Bristol backgammon news

News items from 2003 (first half)

26/06/03: JUNE LEAGUE NIGHT NEWS FROM THE B C S C ......

There was a seasonally low turnout for the June league night, but those that did turn up did their best to make up the difference!

26/06/03: A small step for Mann ......

Only four Premier One matches were played at the BCSC on Wednesday night, but all four involved Phil Charlton!
Phil, who incurred two penalty points when he reached the May 31st checkpoint with just seven results under his belt, is well on the way to reclaiming those points and avoiding a repetition, needing to register only two more before the end of July.
His first encounter was with league leader Stuart Mann, who took yet another stride towards claiming the title for the first time when he scored an 11-5 win.
Phil then despatched second placed Martin Hemming, to cement Stuart's lead, but then a brace of matches against old adversary Dave Pym went the way of Swindon's finest.
The double success eased Dave's worries of slipping towards the relegation zone. He feels, probably with some justification, that one win from his final two matches will preserve his Premier One status.

26/06/03: Steffen closing on promotion ......

Steffen Nowak is now just one match away from completing his Premier Two season, after registering three results at the BCSC on Wednesday evening.
A victory over Rosey Bensley and a share of the spoils with Tim Jefferies have given Steffen a total of 27 points.
And although there can be no guarantees at this stage, beating Kevin White in his final match would surely confirm his elevation to the top level.
Rosey, meanwhile, as if to demonstrate that Premier One players are not the only ones capable of completing four league matches in a session, went on to do just that after her defeat by Steffen, winning one of two against Drew Caudwell before scoring a valuable victory over Roland Herrera.
Tim's efforts brought him back into second place, as the race to fill the three guaranteed promotion slots hots up.

26/06/03: Help Phillip over his complex ......

Phillip Hill is getting worried. He is convinced that nobody wants to play him in the Conference.
After recently complaining how difficult it was to get any further league matches played, events seemed to conspire to prove him right when he was the only Conference player to show up at the BCSC on Wednesday evening.
Doubtless Phillip will be proved wrong over the coming months.

18/06/03: Stuart edges home after scare

Stuart Mann took his fourth Lesters title at the BCSC last night, but he had to work very hard for the victory over Dave Pym.
At 10-4 in the Crawford game, he needed just to bear off without mishap, and the match was his. A final opportunity came for Dave, who rediscovered the art of hitting blots, and it was 10-5.
A free drop made it 10-6, then the score moved on to 10-8 and 10-10.
The pair had done a deal on the money front, aimed at substantially reducing the Ł900 disparity between winning and losing. At this point, however, it was decided that 50:50 would be more appropriate.
Stuart took the final game, cutting Dave's OGP lead to a mere 25 points, securing a 2004 Bristol Masters slot, and -- as the match was doubling up as a Premier One encounter -- taking yet another significant step towards that title.
The win also keeps Stuart well in contention for an unprecedemted League and OGP double, as well as being his seventh in succession in all competitions, as another 1000 to 1 award looms on the horizon.
Dave, who had previously done more than enough to ensure Masters qualification, had the not inconsiderable consolation of a healthy profit to sustain him on the drive home, but the league defeat, coupled with another later at the hands of Ian Tarr, has put his Premier One place in some jeopardy.

18/06/03: "50" date put back to October

A date clash with the Manchester Mind Sports Olympiad has forced a rethink on the staging of the second Bristol "50".
Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr had used an out-of-date event listing to assess the options, when settling on the original August date.
But despite the proliferation of different backgammon opportunities now available in the UK, we haven't yet reached the stage where date clashes need to be contemplated.
The "50" will now be held on October 11th, and is likely to settle into a September slot in future years.
Ian offers his apologies for the confusion.

17/06/03: Roland tops Gammonitis rankings

Quite apart from the kudos of being the first Bristol player to win a Gammonitis event, Roland Herrera now sits proudly at the top of the Gammonitis rankings.
Although Liz Barker's "baby" is still less than a year old, there are already no fewer than 74 players in the Gammonitis ranking list, so Roland's achievement is no mean one.

16/06/03: Lesters final set for tomorrow

Dave Pym and Stuart Mann play their Lesters final at the BCSC tomorrow (Tuesday) night, from around 8.30pm.
Spectators and hangers on more than welcome.

15/06/03: Roland continues Bristol's breakthrough year

Just five months after a home-grown Bristol player finally captured a BIBA title, Roland Herrera has ensured that we will never have to wonder when a Bristol player will finally win a Gammonitis tournament!
The Ramada George Hotel in Solihull was the weekend venue -- and a familiar one for those with a long BIBA history -- for the Gammonitis Rollout Trophy, attended by (I believe) a Gammonitis record of 33 players.
The handful of Bristol players present were especially well represented on this occasion by Roland, who won the main flight, which consisted of 13-point matches.
Roland succeeded in winning an epic final match against Cheltenham's Julian Fetterlein, while Simonetta Barone also had a good weekend, happy to score a notable victory over John Clark in the main flight before a good run in the consolation flight ended in a semi-final defeat.

15/06/03: Bristol "50" date set

The second annual Bristol "50" will take place at the BCSC on Saturday August 16th.
The Ł50 entry event will be limited to the first 32 players to pay the fee, and it is anticipated that -- like last year -- there will be a good mix of entrants, both locally based and from much further afield.
Visit the Bristol "50" page of this website for entry details.

13/06/03: RECORD BREAKING LESTERS TROPHY EVENT AT THE B C S C ......

There was a record Lesters Trophy turnout at the BCSC on Thursday evening, including three players new to Bristol Backgammon, and the return of one or two old friends.

13/06/03: Dave and Stuart to contest Lesters final ......

Dave Pym and Stuart Mann will contest the forty-seventh Lesters Trophy final at a time and place yet to be decided, possibly some time next week at the BCSC.
Dave, who has a record seven Lesters titles under his belt, overcame Neil Young, Charlie Hetherington, John Ould and Steve Ferrer on his way to the final, while Stuart's victims were Paul Watts, Rosey Bensley, Martin Hemming, and tournament surprise packet Chris Johnson.

13/06/03: A warm welcome to new and old friends ......

Among the record Lesters entry of 30 players -- beating the previous record by one -- there were three players making their Bristol Backgammon bows at the BCSC on Thursday.
Peter Bennet -- an MSO Grand Master, and double BIBA title winner -- made his way down from the Home Counties, while two others arrived totally out of the blue, and were all the more welcome for that.
Rachel Dumitrache, who hails from Romania and lives in Swindon, and locally based Patrick Rawson, who arrived only just in time to be squeezed into the draw, were the others new on the scene.
Meanwhile, Chris Johnson, visiting from Australia, made his first appearance since Lesters XXXI in September, 1998.
And Tony Lee, no doubt attracted by the volume of prize money on offer, was gracing us with his presence for the first time in fifteen months.
Of the five, Patrick, Tony and Chris recorded victories, but it was Chris who was arguably the player of the tournament.
As his Ł2 auction price demonstrated, it is easy -- and very often wrong -- to discount players who may be a little on the rusty side.
But Chris gained in strength as the evening progressed, and had wins over John Lewis, Ian Tarr and Jeremy Axford to show for his efforts, before making his exit at the hands of Stuart Mann in the semis.

13/06/03: Rollover hopes die early in richest Lesters ......

Call it filthy lucre if you like, but Lesters XXXXVII was awash with money.
Consider the record Lesters entry of 30 players, paying Ł20 each for their tournament entry, then add in the optional "Winner Takes All" pool, where the previously accumulated Ł260 was boosted by Ł250 more on the night, and an auction pool which totalled Ł185, and you have easily the richest Bristol Backgammon evening event on record.
And apart from the Ł25 taken from the tournament stake to boost the OGP and IGP prize funds, all that cash will ultimately find its way into the respective pockets of the two finalists, because both players bought themselves in the auction.
The official split will be Ł1,085 for the winner, and Ł185 for the runner-up, the somewhat lop-sided breakdown accounted for mostly by the bumper WTA pool.
Of course, the players may decide to do a deal before sitting down to play the final, but that's their business.
Those eliminated early in the tournament, who had hoped for a further Winner Takes All rollover were disappointed as early as the second round, as all eight quarter-finalists were pool entrants.

13/06/03: Ian's 1000-1 bid falls at final hurdle ......

Bristol Backgammon's form player, Ian Preston, arrived at the BCSC on the brink of becoming the second recipient of a John Slattery 1000 to 1 award.
As the second player this year -- Martin Hemming was thwarted in his attempt back in January -- to come within one match of the magic ten-win sequence, all Ian had to do was win his first round encounter with Rosey Bensley to earn his place in that particular "Hall of Fame".
Rosey thwarted him, however, and we are no nearer to adding to Stuart Mann's award early last year.

13/06/03: Dave to lead OGP by 25 or 105? ......

