Auckland Backgammon

2025 New Zealand Backgammon Championship

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Student Champion Allister D'Lima

Silver Plate Chris Taylor

Knockout Round

Salar Ghazi New Zealand 1st Place

Richard Bean New Zealand 2nd Place

Julie Hillis New Zealand 3rd Place

The changing of the guard. Many of the top players and former winners of the NZ BG Champs failed to make it into the Knockout Round.

The level of play has really increased and everyone is playing at a very high level. There are no gimmies.

Salar and Richard were neck and neck in a very tight duel. Score 5-4 to Salar.

Richard threw an early cube at Salar which was accepted.

Fortunes changed and Salar threw the cube back at Richard and was accepted.

Cube at 4.

Fortunes really changed and Salar was able to gammon Richard to win 13-4. It’s a cruel game!!!

First time Salar has finished first in a major Tournament.

Richard placed 3rd in 2020 NZ BG Champs and Julie placed 1st in 2017 NZ BG Champs.

Nice to be back on the Leader Board.

Congrats to Salar, Richard, Julie and congrats to all the participants in the 2025 New Zealand Backgammon Championship.

2024 New Zealand On-Line Backgammon Championship

 AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Grant Hoffman Nelson BG Club 1st Place

Craig Fairbanks North Shore BG Club 2nd Place

James Nobel 3rd Place

Grant representing the Nelson BG Club overcame 40 other BG Players to capture 1st Place.

Fourth year in a row Grant has bagged 1st Place. An extraordinary achievement.

James pushed Grant to the wall but Grant prevailed. Tournament went 16 Rounds.

Congrats to Grant, Craig, James and congrats to all the participants in the 2024 New Zealand On-Line Backgammon Championship.

A good time had by one and all.

2024 New Zealand Backgammon Championship

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Student Champion Joash Sajan

Silver Plate Ivo Zarnic

Knockout Round

Grant Hoffman New Zealand 1st Place

Joash Sajan New Zealand 2nd Place

Joseph Heled New Zealand 3rd Place

Grant representing the Nelson BG Club overcame 56 other BG Players to capture 1st Place. An epic battle between Grant and student phenom Joash from St. Peters BG Club. Final score 13 – 9. Joash was ahead of Grant the entire Match and Grant was breaking out with a serious case of sweaty palms. He finally caught up at 9 – 9. Threw the Cube at Joash which was accepted. Dice turned in Grant’s favour and he sealed the win with a Gammon.

It's a cruel game.

Grant is now the first person to win both the NZ On-Line BG Champs and the NZ Backgammon Champs.

Joash took home two trophies. Student Champ and 2nd Place.

Congrats to Grant, Joash, Joseph and congrats to all the participants in the 2024 New Zealand Backgammon Championship.

2023 New Zealand On-Line Backgammon Championship

 AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Grant Hoffman Nelson BG Club 1st Place

Murray Richards Whitianga 2nd Place

Tony Meyer Auckland BG Club 3rd Place

Grant representing the Nelson BG Club overcame 30 other BG Players to capture 1st Place.

Third year in a row Grant has bagged 1st Place. An extraordinary achievement.

Murray put up a brilliant fight and took Grant down to the wire. Tournament went 15 Rounds.

Congrats to Grant, Murray, Tony and congrats to all the participants in the 2023 New Zealand On-Line Backgammon Championship.

A good time had by one and all.

2023 New Zealand Backgammon Championship

 AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Student Champion Josh Sajan  

Silver Plate Simon Woodhead 

Knockout Round Chris Taylor (NZ) 1st Place

  Murray Richards (NZ)   2nd Place

Manfred Deussen (NZ)   3rd Place

Chris representing the North Shore BG Club overcame 66 other BG Players to capture 1st Place. An epic battle between Chris and Murray. Final score 13 – 10. There was some heavy cube action with both Players being very aggressive throwing the cube at each other. Nip and tuck until Murray was on the bar. Chris had the 6/5 point covered in his home board. The backgammon gods turned against Murray and he threw 6/5 once, 6/5 twice and 5/5 thirdly. So it goes.

It's a cruel game.

Congrats to Chris, Murray, Manfred and congrats to all the participants in the 2023 New Zealand Backgammon Championship.

