News items from 2005 (first half)
30/06/05: EGM to decide club's fate?
Tomorrow night's EGM of the Bristol County Sports Club could have a big part to play in the future direction of backgammon in Bristol, as well as some other indoor activities.
The club is losing money at present, and potentially tough decisions as to its future need to be made at the meeting of members.
There could be as many as four members present with Bristol Backgammon connections, and a report should appear here on Saturday.
Potential alternative venues are currently under investigation, should the need for them arise.
30/06/05: LEAGUE NIGHT ROUND-UP ......
For a mid-summer league night, a turnout of twenty-four players at the threatened BCSC was excellent, and this was made all the better by the fact that two players -- Graham Ross and Richard Coleman -- were making their Bristol Backgammon debuts in the Conference.
30/06/05: Steve Ferrer promoted ......
Steve Ferrer was promoted from Premier Two before last night, barring bizarre accidents with penalty points, but nobody had realised!
Although before last night's session there were no fewer than five players who had the chance to catch -- but not overtake -- Steve on points, at least two of these would eventually have knocked each other out of contention by playing each other anyway.
The fact that three of those players suffered defeat last night only makes the situation clearer.
In second, third and fourth places respectively, Ian Tarr, Michael Corbett and Jason Champion all lost their only matches, and all still have plenty to do if they want to consolidate their promotion aspirations.
Main beneficiary of these lapses was Phillip Hill, whose victories over Cynthia Roberts and Ian moved him firmly into second place, with four matches remaining for each of those four contenders.
Also very much in the equation are Alan Parfitt, after defeating Jason, and four players who were absent -- Phil Charlton, Jerry Limb, Blaine Buchanan and Neil Young.
Richard Cartwright and Ian Preston were the night's other winners.
Director Ian Tarr is relieved that nobody can now be expunged at the July 31st checkpoint, although six players still have penalty point issues to resolve.
30/06/05: Dave closes the gap ......
Dave Pym's seesaw season in Premier One took a characteristic upturn last night at the BCSC, when he completed adjourned matches against Ed Turner and Stuart Mann to exceedingly good effect.
After his previous visit, his league campaign was threatening to crumple in a heap, but these two wins ensure that he faces the run-in well in contention for the title.
Stuart's defeat was another blow to his hopes of claiming a third successive championship, but it would be premature to write him off at this stage, as he has suffered no more defeats than most, and just one fewer than Mark Dixon and John Slattery.
Meanwhile, Simonetta Barone's apparently hopeless quest to stay up was looking a cause for far greater optimism after a double success against Elliot Smart, including a sterling fight-back from a 5-8 adjourned deficit (it was certainly a night for tying up loose ends in Premier One).
Her subsequent defeat at the hands of Stuart should not obscure the fact that there is now a visible escape route.
Paul Watts is now the only player threatened with expungement at the July 31st checkpoint, but he is just one of seven players who need to avoid penalty problems.
30/06/05: John takes over at the top ......
John Paton is acquiring the reputation of being a bit of a grinder.
He recorded another useful victory last night against Tony Walters, and has risen to the top of the Conference.
Previous leader Mike Smith was absent, and was also overtaken by Andrew Cobb, who had mixed fortunes in his two matches.
Other winners on the night were Tony, Shane Roberts, Neil Lowthian and debutant Richard Coleman.
24/06/05: Premier One class tells
The Inter-League challenge match between players representing Premier One and The Conference ended in an easy victory for the top flight outfit.
With just three brave souls from either side turning up -- bravery because the Premier One players had their pride and reputations at stake, and the Conference players stood to receive a drubbing if the form book held good -- it was an easy match to organise, with each player needing to meet each member of the opposing side in three series of 7-point matches.
The opening series saw a clean sweep for Premier One, although Heike Faulhaber managed 5 points against Martin Hemming.
Victories for Ed Turner and Stuart Mann then moved their team over the winning line, and Martin completed another clean sweep -- 6-0 with two thirds of the matches completed.
Stuart and Martin then made it 8-0 -- although Shane Roberts was 5-2 up at one stage against Martin -- leaving Andrew Cobb the daunting responsibility of avoiding the whitewash for his team against Ed.
Andrew came through with a 7-4 victory, making the final match score 8-1 to Premier One.
Complete scores (Premier One names first): Ed Turner 7 Shane Roberts 0; Martin Hemming 7 Heike Faulhaber 5; Stuart Mann 7 Andrew Cobb 2; Ed Turner 7 Heike Faulhaber 0; Stuart Mann 7 Shane Roberts 1; Martin Hemming 7 Andrew Cobb 2; Stuart Mann 7 Heike Faulhaber 0; Martin Hemming 7 Shane Roberts 5; Ed Turner 4 Andrew Cobb 7.
17/06/05: Ed's third success in five Lesters events
Reigning OGP champion Ed Turner has won his third Lesters title in twelve months!
The margin of victory over Martin Hemming at the Broadmead Starbucks this morning could not have been any smaller -- one pip in the bear off at double match point -- but it did have the effect of kick-starting Ed's previously lack-lustre knock-out season.
The total of 140 points gained by this success has catapulted Ed right amongst the group of challengers -- all still distant ones -- to Martin's convincing pole position.
Martin has increased his lead from 107 points to 175, with the half way stage of the season now reached.
Ed becomes the sixth of this year's sixteen qualifiers for the 2006 Bristol Masters.
Martin played in the only other recorded Bristol Backgammon match in a Starbucks, when he defeated Mike Taylor in Clifton in a September 2001 Conference match.
The players agreed to split the £560 prize money down the middle before the final game, while Ian Tarr benefitted from his auction investment in Ed, with Jason Champion getting the consolation prize in the auction.
16/06/05: Earliest final?
In what must be the earliest Lesters final on record, Ed Turner and Martin Hemming will meet to decide the fate of the 55th event in the series at 8.30am tomorrow (Friday), June 17th.
The venue is Starbucks in Broadmead, and the coffee will probably be a pre-requisite for all present!
14/06/05: Easy for Ed
Ed Turner has won through to the final of Lesters 55.
He defeated Ian Tarr in a one-sided semi at the BCSC tonight, to set up a final meeting with Martin Hemming.
12/06/05: Semi set for Tuesday
The outstanding semi-final from Lesters 55 between Ed Turner and Ian Tarr is to be played on Tuesday at the BCSC at 7pm. Spectators and hangers on will be more than welcome.
Other finalist Martin Hemming cannot be there on Tuesday, so the final will have to take place some other time.
11/06/05: ALL THE NEWS FROM LESTERS 55 ......
Twenty-two players -- including a Bristol Backgammon debut for Jason Bray -- contested Lesters 55 at the BCSC on Thursday evening.
11/06/05: Martin awaits a final opponent ......
Martin Hemming reached his third Bristol Grand Prix final of the year in Thursday's Lesters Trophy event, and awaits the outcome of the outstanding semi-final between Ed Turner and Ian Tarr.
Martin's route to the final involved victories over Tony Walters, Charlie Hetherington and Richard Cartwright.
Ed defeated Steffen Nowak, Roland Herrera and Stuart Mann, while Ian eliminated Richard Owsley, Jason Bray and Dave Pym.
Debutant Jason had defeated his mentor Simon Baker in the first round. There's gratitude for you!
Meanwhile Dave's unusual record of having registered either a 0% or a 100% record on every league night or tournament visit this year was finally obliterated in the quarter-finals.
11/06/05: Martin's OGP lead could surpass 200 ......
If the remainder of Lesters 55 goes Martin Hemming's way, he could be sitting on a lead of over 200 points at the half way stage of the OGP race.
Having led by 107 points before Thursday's event, he has already increased the margin to 170, with the prospect of a further 40 if he wins the final.
Current OGP champion Ed Turner has the chance to kick start his knock-out season by getting amongst Martin's closest pursuers, but the other semi-finalist, Ian Tarr, could push on into second place and cut Martin's lead to 130 points.
11/06/05: Who wants it? ......
Kevin Jones must be amused if he ever visits this website at his Manchester home.
The man whose sole Bristol visit took him to the final of the February tournament still leads the IGP race and the season is half over!
And with just three IGP-qualified players taking part in Lesters 55 -- including debut player Jason Bray -- the question has to be asked: "Does anyone actually care about the rewards for a good IGP season?"
Tony Walters and Nigel Mitchell at least put themselves on the line, but first hurdle exits saw them adding just 10 points each to their respective tallies.
Tony thus moves into second place, three points behind Kevin, and Nigel is fifth, 35 points adrift, but otherwise the absences of other contenders maintained the status quo, Jason's initial 40 points tally apart.
With Premier Status as the reward for the top two finishers, not to mention the kudos of landing prizes for following in the footsteps of previous IGP winners like Jerry Limb, Paul Watts, Neil Young, Steve Ferrer and Richard Cartwright, the lack of interest does seem a little surprising.
The next six months will decide whether or not the IGP captures the imaginations of our many intermediates.
11/06/05: No rollover but conflicts in the auction ......
Ten of the twenty-two Lesters entrants elected to go for the Winner Takes All pool, encouraged only slightly, it would appear, by the £40 rollover from the May tournament.
There will be no rollover this time, however, as Richard Cartwright, the only non-entrant of the pool, was the sole rollover hope as early as the quarter-finals, and was eventually eliminated in the semis.
So whoever contests the final with Martin Hemming will be playing for a share of a total prize pot of £560, including the £140 from the WTA pool.
