German Mandy Kunze wins Mensch ärgere Dich nicht world title for second year

A second title for Kunze

Mandy Kunze, a 50-year-old from Thiendorf in Saxony, won the Mensch ärgere Dich nicht world championship on Saturday, 14 November, at a hotel in Berlin. She was already the reigning champion and kept the title in a field drawn mainly from Germany, with players also coming from the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland. Before the tournament she had not expected another win. She told the German news agency dpa that the result had taken a lot of luck.

“You need a lot of luck. But it worked again.”

The final

Organiser Udo Schmitz said Kunze clearly beat her rivals in the final. When she brought her fourth and last piece home, the three other players had only one or two pieces in the finish. Schmitz said she had clearly won the game.

“After about 30 minutes she had decided the game in her favour.”

The final grew quieter and more concentrated than the early rounds, according to Schmitz.

Format and field

The event ran four consecutive rounds, with four players at each board, and players collected points in every round. The four players with the most points went through to the final. Organiser Udo Schmitz gave 178 as the number of participants to ORF, while stern put it at just under 180 and VRT at a little under 200. Most came from Germany, with others from the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland. According to the organisers, the youngest participant was seven years old and the oldest almost 90.

Atmosphere in the hotel

The mood in the conference room of the Berlin hotel was lively. Some players treated themselves to a beer during the game. Several teams wore the shirts of their local clubs, and a few participants had matching accessories. One player wore a headband with a large die on top. The early rounds were boisterous, but the mood grew calmer as the final approached.

Podium and prizes

Dagmar Marten, 84, from Berlin, finished second. Greta Komning, 23, from Neubrandenburg, took third place. The winner received a travel voucher worth 250 euros and a trophy, and places two to four received game vouchers from Schmidt Spiele. The game itself is more than 100 years old and still popular, according to stern.