A good time had by one and all.

2022 New Zealand On-Line Backgammon Championship

 AND THE WINNERS ARE: 

Grant Hoffman Nelson BG Club          1st Place

Liz Jackson   Wellington         2nd Place

James Noble   Auckland BG Club 3rd Place

Grant representing the Nelson BG Club overcame 31 other BG Players to capture 1st Place.

2022 Australian Backgammon Championship

Speedgammon

Grant Hoffman (NZ)          1st Place

2022 New Zealand Backgammon Championship

 AND THE WINNERS ARE: 

Simon Woodhead (Aus) 1st Place

Carl Dell (NZ) 2nd Place

Malcolm Forsyth (NZ) 3rd Place

AJ Marquette (NZ) Silver Plate Champion

Simon took the NZ Trophy back to Australia.

He had an absolutley stunning Match with Carl.

Carl was up 9-7.

Both Players got caught up in a complex Backgame.

The checker play was exceptional and both Players were carefully jockeying for an advantage.

Carl accepted a Double.

With delicate skill and exacting play Simon finally broke free, put Carl on the bar and scored a Gammon.

The game lasted well over an hour.

The audience gave a huge applause to both Players.

What a treat to witness.

2022 New Zealand On-Line Backgammon Qualifying Tournament

 AND THE WINNERS ARE: 

Grant Hoffman Nelson BG Club          1st Place

Elie Sawma     CHCH         2nd Place

Ivo Zarnic      Auckland BG Club 3rd Place

Grant representing the Nelson BG Club overcame 39 other BG Players to capture 1st Place.

2021 New Zealand On-Line Backgammon Championship

 AND THE WINNERS ARE: 

Grant Hoffman Nelson BG Club          1st Place

Ivo Zarnic   Auckland BG Club         2nd Place

James Noble   Auckland BG Club 3rd Place

Grant representing the Nelson BG Club overcame 36 other BG Players to capture 1st Place.

2021 Australia New Zealand On-Line Challenge

 AND THE WINNERS ARE: 

Paul Kellett Auckland BG Club 1st Place

Carl Dell     Auckland BG Club     2nd Place

Patrick Davey CHCH                          3rd Place

Paul is on a roll. Winner of two major Tournaments in 2021. The 2021 NZ Championship & the 2021 Australian NZ On-Line Challenge.

2021 New Zealand Backgammon Championship

 AND THE WINNERS ARE: 

Paul Kellett (NZ) 1st Place

Chris Taylor (NZ) 2nd Place

Grant Hoffman (NZ) 3rd Place

Reza Nemati (NZ) Silver Plate Champion

Paul & Chris had an epic 13 Point Match to determine 1st Place.

Both played very long, complex, arduous backgames.

The dice gods were smiling on Paul who rolled a few timely double sixes to wrestle the win from Chris.

Thank you Paul for keeping the 1st Place Trophy in Auckland.

Congratulations to the WINNERS and congratulations to all of the participants in the 2021 NZ BG Championship.

For those unlucky BG Rollers who missed a brilliant Tournament we will be announcing dates for the 2022 New Zealand BG Championship next year. 

2020 New Zealand On-Line Backgammon Lockdown Tournament

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

 Ray Barley                    Nelson                 1st Place

 Carlinda Roberts          Auckland             2nd Place

 Dimitrios Tzanetis        Nelson                 3rd Place

 Chris Forsyth                Hamilton              4th Place

 The Nelson BG Club had an excellent Tournament placing 1st & 3rd.  A very formidable BG Club who are always in the running.

 It was really gratifying to see the Hamilton BG Club get into the top four. Those Forsyth’s are always hanging around the Leader Board.

 Carlinda is on a roll in 2020. She is the 2020 NZ BG Champ & placed 2nd in a highly competitive Tournament. No easy feat.

2020 New Zealand Backgammon Championship

  AND THE WINNERS ARE:

 Carlinda Roberts (NZ)        1st Place

Burton Hodge (NZ)             2nd Place

Richard Bean (NZ)             3rd Place

           Steve Rudhall (NZ)            Plate Champion

A changing of the Guard. All of the Top ranked Players were knocked out in the first round.