Dave Pym has regained his top spot in the OGP by his performance in Lesters XXXXVII.
But the margin of his lead will greatly depend on the outcome of the final, as his opponent, Stuart Mann is one of the three closest pursuers.
Dave's lead currently stands at 65 points, but the 40 on offer in the final will either increase that lead to 105 points, or cut it dramatically to 25.
Previous leader Ian Preston and Martin Hemming are the players level with Stuart, while others to breach the 200-points mark are Charlie Hetherington and Steve Ferrer.
A total of 42 different players entered the first six of this year's Bristol Grand Prix tournaments.

13/06/03: Steve is new IGP pace-setter ......

Steve Ferrer is making a habit of reaching semi-finals, but going no further.
Having played four of this year's six grand prix events, Steve has made the semi-final stage three times, which is galling on the prize money front, but has the effect of clocking up heavy points in the OGP and also the IGP.
Now placed sixth in the OGP, Steve is also the new leader of the IGP, his 100-point haul (including 30 bonus points) pushing him 40 points clear of previous leader John Lewis.
Neither John, nor his two closest rivals -- Jason Champion and Mark Dixon -- were able to add more than the basic 10-point entry reward in Thursday's tournament, while in the lower echelons Jeremy Axford, Chris Johnson and Patrick Rawson all picked up bonus points for beating Premier Status players

13/06/03: Six league matches completed, too ......

A Lesters tournament, with its single flight format, always gives those players eliminated from the tournament early a chance to catch up with some league action, and Thursday was no exception.
Reigning Premier One champion John Slattery may have a made a patchy start to his latest title defence, but he still appears as likely as anyone in the pack to mount a late challenge to leader Stuart Mann.
He at least took a step in the right direction with an 11-6 victory over Dave Pym.
Four Premier Two matches took place, and leader Steffen Nowak suffered mixed fortunes, losing to Rosey Bensley, but defeating Neil Young.
Simonetta Barone moved into second place on average points difference after whitewashing Kevin White, although third and fourth placed Roland Herrera and Tim Jefferies each have two matches in hand.
Kevin recovered from his trauma by completing an adjourned match against John Ould with an 11-6 victory.
The good news for Conference players is that Mark Dixon has become the fifth player to breach the eight-match mark, and has ensured that there are now two guaranteed promotion slots.
Mark defeated Simon Fahoury, and moves into equal fourth place overall.

11/06/03: Will money talk?

Tomorrow (Thursday) night's 47th Lesters Trophy event should attract a large entry, if prize money can be regarded as a significant factor.
It is just conceivable that the tournament winner could walk away with something in excess of Ł1,000 if he or she takes advantage of all the available avenues of investment.
A large entry would give a tournament first prize of over Ł400, while the twice rolled over optional "Winner Takes All" pool could amount to as much as Ł500.
And a successful auction bid would probably bring in over Ł100 as well.
Spectators, well-wishers and -- of course -- any entrants are welcome. There should be an electric atmosphere at the BCSC.
A report should appear here some time on Friday.

08/06/03: Sarah's expungement confirmed

The expungement of Sarah Rosich from Premier Two has been confirmed, as no appeal was submitted during the permissible seven day period.
The three matches Sarah played have now been erased from the record, and the nine remaining Premier Two players must play sixteen matches over the season, as opposed to eighteen.
The penalty and expungement checkpoints have been revised to compensate for the change.

02/06/03: Warning: backgammon gatherings can damage your health!

Friday evening's gathering at Roland and Simonetta's was an eventful one in more ways than one.
While half a dozen players made progress in their leagues, activities were not restricted to mere backgammon.
The back garden was the venue for some badminton, and among those who took advantage was a former champion singles player, Jeremy Axford.
Sad, then, that it was Jeremy who sprained his ankle, and was still somewhat restricted at work today.

01/06/03: Sarah expunged, and penalties for four others

The second of this season's Premier League checkpoints passed at midnight, and both divisions are affected.
The impact in Premier One is not great, with Phil Charlton incurring two penalty points, having been working away for a significant proportion of the season. He is confident that he can claw these back at the July checkpoint, however.
It is Premier Two which is affected considerably more, however, with Sarah Rosich suffering expungement from the league, having fallen far behind the relevant schedule.
It is not known at this stage whether or not Sarah will appeal, which she is entitled to do no later than a week after notification.
Three other players in Premier Two have incurred penalties -- two for Kevin White, and one apiece for Rosey Bensley and Neil Young.
There remains a good chance that all three players will be able to claw the points back in two months' time.

31/05/03: Wins for Roland, John, Neil and Simon

Simon Fahoury has broken onto the Conference scene in great style, whitewashing Jeremy Axford in his first ever league match in Bishopston last night.
At the same time three Premier Two matches were being completed, and there were wins for Roland Herrera, John Ould and Neil Young.

30/05/03: Simon to make Conference debut

Simon Fahoury, who made his Bristol Backgammon debut at the May grand prix event, tonight makes his Conference debut.
The venue is the Bishopston home of Roland Herrera and Simonetta Barone, and a few league matches are likely to take place there this evening.
Simon is taking advantage of the flexibility of the Conference rules, which allow new entrants to start as late as the end of August, and his first taste of league action comes against Jeremy Axford.
Premier Two action will be provided by the hosts plus John Ould and Neil Young, who is hoping to avoid incurring penalty points.

29/05/03: LEAGUE NIGHT AT THE B C S C ......

It was a quiet league night at the BCSC, with just thirteen players completing a total of only seven matches.

29/05/03: No chinks yet in Stuart's armour ......

Stuart Mann is steadily becoming a runaway favourite to take the Premier One title for the first time.
His 11-7 victory over Ian Tarr -- who badly needed a win to put some semblance of pressure on the leader -- only had the effect of pushing Ian firmly back into the pack, while earning Stuart further breathing space.
Stuart, with nine wins from eleven matches, is the only player showing the kind of consistency it takes to win titles.
Meanwhile Dave Pym's hopes of moving back into a challenging position were also scuppered when he lost narrowly to Charlie Hetherington.

29/05/03: Steffen goes top as penalties loom ......

Four of the top five contenders in Premier Two were in action at the BCSC, and it was Steffen Nowak who emerged with the most satisfaction.
His wins over John Ould and Roland Herrera enabled him to leapfrog Roland into pole position.
If it was a good night for Steffen, the reverse was the case for John, who also suffered defeat by Simonetta Barone.
But the feverish activity at the top is soon likely to be overshadowed by as many as four players being penalised at Saturday night's checkpoint, although of course penalties can be clawed back at the end of July.
Neil Young, Kevin White and Rosey Bensley are all short of the eight match requirement at present, while expungement appears almost inevitable for Sarah Rosich, whose matches against Roland, Steffen and Neil would be erased from the league table.
Sarah, currently on a visit to Belgium, has had unexpected difficulties in arranging fixtures since her return to Bristol, while Kevin's change of job has also posed him problems.
If or when Sarah is expunged, the schedule will be revised accordingly for the remaining checkpoints, which may well ease the situation for the others in the danger area.

29/05/03: Michael and Phillip progress on quiet night ......

The league night lull was probably felt most keenly in the Conference, where only two matches took place.
Michael Corbett and Phillip Hill scored victories over Andrew Cobb and Jeremy Axford, demonstrating that, if they can get the games in, they can threaten those at the top.
With only nine or ten of the field apparently committed to the full Conference experience, and the recruitment of new players currently -- and hopefully temporarily -- at a standstill, there may soon be a case for triggering the rule which allows a second series of matches to be played.

26/05/03: Second Cotswold event announced

Martin Hemming's unique Cotswold Fireside Tournament will have its second incarnation at the end of January, 2004.
The inaugural event at the Crown Inn Hotel, Blockley, Moreton-in-Marsh, in February was very well received, and now looks to become an established part of the British backgammon calendar.
Apart from the backgammon flights, there is also a chance for poker enthusiasts to partake of some competition on the Saturday evening.

18/05/03: Bristol stave off late Birmingham comeback

Bristol have successfully defended their Inter-Cities Challenge title for the first time.
The seventh in the series of matches between Bristol and Birmingham, at the Langley Arms, Emersons Green today saw Bristol off to a storming start.
The first series of matches in the twelve-a-side match resulted in an 8-4 lead for the home side.
The leading margin was maintained during the second series, leaving Bristol five wins short of claiming the victory.
Those five victories were secured by Steffen Nowak, Steve Ferrer, Alan Parfitt, John Ould and Charlie Hetherington.
Steve, John and Charlie all recorded a clean sweep of victories, while for the visitors Dave Motley achieved that feat.
Steffen and Alan each won twice, as did Jeremy Axford.
Bristol have now won four of these events, and this was the first time they have registered back-to-back wins. Birmingham achieved this distinction two years ago.
This was also the first home victory in the past five meetings.
Making their debuts for Bristol were John Ould, Alan Parfitt and Steve Ferrer, while Pat Holly made her first appearance for Birmingham.
Also in the Birmingham side was our very own Simonetta Barone, who had turned up as a reserve, and found herself drawn to make up the numbers for the visitors, who had turned up one short.
The precedent for this was set last October, when Bristol arrived in Birmingham short of a player, and Mike Hall famously guested for Bristol and proceeded to win all three of his matches.
Simonetta, though, was unable to return the compliment, suffering two narrow defeats, before recording a handsome victory over none other than Roland Herrera.
The next incarnation of the Inter-Cities Challenge is likely to be in Birmingham in October.

