The 2022 annual Jamaica International Backgammon Championship (JIBC) which was held at its home base, the renowned beachfront Bamboo Blu restaurant in the resort town of Ocho Rios, St Ann has been declared a resounding success.

 

The secluded thatched-roof restaurant and bar equipped with top class amenities, secure parking and even a beach volleyball court is rated 4.5  out of 5 on TripAdvisor and #2 in Ocho Rios.

 

The brainchild of Jamaican backgammon enthusiasts, the JIBC was established to invite the world’s best players to experience Jamaica’s authentic cuisine and friendliness while competing for the coveted trophy and sharing their experience with local and other international players.

 

The JIBC tournaments go back over 20 years and the level of play and interest is said to be exceptionally high for such a small country.

 

The 2022 staging of JIBC was the first since 2019 due to the pandemic and brought top ranked players to Jamaica, including the world’s #2 Michihito Kageyama and #6 Akiko Yazawa, both from Japan.

 

The hugely successful tournament put Jamaica on the world’s backgammon map. It was also listed on the website of the World Backgammon Federation. 

 

The 2022 finalists came from a field of 24 players; they were Canadian Michael Neagu and American Leyla Zaloutskaya, who split the prize.

 

JIBC’s Tournament Director Jeb Horton is a certified tournament director for Backgammon Masters Awarding Body (BMAB). He co-hosted the 2022 event with Phil Simborg, who is co-founder and co-director, with Masayuki “Mochy” Mochizuki, of the International Collegiate Backgammon Championships.

 

At last year’s tournament, Simborg shared gaming insights and strategies in online seminars.

 

The Championship was preceded by a warm up tournament at the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios. That event is an outgrowth of tournaments organized by the Jamaica Backgammon Association in the past two decades. Proceeds from that tournament go to environmental and marine sustainability and protection for the White River Fish Sanctuary.