Goderdzi Bukia (on the right), a member of Georgia parliament, sponsored the tournament to celebrate his late brother Gogi Bukia’s birthday
It was my third consecutive Georgian tournament. I was wondering what surprise this year was going to bring. I met Tobias Hellwag at the airport. I thought there may be more good players like him. And it turned out to be correct. Although I was going there two days before the main tournament started, it was already packed. With 92 players from 13 countries including four World champions made the tournament one of the biggest in the neighborhood. Players from Georgia and nearby countries were proud to play in such a strong group.
Tournament hotel is by the Black Sea near Batumi
Chakvi is a Black Sea vacation area 15 km. from Batumi
The weather was surprisingly good considering the tournament was held in September, one month later than as usual. Two years ago, during my first attendance to the tournament, it was raining all the time. This year, although a month late, it only rained half the time. The sea was still swimmable and the sun was nice and warm. The hotel had continued to improve. Actually everything in Georgia is improving all the time. It is a very fast changing and growing country. Two years ago some parts of the hotel was looking almost thirty years old. Last year they finished the critical parts of the renovation. And this year, they almost finished most detailed work and the hotel was looking very modern. People were also subject to change. Two years ago driving habits were very startling. With the change of culture and help of new roads, I think, driving quality is also improving. The country offers delicious food and wine. Batumi is like a Monte Carlo of Black Sea if you like casinos. The scene of the city is changing with modern high buildings. As they sometimes call it the Cuba of the neighborhood, Georgia is worth visiting with its great authenticity and natural tones.
Zoom out and zoom in to backgammon by the sea. Tournament room was sometimes crowded to urge players to find creative places 🙂
We played lots of games and had fun 🙂 The board on the left can be called “octogammon” invented by the player on the right. Instead of six there are eight pips on each quadrant. It is played by three dice each with each die having eight faces. On the right we can see that backgammon players are skilled in other games where attentional resources are utilized extremely
Our tournament angel Ninikuna Tevzadze helped so much to organize the tournament. Together with Marco Fornasir they run the tournament smoothly
When it comes to backgammon, the quality of competition was higher than most tournaments. Marco Fornasir joyfully directed the tournament second time in a row. He adjusted to Georgia’s authentic culture very well to find a middle course in situations where inflexibility could have led to undesired results. There were very strong local and nearby players. With a very strong international presence, the quality went up.
Celebrities around the world gathered in Georgia
High stakes khachapuri involving famous players also changed the ambiance. Khachapuri is both a version of backgammon played in Georgia and also a famous Georgian dish of cheese-filled bread.
In Georgia, backgammon is in the center of life as food and wine. The winner Najib Salamzy talked about how important is to continue such good events
Trophies of Georgia tournament are very creative
In Masters, Najib Salamzy (Afghanistan) won the title against Avetis Rostomyan (Armenia). Four of the players among six prize winner were from nearby countries. This shows there is a great backgammon potential in that region. Doubles Consulting was won by Ricardo Malas (Lebanon/Spain) & Abdullah Sorgüven (Turkey) against Sergey Chertkov (Russia) & Alexander Krasov (Ukraine). Ricardo Malas also got a very special award as the most valuable player. A former world champion David Ben-Zion (Israel) beat another champion Masayuki Mochizuki (Japan) in the Super Jackpot final.
Georgia against the rest of the World – match time
Georgia against the rest of the World – fun time
A tradition of Georgia against the World competition was repeated this year. Since the tournaments was crowded, teams were made of nine players each. The format was simply five point matches. This year the World team led by Captain Masayuki Mochizuki (Japan) dominated 6-3 against the Georgian team led by Captain Simon Pankvelashvili. I hope this tradition results in something similar to the format of Denmark against the World competition. Mochy gave an interesting lecture about the intricacies of leaving the anchor.
Food and wine, dance and dine 🙂
I would like to thank Arda Fındıkoğlu and Ricardo Malas for providing some of the photos. And finally, here are the complete results of 7th Georgian Backgammon Championship / Gogi Bukia Memorial:
7TH GEORGIAN BACKGAMMON CHAMPIONSHIP – WBF / GOGI BUKIA MEMORIAL September 4-8, 2013; Chakvi, Georgia MASTERS (54): 1-Najib Salamzy (Afghanistan), 2-Avetis Rostomyan (Armenia), 3/4-Vazgen Matevosyan (Armenia) / Michihito Kageyama (Japan); 1LC-Leonid Riskin (Ukraine), 2LC-Aleksei Askurava (Russia). INTERMEDIATE (36): 1-Gocha Chokhonelidze (Georgia), 2-Andrey Nesterov (Ukraine), 3/4-Martin Sagradian (Ukraine) / Andranik Harutyunyan (Armenia); 1LC-Abraham Azshakyan (Armenia), 2-Eduard Nazaryan (Georgia). SUPER JACKPOT (8): 1-David Ben-Zion (Israel), 2-Masayuki Mochizuki (Japan). 869BG (27+13): 1-Tamaz Nanitashvili (Georgia), 2-Christian Liebe-Harkort (Germany). WARM-UP (53+18): 1-Jakob Garal (Ukraine/Germany), 2-Avetis Rostomyan (Armenia). ONE-POINT PRESIDENT’S TOURNAMENT: 1-Sabri Büyüksoy (Turkey), 2-Arda Findikoglu (Turkey). DOUBLES CONSULTING (18 teams): 1-Ricardo Malas (Lebanon/Spain) & Abdullah Sorgüven (Turkey), 2-Sergey Chertkov (Russia) & Alexander Krasov (Ukraine), 3/4-Sergey Grinev (Russia) & Khvicha Kurtanidze (Georgia) / Artur Muradyan (Armenia) & Gor Nikoghosyan (Armenia). GEORGIAN NARDI TEAM VS THE WORLD CHALLENGE: The World Team won 6-3. 1-Rest of the World Team: Captain Masayuki Mochizuki (Japan), David Ben-Zion (Israel), John Broomfield (England), Sabri Büyüksoy (Turkey), Sergey Erokhin (Russia), Jakob Garal (Ukraine), Tobias Hellwag (German), Michihito Kageyama (Japan), Artur Muradyan (Armenia); 2-Georgian Nardi Team: Captain Simon Pankhvelashvili, Jemal Chachua, Boris Danelja, Nodar Gagua, Vladimir Iashvili, Oleg Kopyev, Teimoraz Kurtsikidze, Kakhaber Natchkebia, David Tevdoraze.