Registrations are now open for the 2026 Newcastle Open which will be held on the weekend of October 9-11.
If you wish to register for the event, please email northeastbackgammon@gmail.com (see note at bottom re the reserve list).
The Open will be open to 80 people and is part of the UKBGF tour. (To qualify for Tour points and be eligible for a Tour Winners Invitational place, you must be a UKBGF member before the event starts.)
The current list of registered players is below.
The event will be held at the Gateshead Masonic Hall – 47 Alexandra Rd, Gateshead NE8 1RB. A bar will be open and a free buffet lunch will be available on both the Saturday and Sunday.
There will be a freeroll on the Friday night, with the main event on the Saturday and Sunday.. There is free parking at the venue.
A full timetable for the Open is below.
Registration is £40 and entry fee £50. The deadline for the payment of the full £90 is Monday, August 10. Please mark payments as Ncle Open 2026
Payments by bank transfer to North East Backgammon Association
Account number : 53170760
Sort code : 30-84-82
There will be optional side pools of £10, £20, £30. You can enter one or two pools (either the £10 & £20 or the £20 & £30). Payment for side pools will be taken at the event. A £10 side pool for the consolation will be available on the Saturday. This will be refunded if you progress well in the main.
Waiting list/refunds: There will be a waiting list in effect. If a player needs to withdraw from the tournament any payments will be fully refunded if paid before the deadline and a player from the waiting list takes the place. After the deadline the registration fee is non-refundable unless there are extenuating circumstances and at the discretion of the tournament directors. The entry fee is fully refundable up to 48 hours prior to the event.
TIMETABLE:
Friday:
6:30-7:00 pm – registration
7:00 pm – Friday Warm-up
Free Entry (£100 to winner) – 5 point matches
Saturday:
9.30-10.30 – Registration/announcements
10.30 – Main Tournament begins – Swiss Format, 5 x 7-point matches
Play-offs for the final places in the last 16 (timing tbc)
Doubles Tournament (timing tbc)
Sunday:
9.30 – Registration for Consolation Tournament
10.00 prompt – Top 16 Qualifiers Knock Out – 9 points/11 points
10.00 – Consolation begins – 7 points
12:00 (approx.) – Last Chance begins – 3 points
Approximate finishing time 7pm
| Name | Registration Paid | Entry Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Richard Rowland | y | y |
| 2 Krzysztof Cebula | y | y |
| 3 Rikki Blythe | y | y |
| 4 Stephen Allott | y | y |
| 5 Cristina Birsan | y | y |
| 6 Dave Gallagher | y | y |
| 7 Lewis Fairfax | y | y |
| 8 Jonathan Backhouse | y | y |
| 9 Mike Snowdon | y | y |
| 10 Martin Barkwill | y | y |
| 11 Chris Humble | y | y |
| 12 Kevin Stebbing | y | y |
| 13 Alan Hind | y | y |
| 14 June Williamson | y | y |
| 15 Anandan Tanabalan | y | y |
| 16 Graeme Leslie | y | y |
| 17 Mark Dunlop | y | y |
| 18 Denby Pettitt | y | y |
| 19 Graeme McPhee | y | y |
| 20 Chris Jones | y | y |
| 21 Marcel Rhodes | y | y |
| 22 Paul Barwick | y | y |
| 23 Fraya Dravern | y | y |
| 24 Aniel Ciobanu | y | y |
| 25 Karen Slawek | y | y |
| 26 Ian Davidson | y | y |
| 27 Catherine Seale | y | y |
| 28 Mark Baker | y | y |
| 29 Radu Ciortan | y | y |
| 30 CJ Uttley | y | y |
| 31 Rachel Rhodes | y | y |
| 32 Rosalie Johnson | y | y |
| 33 Greg Bocking | y | y |
| 34 Sandy Ferguson | y | y |
| 35 Paul Moulton | y | y |
| 36 David Dixon | y | y |
| 37 Rosie Young | y | y |
| 38 Mutlu Ustun | y | y |
| 39 Neil Webb | y | y |
| 40 Andrew Bak | y | y |
| 41 Derek Cooper | y | y |
| 42 Chris McCooke | y | y |
| 43 Yuro Shirai | y | y |
| 44 Peter Chan | y | y |
| 45 Beth Young | y | y |
| 46 Ian Hesketh | y | y |
| 47 Roland Archer | y | y |
| 48 Simon Jones | y | y |
| 49 Mark Rock | y | y |
| 50 Eileen Mulvany | y | y |
| 51 Jackie Murphy | y | y |
| 52 Merrin Rose | y | y |
| 53 Sarah Jolliff | y | y |
| 54 Kev Jones | y | y |
| 55 Alex Hannam | y | y |
| 56 Lawrence Jones | y | y |
| 57 Dave Pritchard | y | y |
| 58 Sean Broadie | y | y |
| 59 Stephen Dabby | y | y |
| 60 Maryna Zasukhina | y | y |
| 61 Reza Amiri | y | y |
| 62 Adrian Jones | y | y |
| 63 Michelle Sykes | y | y |
| 64 Glenn Roberts | y | y |
| 65 Sean Cheung | y | y |
| 66 David Sharp | y | y |
| 67 James Degabriele | y | y |
| 68 Katrina Hatton | y | y |
| 69 Mark Calderbank | y | y |
| 70 Will Cockerell | y | y |
| 71 Rob Budworth | y | y |
| 72 Becca Bell | y | y |
| 73 Ashkan Sami | y | y |
| 74 Tim Reed | y | y |
| 75 Arya Aslani | y | y |
| 76 Amir Ghasemi | y | y |
| 77 Brian Lawrence | y | y |
| 78 Pete Cain | y | y |
| 79 Jim Majka | y | y |
| 80 Berton Hazbiu | y | y |