Meanwhile the auction pool is less straightforward. The three contenders all bucked the trend by failing to buy themselves, although bizarrely two of them have an interest in rivals.
Ed Turner was bought by Ian Tarr for a mere £3, Ian in turn was bought by Martin for just £4, and Jason Champion invested £6 in Martin.
The conflicts of interest will be minimal, however, as the auction pool totals just £84.
11/06/05: Steve almost there ......
Steve Ferrer's hard earned Premier Two victory over Phil Charlton has taken him to the very brink of becoming champion.
Assuming that penalty points are not going to be a factor at the sharp end of the table, Steve's tally of twelve wins (36 points) cannot now be surpassed.
Five players can equal that, so only average points difference after a remarkable sequence of results can deprive Steve of a title he has looked likely to take from very soon after the outset.
The result has done Phil no favours, while another promotion contender -- Jerry Limb -- also suffered a setback against Richard Owsley.
While Steve's promotion looks pretty much nailed on, the race for the other three places is wide open.
08/06/05: Tim's "regrettable" resignation
Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr has today accepted Tim Jefferies' resignation from Premier Two.
Having spoken to Tim at length, Ian felt he had no alternative but to accept the resignation with immediate effect, and to expunge Tim's entire record from the league.
In normal circumstances, a solution more acceptable to the running of the league would have been sought, but Ian felt that Tim's circumstances were such that pursuing such a course would have been pointless.
In a statement, Ian said "The Premier League relies on the good will and integrity of each member, such that every effort must be made to complete every Premier League campaign. Sometimes, though, it has to be recognised that in certain circumstances this will not be possible. Thankfully such occurrences are rare, but the effect on the league of such a resignation is an adverse one in terms of the fairness of the outcome, which can be extremely damaging to the competition. I will therefore be doubly relying on all other members of Premier Two to complete their campaigns, if at all possible."
The regrettable effect on this occasion is to wipe six completed matches from the record -- victories over Tim by Steve Ferrer, Ian Tarr, Phil Charlton, Juanita Ferrer and Alan Parfitt, and a defeat for Neil Young.
And all targets at the July, September and November checkpoints have been relaxed by a single match, so as to avoid putting further pressure on any individual player.
05/06/05: Simonetta's poker win stands alone
Simonetta Barone was the star for Bristol's small band of hopefuls at BIBA's Hilton Trophy weekend event at the Paramount Hotel, Daventry.
But her area of expertise on this occasion was not backgammon. She won the Saturday night poker tournament!
Nine Bristol connected players were among the mere 28 who contested the main event (backgammon!), but of these, three -- Simonetta, Martin Hemming and Rosey Bensley (later winner of the Last Chance flight) -- declined to enter the traditional Bristol pool for best performance in the main flight of the tournament.
Perhaps they knew something the rest of us didn't, as each fell at their first hurdle, along with Jason Champion and Tony Walters.
Peter Bennet and Ian Tarr were eliminated at the second time of asking, where the other two -- John Slattery and Kevin White -- effectively contested what amounted to a "Bristol Pool Final".
Slatts came through, but was then defeated by Liverpool's Simon K Jones, who was later to lose the final narrowly to Mardi Ohanessian.
02/06/05: Snowie verdict no consolation for Martin
Mark Dixon's shock challenge for the Premier One title shows no sign of faltering.
His 11-4 victory over Martin Hemming at Roland and Simonetta's in Bishopston this evening came when, at 7-4 up, a double which Snowie later ruled as a 0.22 blunder was converted into a gammon and victory.
With only six of his twenty matches still to be played, Mark is still the one to catch!
02/06/05: John's double blow for Conference leader
Conference leader Mike Smith suffered a double blow to his championship hopes at the BCSC yesterday evening.
His double header against John Paton resulted in two defeats, and although Mike retains his lead on average points difference from Andrew Cobb, John and Heike Faulhaber, these results have blown the promotion race wide open.
Indeed John now has the advantage of matches in hand over the other prime contenders.
The evening also saw another Conference landmark achieved when John became the fifth player so far this season to record eight league results, triggering the confirmation of a second promotion slot.
With several others looking likely to break through this threshold, it is anticipated that there will be at least four, and possibly five, promotion places earned from the Conference this year.
01/06/05: Four incur penalties
With the Premier League's May checkpoint now passed, four players have incurred penalties, which can be clawed back by complying with the July checkpoint criteria.
In Premier One Elliot Smart is the only player to fall foul of the rule this time round, being one short of the nine results required.
Elliot needs to play at least two more matches over the next two months to avoid expungement from the league, and five more both to claw this point back and to avoid fresh penalties on July 31st.
Three players in Premier Two have transgressed -- Cynthia Roberts and Ian Preston, who are each one short of the eight results required, and Tim Jefferies, who is two short.
Their targets for July 31st are nine results to avoid expungement and eleven to get over their penalty point problems.
26/05/05: MAY LEAGUE NIGHT NEWS ......
Despite the counter attraction of the televised Liverpool versus AC Milan match, eighteen players were in action at the May league night.
Whether or not there were any regrets -- bearing in mind the spectacular nature of Liverpool's comeback -- remains to be seen!
26/05/05: Slatts closes on Mark ......
John Slattery's last Premier One title win was three seasons ago, but he is looking threatening again this year.
Two wins from three matches last night have moved him level on points with leader Mark Dixon, but just behind on points difference.
Meanwhile everyone in the bottom six -- except Steffen Nowak -- was at least managing to register a victory.
Things still look a little bleak for Steffen, Paul Watts, and Simonetta Barone, who each need good run-ins to stand a chance of escaping the drop.
But after the fourth relegation slot was filled last year by somebody who won nine out of twenty matches, there appears to be every likelihood of a repeat this time, as everyone bar the bottom three can boast at least a 50/50 record.
Elliot Smart remains in danger of incurring a penalty point at next Tuesday's checkpoint.
26/05/05: Ian and Jerry score on quiet Premier Two night ......
After the recent flurry of Premier Two activity, it was a quiet night for that competition on Thursday.
Jerry Limb whitewashed Richard Cartwright, consolidating his promotion push and reclaiming the penalty point he incurred at the March checkpoint.
And when Phillip Hill failed to materialise for a meeting with Ian Preston, Ian Tarr stepped into the breach and scored a win which consolidates his second place.
With five days left before the May checkpoint, Ian Preston, Cynthia Roberts and Tim Jefferies are still in danger of incurring penalties.
26/05/05: Andrew and Heike chasing Mike ......
Second and third placed Andrew Cobb and Heike Faulhaber are now behind Mike Smith only on points difference after recording Conference victories at the BCSC last night.
While Tony Walters and Thomas Liedtke failed to make inroads on the leaders, John Paton's win over Thomas moved him a tad closer.
And both Neil Lowthian -- making his league debut -- and Susy Liedtke recorded their first league victories of the season, when they shared the spoils in their double header.
24/05/05: Six in a row for Bristol
The eleventh Inter-Cities Challenge encounter between teams from Bristol and Birmingham saw Bristol register a sixth successive win, and their eighth in all.
The venue was a new one for this particular series, the Cornubia in Temple Street, in the centre of Bristol, and Bristol's winning sequence was maintained with a 15-9 success.
In Ian Tarr's absence, Martin Hemming stepped into the breach as Bristol's captain, but a strange quirk of fate saw him playing an unusual captain's role.
With the Birmingham team reduced to seven, and Bristol's squad nine strong, the decision was taken -- not for the first time in these matches -- to "loan" a randomly drawn player to the opposition.
The player in question turned out to be Martin himself, and he acquitted himself nobly by winning two of his three 9-point matches.
The opening series of eight matches saw the two teams level pegging with four wins apiece, but it was the second of the three rounds of matches which effectively sealed the contest, with only the evergreen Ralph Eskinazi notching for the visitors.
The 11-5 margin going into the final series always threatened to be enough, and after another evenly fought series, Bristol were declared winners by 15 matches to 9, to retain the salver for another five months or so, with the next encounter provisionally set for October 22nd in Birmingham.
Simonetta Barone, Steve Ferrer and Jason Champion all recorded three-win maximums to share the "Bristol best player" pool, while Ralph was Birmingham's beneficiary.
John Lewis was next best for Bristol with two wins, while Miles Farren was the only debutant on either side. And with Ian missing, Birmingham's Fak Laight is now the only player to have contested every one of the matches to date.
The venue was well received by the players, and the likelihood is that it will be used again in the future, possibly for even more events.
24/05/05: Premier Two edge to victory over Conference
The first of the series of three Inter-League matches took place at the BCSC last Thursday, and -- just as was experienced last year -- the form book seemed to exert little influence over proceedings, which were ably run in Ian Tarr's absence by Richard Owsley.
The Premier Two team may have scored the expected victory over their Conference counterparts, but it was a close run thing, with the outcome in doubt until the very last result came in.
With four players on each side drawn to play three opponents to 7 points, there were three series of four matches, and the honours were even after both the first and second series.
And with two of the last four matches completed, the scores were still level at 5-5. Premier Two blushes were spared, though, and they finally ran out 7-5 winners.
Blaine Buchanan was the night's star performer. As the only player to win all three matches, he also managed this feat while only conceding two points. Steve Ferrer scored two victories for the winners, while two of his opponents -- Heike Faulhaber and Mike Smith -- did likewise.