18/05/03: Martin's defeat leaves Stuart clear

Four players made good use of the occasion at the Langley Arms today to complete Premier One matches.
Martin Hemming and Ian Tarr resumed their adjourned match, and Ian was fortunate to clamber back from the brink of defeat to score an 11-9 win.
In the day's other encounter, Charlie Hetherington scored an 11-4 win over Elliot Smart.
Ian is now third in the league, while Martin remains behind leader Stuart Mann on points difference, although Stuart has no fewer than four matches in hand.

17/05/03: Ready for Birmingham's visit

The seventh Inter-Cities Challenge match between teams from Bristol and Birmingham takes place tomorrow, some time after midday at the Langley Arms, Emersons Green.
In the Bristol line-up are Martin Hemming, Stuart Mann, Ian Tarr, Elliot Smart, Roland Herrera, Steffen Nowak, John Ould, Alan Parfitt, Jeremy Axford, Charlie Hetherington, John Lewis, and Steve Ferrer.
A report will appear here tomorrow evening.

15/05/03: Roland rolled over!

Bristol Backgammon's number one benefactor has done it again!
Ian Preston met Roland Herrera at the BCSC tonight in the final of last week's grand prix event.
And Ian recovered from a relatively slow start to complete an 11-6 victory which propels him to the top of the OGP table.
No disrespect to Roland, but this will prove a popular victory as Ian did not enter the "Winner Takes All" pool, and in an uncanny replay of his April success (against John Lewis) there will be a rollover to the June 12th event.
The carried forward amount of Ł260 is sure to be boosted to a total well in excess of Ł400, giving the amazing possibility that the tournament winner might conceivably take home a four figure amount when pool, tournament prize money and auction are taken into account!
In the meantime, Ian's victory has the following impacts -- he moves into the overall lead in the OGP; his "multiple winning" habit will free up a further 2004 Masters place for a Premier One high finisher; and, last but not least, Ian stands just one victory away from becoming the second recipient of a John Slattery sponsored 1000 to 1 award.

09/05/03: GRAND PRIX NIGHT AT THE B C S C ......

There were twenty-two entrants -- including debutant Simon Fahoury -- at the May grand prix tournament at the BCSC on Thursday evening, and there was much talk about the rollover.

09/05/03: Roland and Ian for Thursday final clash ......

Roland Herrera and Ian Preston will slug out the 11-point final of the May Bristol Grand Prix tournament next Thursday evening at the BCSC.
Ian overcame Simonetta Barone, Phillip Hill, Elliot Smart, and finally Ian Tarr to earn a place in his second successive final.
Indeed, his only blemish so far this year came with asemi-final exit from the March Lesters event, after he had claimed the Bristol Masters title in his opening outing of the year.
Roland, whose victims were Kevin White, Jeremy Axford and Ed Turner, will be looking for his first ever Bristol main flight title.

09/05/03: A double rollover? It could happen ......

There was great interest in the optional "Winner Takes All" pool at Thursday's tournament.
The first rollover in the pool's short history sparked an avalanche of entries -- seventeen of the field of twenty-two parting with their Ł10 notes -- and the Ł90 unclaimed from the April tournament was boosted to a total of Ł260.
We had Ian Preston to thank for the rollover, and there could be a sense of deja vu at the forty-seventh Lesters trophy next month, as the gathered ranks of Bristol players will be willing pool non-entrant Ian to a repeat success at the expense of pool entrant Roland Herrera next Thursday.
A double rollover would indeed be something special!

09/05/03: OGP race gets even closer ......

With OGP leaders Dave Pym and Martin Hemming failing to add significantly to their points tallies, the race for this year's title is hotting up.
Ian Preston's 80-point haul on Thursday has separated the top two, and he can push on into the lead by winning Thursday's final.
Meanwhile Charlie Hetherington, John Lewis and holder Stuart Mann are well within striking distance, while Roland Herrera can move into seventh place by winning the outstanding final.

09/05/03: John establishes IGP lead ......

John Lewis was one of three IGP contenders to claim bonus points in Thursday's tournament.
His main flight first round victory over Premier One high-flier Martin Hemming was instrumental in John increasing his lead over Steve Ferrer to fifty points.
Jason Champion, who scored a consolation flight victory over Dave Pym, is now just five points behind Steve, but 115 points clear of fourth place.

09/05/03: Stuart half way there? ......

Stuart Mann has now completed exactly half of his Premier One matches, and his record of eight wins in ten matches sets him up nicely for the second half of his title quest.
His victim last night -- Dave Pym -- nevertheless moved into third place with a subsequent win against Blaine Buchanan.

09/05/03: Six in a row and Jason is top......

In the only Conference match to take place last night, Jason Champion defeated leader Alan Parfitt to take over at the top of the league.
This was Jason's sixth successive Conference win, which had the effect of pushing Alan down to third place behind Rob Allen on average points difference.
The good news for all Conference players, was that both Jason and Alan have now played eight matches, and there will now definitely be at least one promotion slot from the Conference come November.
The formula which determines the number of promotion slots is likely to yield a further three or four slots before the season is out.

07/05/03: All hail the first rollover!

This Thursday's Bristol Grand Prix tournament at the BCSC makes history as the vehicle for the first "Winner Takes All" pool rollover.
Apart from the tournament entry fee of Ł10, for the extra outlay of another mere tenner contestants can invest in the pool, which will include the Ł90 brought forward from last month's tournament, when the finalists -- Ian Preston and John Lewis -- had no stake in the pool.

06/05/03: Slatts and Martin figure highly at Cambridge

The backgammon section of the Cambridge Mind Sports Olympiad on Monday produced a couple of near misses by our travelling players.
John Slattery and Martin Hemming finished second and third in the Swiss format event, which featured just fourteen players.

05/05/03: Slatts wins BIBA County Cups event

A fine turnout of Bristol connected players at BIBA's County Cups Trophy Swiss format tournament this weekend was capped by the second great Bristol success of the year.
Forty-one players at the Coventry Hilton included eleven of our own, but pride of place went to John Slattery, whose previous BIBA success had been in a knock-out event.
His opponent at the death was Cheltenham's Julian Fetterlein -- whose career record percentage of wins in BIBA 11-point matches is without equal -- and Slatts found himself seriously in arrears.
1-8 down at one stage, he fought back to take the title.
Next best of our representatives was Kevin White (4 wins), while Rosey Bensley, Paul Gilbertson, Roland Herrera, and John Lewis broke even with three wins apiece.

01/05/03: APRIL LEAGUE NIGHT NIGHT NEWS ......

Nineteen players from the three divisions were in action at the BCSC for the fourth league night of the year.

01/05/03: Martin still top, but Stuart looking strong ......

Stuart Mann's quest for the Premier One championship took what many will consider a significant step in the right direction when he continued his adjourned match against league leader Martin Hemming last night.
Martin's 4-2 lead counted for nothing in the end as Stuart notched an 11-6 victory to take a short-lived pole position -- short-lived because Martin was to reclaim the leadership with an emphatic win over Charlie Hetherington.
Stuart has four matches in hand, though, and stands a single win behind Martin.
The night's other winners were Ian Tarr and Paul Watts.

01/05/03: Premier Two leaders suffer setbacks ......

The scramble for Premier Two honours has become even more finely balanced, after the top three players all suffered setbacks.
Roland Herrera still leads despite suffering defeat at the hands of Drew Caudwell, and this after Tim Jefferies had briefly gone top on points difference with an 11-4 win over Drew.
Tim's night took a turn for the worse, though, as his difference took a battering when Drew whitewashed him in the return, then Tim suffered a further defeat by Simonetta Barone.
Steffen Nowak could have gone top had he defeated Kevin White, but a tight match ended 11-9 in Kevin's favour.

01/05/03: Alan goes top as Jason closes ......

Alan Parfitt is top of the Conference after his defeat of Michael Corbett at the BCSC last night.
Michael's first reverse in three matches moved Alan fractionally ahead of the absent Rob Allen, while both Jason Champion and Jeremy Axford moved into close contention.
Jason has now scored five successive Conference wins after a slow start, and the second of his wins last night prevented Jeremy from going top.
Phillip Hill, with a narrow victory over Andrew Cobb, was the night's other winner.

