BGFed

Tag: Nordic Open

  • BMS : milestone performance by Walter at Nordic Open.

    The Nordic Open attracted about 270 players who competed in 3 divisions. 95 of  them appeared in the Advanced Flight. If there is one tournament Walter Meuwis (current 5,67 PR) desperately likes to win, it is this one.

    After winning three 15-point matches in the Main Flight, Walter lost. In the Fighters bracket, however, Walter won three hard-fought 9-point matches in a row before losing to the Danish champion (!) Lars Nielsen, a player one would expect in the Champions Division. This defeat beat Walter up hard but he can find solace in what follows.

    Walter’s matches on YouTube

    Walter filmed all his matches. I recommend all BGFed.be members to click on one of the YouTube links below to witness one of Belgium’s best players compete in high-pressure surroundings.

    https://youtu.be/tLG_yLb4kq8
    https://youtu.be/CferaJzjVMM
    https://youtu.be/knVDJh5ccwg
    https://youtu.be/9O33VyKPVC4
    https://youtu.be/gLVhG5HU_uc
    https://youtu.be/5IxLMU5EnWo
    https://youtu.be/AeBQgFoom_k
    https://youtu.be/KqUbzkazYs4

    Performance rating

    Walter also transcribed his matches. Here is how he did :

    Stunning! For some reason (determination, focus) Walter played at stellar level. His checker play (3,73 PR) proves accuracy and consideration, and his cube actions (7,37 PR) have a remarkably high level of timing and efficiency.

    It looks like only the fewest of Belgium’s top players can realistically hope to better this MS2 result (Master Series Type 2. See: Conditions of Play) in the near future.

  • Nordic Open 2017

    Tournament website (including a link to the livestream)
    Detailed results

    BGFed.be spelers at the Nordic Open:

    • Champion division: Michel Lamote, Maurits Pino. In the main bracket, Michel lost his first match against Tilman Söhnchen. In the fighters’ bracket, he defeated Michihito “Michy” Kageyama (JP) but then lost to Lars Hammersgren. Maurits had an even shorter run: he was defeated by Matt Reklaitis (US) in the main bracket and by Peter Lego Fursund (DK) in the fighters’ bracket.
    • Advanced division: Walter Meuwis. Walter won three matches in a row in the main bracket and lost the fourth one. He continued with three victories in the fighters’ bracket, but ended up losing against the Danish Champion Lars Nielsen in the last round before the Final Eight.
    • Advanced Division: Marius Hentea. Marius played in Belgium for several years and now lives and works in Göteborg.  He lost in the first round of the main bracket, but strung together 5 (6?) victories to reach the Final Four. There he was defeated by the later winner.

  • Nordic Open 2016 – Michel Lamote vs Bjorn Lorentzen (NO) – Shortest 17-point match ever

    Match file (*.xg)

  • Nordic Open 2016 : results and livestream

    All results from the Nordic Open 2016:
    http://www.drawboss.com/Event/Show/87ca27ba-71b8-42f9-82f7-d5b07f1deb6c

    Michel Lamote participates in the “Championship” division:
    http://www.drawboss.com/Cup/Show/c7dcd518-f191-4016-9a71-5ccde46ec37d

    Walter Meuwis and former BGFed.be member Marius Hentea participate in the “Advanced” division:
    http://www.drawboss.com/Cup/Show/a265c1ce-c43b-4eee-b12b-d3c010c75469

    Rain “Robin” Bilderbeek participates in the “Intermediate” division:
    http://www.drawboss.com/Cup/Show/7d5748ea-be23-4d33-8ddf-799582295a02

    Livestream on Steen Gronbeck’s YouTube channel:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uul1_RRaCtY

    Thank you to Paul van Dijke for the links!

  • Nordic Open 2015: Michel Lamote reaches semi-finals

    Brackets:
    http://www.bgonline.org/forums/webbbs_config.pl?read=177066

    Livestream:
    http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nordic-open-15

  • Walter Meuwis Wins Advanced in Nordic Open 2014

    The Nordic Open is played yearly in Copenhagen around the Easter weekend. It is currently the biggest backgammon tournament in the world, reflecting the popularity and the level of the game in Denmark. Besides the main tournament, there are many side tournaments: doubles, speed, ladies, jackpots, etc.

    The main tournament is divided into several flights, according to the entry fee: Championship (700 €), Advanced (170 €), Intermediate (33 €) and Beginner (0 €). Tournament format is a double elimination: if you lose once, you get a second chance in the fighter’s bracket. Four players from the main bracket and four players from the fighter’s bracket together make up the final eight, who play quarter finals, semi-finals, and the final. The full results for all flights and brackets can be found on GammonManager.

    Michel Lamote and Luc Palmans registered for the Championship flight, and Walter Meuwis and myself registered for the Advanced flight. It was Walter who put Belgium on the backgammon map by winning the Advanced flight. Congratulations, Walter! He first won two consecutive 15-point matches in the main bracket but lost the third one and ended up in the fighter’s bracket. There he survived four 11-point matches to find himself in the final eight. He prolonged his winning streak in the quarter final (15-point match), semi-final (17-point match), and the final (19-point match) against Aref Alipour. In the decisive game in the final, Walter was trailing 15-16. He offered an early cube, sensing a blitz was in the air. His intuition was right, and with a marvellous shifting manoeuvre he denied his opponent a chance to anchor. When his opponent finally managed to enter his two checkers from the bar, the gammon was a certainty and the match was over. Great job!

    The other Belgians were less fortunate. Most unlucky was Michel, who lost among others a freak backgammon on a 4-cube. As for myself, I lost twice in fairly close matches in the Advanced. Our Dutch friends Paulus van Rooijen and Paul van Dijke, both in the Advanced level too, did not make it very far either. Still, Paulus van Rooijen reached the semi-finals of the speed gammon tournament (5-point matches, Bronstein, 2 minutes for the match plus 10 seconds per move), offering the spectators some exciting matches to watch.

    The tournament was excellently organised, offering a total backgammon experience. There were many interesting matches between top players to watch. The Japanese professional Mochizuki Masayuki organised a backgammon proficiency test and gave a highly interesting seminar. All in all, it’s been a wonderful backgammon weekend in beautiful and sunny Copenhagen!

    — Johan

  • Three Belgians and Three Dutchmen in Nordic Open 2012

    The week after the tournament, Nardy told me that there was actually a fourth Dutchman in the tournament: Christian Sørensen, finalist of the Nordic Open 2011. Please see the quote of Nardy’s message below. Apologies for the mistake!

    The Nordic Open in Copenhagen is one of the most prestigious backgammon tournaments in the world. It traditionally takes place in the Easter weekend. In 2012, (at least) three Belgians and three Dutchmen take their chances: (more…)