Despite the COVID pandemic, the New York Metro Backgammon Championship directed by Lynn Ehrlich drew 100 players in the Main ABT divisions, and another 24 in Beginners and Advanced Beginners divisions. It was a star-studded group of attendees including two world champions!
Mike Ireland from England won the Championship while Grandmaster Victor Ashkenazi (NJ) took the Super Jackpot and Matt Reklaitis (MA) won the Liberty Cup Masters Jackpot.
Among the international players Kimon Papachristopoulos (Germany) won the Championship Last Chance, world champion Nevzat Dogan (Denmark) was a finalist in the Super Jackpot, world champion Mochy Mochizuki (Japan) and Platon Tserliagkos (Greece) tied for third/fourth in the Super Jackpot, Arda Fındıkoğlu (Turkey) director of the World Championship took second in the Patti Rubin Memorial Forever Young event. Patti organized the world championship in Monte Carlo for decades.
The New York Doubles event also featured international winners with Simon Barget (England) and Jason Pack (NJ) winning the event, defeating Victor Ashkenazi and Manny Olszynko (Canada) in the final.
Women were in the winners’ circle in several events! Kristi Christman from Seattle Washington won the Intermediate division. Kristi had a fantastic tournament winning not only the ABT Intermediate division in a field of 39 entrants, but also was a finalist in the Lady Liberty Cup.
Kara Schultz from San Diego won the Lady Liberty Cup – and with it a beautiful trophy, and $1000 in added money and a purple backgammon travel board complete with precision dice contributed by Women in Backgammon. Kara won the Limited Jackpot in a field of 32 players. Way to go Kara and Kristi!
About a dozen women players gathered for breakfast on Friday morning January 8 to meet and support each other, hear about Women in Backgammon plans for 2022, and offer suggestions for helping women interested in competing at the highest levels!
(From left to right: Kara Schultz, Arda Fındıkoğlu and Karen Davis, Mochy Mochizuki and Arda Fındıkoğlu, and Kristi Christman)
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