News items from 2003 (second half)
29/12/03: Lesters final now online!
The final of Lesters 49, between Simon Baker and Stuart Mann can now be viewed, move by move, on this website.
Roland Herrera recorded the whole match, using Snowie 4, and the result of this process can now be seen by visiting the new Match Archive page, and selecting the match of your choice from the table.
There's only this one match in the table at the moment, but there may well be more in the future.
18/12/03: Simon wins 49th Lesters
Simon Baker this evening defeated Stuart Mann in the held over final of Lesters 49 at the BCSC.
Simon moved into a 6-0 lead, Stuart recovered to trail 4-7, but then a double gammon sealed Simon's victory.
Apart from the prize money, Simon will hold the John Chidgey Cup for twelve months, and has also booked the final place in the 2004 Bristol Masters.
John Slattery, purchaser of Stuart in the auction, thus has to settle for second prize. Simon -- wisely, as it turns out -- bought himself.
But Simon's wisdom stopped short of bothering with the Winner Takes All pool, which now has £80 rolled over to the January tournament.
The match was recorded on Snowie by Roland Herrera, and is likely to feature on this website soon.
Stuart thus has to content himself with a mere 135-points winning OGP margin! He will be a little disappointed, however, not to have clinched yet another 1000 to 1 award, which he would have done with a victory.
Stuart, you will recall, is the only player ever to qualify for one of these -- in fact he's done it twice -- since John Slattery first instigated the sponsorship.
Simon now has four Lesters Trophy successes to his name, a total only exceeded by Dave Pym's seven wins, and Charlie Hetherington's five.
16/12/03: Premier entries close at 25
The Bristol Premier League has attracted a record number of entries for next season.
A total of 25 players, four more than last year's record starting line-up, will compete in 2004, including six players new to the competition (Jason Champion, Mark Dixon, Steve Ferrer, Phillip Hill, John Lewis and Alan Parfitt), and two (Simon Baker and Ian Preston) returning after a break.
The rules decree that the preferred split for 25 entries is 10 in Premier One (playing each other twice, giving 18 matches) and 15 in Premier Two (playing each other once, giving 14 matches).
The rules further state that where the number of Premier One qualifiers exceeds the number indicated by the preferred split, then the split must change to accommodate them all.
Thus, with eleven qualifiers, the split for 2004 will be 11 in Premier One, 14 in Premier Two, giving 20 and 13 matches respectively.
16/12/03: Lesters showdown on Thursday
The final of Lesters XXXXIX, between Simon Baker and Stuart Mann, will take place at the BCSC on Thursday evening, starting at 8pm.
Spectators and hangers on will be very welcome.
15/12/03: Peter beats Slatts to win at Winterbourne
The Gammonitis Rosey Bensley 50th Birthday Tournament this weekend at the Ramada Grange Hotel, Winterbourne, saw Peter Bennet prevail in a deciding encounter with John Slattery.
Peter's single -- albeit unsuccessful -- visit to a bread and butter Bristol Grand Prix event earlier this year qualified him for entry to the now traditional Bristol Pool, and his £10 investment brought him a handy piece of side-action profit of £160 to add to the main prize.
Peter and John had been among the seven players who reached Saturday evening with 100% records. Other Bristol players to continue in the main event on Sunday -- the pre-requisite was two wins out of three -- were Simon Baker, Rosey Bensley herself, Elliot Smart, Steve Ferrer and Stuart Mann.
Rosey, Elliot and Steve succumbed again on Sunday morning, to gain entry to the second round of the consolation event.
The third round of the consolation saw the exits of Rosey, Tony Lee, Ian Tarr and Mark Dixon.
Steve went out in the quarter-finals, and Elliot lost to Brian Busfield in the semis.
15/12/03: Bristol's biggest event a resounding success
The "Rosey Bensley" tournament at Winterbourne this weekend proved to be a resounding success.
The event attracted a record Gammonitis field of 57 players, the largest turnout at any U.K. event since BIBA's At-A-Glance British Open back in April.
The choice of a venue in the Bristol area was totally vindicated by the participation of eighteen Bristol connected entrants.
And if the organisers of Britain's two national backgammon bodies weren't based close to the eastern edge of the country, they might not be blinded to the area's claim to be an ideal venue location, with road and rail links which make it readily accessible to a large proportion of the country.
Bristol's claim to a regular place on the national circuit is further emphasised by the fact that it boasts a larger nucleus of players than anywhere in the country, many of whom are ready and willing to support such events on their own doorstep. And this, at a time when attendances at tournaments in this country have taken a distinct downward turn.
As for the tournament itself, it was not without the odd glitch. The main bone of contention was confusion, whether justified or not, surrounding the destiny of the runner-up prize, an old chestnut where Swiss Format tournaments are concerned.
Since Gammonitis Director Liz Barker had already resolved never again to stage a Swiss event, this problem can be consigned to the dustbin of history.
Overall, though, the mix of backgammon, poker, and very pleasant surroundings should mean that Liz can reflect on a truly excellent event.
15/12/03: Stuart through to Lesters final
Stuart Mann defeated Roland Herrera 7-5 yesterday at the Ramada Grange, to book a Lesters 49 final meeting with Simon Baker.
Having adjourned at 4-4 on Thursday night, the pair finally found an opportunity to meet after both had been eliminated from the Gammonitis weekend event.
Stuart thus extended his winning OGP margin to 135 points, with the prospect of a further 40 points should he win the final.
That match is likely to take place some time this week.
15/12/03: Profile of Cotswold event raised
Martin Hemming's idea of staging eighth entry pre-qualifiers for the Cotswold Fireside event did a lot to raise the profile of the tournament, and was especially well received by the two players whose £12-50 initial investment was rewarded by winning full £100 entry tickets.
Brian Busfield and Tom Duggan, who did a deal with Simon Baker were those to profit.
15/12/03: Poker provides Simon's highlight
Simon Fahoury was the only one of eighteen eligible players to decline to enter the now traditional Bristol pool at the Rosey Bensley Birthday event.
While his lack of success -- one victory in five matches -- amply justified his decision, he had plenty to smile about on Saturday evening, when a second place finish in the poker event earned him a handsome profit!
12/12/03: ALL THE NEWS FROM LESTERS XXXXIX ......
Twenty-six players contested the forty-ninth Lesters Trophy event at the BCSC on Thursday night.
And although the threatened "invasion" of outsiders failed to materialise, there was still plenty to interest the local aficionados.
12/12/03: A match and a half to be finished at the weekend ......
Simon Baker will meet either Stuart Mann or Roland Herrera in the final of Lesters 49 at the Grange, Winterbourne, some time during the weekend.
The first business to be settled, though, will be the adjourned semi-final between Stuart and Roland, which stands at 4-4.
Roland had arrived still not feeling at his best after suffering from headaches at the weekend, but it didn't seem to detract from his performance as he scored victories over his partner Simonetta Barone, Neil Young and Steve Ferrer.
Stuart's victims had been Steffen Nowak, John Lewis and Jason Champion.
Simon reached the final via successes against Matthew Billington, Ed Turner and Martin Hemming.
12/12/03: Stuart completes anticipated double ......
As expected, Stuart Mann has clinched the OGP title for the third time in the competition's four year existence.
His winning margin stands at 105 points, although this would rise to 175 if he were to finish his astonishing year with the Lesters 49 title.
Dave Pym, anxious to optimise his point scoring opportunities, was pleased not to get a bye in the draw.
He got no further than his first round match against John Lewis, however, and the title was as good as in Stuart's pocket.
Dave and Steve Ferrer claim the prize money for finishing second and third.
It is likely that Stuart's outstanding achievement in winning both the OGP and the Premier One title in the same year will take some time to equal.
And the fact that both titles were won by convincing margins only serves to highlight what has been a remarkable year for Stuart.
12/12/03: Steve confirmed as IGP winner ......
Steve Ferrer, a mere quarter-finalist this time, actually surrendered a small portion of his mammoth IGP lead.
In the end, he "only" won by a paltry 220 points, as second and third placed John Lewis and Jason Champion each managed a net gain of 40 points.
Raf Botta made a good start to senior competition, having contested the Intermediates Trophy recently.
His maiden 50 points tally came courtesy of a victory over none other than the European champion!
Steve, John and Jonathan Pearson were the others to claim bonus points for victories over Premier players.
12/12/03: John reaches hallowed ground at last ......
It's been a long time coming, but they say the best things are worth waiting for.
John Lewis has been striving manfully for Premier Status for what seems like a lifetime.
Having failed to get there through the Conference, and still being without a main flight title despite one or two near misses, his last hope was to get there via a high position in either the OGP or the IGP.
The top ten of the OGP and the top two of the IGP qualify, so when John arrived for the final event of the season in equal 10th and 2nd places respectively, and others breathing down his neck, it did appear that he would need to win at least one match to stand a good chance of maintaining one or other of his placings.
Jason Champion would have pipped John in the IGP, had it not been for John's excellent first round result against Dave Pym, complete with bonus points.
And despite the fact that Jason did pip John in the OGP, his result took him past Simonetta Barone's total and kept him ahead of Paul Watts, John thus qualifying via both competitions.
Jason had already qualified as Conference champion, but the prospect of Premier League backgammon now opens up for Steve Ferrer after his outstandingly successful season.
12/12/03: Final Masters place still up for grabs ......
The final place in the 2004 Bristol Masters event now rests between three players.
Simon Baker or Roland Herrera can assure themselves of a place merely by winning the December tournament.
Blaine Buchanan, however, will be hoping -- as the next high finisher in Premier One -- that Stuart Mann, already a multiple qualifier, will do the business for him.
12/12/03: Stuart threatens rollover ......
An unusually quiet Winner Takes All pool, with only eight of the 26 starters taking the plunge, meant that a rollover to January's tournament was always likely.
As things stand, only Stuart Mann can thwart the rollover, as neither Simon Baker nor Roland Herrera entered the pool.
12/12/03: Simon, Rosey and Slatts retain auction interest ......
Simon Baker may not have bothered with the Winner Takes All pool, but he did back himself in the auction, and stands to receive either the £92 first prize or the £30 for second place.
Rosey Bensley, purchaser of Roland Herrera, and John Slattery, who invested in Stuart Mann, will also be interested bystanders when the final acts unfold.
11/12/03: Let the games begin!
Bristol becomes -- for four days at least -- the main focus for British backgammon, starting today with the 49th Lesters Trophy at the BCSC.
Tomorrow sees the action shift to the Ramada Grange Hotel, Winterbourne, where Martin Hemming is staging pre-qualifiers for his 2nd Cotswold Fireside Tournament.
Then, in the evening, there will be warm up jackpots and chouettes as players gather for what should be a record attendance for a Gammonitis event, the Rosey Bensley 50th Birthday Tournament, which spans Saturday and Sunday.