29/04/03: Darryl wins in Manchester

Nottingham-based Darryl Artt, an occasional past visitor to these parts, won the Manchester one-day event at the weekend, emerging from a field of thirty-six players to beat Liverpool's Peter Chan in the final.
Darryl also won the 2001 Liverpool Open.

24/04/03: Seventh Inter-Cities Challenge set for May 18th

Bristol's defence of the Inter-Cities Challenge salver will take place at the Langley Arms, Emersons Green, on Sunday May 18th.
A provisional twelve-strong team has been selected for the twice-yearly match against Birmingham, using the top placings from the three leagues and the OGP.
That line-up reads: Martin Hemming; Stuart Mann; Dave Pym; John Slattery; Roland Herrera; Tim Jefferies; Steffen Nowak; Rob Allen; Alan Parfitt; Charlie Hetherington; John Lewis; and Ian Preston.
Unavailable players will be replaced from the same competitions they qualified through, using today's tables.

23/04/03: Two in BIBA top five

BIBA's latest rankings listing shows two familiar Bristol names among the top five of 181 players listed.
John Slattery's recent good run at BIBA events is reflected in his current fourth placing, while Tony Lee -- having slipped in March -- moved back up to fifth after reaching the British Open semi-final.
Stuart Mann (15th) and Ian Tarr (20th) also figure prominently, while several other local players are within striking distance of the higher echelons.
The full list can be found at the BIBA website, while a Bristol-only list can be browsed by clicking here.

16/04/03: Ian pips John in April final

John Lewis has never won a flight of any tournament, but he is well capable of doing so. It just hasn't happened yet.
Tonight's final of the April Bristol Grand Prix tournament main flight was a close affair, going down to the very last roll at double match point.
John appeared to have Ian Preston beaten when Ian was forced to settle for a forlorn race.
But Ian rolled considerably the better of the two, and caught up to the extent that John needed to avoid rolling a one to clinch victory. He was unable to do so.
This was John's seventh final in various competitions. Apart from two consolation flight finals, it was the fourth occasion he had found himself in the final of a Bristol main flight, including two Lesters Trophy finals, the latest of which was only last month.
And John also made the final of the inaugural Intermediates Trophy last year. His time will surely come.
For Ian, this was the second triumph of a year in which work commitments had forced him to give Premier One a miss.
Having already won the February Bristol Masters, Ian now has two 2004 Masters qualifications under his belt, and thus releases a further place to a Premier One player.
And the additional 35 OGP points move him up to fifth place in that competition, 75 points off the lead.

11/04/03: ALL THE GRAND PRIX NIGHT NEWS ......

Twenty players contested the fourth of this year's Bristol Grand Prix tournaments at the BCSC on Thursday night.
And two league pace setters furthered their campaigns after early elimination from the knock-outs.

11/04/03: John's rich vein continues ......

John Lewis reached the final of the main flight for the second month running, as he fought his way past Roland Herrera, Rosey Bensley and Charlie Hetherington to clinch a final clash with Ian Preston.
Bristol Masters champion Ian got there by way of victories over Phillip Hill, Jason Champion and Stuart Mann.
The final will take place at a time and place yet to bbe decided.

11/04/03: It's a rollover! ......

At last! What many of the Bristol Backgammon fraternity had been waiting for for months happened at the BCSC.
Neither of the main flight finalists deemed it worthwhile to enter the "Winner Takes All" pool.
Unfortunately, they were not alone.
Still, the nine players who forked out their optional Ł10 for the privilege can at least look forward to another crack at the money, when the Ł90 kitty rolls over to the May tournament.
It's a fair bet that more than nine players will bother next time.

11/04/03: OGP battle gets tighter ......

With OGP top two Dave Pym and Martin Hemming failing to set the world alight, things are getting tighter at the top of the leader board.
Dave now leads Martin by ten points, while Charlie Hetherington, John Lewis, Steve Ferrer and Stuart Mann all did enough to gain ground in pursuit.
John will move into third place if he wins the final, while Ian Preston can move up to fifth overall.

11/04/03: John takes IGP lead ......

John Lewis is the latest leader of the IGP.
He stands just 5 points ahead of previous leader Steve Ferrer, with Jason Champion a further 45 points behind in third.
John can extend his lead to forty points by winning the final.
Meanwhile Mark Dixon scored useful points to move into fourth place.

11/04/03: Martin concolidates Premier One lead ......

After Martin Hemming's Premier One victory over Dave Pym, there are only two players who have won more than they have lost.
While both Martin and Stuart Mann are looking good, this has been a season of many twists, and it's far too early to talk about two horse races. Damn! I just did.

11/04/03: Roland goes top of Premier Two ......

Another narrow victory -- he's certainly getting value for money from this season's campaign -- Roland Herrera has moved into pole position in Premier Two.
Last night's victim was Neil Young, while Rosey Bensley took another step towards recovering her season with a win over Simonetta Barone.

07/04/03: Martin takes Premier One lead

Martin Hemming's sixth victory in nine Premier One matches edges him ahead of Stuart Mann at the top of the league table.
The 11-4 success against Blaine Buchanan gives Martin a superior average points difference, although Stuart has one match in hand.

06/04/03: Tony's semi-final jinx strikes again

Tony Lee reached his fourth BIBA main flight knock-out semi-final in just over a year at the British Open in Coventry today.
But his failure to progress any further mirrored his previous achievements, one of which was at last year's British Open.
Tony and John Slattery were the only Bristol connected players -- out of twelve present -- to make it into the last sixteen, and they progressed to a quarter-final meeting, which doubled as the final of the Bristol Pool.
Tony came through that, only to be whitewashed by the unheralded Ian Shaw, who had recovered from 3-10 down against multi-tournament winner John Clark in the quarter-finals.
Ian later completed a magnificent weekend by beating Peter Bennet -- the tournament sponsor -- in the final.
Meanwhile, Slatts made light of his quarter-final setback by winning the 7-point progressive consolation flight, while Charlie Hetherington reached the semi-final of the 5-point "Last Chance" flight -- losing to Nick Check, and Martin Hemming got as far as the final of the 3-point suicide, named the "Sent to Coventry" flight, where he lost to David Nathan.
And local nominees for the BIBA Sportsmanship award missed out, when absent octogenarian stalwart Cliff Connick won the voting.
Our own Stuart Mann was rumoured to have been a close second in the vote.

06/04/03: Martin moves into second

Martin Hemming moved into second place in Premier One at the weekend with an emphatic victory over Ian Tarr.
And when his end of match doubling sparked a debate amongst interested spectators, a quick Snowie evaluation proved him correct, and silenced the doubters.
Martin now stands one win behind leader Stuart Mann, with an identical average points difference.

03/04/03: Three nominated for Sportsmanship award

Three locally connected players are among the nominations for BIBA's 2003 Sportsmanship Trophy award, which will be voted upon by those players present at the BIBA British Open at Coventry at the weekend.
Simonetta Barone, Tony Lee and Stuart Mann are among the ten nominees for the prize, which is sponsored by Dod Davies.
Look here for a report on the weekend's competition, probably some time on Sunday evening.

30/03/03: Steffen goes second ......

Steffen Nowak yesterday beat Sarah Rosich to move to second in Premier Two.
Sarah's defeat at least has a silver lining for her -- she won't now be expunged from the league when Monday night's checkpoint deadline comes.

27/03/03: MARCH LEAGUE NIGHT NEWS ......

The Bristol Backgammon community had to share the BCSC with a magistrates' party last night.
Nevertheless seventeen players found room to further their campaigns in the three leagues.

27/03/03: Martin so close to an award ......

John Slattery has only had to shell out once so far for a 1000 to 1 award.
But Martin Hemming came agonisingly close to becoming the second recipient since John's sponsorship deal was struck late in 2001.
Arriving at the BCSC with eight consecutive wins under his belt -- three in Premier One, plus five from his Lesters XXXXVI triumph -- Martin was due to meet Ed Turner and Phil Charlton, and was looking for the two wins he needed for 1000 to 1 immortality.
Ed gave him a tough fight, but a mega-play paved the way for Martin to gain a quadruple gammon, and turn a 5-7 deficit into victory number nine.
Against Phil, it was ironic in the extreme that a similar coup de grace saw Martin's 8-4 lead turn into a defeat.
Stuart Mann still stands alone in the 1000 to 1 stakes, and looks increasingly likely to do so for a while yet, after two five match winning sequences were terminated in the other leagues.
Like Martin, Tim Jefferies and Jeremy Axford must now restart their winning sequences from scratch.

27/03/03: Stuart edging ahead ......

Stuart Mann was the only one of the leaders of the three Bristol leagues to make satisfactory progress, overcoming Paul Watts after being 2-7 behind, to open up a three point gap at the top of Premier One.

27/03/03: Double blow for leader Tim ......

