Amirali Tavakoli: Iranian Grandmaster and Champion of International Backgammon Tournaments

Amirali Tavakoli is one of Iran's prominent players on the international backgammon scene. His results in recent years have extended from Northern Cyprus to IBF-sanctioned competitions, with several major titles on his record. Winning the Cyprus Open 2024, the Armenian Grand Prix 2025 and several strong results at Merit and Grand Sapphire events are among his most notable achievements.

There is also an important point regarding his technical title. The official profile of the Backgammon Masters Awarding Body currently lists Tavakoli as a Grandmaster G2. Therefore, unlike some scattered information, this title has an official and verifiable source.

Who Is Amirali Tavakoli?

Amirali Tavakoli is an Iranian backgammon player and WBGF member. His consistent participation in international tournaments in recent years has seen his name appear repeatedly in results from tournaments in Cyprus, Armenia, Turkey and other regional events.

His BMAB profile also records a significant number of analyzed matches. The system lists Tavakoli with the Grandmaster G2 title and a Performance Rating at World Class level. At this point, it is not just the number of trophies that matters; the technical data also show that he competes at a high level.

Cyprus Open 2024 Champion

One of Amirali Tavakoli's most prominent results came in November 2024. He won the 21st Cyprus Open Main Tournament, an event for which FTB Gammon System records 300 players.

Tavakoli recorded 14 wins and just one loss in the competition, finishing ahead of Gaz Owen, Ismail Dönmez and other players in the standings. Winning a 300-player field with such a strong win record is one of the most significant individual results of his career.

Armenian Grand Prix 2025 Champion

2025 brought another major success for Tavakoli. In the official results of the Armenian Grand Prix 2025, the International Backgammon Federation lists him as the Open Division champion. The division featured 126 players from 16 countries.

Tavakoli finished ahead of Soso Menabdishvili of Georgia and Sergey Krasnobaev of Russia. This title is particularly significant because the result is directly recorded in the official report of the International Backgammon Federation.

Success at the Merit Middle East Grand Prix

Tavakoli has also achieved important results at Merit events. At the Merit Middle East Grand Prix Invitational 2025, he won the $5,000 High Roller division. The field featured eight players, with Enis Yuda of Turkey finishing second.

A year earlier, in the 2024 edition of the same event, Tavakoli won the $2,500 Mega Jackpot. Zdenek Zizka of the Czech Republic finished second. It is important to distinguish these two results: the title recorded in 2025 was the High Roller, while the Mega Jackpot victory belongs to the 2024 edition.

Seniors Champion at Concorde Open 2024

In May 2024, Tavakoli also reached the top of the podium at the Northern Cyprus Concorde Backgammon Open. He won the Seniors Tournament, which had 64 participants, while Omid Badiei of Sweden finished runner-up.

The same tournament produced another result for him: Tavakoli reached the Speedgammon final and finished second behind Hossein Aghili. These results show that his success is not limited to the Main format and that he has also reached the latter stages in fast and side events.

Grand Sapphire Open 2025: One Title and One Runner-Up Finish

March 2025 brought another successful event for Tavakoli at the Northern Cyprus Grand Sapphire Backgammon Open. He won the Mega Jackpot, with another Iranian player, Roohollah Amiri Andy, finishing second.

At the same event, Tavakoli also reached the Super Jackpot final and finished runner-up, while Mario Kühl of Germany won the title. As a result, he recorded both a Mega Jackpot victory and a second-place finish in the Super Jackpot at the same tournament.

Amirali Tavakoli's Major Achievements

When his verified results are considered together, Tavakoli's record combines championships in large Main fields with success in Jackpot events. Some of his most important results include:

  • Cyprus Open Main: 2024 champion in a 300-player field

  • Northern Cyprus Concorde Open Seniors: 2024 champion

  • Merit Middle East Grand Prix Mega Jackpot: 2024 champion

  • Armenian Grand Prix Open Division: 2025 champion

  • Merit Middle East Grand Prix High Roller: 2025 champion

  • Grand Sapphire Open Mega Jackpot: 2025 champion

  • Grand Sapphire Open Super Jackpot: 2025 runner-up

Grandmaster G2 Title and BMAB Statistics

BMAB's official profile for Amirali Tavakoli lists him as a Grandmaster G2. As of September 2026, the database had 491 analyzed matches for him and recorded an overall Performance Rating of 3.8530, a figure that BMAB categorizes at the World Class level.

Of the 491 recorded matches, Tavakoli has 281 wins, giving him a 57.2 percent win rate in this dataset. His recorded Rating is 1598.47, while his highest Rating is 1686.97. These statistics, however, relate only to matches recorded and analyzed in the BMAB system and should not be considered a complete record of all matches throughout his professional career.

Participation in International Competitions in 2026

Tavakoli continued his participation in international tournaments in 2026. His WBGF profile records an eleventh-place finish in the Championship Main at the Georgian Grand Prix 2026. He also finished second in the Last Chance at the Merit Middle East Grand Prix 2026.

These results show that Tavakoli's professional activity did not stop after his championship victories in 2024 and 2025. His name continues to appear in the standings of major regional tournaments, while his BMAB record also indicates continued participation in various events throughout 2026.

Conclusion

Over the past several years, Amirali Tavakoli has recorded a collection of important international results, from winning a 300-player Cyprus Open field to capturing the Armenian Grand Prix, winning High Roller and Mega Jackpot titles and reaching the Super Jackpot final. These are results that reinforce his position among Iran's leading backgammon players.

The official Grandmaster G2 title is now another part of his professional profile. There is no need to add unverified achievements when introducing Tavakoli; the results recorded in reliable sources already demonstrate a notable career filled with major competitions.

Amirali Tavakoli: Iran's G2 Backgammon Grandmaster