Reports of all the events will be appearing here at various times between now and Monday.
10/12/03: Tony wins UK Championship
Belated congratulations are due to Tony Lee, who became BIBA's 2003 UK Champion at the weekend.
Tony, who was one of eight pre-qualifiers for the 16-player Sunday knock-out, by virtue of winning the SAC Trophy back in August, fought his way past Paul Sambell, Mardi Ohanessian and Emmanuel di Bona, before beating British Open winner Ian Shaw 11-4 in the final.
Our other Bristol pre-qualifiers were Ed Turner, who had to be replaced after a no-show, and John Slattery, who was eliminated in the first round by occasional Bristol visitor Peter Bennet, who had fought his way through from the Saturday Swiss format qualifiers.
Lesters 48 winner Paul Gilbertson was another to emerge from the Saturday phase, but fell to Mardi in Sunday's first round.
Among others to attend were Martin Hemming, Simonetta Barone and Roland Herrera, whose weekend was sadly curtailed by illness.
Hopefully Roland will have recovered sufficiently to participate fully in the next few days' events closer to home.
08/12/03: Full complement for Premier One
Elliot Smart has become the last of the eleven Premier One qualifiers to make his intentions known for next season, replying -- like all the other qualifiers -- in the affirmative.
Twenty-one players in all are committed to the new season, and others are confidently predicted to set a new record Premier League entry to better this year's twenty-one.
07/12/03: Premier League entry cut-off announced
Entries to the 2004 Bristol Premier League will close on tournament night, this Thursday.
Of those already invited to participate, anyone who has not yet responded will be assumed a non-starter.
Any late qualifiers -- from the final IGP and OGP positions -- will be contacted individually as soon as possible after the event.
05/12/03: A champion returns
Having moved back to the Bristol area, inaugural Bristol Premier League champion, Simon Baker is ready to make a full return to the scene of his former triumphs.
This was foreshadowed by his appearance at the November grand prix tournament, and he is expected to contest Thursday's 49th instalment of the Lesters Trophy.
Simon, a three-time Lesters winner, is also returning to league action in 2004, in the unfamiliar environs of Premier Two.
03/12/03: 19,999 and counting
As I write, the Bristol Backgammon website is about to get its 20,000th visitor.
If you're reading this, though, you can be sure that mark has been passed.
Perhaps it was you!
03/12/03: Two divisions guaranteed already
Just two and a bit days into the Bristol Backgammon leagues' close season, it is already certain that there will once again be two divisions in the 2004 Bristol Premier League.
Eighteen players are already committed to competing, and a handful of others are still expected to sign up, hopefully eclipsing last year's record total entry of 21 players.
There is also the prospect of one or two more players gaining eligibility by their performances in Bristol's most prestigious Grand Prix tournament of the year, the 49th Lesters Trophy, incorporating the handsome John Chidgey Cup.
With Premier entries well on the way to being finalised, as they have to be within the next couple of weeks, Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr's efforts will soon turn to touting for entries for the 2004 Bristol Conference, the Premier League's feeder competition.
After a bit of a lull during the 2003 Conference season, hopes are high that the many new players who surfaced at the tail end of this year will greatly strengthen the competition in 2004.
02/12/03: Cotswold qualifiers the latest addition to "Festival"
In what is rapidly becoming an unofficial Bristol Festival of Backgammon, we now have a further appetising event scheduled for the afternoon of Friday December 12th at the Ramada Grange Hotel in Winterbourne.
Martin Hemming's second Cotswold Fireside Tournament may be a couple of months away, but there is now the opportunity, as a preamble to the Gammonitis Rosey Bensley's 50th Birthday tournament, to earn drastically cut price entry through skilful endeavours.
For just £12-50 or £25 players can fight their way through three or two preliminary rounds to earn the full £100 entry, with the prospect of large prize money come the event at Blockley in February.
Those interested are urged to email Martin Hemming to let him know.
This addition to the calendar means there will be competitive backgammon on four successive days in Bristol, with the 49th Lesters Trophy kicking things off on Thursday evening at the BCSC, the Cotswold preliminaries on Friday, and the "Rosey" on Saturday and Sunday.
01/12/03: Premier League membership drive in progress
Invitations to join the 2004 Bristol Premier League have been sent out to all qualifying players, and the response so far has been encouraging.
There remain opportunities to qualify, as high finishes in the two grand prix competitions can still be achieved by some with a strong performance in the December tournament.
Meanwhile, two current Premier League stalwarts have declared themselves unable to commit themselves to participating in the 2004 league.
Rosey Bensley and Drew Caudwell will be missing from the league start list, but we will hopefully see both in tournaments during the year.
30/11/03: Jason, Alan and Mark confirmed as Premier players
The final few days of the Conference season having passed without incident, it can now be confirmed that Jason Champion is the 2003 Conference champion.
Second and third placers, Alan Parfitt and Mark Dixon are also confirmed as promoted to the Premier League.
29/11/03: Paul down after Martin's double
The curtain finally fell on the Premier One season this afternoon at the Woolpack, Stonehouse.
Martin Hemming and Paul Watts completed their double header, the honours going completely to Martin after a close first match ended 11-10 in his favour.
That was the result Martin needed to safeguard his top flight place, and condemn Paul to a finish in the relegation zone.
Martin's subsequent 11-6 victory actually propelled him to a top half finish in this tightest of campaigns (Stuart Mann apart!).
A minor source of consolation for Paul comes from the reclaiming of his three penalty points from the September 30th checkpoint.
This at least ensures that Paul is the fourteenth qualifier for February's Bristol Masters event.
27/11/03: Martin and Paul face tense weekend
Two matches from the entire Premier One campaign remain to be completed, as we enter the last three days.
Martin Hemming and Paul Watts are scheduled to meet some time over the weekend to play a double header which will condemn one or the other to a place in the relegation zone.
This comes after Phil Charlton -- odds on for the drop only weeks ago -- claimed a dramatic 11-10 victory over Charlie Hetherington at the Foresters, Downend, tonight.
The defeat deprived Charlie of the third place prize money, estimated at £30, which will now go to outgoing champion John Slattery.
Assuming the final two matches actually take place before the deadline -- midnight on Sunday -- either player can save himself with a double success, while shared spoils would see Paul finishing below the dotted line, no matter what the margins of victory and defeat were to be.
With the points differences as they are, it is impossible for both Martin and Paul to finish either above or below Phil.
Should the matches not take place for any reason, then both Martin and Paul would face relegation after incurring eight penalty points apiece -- subject to appeal, of course. This scenario would see Blaine Buchanan earning an unexpected reprieve.
26/11/03: Conference action, but none in Premier
The thankfully lively end to an otherwise fairly moribund Conference season, continued at the year's final league night.
With many playing options inevitably diminished, John Sutcliffe at least kept the administrators busy by getting in two more matches in his short, but productive, stay in this year's competition.
A defeat by Alan Parfitt and a victory over John Lewis brought John's tally to three wins from six matches, coincidentally the same record already possessed by that other recent entry to the league, Richard Owsley.
Others were offered the chance to get some invaluable match practice before tackling next year's Conference in earnest. Only Richard and John bit the bullet, and the experience should prove invaluable.
Alan's victory cemented his second place, but the margin -- 11-6 -- was not enough to wrest the lead from Jason Champion.
Readers expecting news of the final three Premier One matches will be disappointed.
Phil Charlton and Charlie Hetherington are due to meet tomorrow, while Martin Hemming and Paul Watts are leaving it even later to play their pair of matches.
Let us hope for all their sakes that nothing interferes with their plans.
18/11/03: Phillip the toast of Conference leaders
Phillip Hill has played his eighth Conference match of the season.
Not an earth shattering occurrence, perhaps, but when the top three players in the league hear the news, they will very possibly sleep easier in the knowledge that it will take a series of unusual occurrences to stop the three of them clinching places in next season's Premier League.
The reason for this is that a long awaited third promotion slot (the number of which is decided by the number of active players taking part) has now been confirmed.
Jason Champion, Alan Parfitt and Mark Dixon look unlikely to be shifted from the top three berths in the twelve days remaining.
14/11/03: NOVEMBER GRAND PRIX NEWS ......
Twenty-two players -- including welcome debutants Chris and Cynthia Roberts -- contested the eleventh 2003 Bristol Grand Prix event at the BCSC, while a couple of others were present for some league action.
14/11/03: Simonetta so close to first main flight win ......
A narrow victory by Stuart Mann deprived Simonetta Barone of a maiden main flight title success at the BCSC last night.
At double match point, Simonetta needed to roll a one to hit and become overwhelming favourite to take the match. She rolled 6-5.
The new Premier Two champion had defeated Cynthia Roberts, Steffen Nowak and Elliot Smart en route to the final, and stood just three wins away from a coveted 1000 to 1 award.
Meanwhile Stuart had beaten OGP title rival Dave Pym, Simon Baker and Jason Champion.
Whisper it quietly, but Stuart -- the only recipient to date of a John Slattery sponsored award -- is half way towards a third award!
14/11/03: Steve takes consolation ......
Steve Ferrer shrugged off the disappointment of a rare first round main flight elimination at the hands of Roland Herrera by winning the consolation flight, beating Dave Pym, Mike Osborne and Blaine Buchanan.
Blaine had defeated Mark Dixon, John Lewis and Neil Young on his way to the final.
14/11/03: Stuart strong favourite for third OGP title ......
Like all Bristol backgammon competitions except the Lesters Trophy, the OGP has a short history.
As we approach the end of its fourth year, the strong probability is that Stuart Mann will clinch his third title next month.
But after last night's triumph, Stuart had more reason than usual to reflect on the often minute difference between success and failure.
That he was able to open up a 60-point gap between himself and second placed Dave Pym owed a great deal to the pair's second round encounter.
Trailing 2-5 and facing the loss of a gammon and the match, Stuart needed nothing less than a double-six to stay alive -- and rolled it! Dave troubled the scorers no further.
Dave is probably the only player who can stop Stuart now, given that Steve Ferrer and Charlie Hetherington -- in third and fourth places -- each have to discard 30 points before improving on their points tallies in December.
Charlie needs an unprecedented entry exceeding 32, and needs to avoid getting a bye, in order to be able to overhaul Stuart's total, always assuming Stuart is unable to add to his score.
Steve needs one win less thn Charlie.
Even Dave will need a minimum of four wins in the December Lesters.
14/11/03: Only a miracle can stop Steve now ......
Steve Ferrer did enough to maintain his massive 230 points lead at the top of the IGP points table. His 70-point haul (including 40 bonus points for his victories over Dave Pym and Blaine Buchanan), was just enough to preserve the status quo.
Steve has been so consistent this year that he can afford to discard the 45 points he won in April's tournament. And should he do well in December, he would discard his August haul of 50 points.
Second placed John Lewis, whose retention of that position represents his best chance of at last achieving Premier Status, kept his score ticking over with a net gain of 25 points.