Complete scores (Premier Two names first): Richard Owsley 0 John Paton 7; Juanita Ferrer 4 Mike Smith 7; Steve Ferrer 7 Tony Walters 4; Blaine Buchanan 7 Heike Faulhaber 0; Richard Owsley 3 Mike Smith 7; Juanita Ferrer 7 John Paton 6; Steve Ferrer 5 Heike Faulhaber 7; Blaine Buchanan 7 Tony Walters 1; Richard Owsley 7 Tony Walters 3; Juanita Ferrer 5 Heike Faulhaber 7; Steve Ferrer 7 Mike Smith 1; Blaine Buchanan 7 John Paton 1.
24/05/05: Premier Two promotion race hots up ......
The race to find out who gets promoted from Premier Two took a few more twists last night, as a backdrop to the Inter-League match against representatives of the Conference.
Phil Charlton, who had already scored one victory earlier in the week against Tim Jefferies at the Miners Arms, secured another three points against Blaine Buchanan to move into fifth place in the table.
Of the others who are well placed to mount a serious promotion challenge, Michael Corbett made progress by whitewashing Cynthia Roberts, while Jason Champion suffered a setback at the hands of Neil Young.
For Neil, who had suffered a slow start to the season, this was the second success of the evening, after defeating Juanita Ferrer.
And another double triumph saw Richard Cartwright pulling away from the lower reaches with wins over Richard Owsley and Cynthia.
But with this week's league night the main opportunity to record results before the end of month checkpoint, there are still five players who need to register results to avoid penalties.
Jerry Limb, Ian Preston and Tim are still two results short of the necessary mark, while Richard Cartwright and Cynthia are just one away.
For Jerry, though, the situation is slightly more serious, as his target is also to wipe out the single point penalty he incurred at the end of March.
14/05/05: LADIES NIGHT AT THE MAY GRAND PRIX EVENT! ......
Twenty-one players were in action at the May Bristol Grand Prix tournament, and ladies won both flights -- the first such occurrence in Bristol Grand Prix history.
Neil Lowthian -- who has also committed himself to playing in the Conference -- made his Bristol competitive debut.
14/05/05: Simonetta goes home to victory ......
Exactly a year after gaining her first Main flight win in a Bristol Grand Prix event, Simonetta Barone (pictured left) has done it again.
Victories over Ian Preston, Ed Turner and Phillip Hill paved the way for a final contested later at her Bishopston home, where she defeated Steffen Nowak in a close affair.
Steffen had arrived in the final after wins over Juanita Ferrer, Richard Owsley and Richard Cartwright.
14/05/05: Juanita bags maiden flight success ......
Three times a runner-up in various Bristol competitions and flights, Juanita Ferrer finally emerged as a winner in the consolation flight on Thursday at the BCSC.
Ian Preston, Roland Herrera and Martin Hemming were her victims.
Martin created a record all of his own by meeting only members of two couples present -- Steve Ferrer, Susy Liedtke, Thomas Liedtke and finally Juanita.
14/05/05: £40 rollover unlikely to whet many appetites ......
Has the novelty of the Winner Takes All pool finally worn off? This is the question that has to be asked after only four out of 21 players committed themselves to entering the side pool.
When none of those got past the quarter-final stage, a £40 rollover was assured.
Questions about the future of the pool are premature, as the prospects of more frequent rollovers will surely result in greater interest as the pot builds up.
14/05/05: Steffen closing on Martin ......
OGP leader Martin Hemming still has the cushion of a lead of over 100 points after seven of the sixteen contributing events.
He gained 30 points from his run to the final of the consolation, while many of his closest pursuers were either absent or unsuccessful.
Steffen Nowak, however, has moved into second place overall, his 65 points for being main flight runner-up moving him to 107 points behind Martin.
Simonetta Barone's 100 points gain for winning the tournament has elevated her into third place.
14/05/05: Kevin about to be overhauled? ......
One-time visitor Kevin Jones still leads the race for the IGP title after only one of the top eight contenders turned up on Thursday.
Thomas Liedtke's 30 points gain was enough to raise him above second placed Chris Roberts, while the evening's main IGP beneficiary was Tony Walters, whose 60 points -- including 20 bonus points for defeating Premier One's Stuart Mann -- have moved him into third.
With Kevin 10 points ahead of Thomas and 13 ahead of Tony, there will surely be a new leader soon -- unless Kevin decides to pay another visit!
14/05/05: Mixed fortunes for promotion contenders ......
Three Premier Two results were recorded on Thursday, and three of those just outside the promotion zone were the victors.
Phil Charlton fared best, completing an adjourned match to defeat Phillip Hill.
Phillip, however, later completed another adjourned encounter when he scored an away win at Blaine Buchanan's home. Blaine had earlier defeated Juanita Ferrer.
Phil Charlton and Jerry Limb -- a Wednesday winner over Ian Tarr -- have the best chance to make inroads into the top four, as they have each lost only twice.
08/05/05: Yet another title for Slatts!
John Slattery today added yet another title to his portfolio, when he won BIBA's County Cups Trophy at the Paramount Hotel in Hinckley, Leicestershire.
Slatts is pictured (left) on the way to his final victory over David Nathan, watched by Rosey Bensley and her brother John Gilbertson. And on the right, he shows off yet more trophies destined for his cabinet.
Thirteen Bristol-related players were present among the 42 contestants at the Swiss Format event.
After two rounds of matches, no fewer than seven of our thirteen were still amongst the eleven contenders remaining to contest the main flight -- Slatts, Stuart Mann, Simonetta Barone, Rosey, Peter Bennet, Martin Hemming and Jason Champion.
Simonetta, Rosey, Peter and Jason fell in round three, while Stuart (defeated by Slatts) and Martin were beaten in round four. Slatts, however, went all the way.
He won five titles in the British Isles during 2004, and has already added this one and the Manchester Open this year, and is well on course to a successful defence of his BIBA Grand Prix title.
Match wins (out of six) were: John Slattery 6; Peter Bennet 5; Jason Champion and Tony Lee 4; Stuart Mann, Martin Hemming, Ian Tarr, Kevin White and Tony Walters 3; Simonetta and Rosey 2; Roland Herrera 1; Paul Gilbertson 0.
Slatts and Peter split the proceeds of the Saturday night £100 Jackpot, in which Tony Walters and Ian were the semi-finalists.
And Slatts weekend was made all the better by the fact that his fourth round clash with Stuart doubled up as a Premier One clash, Slatts moving into second place, six points behind leader Mark Dixon, with three matches in hand.
04/05/05: Stuart edges Masters final
Stuart Mann is the 2005 Bristol Masters champion.
But he rode his luck once or twice in what was ultimately a very close match, not least when he risked losing a quadruple backgammon to his opponent John Ould in the opening game, which eventually cost him just four points!
He was able to claw his way back into the match -- played at the George Inn, Backwell -- and eventually triumphed at double match point.
This is Stuart's sixth major domestic title, after three OGP and two Premier League titles.
04/05/05: Masters final in Backwell tonight
The 2005 Bristol Masters final between Stuart Mann and John Ould will take place at he George Inn, Backwell, at 8pm tonight.
Watch out for a report here later.
29/04/05: Stuart earns Masters final place
Stuart Mann has reached his first Bristol Masters final.
He earned his clash with John Ould by defeating Paul Watts 11-7 at the BCSC last night.
The final is likely to take place some time next week.
28/04/05: APRIL LEAGUE NIGHT NEWS ......
Twenty-three players were in action at the April league night, with the Conference -- eleven players present -- being the most prominent.
28/04/05: Big guns gather behind leaders ......
The two players who have shared the last four Premier League titles last night moved closer into contention as the season approached the half way stage at the BCSC.
Main mover was John Slattery, fresh from his weekend Manchester success, who transformed an average record into a strong one with three straight victories. His victims were Ed Turner (twice), and John Ould, and the second win over Ed came after trailing 6-10.
Current champion Stuart Mann contented himself with a single win, secured at the expense of second placed Dave Pym, to stay third above Slatts on average points difference.
For Dave this has been a season of extremes. Each league session has been either 100% or 0%. To be fair, his last blank was the opener in January, where he lost both encounters.
Last night Dave lost all three, whereas in the intervening sessions Dave rattled off seven straight league victories.
Scoring a double success over Dave last night was John Ould, whose stature on the local scene continues to grow.
The night's other victor was Simonetta Barone, who ended her disastrous early season sequence with a narrow win against Steffen Nowak.
Having also reclaimed her penalty point, the win was enough to haul her off the bottom of the league, at the expense of the absent Paul Watts.
28/04/05: Ian and Jason stay on course ......
Premier Two promotion contenders Ian Tarr and Jason Champion each scored victories to keep their respective campaigns on track.
And Jason's win had the added advantage of providing a setback for fellow contender Michael Corbett.
Richard Owsley was the night's other winner, thus ending an unhappy losing sequence, and hauling himself off the bottom of the league table.
28/04/05: Mike goes top ......
Mike Smith is the new leader of the Conference after his two victories at the BCSC last night.
These leapfrogged him above Heike Faulhaber and Andrew Cobb, both of whom suffered setbacks.
Thomas Liedtke, Robert Hampson and John Paton each suffered mixed fortunes with a win and a defeat apiece.
But the night's other main beneficiaries were Tony Walters -- whose three straight wins moved him up to fourth place -- and Shane Roberts, who managed two wins out of three on the night.