Tim Jefferies was the only Premier League player in possession of an unbeaten record when he arrived at the BCSC on Wednesday evening.
He departed -- still in the lead -- but having suffered defeats at the hands of his two nearest Premier Two challengers, John Ould and Roland Herrera.
Tim's lead over second placed Roland is now only by average points difference -- and Roland has a match in hand.
John also has a match in hand, and could have gone top, had he managed to beat Simonetta Barone later in the evening.
Simonetta -- just recovered from a bout of food poisoning -- scored a much needed 11-4 win, though.
The night's other victor was Steffen Nowak, who completed a league double over Drew Caudwell, and is moving up the table after a slow start.

27/03/03: ...... and a double blow for leader Rob ......

Rob Allen still leads the Conference table after Wednesday night's session.
But defeats by Jason Champion and Alan Parfitt served notice that the leading places are still very much up for grabs.
Alan moved into second place, although his position could have been better still had he not been beaten by Andrew Cobb.
Previous second placer Jeremy Axford failed to make further progress, losing to Michael Corbett, while Jason Champion moved into fourth place with a brace of wins.

20/03/03: Blaine not stuffed after all!

Monday's story about Blaine's demise at Reading apparently contains the odd inaccuracy.
Apparently Tom is a photographer, not a taxidermist. It seems Nigel is the taxidermist!
Humble apologies to both Tom and Nigel.

19/03/03: Lost cube

Mark Dixon has lost his new David Naylor doubling cube.
This -- as you might expect from a Naylor creation -- is leathery in appearance, although it has no other distinguishing features.
It was last seen at the Lesters tournament last Thursday. Could everyone who was there please check in their boards to see if it has strayed there.
If you find it, or can shed any light on its whereabouts, please email Mark.

17/03/03: Blaine stuffed?

This Sunday's tournament at Reading featured a strong Bristol presence, with Blaine Buchanan losing the deciding match in the Swiss format event to a taxidermist named Tom.
Thankfully, Blaine had the foresight to do a deal with his opponent, and took a fair slice of the Ł20 pool to make his journey eminently worthwhile.

16/03/03: Martin takes the title

Martin Hemming yesterday evening claimed his second Lesters Trophy title, by beating John Lewis at the BCSC.
His 11-5 victory moves him to within five points of OGP leader Dave Pym, and assures his 2004 Bristol Masters place.
John, with his second Lesters near miss, can content himself with the knowledge that he is right there on the OGP and IGP leader boards.

16/03/03: Three points cover the top eight!

After a double header with honours shared between Blaine Buchanan and Ian Tarr last night, there are now eight Premier One players covered by just three points.
And the other three players have matches in hand!

15/03/03: ALL THE NEWS FROM LESTERS TROPHY NIGHT ......

A healthy turnout of twenty-five entrants contested the forty-sixth Lesters Trophy event at the BCSC on Thursday evening.
Juanita Ferrer made her debut, while former Lesters winners Phil Doubtfire and Sarah Rosich made welcome returns to tournament action after lengthy lay-offs.
And seven league matches were also completed.

15/03/03: Martin and John set for Saturday evening showdown ......

Martin Hemming and John Lewis are scheduled for a Saturday evening (6pm) clash to decide the destiny of the forty-sixth Lesters Trophy title.
Martin, no doubt egged on by the lack of a consolation flight, battled his way past the player formerly known as Phil Caudwell (now Phil Doubtfire), Neil Young, Charlie Hetherington and Steve Ferrer to earn his final place.
John, recipient of a bye in the first round, had to overcome Dave Pym, Sarah Rosich and Ian Preston.

15/03/03: Neutrals will be rooting for John ......

The good wishes of nearly all of the Bristol backgammon community will accompany John Lewis as he contests the final of Lesters XXXXVI.
And to what does John owe this new found popularity? It could have something to do with the Ł150 in the "Winner Takes All" pool kitty, which will roll over to the April grand prix tournament should John win.
Martin, who entered the pool while John didn't, will have a different agenda, of course, as will Phil Doubtfire, who bought Martin in the pre-tournament auction.
Everybody else, especially Blaine Buchanan, who paid a bargain basement price of Ł2 for John in the auction, will be rooting for John.

15/03/03: Martin could be five points from OGP lead ......

The 100-point OGP lead enjoyed by Dave Pym after his back to back tournament wins was always going to be drastically reduced, once Dave had lost his opening match against John Lewis.
But the new margin will depend on whether or not Martin Hemming can win Saturday evening's final at the BCSC.
Martin stands 45 points behind Dave, but will be breathing right down his neck if he gets the additional 40 a victory would bring.
The alternative result would push John into fourth place.

15/03/03: John could oust IGP leader Steve ......

Apart from Jason Champion and Steve Ferrer, intermediates have been finding victories to be few and far between so far in the grand prix series.
And of the six IGP qualifiers present at Lesters XXXXVI, four -- including Jason -- were eliminated at the first hurdle.
Steve Ferrer enhanced his IGP challenge with three wins over Premier Status players, netting him a 110-point haul, which included 40 bonus points.
That has moved him 45 points ahead of Jason, but John Lewis' 120-point gain (also including 40 bonus points) puts him close enough to steal the lead should he win the final.

15/03/03: Stuart looking strong in Premier One ......

Stuart Mann and Dave Pym are the latest pace-setters in a fascinating Premier One season.
Stuart scored a valuable win over reigning champion John Slattery -- his fifth in succession after losing his opening two matches -- and has regained the lead he held briefly a couple of weeks ago.
Dave's wins over Elliot Smart and Blaine Buchanan also move him ahead of previous leader Elliot.
Only four players remain under threat by the season's opening penalty checkpoint on March 31st.

15/03/03: Tim repels another challenge ......

After repelling the challenge of Roland Herrera last month, Tim Jefferies has now dealt a blow to John Ould's hopes of taking over at the top of Premier Two.
The pair were not present at Lesters XXXXVI, but this did not stop recording a vital 11-2 win -- his fifth straight success.
Meanwhile Roland kept the pressure on with another narrow win -- this time over Sarah Rosich.

15/03/03: Rob opens six point gap ......

Rob Allen has consolidated his impressive start to the Conference campaign by defeating Neil Barrett.
Rob has opened up a six point gap over nearest challenger Jeremy Axford.

10/03/03: Rosey steals the show in Slatts' memorable weekend

BIBA's Slattery Scottish Open, sponsored by...... well, that's obvious from the name, was not attended by many Bristol connected players.
Indeed, the only ones there were our adopted sons and daughters -- the sponsor himself, and the brother/sister duo of Rosey Bensley and Paul Gilbertson.
But what we may have lacked in numbers, we more than made up for in quality.
Of course, it was a special weekend for Slatts, sponsoring the Open championship of his home country in one of its southern outposts -- Bradford!
He led up to the weekend by winning an impromptu tournament in Maidenhead, then arrived in Bradford to win the Friday night warm-up event.
In the main event he suffered his only defeat of the weekend -- more of which later -- but bounced back to take the Saturday night Ł100 jackpot.
This was followed on Sunday by victory in the consolation event!
Meanwhile his conqueror in the main event, none other than Rosey, went on to record what was easily her best BIBA result yet, a place in the final, where she suffered defeat at the hands of Peter Chan.
The event should do something to rectify her ridiculously low BIBA ranking score, which will hopefully climb towards something infinitely more appropriate for a Bristol Premier League player!
And so as not to be completely overshadowed by all this, Paul bagged the Ł50 jackpot event.

05/03/03: Ed dents Paul's record

You could throw a blanket over the contenders for the Premier One title. And those contenders appear to be the entire membership of the league!
Paul Watts, whose record of four wins from five matches stood out like a lighthouse amid a sea of average achievements, met Ed Turner in back to back matches at the Pit Pony, Easton, on Tuesday evening.
And, true to the form of this season's enthralling competition, it was Ed who triumphed in both to join the throng of pursuers snapping at Elliot Smart's heels.

04/03/03: Cotswold report on Gammonitis website

For Martin Hemming's report of the weekend's Cotswold Fireside Open, visit the Gammonitis website, click on the "news" button, and then click on "Tony Lee's on Fire."
Some photos of the event, by our very own Cary Smart, will be added in due course.

04/03/03: Ian takes third Shield title

Ian Tarr has won the final of the delayed 2002 DPS Backgammon Shield.
In a hard fought battle between two of the "giants" of the lunch-time backgammon scene at the EDS offices in Patchway, a see-saw final reached 19-all with a 2-cube in front of a tense clutch of spectators.
Phil Charlton's early blitz was thwarted by Ian's double three, and Phil ended up with five men behind a prime.
Phil managed a single hit, but with a collapsed board was unable to capitalise, and Ian registered his third success in the competition, equalling Charlie Hetherington's record.
It was Ian's seventh final (a record) in the Shield, which is in its twenty-third year, and features only 21-point matches.
Phil, who has an excellent record in other DPS competitions, had never reached a final in seventeen previous attempts in the Shield, so hopefully will not have to wait much longer for his first Shield win.