But Jason Champion's run to the semi-finals of the main flight gained him some ground, and he now stands just 15 points behind John.
Mark Dixon and Phillip Hill could also figure in this race, but will need to excel in December. And Paul Gilbertson would need to repeat his September Lesters success.
Steve's lead appears impregnable, but John could overtake him by winning five matches to take the December Lesters event. Jason would need six wins, the difficulty being that there would need to be a record entry for him to stand any chance of achieveing this.
Plus the fact that both players would need to beat Premier One players all the way to get the requisite number of bonus points!
14/11/03: Stuart releases further Masters slot ......
Stuart Mann, already a qualifier for the 2004 Bristol Masters ensured that yet another Premier One player will qualify by taking the main flight of Thursday's tournament.
Two slots will be claimed by any of Phil Charlton, Paul Watts, Ed Turner and Blaine Buchanan, although the chances for Ed and Blaine rest on one or both of the others failing to fulfil their fixtures.
14/11/03: "Only" £220 in the Winner Tales All pot ......
A "Winner Takes All" pool rollover has, in the past, resulted in a hefty majority of entrants investing in that pool.
Last night, however, only 12 of the 22 starters took the plunge, topping up the rolled over £100 to a slightly disappointing £220.
Hopes of a double rollover evaporated before the semi-finals, and finalists Stuart Mann and Simonetta Barone were able to look at a total of £380 on offer when they came to doing their pre-final deal.
14/11/03: Elliot clinches second place ......
Paul Watts had to leave too early to consider taking part in the tournament on Thursday evening, but he was there just long enough to lose 2-11 to Elliot Smart in a Premier One encounter.
The result means Elliot will now defintely be runner-up, arguably his finest achievement to date.
Third place rests between John Slattery, Charlie Hetherington and Paul Watts.
Charlie will overhaul John if he can defeat Phil Charlton in their final match, while Paul would need three extremely wide margins of victory against Martin Hemming (twice), and Blaine Buchanan.
Phil and Martin need wins to bolster their respective bids to avoid relegation.
14/11/03: Jason earns some breathing space ......
An 11-1 victory over John Sutcliffe last night took Jason Champion back to the top of the Bristol Conference.
It was a night for emphatic scorelines, as John later defeated Richard Owsley by an identical margin. And Richard had previously whitewashed John Lewis.
The apparent three-way fight for two promotion slots could soon be resolved by others. If Phillip Hill can finish his match with John Lewis -- Phillip currently leads 9-5 -- a third promotion slot will be triggered, something which would have Jason, Alan Parfitt and Mark Dixon all breathing a little easier.
Richard Owsley also stands a chance of breaching the eight-match threshhold -- testimony to his sterling enthusiasm -- as he has completed six matches in just 29 days!
12/11/03: History made online
Tonight we had the first recorded instance of an online Bristol Backgammon match, which took place on the "Pogo" system.
Michael Castle won a Conference match against Michael Corbett 11-9, leaving the latter player doubting the veracity of the system's random number generator!
Before everyone rushes off to arrange their next league match online, a word of warning.
Special dispensation was given to play this match in this way, even though the Conference rules for this season made no allowance for this.
But the decision was made for two reasons: Michael Castle is unlikely to play any further league matches as he has moved out of the area, and this season it has been exceptionally difficult for keen Conference players to get matches in after unprecedented wholesale defections.
There is provision for such occurrences in the Premier League rules, but only with the full agreement of both players and the prior consent of Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr, who will only allow the match to take place if he feels it is the only feasible option available.
Nobody has yet attempted to invoke this rule in the Premier, and with a bit of luck it will never be necessary.
09/11/03: An average weekend in Coventry
BIBA's Townharbour Trophy Swiss format tournament, at the Coventry Hilton this weekend, produced a moderate turnout of 30 players, and -- for the travelling band of Bristol players -- moderate results.
Tony Lee and John Slattery at least achieved the respectability of four victories from their six matches. Of the others who bothered to finish the tournament, Roland Herrera and Ian Tarr scored three victories apiece, and Simonetta Barone won twice.
06/11/03: Mark falls one short of award
Mark Dixon was just one match away from becoming only the second player to win a John Slattery sponsored 1000 to 1 award, when he resumed a match against Michael Corbett tonight.
In a see-saw match, where the session started with Mark 2-0 up, it was Michael who came through to clinch an 11-7 victory, thus consolidating his fifth position in the Conference league table.
Michael has now played eight matches, and if just one more player can manage that before the season ends on November 30th, a third promotion slot will be earned.
03/11/03: Roland's -- and Bristol's -- Dublin consolation
The Bristol contingent at Wynn's Hotel in Dublin for the weekend's Irish Open championship may have failed to set the main event alight -- nobody got past the round of the last sixteen -- but the consolation flight proved to be fruitful terrain indeed.
Such was our dominance of that flight that Lincoln's John Batty must have felt like a gatecrasher at a Bristol party when he reached the semi-finals.
There he lost to our Oxford exile Tony Lee, while in the other semi-final two more of our repesentatives -- Blaine Buchanan and Roland Herrera -- slugged it out for their place in the final.
Roland made it through, and then went on to defeat Tony to take the title, adding to his noteworthy achievements on the road this year, which have left his domestic exploits firmly in the shade.
30/10/03: NEWS FROM THE PENULTIMATE 2003 LEAGUE NIGHT ......
With just over a month to the end of the league season, there are only five Premier League matches to be completed. And the two late entrants have helped to breathe new life into a dying Conference season.
30/10/03: Elliot stakes claim for runner-up spot ......
Five Premier One players have now completed their fixtures, and issues are closer to getting resolved.
The championship itself has long since been decided, but the battle for second and third places continues.
John Slattery was hoping to sign his season off with a twelfth win to set a stiff target for the runner-up position, but he suffered an 8-11 defeat at the hands of Paul Watts, and has been pushed into third place by Elliot Smart.
Elliot came out on top of his double header with Ed Turner, and will finally clinch second place if he can beat Paul Watts in his final match. Should he lose that one, however, there are three others who can overtake him.
Paul -- who is involved in four of the five remaining matches -- would need to win at least three times on the run in (including his match against Elliot), and Charlie Hetherington needs a victory over Phil Charlton, while John Slattery can only hope that Elliot will lose his final match by 7-11 or worse, and will slip below him.
The double defeat suffered by Ed has confirmed his relegation alongside Blaine Buchanan. The third relegation slot rests between Martin Hemming, Phil Charlton and Paul Watts.
30/10/03: Alan tops Conference ......
Alan Parfitt, with an 11-9 defeat of Jeremy Axford, has taken over from Jason Champion at the top of the Conference, by virtue of a marginally superior points difference.
Jason could have virtually wrapped up promotion had he defeated Richard Owsley, but Richard's promising start to his league career gathered pace with an 11-7 victory.
Meanwhile Mark Dixon joined Alan and Jason on 21 points with a pair of victories, but the extra defeat he has suffered has contributed to his slightly inferior points difference.
While these three are locked together at the top, no doubt looking for further opponents to play, they will also be looking over their respective shoulders, hoping that certain other players can earn the league a third promotion slot to ease their fears of missing out.
The formula which decides the number of Premier League slots available -- based around the number of players to record at least eight results -- is still stuck on a disappointing result of two slots.
This will only increase if two more players can cross the eight match threshhold, and even with the latest flurry of activity, this remains in doubt. Michael Corbett is one match away, but the others best placed to oblige -- Phillip Hill and Andrew Cobb -- have gone quiet.
There is, ironically, a ray of hope in the shape of the two recent additions to the league -- Richard Owsley and John Sutcliffe.
Bristol based Richard in particular has been actively seeking out opponents since joining up a couple of weeks ago. And with three results already -- including a couple of useful wins -- it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he might clock up the requisite eight.
John, too, had the encouragement of a win over Michael Corbett to kick start his league career.
30/10/03: Masters line-up closer to resolution ......
Yesterday's Premier One action left a good deal still to be decided in terms of the prize money and relegation slots, but the qualification picture for the 2004 Bristol Masters is at least a little clearer.
Three of the four Premier One high finishers (i.e. amongst those players who have not already qualified by other means) are now certain to be Elliot Smart, John Slattery and Ian Tarr.
And another part of Simonetta Barone's reward for clinching the Premier Two title recently is the one and only high finisher place currently allotted to that division.
This leaves four places still up for grabs. These are to be filled by the winners of the November and December grand prix tournaments, the fourth Premier One high finisher (either Paul Watts or Phil Charlton), and the Conference champion.
28/10/03: Phil's survival life-line
The battle to avoid relegation from Premier One took another twist tonight with a double header at the Foresters, in Downend.
Blaine Buchanan, who had kept alive his hopes of more Premier One backgammon next season by defeating Paul Watts at the Cornubia last week, this time met another relegation threatened player, Phil Charlton.
This time the news was not so good for Blaine, as Phil grabbed a pair of victories to boost his own hopes of finishing outside the bottom three.
The double blow means Blaine's fate is now sealed, barring penalty points hitting other contenders.
There are now just nine matches to be completed -- five involving Paul Watts -- and all bar one can still have a bearing on the relegation dog-fight.
Those most seriously contemplating the drop, alongside Blaine, are Ed Turner, Phil, Martin Hemming and Paul, while Elliot Smart could yet be dragged into the frame if he fails to win any of his final three matches.
17/10/03: Jason is a Champion!
The annual tournament specifically for those who have not yet attained Premier Status, the Bristol Intermediates Trophy, attracted fifteen players to the BCSC last night, a 50% rise over last year's inaugural event.
Once again we were pleased to welcome three intrepid travellers from Reading -- Kevin Carter, Gina Lewis and Nigel Hurneyman -- for their annual visit.
And five of the players who made their competitive debuts in the previous week's grand prix event were this time joined by two more new players from The Leap, Downend -- Raf Botta and Dave Jones.
The Leap now appears to have taken over from Jerry Limb's house as Bristol's top backgammon nursery. Six debut players in eight days, and apparently several more waiting in the wings!
Then, of course, there was the customary clutch of more seasoned campaigners, each hoping that next year they would no longer be eligible for the tournament.
Gina, the only lady present, was called upon to perform the draw, and the first round's only bye went to ...... Gina!
While the new arrivals had distinguished themselves by scoring a few victories between them last week, they seemed to find the going tougher this time, Raf Botta and Jonathan Pearson being the only newcomers to progress to the second round.
There they perished against the experienced John Lewis and Jason Champion respectively, while Kevin Carter and Mark Dixon were completing the semi-final line-up.
Kevin was first to get to the final, at John's expense, while it was at this stage that Jason seemed to be determined to do things the hard way.
Mark reached match point at 6-2, but could get no further, and Jason edged his way into the final.
Watching the semi unfold, Kevin would have an uncanny preview of his own unfortunate fate.