The other news surrounded the confirmation that at least one player will gain promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season, with the prospect that more promotion slots will be earned soon, under the formula based on levels of player activity during the season.
26/04/05: John ends Jason's Masters defence
John Ould has reached the final of the fifth Bristol Masters tournament.
Last night's victory over reigning champion Jason Champion has earned a tilt at the prestigious title against either Stuart Mann or Paul Watts.
26/04/05: Slatts the wild card bags another title
John Slattery has done it again.
His weekend visit to the Manchester 1-day event -- along with further Bristol representation in the shape of Martin Hemming, Mark Dixon, Roland Herrera, Simonetta Barone and Jason Champion -- yielded the title of Manchester Open Champion, but not without a hefty slice of luck!
The first phase of the event, a five-match Swiss Format tournament, saw Mark go through to the sixteen-player knock-out phase with the full five victories, together with Roland, who managed four wins.
It was at this point that John had his big break, with his name being plucked from the hat-full of three-time winners for a wild card place.
And while Mark was falling at the first knock-out hurdle, and Roland at the second, Slatts progressed to the final, where he whitewashed Nigel Merrigan to claim the title.
Martin reached the semi-final of the Consolation, and Simonetta the semi-final of the Last Chance.
21/04/05: Masters reaches semi-final stage
All sixteen qualifiers were present to contest the fifth Bristol Masters at the BCSC on Thursday evening, an indication of the growing prestige attached to this event. And the title is still up for grabs.
Four players had made it through to the semi-finals by the time the midnight curfew took effect, so arrangements will have to be made to resolve those outstanding issues.
Reigning title-holder Jason Champion is mounting a fierce defence of his title, having fought his way past Elliot Smart and Mark Dixon.
In the semis, he will meet John Ould, conqueror of Richard Owsley and Ed Turner.
The other semi will feature Paul Watts and Stuart Mann, who respectively defeated Ian Tarr and Martin Hemming and Simon Baker and Richard Cartwright.
Meanwhile, there was some league action, with Steffen Nowak scoring a narrow win against Simonetta Barone in Premier One, and Neil Young doing likewise against Alan Parfitt in Premier Two.
20/04/05: Sixteen set for the Masters?
The fifth annual Bristol Masters event, for which players qualified through their performances during 2004, is all set for tomorrow (Thursday) evening at the BCSC, starting soon after 7pm.
Of sixteen qualifiers -- holder Jason Champion, winners of the monthly grand prix events, and league high finishers -- all bar one have indicated their availability, and reserves are on standby, should there be any no-shows.
Spectators are welcome, and there is always the possibility of making a wild card appearance in the event of qualifiers or reserves not turning up.
Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr is keen to ensure that there is a full field of sixteen players in the first-to-11-points knock-out tournament.
16/04/05: Inter-Cities date set
We have a date for the eleventh Inter-Cities Challenge, our twice yearly get together with our Birmingham counterparts.
This is the home leg on Sunday May 22nd, with the venue yet to be confirmed, and volunteers are now being sought to represent Bristol in the match, as we try to score a sixth successive victory.
Contact Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr if you wish to be in the team.
15/04/05: Jason bags first grand prix win
Jason Champion is a Bristol Grand Prix event winner for the first time.
His victory over Blaine Buchanan at the Wellington, Horfield, this afternoon comes as no surprise after a string of eye-catching performances recently on local and national stages.
And the 35 extra points accrued from his final win move him into second place overall in the OGP table, but still 127 points behind leader Martin Hemming.
Close behind Jason are Mark Dixon, Steffen Nowak and Roland Herrera.
The win also secures Jason's place in the 2006 Bristol Masters, a title he currently holds, and will defend next week.
But both finalists suffered league setbacks immediately following their encounter, Blaine losing to Jerry Limb, while Jason was suffering a blow to his Premier Two title hopes against Ian Tarr.
15/04/05: APRIL GRAND-PRIX HIGHLIGHTS ......
Twenty-three players contested the main flight of the April Grand prix event, and a late arrival slotted straight into the consolation flight.
Debutants were Brian Porter, who made a round trip of around 200 miles from his Shaldon, Devon, home especially for the event, and Francois Andres, who arrived looking for a game of chess, and found something else to his liking.
15/04/05: Blaine and Jason reach April final ......
Blaine Buchanan and Jason Champion made it to the final of the April grand prix event at the BCSC on Thursday evening, with Blaine's run to the final -- past Brian Porter, Phillip Hill and Roland Herrera while conceding just a single point -- looking particularly impressive.
Jason, who also had the benefit of a first round bye, defeated Steffen Nowak, Keith Wiltshire and Steve Ferrer en route.
15/04/05: Richard wins consolation flight ......
The consolation flight was won by Richard Cartwright, who defeated Steffen Nowak and Mark Dixon to earn his final place.
Opponent Charlie Hetherington beat Simonetta Barone, Juanita Ferrer and Brian Porter on his way to the final.
15/04/05: Martin's OGP lead safe ......
Martin Hemming increased his OGP lead from 119 to 129 points at Thursday's tournament despite scoring a single victory in Thursday's tournament.
It helped Martin that the win was secured at the expense of second placed Mark Dixon.
Finalist Jason Champion can edge ahead of Mark if he can beat Blaine Buchanan.
15/04/05: Chris becomes Kevin's closest pursuer ......
Manchester's Kevin Jones is still at the head of the IGP points table, despite being a one-time visitor.
There seems to be a palpable lack of urgency among his pursuers for this particular title, as nobody seems committed enough to make the regular appearances which would ultimately leave Kevin for dead.
Chris Roberts is the latest to leap-frog the others into second place, with his first visit since February netting him 45 points, including 20 bonus points.
Others to score well were Keith Wiltshire and Gaz Owen.
15/04/05: Blaine and Jason scotch rollover hopes ......
The £70 rollover from the unclaimed Winner Takes All pool in March tempted only nine of the 23 entrants to participate on Thursday.
But both finalists were among those nine, so there is no rollover for the May event.
15/04/05: Dave keeps up the pressure ......
Dave Pym's fine start to the Premier One season continued with an early evening success against luckless Simonetta Barone, whose torrid start to the campaign has put her top flight place in serious jeopardy.
Dave, who was unable to stay for the tournament, made his way back to Swindon safe in the knowledge that -- with four matches in hand -- he had reduced Mark Dixon's lead to a mere six points.
Simonetta was later to lose a real cliff-hanger against Martin Hemming.
15/04/05: Steve beaten at last ......
Steve Ferrer's hopes of going through an entire Premier Two campaign without suffering a defeat were finally laid to rest when Jason Champion followed up his tournament victory over Steve with one in the league, which gave Steve his first taste of defeat in thirteen league matches.
Steve still looks a cast iron promotion bet, with the championship also odds on, but Jason has himself only lost once, so could mount a serious challenge.
15/04/05: Gaz makes it seventeen ......
Gaz Owen is the latest player to sign up for the Bristol Conference, making a total of seventeen now in line for participation.
11/04/05: Ian tops Handicap table
Ian Tarr defeated Miles Farren 7-4 at the Brewery Tap this evening to land the second Handicap Knock-out title of the year.
The win also advances Ian to the top of the Handicap Trophy table, as the competition reaches its half way stage.
04/04/05: Quarter-finals Bristol's best
Hopes of a first Bristol victory in the main flight of the BIBA British Open at the Paramount Hotel, Hinckley, at the weekend were dashed when three Bristol pool entrants were all eliminated at the quarter-final stage.
With fifteen Bristol and Bristol-connected players among the field of 73 hopefuls, only Kevin White was unlucky enough to have to contest the opening round.
He came through to join the others in the last 64, only to dip out, along with Stuart Mann, Rosey Bensley, Mark Dixon, Steve and Juanita Ferrer, and Martin Hemming.
Stuart and Rosey succumbed in all-Bristol matches against Tony Walters and Ian Tarr respectively.
Then Tony Walters and Tony Lee failed to make the Sunday morning auction, the latter Tony losing out to John Slattery.
First to fall from grace on Sunday were Ian Tarr, Paul Gilbertson and Nigel Merrigan, leaving Peter Bennet, Jason Champion and Slatts to contest the last eight.
It was there, though, that all three fell, and had to content themselves with third shares of the Bristol pool.
The final was one which made history, as Yorkshire's Rachel Rhodes became the first player to take the title for a second time, recovering from a deficit of 0-6 to defeat Julian Minwalla.
Tony Walters and Kevin White then distinguished themselves by finishing as runners-up in the progressive consolation and suicide respectively.
And Mark Dixon finished second in the Saturday night poker event.
04/04/05: Stuart's vital victory
Stuart Mann has scored what could yet prove to be a vital win in this year's Premier One campaign.
His 11-4 win over runaway leader Mark Dixon ensures that Mark still has plenty to do if he wants to confirm a sensational Premier One title-winning debut performance.
The result, from a match played at Hinckley yesterday, will be well received by the other contenders eyeing Mark's rise with increasing concern.
04/04/05: Cary smarting?
In what is believed to be the first instance of a married couple fighting out the final of a flight of a Bristol tournament, Elliot Smart has scored a narrow victory over his wife Cary.
This was the consolation flight of the March Handicap Knock-out, in which Elliot surmounted the obstacle of a 0-4 starting deficit tio come through for victory, apparently courtesy of a result-swinging 6-3 roll.