02/03/03: Four leaders in five days!

As if to underline the excitingly tough nature of the inaugural Premier One, it can now be reported that four different players have been top of that league inside a matter of five days.
Before Wednesday evening's league night session, Dave Pym was the leader.
He suffered two defeats that night, and now -- amazingly -- lies sixth in the league.
Stuart Mann's defeat of Ed Turner that night was enough to grasp pole position, but he was to be unseated the following evening at The Leap, when Paul Watts moved to the top.
Over the weekend, however, there were five more matches played, and Elliot Smart has now moved to the top, after winning only one of his three matches -- against Martin Hemming.
Elliot had lost to John Slattery, and was later to lose the return match with Martin.
The other shock news was that his win over Elliot was Slatts' only success out of three matches.
He suffered a Friday night reverse against Ian Tarr, and also lost out when his previously adjourned match against Martin was completed.
Reigning champion Slatts has already lost more matches this season than during his entire 2002 league campaign.

02/03/03: Tony takes Cotswold title

Tony Lee beat Dod Davies in the final of this weekend's Cotswold Fireside Tournament.
Meanwhile Roland Herrera and Rosey Bensley each made it to the semi-finals of the progressive consolation flight, where they lost out to John Hurst and Julian Fetterlein respectively.
The Saturday night poker tournament -- contested by fifteen players -- was won by Terry Fix, of Stonehouse, with the organiser, Martin Hemming, taking second place.
Martin is to be congratulated on a successful event, whose character will earn it a special place in the backgammon calendar, should Martin make it a regular event, as is his intention.

01/03/03: Tony reaches "Fireside" final

Martin Hemming's brainchild, the Cotswold Fireside Tournament, is well on the way to a resoundingly successful conclusion at the time of writing.
The event -- at the Crown Inn Hotel, Blockley, Gloucestershire -- got under way on Friday evening with fourteen of the seventeen starters available to do battle.
John Clark, Simonetta Barone and Roland Herrera were scheduled for an early start on Saturday, so their opponents in the main draw had no "official" action.
Martin arranged a round robin event for the three, to enable the winner to recoup his entry fee.
John Slattery prevailed here over first Ian Tarr, then Mike Greenleaf, to render the third and final part of the round robin redundant.
In the main event, five players -- including Tony Lee and Rosey Bensley -- battled their way through to the last eight, with John Slattery and Simonetta Barone joining them first thing on Saturday morning.
Simonetta and Tony kept the Bristol interest alive by progressing to the semi-finals at the expense of Brian Busfield and John Slattery respectively.
Here Tony beat Simonetta to clinch a final meeting with Dod Davies.
The eleven point progressive consolation flight was drawn at 12.30pm on Saturday, with Liz Barker, John Slattery, and Elliot Smart falling at their first hurdles, then Ian Tarr at his second.
When this correspondent departed, Simonetta and Rosey were locked into the early stages of their quarter-final, while Roland was about to meet Paul Statter -- whose tournament experience hitherto had been restricted to the internet -- in his quarter-final.
A further report will appear here when the remaining details are to hand.

01/03/03: Paul tops Premier One

Stuart Mann's tenure as Premier One leader lasted all of a single day!
Having gone top after Wednesday evening's regular session, Stuart is now second after Charlie Hetherington and Paul Watts played out a double-header at The Leap, in Downend.
Charlie's erratic start to the season was exemplified by an 11-2 victory, followed by an 11-4 defeat.
Paul, the only Premier One player unbeaten up to this point, moved into pole position on average points difference.

27/02/03: Paging Michael Corbett

Michael Corbett, if you are reading this, please email Ian Tarr, who seems to have got your email address wrong!

27/02/03: FEBRUARY LEAGUE NIGHT NEWS ......

Twenty-one players contested a total of seventeen matches during the February league night at the BCSC.

27/02/03: Stuart, Elliot and Paul push on ......

Main movers in last night's Premier One action were Stuart Mann, Elliot Smart and Paul Watts.
Stuart, having lost his opening two matches, had progressed with back-to-back wins over Blaine Buchanan on Monday night, and yesterday added an 11-8 victory over Ed Turner. He now leads the field.
Just behind him on average points difference is Elliot Smart, who bounced back from defeat by Phil Charlton to record his second victory this season over Ian Tarr.
Lurking threateningly just below the leading duo is Paul Watts, whose double successes over Dave Pym leave him unbeaten after his three matches.

27/02/03: Tim wins clash of table-toppers ......

Tim Jefferies and Roland Herrera, who had each recorded three straight Premier Two victories to lead the field, met last night to contest the outright lead.
And it was Tim who emerged from a titanic tussle with an 11-10 success to sit proudly on top of the new league table.
And in a night of narrow margins, Steffen Nowak kick-started his campaign with wins over Neil Young and Simonetta Barone.

27/02/03: Jeremy closes on Rob ......

Eight Conference players managed to complete two matches each last night, and Rob Allen still leads the way.
After suffering his first loss of the season at the hands of Mark Dixon, he recovered to inflict defeat on Michael Castle, and now has twelve points from five matches.
Jeremy Axford moved up to second place with wins over John Lewis and Marianne White, and is unbeaten after three matches.
Mark Dixon was the other to pick up two wins, moving on from his defeat of Rob to take away Alan Parfitt's 100% record.

27/02/03: Modest Rosey did OK, too

Simonetta Barone informs me that Rosey Bensley also had some success at Solihull.
Apparently she won an impromptu Ł25 event on Friday evening, something that Rosey neglected to inform this correspondent of when asked for the news from the weekend.

24/02/03: Roland, Mark and Simonetta make their mark at Solihull

Six of our players were among the 28 starters at the weekend Gammonitis tournament at the George Hotel in Solihull.
While John Slattery, Rosey Bensley and Martin Hemming failed to make much impression, the same could not be said of the other three.
Simonetta Barone won the Friday night warm-up event, then Roland Herrera was among the last to be in contention in the main Swiss format event, before going out in the fifth of six rounds to the eventual winner -- John Broomfield.
But perhaps the player with most to celebrate was Mark Dixon, at his first national event.
In Sunday's 32-player buy-back consolation event (16 starters plus buy-backs) he went all the way to the final, where he scored the best victory of his fledgling career, beating the highly rated Peter Bennet.

22/02/03: Rosey stops the rot

In the first instance ever of a Bristol Backgammon match taking place at the George Hotel, Solihull, Rosey Bensley has ended her losing sequence in Premier Two.
Her 11-4 victory over Simonetta Barone was recorded as the two were among those preparing for the weekend's Gammonitis event at the hotel.

21/02/03: BRISTOL MASTERS' NIGHT AT THE B C S C ......

It was the first Bristol Masters event to be settled in one night, although there were two separate sessions!
And many players took advantage of the occasion to get some league action in.

21/02/03: Ian is the new Master ......

Ian Preston is the new holder of the Bristol Masters title.
He beat Martin Hemming 11-10 in a final of two halves, after getting past Ed Turner, Paul Watts and Blaine Buchanan en route.
Martin's victims were John Napier, Ian Tarr and Stuart Mann.
The final had been adjourned at the BCSC with Martin leading 8-2, but when play moved on to the Bishopston home of Roland Herrera and Simonetta Barone, fortunes were rapidly reversed.
Ian edged his way back to 6-8, but Martin still appeared to be in control when he took the next two points. Those were his last, however.
Charlie Hetherington, winner of the two previous Masters events, had his hat-trick bid thwarted by Ian Tarr in the very first round.

21/02/03: Elliot joins the leaders ......

Elliot Smart joined the leaders of Premier One on nine points, when he inflicted Ian Tarr's first league defeat of the season.
Meanwhile Ed Turner was collecting his first win, in the process preventing Charlie Hetherington from taking over at the top.

21/02/03: Roland still hundred percent ......

The margin of victory is not important. Ask Roland Herrera, whose three Premier Two matches have all been nail-biters.
His latest success came last night, 11-10 over Steffen Nowak.
Others to gain valuable wins were Neil Young, Simonetta Barone and Drew Caudwell.

21/02/03: Alan leapfrogs John ......

No Conference players were in the Masters, but John Lewis and Alan Parfitt made the most of the occasion to get a league match played.
Alan won 11-7 to leapfrog John into second place.

20/02/03: Steffen answers late Masters call

With Simon Baker and his family struck down with a virus, and Simon having to pull out of tonight's Bristol Masters, Steffen Nowak has answered a late call to take his place.
As has been stated previously, anyone turning up tonight stands a chance of getting a "wild card" entry should there be any further withdrawals.

19/02/03: Who can end Charlie's dominance?

