Bristol backgammon news

News items from 2016 (second half)

28/12/16: Gaz in 11-8 repeat

Gaz Owen's bid to end the year at the top of the UKBGF ratings met with mixed fortunes today.
His trip to the Worcester Christmas Turkey event was largely unsuccessful, but he returned to Bristol to meet up with Ed Turner at the Bristol County Sports Club for their second Premier One match in successive days.
Here Gaz repeated the 11-8 victory scoreline from yesterday.
The UKBGF ratings showed (as at 22:25 on December 28th) that Gaz was top. However, when the Worcester results were later added he slipped to second place behind occasional Bristol player Seb Wilkinson.

27/12/16: Gaz and Ed get one in early

The line-ups for the new year's Premier League divisions having been published, there is actually no reason not to get some league action in early.
There are precedents for this, most recently when Tim Line and Simonetta Herrera played a Premier One double header two days before the official start of the 2013 season.
This year Gaz Owen and Ed Turner have beaten the start of the new season by five days, the pair having met today at the Portcullis, Staple Hill, with Gaz recovering from a 0-6 deficit to win their Premier One match 11-8.

24/12/16: Merry Christmas, one and all!

I (Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr) wish all backgammon players and their loved ones the best possible Christmas and a great 2017!
I am on my annual two week break from directing, and will be raring to go when the first session of the New Year hits us on January 5th.
All competitions restart at zero, and everyone has the chance to compete for prizes and titles.
A great year awaits us all......

23/12/16: Thirteen bring down the 2016 Bristol Backgammon curtain

The final Bristol Backgammon event of the year took place at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday, with thirteen players contesting the sixth and last of the year's Round Robin Grand Prix events.
They were split into two groups, one of seven and one of six, all playing first-to-3-point matches.
Ian Tarr led the RRGP standings going into the event, with a handful of players within striking distance.
One of the pursuers, Roland Herrera won the six player group, which brought him level with Ian's starting points tally.
Most other pursuers were able to add to their tallies, but not by enough points to threaten first place.
And Ian -- who took a third share of the pot with Daniel Eldridge and Cynthia Roberts in the seven player group -- also did enough to add to his tally to take the RRGP title for the second time.

23/12/16: Premier League line-ups for 2017

The forty-three players who have elected to play in next year's Premier League are as follows:
Premier One: Nick Barham, Andy Boysan, Jason Champion, Simon Hughes, Stuart Mann, Steffen Nowak, Gaz Owen, Gary Plant, Dave Pym, Adam Sinclair, Cecilia Sparke, Ed Turner, Paul Watts.
Premier Two Blue: Mike Smith, Stephen Little, Peter Thistlewood, Steve Morris, Simon Baker, Tim Line, Pearl Foster, Ian Hedges, Cynthia Roberts, Andrew Cobb, Chris Rogers.
Premier Two Red: Ian Tarr, Richard Owsley, Neil Young, Simonetta Herrera, Chris Hughes, Phil Charlton, Fred North, Drew Caudwell, Ismail Yilmaz, Mandy Macdonald, Alex Hodge.
Premier Three: Cliff Blofield, Andy Brown, Tom Chapman, Daniel Eldridge, George Georgiou, Carwyn Jenkins, Rufus Rozelaar, Horst Stenzel.
The only draw necessary, to decide which of the two second tier leagues Chris Rogers and Alex would be in, was performed by Bartek Kozlowski of Redfield.

22/12/16: Record Premier League entry for 2017

The deadline for entries to the 2017 Bristol Premier League passed at midnight, and an all-time record entry of forty-three players was received.
This means that there will be a Premier Three division for the second time, after a one year hiatus.
Of those who finished the 2016 Premier League season, only two -- James Lintell-Smith and James Newman -- have passed up their places for the new year.
Two players who were unable -- for the most understandable of reasons -- to complete their seasons are now welcomed back.
And eight players who didn't contest the league this year are new entries -- seven of them making their debut appearances.
Director Ian Tarr, who is guided by a comprehensive set of guidelines, has the discretion to tinker with the balance of leagues if he considers this to be the best solution, and he has done something a little different this time.
The preferred split of players for a 43 player league is 13 in Premier One, 11 in each of the two parallel Premier Two divisions, and 8 in Premier Three.
He gave thought to other alternative solutions, namely:

(i) 15 in the top flight, 14 in each of the second flight divisions, and no third flight;
(ii) 13, plus two 9's, with 12 in Premier Three;
(iii) 13, plus two 10's, with 10 in Premier Three.

At least thirteen in the top flight was a given, as all thirteen players guaranteed their place took up their positions.
The first alternative would have allowed a "back door" entry to the top flight for Mike Smith and Ian Tarr himself.
However, that would have meant a programme of 28 league matches per player in the top flight, and 26 in both divisions of the second flight.
Such workloads fall outside the parameters of the guidelines, and it was felt that the risk of multiple non-completions was unacceptably large.
This limited things to the three options with thirteen Premier One players.
The preferred solution gives more players (35) the chance to compete at the second level and above.
Alternative ii, however, while giving only 31 players that chance, has optimum levels of activity with 24 matches in Premier Two (each player being played three times rather than the traditional twice), and 22 matches in Premier Three.
Alternative iii has 33 players at second tier or above, but all players in the second and third tiers have just 18 matches each.
Consideration of these three alternatives showed why the preferred option is the preferred one.
Having settled with that, the next -- and even more important -- issue was how to populate the divisions.
Five players from last season's Premier Two were not guaranteed to stay up in the event of a Premier Three being triggered.
As things have panned out, it would have been possible to accommodate all five in the second tier of the new line-up.
However, the nature of the new entries also had to be considered.
Chris Rogers is a regular in UK national teams, and Alex Hodge, who had a league gap year this year, was a major prize winner in the UKBGF Open in 2015, and performed well in his last season in Premier One.
The Director has made the decision to fast track these two players into Premier Two, which means that the lowest ranked of this year's Premier Two players has not made the cut.
He will form part of the eight player third flight, which gives each player 21 matches, playing each other three times.
Full 2017 Premier League line-ups will appear here when time permits.

20/12/16: George takes Autumn Grand Prix title in style

There were ten players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the final phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a pair of 3-point round robins.
With AGP leader Simonetta Herrera absent, the way was clear for her any of her three closest pursuers to overhaul her at the death.
Taking into account discards, George Georgiou would need 55 points, third placed Ian Tarr 65 points, and fourth placed Stephen Little 75.
Sadly for Stephen, however, the five player groups meant that a maximum of 65 points was available.
All three of those players were drawn into the same group, and it was George who came through with a clean sweep of four victories to win the group and the AGP title.
The other group saw a split between Chris Hughes and Gaz Owen who won three matches apiece.
George's AGP title win was the third in the history of the three Monday grand prix competitions to be won outright by a player classified as an intermediate.
Previous double winners were Alex Hodge (2012 AGP) and Stephen (2014 AGP).
Clearly all three players were intermediates in name only at the time.

16/12/16: Sixteen in Fizz action

The pre-Christmas event known as the Christmas Fizz Tournament, because of sponsor Steve Morris's kind provision of four bottles of various kinds of fizzy liquid, was enjoyed by a slightly disappointing turnout of sixteen players at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday.
The event was done and dusted before midnight.
With only 3-point matches throughout, there were two phases -- the first involving round robin groups of four players (the sixteen slotted neatly into this format), while the second comprised main and consolation knock-out flights, where qualification was dependent on performance in the first phase.
This time, unlike previous incarnations of the event, there was no buffet, and it's possible that this may have affected the turnout.
The four groups saw the winners -- Tom Chapman, Richard Owsley, Simonetta Herrera and Nick Barham -- pocket small cash prizes, and the top two in each moved on to the main knock-out flight, the remainder contesting the consolation.
For the second successive year the least deserving player in the main flight was Ian Tarr, who managed to scrape second place in his group by winning just one of his three matches. He pipped the third and fourth finishers on points difference!
Carwyn Jenkins emerged through the main flight to take the top prize, defeating Simon Hughes and Richard before despatching Chris Hughes in the final.
In the consolation it was sponsor Steve who won the flight, defeating Steffen Nowak, Adam Sinclair and James Lintell-Smith.
All four finalists received bubbly prizes from Steve as well as their prize money, and all in all, a good time was had by all.

13/12/16: George threatens Simonetta's Autumn Grand Prix lead

There were thirteen players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the latest phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a pair of Nackgammon Tournos.
The seven player group was won by George Georgiou, while John Chester took the honours in the six player group.
George has moved into second place in the AGP, just seventeen points behind leader Simonetta Herrera, and has definitely won the race to be the competition's leading intermediate.
He is also now assured of sweeping the board in John Curran's intermediate sponsorship, taking the main prize in all four categories.
Meanwhile Adam Sinclair has won the Drew Caudwell sponsored Nackgammon Grand Prix, with John Chester close behind in second place.

09/11/16: Bristol Open 2017 dates confirmed

After the success of the Bristol Open on the last weekend in October, the organisers have moved quickly to get dates sorted for next year.
And after talks with casino management yesterday afternoon, it can now be confirmed that the event will occupy the same weekend in 2017.
So enter October 27th to 29th into your diaries to ensure you don't miss out on what has been described in some quarters as the UK's outstanding tournament.

09/12/16: Roland wins OGP title by a distance

There were fifteen players present on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the twelfth and last of this year's Monthly Grand Prix tournaments.
Roland Herrera went into the evening as OGP leader, with only two players close enough to challenge his bid to become a four time winner of the title.
Either Ian Tarr or Stephen Little would need to win the tournament -- never mind the fact that Roland also had the opportunity to add to his tally and take things out of their hands.
When both Stephen and Ian fell at the first hurdle, this ensured a care free evening for Roland.
Roland even went on to win the tournament himself -- his third such success this year -- after being the only recipient of a bye, and his victories over Steve Morris, Simon Hughes and Alex Hodge gave him a final winning margin of 159 points.
Alex had reached the final via wins over Tim Line, Nick Barham and Steffen Nowak.
The consolation flight saw Chris Rogers triumphant, defeating Stephen, Ian and Chris Hughes.
There were no intermediates in the tournament, so Daniel Eldridge's 104 point IGP lead over second placed Cliff Blofield remained entirely untroubled, giving Daniel his second title of the year.
Qualification for next year's Bristol Masters is now complete.
Roland's win ensured that Steffen would be the last of the seven monthly winners to qualify, which in turn paved the way for Simon to get in as the last of the four Premier One high finishers.
One possible source of regret for Roland was his failure to invest in the Winner Takes All pool.
His victory therefore signalled a pool rollover of Ł130 to the January tournament.

06/12/16: Simonetta takes Autumn Grand Prix lead

There were thirteen players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the latest phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a trio of 3-point round robins.
The five player group was won by Roland Herrera, while Simonetta Herrera won one of the four player groups, the other seeing the pot shared by Alex Hodge and Stephen Little.
Simonetta has now taken a twenty-eight point lead in the AGP, while George Georgiou is almost home and dry in the race to be the competition's leading intermediate, and is now certain to win the 3-point round robin section of John Curran's intermediate sponsorship, the third of four categories he now has in the bag.

02/12/16: Daniel takes Handicap title in style

There were sixteen players present on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the eighth and last of this year's Handicap Trophy tournaments.
Daniel Eldridge went into the evening as HT leader by a distance which meant that only second placed Roland Herrera could threaten to topple him.
Roland failed to win a match, and Daniel won the tournament, thus emphasising his dominance of this year's competition.
As a 4-handicap player at the start of the season, Daniel won the January event, then as a 3-handicapper made the June final and won again in July.
Now, with his handicap down to 2, he has won the December tournament -- defeating Mandy Macdonald, Tim Line, Steve Morris and Ian Tarr -- and has finished with a lead of 120 points.
Next year, however, he will have his handicap reduced to zero for life, under the terms of Ed Turner's sponsorship.
Ed's sponsorship provides prizes for first, second and third -- Daniel, Roland and Ed himself benefitting.
And the other part of the deal features the Side Pool Grand Prix, where Ed again takes his own prize, although he would have been pipped for this, had Ian defeated Daniel in the final.
The consolation flight saw victory for Richard Owsley, who defeated Chris Hughes in the final, after getting past Roland and Stephen Little.