Elliot's paucity of knock-out success -- this was only the second time he has won a Bristol flight (both consolations) -- makes a stark contrast to his league exploits, where he has finished as Premier League runner-up in both of the last two seasons.
For Cary, this was only a second appearance in Bristol competition, having contested an OGP tournament back in 2001.
01/04/05: Penalties for two
A little league action tonight saw both Ed Turner and Phil Charlton do enough to avoid tiresome penalty points for lagging behind the prescribed schedule.
And not only did they achieve this, but they also managed to register victories -- Ed over Paul Watts in Premier One, Phil against John Lewis in Premier Two.
Only Simonetta Barone in the top flight and Jerry Limb in Premier Two collected penalties. But these can, of course, be clawed back should the players have cuaght up with the schedule by the next checkpoint at the end of May.
31/03/05: MARCH LEAGUE NIGHT NEWS ......
Twenty-seven players were there at the BCSC for the March league night, with at least half of those joining the trend for early starts by being in action before 7pm!
31/03/05: Dave in pursuit of Mark ......
No doubt at all about Premier One's star performer on Wednesday evening. That title would go to Dave Pym, whose three hard fought victories (two over Paul Watts and one over Steffen Nowak) move him into a clear second place behind Mark Dixon.
Mark, meanwhile, made up for a defeat by Steffen by switching venues to his own home, and there defeating John Ould.
John had earlier beaten Ed Turner, himself fresh from a victory over Elliot Smart.
31/03/05: Is Steve already up? ......
Steve Ferrer's record breaking winning sequence at the start of his Premier Two campaign was extended by three further wins -- over Phillip Hill, Ian Preston and Tim Jefferies -- at the BCSC on Wednesday.
This means Steve has already won twelve of his sixteen fixtures, and it now looks as though only penalty points can possibly rob him of promotion to the top flight.
Before the session started there were still three players undefeated in the division, but Steve's narrow defeat of Phillip put paid to one of those records, while another Ferrer -- Steve's wife Juanita -- ended Jason Champion's perfect start to the season.
Steve apart, the night's other Premier Two success story surrounded Michael Corbett, whose wins over Juanita and Phillip move him into second place, in full contention for the season's honours.
Other winners on the night were Alan Parfitt, Ian Tarr, Ian Preston and John Lewis.
31/03/05: Mike and John make progress as Heike goes top ......
The prolific Heike Faulhaber was the first player in the Conference to cross the magic threshhold of eight results recorded, registering a win and two defeats -- enough to move her ahead of Andrew Cobb at the head of the table.
Andrew suffered his first defeat of the season at the hands of Thomas Liedtke, who is himself challenging the top placings.
Biggest winners on the night, though, were Mike Smith and John Paton, who each bagged a brace of wins, while new Conference signing Miles Farren began his stay in the division by whitewashing Nick Dolman, another player to suffer his first league reverse of the season.
31/03/05: Miles and Cary in Handicap progress ......
Miles Farren and Thomas Liedtke fought out their held over semi-final from the main flight of last week's Handicap Knock-out event, and Miles emerged the winner. He now awaits the winner of the other semi-final, which involves Neil Young and Ian Tarr.
But the consolation flight provided the event's most noteworthy talking point, when Cary Smart defeated Richard Owsley to clinch a place in the final against none other than her own husband Elliot. Their choice of venue for the final is almost limitless, but Elliot will need to recover from an initial handicap deficit of 0-4 in order to prevail.
26/03/05: SECOND HANDICAP KNOCK-OUT NEWS ......
After the year's opening Handicap Knock-out attracted thirty-one players, including three who had come to the area for the Gammonitis Peligoni Cup, starting two days later, it was expected that there would be a downturn in the entry, especially with the novelty factor wearing off.
Not a bit of it! The entry was again 31, with young Harry Hemming making his debut among a wide variety of entrants.
26/03/05: Five matches held over as Handicap proves a big hit ......
The second of the year's four Handicap Knock-out events was not even close to completion at close of play at the BCSC at midnight on Thursday.
With all matches in both flights being played to seven points (in order to preserve the effect of the handicaps throughout), both semis and the final of the main flight, and one semi and the final of the consolation, are all likely to be completed at next Wednesday's league night.
Lining up in the main flight semis will be Ian Tarr versus Neil Young, and Thomas Liedtke versus Miles Farren.
And in the consolation, only Richard Owsley can stop an all-Smart final, as he takes on Cary Smart in the semi, before the winner meets Elliot Smart in the final.
26/03/05: Grand prix status quo maintained ......
No great movement was evident at the top of the OGP table, where Martin Hemming's 122-point lead was trimmed by a mere three points, Mark Dixon taking slightly closer order.
The only positional change in the top five was Jerry Limb's leapfrogging of the absent Roland Herrera into fourth place.
In the IGP, Mancunian Kevin Jones still leads, although Thomas Liedtke has moved to within 40 points, with the prospect of further points should he be successful in the tournament's latter stages.
Nigel Mitchell and Miles Farren also scored useful points.
26/03/05: Handicap Trophy wide open ......
February Handicap winner Phillip Hill leads a clutch of six players who are covered by a mere 15 points as the Handicap Trophy approaches its half way stage.
This is a competition that threatens to go right to the wire, with the two remaining contributory tournaments to be staged in August and October.
26/03/05: Mark strikes major title blow ......
The Premier One challenge of Mark Dixon continues to gather credibility.
At the Brewers Tap, just prior to Thursday's tournament, he scored a tremendous 11-3 victory over reigning champion Stuart Mann, and has reached the half way stage of his campaign with just two defeats in ten matches.
Meanwhile Steve Ferrer continues his Premier Two dominance after a ninth straight victory, this time over Richard Owsley.
And yet he still cannot rest easy, with Jason Champion and Phillip Hill also undefeated.
And in the Conference wins were recorded by Thomas Liedtke and Tony Walters.
16/03/05: Mark wins first Lesters title
Mark Dixon has won his first Lesters title.
Yesterday evening's final at the Henbury home of opponent Jerry Limb resulted in an 11-8 win for Mark, who goes second in the OGP, but is still 122 points behind leader Martin Hemming.
14/03/05: Mark in final
Mark Dixon defeated Simonetta Barone at the weekend to clinch his place in the final of the 54th Lesters Trophy event.
He will visit Jerry Limb's home for the final tomorrow (Tuesday) evening.
13/03/05: LESTERS 54 HIGHLIGHTS ......
Following a clutch of high turnout events, only 22 players put themselves forward for the challenge of the 54th Lesters Trophy event at the BCSC on Thursday evening.
It was impossible to be downbeat about this, however, as we welcomed no fewer than four new arrivals onto the Bristol Backgammon scene -- Miles Farren from Nailsea, whose acquaintance many had already made at the recent Gammonitis event in Winterbourne; Martin Lubianka, introduced by Blaine Buchanan; and, totally out of the blue after surfing the net to good effect, Gaz Owen and Dave Street.
13/03/05: Jerry has to wait ......
Jerry Limb is back.
Not only is he back on the scene and vowing to become as regular a fixture as he was three or four years ago, but he is back as a realistic contender for honours.
Having beaten Stuart Mann, Dave Street and Steve Ferrer at Lesters 54 on Thursday, he still has to wait and see who his final opponent will be.
Progress in the other half of the draw was hampered by a couple of very slow matches in the first round, but eventually Simonetta Barone and Mark Dixon emerged as semi-finalists, and will probably play for their place in the final this weekend.
Simonetta had to defeat Jason Champion, Paul Watts and Martin Hemming to reach the semis, while Mark progressed via a bye and victories over Gaz Owen and Roland Herrera.
13/03/05: Who will be Lesters title holder number 26? ......
Twenty-five different players have won Lesters titles in the 53 previous incarnations of the event.
But Lesters 54 will provide us with the 26th member of this no longer exclusive club, as Jerry Limb had never previously got beyond the semis, and semi-finalists Simonetta Barone and Mark Dixon have broken fresh ground themselves.
13/03/05: £70 rollover will boost April event ......
Steve Ferrer was the only one of the seven players brave enough to go for the Winner Takes All pool to make it as far as the semis.
His defeat there at the hands of Jerry Limb will have pleased those who are inclined to jump onto the WTA bandwagon whenever there is a rollover.
And although there is only £70 in the kitty for the April grand prix tournament, this will surely attract a few extra punters on that night.
13/03/05: Simonetta, Steve and Blaine retain auction interest ......
The recent trend whereby players purchasing themselves in the traditional pre-Lesters auction go on to contest the final came to an abrupt halt on Thursday evening.
None of the three players who remain in contention had the confidence to buy themselves, although Simonetta Barone may find herself with a small conflict of interests, should she defeat Mark Dixon in the outstanding semi.
Having bought Jerry Limb in the auction, she would then find herself in a no-lose situation, although she would of course be rewarded more abundantly by winning herself.
Steve Ferrer, who bought Simonetta, and Blaine Buchanan -- purchaser of Mark -- thus retain an interest in a tournament from which they have been eliminated.
13/03/05: Martin extends OGP lead despite quarter-final exit ......
Having won both previous monthly grand prix events to build up a 110 points lead at the head of the OGP table, Martin Hemming might have expected at least one of his closest pursuers to close the gap after his quarter-final exit on Thursday.
His respectable 50 points haul, gained by victories over Neil Young and Miles Farren, actually had the unexpected effect of increasing his lead by 40 points!