Tomorrow night's third Bristol Masters sees defending Masters champion Charlie Hetherington defending his 100% record in the competition.
Charlie's attempt to complete a hat-trick of Masters titles will be an intriguing feature of the evening.
But one thing is certain. A glance down the list of participants suggests that whoever takes the title this year will have had anything but an easy ride.
All sixteen qualifiers -- minus holidaying Kevin White, plus replacement John Napier -- are expected to attend.
But just in case they don't, a visit to the BCSC at 7pm tomorrow night might just yield a surprise Masters place for a lucky non-qualifier.

16/02/03: John fills Masters vacancy

A vacancy in the line-up for this Thursday's Bristol Masters event has given John Napier an unexpected chance to compete -- one which he has gratefully accepted.
Kevin White will be abroad on holiday, and John was first on the "reserve list" on account of his 2002 OGP ranking.
John finished 9th in the OGP, so with all eight players above him having already qualified was the first to be offered this "back door" opportunity.
Next on the list to get the chance of a late entry to the tournament are Steffen Nowak (11th in last year's OGP), Jerry Limb (12th), John Lewis (15th), Simonetta Barone (17th), and John Renicks (19th).

14/02/03: GRAND PRIX NEWS FROM THE B C S C ......

Twenty players contested the second of this year's Bristol Grand prix tournaments at the BCSC last night, including two more debut players -- Neil Barrett and fifteen-year-old Liz Cefalas.

14/02/03: Dave well on the way to emulating Stuart ......

Last year's grand prix season began with Stuart Mann winning the first three tournaments.
"It'll never happen again," they said. Well maybe not.
But Dave Pym has now gone two thirds of the way towards emulating that remarkable sequence. The fact that he is unlikely to make it to Lesters XXXXVI next month will deprive him of that opportunity, but it's been a great start to the year for Dave nonetheless.
Mark Dixon, Simonetta Barone and Kevin White were Dave's victims en route to the final, where his opponent Charlie Hetherington had survived meetings with Liz Cefalas, Neil Young and Blaine Buchanan.
Dave triumphed 11-8 in the final.

14/02/03: Martin takes consolation ......

Martin Hemming beat Paul Watts in the consolation final.
Roland Herrera and Rob Allen were the obstacles Martin had to surmount, while Paul -- without the benefit of a bye -- got past Mark Dixon, Michael Castle and Steffen Nowak.

14/02/03: Dave opens up 110 point OGP lead ......

The new experience of being a regular grand prix player is obviously agreeing with Dave Pym.
His successive victories give him 200 OGP points, a full 110 ahead of joint second placed Charlie Hetherington and Paul Watts.
Blaine Buchanan and Jason Champion are a further 10 points behind.

14/02/03: Jason tops IGP table ......

Steve Ferrer was absent unwell, and thus unable to defend his IGP lead.
His closest pursuer -- Jason Champion -- took full advantage with victories over Roland Herrera and John Slattery -- with 30 bonus points swelling his new found lead to a useful 55.
Steve still has a 40-point cushion over third placed Rob Allen -- the only other bonus point recipient last night -- and Mark Dixon.

14/02/03: Double blow for Charlie ......

The decision to double up the main flight final as a Premier One encounter was always going to emphasise the good and bad news for the protagonists.
The bad news was Charlie's, then. But the good news for Dave was that he was regaining the lead he had lost earlier in the evening, when defeated by temporary leader John Slattery.
John -- eliminated from the tournament early -- was then hoping to consolidate at the top by defeating Ian Tarr, a plan which backfired.

14/02/03: Tim forges ahead ......

Tim Jefferies -- an 11-6 victor over Rosey Bensley -- now leads Premier Two after three straight victories.

14/02/03: Conference now seventeen strong ......

New signings continue to abound in the Bristol Conference.
The addition this week of Mike Martin, Michael Castle and Neil Barrett brings the total up to a healthy seventeen.

09/02/03: Strong showing at BIBA

If we thought Ed Turner's January Brighton triumph was the opening of the floodgates, we were to be disappointed at Coventry this weekend.
BIBA's Jarvis Trophy Swiss format event at the Coventry Hilton was won by Southampton's Bob Young.
But in a way the Bristol showing was the best we have ever recorded. Our players were strongly to the fore the whole weekend.
The moderate turnout -- 48 participants is a particularly low number for one of these events -- did nothing to dampen our enthusiasm, as the Ł10 Bristol Pool had twelve entrants!
Of the six who made it to Sunday morning's auction -- Emmanuel Di Bona, Wayne Felton and Bob Young apart -- three were ours. Steffen Nowak, John Slattery and Ian Tarr had all had good reason to sleep soundly.
Of course, because of the numbers, there remained the possibility that the winner might not win all six matches. So theoretical hopes of success were still harboured by Paul Gilbertson, Roland Herrera and Stuart Mann.
The top six entered Round Four with Slatts and Steffen paired together, Ian taking on Wayne, and "outsiders" Bob and Emmanuel making up the other pairing.
Bristol could therefore have two of the last three players on maximum wins, and that's what happened as Slatts laid his Steffen bogey, and Ian beat Wayne. Meanwhile, Steffen was joined on three out of four by Roland and Paul.
Round Five would decide whether or not there would be a straight "final" to decide the title. Ian and Bob had to meet, while Slatts played Emmanuel for the right to contest the Round Six "final".
Sadly the prospect of an all-Bristol meeting was scotched by Ian's defeat, but our adopted son Slatts beat Emmanuel to meet Bob in that final, looking for his first ever Swiss format BIBA title.
Meanwhile Roland, Paul and Steffen all joined Ian on four out of five, although now of course this gave them no chance of overall success.
Despite leading 8-4 at one stage, the wheels came off for Slatts, and Bob ran out an 11-9 winner.
And while five wins out of six will have disappointed Slatts under the circumstances, Roland and Steffen both came through to equal this tally.
Ian and Paul had to be satisfied with four, and were joined on that score by Kevin White, who made up lost ground with a Sunday maximum.
Final tallies (out of six matches): John Slattery 5; Roland Herrera 5; Steffen Nowak 5; Ian Tarr 4; Paul Gilbertson 4; Kevin White 4; Stuart Mann 3; Simonetta Barone 3; Ed Turner 3; Rosey Bensley 2; John Lewis 2; Tony Lee 0.
Steffen won the "Best Intermediate" prize, and shared the Ł5 pool proceeds with Roland. Slatts finished in second place overall.

09/02/03: Slatts beats Stuart to go third

John Slattery and Stuart Mann doubled up their Saturday BIBA match, and Slatts' 11-8 win moves him into third place.
Stuart has now lost both his opening Premier One matches.

30/01/03: RECORD TURNOUT AT JANUARY LEAGUE NIGHT ......

League backgammon in Bristol has never looked healthier. Last night at the BCSC an all-time record for a league night -- 25 players -- turned out to contest matches in the three leagues, completing sixteen with two adjourned.
There is every sign that Premier One will provide the highest standard yet seen in a Bristol league, and it will rank as an achievement just to stay clear of the three relegation places.
The overall standard is also likely to put more pressure on the two dominant players of the past two seasons -- John Slattery and Stuart Mann -- and the hope must be for a more open championship race.
As for Premier Two, a glance down the list of names will reveal a standard many clubs would be proud to have in their top division. Here, too, the competition for promotion places is likely to be fierce.
And the Conference -- the vital conduit for new and improving players -- is now fourteen strong, and will undoubtedly get larger as the season progresses.
January has seen the emergence of five players new to Bristol Backgammon competition, something which underlines the rude health of the local scene.

30/01/03: Unbeaten records thin on the ground ......

With nine matches now completed in Premier One, only three of the eleven players remain unbeaten -- and none of those has played more than one match!
That's the early season indication that winning the title may be the toughest task yet set in Bristol Backgammon.
Champion John Slattery -- absent last night -- had already suffered a defeat on awards night -- and his customary pursuer Stuart Mann lost his opening match last night.
Three players -- Dave Pym, Charlie Hetherington, and Elliot Smart -- are now leading the field with a brace of wins apiece, but all three have also suffered a defeat.
Only Ian Tarr, Paul Watts and Blaine Buchanan have not yet lost, but Ian and Paul have only completed one match each, and Blaine has yet to start.

30/01/03: Tim back with a vengeance ......

Tim Jefferies -- returning to competition after a gap of fourteen months -- celebrated with two wins which have moved him to the top of Premier Two.
He is joined on six points by reigning Conference champion Roland Herrera, while John Ould marked his entry into the Premier League by winning one and leading 10-2 in an adjourned encounter with Drew Caudwell.
Only Sarah Rosich, recently returned to Bristol, has yet to start her campaign.

30/01/03: Rob sets hot Conference pace ......

Setting the pace in the Conference is Rob Allen, who has now recorded three straight victories, including one over his nearest challenger so far, John Lewis.
Last night marked the competitive debuts of Michael Corbett and Charlie Mitton, as the steady, and welcome, flow of new players continues. And Michael managed a victory in his first match.
Eleven players have now started their Conference campaigns, while another three have also declared their intent. And with new players being accepted until the end of August at least, that number will surely grow.

