News items from late 1999
17/12/99: Ron takes first Lesters title
An epic two-and-a-half-hour battle at the Foresters in Downend last night saw Ron Henderson take his first Lesters Trophy title.
An attendance of eight people and two dogs witnessed Ron's 11-10 victory over Simon Baker, twice previously a winner of this title. Ron probably had the rub of the green early on, but Simon hung in to make it the closest of encounters. The final two games were see-saw affairs which held the audience rivetted.
Ron has not been very active on the backgammon scene of late, since his departure from EDS two years ago. But EDS/RR players know him well as a tenacious competitor. Hopefully the success will encourage him to attend more tournaments.
15/12/99: Lesters final in Downend
The final of the 35th Lesters Trophy, between Ron Henderson and Simon Baker, will take place at the Foresters in Salisbury Road, Downend, tomorrow (Thursday) December 16th. Other players and hangers-on are urged to add to the general atmosphere!
A report should appear here shortly afterwards.
09/12/99: Record turnout at Lesters XXXV
The 35th Lesters Trophy event attracted a record entry of twenty-seven players at the B.C.S.C. on Thursday. Eight previous winners of the competition and four debutants (Adam King, Peter King, Rob McIntyre, and Grant Shortland) were among the starting line-up. Of those four, Grant Shortland made most progress, scoring two fine wins before going out in the quarter-finals.
Play eventually ended at around 1am, with the final still to be played. This will feature Simon Baker (twice a winner of the competition) and Ron Henderson, making a return to competition after a two year lull. In his five previous appearances, Ron had failed to make it past the quarter-finals, so this represented something of a breakthrough for him.
The date, time and venue of the final have yet to be decided. When they are, news will appear here.
21/11/99: Kevin and Ian win prizes at Coventry
Frome-based Kevin White made his biggest impact yet in B.I.B.A. competition at the Coventry Hilton this weekend. Although he set off for home in a positive frame of mind, he was unaware that his five victories in six matches had scooped him the Best Intermediate prize of £25, awarded for the best performance by a player ranked below the average of around 1500 points. What made Kevin's achievement all the more spectacular was the fact that four of his victims had rankings of 1625 and above. Ian Tarr, who won four of his matches, was fortunate enough to win the runner-up prize of £27 in the £5 pool.
Meanwhile, Blaine Buchanan was making his B.I.B.A. debut to excellent effect. He won all three matches on Saturday, but although he drew a blank on Sunday he had the fine excuse that his Sunday opponents were all highly ranked. Others who suffered a blank Sunday were Stuart Mann and John Lewis, who had scored two and one wins respectively on Saturday.
16/11/99: Another triple success
Just three weeks after Phil Charlton became the first player in the nineteen year history of D.P.S. Backgammon to win the same domestic knock-out tournament three times, the feat has been emulated in one of the other knock-outs! While Phil's record was achieved in the Division One Cup, Ian Tarr today won his third "B" Tournament title with a 22-9 victory over Mark Oldham. For full details click on B Tournament results.
15/11/99: John Napier wins Intermediates tournament
John Napier, Lesters Trophy runner-up in September, added to his growing reputation by winning the inaugural Intermediates Tournament, the main flight of which was resolved on Sunday evening. John made short work of his semi-final task against John Chidgey to take on Roland Herrera in the final, moving into an early lead before a spirited revival on Roland's part pushed him to the wire. For full details of the competition so far, click on Intermediate history.
13/11/99: Intermediates finals still to play
At the first of the regular "second Thursday of the month" tournaments, the concept of intermediates tournaments was put firmly to the test -- and arguably passed with flying colours! With several top local players barred from competing, there were still no fewer than twenty-four takers for the £5 entry tournament at the B.C.S.C on November 11th. And the format of two flights, main and consolation, guaranteed that 75% of those present would sample the sweet taste of victory before the evening was very old. Due to a combination of slow play (perhaps understandable in the context of an intermediate tournament) and a slightly early finish forced upon us by circumstances beyond our control, neither flight was completed on the night, and three matches remain to be completed at later dates. Making their Bristol tournament debuts were Sarah Rosich, Grant Shortland, and Adam King, who each won a single match in the main event. Still to play in the main flight are a semi-final between veteran John Chidgey and recent Lesters Trophy finalist John Napier, and the final where the winner will meet Roland Herrera. These are scheduled for completion this Sunday evening. Meanwhile, Simonetta Barone and Dave Rees have yet to set a date for their consolation final.