The reason for this was that, of the top sixteen players in the table going into Lesters 54, seven failed to make an appearance, while a further seven fell at the first hurdle, the exceptions being Martin and Roland Herrera, whose two wins at least saw him keep pace with the leader, as he moved into third place, just behind Steffen Nowak.
Jerry Limb's advance to the final raised him sixteen places to fourth, although a final win would also push either Simonetta Barone or Mark Dixon into second.
13/03/05: Where were the IGP leaders? ......
Fourteen players had gained IGP points prior to Thursday's tournament, but of those only John Paton turned up to try and add to his points tally.
His failure to do so, and the failure of the five additions to the IGP race to score heavily, maintains the status quo, with the top six exactly as they were before the tournament.
Dave Street, Miles Farren and Elias Hamati all scored respectably, and were all boosted by bonus points for eliminating Premier Status opposition.
13/03/05: Mark and Steve maintain fierce league pace ......
A little Premier One action, and quite a lot in Premier Two saw a few changes to the respective league tables.
Both league leaders kept up the pressure with victories -- Mark Dixon scoring his seventh win in nine matches in the top flight, while Steve Ferrer made it a perfect eight wins as he completed the first half of his Premier Two fixtures.
And Jason Champion, with four matches completed, also maintains a 100% record in Premier Two.
Other winners on the night were Ed Turner in Premier One, and Juanita Ferrer, Ian Tarr and Jerry Limb in Premier Two.
As for the March 31st checkpoint, only Jerry -- out of all 28 Premier players -- now faces the possibility of expungement, but six Premier One players and eleven in Premier Two still have work to do if they wish to avoid penalty points.
Cue feverish activity?
10/03/05: Stuart goes second
At the George Inn, Backwell, last night Stuart Mann shared the spoils of two Premier One matches with John Ould.
It didn't look good for John when, having lost the first match 0-11, he found himself 0-6 down in the second. His confidence will have received a massive shot in the arm, however, after his tremendous comeback to win 11-9.
Stuart is now second in the league, ahead of Martin Hemming on average points difference.
06/03/05: Jason's rich vein continues
At this weekend's BIBA Slattery Scottish Open in Hinckley, Jason Champion continued his rich vein of form by reaching the final of the main flight, where he was defeated by Peter Christmas.
The Ferrers also had a good weekend, Steve and Juanita winning the Saturday night doubles, while Steve went one further today by winning the "Haggis" flight -- the one usually named the "Suicide".
Meanwhile, Mark Dixon took advantage of the occasion to stretch his Premier One lead by defeating his closest pursuer Martin Hemming 11-10, this after trailing 3-10.
27/02/05: Honours even in High Wycombe
Martin Hemming and John Slattery played both their Premier One matches at Slatts' home in High Wycombe today, each player winning once.
Slatts won the first match 11-6, but was whitewashed in the second.
24/02/05: Fourteen days, fifty-five players!
With a succession of events for all persuasions taking place in the area over the past fortnight, the response of the players was spectacular.
On February 10th, 29 players turned out for the second of this year's regular Bristol Grand Prix tournaments.
A week later, an amazing 31 took part in the year's first Handicap Knock-out.
Then, last weekend, the Gammonitis road-show came to town -- or to Winterbourne, at least -- with the expected healthy turnout of Bristol players.
And last night's league session saw thirty playing.
With many different players having disparate interests, the grand total of Bristol connected players competing at these four events was a staggering fifty-five!
Where else in the country would that happen?
24/02/05: Martin stopped at eleven
Amid the flurry of activity at yesterday's league night, it passed unnoticed by many -- including this correspondent -- that Martin Hemming's bid to prise the largest trophy yet out of sponsor John Slattery failed.
Martin's first match of the evening, an 8-11 defeat at the hands of Paul Watts, ended his 1000 to 1 sequence at just eleven wins (or 2000-1 in the parlance of this particular award), one short of Stuart Mann's record.
John can now pay a visit to the trophy shop to order the two outstanding prizes, Martin's and Ed Turner's.
There are no new sequences threatening to loosen John's purse strings, Stuart's current run of five victories being the closest, with a clutch of players on sequences of four or three.
24/02/05: FEBRUARY LEAGUE NIGHT NEWS ......
Thirty players braved the inhospitable elements to venture out to the BCSC for the February league night.
24/02/05: Dave puts slow start behind him ......
Of the eleven Premier One contestants, only one -- John Slattery -- was not present at the BCSC last night.
John had intended to make the trip from High Wycombe, but understandably decided against making the trip with the weather closing in.
The other ten players, though, all turned out after receiving a gentle nudge from Director Ian Tarr to get their campaigns well on track.
The night's most successful performer was Dave Pym, whose two previous matches had ended in defeat, but Dave made the journey back to Wiltshire with three victories and a rise of eight places in the league table under his belt.
There is every sign that this season's competition will be as tight as last year's, with everyone having been defeated at least once already, so leader Mark Dixon should not feel too despondent about breaking even on the night.
Martin Hemming and Dave are giving chase, although Martin's two defeats in three matches on the night will not have pleased him greatly.
Meanwhile the only other player to have won more than he has lost so far is champion Stuart Mann.
Others to win on the night were Paul Watts, Steffen Nowak, John Ould and Elliot Smart.
24/02/05: Alan and Jason step up promotion challenge ......
With the top three in Premier Two all absent, there was the chance for others to make a push towards the promotion zone.
Alan Parfitt did his chances no harm by recording a victory over Richard Cartwright, while Jason Champion notched two wins to continue his hot streak of form from the weekend.
Others to register victories on the night were Michael Corbett, Cynthia Roberts, Phil Charlton and Ian Tarr.
24/02/05: Andrew and Heike go top ......
There was some gratifyingly frenetic activity in the Conference, with eleven players -- including new signing John Paton -- in action.
Busiest, and most successful, was Heike Faulhaber, who got through three and a half matches -- including the tail end of an adjourned match against Tim Oldfield -- and recorded no fewer than four victories.
Heike's wins included 11-10 successes against Thomas Liedtke and Mike Smith, and she now occupies second place in the league, behind Andrew Cobb on points difference.
Andrew, with two matches in hand over Heike, has won four times without reply so far, making this easily his best start to a league season.
Other winners on the night were Shane Roberts, Mike Smith, Tim Oldfield, Nigel Mitchell, Thomas Liedtke and Robert Hampson.
20/02/05: Slatts, Jason, Simonetta in Gammonitis finals
The Gammonitis Peligoni Cup event, held at the Ramada Grange Hotel, Winterbourne, this weekend, was attended by thirty-seven players, including a large number of Bristol connected players.
The locals were prominent in all three flights -- main (13 point matches), progressive consolation (9 point matches), and progressive last chance (5 point matches) -- with John Slattery coming as close as he ever has to winning a Gammonitis title, when he was defeated in the main flight final by Brian Busfield.
Perhaps the biggest Bristol success story of the weekend was the run of Jason Champion in the consolation flight, which he duly won when he defeated Chris Jeans in the final.
The trio of Bristol finalists was completed by Simonetta Barone, who lost to Jay Lewis in the final of the last chance.
Other noteworthy performances came from Juanita Ferrer, who reached the main quarter-finals, and Martin Hemming who lost out in the semi-finals of the consolation. Meanwhile Blaine Buchanan enhanced his successful outing ratio by winning the Saturday night poker, just three weeks after making the backgammon final of the Cotswold Fireside Tournament.
Among the others to put in an appearance at Winterbourne were Rosey Bensley, Steve Ferrer, Handicap Knock-out guest Nigel Merrigan, Ian Tarr, Steffen Nowak, Tony Walters, Mark Dixon, Stuart Mann, Roland Herrera, Peter Bennet and Nailsea resident Miles Farren, who is resolved to make appearances at regular Bristol events, now he knows we are here.
20/02/05: Domestic action, too, at Winterbourne
Some domestic issues were settled amongst the Peligoni Cup action at the weekend.
John Slattery's way of showing appreciation for his weekend hostess was to inflict two Premier One defeats on Simonetta Barone.
And the February Grand Prix event was completed ten days after the event when Stuart Mann defeated Ian Tarr in the final of the consolation flight.
18/02/05: HANDICAP NIGHT, AND THE BOOM CONTINUES ......
An astonishing turnout of thirty-one players made the first Handicap Knock-out of the year a memorable occasion.
The appeal of the handicap format is that it can offer something to everybody, from 2003 European Champion John Slattery right through the spectrum to the young ones, like Todd and Lewis Young, for whom the experience is invaluable.
Debuts were made by Mark Skelton and seasoned national tournament player Nigel Merrigan, down early for the Gammonitis Peligoni Cup event at the weekend, as were Slatts and Rosey.
Also tempted back into action after a fraction over seven years was John Paton, whose previous appearance at the 29th Lesters featured a victory over none other than Dave Pym.
18/02/05: Phillip adds another title ......
The rise and rise of Phillip Hill continued last night at the BCSC with victory over Mark Dixon in the final of the first Handicap Knock-out of 2005.
Phillip, with a handicap of 1, faced opening deficits in every match leading up to the final, but still managed to get past Lewis Young, his brother Todd -- who had scored the night's only victory by a 4-handicap player in the previous round, Jerry Limb and Nick Dolman.
Mark was not faced with a starting differential on more than a point all evening, and defeated Nigel Merrigan, Thomas Liedtke, Martin Hemming and Neil Young en route.
18/02/05: Once a competitor, always a competitor ......
