25 March 2026
Mind you, the programme was packed, but – as I wrote last year – I’m not keen on the format, so I only took part in two or three small tournaments, completely lacking in enthusiasm, and the poor results speak for themselves.
For the first time in many years, I DIDN’T FEEL LIKE PLAYING, and for the first time since 1997 – after 30 appearances at MSO events, both live and online – I didn’t win a single medal.
On the other hand, congratulations to the group of Italian players who really gave it their all, winning 4 golds, 8 silvers and 3 bronzes; standing out above all is Marino Carpignano, who single-handedly earned 3 golds, 4 silvers and 1 bronze.
We’ll see how things go in the live edition next August – the ‘real’ one, in other words!
Dario De Toffoli
Schedule
GRAND PRIX 2026
ITALIAN MEDALS
Amazons
1 Cheung Yat Hin 
2 Marino Carpignano 
3 Marc Tastet 
Backgammon 3pt Blitz
1 Cornel Mihai Oleniuc 
2 milsp
3 Chasse Rehwinkel 
Backgammon 5pt Hyper
1 milsp
2 Cornel Mihai Oleniuc
3 Florin Popa
Backgammon 7pt Classic
1 Florin Popa
2 Antonio Anelli
3 Cornel Mihai Oleniuc
Backgammon 9pt Classic
1 Kevin Naishtat 
2 Florin Popa
3 Antonio Anelli
Can’t Stop
1 Hugo Martins Pereira 
2 Marco Naín Rodríguez-Rivas 
3 Giulio Tomao
Chess 960
1 Maciej Brzeski 
2 Riccardo Gueci
3 Florin Popa
Draughts (Anti-Draughts)
1 Jakob Friesen 
2 Marino Carpignano
3 Tomáš Vrzal 
Draughts (Dameo)
1 prodiz 
2 Andrew Kern
3 Marino Carpignano
Draughts (English)
1 Marino Carpignano
2 Jakob Friesen
3 Sergey Kuropatov
Draughts Frisian
1 Marino Carpignano
2 Malte Schulz
3 Pavel Noga
Draughts International
1 Porter Richardson 
2 Marino Carpignano
3 Michał Mazurkiewicz
Draughts (Dames)
1 Marino Carpignano
2 Jakob Friesen
3 Stephane Melcer
Poker 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo
1 Timmy Turner
2 Manfredi Barbaro
3 Hugo Martins Pereira
Quarto
1 Stephane Melcer
2 Marino Carpignano
3 Andrew Smith