Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
Oh, dear Lord, please make this spanking Audi mine. Ingrid Mackay, assistant vice-president of treasury and investments at Capital and Credit Securities Limited, cannot keep her hands off the car, which was on display at the finals of the backgammon tournament last weekend.
Who knew backgammon was such a big game? Backgammon enthusiasts flocked to the cool climes of Strawberry Hill for the third annual Strawberry Hill High Stakes Backgammon Tournament last weekend. It was two days of dice-rolling and deep strategy but this was no ordinary affair with a bunch of friends getting together to chill. This is high roller stuff; $35,000 just to enter and over a million dollars in prize money.
The weekend got off with a welcome reception for the players, hosted by Chris Blackwell on Friday. Though there were a few late withdrawals, there was no stopping the plans. This year's festivities included a reggae concert with Rootz Underground as the main act.
Table game
Backgammon is a table game with origins that can be traced as far back as 3000 BC. A dice game, the object is to remove one's 15 pieces, or disks, from the board first.
The evening was spent introducing the foreign entrants to the locals and to discuss the game that had brought them there. It was also a great opportunity to mingle before the real battles began. The tournament ended on Sunday.
Wray and Nephew's Christine Wood (right) and Chris Blackwell with Melissa Eldemire of Island Outpost. - photos by Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer
President of the World Backgammon Association, Chiva Tafazzoli (second right) and wife Gabriela Falk chat with Kynan Cooke, (left) and Alastair Macbeath, founder of the local tournament.
Kynan Cooke (right), is in deep concentration as he watches William Mahfood throw the dices as they competed in the Strawberry Hill High Stake World Backgammon Association tournament
Deborah Stewart, Audi brand and sales manager hands the 'big' man of the day, Chiva Tafazolli some of his prizes after he won the Strawberry Hills High Stakes Backgammon tournament.