The tenacity and focus of John Slattery was surely never better demonstrated than it was last night.
One might have been forgiven for expecting the multi-titled backgammon globetrotter to take the consolation flight of a £5 handicap tournament a little more lightly than certain other events, but the fact is they all come the same to John.
John, one of only three scratch players present on the night, fought his way past Mark Skelton, Rosey Bensley(!) and Simonetta Barone, before beating Steve Ferrer in the final.
Steve had beaten Alan Parfitt, Nigel Merrigan and John Lewis.
18/02/05: Twelve place OGP rise for Phillip ......
In truth, most players will be hoping their OGP points tallies gained from last night's event will be discarded at some future point.
Phillip Hill's 45 points gain, though, does illustrate that winning the main flight of one of these tournaments could just prove to be a useful bonus when the counting stops in December.
Having failed to set the world alight in the two regular grand prix events thus far, Phillip's win moves him from 18th right up to equal 6th in the standings.
Leaders Martin Hemming and Steffen Nowak edged slightly further away from the pack as the status quo was largely maintained at the top, although the absent Jason Champion dropped five places to 10th.
18/02/05: Nick goes second in IGP ......
Nick Dolman took a virtual lead in the IGP points table, when he added 25 points to his overall score last night.
Since current leader Kevin Jones is unlikely to be back and will certainly be overhauled if he isn't, Nick's second place could be considered the virtual lead.
Nobody scored heavily on the IGP front, although Thomas Liedtke edged into third place.
The competition looks wide open.
18/02/05: Phillip in pole position (obviously) ......
Since this was the first Handicap Knock-out to contribute to the Ed Turner sponsored Handicap Trophy, it goes without saying that the winner, Phillip Hill has taken the lead in the points table for that competition.
With the next leg due in just under five weeks' time, the gratifyingly active start should go a long way towards maintaining interest in the event.
18/02/05: Seven in a row for Steve ......
Steve Ferrer took time out from his run to the final of yesterday's consolation event to register his seventh successive Premier Two win, when he defeated Alan Parfitt 11-4.
This was Alan's first defeat in four league matches thus far, and another initial defeat was almost suffered by Phillip Hill, whose enocunter with Phil Charlton was adjourned with the score 10-3 in the latter Phil's favour.
Blaine Buchanan, against John Lewis, was the night's other victor in that competition.
13/02/05: Martin up to 2000 to 1!
An away Premier One match in Bishopston today saw Martin Hemming score his eleventh successive victory in domestic competitions which qualify for the John Slattery 1000 to 1 award.
The 11-4 win over Simonetta Barone consolidates Martin's position behind leader Mark Dixon.
11/02/05: BUMPER TURNOUT AT FEBRUARY GRAND PRIX EVENT ......
Twenty-nine players turned out for the February Grand Prix evening, including holiday-making Manchester club player Kevin Jones, who was to head back north today after a highly satisfactory Bristol debut.
11/02/05: Just like Bristol buses, here's another 1000 to 1 ......
You wait for ages, nothing happens, and suddenly two come along in quick succession.
Three years of Stuart Mann 1000 to 1 monopoly were ended in December when Ed Turner became only the second player to avail himself of a John Slattery sponsored award.
Now, just two months later, we have another recipient -- Martin Hemming, whose back to back grand prix event wins were interrupted only by a single Premier One victory.
This fourth instance of ten successive wins in qualifying Bristol Backgammon competition, means John can kill two birds with one stone when he visits the trophy shop, although he will have to wait and see whether or not Martin can add to his string of wins before deciding on the size of that trophy.
11/02/05: £10 tournament hat-trick for Martin ......
If you only count £10 tournaments, Martin Hemming has actually won three in a row.
His brace of tournament victories this year were preceded by a quarter-final exit in the £20 Christmas Lesters event, but the previous £10 tournament in November also featured a Hemming triumph.
Surprisingly, these are his only three £10 tournament wins, although Martin can boast two past Lesters triumphs.
Last night's success was achieved through victories over Alan Parfitt, Elliot Smart, Tim Oldfield, Charlie Hetherington and Kevin Jones, with the final starting at the BCSC, and finishing in Bishopston at Roland and Simonetta's.
It was a late finish, but necessarily so as adjournment was not a viable option with Kevin leaving the area today at the end of his holiday.
Kevin represented Manchester in great style, by progressing to the final at the expense of Mark Dixon, Graham Alder, Juanita Ferrer and Neil Young.
The final was a closely fought affair, and could easily have gone the other way.
11/02/05: Stuart and Ian to meet in consolation final ......
Unusually the consolation flight failed to reach a conclusion, so Stuart Mann and Ian Tarr will have to settle the outcome at some later date.
Ian defeated Mark Dixon, John Sprague and Jerry Limb on the way to the final, while Stuart accounted for Chris Roberts, Ed Turner and Richard Cartwright.
11/02/05: Martin's 110 points OGP lead ......
The inevitable consequence of winning both of the year's opening tournaments is, of course, a healthy OGP lead, so nobody should be surprised at Martin Hemming's 110 points cushion.
January runner-up Steffen Nowak is in second place, with the ever consistent Charlie Hetherington a further 10 points away in third.
But with ten more regular grand prix events to come, not to mention the four handicap knock-outs which contribute to the grand prix cycle for the first time this year, it's far to early to draw any conclusions about title outcomes.
11/02/05: Rollover failed to get the juices flowing ......
A £60 rollover in the Winner Takes All pool may have been the smallest on record, but there were a few eyebrows raised at the fact that fewer than half of the 29-player field were stimulated to take up the option.
The two main flight finalists were among the thirteen takers, so they had a total prize pot of £400 to play for (£210 tournament prize money, plus £190 from the pool).
11/02/05: Kevin leads IGP, but will he return? ......
The early leaders in the IGP suffered a reversal of fortunes as they attempted to build on their solid starts.
Neither Nigel Mitchell nor Chris Roberts was able to win a match yesterday evening, so the way was clear for any challengers -- and how well they responded, with the largest flurry of bonus points for some considerable time.
Leading the way was visitor Kevin Jones whose 80 entry and win points were supplemented handsomely by 50 bonus points, as all four players he eliminated had Premier Status, including Mark Dixon from Premier One.
Whether or not Kevin will be tempted back at any time later in the year remains to be seen, but for the moment he has an impressive 70 point lead over second placed Tim Oldfield.
As for Tim, this was probably the highlight of his career to date.
Not too much went right for him in last year's Conference, but like so many players before him, the benefit of a season of experience in our feeder league appears to be paying dividends.
Also picking up bonus points were Thomas Liedtke, Nick Dolman and John Sprague.
11/02/05: Martin earns extra Masters slot for Premier One ......
Having already qualified for the 2006 Bristol Masters, Martin Hemming's win was superfluous from his own point of view in that respect.
One of his Premier One colleagues -- who can tell which one at this stage? -- will have cause to be grateful to Martin later in the year when a second high finisher in that league will gain entry to Bristol's most exclusive tournament.
As things are at the moment, though, Martin is still the only one to be sure of filling one of the sixteen slots.
11/02/05: Steffen off the mark, as Steve keeps up the pressure ......
Last night's league action saw Steffen Nowak recording his first Premier One victory of the season at Elliot Smart's expense.
Meanwhile in Premier Two Steve Ferrer shows no sign of relenting at the top. An 11-2 win over Blaine Buchanan made it six straight wins for Steve.
Blaine had also fallen victim to a Jason Champion victory earlier in the evening at the Shakespeare.
06/02/05: Cotswold 2006 entries limited to 32
Book now to avoid disappointment! That's the message from Cotswold Fireside Tournament host Martin Hemming.
With entries limited to 32 for next year, and demand virtually certain to exceed supply, any prospective participants are advised to contact Martin now to commit themselves to competing.
The link above lists those players who are already on the entry list.
31/01/05: Cotswold results on the website
The website now carries the full results from the weekend's Cotswold Fireside Tournament.
More news about next year's event will appear here soon.
30/01/05: Blaine so close to maintaining Bristol's Cotswold tradition
Bristol was represented better than ever in terms of numbers participating in this year's Cotswold Fireside event at the Crown Inn Hotel, Blockley, Gloucestershire, this weekend.
Previous winners Tony Lee and John Slattery were there hoping for repeat performances, while others amongst the record 32-strong field with Bristol connections included Rosey Bensley, Paul Gilbertson, Simonetta Barone, Roland Herrera, Blaine Buchanan, Kevin White, Elliot Smart, Mark Dixon and that well-known freeloader Ian Tarr.
Best Bristol performer turned out to be Blaine, who reached the main final via wins over John Gilbertson, Malcolm Robertson, Roland and Mike Greenleaf, only to fall one step short of maintaining the Bristol monopoly of the title, when succumbing to Cheltenham's Julian Fetterlein.
Things had looked even more promising from a Bristol viewpoint with five of the eight quarter-finalists on view.
But the representatives in the top half of the draw, Tony and Paul, were eliminated by Julian and John Broomfield respectively.
And while Blaine was keeping the flag flying in the bottom half by defeating Roland, Ian went out to Mike Greenleaf.
At the time of writing, the result of the progressive consolation final -- between Mike Greenleaf and Danny Cohen -- was unknown, as were those of the last chance semi-finals involving John Slattery and Andreas Giannopoulos, and Dave Fall and Chris Ternel.
Full results will appear here, probably tomorrow.