04/11/99: Charlie close to Irish success
The only local player to make it to last weekend's Irish Open in Dublin -- Charlie Hetherington -- was close to a resounding success. In a tournament conetsted by over 60 players, Charlie reached the semi-finals, thus just missing out on the prizes. Yet another near miss to add to our catalogue!
26/10/99: Phil takes Division One Cup
Phil Charlton today became the first player in D.P.S. Backgammon history to win the same domestic knock-out competition three times, when he scored a 22-18 victory over Malcolm Young. Phil has now won five domestic knock-out titles in all, along with his four league championships and a Second Division title.
05/10/99: Intermediates tournament date set
Thursday November 11th sees what is intended to be the start of regular tournament action in Bristol.
On that particular night there will be an "Intermediates" tournament at the Bristol County Sports Club, starting at 7.30pm.
An intermediate in this context will be any player who does not have a BIBA ranking exceeding 1500. This has the effect of barring from participation such local luminaries as Charlie Hetherington, Tony Lee, Phil Caudwell, Simon Baker, Ian Tarr, Simon Osborne, Stuart Mann, Phil Charlton, and Giles Ashton. Also included on this list will be seven times Lesters Trophy winner, Dave Pym.
Thus all other local players are invited to take part. Those already on Ian Tarr's mailing lists will be invited, and anyone else reading this will be welcome.
Provided there are enough entrants (at least eight), the competition will be a straight knock-out affair, with matches played to 7 points, a £5 entry fee, and prizes for the two finalists.
"Elite" players need not feel hard done by. The second Thursday of each month up to the end of 2000 has been set aside as "Backgammon Night" at the Bristol County Sports Club, which is situated in Colston Street in the centre of Bristol.
Various forms of competition will be featured, most of which will be open to all comers. Details of these will be announced soon.
28/09/99: Charlie Hetherington takes fourth Lesters title
The two matches outstanding from the September 16th Lesters Trophy evening were completed last night, with Charlie Hetherington pipping debutant John Napier in a hard-fought final.
With the score at 8-7 in Charlie's favour in the first-to-11-points match, and the cube on four, the last game could have gone either way, but it was Charlie who took the £260 prize, John having to satisfy himself with the runner-up prize of £85.
With a good turnout of spectators at the Bristol County Sports Club, John had earlier fended off the semi-final challenge of another player making his Lesters debut, Paul Watts.
Charlie has now won four of the thirty-four Lesters Trophy events, which began back in 1986. This puts him equal second on the all-time winners list with Phil Caudwell and Phil Charlton. The three lag well behind Dave Pym's total of seven successes.
17/09/99: Twenty-three contest Lesters Trophy; two matches held over
The highest Lesters Trophy turnout for three years graced the 34th Lesters Trophy last night, and time constraints meant that two matches will have to be completed at a date yet to be decided.
No fewer than eight players were making their respective bows in the tournament: Adam Clutterbuck, Neil Farley, Adrian Hills, Jerry Limb, John Napier, Elliot Smart, Ed Turner, and Paul Watts.
Of those eight, only John Napier and Paul Watts registered victories, but thus encouraged, they both made it through to the semi-finals, where they must now meet for the right to play Charlie Hetherington for the main prizes.
Charlie had come through what was undeniably the tougher half of the draw, which contained no fewer than six multiple Lesters Trophy winners. And it was one of these, Tony Lee, who succumbed to Charlie in the night's only completed semi.
Recent news items
News items from 2000 (first half)
Back to Home Page