Latvian Association for Development of Sports Hosts Backgammon Tournament
An exciting backgammon event was held for the first time in Riga, Latvia on June 27th, 2009. The event was organized by the Latvian Association for Development of Sports. Around forty players participated in the tournament, which lasted until midnight.
According to designer Theodora Dauber, almost all major capitals in the world have backgammon clubs. Theodora said that she has been playing the game for almost ten years now. She added that it is very important not to let young children just enjoy themselves with computer games. Dauber said that backgammon has an additional benefit of sharpening the minds of its players. Backgammon is considered to be one of the oldest board games around.
Archeologists have discovered ancient backgammon boards in Asian Minor and dates around 3,000 B.C. Thirty-one year old Darya Safonova said that she was taught on how to play the game by her grandmother and father. She added that her family and relatives use to play together during family reunions. As it turned out, the game of backgammon is very popular among the Baltic Armenians.
The champion of Latvia and Jurmala's "Noah's Ark", Agrafena Kosyan, participated in the tournament. Kosyan said that they have met with their fellow Diaspora players a lot of times and she is pleased with the development of the game in those countries. Entrepeneur Ashot Grigoryan finished in 1st place in short backgammon while businessman Armen Patochyan finished in 1st place in the long one.
02 2009