No sign of danger two games in, as Jason would have been thankful that the match length had been set at 11 points. The 0-8 deficit then increased by one, and the crowd were almost ready to go home.
Jason had other ideas, though, and Kevin never got another point, as Jason's unlikely recovery made him the second Intermediate Trophy winner.
17/10/03: Any more for the Conference?
The Bristol Conference, which earlier in the year appeared so full of promising new players, has been a sad shadow of its former self in recent months.
So much so, that those who still have been keen to get more matches under their belts have found it remarkably difficult to do so.
The rules do state that new entrants will be accommodated until the end of August, but last year a couple of eager new players were allowed in during September, and went on to play several matches over the tail end of the season.
This time around two players have been accommodated even later! John Sutcliffe agreed to join the throng on Thursday, and will doubtless be in action soon.
But last night Richard Owsley decided to give it a go as well.
And the decision was made -- in response to a suggestion by Mark Dixon -- to admit John and Richard to the competition at a 50% discount.
Richard started his league career with a tense, narrow victory over Michael Corbett, also adjourning a match with Mark at 4-4.
The way is still open for others who are keen to get some practice in for next season.
17/10/03: Simonetta takes Premier Two crown
In Bishopston last night the final match of the Premier Two season was completed.
And for the second time, Roland Herrera was beaten by his partner Simonetta Barone, a result which clinches the championship for Simonetta at Tim Jefferies' expense.
It is possible that the result could have unfortunate consequences for Roland. Should there be any vacancies in Premier One next season -- and at this stage it is impossible to know how many players there will be -- Roland will only be fifth in line. A victory would have made him third in line.
14/10/03: John joins the Conference
It's late in the season, but John Sutcliffe has joined the 2003 Bristol Conference.
Last season, the end-of-August deadline was extended to good effect, when -- among others -- Jason Champion joined late, and got in eight matches by the season's end.
So why deny someone as keen as John, when he is looking to build on his experience?
He can play anyone he likes as soon as he likes. Over to you, Conference members.
13/10/03: THE SECOND BRISTOL "50" ......
...... was a rousing success (though I say so myself). Many of the best of our local players were joined by a high quality band of visiting players from as far afield as Newcastle and Truro.
And the format, which was designed to keep as many people interested for as long as possible, largely achieved that objective.
Add two waves of buffet, a bar, just enough room to accommodate the event, and the whole thing went off with barely a hitch.
13/10/03: A star-studded line-up for a top tournament ......
Thirty-two players paid in advance for the privilege of being in the second Bristol"50", and -- for the second year running -- all thirty-two turned up to play. There's a message there somewhere.
Consider this list of major title winners:
John Slattery (2003 European Champion, MSO Grandmaster, winner of two and runner-up for three BIBA titles, winner of two Liverpool Opens, and two Bristol Premier League titles); Peter Bennet (MSO Grandmaster, winner of two and runner-up for three BIBA titles, and winner of one Gammonitis title); Julian Fetterlein (winner of three and runner-up for three BIBA titles); Steve Hallett (2001 BIBA British Open champion and twice a BIBA runner-up); Stuart Mann (2001 BIBA British Open runner-up, twice Bristol Open Grand Prix winner, and new Bristol Premier League champion); Jeff Ellis (2000 BIBA Jarvis Trophy winner and 2001 Scottish Open runner-up); Rosey Bensley (2002 English Open champion and 2003 BIBA Scottish Open runner-up); Jeff Barber (2000 BIBA Hilton Trophy winner); Ed Turner (2003 BIBA Bright 'n' Breezy winner); Uldis Lapikens (2003 MSO Cambridge champion); Roland Herrera (2003 Gammonitis Rollout Trophy winner); Wayne Felton (2003 Gammonitis Hare and Hounds Trophy winner); and Martin Hemming (2001 BIBA Hilton Trophy runner-up).
Then add visiting national tournament regulars Dave Motley, Fak Laight, Paul Sambell, Myke Wignall, Martin Barkwill and Pat Holly.
Sprinkle in some local colour in the shape of Kevin White, John Lewis, Steve Ferrer, Simonetta Barone, Paul Watts, Steffen Nowak, Jason Champion, Blaine Buchanan, Simon Fahoury, Paul Gilbertson, Phil Doubtfire, Jerry Limb and Andy Robertson, mix well, and you have a recipe for a fine tournament.
And the proof of the pudding was in the playing.
13/10/03: Steve breaks the semi-final mould in fine style ......
In the eleven point main flight it took just 35 minutes for the first result of the day to be registered.
A quadruple gammon played its part as Simon Fahoury moved into the last sixteen at the expense of Blaine Buchanan.
A similar fate (complete with quadruple gammon) befell Phil Doubtfire five minutes later as Martin Hemming progressed.
Last year's inaugural Bristol "50" had been a disappointment in terms of results for the home players, but this time they appeared to be holding their own, with Steve Ferrer scoring perhaps the outstanding victory of the opening round against Jeff Ellis, after being 2-7 in arrears.
There was a disparity of one hour and forty minutes between the first and last results of the opening round, Simonetta Barone being the last victor, when she edged through against Paul Watts.
That time gap halved in round two, as Bristol's finest continued to make their presence felt.
A feature of round two was a re-run of the 2001 British Open final, except that this time Stuart Mann was able to beat Steve Hallett.
In the quarter-finals, John Slattery was looking in ominously good shape. Having come through nail-biters against Pat Holly and Jeff Barber, Slatts was the first to make it to the last four, when he got past Uldis Lapikens.
There he would meet "brother-in-law" Paul Gilbertson, who had got that far by overcoming Paul Sambell, Martin Hemming and Stuart Mann.
In the other half of the draw, fairly rapid encounters saw Dave Motley through at the expense of Julian Fetterlein, while Steve Ferrer continued his habit of reaching semi-finals when he defeated Steffen Nowak.
Steve was to break his 2003 mould in the semis. Five Bristol Grand Prix semi-finals had produced not a single final appearance. All that was about to change, as Dave Motley was eliminated.
Meanwhile, Slatts was winning his domestic battle against Paul, and some seven hours after play started we had two finalists.
This was to be a battle of some sartorial quality.
Slatts fashion sense is well documented. But not quite so well known -- yet -- is Steve's style, which owes a great deal to his time living in Mexico.
The final, as to be expected, was a hard fought affair, but in the end it was Steve Ferrer who triumphed to claim the £700 first prize, and to etch his name into the history books as the second Bristol "50" title winner.
13/10/03: Paul's vein of form continues with consolation win ......
The progressive consolation flight, featuring 7-point matches, ran smoothly, with comparatively few long waits.
The sixteen first round losers from the main flight embarked, ever hopeful, on the quest for glory, albeit slightly diminished.
Because of the progressive nature of things, they would need to win three times just to reach the last eight overall.
From the top half of the draw, it was Martin Barkwill who emerged, after defeating Pat Holly, Fak Laight and Blaine Buchanan.
Paul Watts came through the other half at the expense of Jerry Limb, Myke Wignall and John Lewis.
Second round main flight losers would produce their own quarter-finalists -- Simonetta Barone, who beat Peter Bennet and Jeff Barber, and Steve Hallett, who accounted for Martin Hemming and Wayne Felton.
Stuart Mann and Julian Fetterlein were next to reach the last eight, where the line-up was completed by Paul Gilbertson and Dave Motley.
The two Pauls, Simonetta and Stuart were successful there, then Paul Gilbertson edged out the other Paul for a place in the final, where he would play Simonetta, victor over Stuart.
And it was Paul Gilbertson, currently in a rich vein of form after two other recent finals, who took the prize, a real consolation for his main flight semi-final exit.
For Simonetta Barone, though, the consolation runner-up spot is also evidence of greater consistency, especially when you consider the quality of the players she defeated.
13/10/03: Stuart's last chance success is right on time ......
It was in the 5-point last chance flight that the schedule threatened to come unstuck.
But this would not have worried Kevin White, who has a track record of success in the minor flights at BIBA events.
He was one of the eight players arriving in the third flight at the first round stage, so he would need to win seven matches to win the flight.
Ed Turner, Jerry Limb, Phil Doubtfire and Fak Laight all succumbed as Kevin marched to the quarter-finals.
None of the second round entrants got that far, as Kevin and Blaine Buchanan successfully barred their way.
John Lewis, Steve Hallett and Julian Fetterlein also made it to that stage via third and fourth round entries.
And it was at this stage that Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr's innovation added a little spice to the proceedings.
The "Lucky Losers 1-Point Shoot-out" was a device to keep the interest alive for the first sixteen players eliminated from the last chance. Players who otherwise might have been tempted to wend their way home.
Although three players did opt out at this stage, others grasped the opportunity of an unexpected lifeline, that would only ultimately benefit one player.
That player turned out to be Uldis Lapikens, who was to be rewarded by a quarter-final meeting with Julian Fetterlein. OK, Julian won. But it could have been different.
Meanwhile, Kevin White had moved relentlessly on his way, eliminating Blaine Buchanan, while Steve Hallett joined him in the semis after beating John Lewis.
Julian's semi-final opponent was Stuart Mann, who had won the battle of the consolation flight losing semi-finalists against Paul Watts.
Kevin made it six wins in a row, grabbing his place in the final at Steve Hallett's expense.
And it was at this stage that the midnight deadline threatened to derail the proceedings.
In the interest of expediency, Stuart and Julian agreed to curtail their semi to three points, and Stuart emerged into the final.
With time running out, Kevin was markedly reluctant to follow suit into the realms of 3-point matches.
But faced with this or two other options -- go on elsewhere to play the match, or split the money -- Kevin eventually agreed.
1-0, 2-0, 3-0. And Stuart Mann became the first ever winner of the Bristol "50" Last Chance flight.
12/10/03: THE WEEKEND'S DOMESTIC ACTION ......
While the Bristol "50" has understandably been the main focus of attention for lovers of the beautiful game this weekend, there were a few significant matches of local interest played on Friday and Saturday.
12/10/03: Slatts gunning for runner-up spot ......
John Slattery made the most of his weekend visit by completing three Premier One matches.
A double header with Phil Charlton at the Langley Arms on Friday night saw the honours shared, each player notching an 11-8 win, while a long adjourned match against Ed Turner went right to the wire on Saturday evening, with John emerging an 11-10 victor.
John has moved into second place and, with one match remaining, he must be favourite to take the runner-up spot.
12/10/03: It's up to Simonetta ......
Also played at the Langley Arms on Friday night was the crucial Premier Two encounter between Tim Jefferies and Rosey Bensley.
Tim -- already assured of promotion -- needed a win by at least two points to retain a chance of taking the league title, and he duly obliged by an 11-7 margin.
He has now overtaken Steffen Nowak on average points difference, but the result of the sole remaining Premier Two match could take the title from him.
