Portuguese Open 2006 - Day 3

By Tournament Director Chiva Tafazzoli (WBA)

Friday was the third day of the backgammon tournament and what a day.

One of the semi-finals was played between the Armenian team of Arthur Muradian and Avetis Rostomian facing Pedro Matos and José Costa Lima from Portugal. Unfortunately, Costa Lima´s wife was hospitalized and this left Matos to play the quarter-finals and the semi-final alone. However, he managed to defeat the strong Armenian team and to enter the money first.

The other semi-final was played between the French team of Francois Tardieu and Alain Babillon, facing the Germans Thorsten Haase and Ronald Reinhardt. The match was a magnet for kibitzers and the Germans came victorious over their opponents.

The final pairing is Reinhardt / Haase vs. Matos / Costa Lima, to be played Saturday night for a total prize money of nearly 21,000 Euro (over $27,000).

The results of the last 8 in the Open are:

Jean-Philippe Rohr (France) wins over Jürgen Orlowski (Germany)
Jorge Figuereido (Portugal) wins over Kazuhiro Shino (Japan)
Thorsten Haase (Germany) wins over Georgy Balkandjiisky (Bulgaria)
Carsten Byrn (Denmark) wins over Johan Huyck (Belgium)

Congratulations to Thorsten Haase for reaching twice money rounds of this event.

A refreshing rain shower cooled off the air temperature, the playing rooms closed shortly after midnight. Some 15 players joined the tournament staff to walk to the lavish "Tamariz Club" on the beach facing the casino for drinks, music and dancing. Lots of fun. Even more fun for the party people to watch the Tournament Director and his lovely assistant Antonia jumping in the ocean for a quick swim at 3 AM.

No pictures, sorry guys.

Playing action will continue on Saturday with the Ladies Trophy, the Super-Jackpot, the final of the Doubles and the rest of the tournament action.

Stay tuned for more news from the final day of the tournament.