A new generation of Backgammon Players is now on top of the Leader Board.

A lot of winners and losers had major heart palpitations as events unfolded!!!

The top three places were from the Auckland Backgammon Meetup Group. A clean sweep. 

 Congratulations to the WINNERS and congratulations to all of the participants in the 2020 NZ BG Championship.

                                            For those unlucky BG Rollers who missed a brilliant Tournament we will be announcing dates for the 2021 New Zealand BG Championship next year.                                     

2019 New Zealand Backgammon Championship

             AND THE WINNERS ARE:

 James Noble (NZ)           1st Place

Cedric Marchant (NZ)      2nd Place

Grant Hoffman (NZ)         3rd Place

          Tony Marquette (NZ)       Plate Champion

Want to thank James for keeping the NZ BG Championship Trophy in New Zealand & in Auckland. 

James had a clean sheet. Did not lose any Matches as he powered his way to 1st place.

                             Congratulations to the WINNERS and congratulations to all of the participants in the 2019 NZ BG Championship.

                                            For those unlucky BG Rollers who missed a brilliant Tournament we will be announcing dates for the 2020 New Zealand BG Championship in a few months.   

2018 Auckland Backgammon Championship

 AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Grant Hoffman (Nelson)                 1st Place

  Paul Kellett (Auckland)                   2nd Place

Richard Theunissen (Auckland)    3rd Place

              Jo Hodder (Auckland)                     Consolation Prize 

 A grueling Semi-Final & Final Match. The Auckland Players almost took down Grant….but in the end he was able to bring home the victory and take the Auckland Title & Trophy back to Nelson. 

 Congratulations to the WINNERS and congratulations to all of the participants in the 2018 Auckland BG Championship.

For those unlucky BG Rollers who missed a brilliant Tournament we will be announcing dates for the 2019 New Zealand BG Championship in a few months. 

2018 New Zealand Backgammon Championship 

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Karsten Nielsen (Den)            1st Place

Sky Kodner (NZ)                     2nd Place

Grant Hoffman (NZ)                3rd Place

            Jan Suchanek (NZ)                Consolation Prize

An amazing Final Match. DMP. Sky had one checker left on her two point. Karsten had two buried deep on Sky's one point. Disaster strikes; Karsten rolls a one, hits, puts Sky on the bar. The next twenty minutes of play was marvelous. It is very rare anyone gets to witness a comeback win when your opponent has 14 checkers born off. Especially at DMP. Karsten was clinical with his moves and was able to pull out the win. It was a shame anyone had to lose that wonderful game. The audience went delirious & gave both contestants a 5 minute standing ovation.

Congratulations to the WINNERS and congratulations to all of the participants in the 2018 New Zealand BG Championship.

For those unlucky BG Rollers who missed a brilliant Tournament we will be announcing dates for the 2018 Auckland BG Tournament in a few months.

2017 Auckland Backgammon Club Championship

AND THE WINNER IS:

Paul Kellett

Congratulations to Paul and to all of the participants in the 2017 Auckland Backgammon Club Championship.

2017 New Zealand Backgammon Championship 

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

Julie Hillis (NZ)                      1st Place

 Mick Dyett (Aust)                   2nd Place

Alan Abel (NZ)                       3rd Place

            Ivo Zarnic (NZ)                      Consolation Prize

Congratulations to the WINNERS and congratulations to all of the participants in the 2017 New Zealand BG Championship.

A big thank you to Julie for keeping the NZ Trophy in NZ.

For those unlucky BG Rollers who missed a brilliant Tournament we will be announcing dates for the 2018 Auckland BG Tournament in a few months.

2017 Auckland Backgammon Tournament 

AND THE WINNERS ARE: 

Doug Thompson      1st Place 

Grant Hoffman         2nd Place 

Rob Davies              3rd Place 

            Carl Dell                   Consolation Prize 

Congratulations to the WINNERS and congratulations to all of the participants in the 2017 Auckland BG Tournament. 

A big thank you to Doug for keeping the Auckland Trophy in Auckland.

How to Play Opening Roll 2-1

Opening roll 2 - 1 is one of the most interesting rolls.

There are two ways to play it:

• 24/23, 13/11 Splitting your back checker and bringing a builder down.