This match -- a local derby between Simonetta Barone and Roland Herrera -- would confirm Tim as champion if Roland wins, otherwise Simonetta will triumph, unless her margin of victory was 11-10, in which case a play-off would be required.
12/10/03: Simonetta takes consolation ......
The final of Thursday night's Bristol Grand Prix consolation flight took place in Bishopston after the conclusion of Saturday's Bristol "50".
Simonetta Barone made the most of home advantage when beating Martin Hemming to take the larger prize and the grand prix points.
12/10/03: OCTOBER BRISTOL GRAND PRIX NEWS ......
At a time when new players seem a little thin on the ground, Bristol Backgammon received a tremendous boost on Thursday night, when no fewer than six players made their competitive debuts!
12/10/03: Intermediates outnumber the rest ......
For the first time in the history of Bristol Grand Prix competition there were more intermediates than Premier Status players taking part in Thursday's tournament.
The thirteen intermediates included no fewer than six making their competitive debuts.
Richard Owsley, Tony Silva, Andy Neath, Matthew Billington, Jonathan Pearson and Mike Osborne were also joined by recent newcomers Simon Fahoury, Patrick Rawson and John Sutcliffe.
12/10/03: Mark's finest hour ......
Mark Dixon was the surprise winner of the October Bristol Grand Prix tournament on Thursday at the BCSC. This was his first main flight title.
His 11-2 success over Stuart Mann, at the Bishopston home of Roland Herrera and Simonetta Barone, was a quickfire affair settled by an eight point coup de grace.
Mark had defeated John Sutcliffe, Simonetta Barone, Mike Osborne and Roland Herrera en route to the final, while Stuart's victims had been Patrick Rawson, Simon Fahoury, Ian Preston and Elliot Smart.
12/10/03: Martin and Simonetta to contest consolation final ......
The consolation final from Thursday's tournament was held over.
The match, when it happens, will feature Martin Hemming and Simonetta Barone.
Martin's victims were John Sutcliffe, Andy Neath and Richard Owsley, while Simonetta had to negotiate her way past Ed Turner and Jason Champion to reach the final.
12/10/03: Stuart spurns chance to oust Dave......
The extra 35 points Stuart Mann would have earned by beating Mark Dixon in the main flight final would have been enough to move him 20 points ahead of OGP leader Dave Pym.
As it is, he must content himself with second place, Dave's net 30-point gain being enough to preserve his pole position for the time being at least.
Ian Preston, who gained 40 points, inched into fifth place overall at the expense of Martin Hemming, who can regain his place by beating Simonetta Barone in the held over consolation final.
12/10/03: Steve's IGP lead intact despite setbacks ......
The race for the IGP title, considered by many to be a foregone conclusion, became even more so despite Steve Ferrer's inability to add to his points total.
A lead of 230 points with just two tournaments remaining constitutes an enormous cushion against his distant pursuers, but the race for second place, which also carries the reward of Premier Status, is a different matter altogether.
It may be too late for Mark Dixon to make much of an impression in the OGP, but the 155 points (including 40 bonus points) he added to his IGP score on Thursday have catapulted him up three places to third.
He joins John Lewis, Jason Champion, Phillip Hill and Paul Gilbertson as credible challengers for second place.
12/10/03: November event to feature a rollover ......
Only ten of Thursday's 25 contestants decided to invest in the "Winner Takes All" pool.
And as winner Mark Dixon was one of the other fifteen, the November tournament will benefit from a £100 rollover.
12/10/03: Mark is eighth Masters qualifier ......
Mark Dixon's triumph makes him the eighth of the sixteen qualifiers for the 2004 Bristol Masters.
05/10/03: "50" entry list changes
With the withdrawal of local favourites Neil Young and Dave Pym, those on the Bristol "50" waiting list are being given the chance to enter.
Responses are currently awaited from Fak Laight and Andy Robertson, but anyone still wishing to enter is advised to contact Ian Tarr, to get added to the ever changing waiting list.
05/10/03: Kevin declines appeal chance
Kevin White has decided not to appeal against his expungement from Premier Two, so congratulations are in order for Steffen Nowak, Simonetta Barone and Tim Jefferies, all of whom are now guaranteed promotion to next season's Premier One.
This leaves only two matches to be played to complete the Premier Two season, but they are both important ones.
Simonetta and Tim must beat Roland Herrera and Rosey Bensley respectively to stand a chance of taking the championship.
For Simonetta, a victory would be sufficient to overtake Steffen, as she already has a better points difference, but should she fail an 11-8 victory or better would clinch the title for Tim.
Should they both win, Tim would need a winning margin four better than Simonetta's to prevail.
Of course there are other possible variations to the equation. Tim could finish absolutely level on points difference with either Steffen or Simonetta.
Since the next level of tie-break -- results of matches between the pairs -- would also be inconclusive, this could mean the first ever play-off decider in the history of the Bristol Premier League!
The story does not even end there, however. As it is impossible to predict the precise number of Premier League entrants next season -- there is always the possibility that existing Premier One players will decline to continue -- the numerical breakdown of the two divisions may well change.
This could give unexpected access to Premier One for those who have just missed out on survival or promotion, so even if players appear to have missed out, final league positions may still be vital.
01/10/03: Premier Two promotion places decided ...... or are they?
A glance at the Premier Two league table tonight would show you that the top three players, Steffen Nowak, Simonetta Barone and Tim Jefferies are now confirmed as promoted to Premier One.
Yesterday, this was not necessarily the case. No matches have been played since then, so what has changed?
The altered state of the league concerns the passing of the September 30th penalty and expungement checkpoint, at which point Kevin White suffered expungement from the league as he had not completed the requisite ten matches.
Under the rules, Kevin has one week from notification to appeal against his fate. Whether or not Kevin will be motivated to appeal under the circumstances remains to be seen.
That he has shown no great enthusiasm to play his part in the chase for honours is both understandable and regrettable.
Understandable because he had already encountered great difficulty as a result of his change of job, recently exacerbated by his resultant house move which has taken him even further away from the Bristol Backgammon heartlands.
Regrettable because a fascinating race has been decided away from the backgammon board, where all good backgammon competitions ought to be decided.
It is true to say that the three players occupying the top positions were the favourites for promotion in any case.
The expungement has, however, taken away the mathematical chance of John Ould's promotion, and the even slenderer chance of Roland Herrera.
And the championship race has also been altered slightly in character, effectively increasing Tim Jefferies' chances, while reducing those of the other two protagonists.
But with Kevin in Banbury, and six matches to complete, it is extremely doubtful whether or not there would be any real prospect of the season reaching a satisfactory conclusion.
To bend the rules, and allow further progress, would possibly exacerbate an already unsatisfactory situation.
If, however, Kevin wishes to appeal, and can convince the yet-to-be-appointed appeals sub-committee that he will complete his fixtures, there could -- even now -- be a late twist to this sad episode.
01/10/03: Penalties incurred in top flight
Four Premier One players have incurred penalty points at the September 30th checkpoint.
All the points incurred by Paul Watts, Phil Charlton, Blaine Buchanan and John Slattery can be clawed back, assuming all remaining fixtures are completed by the season's end date, November 30th.
Failure to do so by anyone, of course, would be punished not only by the confirmation of the points currently at issue, but also by an end-of-season penalty of four points for every uncompleted match.
27/09/03: Third successive Inter-Cities triumph for Bristol
Bristol's eight-strong team today retained the Inter-Cities Challenge salver at the Moseley All Services Club, Birmingham.
It was the first time either side has won three of these meetings in a row, and Bristol now lead the series 5-3.
Birmingham had ten representatives, so an agreed format -- featuring two home players sitting out each round -- was implemented. And while this (playing only two matches) was unfortunate, it did serve to allow the two pre-advised Birmingham late-comers some breathing space.
The scene was set for the away win as early as the first round -- only skipper Ian Tarr and Inter-Cities debutant Jason Champion failing to record victories -- as Bristol moved into a 6-2 lead.
And although the early second round results favoured the home side, honours were eventually even as the gap was maintained at four points, with just the final series of matches remaining.
Then a further five wins rounded off a creditable 15-9 win.
All eight Bristol players made winning contributions, some more than others. Stars on the day were Phil Charlton and Steffen Nowak, who each scored a clean sweep of three victories, while Roland Herrera, John Lewis and Simonetta Barone each won twice.
Charlie Hetherington, whose opening win was his eighth in succession (an all-time record for the Inter-Cities), Jason Champion and Ian Tarr each won a single match.
And the buffet provided by our hosts was bloody marvellous.
25/09/03: League action thin on the ground
September's league night was spread over two successive nights and three venues.
But despite this apparent expansion, just five matches and a few friendlies took place.
The action actually started on Tuesday night, at the Kellaway Avenue residence of Roland Herrera and Simonetta Barone, as Simonetta kindly helped to ensure that her partner would not collect any penalty points.
The kindness stopped there, however, as Simonetta romped to an 11-2 victory which makes her an odds on bet for promotion from Premier Two, while Roland will now almost certainly miss out.
The regular Wednesday session saw visits from Michael Corbett of the Conference, and Steffen Nowak of Premier Two.
Neither could get a league game, but for differing reasons. For Michael there were simply no opponents on the horizon, as the Conference is in severe danger of petering out into abject anti-climax.
Steffen, however, had no game because he has finished his programme in Premier Two, and merely has to wait for the widely expected promotion celebration.
All the BCSC action centered around Ed Turner, anxious to make progress on two counts.
Three results were required by the end of the month for Ed to avoid incurring Premier One penalty points, but the more important objective was to secure some victories in the bid to avoid relegation to Premier Two.
The first objective was achieved, as matches against Dave Pym and Ian Tarr, twice, hit the spot.
On the results front, Ed would have preferred more than the solitary win, secured in his first meeting with Ian. Ed still has work to do to reach safety.
Safety, however, is what both Dave and Ian achieved as they each registered their tenth wins of the season. And Dave also had the satisfaction of finishing his Premier One season before any other player.
Meanwhile, over at The Leap, in Downend, Stuart Mann extended his lead to a mere fifteen points by beating second placed Charlie Hetherington.
With the championship long since claimed by Stuart, there is a mad scramble taking place as several contenders vie for the minor placings, with a runner-up memento and cash prizes for second and third still to be decided.
A look at the league table will show that nobody can be confident of collecting these items yet.
23/09/03: Eight-a-side in Birmingham
A compromise regarding the staging of the eighth Inter-Cities Challenge match has been reached, and the match will now be contested by teams of only eight players, the smallest squads since the opening encounter in 2000, when the sides consisted of eleven Bristolians and ten Brummies.
With Bristol only able to raise a side of eight players, the only feasible alternative was to re-schedule for a few weeks time.
Since there are no guarantees the response would be any better next time, the decision was taken to plough on regardless.