01/12/16: Conference League ends in deafening silence

The last hundred days of the Bristol Conference League season failed to produce any action at all, making it the most disappointing season since the ill fated 2011 fiasco.
Only one player took the bull by the horns, and Cliff Blofield is a deserving champion, having done all anybody could have expected of him in leaving his "rivals" far behind.
He won ten of his twelve matches, and heads the final table by no fewer than nineteen points from second placed Tom Chapman.
Cliff is the only player to gain Premier Status via this competition, although five others have graduated from the intermediate ranks via their performances in other competitions.

29/11/16: Stuart takes sixth league title; Jason wins Premier Two play-off

The last -- and arguably most important -- Premier League match of the regular season took place at the Black Swan, Westbury-on-Trym, this afternoon.
It was the championship showdown between Stuart Mann and Gaz Owen, perfectly set up so that the winner would take the Premier One crown.
Gaz started well, and found himself 6-0 to the good after the first four games.
But the match was turned on its head by what happened in the next two hugely dramatic games, which saw Stuart move 8-6 ahead.
A single game to Gaz followed, after which a double gammon appeared a likely outcome for him.
One hit later, Stuart was 10-7 up, and he then took the Crawford game for the title.
This was his sixth league title, although his first since 2011, moving him four ahead of his closest rivals.
Incredibly he has finished in the top four for sixteen consecutive seasons!
And this evening the destiny of the Premier Two title was also decided.
The Brewhouse and Kitchen, Cotham Hill, was the venue for the meeting between Blue Division champion Adam Sinclair and his Red Division counterpart Jason Champion.
The score was again 11-7, and it was Jason who came out on top of two players who were in Premier Three last season.

28/11/16: Cecilia's bittersweet win

There were sixteen players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday, including the fourteen who contested the latest phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a pair of Tric Trac Tournos.
The exceptions were Cecilia Sparke and Neil Young, who were finishing their Premier One campaigns.
Neil had already been consigned to relegation, so was playing for honour, while Cecilia had the chance to pip Ed Turner for third place.
She needed a win by six or more points to achieve this, so had a particular strategy in mind.
Neil had the better of the early exchanges and moved into a 5-1 lead.
The next game saw Cecilia taking the opportunity to get involved in a high cubing game, with the cube reaching eight.
She needed a double with her final roll to avoid a swift defeat, and got it to take a 9-5 lead.
It was then, with her desired margin of victory not far away, that her wheels came off.
Having been offered a cube, she dropped, almost immediately realising her error.
At 9-6 her chance of third place had gone, making her eventual 11-6 win somewhat bittersweet.
In the seven player Tric Trac Tournos, the honours went to Simonetta Herrera -- who won her group outright -- and George Georgiou and Chris Hughes, who shared the pot in the other group.
Simonetta has closed to within seven points of AGP leader Ian Tarr, with George overtaking Stephen Little for third place, while also holding a convincing lead in the race to be the event's leading intermediate.
George is also in with a great chance of making it a clean sweep of all four categories of the John Curran intermediate sponsorship.

28/11/16: Premier Two Blue season ends at Kellaway Avenue

The final match of the Premier Two Blue season took place this morning at Kellaway Avenue when Ian Tarr visited Simonetta Herrera.
Had the bookies given odds at the start of the season, these two players would have been favourites to fill the top two positions on their return to the top flight.
But backgammon, as we all know, is seldom that simple.
The two were actually playing for third place, and it was Ian who prevailed, winning 11-8.

27/11/16: Richard wins Sunday event

There were just ten players present on Saturday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the sixth and last of this year's Rainbow weekend tournaments.
And Richard Owsley triumphed with victories over Gaz Owen, Ian Tarr and -- in the final -- George Georgiou.
George reached the final via wins over Cynthia Roberts and Simonetta Herrera.
Gaz won the consolation flight, defeating Cecilia Sparke, Cynthia and Chris Rogers to stay on track towards one of his targets -- finishing the year at number one in the UKBGF ratings.

25/11/16: Dave promoted as Peter suffers

It was almost a repeat performance as Adam Sinclair met Peter Thistlewood at the Brewhouse and Kitchen for the second successive day.
Yesterday it was 11-10 to Adam, today it was 11-9.
All of which makes Peter's failure to oust Dave Pym from the second promotion slot in Premier Two Blue an exasperating one.
A win in any of his final three matches would have done the trick, but having got so close it was not to be.
Dave, a veteran of twelve top flight seasons -- including the league championship itself in 2010 -- returns there at the third attempt, while Peter will not even have the consolation of finishing third, as the final match of the division will move one player above him.

24/11/16: Gaz wins GP5 event; Simonetta takes GP5 title; Peter must wait

There were fifteen players in action on Thursday, including the thirteen at the Rainbow Casino who contested the eighth and last of this year's GP5 events.
The one league match played was a significant one.
New Premier Two Blue champion Adam Sinclair met Peter Thistlewood at the Brewhouse and Kitchen, Cotham Hill.
And while Adam could approach the match in a relaxed way, Peter could not, given that he was one victory away from clinching the second promotion slot.
The match ended 11-10 in Adam's favour, and they will meet again tomorrow for their final match of the season, with Peter still looking for that win he needs to beat Dave Pym to promotion.
In the GP5 tournament, there were echoes of the previous week when the GP30 series reached its climax, in that the final tournament of the series was won by Gaz Owen.
He defeated Stephen Little, Roland Herrera, Nick Barham and Simon Hughes in the process.
That final match brought good news for Simonetta Herrera.
Going into the tournament with an 85 points GP5 lead, Simonetta was massively odds on to clinch the title.
Only Simon could possibly overtake her, and that would only be possible with a tournament win.
And if Simonetta could add to her points tally, even that slim chance would evaporate.
Simonetta was unable to add any points, so it was up to Simon to mount the only challenge to her GP5 supremacy.
Victories over Richard Owsley, Steffen Nowak and Rufus Rozelaar set him up nicely.
But beating Gaz in the main final proved a step too far, leaving Simonetta as this year's GP5 champion.
Ian Tarr took the consolation flight via wins over Stephen, Roland and Daniel Eldridge.

22/11/16: Stuart's away win sets up a grand finale

Andy Boysan this evening played host to Stuart Mann in Clifton Wood in the third from last Premier One match of the season.
Stuart won 11-5 to take pole position and set up a special championship decider with Gaz Owen next week.
It's now certain that the pair will finish first and second, but the order will be determined entirely by who wins that match.
The other outstanding match in the division will decide third and fourth places.
Ed Turner is the current incumbent of third place, but he can be overhauled by Cecilia Sparke, who needs to defeat Neil Young by seven points to do so.
An 11-5 win would see the pair finish equal third.

22/11/16: Twelve in Monday action

There were twelve players in action on Monday, including ten at the Bristol County Sports Club, of whom eight contested the latest phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a pair of 3-point round robins.
Two Premier Two matches were played, neither having any bearing on the promotion places.
In Premier Two Blue Simonetta Herrera edged home 11-10 at Kellaway Avenue against Andrew Cobb in a match which had resumed at 4-3 to Simonetta.
And at the club the Premier Two Red season reached completion with Pearl Foster's 11-4 victory over Drew Caudwell.
There were outright winners to both round robins -- George Georgiou and Chris Hughes taking the pots.
George moves amongst the leaders, who otherwise failed to add to their tallies.
And he also has what looks like an unassailable lead in the 3-point round robin section of the John Curran Monday intermediate sponsorship.

20/11/16: James wins twice in Bath

A Premier Two Blue double header took place at the Ram, Widcombe, Bath, this afternoon.
James Newman at least ended his disappointing league season on a high by scoring 11-2 and 11-5 victories over Andrew Cobb.

18/11/16: Gaz wins GP30 event; Ian takes GP30 title; Stuart's win keeps league hopes alive

There were eighteen players in action on Thursday, including sixteen at the Rainbow Casino, of whom thirteen contested the sixth and last of this year's GP30 events.
Four league matches were played.
The two Premier One matches at the casino sorted out the final relegation slot.
Both Neil Young and Paul Watts suffered defeats, but that merely preserved the status quo at the foot of the table, which proved to be Neil's undoing.
He now accompanies Richard Owsley and Steve Morris through the lower exit door from the top flight.
The already relegated Steve inflicted the crucial defeat on Neil, while Paul was narrowly losing to Stuart Mann.
Whether or not Stuart can beat Andy Boysan, the destiny of the league title will be decided by his meeting with leader Gaz Owen on November 29th.
Earlier Simon Baker and Mandy Macdonald had rounded off their Red Division season with an 11-5 victory apiece at Grounded, Bedminster.
The GP30 climax saw seven of the thirteen players who toed the start line in with a chance of taking the fourth annual title in this series.
With no discards to worry about, leader Steve Morris and second placed Roland Herrera were the ante post favourites.
But strong tournaments by any of Ian Tarr, Alex Hodge, George Devlin, Simonetta Herrera or Gaz might prove enough.
Gaz's points scoring opportunties were restricted by his first round bye.
But when Steve and Roland both suffered first round main flight exits, the chase was still on.
Ian had inflicted the defeat on Steve, but this was not enough to add to his tally because he was discarding a score of 25 points.
His next victories, however, scuppered the hopes of Simonetta and George, while also moving to the top of the leaderboard and moving his tally out of the reach of Gaz.
Gaz's semi-final defeat of Alex put paid to another title charge.
Roland and Steve, however, had points scoring opportunities in the consolation flight, but were pitted together in the opening round.
Roland's win ended Steve's hopes, and his semi-final victory over Chris Hughes kept him on course.
Ian could have clinched things in the main final by defeating Gaz, but this task proved well beyond him.
The way was now clear for Roland to take the honours with a consolation final win over Stephen Little.
A 3-0 lead, however, was as good as it got for Roland, and Ian was relieved to retain his title.

16/11/16: Ian out of promotion contention

Colston Yard was the venue for a Premier Two Blue match this afternoon.
Fred North met Ian Tarr, and it was Ian who won, 11-5.
This was not good enough to keep him in promotion contention, as nothing less than an 11-0 win would have preserved his minuscule hopes.
It's now up to Peter Thistlewood to oust Dave Pym from second place.

16/11/16: Tuesday action: wins for Steffen and Ian

There were two matches played on Tuesday.
Simon Hughes and Steffen Nowak met in the evening at the Star and Dove to play out the held over final of Thursday's monthly grand prix tournament, and it was Steffen who prevailed by 11-9.
Earlier there was another close match at the Blaise Inn, where Ian Tarr and Peter Thistlewood met in a Premier Two Blue match.
A win for Peter would see him promoted to the top flight, while the reverse result would keep alive Ian's extremely slim chance of doing likewise.
It ended 11-10 to Ian, which means Peter still has two matches to grab the win he needs.
However the margin of victory did little for Ian.
His hopes rested on Peter losing all his matches on the run in, and Ian winning his last three by wide margins to pip Dave Pym for second place.
Ian now needs nothing less than two 11-0 victories to pip Dave, so the odds are as long as they could be.

14/11/16: Jason wins Brunel Trophy

There were nine players in action on Monday, including the six who were at the Bristol County Sports Club to contest the latest phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a DMP Tourno.
But the evening's most significant match was in the Brunel Trophy.
Jason Champion and Derek Clew were at the Prince of Wales, Gloucester Road, to contest the ninth round of our year long double elimination tournament.
And as Jason won 11-7 a tenth round will not be necessary.
While the other thirty-nine starters have now all lost both their lives, Jason has emerged entirely unscathed to become the event's third champion.
The other action away from the club occurred in Grounded, Bedminster, where Tim Line rounded off a forgettable Premier Two Red campaign with an 11-8 victory over Mandy Macdonald.
Tim later moved on to the club, where he won the DMP Tourno without losing a game.
Ian Tarr's AGP lead has been cut to less than 25 points by Stephen Little.
George Georgiou didn't fare too well, but has nevertheless won the first element to be completed in John Curran's intermediate sponsorship.
The DMP prize in this series saw George finish top, fourteen points clear of Mathew Nicholls.

