Wed | Nov 27, 2024

Jamaica Inn Backgammon tourney attracting more young players

Published:Friday | May 17, 2024 | 12:12 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
Knolly Moses (right), Director of Jamaica Backgammon Association, explains how the game is played to Arielle Oliver (second left), Brand Manager, The Best Dressed Chicken during yesterday’s media launch of the Jamaica Inn Foundation’s seventh annual B
Ian Allen
Knolly Moses (right), Director of Jamaica Backgammon Association, explains how the game is played to Arielle Oliver (second left), Brand Manager, The Best Dressed Chicken during yesterday’s media launch of the Jamaica Inn Foundation’s seventh annual Backgammon Tournament. The launch was held at the Spanish Court hotel in New Kingston. Looking on are Belinda Collier-Morrow (left), board member, Jamaica Inn Foundation and Felix Charnley (second right), Coral Consultant, White River Fish Santuary.

THE seventh staging of the Jamaica Inn Backgammon tournament promises to be very entertaining and will be staged from June 14-16 in Ocho Rios, St Ann. Speaking at yesterday’s launch at the Spanish Court Hotel, Knolly Moses, director of the Jamaica Backgammon Association, explained that he’s seen an increase in participation from young players, and based on last year’s opening night, the tournament has become very attractive among these players.

“Each year it gets a little better and what we noticed is that the Friday night games (opening night), when the amateurs play, was packed last year and we almost ran out of tables. A lot more young people are playing and we’re finding that more people are trying to learn the game,” he stated.

Backgammon, the two-player board game, is a nearly 5,000-year-old game. The main objective of the game is to move the 15 pieces around the board and be the first to ‘bear off’, which means to remove them from the board. According to Moses, the tournament has in the past attracted players from overseas. The defending champion Adrian Armstrong is a Canada-based Jamaican.

“We are looking at around 40 players. A lot of players like to play on the opening night in the unseeded games while for the seeded games, the big tournament, we’ll see the more experienced players who play all over the world. We do have foreigners that come to play as last year’s winner is a Jamaican who lives in Vancouver,” he stated.

The tournament is also a fundraiser for the conservation efforts of the White River Fish Sanctuary (WRFS). This is a ‘no fishing’ zone of 370 acres stretching across three and a half miles of coastline from St Ann to St Mary. Moses suggested that the move to give proceeds of the tournament to the WRFS has also attracted new players.

“I think one of the reasons why we continue to get good attendance is having tied proceeds of the Backgammon tournament to supporting the White River Fish Sanctuary. This has attracted a whole new set of people. The Jamaica Backgammon has a Facebook page where we see more people liking and commenting. I think people get more interested in the game the moment we show them the parallels with Ludo as Jamaicans love Ludo,” he added.

For the main tournament, this year’s winner will take home a cash prize of US$2,500, along with a three-night stay at Jamaica Inn, A VIP red card and a Backgammon board.

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com