23/09/03: John a step closer to Premier One
John Ould's 11-7 victory over Neil Young last night has kept him well and truly in the race for promotion from Premier Two.
The outstanding fixtures between co-habitants Simonetta Barone and Roland Herrera would appear to hold the key to the final outcome of the race for the top.
21/09/03: Inter-Cities match in doubt
The eighth Inter-Cities Challenge match, set for this Saturday (the 27th) in Birmingham, is in some doubt as we are struggling to raise a Bristol team.
There remains a determination to see the fixture through, though, even if we are forced to borrow the odd home player! It would be good if we didn't have to, though.
Volunteers are urged to contact Ian Tarr, either by phone (0117 9756349 at home or 07940 284652 mobile) or by email at brisgammon@blueyonder.co.uk.
It should be the usual pleasant, friendly day out, with the added spice, honour even, of representing Bristol at our beloved game.
21/09/03: Paul and Ian at it again
What are the odds against a pair of players meeting in finals of different tournaments only two days apart?
Pretty long, presumably. But this is exactly what has happenned to Paul Gilbertson and Ian Tarr.
After Thursday night's Lesters Trophy event, attention for some turned yesterday to a 16-player £50 entry invitation event at Maidenhead, superbly hosted by Rosey Bensley and John Slattery.
While the main event saw John Clark beat Gavin Crawley in the final, Slatts, Rosey, Ian, Paul and Martin Hemming were all reduced to fighting out the consolation flight.
Lesters XXXXVIII winner Paul and runner-up Ian made it to the final of that, and this time Ian turned the tables.
21/09/03: One in, one out, for the "50"
Internationally renowned player Shahab Ghodsi will not, after all, be coming to the Bristol "50".
This leaves the way clear for the number one player on the waiting list to take his place. Step forward recent Gammonitis event winner, Wayne Felton.
There are currently two more players on the waiting list, in case anyone else is forced to withdraw.
19/09/03: ALL THE NEWS FROM LESTERS XXXXVIII ......
The slight disappointment regarding the distinctly average turnout of twenty contestants was offset by the appearance of two new players -- John Sutcliffe and Richard Owsley --in our midst.
Richard didn't have time to contest the tournament this time, but kindly performed the draw and collected the auction pool money -- making an unprecedented profit!
Hopefully we'll see Richard in action at the October tournament.
19/09/03: Whose brother?......
Many more performances like last night's, and people will no longer be referring to Paul Gilbertson as Rosey Bensley's brother. In fact, it might even be the other way around!
Paul only makes it to Bristol tournaments occasionally -- he does have the excuse of living in Kent -- but, apart from his fine run in last year's Bristol "50", he has seldom set the world alight. Until now.
At the BCSC last night, Paul fought his way past Paul Watts, Simonetta Barone and Steve Ferrer to earn a final meeting against Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr.
Ian had overcome Dave Pym, Ed Turner and John Slattery to make it to a Lesters final for the first time since Lesters XXXVIII in December, 2000.
With both semis completed by 11.45pm, the finalists and hangers on took advantage of Jason Champion's kind invitation, and moved on to The Cornubia, Jason's new pub just off Victoria Street.
Ian moved into a 7-3 lead, but failed to get out of 7-point-match mode in the 11-points final, as Paul scored all the points from then on to clinch his first Bristol tournament triumph.
19/09/03: John's promising debut ......
John Sutcliffe made his Bristol Backgammon debut last night and, despite protesting his inexperience, did enough to claim the Premier Two scalps of John Ould and Roland Herrera, before succumbing to Steve Ferrer in the last eight.
Even here, there was a silver lining, as the two discovered they are virtually neighbours, and are likely to share transport from the Chippenham area in the future.
19/09/03: Euro trophies a talking point ......
John Slattery's recent European title success in Slovenia has given us all a shot in the arm, and it was good to see John's trophies on display at the BCSC last night.
At Bristol Backgammon we are justly proud of our selection of permanent trophies for the various domestic competitions, but it has to be said that John's two mementoes from Nova Gorica are in a totally different league!
Thanks are due to John for bringing the heavy hardware for us to have an admiring look at.
19/09/03: OGP battle hotting up ......
The race for the fourth Bristol OGP title appears to be building to a rip-roaring climax as leader Dave Pym's pursuers took even closer order last night.
Dave failed to add to his 380 points, but thankfully for him few others made substantial inroads.
Steve Ferrer's 70-point boost has moved him into second place, just 20 points behind Dave, and 5 points ahead of Charlie Hetherington.
Stuart Mann, Martin Hemming and the absent Ian Preston are all within 100 points of the lead, while Ian Tarr's 80-point gain gives him a ghost of a chance in seventh place.
With just three events remaining, and discards now playing their part, the season's climax should prove absorbing.
19/09/03: Consistent Steve close to IGP title ......
If there was a prize for consistency in this year's knock-outs, Steve Ferrer would be the front runner.
Having contested seven of the nine tournaments so far, he has reached no fewer than five semi-finals, including all three Lesters events.
Sadly, though, Steve has failed to progress to any of the finals!
While this heavy points scoring has moved him into strong contention for the OGP title, it has also -- unsurprisingly -- taken him to the brink of the IGP crown.
The 100 IGP points collected at last night's tournament (including 30 bonus points) have increased his overall lead to 230 points, a margin that looks all but insuperable.
As for the vital second place in the IGP, which also carries Premier Status as a reward, John Lewis is the man in possession here.
Despite gleaning the bare minimum 10 points last night, this was enough to increase his cushion over third placed Jason Champion to 40 points.
Phillip Hill, a further 65 points adrift -- cannot be ruled out, while winner Paul Gilbertson's 170-point haul has elevated him into fifth place.
19/09/03: Steve's exit prevents rollover ......
When Steve Ferrer made his exit in the semi-finals of last night's event, the last chance of a "Winner Takes All Pool" rollover disappeared.
Since the finalists -- Paul Gilbertson and Ian Tarr -- had both invested in the pool, this ensured they could add the £110 kitty to their prize money.
19/09/03: Slatts corners the market ......
While John Slattery's playing career has gone from strength to strength this year, his prowess at investing in auctions has also been serving him well around the world.
The latest example occurred last night, when his purchase of both Paul Gilbertson and Ian Tarr ensured that he took the whole auction pool -- some consolation for his semi-final tournament exit, although surprisingly this was John's best effort in eight Lesters Trophy visits to date.
19/09/03: Paul the latest Masters qualifier ......
Paul Gilbertson's tournament success made him the latest qualifier for February's Bristol Masters.
Several places are still up for grabs, with the last three tournament winners and various high league finishers due to take up the vacancies.
19/09/03: Expungement not a factor in Premier One ......
Early elimination from the tournament afforded Paul Watts the opportunity to register a fourteenth Premier One result.
His 11-10 win over new champion Stuart Mann was significant in that it means nobody can be expunged from this year's top league flight.
Penalty points can still be a factor, though, and Paul is one of five players who could incur these at the end of the month.
19/09/03: Rosey and John share spoils ......
John Ould, a rare tournament entrant, and Rosey Bensley managed to get both of their Premier Two meetings played last night, with each player recording an 11-6 victory.
While the situation in Premier Two is obscured somewhat by the potential expungement of Kevin White, Rosey has now probably lost too many matches to figure positively in the promotion shake-down, but this won't worry her unduly as work commitments look like precluding her involvement in the league next year.
John, though, is still in with a chance of making it into Premier One.
11/09/03: European championship reports and photos
John Slattery's great European championship triumph is captured in words and photos on the web.
See the Gammonitis report for the full flavour of the event.
11/09/03: Honours even at the Hope and Anchor
Blaine Buchanan and Charlie Hetherington fought out a Premier One double header at the Hope and Anchor last night.
Blaine took the first encounter 11-8, but Charlie turned the tables in the second, winning 11-1.
Blaine will now need to win at least three of his last four matches to stand any chance of escaping the drop, while Charlie -- currently second -- still has a good chance to clinch one of the prize slots behind new champion Stuart Mann.
11/09/03: Form a queue for the Bristol "50"
All thirty-two slots for October's Bristol "50" event have now been taken up.
And a waiting list -- set up to fill any slots which may fall vacant between now and the start date -- already has two names on it.
Among the field will be the current European champion, the Norwegian based technical adviser to the world champion, a former British Open champion, an MSO Grand Master, four other BIBA tournament winners, a Gammonitis tournament winner, an English Open champion, and the new Bristol Premier League champion.
A good one to win!
09/09/03: ICC defence set for September 27th
Bristol's defence of the Inter-Cities Challenge Trophy now has a confirmed date.
The match, against our regular friends and rivals from Birmingham, will take place at the Moseley All Services Club in Birmingham on Saturday September 27th.
The initial team selection of twelve players (listed below), drawn from the higher reaches of the five domestic competitions, is being sounded out about availability.
Anyone not on that list should not despair, as there are usually some drop outs from the original selection.
The twelve are: Stuart Mann, John Slattery, Ian Tarr, Dave Pym, Charlie Hetherington, Ian Preston, Steffen Nowak, Tim Jefferies, Jason Champion, Alan Parfitt, Steve Ferrer, and John Lewis.
07/09/03: Slatts puts British backgammon on the map!
In what is arguably the greatest ever achievement by a British backgammon player, John Slattery today won the European Championship in Nova Gorica, Slovenia.
Having just lost his Bristol Premier League title, this will no doubt be more than enough consolation!
John beat a Swiss opponent 19-12 in the final, having overcome many top players along the way.
And while John was excelling in the Masters section, other familiar names were making their presence felt in the Championship section.
Simonetta Barone made it through to the last 16, while Roland Herrera and Rosey Bensley went a step further, each just missing out on the prize money.
07/09/03: Shahab gives "50" an international flavour
Latest entrant to the Bristol "50" is Shahab Ghodsi, an Iranian player based in Norway.
Shahab was the winner of the 5th Abu Dhabi International event back in March, and enhances a line-up already bristling with quality.
Another welcome name on the start list is that of Jerry Limb, not seen a great deal on the circuit recently.
Thirty of the thirty-two slots are now taken, so if you have been wavering, you'd be well advised to enter soon!
25/08/03: LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP DECIDED ON QUIET LEAGUE NIGHT ......
Twelve players from the three Bristol leagues were present at the BCSC for the August league night.
Some couldn't find a match, but of the five played, one was a momentous one for a new champion.
25/08/03: Stuart gets his reward at last ......
The inevitable finally happened at the BCSC last night as Stuart Mann coasted across the Premier One finish line with no pursuer remotely in sight.
Needing just one victory to put the remaining contenders out of their misery once and for all, Stuart had arranged a double header against Elliot Smart, one of four players still with a theoretical chance of catching him.
And in the first of their two matches -- the sixteenth of Stuart's 20-match campaign -- the decisive win was secured, by a three point margin.
