive them.
The match counts toward AusBGF ratings.
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Player of the Month
The player who, over the period of a calendar month, has scored the most points shall be declared the Player of the Month and will be recognised as such on this web page.
Further, if the player is present at the first meeting of the following month, Sydney Backgammoners will pay for his or her tournament entry fee. Players of the Month will not be chosen in January or December as these are incomplete playing months.
| 2026 | ||
| PLAYER OF THE MONTH | ||
| February | Robbie Baudish | |
| March | Morteza Shaabinafar | |
| April | Morteza Shaabinafar | |
| May | Michel Gerges | |
| June | ||
| July | ||
| August | ||
| September | ||
| October | ||
| November |
