The 20th European Backgammon Championship was commenced on May 15 at the European Double Consulting Championship and continued for the 3-days Velden Backgammon Open event. The Main event was championed by Fernando Braconi of Italy with a 19-2 fore on his opponent, and the Champion Flight was conquered by Turkish backgammon player Feza Diyarbekir.
The 2008 European Backgammon Championship, held last month at the Casino Velden in Austria celebrated its 20th anniversary this year with total prize pool of about €50,000. The two major backgammon events - the European Double Consulting Championship and the Velden Backgammon Open - drew about 100 players from all over Europe as well as from the US, Canada, Mexico, Lebanon and other far away places.
35 players competed at the Velden Backgammon Open Master Flight. Fernando Braconi of Italy, who captured the first spot, also won the Super Jackpot tournament. The Double Championship drew 18 teams; with each team paying the €500 entry fee, the total prize pool was €9.000. The UK-Turkey duo George Simpson and Cemalettin Yüksel shared the first €7.000 prize, and the rest was given to Hans Uli Koch and Axel Etten, both of Germany.
The 20th European Backgammon Championship was founded by the Alberto da Pra, the president of the Worldwide Backgammon Federation (WBF) in 1989. The next backgammon tournament organized by the WBF is the 2nd Nice Casino Ruhl Backgammon Open, scheduled to take place in July, 2008 in Nice, France.
