Report by tournament director Bert Van Kerckhove.
Michel Lamote (L) and Bert Van Kerckhove (R)
In total 17 players showed up for the 7th edition of the Gent Open Backgammon tournament. The tournament format was 7 rounds Swiss, matches to 7 points, with clock (Bronstein, 12 minutes per match plus 12 seconds per move).
Besides the main tournament, there was also a beginners’ category. In case of a low number of participants in the beginners’ category, the beginners would join the main Swiss tournament, but playing for a separate ranking. This year, Mrs Soltani was already assured of the beginner’s title before she played her first match, as she was the only beginner who registered. This did not keep her from winning her first match from Maurits Pino.
Mrs Soltani and Bert Van Kerckhove
The rounds progressed swiftly and after 4 rounds it was decided to play the 5th one before the dinner break as well. At this time there were two players with 4 points: Bert Van Kerckhove and Paulus van Rooijen. They played each other to decide who would start the two remaining rounds with what might be a decisive lead. Meanwhile the pack of players with 3 points tried to limit the damage to 1 loss. Newcomer Otto (NL) performed well so far, while seasoned players Walter Meuwis and Patrick De Wilde lost only to Bert, and Michel Lamote lost his first round to Ed Baars but recovered nicely by winning the 3 next rounds.
Bert defeated Paulus by rolling a joker 33 at the right moment, to enter the dinner break as the leader. Still in pursuit with 4 points were Paulus, Walter and Michel, who kept on winning after his initial loss to Ed.
Round 6 could prove decisive for the final outcome: Michel won his 5th match in a row against Bert to catch up with the leader. Paulus won from Walter to also get to 5 points. This was important news for those players with only 4 points yet after round 6: Rogier van Gemert, Walter, Guy Van Middelem and Patrick could still share the 3rd place if they could win their match in the final round.
Rogier won from Patrick but Guy lost from Bert, who thereby assured himself of at least a shared 1st prize. Walter also secured a much needed extra point against Patrick.
The last unfinished match, Paulus versus Michel, of round 7 of the Gent Open 2012 would decide everything. If Paulus wins, he shares the 1st place with Bert who would then win the tournament. If Paulus loses, Michel wins the tournament because he won from Bert. Despite extreme time pressure, Michel proved again why he is Belgium’s nr. 1 ranked player by beating Paulus and taking home the trophy!
Congratulations Michel!
Detailed tournament results: Ranking and Games after round 7 of Gent2012 No. PNo. Name Score ─────────────────────────────────────── 1. 15 Michel Lamote 6.0 17 Bert Van Kerckhove 6.0 3. 3 Walter Meuwis 5.0 6 Rogier Van Gemert 5.0 16 Paulus Van Rooijen 5.0 6. 7 Ed Baars 4.0 11 Sassan Kachanian 4.0 13 Patrick De Wilde 4.0 14 Guy Van Middelem 4.0 10. 2 Otto Edelenbosch 3.0 5 Luc Palmans 3.0 8 Laky Kyrkos 3.0 9 Alain Chif 3.0 14. 1 Akbar Soltani 2.0 4 Maurits Pino 2.0 10 Johan Segers 2.0 12 Fakhri Soltani 2.0 Tournament Results Table after round 7 of Gent2012 nr Name R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1 Akbar Soltani -9 -11 -15 +12 -7 -4 + 2 Otto Edelenbosch +10 +12 -16 +14 -15 -13 -3 3 Walter Meuwis +11 +9 +6 -17 +13 -16 +2 4 Maurits Pino -12 -16 -5 + -11 +1 -8 5 Luc Palmans -13 -15 +4 +8 -6 -9 +12 6 Rogier Van Gemert +14 -17 -3 +7 +5 +8 +13 7 Ed Baars +15 -13 -11 -6 +1 +10 +9 8 Laky Kyrkos -16 -10 + -5 +12 -6 +4 9 Alain Chif +1 -3 +12 -16 -14 +5 -7 10 Johan Segers -2 +8 -14 -13 + -7 -11 11 Sassan Kachanian -3 +1 +7 -15 +4 -14 +10 12 Fakhri Soltani +4 -2 -9 -1 -8 + -5 13 Patrick De Wilde +5 +7 -17 +10 -3 +2 -6 14 Guy Van Middelem -6 + +10 -2 +9 +11 -17 15 Michel Lamote -7 +5 +1 +11 +2 +17 +16 16 Paulus Van Rooijen +8 +4 +2 +9 -17 +3 -15 17 Bert Van Kerckhove + +6 +13 +3 +16 -15 +14