27/01/03: Award night photos are here

Richard Dunton's photos of the third annual Bristol Backgammon Awards Night can now be viewed by clicking here.
And there are also many new photos in the Bristol Backgammon Who's Who section.
If you appear in the Who's Who listing, and we have no photo of you (or one you don't like!), please feel free to send one, preferably in jpeg format, to

brisgammon@blueyonder.co.uk

25/01/03: GOOD VIBES FROM THE AWARDS NIGHT ......

Thursday night's Bristol Backgammon Awards Night at the BCSC was attended by around thirty players and friends.

25/01/03: Biggest ever array of prizes ......

The third annual Bristol Backgammon Awards Night featured more prizes for more players than ever before, as the pool table which has to bear the weight of the trophies groaned under its growing burden.
Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr recounted the main events of a year in which local players achieved more than ever before, and distributed the prizes for all the past year's domestic competitions.
Richard Dunton was present to take a plethora of photographs, many of which will be featured on the website early next week, a handsome buffet was readily consumed, and after the ceremonies were completed, some people even played backgammon!

25/01/03: The biter bit ......

On an evening when Ian Tarr was more than happy to be handing out well deserved prizes, he had the wind taken out of his sails somewhat when the tables were turned on him.
Neil Young took a little time out from receiving his IGP championship award, and addressed the gathered throng expressing thanks for the work Ian does for Bristol Backgammon.
Ian was shocked -- and highly delighted -- to receive an envelope containing vouchers towards accommodation costs for three BIBA events, after Neil had apparently masterminded a whip-round amongst many local players.

25/01/03: Sponsors add to the occasion ......

This was the first year in which sponsors played a very welcome part in the awards proceedings.
Apart from giving a little light relief from Ian Tarr's monologue, John Slattery and Martin Hemming are to be greatly commended, not only for their generosity, but also for adding another dimension to the awards process.
John had decided, late in 2001, that BIBA's 1000 to 1 award -- which commemorates the winning of at least ten consecutive competitive matches -- would also sit nicely in a Bristol setting. This could conceivably prove quite costly for John, if there was to be a sudden rash of long winning sequences.
But the only player to register such a run so far is Stuart Mann, who started 2002 like an express train, and notched up twelve consecutive Bristol victories. Stuart received a handsome engraved salver to showcase his achievement.
Martin's new award had been kept slightly under wraps, mainly to preserve the element of surprise, although as an annual award that won't be quite so easy next year.
This one was to reward the player who, in the joint opinions of Martin and Ian, has made the most spectacular improvement during the year. There were several worthy candidates, but Neil Young's emergence from beginner to multiple tournament winner stood out even amongst these.
And later in the evening it emerged that Liz Barker's Gammonitis will sponsor a new award, starting this year. This will be for Bristol's "Rookie of the Year", in other words the debutant making the biggest impact during the calendar year.
This prize will consist of an engraved memento and a year's free membership to Gammonitis, and reflects Liz's commendable desire to do something to promote the game at club level.

25/01/03: Nine league matches completed ......

Although Awards Night is an occasion for looking back, celebrating, and generally enjoying one another's company, there is no way you can stop a group of backgammon players from getting down to business!
So it was really no surprise that the evening saw no fewer than nine matches completed -- three from each of this year's leagues.
Premier League champion John Slattery started his title defence by beating Ed Turner, but then suffered a setback, losing to Elliot Smart. Charlie Hetherington then moved into an early Premier One lead by beating Martin Hemming.
Early leader in Premier Two is Neil Young, who inflicted the first of two defeats suffered by Rosey Bensley. Other winners on the night were Roland Herrera and Simonetta Barone -- both by the narrowest of margins.
Friends Rob Allen and Marianne White made their Conference debuts by playing each other. Rob won emphatically, and it is to be hoped that they are still friends!
Meanwhile Jason Champion suffered defeats at the hands of John Lewis and Mark Dixon.

18/01/03: West of England gains more backgammon credibility

After Ed Turner's Brighton triumph, there is further evidence of the West of England's growing prominence in British backgammon circles.
Last summer's initiative in drawing players from various parts of the country to contest the Bristol "50" will become an annual event, although as yet no date and venue have been decided upon for this year.
And Martin Hemming's new event, the Cotswold "Fireside" Tournament, is a welcome new addition to the calendar.
But now, for the first time, a national body is scheduled to hold a tournament in our area. Gammonitis are understood to have confirmed a December date at the Ramada Grange, Winterbourne.
All these events are ideal opportunities for our growing band of local players to mix it with some of the best of British backgammon talent. But of course -- as we know -- some of our players ARE among the best of British!

09/01/03: BRISTOL GRAND PRIX NEWS ......

The Bristol Grand Prix got off to an encouraging start at the BCSC on Thursday evening, with two players -- Dylan Pratchett and Rob Allen -- making their competitive debuts.

09/01/03: Dave turns back the clock ......

Dave Pym won his first main flight for more than eight years at the BCSC last night.
Victories over Martin Hemming, Blaine Buchanan and John Slattery earned him a final clash with Paul Watts, whose progress to the final took him past Elliot Smart, Steffen Nowak and Steve Ferrer.
The hard fought win over Steffen took no less than 141 minutes, which makes it all the more surprising that the tournament could be played to a conclusion in one session, albeit at 1.30am. Dave edged home 11-10 in the final.

09/01/03: Martin takes consolation ......

Martin Hemming gained some recompense for an early main flight exit at the hands of Dave Pym, when he scooped 25 points in winning the consolation flight.
Ed Turner, Dylan Pratchett, Elliot Smart and Neil Young were his victims. Neil beat Kevin White and Mark Dixon en route to the final.

09/01/03: Dave signals OGP intent ......

Dave Pym has announced his intention to step up his campaign to climb back to the top of the local backgammon pile, by contesting more grand prix events this year.
When it comes to knock-outs, Dave is normally associated only with Lesters Trophy events, but many would be surprised that last night was his debut appearance in a "routine" grand prix event.
The change of policy gives Dave a 35-point lead at the head of the OGP list, with Paul Watts and Steve Ferrer giving chase.

09/01/03: Steve and Jason set IGP pace ......

First beneficiaries of the "enhanced" IGP bonus points system were Steve Ferrer and Jason Champion.
Last year intermediates were able to add 10 IGP bonus points to their respective tallies whenever they claimed the scalp of a Premier Status player.
This year -- with the Premier League split into two divisions -- a win over a Premier One player carries the reward of 20 bonus points, with 10 points accruing for wins over other Premier Status players.
Steve and Jason claimed arguably two of the best available scalps yesterday by eclipsing 2002 OGP champion Stuart Mann and runner-up Charlie Hetherington during their useful main flight runs.
Meanwhile Mark Dixon claimed the only other bonus points of the evening, gaining 10 for beating Roland Herrera.
Steve and Jason have already opened up a small gap at the top of the IGP table.

09/01/03: 2004 Masters qualification begins ......

The first qualifier for the 2004 Bristol Masters didn't qualify for the 2003 event!
Tournament winner Dave Pym is, of course, that player, and fifteen slots remain to be filled.

09/01/03: First league results in ......

A spin-off from early tournament elimination is the chance to get some league action in, and six players took that opportunity last night.
Dave Pym -- waiting rather than eliminated -- despatched Elliot Smart 11-6 in the opening Premier One encounter of the season, while Kevin White narrowly notched the first Premier Two success -- 11-9 over Simonetta Barone.
Another Premier Two encounter, between Rosey Bensley and Roland Herrera, was adjourned at 4-4.

09/01/03: Still no rollover ......

The first rollover in the short history of the Bristol version of the Winner Takes All pool is still awaited.
In its first three incarnations, the pool has attracted support from over half the field, and sure enough every tournament winner so far has benefitted.
There are those, however, who are playing the odds by waiting for the rollover to happen before entering the pool!

05/01/03: Sea air agrees with Ed!

The year is only five days old, but Bristol backgammon already has something momentous to celebrate!
Ed Turner today became the first Bristol player to win a national tournament, when he finished top of the pile at the BIBA Brighton Breezy. And the pile consisted of 111 players, including many of the highest ranked BIBA stalwarts.
At least ten players with local connections attended the event, at the Hilton Metropole in Brighton, and three of those were still in contention after Saturday's play had whittled the contenders down to sixteen. Stuart Mann and Roland Herrera made little further progress on Sunday morning, but Ed fought his way past Harry Bhatia, Nick Check and Dave Startin before beating Barry McAdam in a nail-biting final.
Ed obviously enjoys the sea air, as it was in this very tournament last year that Ed reached the semi-finals in what had hitherto been his career high spot.
And Paul Watts contributed to the feelgood factor by winning the Last Chance knock-out.
Read how close other players have got to national success previously by clicking here.

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