The fifth round of the international backgammon tournament concluded with 25 matches. Iranian representatives delivered a strong performance, securing 7 victories from their 9 matches.
In one of the most important matches of the round, Amin Shahvalizadeh defeated Germany's Jerzy Behnke 9–6. Shahin Nejat and Sina Azarhoush also recorded convincing 9–1 victories, making them two of Iran's other successful players in this round.
Iranian Players' Results in Round 5
Nine Iranian players faced international opponents in this round, finishing with 7 wins and 2 losses.
One of the most significant results came from Amin Shahvalizadeh's match against Jerzy Behnke. Shahvalizadeh won 9–6, defeating a player who had entered the round with four consecutive victories.
Shahin Nejat also delivered an impressive performance, defeating Stepan Nuniyants of the United States 9–1.
Sina Azarhoush also secured a 9–1 victory against Kenan Hasanzade of Azerbaijan.
The other results involving Iranian players were:
- Arash Afrooziyan: Defeated Ekrem Basdas of Germany 9–4.
- Masoud Aghdam: Defeated Diego Heidenreich of Argentina 9–4.
- Hamidreza Ardalani: Defeated Fuat Hakan Uncuoglu of Türkiye 9–3.
- Amirhossein Motarjemi: Defeated Hakan Rustem of Northern Cyprus 9–6.
- Milad Momeni: Lost 9–7 to Soinguli Amirov of Georgia.
- Yousef Abdollahnezhad: Lost 9–4 to Pete Heskett of England.
Amin Shahvalizadeh Defeats an Undefeated Contender
One of the key matches in Round 5 was the encounter between Amin Shahvalizadeh and Jerzy Behnke. Both players had won their previous four matches and were among the nine undefeated competitors entering this round.
The match took place at Table T13, where Shahvalizadeh secured a 9–6 victory.
With this result, the Iranian player continued his winning run and handed one of the tournament's leading competitors his first defeat.
Other Notable International Results
Alongside the performances of the Iranian representatives, several other notable matches took place in Round 5.
Mislav Kovacic of Croatia defeated Ricardo Malas of Lebanon 9–1. Katalin Veszeli of Hungary also claimed a 9–2 victory over Mizutani Susumu of Japan.
Selin Kurt of Türkiye defeated Gil Davidovich 9–2, while Volker Sonnabend of Germany beat Thomas Myhr of Denmark 9–6.
Other results from this round included:
- Ibrahim Karaca defeated Ralf Jonas 9–6.
- Eren Sarikaya beat Mario Wakim 9–6.
- Aziz Celikkaya defeated Ali Olgun 9–7.
- Shay Asraff edged past Kagan Karakaya 9–8.
- Gia Rizinashvili defeated Jason Champion 9–1.
- Murat Isin beat Ali Haydar Bayar 9–7.
- Mario Kuhl defeated Oktay Lokbas 9–5.
- Vasily Chemokhonenko beat Shtrum Joseph 9–4.
- Mikael Vardanyan defeated Alexey Askurava 9–7.
- Nadjib Kawkab beat Albert Khodadad 9–2.
- Kalin Stefanov defeated Huseyin Ozdag 9–5.
- Marcus Reinhard beat Tobias Hellwag 9–3.
Biggest Wins and Closest Matches in Round 5
Several matches in this round ended with substantial score differences.
Shahin Nejat, Sina Azarhoush, Mislav Kovacic, and Gia Rizinashvili all defeated their opponents 9–1. These were among the most decisive victories recorded in Round 5.
At the other end of the spectrum, the match between Kagan Karakaya and Shay Asraff was one of the closest contests of the round. Asraff eventually secured a narrow 9–8 victory.
Aziz Celikkaya also defeated Ali Olgun 9–7, while Murat Isin recorded the same score against Ali Haydar Bayar.
Summary of Iran's Performance in Round 5
Iranian representatives delivered an impressive performance in Round 5, recording 7 victories from 9 matches. Amin Shahvalizadeh's win over one of the previously undefeated players, along with the convincing victories of Shahin Nejat and Sina Azarhoush, were among the highlights of this round.
With Round 5 complete, the tournament moves into its next stage, where further results could bring additional changes to the standings.
For match details, complete results, and player standings, visit the official FTBgsystem platform.