The results of the third round of the main draw at the 25th International Cyprus Open Backgammon Tournament have been recorded, confirming the outcomes for players competing at this stage. According to the published results, 111 matches took place in the third round, involving 222 players.
The third round produced mixed results for the Iranian representatives. Several Iranian players defeated their opponents, while others lost their matches. Alongside decisive 9–0 victories, a number of closely contested encounters ended with scores of 9–8.
Iranian Players Secure Victories in the Third Round
Several Iranian players successfully completed their third-round matches with victories. Yashar Farnam defeated Amirali Tavakoli 9–5 in an all-Iranian encounter, while Jalil Khalili overcame Burak Simsek 9–8 in one of the round's closest matches.
Pouya Rajabi defeated Ali Haydar Bayar 9–7, while Amanj Khandani secured a 9–5 victory over Ali Cetin Belene.
Mehrdad Goodarzi defeated Salih Kayali 9–6, and Farhad Heydari recorded the same score against Ralf Jonas.
Other notable results involving Iranian representatives included:
- Milad Momeni defeated Nissim Murciano 9–7.
- Amirhossein Motarjemi defeated Hamidreza Shahrokhi 9–6.
- Shahin Nejat secured a 9–4 victory over Halil Sancak.
- Amin Shahvalizadeh defeated Arash Afroozian 9–6.
- Amir Golegolab defeated Kalin Stefanov 9–2.
- Amir Eshraghi recorded a 9–2 victory over Ricardo Malas.
- Omid Badiei defeated Can Ozturk 9–7.
- Rambiz Khalili-Yazdi secured a decisive 9–0 victory over Hakan Iplik.
- Reza Barmayehvar defeated Birdal Kurudere 9–2.
- Hossein Aghili defeated Elie Nehmeh 9–5.
- Masoud Aghdam secured a 9–7 victory over Mario Wakim.
- Albert Khodadad defeated Pinny Elkin 9–4.
These results show that some Iranian players won by substantial margins, while others had to overcome more competitive opponents to secure their victories.
Several Iranian Players Suffer Third-Round Defeats
Alongside the victories, several Iranian players were defeated in their third-round matches.
Yousef Abdollahnezhad lost 9–6 to Mustafa Kemal Alemdar, while Cyrus Vafa suffered a 9–1 defeat against Murat Isin.
Amirali Tavakoli lost 9–5 to Yashar Farnam in an all-Iranian matchup. Hooman Khatami was also defeated, losing 9–7 to Erhan Yenisen.
Behrad Ahmadi suffered a decisive 9–0 defeat against Honza Cerny. Hamid Esmaeili also lost by the same score to Janette Hodgkinson.
Other defeats involving Iranian players included:
- Payam Homayoon lost 9–2 to Heftz Moalm.
- Mohammad Javad Shams was defeated 9–7 by Senol Acar.
- Hamidreza Shahrokhi lost 9–6 to Amirhossein Motarjemi.
- Reza Monfared suffered a 9–6 defeat against Mehmet Akis.
- Arash Afroozian lost 9–6 to Amin Shahvalizadeh.
- Hamidreza Ardalani was defeated 9–4 by Ozan Ozgur.
- Sohrab Baghaie lost 9–6 to Hakan Tosun.
- Sina Azarhoush suffered a 9–1 defeat against Rolf Schreuder.
- Reza Aghdam narrowly lost 9–8 to Nurettin Sizmaz.
- Ali Oskuii was defeated 9–7 by Deniz Bahcivan.
- Bahman Sadeghi lost 9–4 to Abdullah Ser.
Direct encounters between Iranian players were another notable feature of the round. The matches between Yashar Farnam and Amirali Tavakoli, Amirhossein Motarjemi and Hamidreza Shahrokhi, and Amin Shahvalizadeh and Arash Afroozian each ended with one Iranian player defeating another.
Notable International Matches in the Third Round
In addition to the matches involving Iranian representatives, several international players recorded noteworthy results.
Hakan Bozkurt secured a 9–7 victory over Joseph Shtrum, while Nodar Gagua defeated Ali Olgun 9–6.