Stuart's first championship is due reward for a spell of consistency which can only be described as phenomenal.
The title clinching win was his 39th in 47 Premier league matches, stretching back to the final match of the 2000 season!
That it has taken him so long to take the championship, is testament to the prowess of John Slattery, who pipped him to the title in both 2001 and 2002.
It is likely to be a very long time before anyone can match Stuart's 33-month sequence of excellence.
With the title secured, Stuart set about his return match with Elliot, but the 0-11 whitewash he suffered was frankly of greater importance to Elliot than it was to him, as Elliot joined the log-jam of players with nine victories.
The nature of this extraordinary season can be summed up by the contrast of one player having secured the championship, while not a solitary pursuer can yet regard himself as safe from relegation!
It is not inconceivable that someone finishing with nine wins could slip into the bottom three as the dust is settling.
Martin Hemming -- not long ago appearing to be the biggest threat to Stuart's title aspirations -- was yesterday heard to utter the dreaded "R" word, when defeats at the hands of Ed Turner and Dave Pym left him probably needing at least one win from his two final matches to attain safety.
But the wins were vital for both Ed and Dave, as they piled the pressure on the bottom two, Phil Charlton and Blaine Buchanan.
25/08/03: Michael mounting late promotion drive ......
Michael Corbett, whose availability to play during his debut Conference season has been fleeting, has once again made the most of a rare opportunity to play.
His fifth match of the season -- the only one played in the Conference last night -- was an 11-8 victory over John Lewis, and as he has still lost only once, Michael is now a realistic threat to those at the top -- if only he can find more opponents to play!
As things stand, Michael is already in fourth place, and if two more players can be persuaded to cross the eight match threshhold, a third promotion slot will become available.
Stand up, Michael, Simon Fahoury, Phillip Hill, Andrew Cobb, ......
25/08/03: Top five finish will gain Masters entry ......
After Stuart Mann's league title triumph, qualification for the Bristol Masters is now guaranteed for anyone who finishes in the top five positions of Premier One.
Stuart had already qualified via his June Lesters Trophy success, so the four other Premier One Masters places will go to the next four players who have not qualified by other means.
Should Charlie Hetherington, Dave Pym or Martin Hemming -- all already safely onto the Masters invitation list -- finish in any of those four places, the net would be cast lower down the league.
Sadly, nobody from Premier Two has yet clinched a place in the event, which takes place next February, although one place is guaranteed for a high finisher.
Phillip Hill is the only Conference player through to the sixteen player event so far, although again one high finisher will make it.
21/08/03: Premier Two climax threatened
The enthrallingly close battle for honours in Premier Two is threatened by logistical problems.
These surround Bristol Backgammon stalwart Kevin White, whose new job has made it increasingly difficult to fulfil his commitments.
The problems will now be compounded as his house move comes to fruition.
The situation is that, out of twelve outstanding fixtures, Kevin is involved in six -- at least three of which appear at this stage to have a direct bearing on the promotion race.
In an ideal world those three matches -- against contenders Roland Herrera, Tim Jefferies and John Ould -- would all be completed, and a "level playing field" would be preserved.
As things stand, however, unless Kevin completes at least two of his six matches by September 30th, he will face expungement from the league.
This is not, in itself, a problem for Kevin, as he has already declared himself a non-starter for the 2004 league, but it will have an effect on the positions at the top of the league as opponents find one or two results being wiped from the record.
It would be the second successive year that an expungement would have been necessary at what is undoubtedly the most damaging point in the season.
Sarah Rosich was expunged earlier in the year, and although that was regrettable for all parties, it did little damage to the league as only three matches were involved.
In Kevin's case, there would be ten.
If Kevin's opponents really want the outstanding matches to take place, they will probably need to be at their most persuasive, and have been urged to be so by Bristol Backgammon Director, Ian Tarr.
In the coming weeks we will see the story unfold. We can only hope for a happy and satisfactory ending.
19/08/03: Where the money goes
By the end of the year, the various competition prize funds will probably total in excess of £800.
This figure is accounted for by league fees, handed over when the season starts, and the grand prix pools, which take the form of a £1 per head levy at each monthly tournament.
Now, for the first time, an estimated breakdown of the apportionment of those funds appears on this website, on the results pages of the various competitions.
So if you want to see how much you are likely to win, click on any of the following: Premier One, Premier Two, Conference, OGP, or IGP.
It should be stressed that, although this should give a reasonably accurate picture, the figures are not final, only an estimate.
15/08/03: AUGUST GRAND PRIX REPORT ......
Twenty players constituted a pretty decent turnout for an August tournament. Young Martin Potter made his Bristol debut, and John Sprague popped in on a visit from Weymouth.
15/08/03: Charlie takes the plaudits ......
Charlie Hetherington won the main flight last night, beating Kevin White in the final.
Along the way, Charlie defeated Ian Tarr, Elliot Smart and Steve Ferrer.
Kevin progressed past Martin Hemming, Blaine Buchanan, Roland Herrera and Simon Fahoury.
15/08/03: Dave absent as gap narrows ......
With no Dave Pym there was a chance for his nearest OGP pursuers to press him harder.
Despite the concurrent absence of Ian Preston, there are now five players less than 100 points behind Dave.
Charlie Hetherington made the biggest inroads, and has moved into second place, just 30 points adrift.
Stuart Mann, Steve Ferrer, Ian Preston and Martin Hemming are the others within striking distance.
15/08/03: Simon's exit ends rollover hopes ......
Already carrying a £70 rollover amount, the Winner Takes All pool was a popular attraction, just four of the eighteen starters opting out.
With the prize thus boosted to £210, early losers were hoping that the four pool non-participants kept the kitty alive for September.
Simon Fahoury made it as far as the semis, but when he succumbed to Kevin White, hopes of a further rollover were dashed.
15/08/03: Consistent Steve increases IGP lead ......
IGP contestants were largely conspicuous by their absence at the BCSC last night, with only one of the main contenders, Steve Ferrer, present.
Third placed Jason Champion turned up too late to be included in the main draw, and opted out of a cut-price consolation entry, something which John Sprague accepted gratefully.
And so consistent has Steve been this season, that you could almost rely on him winning at least a couple of matches.
And he duly reeled off victories against Rosey Bensley and none other than Juanita Ferrer to boost his total lead to an ominous 140 points.
Premier Status for 2004 now looks a formality for Steve.
15/08/03: Charlie assures Masters place ......
Victory in the main flight made Charlie Hetherington the sixth player to qualify for the 2004 edition of the Bristol Masters.
Four months to go, and ten places still up for grabs.
15/08/03: Ian wins consolation ......
You might think that beating a star-studded succession of opponents like Rosey Bensley, Martin Potter, John Slattery and Stuart Mann would be a fitting way to clinch the main flight of a tournament.
But facing all those players in a mere consolation flight is not quite what you expect when you have been eliminated early from the main flight.
Ian Tarr had to contend with just that scenario, but his luck held and he picked up his first evening tournament flight win for some considerable time.
For the record, Stuart had to get past Simonetta Barone and Steffen Nowak to reach the final.
15/08/03: Just a small one for Stuart! ......
Conjecture about the size of trophy to be awarded to Stuart Mann for his second 1000 to 1 success was terminated abruptly when he lost to Elliot Smart in his opening match at the BCSC last night.
Having had his run of domestic wins curtailed to a mere ten, Stuart now knows that the trophy to be awarded by sponsor John Slattery will not be as great as the one he received in January, in honour of his 12-match sequence last year.
15/08/03: Elliot and Jason score league victories ......
Early elimination from tournaments can often be put to good use by getting a little league action in.
In Premier One, Elliot Smart managed an 11-8 win over Blaine Buchanan, to keep alive his hopes of finishing amongst the prize money.
And latecomer Jason Champion was able to extend his lead of the Conference with a late, absorbing win over Simon Fahoury.
13/08/03: And after the three tenors ......
Few in this part of the country will have failed to notice the impact of the "three tenors", and their recent concert in Bath.
On a more parochial note, however, three other musicians made their presence felt at the weekend.
At BIBA's SAC Trophy event in Coventry -- leaving aside Tony Lee's long overdue success -- the Bristol players who fared best were music teachers Simonetta Barone and Roland Herrera, and violin maker Steffen Nowak.
Outshining BIBA high-rankers John Slattery, Stuart Mann and Ian Tarr was perhaps a tad easier than usual as none of those three gentlemen managed to fare better than breaking even.
But Roland's five wins -- the second time in his relatively brief BIBA career he has achieved this -- and Simonetta's and Steffen's four apiece, are an indication of the greater expectation we now have with every passing month.
Indeed both Roland and Steffen have now breached the 1600 barrier in the BIBA rankings table, and we can surely look forward to even more progress over the coming months.
To add a little spice to the backgammon lives of our up-and-coming trio, all three are involved in the race for promotion from Premier Two.
Steffen, having completed his fixtures, is a racing certainty for promotion, while it may be that the double header that Roland and Simonetta still face will decide which of the two will join Steffen in the top flight, as Tim Jefferies is well placed to take one of the top two places.
10/08/03: Another Bristol BIBA triumph
Just thirty-seven players turned out for BIBA's SAC Trophy Swiss format tournament at the Coventry Hilton this weekend.
Playing conditions -- tucked away out of range of the sweltering heat -- should have been excellent.
Sadly the air conditioning was not working, and the event proved to be something of an ordeal.
Whereas it used to be the norm to talk of brave near misses on behalf of the Bristol contingent, the norm is now -- thankfully -- a little different!
So when thirteen of the starters were prevailed upon to compete in the Bristol £10 side pool, on the basis of having competed in our domestic events, expectations were understandably high.
Five of the thirteen -- Ian Tarr, Rosey Bensley, David Horner (remember him?), Simon Fahoury and Steffen Nowak -- succumbed in their opening matches, leaving their chances of taking the title slim, but not impossible.
The second round saw five further defeats -- David and Steffen suffering a second time, while John Slattery, Paul Gilbertson and Liz Barker lost for the first time.
This left Stuart Mann, John Lewis, Tony Lee, Simonetta Barone and Roland Herrera still unbeaten, but round three was to account for all but Tony.
Come Sunday, Roland and Steffen had a good day, and so did Tony.
When the final match came along, it was Tony facing Peter Christmas, and all recorded on video.
A close, tense match, eventually found its way to 9-all, and after an early double was accepted, things went Peter's way.
But just when Tony was getting resigned to another near miss -- he's had a few at BIBA in the last couple of years -- Peter's easy bear off for victory started to come unstuck.
One hit and a lot of hard work later, Tony became SAC Trophy winner for 2003!
Although we don't see him in Bristol all that often these days, Tony -- who is currently based in the Oxford area -- does not by any means discount future involvement in our competitions.
