In Bulgaria, three traditional games are widely played: Regular Tabla, Gyulbara, and Tapa.
Regular Tabla resembles cubeless backgammon, where victories earn one or two points. Strategy is largely similar to backgammon, though careful long-term planning is more critical due to the absence of the doubling cube.
Gyulbara is a contactless game with highly unpredictable outcomes. When a double is rolled, the player must execute all higher doubles consecutively (e.g., rolling 11 requires playing 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66 in sequence). The number of possible move combinations is virtually limitless.
Tapa is the most technically demanding variant. All checkers begin on the 24-point, and players must calculate risks meticulously, balancing offensive and defensive strategies over 360 pips. Timing is paramount, and only through careful analysis can one decide when to attack or play safely.
At our tournaments, the match lenght is always 7 points. We are playing either Round Robin format or Double Elimination format.
2 June 2002 also marked the launch of our first official weekly traditional mixed tabla tournament, which began with just four participants. The inaugural winner was Nikolay Prokopiev. Over the years, we have organised more than 600 weekly tournaments and 22 annual championships. "Slavia Backgammon Club" players have claimed 20 of the championship titles, with Bogidar Iliev holding a record 18 victories.
ANNUAL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES
1. Bogidar Iliev - SLAVIA (Sofia) - 18
2. Georgi Anastasov - LEVSKI (Sofia) - 1
3. Slavi Kolev - CSKA (Sofia) - 1
4. Boris Marinov - SLAVIA (Sofia) - 1
5. Rosen Stoyanov - ETAR (V. Tarnovo) - 1
*number of annual championship titles
ALL TIME TOP 10
1. Bogidar Iliev - SLAVIA (Sofia) - 183
2. Jordan Kirchev - CSKA (Sofia) - 55
3. Daniel Zahariev - LEVSKI (Sofia) - 44
4. Slavi Kolev - CSKA (Sofia) - 29
5. Rosen Stoyanov - ETAR (V. Tarnovo) - 25
6. Boris Marinov - SLAVIA (Sofia) - 24
7. Violeta Dimitrova - SLAVIA (Sofia) - 21
8. Julian Tuleshkov - CSKA (Sofia) - 19
9. Joro Gruev - CSKA (Sofia) - 16
10. Konstantin Chomakov - SLAVIA (Sofia) - 14
*number of weekly tournament wins
TEAM SUPPORT RECORDS
1. SLAVIA (Sofia) - 277
2. CSKA (Sofia) - 196
3. LEVSKI (Sofia) - 97
4. ETAR (V.Tarnovo) - 25
5. DOBRUDZHA (Dobrich) - 11
6. ARARAT (Yerevan, Armenia) - 3
7. ARIS (Thessaloniki, Greece) - 1
8. LOKOMOTIV (Sofia) - 1
9. SPARTAK (Pleven) - 1
*number of weekly tournament wins
Modern backgammon info here.