11/11/16: Only Stuart stands between Gaz and the league title

There were eighteen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, of whom sixteen contested the eleventh of this year's twelve monthly grand prix events.
The two exceptions were present for some pre-tournament league action.
Gaz Owen made short work of his match with Richard Owsley and has regained top spot in Premier One.
The result means that neither Ed Turner nor Cecilia Sparke can win the title.
Only Stuart Mann -- who has three matches remaining -- can stop Gaz taking the crown.
The fact that one of those matches is a meeting of the two contenders gives that match great significance.
If Gaz wins that, he cannot be caught.
If Stuart wins, however, he can take the title, either by winning his other two matches or by winning one of them and gaining a superior points difference.
In this scenario, the margins of victory and defeat would be crucial.
The other league match saw Stephen Little win narrowly over Simon Baker in the Red Division.
The tournament featured a convenient sixteen player draw, where Simon Hughes and Steffen Nowak have held the final over for another time.
Simon defeated Richard, Derek Clew and Alex Hodge, while Steffen's victims were Daniel Eldridge, Chris Hughes and Tim Line.
Nick Barham won the consolation flight by defeating Ian Hedges, Daniel and Simonetta Herrera.
Roland Herrera's OGP lead is extended to 84 points, and with one tournament remaining, only a great December tournament performance on the part of either Ian Tarr or Stephen can threaten him.
Daniel holds a similarly imposing lead in the IGP.

09/11/16: Fred wins at the Lock Keeper

In a Premier Two Blue meeting at the Lock Keeper yesterday Fred North defeated Chris Hughes 11-6.

07/11/16: Eight in Monday action

There were eight players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the latest phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a pair of 3-point round robins.
George Georgiou won one outright, while the pot was shared between Mathew Nicholls and Ian Tarr in the other.
Ian's overall lead in the AGP increases to 39 points, with Stephen Little now in second place.
George leads the race to be the competition's leading intermediate, and also extends his lead in the 3-point round robin section of the John Curran intermediate sposnorship.

05/11/16: Ian Hedges wins Handicap Trophy event

There were twelve players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the seventh of this year's eight Handicap Trophy events.
The main flight was won by Ian Hedges, who defeated Steve Morris and Richard Owsley before despatching Chris Hughes in the final.
Chris had beaten Adam Sinclair, Ed Turner and Alex Hodge en route.
Adam took the consolation flight by defeating Steve and Steffen Nowak.
Daniel Eldridge failed to add to his points tally on the night, but his overall HT lead stays at 45 points, a very useful margin with just one event remaining.

02/11/16: Steffen and Nick finish with honours even

Steffen Nowak and Nick Barham rounded off their respective Premier One campaigns this evening with a double header at the Rainbow Casino.
And with each player on ten wins and ten defeats, what other outcome but a win apiece could be expected?
Steffen took the first match 11-7, but Nick struck back with an 11-3 victory to confirm both that players will finish in mid table -- safe from relegation, but out of the prize money.
UK Champions League places are assured for both players, however.

02/11/16: Catching up with the news (3) -- Monday October 31st

There were ten players in action on Monday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the ninth phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a DMP Tourno.
The event had been switched from the Bristol County Sports Club in honour of those visiting players who might still be in the area after the weekend.
As it happened there were none of those players still around, but the good news was that we had two new players making their debuts.
Andy McLeod and Frank Jones are two more recruits who have come via the casino's poker community.
Frank had actually dropped by over the weekend to dabble in a little action at the big event, but like Andy was experiencing his first taste of domestic Bristol Backgammon action.
The DMP was won by Ian Tarr, who won seven of his nine games, just pipping Simonetta Herrera and Stephen Little.
These three are at the head of the AGP table, and are covered by less than 12 points.
George Georgiou remains the leader in the race to be the event's top intermediate, and also heads the DMP section of the John Curran intermediate sponsorship.

02/11/16: Catching up with the news (2) -- Friday October 28th to Sunday October 30th

The return of the Bristol Open -- for its sixth incarnation -- was a resounding success if you believe the feedback. And I do!
A grand total of 111 players took part in the various flights, including the three main events, the Masters (52 players), the Intermediates (42), and the Beginners (9).
There was also cake, in celebration of Simonetta Herrera's 50th birthday the previous Wednesday, and even impromptu entertainment.
Simonetta also had goodie bags for those who defeated her during the weekend to add to the fun.
World Backgammon Giant #2 and a regular visitor to Bristol Michihito Kageyama gave a seminar on Sunday morning.
The casino provided the ideal environment, and a buffet plus Bucks Fizz to welcome us all on Friday evening.
And there was backgammon, lots of it!
The Roll of Honour (past and present Bristol players in BLOCK CAPITALS):
MASTERS (52 player double elimination): Champion SEB WILKINSON; Runner-up Leyla Zaloutskaya (Russia); 3rd CHRIS ROGERS; 4th ANN POCKNELL.
INTERMEDIATES (42 player double elimination): Champion NEIL YOUNG; Runner-up Anna Price; 3rd Richard Beagley; 4th ADAM SINCLAIR.
SEMI SUPER JACKPOT (8 players): Winner BOB WACHTEL (U S A); Runner-up MICHIHITO KAGEYAMA (Japan).
FRIDAY WARM-UP (66 players): Winner ROLAND HERRERA (who scooped the Erhan board as the prize); Runner-up Julia Hayward.
Ł10 JACKPOT (4 players): Winner Matthew Fisher.
Ł5 JACKPOT (8 players): Winner Anna Clarke.
BRISTOL BLITZ (Speedgammon) (26 players including rebuys): Champion GAZ OWEN; Runner-up Sean Williams; other heat winners ANDY BOYSAN, Sean Clennell.
CONSULTING DOUBLES (15 teams): Champions ANN POCKNELL and STEVE MORRIS; Runners-up SIMON HUGHES and NEIL YOUNG.
TOMBSTONE TROPHY (Sunday knock-out) (51 players): Winner Andy Bell; Runner-up Anna Clarke.
Ł5 1-POINTER (64 players including rebuys): Winner MATT REEKIE-BLACK; Runner-up C J Uttley.
SATURDAY BEGINNERS ROUND ROBIN: Winner ADRIAN FOSTER.
SUNDAY BEGINNERS ROUND ROBIN: Winner MARY FRENCH.
BACKGAMMON PLAYERS' POKER: Winner ALEX YATE; Runner-up Andy Bell.
For a real flavour of the event, read Julia Hayward's review and enjoy the photos.
And for full results of most flights, visit the event Facebook page and follow the individual challonge.com links.

01/11/16: Catching up with the news (1) -- Thursday October 27th

Thursday saw twenty-three players in action, including twenty-one at the Rainbow Casino, of whom a record nineteen contested the sixth and final Speedgammon Grand Prix evening.
The speedgammon field contained a handful of players arriving early for the weekend's big event, including two -- David Brown and John Hurst -- who were making their respective Bristol Backgammon debuts.
The nineteen players in the main event were split into three groups -- one of seven, two of six.
Simonetta Herrera got the luck of the draw by falling into the group of seven, giving her the best chance to score big points in order to snatch the Speedgammon Grand Prix title from the grasp of Gaz Owen.
But it's one thing to have the opportunity. It's quite another to take advantage of it, which she did by winning all six of her matches.
Gaz did well enough in his group, splitting the pot with Ian Tarr, to ensure that Simonetta would need a maximum in her group.
The fact that she did so gave her the SGGP title for the first time, adding to her speedy reputation, already gained from winning the Speedgammon title at the UK Open.
Daniel Eldridge also did well in that group, winning five out of six to clinch third place overall.
The third group saw the pot split between John Hurst and Cecilia Sparke.
The other action at the casino saw the Brunel Trophy field reduced to just two, when Derek Clew eliminated Paul Watts.
Now that title will be decided between Derek and Jason Champion.
But Jason holds a substantial advantage, having both lives intact, while Derek has just one.
Derek will need to beat Jason twice to take the big prize.
There was also Premier One action at the Bristol County Sports Club, where Richard Owsley met Ed Turner.
Ed, playing his final league match of the season, won 11-8 and sits on top of the league.
Three players can pass him, however.
Cecilia needs to win her final match by 11-5 or better, while Gaz needs one win out of two and Stuart Mann needs two out of three.
Meanwhile Richard needs a win in his final match to stand a chance of staying up.

28/10/16: Please be patient......

Reports from the Thursday Speedgammon evening, the weekend's big event, and news of league and Brunel Trophy action will appear here around Monday.

24/10/16: Ed's title hopes hit; Jason still undefeated in Brunel Trophy

There were sixteen players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday, including the thirteen who contested the latest phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- three 3-point round robins.
There was also important league and Brunel Trophy action.
Jason Champion ensured that the ninth round of the double elimination Brunel Trophy will involve just two players.
He won a closely fought match against Nick Barham to remain undefeated in the competition, consigning Nick to the exit in equal third place.
Jason will face the winner of the match between Derek Clew and Paul Watts in the ninth round.
In Premier One there was a gruelling double header between Cecilia Sparke and Ed Turner, where Ed started the session knowing that if he were to keep winning nobody would be able to stop him taking the title for the first time.
Cecilia, meanwhile, knew she was an outsider to retain her title.
Ed led both matches, the first 7-3 and the second 8-4, but nevertheless fell to a brace of 8-11 defeats.
And while Cecilia remains an outsider, Ed also wears that label now.
Gaz Owen and Stuart Mann now have the best chance with seven defeats, compared to Cecilia's and Ed's eight, but the situation is complicated by the fact that Gaz and Stuart still have one outstanding meeting.
In the round robins, there was a welcome debut for Bath resident Stephen Boswell, who will hopefully be back for more.
One of the groups was won outright by Roland Herrera, while the pot was shared in the other two.
Ian Tarr takes a tiny AGP lead from Stephen Little, with Simonetta Herrera close behind in third.
George Georgiou remains the competition's leading intermediate, and also holds the lead in the 3-point round robin section of the John Curran intermediate sponsorship.

23/10/16: Chris wins in Denmark

The European Team Championships in Copenhagen have reinforced a recent theme in world backgammon -- that of resounding success for UK players.
The UK team, featuring three players familiar to Bristol competition -- Gaz Owen, Chris Rogers and Seb Wilkinson -- went all the way to the final, where they succumbed to the Denmark team.
Second place is no mean feat in this company.
And in the accompanying individual competition Chris even went one better, scooping the top prize.
Many congratulations to Chris, and to the whole UK team, who have done the nation proud.

21/10/16: Tim wins October GP5 event

There were fifteen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the seventh of the year's eight GP5 tournaments.
And Tim Line found himself a rare oasis in what has been a desert of a year for him to win the main flight.
He defeated Mandy Macdonald, Tom Chapman and Steve Morris before ousting Alex Hodge in the final.
Alex had fought his way past Stephen Little, Simonetta Herrera and Nick Barham to get there.
Tony Walters won the consolation flight, beating Stephen, Andy Boysan and Drew Caudwell.
Simonetta's GP5 lead of 85 points remains intact, as her four nearest pursuers all failed to add points to their tallies, just as she did.
With just one event in the series remaining, only Ian Tarr and Simon Hughes have a ghost of a chance of wresting the title from Simonetta's grasp, and only a tournament win would stand a chance of achieving this.

19/10/16: Jason wins Red Division

The Bristol County Sports Club this afternoon hosted the match which decided the Premier Two Red championship.
Just three games -- all double gammons -- were enough for Jason Champion to despatch Cynthia Roberts and clinch the divisional title.
Now Blue Division champion Adam Sinclair meets Jason in an 11-points decider for the outright Premier Two championship.

18/10/16: Gary back into the top flight, but who will win the Red Division?

The Wellington, Horfield, was the venue for a crucial Premier Two Red double header this evening.
Leader Jason Champion met second placed Gary Plant.
A share of the spoils would be enough for Jason to clinch the divisional championship, while the same result would also promote Gary, and erase Simon Baker's remote chance of sneaking into the second promotion slot.
The first match went Gary's way, 11-7, which delivered his promotion place.
And winning the return match 11-6 even pushed Gary into pole position.
Gary has now finished his fixtures, however, and must now wait and see whether or not Jason can win his final match -- against Cynthia Roberts -- to clinch the divisional title.
Simon has three matches remaining and could still arrive in third place, which carries a cash prize, with a string of convincing wins.

