Well… let’s say a NZ only final. Paul (Slijmbal) vs Carl (R1 dellboy). This Friday 6pm AEST. We’ll get ’em next time!

A nice backgammon background image for you.

The Eva Bitel Tournament is now underway with the Round Robin stage. See “Now Playing” on our home page for latest results.

Sydney Backgammoners Online Tournament (SBOT) – After 48 weekly tournaments a Grand Champion has emerged. The title goes to Peter Kalyvas. Well done, Peter, and congratulations to anyone who stayed the distance.

Melbourne Backgammon will be re-opening carefully – starting Thursday 5th August 2021. For now, they have decided to meet the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of every month.

Bakelite is considered one of the best materials for checkers because it slides well and is very durable. Some players prefer the feel of Bakelite, and old Bakelite Backgammon sets are very collectable.

Hossein Haydari has a number of backgammon boards, but one of his favourite is this beautiful hand-made Khatam board. Khatam is an ancient Persian technique of inlaying. It is a version of marquetry where art forms are made by decorating the surface of wooden articles with delicate pieces of wood, bone and metal creating precisely-cut intricate geometric patterns. This board is valued at around $700.

After Stage 1 Round 6, Australia leads 117 matches to New Zealand’s 74. The top 16 from each side will now compete in the Stage 2 knock-out. Good luck to all!

Peter Kalyvas vs Tony Meyer
Habib Shalala vs Farid Farnia
Simon Ustick vs Archie Lamont
Tony Walker vs Carl Dell
Mick Dyett vs Peter Ware
Saeed Nourmohammadi vs Malcolm Forsyth
Michelle Taubman vs Simon Clark
Ben Scarf vs Tom Huber
Cindy Belonogoff vs Paul Kellett
Reece McLean vs James Noble
Breck McCormack vs Grant Hoffman
Jim Bean vs Ivo Zarnic
Elsa McNally vs Patrick Davey
David Kinston vs Murray Richards
Melinda Kelf vs Richard Theunissen
Hammon Mans vs Elie Sawma

Who would have thought there could be a cool backgammon song!

Australia
99 wins, 2678 pts

New Zealand
60 wins, 1875 pts

Round 6 is the final round of the Swiss format. The next round will be the knockout stage, consisting of the top 16 from both sides.