• 13/11, 6/5 Slotting your five point and bringing a builder down.

Both plays use the 2 to bring a checker down from the mid-point to the eleven point where it works as a builder to try and make a useful blocking point next turn. 

The blot on the eleven point is pretty safe as it can only get hit with a 6-4. Chances are one out of eighteen.

The splitting play increases your chances of securing an advanced anchor and improves your coverage of the opponents outer board. If you are going to split your runners the best time to do so is in the beginning of the game. Your opponent gains little by hitting you on a point deep in his inner board.

The slotting play on the five point increases your chances of making this important point on your next roll. The danger is if you are hit. However, your opponent only has 15 out of 36 rolls that will indeed hit the exposed blot. The game is early and now is the time to take a risk and fight for a superior position. If you are not hit you will have a total of 31 rolls out of 36 to cover the blot and secure the very important five point. If you are hit there is still plenty of time to regroup and find another way to win.

There is another reason to slot the five. There are a stack of checkers on the six-point and they want to do something. 1 is the perfect number for taking a checker off your overcrowded 6 point and setting it to work. A popular backgammon saying: "Put your checkers where they belong". The extra checkers on your 6 point belong on your 5 point.

Slotting is ranked as the best move in all of the computer roll-outs. The slotting play is favored by most experts.   

  How to Play Opening Roll 3-2

Opening roll 3 - 2 is a roll with many possibilities.

There are three ways to play it:

• 24/21, 13/11 Splitting using the 3 and bring down a builder using the 2.

• 24/22, 13/10 Splitting using the 2 and bring down a builder using the 3.

• 13/11, 13/10 Bringing down two builders.

Slotting the five-point 8/5 is not a good idea because you are using the wrong checker. It's your overloaded six-point that you want to use for slotting.

24/21, 13/11 is the more popular of the two split and build plays. Use the 2 to bring down a builder from the mid-point where it can be used next turn to make a blocking point. 

Splitting to the 21 point with the 3 has advantages and disadvantages. You have a chance to make an advanced anchor if you are not hit. A real advantage in the early game. The downside is your opponents four-point is a point he wants to make and he will fight for it. You also prevent your opponent from bringing builders down into his outer board and developing naturally.

24/22, 13/10 is much less popular. The resulting position is inflexible. Your two runners are two pips apart; and the stacks on your eight and six points are also two pips apart. Your good rolls are duplicated. It is always better not to duplicate your good rolls. 

13/11, 13/10 concentrates on offence. The plan is to build a blockade before your opponent can free his back checkers. You are almost certain to make good blocking points next roll. The risk is your opponent has 7 possibilities out of 36 rolls to hit you. 

The computer roll-outs rank 24/21, 13/11 and 13/11, 13/10 as even. The other split play while in third place is not far behind. The choice depends on your opponents temperament, the score and your aggressiveness.    

 How to Play Opening Roll 4-1

Opening roll 4 - 1 is a roll to suite different types of game strategy.

There are two ways to play it:

• 24/23, 13/9 Splitting the back checkers and bringing a builder down from the mid-point.

• 13/9, 6/5 Bringing a builder down from the mid-point and slotting the five-point.

There was a time when slotting both five-points (yours and your opponents) was popular. However, this is a very risky move. There are too many bad things that can happen when you leave so many juicy blots on tempting points.

24/23, 13/9 is the most popular way to play the opening 4-1. The builder on the nine-point provides many point-making opportunities. It's balanced by splitting your runners. 24/23 does not look dynamic, but contains hidden power. It is more dangerous for your opponent to leave a blot in his inner board and gives you a chance to secure a valuable anchor.

13/9, 6/5 was more popular in the past. There are three opening rolls that lend itself to slotting the five-point. 2/1, 4/1, 5/1. The 4/1 is much more dangerous than the 2/1 because there are many more ways for your opponent to hit your blot on the nine-point than the blot on the eleven-point. You are very exposed. Plus you have not split your runners so the back side of your game is static. 

The computer roll-outs rank the safer splitting play 24/23, 13/9 as your best bet. However, if losing a gammon does not matter, the aggressive slot move wins most games. The choice depends on the score / match you find yourself in and the recklessness of your opponent.