17/10/16: Simonetta wins Monday Tric Trac event

There were ten players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the latest phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a Tric Trac Tourno.
And Simonetta Herrera rolled a timely sequence of doubles to clinch a gammon and the winning points in her final game against Mary French to take the pot at the expense of Pearl Foster and Roland Herrera.
Stephen Little still heads the AGP table, although Simonetta has cut his margin to nine points.
George Georgiou leads the race to be the competition's leading intermediate, while Mary heads the Tric Trac Tourno section of John Curran's intermediate sponsorship.

14/10/16: Stephen wins October grand prix event

There were seventeen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, of whom fifteen contested the tenth of the year's twelve Monthly Grand Prix tournaments.
And it was Stephen Little who won the tournament, defeating Neil Young, Richard Owsley and Alex Hodge, before overcoming Simonetta Herrera in the first-to-eleven-points final.
Simonetta had arrived there via victories over Mandy Macdonald, Ian Hedges and Daniel Eldridge.
Neil won the consolation flight, defeating Mandy, Cliff Blofield and Tim Line in the process.
And while OGP leader Roland Herrera failed to regsiter a win on the evening, his 74 ponts OGP lead remains intact because second placed Ian Tarr fared similarly.
Stephen has now moved to within striking distance, but it's difficult to argue a case for anyone outside the top three challenging Roland's supremacy.
Daniel had a good tournament, and has opened up a 79 point lead in the IGP, while Cliff has moved into second place.
Meanwhile, Stephen's tournament win is bad news for all those who might haved hoped for a Winner Takes All pool rollover, but it's good news for Jason Champion, who is now assured of a place in the 2017 Bristol Masters.

11/10/16: Thirteen in Monday action

There were thirteen players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the latest phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- three 3-point round robins.
Among the field there was a welcome Bristol Backgammon debut for Greg Waterworth.
All three groups saw the honours shared.
The one five player group had George Georgiou and Cynthia Roberts at the top, while there were three way splits in the two four player groups.
Stephen Little still heads the AGP table, but his lead has been cut to twelve points by second placed Ian Tarr.
George is the competition's leading intermediate, and he also heads the 3-point round robin section of the John Curran intermediate sponsorship.

07/10/16: Paul grabs a lifeline

There were fourteen players in action on Thursday, including twelve at the Rainbow Casino, of whom ten contested the fifth of the year's six Speedgammon Grand Prix evenings.
In league action alongside the tournament there was a double header with a considerable bearing on the race to avoid relegation from Premier One.
Simon Hughes started the evening almost safe, but after playing his last two matches of the season he left a little more worried.
His opponent Paul Watts -- scoring 11-5 and 11-7 victories -- has given himself a great chance of escaping the drop, while Simon can only wait and hope that he is not overtaken by two of the three players immediately below him.
In truth the odds are still very much in his favour, but he would have loved to have settled the issue last night.
Brimsham Park, Yate, had earlier been the venue where James Lintell-Smith ended his Premier Two Red campaign with a fifth successive victory, obtained at Pearl Foster's expense.
In the Speedgammon event there was a brave and welcome debut by Jim Buck, who chose a very difficult event for his baptism.
And while his results may not have been quite what he wanted, he at least left a good impression on his vastly more experienced opponents.
None of the ten contestants managed a clean sweep of four victories, so the pots in the two five-player groups were both shared.
Tim Line, Stephen Little and Tony Walters shared one pot, while Simonetta Herrera and Ian Tarr shared the other.
Gaz Owen had an uncharacteristically average session, but because he had no discards to contend with, his lead over second placed Simonetta in the SGGP table was extended from five points to fifteen with just one event remaining.
The draw for the eighth round of the Brunel Trophy was also made -- a week earlier than advertised.
Of the four remaining players, only Jason Champion has two lives remaining.

03/10/16: Twelve in Monday action

There were twelve players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the latest phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a pair of Nackgammon Tournos.
The groups were won by Simonetta Herrera and Adam Sinclair.
Stephen Little's AGP lead over second placed Ian Tarr has been cut to 38 points.
The race to be the competition's leading intermediate is now led by George Georgiou, with Mathew Nicholls nine points behind.
The Drew Caudwell sponsored Nackgammon Grand Prix has a new leader, Adam taking over from John Chester.
And George now shares the lead of the Nackgammon element of the John Curran intermediate sponsorship with Robin Gunney.

30/09/16: Focus on the league run in

Just two months of the league season remain, and in the Premier League the threat of penalties on the average points difference for those behind at the September 30th checkpoint has proved effective, with all thirty-three players managing to avoid this fate.
What this has done is to throw things into sharp focus, and to leave the run in with a more equitable feel to it than has sometimes been the case in the past.
So what can we expect as the last few matches are completed?
In the top flight there are just thirteen fixtures to be completed, while there are ten and nine respectively in the Blue Division and Red Division.
And such is the competitive nature of the Bristol leagues that of those 32 matches there are only four which can have no bearing on issues at the top or bottom of leagues.
The championship race still features four players.
Gaz Owen, Ed Turner and Stuart Mann are right in the thick of things, while reigning champion Cecilia Sparke still has an outside chance.
The fact that she still has to meet Ed twice and that Gaz and Stuart also have to play each other adds spice to the battle, giving plenty of opportunities for intriguing twists.
At the foot of the top flight it appears to be a case of Richard Owsley, Neil Young and Paul Watts being in another race -- where just one of them will stay up.
It's not quite as simple as that, however, as the three players on 30 points -- Steffen Nowak, Nick Barham and Simon Hughes -- are not quite out of the woods yet, with Simon most at risk thanks to his points difference.
In the Blue Divison Adam Sinclair has at least resolved one issue by taking the title.
But who goes up with him?
The odds are now on Peter Thistlewood, who will clinch that place if he wins just one of his last three.
However Adam (twice) and Ian Tarr might not be his opponents of choice under the circumstances.
Should Peter fail to win any of these matches Dave Pym would almost certainly be the one to hold on to second.
But there is one other possible scenario, albeit an unlikely one.
Should Ian win his last three matches and improve his difference by more than 22, he would pip Dave.
Jason Champion has also assured himself of promotion from the Red Division, and is strongly odds on to take the divisional crown.
However, second placed Gary Plant, who is almost certain of promotion himself, still has to play Jason twice, so could still win the title.
Only Simon Baker can upset the applecart here, but five results need to go very emphatically his way for him to pip Gary for second.
There are also issues, nebulous ones perhaps, at the foot of the two second tier divisions.
In the event of an enlargement to the league next year, those at the foot of these leagues could end up in a new Premier Three.
So even for these players, finishing as high as possible is still something to strive for.
As for the Conference League, this has been a disappointment this year, with only Cliff Blofield really showing the desire to win the competition.
He has done enough in this to earn his Premier Status from next year, although league members Tom Chapman and Carwyn Jenkins have achieved the same thing via other routes.
Whatever, nobody seems to want to challenge Cliff for the title.
Two months remain, and you can bet on there being more twists and turns to report.

30/09/16: Adam clinches Blue Division chanpionship; Premier League title is Ed's to lose; Steve wins GP30 event

There were eighteen players in action on Thursday, including sixteen at the Rainbow Casino, of whom twelve contested the fifth of the year's six GP30 tournaments.
A Premier Two double header took place before the tournament, and it was a significant one.
Adam Sinclair met Dave Pym and both players had a lot to play for.
For Adam, after his incredible season, it was a case of dotting the i's and crossing the t's with promotion and the Blue Division championship in his sights.
Dave -- completing his season -- could thwart him, however, and press his own strong claim for promotion.
Even one win for Dave would give him a reasonable chance of pipping Peter Thistlewood for second place as his average points difference is superior to Peter's.
Two would make him a big favourite for a return to the top flight.
The wheels began to come off for Dave, however, and he fell to a 3-11 defeat in the opener. This confirmed Adam's promotion.
And when Adam won the return encounter 11-5 that confirmed him as divisional champion.
The disastrous session for Dave meant he now needs Peter to lose all three remaining matches for him to hold on to the coveted second place.
And alongside the tournament was another fascinating clash, featuring Richard Owsley and Ed Turner.
This Premier One encounter saw players with very different objectives in mind.
For Richard it was a case of trying to steal a march on his rivals in distress, Neil Young and Paul Watts.
And whereas top flight survival is massive, Ed had even bigger fish to fry, as he nears a maiden top flight title.
Ed nicked it 11-9 to move into second place, behind Gaz Owen on difference but with a crucial match in hand.
For Ed it's a simple equation.
Win all three remaining matches, and the title is in the bag.
Achieving this may not be that simple, however, as two of those matches are against reigning champion Cecilia Sparke, who has still not given up hope of retaining her crown.
Meanwhile, at the Prince of Wales, Gloucester Road, the second and last seventh round Brunel Trophy match was taking place.
Jason Champion defeated Derek Clew 11-0 here in what Jason himself describes as a "travesty", paying his opponent the compliment of taking the defeat like a true gentleman.
All four seventh round participants are in the draw for the eighth round, however, in this double elimination event.
The difference this time will be that Jason is the only player who remains undefeated.
In the tournament -- where there was another welcome new player, Tom Newson -- it was Steve Morris who emerged victorious, defeating Chris Rogers and Ian Tarr before despatching Cecilia Sparke in the final.
Tony Walters won the consolation flight with victories over Stephen Little and Chris.
With just one event remaining in this series, Steve takes the overall lead from the absent Roland Herrera.

28/09/16: Ian wins at Colston Yard

A middle of the table Premier Two Blue clash took place at Colston Yard this afternoon.
And Ian Tarr scored his second league win in two days, defeating Fred North 11-5.

27/09/16: Adam's magnificent sequence ended

Finally!
The sequence of victories which has carried Adam Sinclair to the brink of the Premier Two Blue championship is over.
Starting from the outset of his first Premier Two season back in January, Adam has overcome every obstacle placed before him.
Sixteen matches resulted in sixteen victories, to the point where only a miracle can now stop him being promoted with the Blue Division title under his belt.
Two of those wins have been erased from the record, thanks to Andy Brown's unfortunate disappearance from the league, but the record book shows an all time record Premier League sequence.
It's not an all time Bristol League record sequence, however, as Rosey Bensley still holds that record.
But Rosey's sequence of seventeen wins was mostly achieved in the Conference League, so Adam's sixteen will be considered superior, although Stuart Mann's Premier One record of fourteen in a row should surely still be regarded as the ultimate sequential achievement.
The end came this afternoon at the Old Stillage, Redfield, where Ian Tarr's stop-start season spluttered into temporary life as he scored an 11-2 win.

26/09/16: Monday news

There were eleven players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the latest phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a pair of 3-point round robins.
But strangely, only nine of the eleven stayed the course!
In the six player group George Georgiou went mysterously missing after receiving a phone call, and Mary French felt unable to continue after her first thee matches, citing tiredness after her recent operation.
The results of both players were wiped from the competition, leaving three of the remaining four players in a tie for first place with two victories out of three matches.
The other pot was not shared, however, as Ian Tarr went through the five player group undefeated.
Stephen Little did enough to extend his AGP lead to 61.5 points.
In the John Curran sponsorship intermediate standings, George still leads the 3-point round robin element despite having his matches scratched off.

26/09/16: James and Peter shared the spoils on Saturday

A couple of Premier Two Blue results have emerged from the weekend.
The Dog, Old Sodbury, was the venue on Saturday when James Newman met Peter Thistlewood.
James achieved a whitewash in the opener, but Peter kept his promotion bid on track by winning the return 11-8.

26/09/16: Dave reduces Blue Division race to three horses

Ian Tarr's slim chance to figure in the Blue Division promotion race disappeared at the Compass this afternoon.
Dave Pym's 11-3 battering of Ian effectively reduces the race to three, with Adam Sinclair almost certain to go up.
Peter Thistlewood is now Dave's only realistic rival for the other automatic promotion place.

