Entries have now opened for the 2000 World Tantrix Championship. This event will be played online at the Tantrix Web site. The competition runs from September to November, with one round being played every week or two.

If you are relatively new to Tantrix, this tournament is for you too! Entry is open to all, and there is a Plate competition for players who lose in the early rounds. This means that you are certain to have the chance to play a few matches if you want to.

Last year there were around 50 players, representing 13 different countries. The trophy was taken by 15-year-old Zenon Kowalczyk of Australia. Jamie Sneddon and Matthew Peek, both of New Zealand, were second and third.

Further information and how to enter are on the Tantrix Tournaments Page. The closing date for entries to both competitions is Tuesday 15 August.

Three important Tantrix tournaments have recently finished:

• The 2000 European Championship was won by Jean-Louis Potier of France. This tournament had a very exciting finish - going into the last round, there were five players still in with a chance of being winner or runner-up. The 1999 champion Péter Petrecz of Hungary was third.



• The 2000 Pan-American Championship was won by Ben Trumbore of the USA. Ben was also the winner in 1999, and he currently lies second - behind Matthew Peek of New Zealand - on the international Tantrix Elo Rating List.



• The 2000 New Zealand Championship was won by Phil Sneddon from Auckland. Phil won in the final against his twin brother Jamie! The tournament was sponsored by Origin Pacific Airways and Phil's prize was a return flight to Nelson, the home of Tantrix and a popular tourist spot in New Zealand. This was the first time this event has been held, and it attracted 24 competitors.

The African/Asian Championship and the Pacific Championship are currently in progress. Details of these and all other Tantrix tournaments can be found on the Tantrix Tournaments Page.

Thanks very much to Steven Trezise for this information.

Tantrix was invented in 1991 by New Zealander Mike McManaway, a former national backgammon champion. The game is played with 56 different hexagonal tiles marked with red, blue, yellow and green lines and curves. It is a mixture of strategy and luck, and each game takes about half an hour to finish.

The main Tantrix Web site has masses of information about the game. You can play online here, and you can also read about the history of Tantrix. There is a tournament calendar, hints on strategy, an ELO rating list, solitaire puzzles, and profiles of the top players. Some of the information is in 7 different languages. There is also a UK Tantrix page.

You can go to the main Web site and...

The first World Champion of Tantrix was Steven Trezise of the UK who won the 1998 title ahead of Jerome Papillon of France and Britta Steude of New Zealand. This title was decided according to which player was top of the rating list at midnight on 31 December 1998, and Steven reached the top with one minute to spare!

The 1999 World Championships, run under a more conventional tournament format, had around 50 players representing 13 different countries. The winner was 15-year-old Zenon Kowalczyk of Australia. Jamie Sneddon and Matthew Peek, both of New Zealand, were second and third. More tournament results can be seen at the List of Champions.