Catalin Bucur overcame Nuray Sevimli 9–7, while Vaidas Budrys defeated Christoph Wagener 9–6.
Peter Van Rooij recorded a 9–6 victory over Fuat Erdag, and Gia Rizinashvili defeated Minh Nguyen 9–4.
Other results from the third round included:
- Jason Champion defeated Guy Fridlich 9–2.
- Gil Davidovich secured a 9–4 victory over Zvi Alayoff.
- Shay Asraff defeated Stepan Nuniyants 9–4.
- Pete Heskett recorded a 9–5 victory over Ali Saglam.
- Moti Italy defeated Alaattin Ozaltun 9–6.
- Gabi Menasherov secured a 9–7 victory over Aykut Keskin.
- Kenneth Lavigna defeated Konrad Froschl 9–5.
- Tobias Hellwag recorded a 9–6 victory over Ahmet Nergiz.
- Simeon Todorov defeated Juergen Orlowski 9–6.
These international encounters also produced varied results, with several competitors in the main draw unable to overcome their third-round opponents.
Close Matches and Decisive Victories in the Third Round
One of the most notable aspects of the third round was the number of matches decided by a single point.
Jalil Khalili defeated Burak Simsek 9–8, while Alexey Askurava overcame Levent Karjau by the same score.
Ismail Bilgili secured a 9–8 victory over Sefik Gedikoglu, and Ulrich Zoller defeated Filipi Martin 9–8 in another closely contested match.
Other narrow victories included Peter Karlsson's win over Marcus Reinhard, Dag Ekmark's victory against Marcel Buker, Josefin Bichler's win over Ogun Sevindik, and Eyup Borucu's victory against Alpay Akyol. All four matches ended 9–8.
In contrast, several encounters ended in decisive 9–0 victories.
Hakan Rustem defeated Sefa Kosem, Honza Cerny overcame Behrad Ahmadi, Thomas Myhr defeated Wissam Karam, and Rambiz Khalili-Yazdi secured victory over Hakan Iplik without conceding a point.
Ekrem Basdas also defeated Markus Kreienbuhl 9–0, while Jerzy Behnke beat Jean Abi Haidar, Gencay Akyol defeated Lyubomir Ganchev, Nicos Sophocleous overcame Jan Jacobowitz, and Bulent Karabulut defeated Mahir Vural by the same score.
Cyprus Open Competition Continues After the Third Round
With the third-round results confirmed, attention now turns to the upcoming matches and developments in the main tournament draw.
For the Iranian representatives, the victories recorded in this round are significant. Players including Yashar Farnam, Jalil Khalili, Pouya Rajabi, Amanj Khandani, Mehrdad Goodarzi, Farhad Heydari, Omid Badiei, and Amin Shahvalizadeh successfully completed their third-round matches with wins.
However, several players who had won their second-round matches were defeated in the third round. Amirali Tavakoli, Behrad Ahmadi, Hamid Esmaeili, Hooman Khatami, Hamidreza Shahrokhi, and Arash Afroozian were among those players.
Nevertheless, the third-round results alone are not sufficient to determine the players' final standings or predict the tournament champion. Their continued participation depends on the tournament format and the outcomes of subsequent matches.
Backgammon enthusiasts can follow the tournament schedule, match results, and updates to the main draw through the official FTBgsystem platform.
Conclusion
The third round of the 25th International Cyprus Open Backgammon Tournament concluded with results recorded for 111 matches. The round featured victories by several Iranian representatives, defeats for others, and numerous closely contested encounters.
From Jalil Khalili's narrow 9–8 victory over Burak Simsek and Pouya Rajabi's 9–7 win against Ali Haydar Bayar to Rambiz Khalili-Yazdi's decisive 9–0 victory over Hakan Iplik, Iranian players experienced a wide range of results.
Direct matchups between Iranian competitors and the defeats of several second-round winners were also among the round's notable developments.
With the third round complete, attention turns to how the next stage will affect the players in the main draw and which Iranian representatives will be able to maintain their winning momentum.