23/09/16: Peter dents Simonetta's promotion hopes

Simonetta Herrera's promotion hopes, having been revived after a slow start to the season, now lie in ruins after her third successive Premier Two Blue defeat.
And the latest conqueror -- Peter Thistlewood -- did his hopes a power of good with today's 11-7 win at Kellaway Avenue.
Assuming twelve wins will not be enough to finish in the top two, and also assuming Adam Sinclair's elevation is assured, the second automatic promotion place appears to rest between Dave Pym and Peter, although Ian Tarr could also figure in the equation in the unlikely event that he should he win all of his last six matches.

23/09/16: Gaz setback opens the door; Steve down; Peter keeps up the pressure; Stephen out of the race

There were nineteen players in action on Thursday, including seventeen at the Rainbow Casino, of whom twelve contested the fifth of the year's six Round Robin Grand Prix evenings.
Some crucial league action took place.
Richard Owsley upset the form book to score a victory which may prove invaluable in his efforts to escape the Premier One drop zone.
And his 11-6 win over leader Gaz Owen has also had the effect of throwing the title race even more wide open.
A double header at the foot of the table saw the honours shared by Paul Watts and Steve Morris.
This wasn't good enough for Steve, who has finally been consigned to Premier Two.
Steve will probably be accompanied in the drop by two of Richard, Paul and Neil Young.
At the Compass, Tormarton, Peter Thistlewood scored a narrow win over Fred North in Premier Two Blue to consolidate his promotion push.
And Simon Baker kept his hopes alive in Premier Two Red when he defeated Stephen Little 11-6, a result which means Stephen has missed out, while only a series of very emphatic results -- in Simon's favour and to Gary's detriment -- will keep Gary Plant out of the promotion bracket.
In the round robins, the two groups of six both saw outright winners.
Nick Barham scored a clean sweep in one group, while Simonetta Herrera's four wins were enough to take the pot in the other group.
She has narrowed the gap behind leader Ian Tarr at the top of the RRGP table to just five points.

21/09/16: Jason promoted with three matches to spare

Six Premier Two matches were played on Wednesday, including four with a bearing on promotion issues.
At the Bristol County Sports Club Jason Champion pipped Horst Stenzel 11-10 and reclaimed the penalty points temporarily incurred at the July 31st checkpoint.
This was enough to ensure that he is promoted to Premier One, and he still has three matches to play.
Another factor which may weigh in Jason's favour when the championship is decided was Gary Plant's double header with Tim Line at the Plough, Kington Langley.
The spoils were shared, and while this inches Gary closer to promotion, it also reduced his chances of making top spot.
James Lintell-Smith hauled himself into the division's top half with a brace of victories over Mandy Macdonald at Grounded, Bedminster.
And in the Blue Division Peter Thistlewood suffered a blow to his promotion hopes when he succumbed 7-11 to Ian Tarr at the Blaise Inn, Henbury Road, a venue new to Bristol Backgammon competition.

20/09/16: Stuart and Nick share the spoils

Nick Barham and Stuart Mann went to the Rainbow Casino this evening for a Premier One double header.
Stuart scored an 11-2 win in the opener, but was unable to make it a double when he succumbed 9-11 in the return encounter.
Nick is all but guaranteed top flight safety, but Stuart has lost a little ground in the title race, which now appears to be a three horse race between Stuart, Gaz Owen, and Ed Turner, although reigning champion Cecilia Sparke still holds out some hope of success.

20/09/16: Tom attains Premier Status

One significant item missed from the weekend's reporting was the fact that Tom Chapman has achieved his goal of attaining Premier Status.
Needing just half a point to breach the 50 points threshold in the Race to the Premier League, he made the breakthrough in style on Sunday with victories over two of our major players, Roland Herrera and Chris Rogers.
Tom becomes the fifth player to graduate so far this year.

20/09/16: Ed keeps up the pressure; Jason goes top; Roland wins Lesters final; all four will progress in Brunel

There were twenty-three players in various levels of activity on Monday, including twenty-one at the Bristol County Sports Club, ten of whom contested the third phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a Tric Trac Tourno.
There was important league and knock-out action.
The only match away from the club was Ed Turner's 11-4 defeat of Steve Morris at the Kensington Arms.
Ed's victory keeps him right in the thick of the championship race, while only something utterly extraordinary can now save Steve from the drop.
At the club Jason Champion, already established as Premier Two Red title favourite, recovered from a 2-9 deficit to pip Pearl Foster 11-10 and move to the top of the league.
Also playing alongside the Tric Trac Tourno was the final of the historic hundredth Lesters Trophy tournament.
Roland Herrera defeated the in form Chris Hughes here and has established a very handy 74 points lead in the OGP with just three tournaments remaining.
He is also the fifth player to ensure qualification for the 2017 Bristol Masters.
And the first of the two seventh round Brunel Trophy matches was also completed.
Nick Barham scored a narrow victory over Paul Watts, and bizarrely all four survivors will be in the eighth round as well, as nobody will have lost twice, even when the match between Derek Clew and Jason has been played.
The Tric Trac saw a narrow win for Simonetta Herrera, but Stephen Little did enough to extend his AGP lead to more than 52 points.
George Georgiou, in second place, is also the competition's leading intermediate.
In the John Curran sponsorship intermediate standings, Mary French still leads the Tric Trac element.
The non-competitive element was also well represented.
Leah Line, fresh from her memorable debut on Thursday, opted out of the Tric Trac, observing and also playing some friendly games.
Duncan Foster is becoming a regular early evening visitor to the Monday session, playing friendly games before catching his train to Cheltenham, but has yet to make his official debut.
And three new players turned up part way through the evening to check us out.
Sergio Huidobro is a Chilean national who has recently moved into Bristol from outside, and he brought two Polish friends from the Lake District with him.
Hopefully Sergio will become a regular.

18/09/16: Premier Two weekend action, as Adam creates another record

Seven Premier Two matches were played over the weekend.
There were two double headers on Saturday.
In Premier Two Blue at the Knights Templar Adam Sinclair continued his extraordinary league sequence.
Two victories over Andrew Cobb brought his incredible run to an all-time Premier League record of sixteen straight wins, meaning that he can now finish no lower than third, assuming everyone claws back all their penalty points.
The White Lion, Westbury-on-Trym, was the venue in Premier Two Red where Horst Stenzel and Tim Line won a match apiece.
The Sunday double header in the Red Division featured Jason Champion, whose brace of wins over Simon Baker has installed him as favourite for the divisional title.
These matches took place at the Nettle and Rye, Kings Road, Clifton, which appeared to be a new Bristol Backgammon venue, until a little research revealed that it used to be the Hophouse, where a handful of matches have been held since 2010.
The weekend's other league match took place at the Rainbow Casino, where Peter Thistlewood returned to action with an 11-8 victory over Simonetta Herrera, which keeps him on course for promotion.

18/09/16: Fourteen contest Sunday Rainbow event

There were fourteen players at the Rainbow Casino on Sunday to contest the latest of our weekend events, and a fifteenth -- Peter Thistlewood -- turned up to play a league match.
Cecilia Sparke was the winner of the main flight, beating Nick Barham, Tony Walters and Gaz Owen before overcoming Chris Hughes in the final.
Chris had arrived there via a bye and wins over Ian Tarr and Tom Chapman.
Nick defeated Ian in the final of the consolation flight.

16/09/16: HM Customs force date changes!

As Bristol Backgammon's new supply of clocks remains in the custody of HM Customs, it has become necessary to switch a couple of our Thursday dates.
The current supply of clocks has become riddled with unreliability -- hence the need for some new ones -- so a new batch is on the way.
However the chances of receiving them and becoming familiar enough with them before Thursday night's Speedgammon event have diminished to the extent that the decision has been taken to postpone that event for two weeks.
The Round Robin Grand Prix event originally scheduled for October 6th has been brought forward to September 22nd, and the Speedgammon event will now take place on October 6th.
Many fingers remain crossed that a further rescheduling of events will not become necessary.

16/09/16: Fred wins in Kellaway Avenue

Fred North visited Kellaway Avenue today and came away with an 11-10 Premier Two Blue victory to dent Simonetta Herrera's promotion hopes and keep alive his own.

16/09/16: Gaz extends league lead; Roland wins Handicap event; Leah makes a memorable debut

There were eighteen players at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday, sixteen of whom contested the sixth of this year's eight Handicap Trophy tournaments.
There was Premier League action before the tournament, and Gaz Owen's 11-9 win over Neil Young sent him six points clear at the top of Premier One.
Neil also suffered defeat against Richard Owsley -- a result which means both players are still well entrenched in the battle to avoid relegation.
The division's other result saw Nick Barham end a barren run by defeating Simon Hughes 11-4.
In Premier Two Red Stephen Little maintained his push towards the promotion slots with an emphatic win over Mandy Macdonald.
Amongst the field for the tournament there were two very welcome debut players -- George Edwards and Leah Line, respectively employee and daughter of Tim Line.
Emerging from the field for the main final were two zero handicapped players -- Roland Herrera and Ian Tarr.
Roland's victims en route were George, Ed Turner and Richard, while Ian was getting past Mandy, Tony Walters and Nick.
Roland won a quickfire final to reduce Daniel Eldridge's Handicap Trophy lead from 115 points to 45.
But perhaps the highlight of the evening was Leah's run in the consolation flight.
Having only started playing the game days ago, Leah made the most of her 4-handicap to eclipse Mandy and Simonetta Herrera before defeating Cynthia Roberts in the final for a great start to a backgammon career.

14/09/16: Premier League wins for Simon, Cecilia, Jason and Ismail

There were four Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
In the top flight Cecilia Sparke defeated Andy Boysan 11-4 at Zazu's Kitchen, Bedminster, to keep her title defence hopes just about alive while finally extinguishing Andy's aspirations.
And Simon Hughes has all but assured his safety with an 11-5 win over Steve Morris at the Kensington Arms, while Steve's survival hopes now hang by the slimmest of threads.
In Premier Two Red Jason Champion stayed on course for promotion with an 11-4 victory over Horst Stenzel at the Bristol County Sports Club.
And Ismail Yilmaz finished his Premier Two Blue campaign at the Rainbow Casino with a second successive victory, this time at the expense of Ian Tarr.

13/09/16: Stuart strikes back

Westbury-on-Trym was the hub for league action on Tuesday.
Stuart Mann and Gaz Owen met at the Black Swan (a k a the Dirty Duck) and while the recent momentum in the Premier One title race had been swinging Gaz's way, Stuart struck back with an 11-5 win which firmly emphasises his challenge.
There is now precious little to separate the title credentials of Gaz, Stuart and Ed Turner.
A Premier Two Red double header took place at the Post Office Tavern.
And although Drew Caudwell amassed twenty points, that was not enough to prevent James Lintell-Smith from earning two narrow victories.

13/09/16: Dave goes second; Stephen and Nick win Monday round robins

There were thirteen players in action on Monday, including eleven at the Bristol County Sports Club, of whom ten contested the second phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a pair of 3-point round robins.
The Compass, Tormarton, was the scene of a Premier Two Blue double header, and Dave Pym scored a brace of emphatic wins over Andrew Cobb to move back into second place in the league.
In the same division Ian Hedges rounded off his season with a 7-11 defeat by Ismail Yilmaz at the club.
The round robins saw wins for Stephen Little and Nick Barham, both of whom were undefeated.
Stephen tops the AGP table by 44 points.

12/09/16: Double successes for Simonetta and Mike

Two league double headers were played out over the weekend.
On Saturday at Kellaway Avenue Simonetta Herrera defeated Ismail Yilmaz twice, and she moves into second place in the Premier Two Blue table.
In the parallel Red Division Tim Line met Mike Smith at the Highbury Vaults.
Mike's brace of victories move him to the top of that league.
He has now finished his league programme -- the first player to complete his Premier League fixtures this year -- and must wait to see whether or not he has done enough to gain a coveted top two place.
The odds are not in his favour, however.

12/09/16: Four left in Brunel battle

The draw for the Brunel Trophy seventh round was made on Thursday.
Nick Barham will face Paul Watts, while Jason Champion and Derek Clew will contest the other match.
Perversely, in this double elimination event, there could still be four players in the eighth round draw.
Nick is the only one facing sudden death this time, so if he wins his match, the four will be redrawn into other pairings in round eight.