30/01/05: Mark extends Premier One lead
Four Bristol Premier League matches took place at the Cotswold event at the weekend.
Blaine Buchanan was yet to hit the high-spots on Saturday and Sunday, when he sat down late on Friday evening to do Premier Two battle with Ian Tarr, but his useful 11-6 win proved to be a sign of even better things to follow.
Most active in Premier One was leader Mark Dixon.
He lost for the first time in three matches to date, going down 8-11 to Elliot Smart on Saturday. Later, however, he more than made up for that setback with a stunning double success against former champion John Slattery.
27/01/05: TWENTY-SIX AT OPENING LEAGUE NIGHT ......
Twenty-six players, believed to be an all-time record number for a league night, were in action as the three Bristol Backgammon leagues moved on with a vengeance.
Nick Dolman and Robert Hampson were making their Bristol Backgammon debuts in the Conference, where young Callum Campbell was becoming our youngest ever league player.
Meanwhile Mike Smith, back from his travels, was making his first appearance for over three years.
27/01/05: Fifteen results reported in Premier Two ......
Twenty of this year's scheduled 136 Premier Two matches have already been completed -- including fifteen results reported last night.
Leading the way -- in more senses than one -- in this unprecedented flurry of early season activity, are Steve and Juanita Ferrer, who have between them accounted for eleven of the twenty results.
And Steve has performed particularly creditably, unbeaten in five matches thus far, to take pole position.
Juanita, who is now only one result short of the half way stage of her season, had a mixed night. As well as reported a domestic defeat to Steve, Juanita won two and lost two on the night, and currently holds second place.
Hot on their heels, though, are two players who have now scored three victories apiece without reply -- Alan Parfitt and Phillip Hill. For Alan, the run is especially welcome, as he has already won more than he did during the whole of last season's campaign.
Phil Charlton also won his only match so far, while Ian Tarr, Neil Young and Michael Corbett each won one and lost one. Also off the mark was Tim Jefferies, who won once in three matches.
Only three of the seventeen contestants have yet to open their campaigns.
27/01/05: Stuart beaten as Mark holds the lead ......
Stuart Mann's bid to score an unprecedented hat-trick of Premier One titles hit an early setback last night as he opened his campaign by losing 2-11 to Martin Hemming. He then went some way towards recovering the situation by defeating Steffen Nowak.
Still setting the pace, though, is top flight new boy Mark Dixon, who registered a second emphatic win -- this time at Dave Pym's expense.
Tucked in behind Martin in third place is Ed Turner who celebrated his return to Premier One with a win -- also against Dave.
27/01/05: Twelve already signed up for Conference action ......
Fears that the Bristol Conference might find itself short of players this season look to be unfounded.
Every year there is uncertainty, as the top players from the previous season move on towards the Premier League, but twelve players have already indicated their willingness to compete, including four newcomers to league action in Callum Campbell, Nick Dolman, Robert Hampson and Nigel Mitchell.
Two of the newcomers -- Nick and Robert -- started their respective campaigns in fine style with a brace of wins, and are accompanied at the top of the table by Andrew Cobb.
The night's other winner was Mike Smith, whose last competitive appearance was in December 2001.
27/01/05: Fifth Awards Night marks many achievements
Last Thursday (the 20th) saw the annual Bristol Backgammon Awards Night take place at the BCSC, attended by the usual throng of around 25 welcome guests.
The free buffet helped smooth proceedings, Ian Tarr gave his customary -- albeit slightly truncated -- Review of 2004, and many trophies and cash prizes were handed out.
Neil Young was also kind enough to do the honours behind the camera so that the "Richard and Ed Show" could be recorded for posterity.
Afterwards there was some action, with Premier Two at the hub of things. And it was a great night for the Ferrers, with Steve and Juanita each recording two victories to head the early league table.
But taking centre stage was the final of the January grand prix tournament, with Martin Hemming defeating Steffen Nowak 11-7, to take a 20-point OGP lead into February, not to mention becoming the first player to book his passage to the 2006 Bristol Masters.
26/01/05: News blackout ends!
Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr apologises to all avid -- and not so avid -- readers of this column for the recent news blackout.
Being simultaneously unwell and drawn against Manchester United has made available time scarce, but normal service is now on the brink of being resumed.
A report and photos from last week's Awards Night will appear here by Friday, but in the meantime results in the Open Grand Prix and Premier Two have been brought up to date.
Tonight's opening league night will also be covered in full by Friday.
14/01/05: BRISTOL BACKGAMMON 2005 HAS STARTED ......
Just nineteen players contested the opening Bristol Grand Prix tournament of 2005, although there were five other players present.
Nigel Mitchell made a competitive debut which he will long remember, while Graham Alder -- a Lesters trophy winner back in 2000 -- was back to announce that he and another new arrival, Nick Dolman, will be playing their part in proceedings as the year progresses.
Susy Liedtke, Anne Ryder and Mark Dixon were also present, and Mark lost no time in getting a maiden Premier One victory under his belt.
14/01/05: Steffen and Martin to contest final next week ......
Steffen Nowak has never won a Bristol knock-out despite many attempts, and last year marked an all-time low for him on the knock-out front.
But perhaps 2005 will yield knock-out results more in keeping with his ability, as indicated by four victories -- over Ian Tarr, Nigel Mitchell, Richard Cartwright and Richard Owsley -- at the BCSC last night.
That was his path to a first ever Open Grand Prix main flight final, in which he will meet Martin Hemming, conqueror of Thomas Liedtke, Cynthia Roberts and Roland Herrera.
14/01/05: Charlie and Nigel first to benefit from new points system ......
The decision to reward consolation flight finalists with a slightly greater points benefit will first be felt by last night's finalists, Charlie Hetherington and debutant Nigel Mitchell.
Charlie got past Simonetta Barone and Ed Turner, before accounting for Nigel in the final, having trailed 1-3 at one stage.
Nigel's first competitive wins were achieved at the expense of Ian Tarr and Phillip Hill.
14/01/05: Steffen could go 50 points clear ......
Early OGP leader Steffen Nowak can increase the 15 points lead he holds to a healthy 50 by winning the final next week.
A defeat by Martin Hemming would see him fall 20 points behind, however.
Third place is shared by four players on 40 points. Richard Cartwright, Roland Herrera and Richard Owsley won twice apiece in the main flight, while Charlie Hetherington's consolation flight triumph gave him an identical reward.
14/01/05: Chris and Nigel set early IGP pace ......
Bonus points played their part as Nigel Mitchell and Chris Roberts shared the IGP lead after the first of the year's events.
Only four intermediates contested the event, but Nigel's wins over two Premier Two players scored him a handy 20 points boost, as Chris achieved the same effect by beating Premier One's Ed Turner.
14/01/05: No great excitement yet over the rollover ......
As post-Christmas credit card bills evidently weighed heavy on many minds, only six players bothered with the Winner Takes All pool.
Of those six, only Jason Champion and Stuart Mann made it safely over the first hurdle, but that was as far as they could manage, so next month's pot will start off with £60 in it.
14/01/05: Mark registers the year's first league victory ......
Mark Dixon -- newly elevated to Premier One -- became the season's first league victor when he defeated Simonetta Barone 11-3 after her elimination from the tournament.
The only other league action featured a Premier Two encounter, adjourned as Phillip Hill led Neil Young 5-2.
There was no Conference action, but seven players have now indicated their willingness to take part, and more are expected to follow soon.
04/01/05: Grand prix changes announced
The Bristol Open Grand Prix and the Bristol intermediate Grand Prix, which are set to start their sixth year of existence on January 13th, have undergone one or two subtle changes for 2005.
The main change is the integration of four £5 entry Handicap Knock-outs into the grand prix schedule, which means there will be sixteen tournaments contributing to the series this year.
Because they are handicapped events, they will not carry anything like the number of points that the £20 and £10 tournaments carry, but the events themselves should be enhanced by their new grand prix status.
The handicaps will be more rigorously worked out this year, with a new system -- based on players' results over a two year period -- to be unveiled shortly.
Another innovation is a "competition within a competition", with a Handicap Trophy -- generously sponsored by Ed Turner -- to be awarded to the player who scores the most points in the handicap events.
The other change occurs in the £10 tournaments, where there are more points available in the consolation flights -- semi-final wins gaining 10 points instead of the 5 available in previous years, and final wins gaining 15 instead of 10.
A suggestion to add a consolation flight to the four Lesters Trophy events has been resisted, as opinions seem to be divided on the desirability of this move.
02/01/05: Twenty-eight to contest Premier Leagues
The Bristol Premier League kicks off its sixth year with another membership record attained.
Since the inaugural league in 2000 comprised 10 players, the league has steadily grown in numerical strength year by year, with the number for 2005 reaching a record 28.
Premier One remains at eleven players, each playing the others twice, while Premier Two increases in size to seventeen members, playing each other once apiece.
Once again there will be four promotion and relegation slots maintaining the free flow of talent between divisions.
New Premier League players this year are Richard Owsley, Cynthia Roberts and Michael Corbett, who all qualified via the Conference, Juanita Ferrer, who came up via the Intermediate Grand Prix, and Richard Cartwright, who managed to find three different ways to ensure his elevation to Premier Status.
At the same time Jerry Limb is returning to Premier League action after taking a couple of years out.
Three who are not taking up the challenge this year after competing in 2004 are Charlie Hetherington, Roland Herrera and Simon Baker, who will all, hopefully, still figure in knock-out events.
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