Full win records of the Bristol crew read: TONY LEE 6; Roland Herrera 5; Simonetta Barone and Steffen Nowak 4; Liz Barker, John Slattery, Rosey Bensley and Ian Tarr 3; Stuart Mann, John Lewis and David Horner 2; Simon Fahoury 1 (from 5 matches, as he was awarded a bye in round two); Paul Gilbertson 1.
Special mention must also be made of Simon's son, Martin Potter, who at the tender age of fifteen, made an excellent BIBA debut. After a 10-11 defeat by Slatts in round one, Martin reeled off four straight victories, before succumbing to Roland in round six.
He could have a very bright future in the game.
31/07/03: JULY LEAGUE NIGHT NEWS ......
Sixteen league players completed a total of seventeen matches, with a couple of others in attendance at the BCSC, but the major focus was on the high turnout of Premier One players.
31/07/03: It's still July, but it's virtually over ......
For some while now, Stuart Mann has been out on his own at the top of Premier One, and we have been waiting for the twists and turns of a normal league season to enliven the race.
We should now accept that it isn't going to happen!
Victories over Phil Charlton and Martin Hemming last night kept Stuart on his unwavering course, while those best placed to mount some kind of a challenge, once again failed to exert the necessary pressure.
With Stuart only having lost twice, those with five defeats to their names -- John Slattery and Paul Watts -- and Elliot Smart, with six defeats, needed an unblemished evening to maintain even remote contact.
John and Elliot each started the evening with victories over Paul, who thus melted away into the mid-table morass.
John then went on to record back-to-back successes over Blaine Buchanan, and at last it seemed that somebody was going to make the season's end a little more interesting.
And Elliot further improved his standing with a win over Phil.
But that was where the challenge began to evaporate.
John was beaten by Charlie Hetherington, Elliot lost to Blaine, and Charlie then completed the double over Slatts.
Suddenly, Stuart's challengers had all lost at least seven matches!
And it was Charlie, who arrived last night with more defeats than victories, who found himself in second place, after a rapid victory over Ian Tarr, and his later double over Slatts.
If Stuart should win any one of his five remaining matches, he is champion.
Even if he loses all five, one of Charlie, John, Elliot and Paul needs to win every remaining match just to draw level on 39 points.
And even in that unlikeliest of scenarios, Stuart might still clinch it on points difference.
31/07/03: Stuart's second 1000 to 1 award ......
Stuart Mann, the only beneficiary to date of the John Slattery sponsored 1000 to 1 award scheme, has done it again!
After his June Lesters Trophy win, and a run of Premier One victories, Stuart had eight successive wins under his belt, and duly moved to the magic ten with his second success of the evening, against Martin Hemming.
Last time out, Stuart managed to extend the sequence by a further two matches to increase the size of the trophy.
This time, no doubt, he will be endeavouring to win an even bigger one.
31/07/03: Penalties averted in top flight ......
Four players went into last night's Premier One session needing to register at least two results to avoid penalties at tonight's checkpoint.
And all four did enough to keep the league table looking tidy.
31/07/03: Another record for Slatts ......
For the first time in the history of the Premier League, a player has completed five matches in a single session.
John Slattery made the most of his trip from Maidenhead by playing Paul Watts, Blaine Buchanan twice, and Charlie Hetherington twice.
31/07/03: Three in battle to avoid the drop ......
Blaine Buchanan, Phil Charlton and Ed Turner now occupy the bottom three places in Premier One, and will each face a battle to escape the three relegation slots.
While those three need to start registering wins, they will also be looking for one or more of Dave Pym, Paul Watts, Martin Hemming or Elliot Smart to suffer a dip in form on the run in.
And so close is Premier One this year (apart from Stuart), that even those on nine wins cannot consider themselves absolutely safe yet.
31/07/03: Tim goes second as promotion battle hots up ......
The race to fill the top three places in Premier Two looks as intriguing as ever, after last night's results largely followed the form book.
Steffen Nowak -- already finished, and waiting to see who can overtake him -- does not yet have licence to rest any easier after Tim Jefferies' double success against Neil Young, and wins over Drew Caudwell for both Roland Herrera and Simonetta Barone.
The mitigating factor for Steffen, though, is the fact that so many of his challengers still have to play each other, which means that the lowest Steffen can actually finish is fourth.
As for the championship, Tim will clinch that if he defeat his only remaining opponents, Rosey Bensley and Kevin White.
Rosey and John Ould are both still in with a chance, but as they still have to meet twice, one or the other -- or both -- is likely to be ruled out of the chase.
31/07/03: Kevin faces further penalty ......
Kevin White, forced by geographical factors to give up league backgammon next season, has found it increasingly difficult to keep his Premier Two campaign going.
If, as seems probable, he fails to complete another fixture by midnight, the two point penalty incurred in May will be confirmed (although still subject to appeal), and a further point will be docked now.
Kevin still has a pivotal part to play in the promotion race, however, as he still has to meet Tim Jefferies, Roland Herrera and John Ould.
31/07/03: Alan eases into promotion bracket ......
In the only Conference action of the evening, Alan Parfitt defeated Phillip Hill and moved into second place, ousting Rob Allen from a promotion slot.
31/07/03: Seventeen takers already for the "50"
Seventeen players have now entered the Bristol "50", the 32-player event at the BCSC on Saturday October 11th.
With a further thirteen pledged to enter, it seems only a matter of time before all the slots are filled, and a waiting list is set up.
25/07/03: Ian goes second, expungement threats averted
A flurry of Premier One activity at the BCSC last night saw three matches completed.
Blaine Buchanan and Paul Watts each did enough to avert the prospect of expungement at the July 31st checkpoint, leaving them with the slightly less onerous task of avoiding penalties, along with John Slattery and Elliot Smart.
Blaine also scored a welcome victory over Ed Turner, who nevertheless made himself safe from penalty at the end of the month.
Paul completed a double header against Ian Tarr, with the honours ultimately shared.
Ian had led 9-4 from a previous adjournment, but somehow contrived to lose without further troubling the scorers.
He won a nail-biting return 11-10, however, and moves into second place, but the defeat, his seventh of the season, has all but extinguished any faint hope of putting some pressure on runaway leader Stuart Mann.
Realistically John and Paul -- with only five defeats apiece -- have the best chance to mount any kind of a challenge, but they would still need Stuart to falter, something he has done precious little of over these past three seasons.
21/07/03: Fourth successive Liverpool Open triumph!
It's stretching a point a little -- well, quite a lot actually -- to claim four successive Bristol triumphs at the Liverpool Open.
Darryl Artt, now based in Nottingham, was an occasional visitor to our events two or three years back, and will always be welcome to return, all the more so because his game has obviously fulfilled all the potential we saw in those days -- I know, I played him once.
And Darryl has now notched his second Liverpool Open title, having won in 2001, while John Slattery, a more recent and frequent visitor(!!), was the 2000 and 2002 Liverpool title winner.
To confirm that Lancashire generally is a happy hunting ground for Darryl, it was only three months ago that he won the Manchester (we can still count that as Lancashire, can't we?) One-day event.
11/07/03: JULY GRAND PRIX TOURNAMENT NEWS ......
Considering the fact that six regulars were absent with one of the best excuses imaginable -- competing in Monte Carlo -- a turnout of fifteen players on a hot July evening was not at all bad for the seventh grand prix event of 2003.
With only three players present a few minutes before 7pm, Ian Tarr dug out the rules for round robin competition, but need not have worried, as the requisite eighth arrival soon ensured the format would be the usual knock-out variety.
11/07/03: Phil's surprise victory means so much more ......
Phillip Hill could have been forgiven for wondering when his place in the sun was finally to arrive.
But his 11-9 final win over Paul Watts was so much more than just a routine (if there is such a thing!) tournament clincher.
It was Phil's second career main flight victory -- he took the February 2001 IGP title -- and this (two main flight wins) -- entitles him to life-long Bristol Backgammon Premier Status.
Phil beat Patrick Rawson, Steve Ferrer and Charlie Hetherington on his way to the final, while Paul had defeated Kevin White, Ed Turner and Dave Pym.
The win also gains Phil a place in the 2004 Bristol Masters.
In the final of the eight-player consolation flight, Steve Ferrer beat Ian Tarr.
11/07/03: Dave opens 65-point gap ......
OGP leader Dave Pym picked up 40 points for his run to the main flight semis, giving him a 65-point lead over absent second placer Stuart Mann.
Ian Preston, Martin Hemming (also absent), Charlie Hetherington and Steve Ferrer are all within striking distance.
11/07/03: Consistent Steve presses on in IGP chase ......
Boosted by bonus points for consolation flight defeats of Kevin White and Ian Tarr, Steve Ferrer has increased his IGP lead to 90 points.
John Lewis and Jason Champion are currently vying for the crucial second place, but Phillip Hill's 140-point haul has rocketed him into fourth place.
11/07/03: It's another rollover! ......
Semi-final defeats for Dave Pym and Charlie Hetherington ended interest in the monthly "Winner Takes All" pool, so the £70 kitty rolls over to the August tournament.
11/07/03: Steffen's win seals fine Premier debut season ......
If there were a prize for the first player to finish his or her league fixtures, Steffen Nowak would have claimed it last night.
He ended his Premier Two campaign with an emphatic victory over Kevin White, and it will now be a major surprise if his 30-point tally does not prove enough for elevation to Premier One.
02/07/03: Slatts back over 1900
A good run in the consolation flight of BIBA's Keren di Bona Memorial Trophy knock-out at the weekend -- he won it -- saw John Slattery picking up more useful points as he attempts to run away with BIBA's 2003 Grand Prix title.
Also on the up is John's BIBA ranking score which breached 1900 for the second time, rising to an all-time high of 1920.
Only three players (in a list of well over 800) have ranking scores higher than John. For the aficionados they are Julian Fetterlein, Paul Lamford and John Clark.
Julian, incidentally, is likely to make his Bristol tournament debut in Thursday's Bristol Grand Prix event.
02/07/03: Bristol "50" responses on the move
It may be over three months away, but the Bristol "50" is already attracting a good deal of interest.
Although actual payments are a little thin on the ground, nearly half of the 32 places could already be filled by those who have committed themselves to entering.
And now that invitations have gone far and wide around the country, interest can only increase.
01/07/03: More action from Kellaway Avenue
Last night saw two more Premier Two matches played at the Bishopston home of Roland Herrera and Simonetta Barone.
Neil Young was the visitor, and he duly recorded a victory over Roland, before losing to Simonetta.
The results do little to resolve what is developing into a major cliff hanger.
With most players either breaking even or a win or defeat either way, only leader Steffen Nowak (9 wins from 15) and third placed Tim Jefferies (7 wins from 12) can point to slightly better records, while Drew Caudwell (4 wins from 12) may well find himself tailed off last when the dust settles.
Only just over a quarter of the fixtures remain, but many momentous battles are likely to be included as the promotion shake-down unfolds, with all places still up for grabs.
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