12/09/16: Reunion idea a great success

There were thirty-two players at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday on the occasion of the September Grand Prix tournament.
The decision -- a late one in pre-planning terms -- to bill the event as a reunion in celebration of the 100th Lesters Trophy tournament was thus fully justified.
To bring in thirty-two players, one of whom played a league match before the main event, brought back memories of the heady days of around eight years ago when it was not uncommon to have that many players turning out for an event.
It was an absolute pleasure to welcome several players back into action after a variety of intervals.
Tony Lee came from Oxford after a gap of nineteen years, while it had been seven years since we saw his near neighbour Phil Doubtfire in a domestic Bristol Backgammon event.
Matt Reekie-Black (after four years) and George Jakeway (three) were the others to return after long gaps, while Alex Hodge, Chas Perry and Rob Wills were shorter term absentees.
Dave Pym and Stuart Mann -- predominantly league players these days -- were also making welcome but rare Thursday appearances.
The vast majority of those just mentioned had no doubt had their curiosity sufficiently piqued by the uniqueness of the occasion to return, which surely makes it a very good idea to do this at regular intervals (expect an announcement on this front soon).
And the Ł100 added by Bristol Backgammon to the prize pot no doubt helped to oil the wheels.
Before the tournament one or two loose ends were tied up.
Last week's Consulting Doubles consolation final -- with little at stake apart from honour -- saw the prize pot split between the four protagonists without a die being rolled.
And the consolation final of last month's GP5 tournament saw Simon Hughes prevail over Ian Hedges.
The one Premier One match played was between Richard Owsley and Neil Young, Neil scoring an 11-9 victory to edge closer to safety.
In the tournament the final of the main flight was held over for another time.
Roland Herrera got there via wins over Stephen Little, Cynthia Roberts, Simonetta Herrera and Cecilia Sparke, while Chris Hughes was getting past Cliff Blofield, Drew Caudwell, Stuart and Chas.
Derek Clew took the consolation flight by defeating Matt, Ian Hedges, Andy Boysan and Tony Lee.
Roland thus takes over the OGP lead from Ian Tarr, and can extend the margin from 34 points to 74 by winning the final.
Meanwhile the IGP race is hotting up.
Daniel Eldridge didn't contest the event, but still holds the lead, which was reduced from 25 points to just 10 by Carwyn Jenkins.
Cliff has moved into fourth place, 34 points behind the leader.
Seventeen players went for the Winner Takes All pool, where there was no rollover from the August event.
And there will be no rollover to October either, since Roland and Chris both invested.
And whoever wins the final will also be guaranteed a place in the 2017 Bristol Masters.

11/09/16: Hundredth Lesters evening write-up imminent

The write-up and table updates from Thursday night's "Reunion Tournament", attended by thirty-one players, will not appear until some time on Monday, as the columnist has been away and is catching up on a backlog.
League matches since then, plus the Brunel Cup seventh round draw will also feature shortly.
Apologies for the inconvenience......

07/09/16: Who's coming to tomorrow night's tournament?

It's anybody's guess, but it is hoped that there will be a larger than usual field to celebrate the 100th Lesters Trophy tournament, which is tomorrow evening at the Rainbow Casino.
The name might not be familiar to everyone, but if you follow the link in the previous sentence you'll get a flavour of what it's all about.
Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr -- aided a little by Dave Pym -- has been individually contacting several players who haven't been seen in action for quite a while, some of whom we haven't seen for more than twenty years!
Some have great excuses for not coming -- like being in New Zealand, or Spain, or Ireland, or Dorset, for example -- but there are a few who might just make it.
And hopefully a few more current players whose appearance might have been in doubt will have had their curiosity piqued to the extent that their minds will have been made up affirmatively.
Here are the details. Come along if you can.

07/09/16: Gaz returns to the top

Andy Boysan's latest tenure of pole position in Premier One lasted just one day.
The Black Swan (a k a the Dirty Duck) in Westbury-on-Trym was the scene of the latest twist in the title race yesterday evening.
Gaz Owen defeated Andy 11-7 to return to the top of the league, and Andy's total of nine defeats means he will now need a miracle to clinch a maiden championship triumph.

06/09/16: Andy tops Premier One again

There were eight players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday, of whom six contested the first phase of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix -- a DMP Tourno.
The other two -- Andy Boysan and Ed Turner -- played a Premier One match, which Andy won 11-5.
He has played more matches than most of his rivals at the sharp end of the league, but for the moment he is back on top.
The first leader of the AGP is Stephen Little who topped the DMP Tourno.

03/09/16: Double success for Chris in Westerleigh

Chris Hughes visited Westerleigh yesterday evening for a Premier Two Blue double header with James Newman.
And he came away from the New Inn with a pair of victories which propelled him into third place in the league table.

02/09/16: A good night for the Owens

There were nineteen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, including the sixteen who contested the annual Consulting Doubles Championship.
Cecilia Sparke and Gaz Owen visited the Cornubia beforehand to play a crucial top of the table Premier One match.
Gaz's 11-5 win moved him to the top of the league at Ed Turner's expense, while leaving Cecilia little margin for error in the remainder of her title defence.
In the same division Neil Young hauled himself off the bottom of the table with an 11-7 win over Nick Barham, whose title challenge has evaporated with seven successive league defeats.
Another match played alongside the advertised event was the final match of the sixth round of the Brunel Trophy, where Paul Watts's victory eliminated Richard Owsley from the competition, leaving just four players in the seventh round draw.
A convenient number of players contested the doubles, making up a full draw of eight pairs.
And completing a good night for the Owen family, it was Gaz and brother Luke Owen who took the 2016 Consulting Doubles title with wins over Nick and Stephen Little, Ed and Angie Vick, and -- in the final -- Chris Rogers and Cecilia.
Thw brothers' triumph was their second, having previously won the 2013 title.
The consolation final was left for another date. If played it will feature Chris Hughes and Drew Caudwell against Tim Line and Steve Morris.

01/09/16: Steffen and Neil share the honours

The Oxford in Totterdown was the venue for a Premier One double header yesterday evening.
Steffen Nowak scored an 11-6 victory over Neil Young, but Neil struck back to win the return match 11-4.

31/08/16: And then there were five......

The Prince of Wales, Gloucester Road, played host to a hard fought Brunel Trophy match on Monday.
Jason Champion scored an 11-9 victory over Ed Turner, a result which spelled the end of Ed's interest in the competition for another year, while preserving Jason's unbeaten record.
Five players remain in contention, and this could be down to four by the time of the seventh round draw.

29/08/16: Cecilia beats Stuart again

Stuart Mann and Cecilia Sparke took time out from the London Open at Dalston Heights, Hackney, over the weekend to play the return encounter of their Premier One campaign.
Cecilia won the initial encounter in Bedminster on Tuesday, and repeated the dose with an 11-8 win in London.
The balance of power at the top has shifted.
For the first time leader Ed Turner has the best overall record, with Gaz Owen, Stuart, Cecilia and Andy Boysan in hot pursuit.

26/08/16: Adam creates another record

The Brewhouse and Kitchen, Cotham Hill, was the venue this afternoon for Adam Sinclair's latest league win.
Fred North was the visitor, and Adam won 11-7.
He continues to set a supersonic pace at the top of Premier Two Blue.
The victory was his fourteenth in fourteen matches this season -- although two of those no longer count after Andy Brown's expungement.
Fourteen is the longest sequence of victories ever at Premier Two level.

26/08/16: Simon and Ian reach GP5 final

There were sixteen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, including the twelve who contested the sixth of the year's eight GP5 tournaments.
The first of the sixth round matches in the Brunel Trophy matches was completed, and Nick Barham's win over Miles Farren spelled the end of Miles's campaign.
Six players now remain in the double elimination competition.
Neil Young played a pair of Premier One matches -- an 11-9 victory over Cecilia Sparke, and a defeat by the same margin against Paul Watts.
In the GP5 event Ian Hedges and Simon Hughes made it to the final, and this will be played at a later date.
Ian's route to the final took him past Jason Champion, Cynthia Roberts and Nick, while Simon got there via a bye and wins over Richard Owsley and Ian Tarr.
Jason won the consolation flight, defeating Steve Morris and Tony Walters.
The absent Simonetta Herrera still holds a handsome lead of 85 points in the GP5 table, with Ian Tarr second, while the winner of the final will move into third place.

24/08/16: Cecilia beats Stuart to spice up the title race

The Steam Crane, Bedminster, was the venue for an important Premier One match last night.
Cecilia Sparke defeated long time league leader Stuart Mann to add further intrigue to the title race.
Stuart was overtaken by Ed Turner at the weekend, and with Cecilia, Gaz Owen and, more tenuously, Andy Boysan also in contention, the run has an interesting look to it.

23/08/16: Mike misses an opportunity

Mike Smith today missed a chance to narrow the gap between himself and Premier Two Red leader Gary Plant.
His match with Pearl Foster at the Compass, Tormarton, ended in a 6-11 defeat.

23/08/16: Roland and Mary take Monday Club Summer honours

There were thirteen players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday, of whom ten contested the latest phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- a pair of five-player 3-point round robins.
Before and alongside the round robins there was league action.
Gary Plant scored a pair of 11-5 wins over Cynthia Roberts to move back to the top of Premier Two Red.
And Cliff Blofield consolidated his leadership of the Conference League by finishing off an adjourned match with Mary French with an 11-8 victory.
In the round robins Roland Herrera won one group outright, while the other saw the pot shared between George Georgiou and Simonetta Herrera.
Roland had already been assured of finishing as Summer Grand Prix champion, but the race to finish as top intermediate in the competition went right down to the wire.
Carwyn Jenkins had led the race, but a memorable victory for Mary over Ian Tarr in her final match of the round robin gave her just enough points to overhaul Carwyn for the honour.
Meanwhile the latest John Curran sponsorship standings can be viewed here.

21/08/16: Ed tops Premier One

A double header at Off The Rails, Weston-super-Mare, yesterday saw Ed Turner move to the summit of Premier One.
Nick Barham suffered 8-11 and 2-11 defeats which severely dent his chances of challenging for the title.
For Ed, however, the chances have never been better.

19/08/16: Gold for Lily!

Occasional Bristol Backgammon player Lily Owsley today achieved a dream.
As a key member of the Great Britain hockey squad, she stood on the podium in Rio de Janeiro to receive an Olympic gold medal with her team mates.
The team had won all five group matches, plus quarter-final and semi-final wins, to reach this evening's final against world number one nation Holland.
The match finished 3-3, and the subsequent shoot-out saw the Brits score a famous victory -- the greatest in their history.
The win was a triumph of teamwork, togetherness and sheer belief against a technically superior team.
Lily played an important part, as she often does, and scored her team's opening goal.
The incredible thing about her career is that she is homing in on 100 caps (for Great Britain and England) and she is still only 21!
Bristol Backgammon sends its heartfelt congratulations, and hopes she will show us that medal next time she visits.

19/08/16: Mike tops Red Division

The White Lion, Westbury-on-Trym, played host to a Premier Two Red match this afternoon.
And Mike Smith's 11-2 victory over Horst Stenzel keeps him well in contention for one of the two promotion places available, as he moves to the top, albeit that others have matches in hand.

19/08/16: Thirteen in Thursday action

There were thirteen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, including the twelve who contested the fourth of the year's six Round Robin Grand Prix events.
Before the tournament Cliff Blofield and Mary French played a Conference League match, which was adjourned at 7-6 in Cliff's favour when the tournament started.
The two groups of six players played five first-to-three-point matches.
Ian Tarr won one group outright, while the other saw the pot shared between four time winners Roland Herrera and Tony Walters.
Ian takes over the RRGP lead from Simonetta Herrera, with Roland third, although the top three are covered by just 20 points.

18/08/16: Simon and Gary trade promotion blows

Two of the major contenders for promotion from Premier Two Red -- Simon Baker and Gary Plant -- met for a double header at the Brookhouse Farm Inn, Swindon, yesterday.
And when the dust had settled each player had a victory to his name.

18/08/16: Phil resigns from Premier One

Phil Charlton, an ever present in our Premier League since its inception in 2000, has been forced to resign from Premier One.
A tumour has been found in his throat, and he will undergo a course of radio therapy which starts on Monday and continues (for five days a week) until the end of September.
Given that this will take him out of backgammon action for that time and the subsequent recovery period, Phil has reached the conclusion that, rather than risk a potentially chaotic end of season, his most sensible course of action was a resignation with immediate effect.
His fourteen results are therefore wiped from the record, which alters the balance of the table.
Checkpoint targets for the remainder of the season have also been revised downwards to allow for the changed circumstances.
Phil and his wife Carolyn are ready for the battle ahead, and Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr will welcome Phil back into the competition next season, something Phil is also eagerly anticipating.
The Bristol Backgammon community will -- it goes without saying -- be unanimous in wishing Phil and Carolyn the very best for the coming months.

17/08/16: UK Clubs Championship news

Three teams of Bristol players made the trip to the Grosvenor Casino, Didsbury, Manchester on Sunday to contest the UK Clubs Championship.
The fact that Bristol was the only location to provide three teams of five players for an event so far away reflects great credit on our local scene.
The event was won by the London Players League "A" team, who emerged from the field of twenty teams to defeat the North West League in the final.
Our "A" team was unfortunate enough to be involved in an unlikely triple tie for first place in their group, having to resort to the luck of a dice roll to progress to the main knock-out flight.
And their luck let them down.
This did pave the way to their winning the consolation knock-out, however, via victories over Yorkshire, Liverpool and the Newcastle based NEBA "B" team.
The Bristol "B" team were drawn in a very tough initial group, and their loss of all three matches was not entirely surprising.
Our "C" team, however, albeit amongst a weaker group, fared a little better -- including a victory over NEBA "B" -- and were not far from progressing to the main knock-out.
Both the "B" and "C" teams fell at the first hurdle of the consolation flight, however.
For the record, the line-ups of our teams were:
Bristol "A": Julian Fetterlein, Chris Rogers, Cecilia Sparke, Gaz Owen and Seb Wilkinson;
Bristol "B": Cynthia Roberts, James Lintell-Smith, Ian Hedges, Stephen Little and Tim Line;
Bristol "C": Mathew Nicholls, Chris Hughes, Ismail Yilmaz, Tom Chapman and Drew Caudwell.
There were side pools available for individuals in the group stage, and there were cash gains for Chris Hughes and Cecilia.

17/08/16: Time to catch up with domestic action from the past week

Last Thursday at the Rainbow Casino eighteen players contested the eighth of the year's monthly grand prix tournaments.
Nick Barham warmed up for the tournament by defeating Steve Morris in the Brunel Trophy, ensuring that he would be among the seven survivors of this year-long double elimination event.
The sixth round draw is also visible here.
Nick's evening got even better when he qualified for the main flight final by defeating Steve again, and then Daniel Eldridge, Robin Gunney and Tony Walters.
That final -- against Cecilia Sparke -- was deferred until Monday, where Nick was the winner.
Cecilia's route to the final took her past Ian Tarr, Tim Line and Neil Young.
Nick followed up that win by playing a Premier One match with Gaz Owen at Chance and Counters, which turned out to be a less than economical venue.
Gaz was the 11-3 winner here.
Another Premier One match was played at the Star and Dove on Friday, Ed Turner scoring an 11-8 victory over Steffen Nowak.
Ed and Gaz are both still very much involved in the title race.
Tom Chapman made it a Weston-super-Mare clean sweep in the monthly grand prix tournament when he defeated Ian, Stephen Little and Cynthia Roberts.
Ian's OGP lead was reduced to 56 points by Roland Herrera.
There is a new leader in the IGP where Daniel Eldridge has dislodged previous incumbent Rufus Rozelaar.
James Lintell-Smith has been busy in Premier Two Red, playing three matches.
A double header with Tim Line in Didsbury saw honours shared, while his meeting with Jason Champion at the Canteen saw Jason narrowly prevail to stay on track for promotion.
Monday's DMP Tourno at the Bristol County Sports Club, where new player Duncan Foster from Cheltenham played a few friendly games before catching his train, featured eight players and resulted in a three way tie for the pot.
Ed, Ian and Stephen won five games each to cash.

12/08/16: Thursday updates delayed

Apologies to all readers, but updates for yesterday's action will not now appear until Monday.

10/08/16: Gaz stays in contention

In a Premier One match played at the Prince of Wales, Westbury-on-Trym, yesterday Gaz Owen kept his championship hopes alive with an 11-4 victory over Steve Morris.
Steve, on the other hand, slips to the bottom of the league, and now has precious little margin for error if he wants to preserve his top flight status.

09/08/16: Seventeen in Monday action

There were seventeen players in action at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday, of whom fifteen contested the latest phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- three five-player 3-point round robins.
Before the round robins Jason Champion and Mandy Macdonald played out two Premier Two Red matches.
Jason won both to position himself nicely for the promotion run in.
In the round robins John Chester was the only player to win all four matches.
Stephen Little took another of the pots by winning three out of four, and the other group saw Pearl Foster and Roland Herrera share the spoils.
Roland increases his SGP lead to exactly 50 points, with just two events remaining, while the absent Carwyn Jenkins still leads the race to be the event's top intermediate.
The latest John Curran sponsorship standings can be viewed here.

08/08/16: Andy Brown expunged from Premier Two Blue

In the absence of any rescue package Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr has been left with no alternative but to expunge Andy Brown from Premier Two Blue.
Andy has been in Ireland for a protracted period dealing with a family emergency, and will be welcome to return to the fold in future years.
The expungement has had the usual detrimental effect on the league table, with only Simonetta Herrera benefitting -- having a defeat struck off -- while Adam Sinclair, Dave Pym and Ian Hedges have each lost two victories, while Ian Tarr has lost one win.
Penalty and expungement targets for the end of September have been adjusted accordingly.

05/08/16: Ten contest Speedgammon event

There were ten players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the fourth of the year's six Speedgammon Grand Prix events.
Both groups of five players produced a pair of winners to split the pots -- Richard Biddle and Tony Walters in one group; Roland Herrera and Ian Tarr in the other.
The absent Gaz Owen retains his SGGP lead, but this is cut to just five points by Simonetta Herrera and Ian.
The margin may well be deceptive, however, as discards will bite for Gaz's pursuers next time around, and Ian has the added disadvantage that his likely discard will be 55 points.

01/08/16: League wins for Neil and Mary

There were twelve players in action on Monday, including ten at the Bristol County Sports Club, of whom nine contested the latest phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- a Tric Trac Tourno.
Venue wise the exceptions were Simon Hughes and Neil Young who met at the Oxford, Totterdown, for a Premier One encounter.
Neil scored a valuable 11-9 win which will give him encouragement in the battle to avoid relegation.
Simon, however, really needed a win to sustain his championship push.
There was also league action before the advertised event at the club.
Tom Chapman met Mary French for a Conference League match, and Mary scored a long overdue first league win of the season, which made the 11-0 margin all the more remarkable.
The nine player Tric Trac Tourno was won by Ian Hedges.
The absent Roland Herrera's 44 points SGP lead remains intact, while the latest John Curran sponsorship standings can be viewed here.

01/08/16: Andy Brown faces expungement; twelve others penalised

The July 31st midnight Premier League checkpoint has passed, with a plethora of players picking up initial penalty points and one player, Andy Brown, facing expungement from the league if a rescue plan cannot be negotiated.
Andy has been in Ireland for a protracted period dealing with a family emergency, and has fallen well behind with his fixtures, not only failing to claw back two penalty points incurred in May, but also falling short of the requirement for expungement avoidance.
Director Ian Tarr remains open to the possibility of negotiating a rescue package to get the season completed satisfactorily, but this will need to be in place to Ian's satisfaction within the next week, or the expungement -- always a regrettable occurrence for a league -- will take place, with all the ramifications involved.
Meanwhile, apart from Andy's six further penalty points, twelve other Premier League players have incurred penalties which will be clawed back if they all comply with the terms of the September 30th checkpoint.
They are:
Premier One: Neil Young (3 points); Nick Barham, Phil Charlton and Cecilia Sparke (2 points); Gaz Owen and Ed Turner (1 point);
Premier Two Blue: Peter Thistlewood (3 points); Andrew Cobb, Adam Sinclair and Ian Tarr (1 point);
Premier Two Red: Jason Champion (3 points); Tim Line (1 point).

31/07/16: Stephen tops Red Division

The Marlborough Tavern, Bath, is the latest new venue to host Bristol Backgammon matches.
James Lintell-Smith and Stephen Little played out a Premier Two Red double header there today.
An 11-10 win for Stephen was followed by James's 11-7 riposte.
Stephen leapfrogs Mike Smith to the top of the league.

31/07/16: Cecilia is a World Champion!

The hot news from Monte Carlo is that a couple of Bristol players have had outstanding results before and during the World Championship.
The preamble to the big event was the Monte Carlo Open, where Chris Rogers made it all the way to the final.
And now, after defeating 2014 World Champion Akiko Yazawa in the semi-finals, Cecilia Sparke has taken the title of Ladies World Champion by defeating Julia Gromenkova in the final of that section.
Many congratulations to Cecilia in taking another prestigious title for herself, Bristol, and the UK!
She gets a nice cash prize and a lovely watch.

31/07/16: Elias wins GP30 event; Dave exits Brunel Trophy

Apologies for this late update -- I've been away.
There were eighteen players in action on Thursday, including the sixteen who were at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday, twelve of whom contested the fourth of the year's six GP30 events.
The day's only reported league action occurred at Brimsham Park, Yate, where Simon Baker's Premier Two Red promotion campaign continued to gather impetus thanks to his 11-7 victory over Pearl Foster.
And the fifth round of the year long Brunel Trophy double elimination event neared completion when two further matches were completed alongside the GP30 tournament.
One match was a sudden death affair between Miles Farren and Dave Pym.
Miles prevailed to send Dave out of the competition.
The other tie involved two players with two lives remaining.
Jason Champion won this one, and will be one of three unbeaten players in the sixth round, while his vanquished opponent Richard Owsley at least arrives there amongst a field which will be seven strong, compared to the forty who started out on the road.
A loose end was tied up before the advertised event, too.
The held over consolation final from the July Grand Prix tournament saw Ian Hedges gain the early ascendancy before succumbing to a double gammon coup de grace from Steve Morris.
In the main event it was Elias Hamati's night.
Victories over Ian Tarr and Drew Caudwell paved the way for his final win over Steve, who had arrived there via wins against Cynthia Roberts, Tony Walters and Roland Herrera.
Carwyn Jenkins won the consolation flight, defeating Cynthia and Tim Line.
Roland takes over as GP30 leader, moving fifteen points ahead of Ian Tarr.

27/07/16: Wednesday league wins for Gaz and Adam

Two Premier League matches were played on Wednesday.
At the Mall Gaz Owen kept his Premier One championship hopes alive with an 11-5 win over Andy Boysan, moving up to fourth in the league.
And Adam Sinclair, having racked up a record Premier League starting sequence of twelve wins by March 8th, ended his 141 day league sabbatical by defeating Fred North 11-5 at the Brewhouse and Kitchen.
If there was a thought that the break might change his fortunes, this was dispelled as he equalled Ed Turner's all-time Premier Two record winning sequence of thirteen victories.
It is also a sequence bettered only three times in the entire history of the Bristol leagues, with Stuart Mann's fourteen (achieved in Premier One back in 2003) the next target.

27/07/16: Late Tuesday result

There were actually seven matches played on Tuesday -- not six as previously reported.
Just in is the news of Phil Charlton's continued revival in Premier One.
His 11-6 victory over Steve Morris at the Kensington Arms has moved him out of the bottom four.

26/07/16: Eight in Tuesday action

There were six matches played on Tuesday -- five in the Premier League and one in the Brunel Trophy.
The Brunel match, at the Old Stillage, saw the latest player to exit the competition -- Ian Tarr losing his second life in a close match against Derek Clew, who retains both of his lives.
A Premier One double header at The Mall saw honours shared by Simon Hughes and Gaz Owen, Simon moving into third place as a result.
The other three matches were in Premier Two Red.
Simon Baker defeated Horst Stenzel twice at the White Lion, Westbury-on-Trym -- the first match a cliff-hanger, the second rather more emphatic.
And Pearl Foster inflicted an 11-9 defeat on Gary Plant at the Compass, Tormarton.

26/07/16: Fred halts Dave's run

There were eleven players in action on Monday, including nine at the Bristol County Sports Club who contested the latest phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- a pair of 3-point round robins.
Venue wise the exceptions were Fred North and Dave Pym who met in a local derby at the Blunsdon Arms, Swindon, for a Premier Two Blue encounter.
Dave has been on a fine run recently, but Fred stopped him in his tracks with an 11-7 win, which maintains Fred's interest in the promotion chase, while slightly denting Dave's.
In the round robins Simonetta Herrera won the four player group, while the five player group saw the pot shared between Stephen Little and Carwyn Jenkins.
Simonetta thus reduces Roland Herrera's SGP lead to 44 points, while the latest John Curran sponsorship standings can be viewed here.

24/07/16: Double backgammon paves way for Ian's revenge

The return match between James Newman and Ian Tarr once again featured an effective comeback.
For the second successive day the pair met at the Highbury Vaults in Premier Two Blue action.
After moving 4-0 ahead, Ian found himself 4-9 down, but a spectacular double backgammon put him on the road to a revenge win.

23/07/16: Dave goes second

James Newman's weekend has been a mixed one so far.
With four Premier Two Blue fixtures scheduled -- two against Dave Pym and two against Ian Tarr -- he has so far fought out three extrememly close matches.
The Air Balloon, Birdlip, was the venue on Friday for the double header with Dave.
And Dave pressed his promotion claim with 11-10 and 11-9 victories, moving into a convincing second place.
The matches with Ian are being split over two days at the Highbury Vaults.
Today's looked like going Ian's way when he moved 9-2 ahead, then 10-6.
But the final point never came his way and James scored an 11-10 win of his own.

22/07/16: Simonetta on the rise

After a disappointing start to her Premier Two Blue campaign Simonetta Herrera is beginning to emerge as a possible promotion contender.
Her 11-7 victory over Chris Hughes today moved her closer to a challenging position.

22/07/16: Daniel takes control of the Handicap Trophy

There were just twelve players at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday, eight of whom contested the fifth of the year's eight Handicap Trophy events.
Eight is the lowest number to contest any advertised event since we moved to the casino in January.
Alongside the knock-out event there was league action for four.
Phil Charlton had a very useful evening, scoring two very hard earned victories over Richard Owsley to ensure that he won't be expunged at the end of month checkpoint, as well as rising two places off the bottom of the Premier One table.
And in Premier Two Red James Lintell-Smith edged to victory over Pearl Foster.
With just eight players contesting the knock-out, we were assured of an early finish.
And once again it was Daniel Eldridge to the fore.
He has contested all five of these events, making the main final on three occasions.
And this was his second final victory -- Drew Caudwell providing the opposition.
Daniel had got past Thursday debutant Robin Gunney and Simon Hughes on the way to the final, while Drew was eclipsing Roland Herrera and Tim Line.
Ian Tarr won the consolation flight by defeating Simonetta Herrera and Roland.
Daniel is now 115 points ahead of his closest pursuers, while event sponsor Ed Turner -- despite being absent on the night -- still heads the unique Side Pool Grand Prix.

20/07/16: Honours even in league double headers

Two Premier League double headers were played on Wednesday.
In the top flight the venue was the Ship, Park Row, and the protagonists were Stuart Mann and Simon Hughes.
Stuart won the opener 11-3, but Simon struck back to win the return 11-5.
Stuart now has a six points cushion at the top.
And in Premier Two Blue the Larkhall Inn, Bath, saw Andrew Cobb defeat Chris Hughes 11-5, while Chris turned the tables to win the second match 11-10.

19/07/16: Ian edges to Lock Keeper victory

In a Premier Two Blue encounter at the Lock Keeper this afternoon, Ian Tarr edged to victory over Chris Hughes in a see-saw match.
Ian moved 4-0 ahead, then 6-9 behind, but came through with a dropped cube and a double gammon to clinch the match.

19/07/16: Stuart tops Premier League with brace of wins

There were nineteen players in action on Monday, including seventeen at the Bristol County Sports Club, of whom fourteen contested the latest phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- a pair of Nackgammon Tournos.
Venue wise the exceptions were Steve Morris and Stuart Mann who met at Steve's for a Premier One double header.
Stuart won both matches and moves to the top of the league, with matches in hand on his pursuers.
Cliff Blofield and Matt Robson opted to play a Conference League match at the club, and Cliff's 11-6 win consolidates what looks like an impregnable position at the top of that league.
After the main event Stephen Little turned his attention to the Brunel Trophy, where his 6-11 defeat by Ed Turner signalled his elimination from this year's competition.
The Nackgammon Tournos each had an outright winner -- Adam Sinclair and Roland Herrera outscoring their opponents.
Roland's lead in the SGP table is now up to 72 points, a margin which will be difficult for anyone to make up.
In the Drew Caudwell sponsored Nackgammon Grand Prix John Chester had a moderate evening, but still scored enough points to overhaul Mary French at the top of that table.
And in the Nackgammon section of the John Curran sponsored intermediate tables Robin Gunney holds the initial lead.

16/07/16: Ian wins second tournament in three days

There were just eleven players at the Rainbow Casino on Saturday to contest the latest weekend one-day tournament.
This fifth incarnation of the series still featured total prize money totalling Ł490.
Director Ian Tarr, suffering from a heavy cold, had intended not to play, but was persuaded to and ultimately was happy he had done so.
Having never previously won a main flight match in one of these events, he made amends by going all the way, winning a tournament for the second time in three days.
As so often happens, though, he wouldn't have achieved anything without a lot of good fortune, which was most vividly exemplified in his first match against Seb Wilkinson.
2-5 in arrears (first to nine) he took a cube where a prompt six would make him odds on to be gammoned.
The six came immediately, Ian felt he had very little to lose by recubing, and a bizarre sequence of events saw him turn potentially being gammoned into a gammon of his own to force an unlikely match win.
Further wins over Peter Ozanne and Miles Farren -- this latter win from 1-6 down -- saw him win the event.
Miles had arrived in the final via victories over Tony Walters, Gaz Owen and Neil Young.
Ed Turner took the consolation flight, defeating Seb and Carwyn Jenkins, before despatching Simonetta Herrera in the final.
Carwyn's victory over Tony Walters brought him to 50 points in the Race to the Premier League, thus ensuring that he will be receiving his Premier League invitation every year from now on.
Results of this and all weekend Rainbow events are here.

15/07/16: Ian wins to top OGP

There were fifteen players at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday to contest the July Grand Prix tournament, and four of those played league matches before the main event.
League victors were Simon Hughes over Richard Owsley in Premier One -- where an eight cube swung the match dramatically -- and Stephen Little over Mandy Macdonald in Premier Two Red -- a result which moves Stephen into second place.
In the tournament main flight Ian Tarr and Derek Clew emerged to contest the first-to-11-points final.
Beaten by Ian were Daniel Eldridge, Simon Hughes and Peter Ozanne, who was making his Bristol Backgammon debut from his Hampshire base, while Derek was overcoming Roland Herrera, Stephen and Tim Line.
Ian won the final 11-5.
The consolation flight final -- where the protagonists will be Ian Hedges and Steve Morris -- was held over for logistical reasons.
Having won two of this year's monthly grand prix events, Ian Tarr is the new OGP leader, moving 66 points ahead of Roland.
Only two intermediates contested the event, and as neither won a match, there was little movement in the IGP table.
Daniel's ten points, however, were enough to move him into second place, just ten behind leader Rufus Rozelaar.
The Winner Takes All pool only attracted four investors, but as Ian was one of them, there will be no rollover to the equivalent August event.

13/07/16: Premier Two results from Tuesday and Wednesday

Two more Premier Two results have been reported.
Yesterday at the Compass, Tormarton, Fred North won a twenty game three and a half hour marathon against Peter Thistlewood in Premier Two Blue.
That must have been entertaining!
And this afternoon the same scoreline was the outcome in the Red Division when Mike Smith just pipped Horst Stenzel at the Grace, Gloucester Road.
Mike returns to the top of the league.

12/07/16: League wins for Pearl and Carwyn

There were twelve players in action on Monday at the Bristol County Sports Club, including the eleven who contested the latest phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- a pair of 3-point round robins.
There was also league action before the advertised event, with Pearl Foster defeating Cynthia Roberts in Premier Two Red and Carwyn Jenkins making Matt Robson's Conference League debut a losing one.
The six player round robin featured a new player in Robin Gunney, who performed very creditably.
Simonetta Herrera and Ian Tarr shared the spoils there, while the five player group ended in a rare five way tie!
Simonetta has regained second place in the SGP table, and is now within 44 points of leader Roland Herrera.

11/07/16: Blue Division win for Simonetta

Andrew Cobb visited Kellaway Avenue yesterday and played a match and a half.
The whole match featured an 11-5 win for Simonetta Herrera, while the adjourned encounter saw her holding a 4-3 lead.
And while Simonetta's season so far has not gone to plan, the win moves her to the fringes of the Blue Division promotion battle.

08/07/16: Eleven survive to the fifth round of the Brunel

The draw for the fifth round of the Brunel Trophy, performed by Daniel Eldridge last night, features the eleven players who have survived thus far in the double elimination year-long event.
The forty original contenders have been whittled down, including the effect of one unplayed match (between Nick Barham and Neil Young) which was deemed a defeat for both players by Director Ian Tarr.
Paul Watts was the player whose record earned him a bye to the sixth round.
The remaining pairings can be viewed here, and the matches must be played by Thursday August 11th, when the sixth round draw will be made.

08/07/16: Simonetta establishes big GP5 lead

There were fourteen players in action on Thursday, including the twelve at the Rainbow Casino, of whom nine contested the fifth of the year's eight GP5 tournaments.
In other competitions Richard Owsley scored a valuable 11-8 Premier One win over Paul Watts; Pearl Foster defeated Mandy Macdonald in Premier Two Red; and Derek Clew preserved his unbeaten record in the Brunel Trophy with an 11-4 win over Simon Hughes at the Barley Mow.
For Simon it spelled elimination from the event, as it was his second loss.
Simonetta Herrera scored her second GP5 victory of the season, defeating Daniel Eldridge, George Devlin, Mandy and Ian Tarr.
She was 30 points ahead of Roland Herrera before the event, but now has a 100 points lead over new second placer Ian with just three events to go, and discards about to bite.
It was Ian's third successive GP5 final, but he has lost each to a Herrera!
George beat Daniel in the consolation final.

04/07/16: Roland and Ian share Tric Trac pot

There were eleven players in action on Monday for the latest phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- a Tric Trac Tourno.
Ian Hedges and Roland Herrera scored 16 points apiece to share the pot, as Roland extended his SGP lead.
And Matt Robson signed up to play in the Conference League, bringing the total number of participants to seven.

03/07/16: Steffen arrests Richard's revival

Having won three successive Premier One matches, Richard Owsley's mini-revival came to a shuddering halt at the Star and Dove on Saturday.
His double header with Steffen Nowak yielded just two points, as Steffen's emphatic wins moved him up to third place in the league table.

01/07/16: Andy is latest Brunel casualty

There were fourteen players in action on Thursday, including the twelve at the Rainbow Casino, of whom ten contested the third of the year's six Round Robin Grand Prix evenings.
At the Pump House Andy Boysan became the latest player to be eliminated from the double elimination Brunel Trophy -- losing to Miles Farren.
With two matches of the fourth round remaining, there will be somewhere between eleven and thirteen survivors going into the fifth round draw on Thursday.
Alongside the round robin tournament there was a Premier One double header played.
And Richard Owsley's brace of 11-5 victories over Nick Barham leave him with a much smaller mountain to climb as he battles towards safety.
But the defeats have damaged Nick's title aspirations, leaving Stuart Mann as the current favourite.
The ten players in the RRGP were split into two groups of five, each playing four five-point matches.
Ian Tarr won one group outright, while the other saw the pot split between Daniel Eldridge and Roland Herrera.
Simonetta Herrera's overall RRGP lead has been reduced to just five points, with Ian in second place.

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