News items from 2023 (second half)
31/12/23: Chris gets his revenge; Steve off the mark
Two more 2024 Premier League matches were played on Sunday before the official start of the season.
Chris Rogers had his revenge over Cecilia Rogers in Chippenham to take the early Premier One leadership.
And Steve Pickard made a winning Bristol league debut when he defeated Cynthia Roberts in the new Premier Three Purple division.
30/12/23: Cecilia and Chris jump the gun
It may not quite be 2024, but that won't stop some players from getting some league action in.
As has happened a few times before at this time of the year Chris and Cecilia Rogers were the first to register a Premier League result for the new season.
Cecilia was the victor, and the venue -- unsurprisingly -- was their Chippenham home.
So Cecilia is the first to strike out into the lead in Premier One.
28/12/23: All time record entry for the 2024 Bristol Premier League
The deadline for entries passed at midnight on December 21st, and sixty-eight players are lined up ready to go for next year's Bristol Premier League.
This is a record entry and ten more than the number who finished this year's competitions.
The preferred divisional split for 68 players had to be tweaked, as thirty-nine of the field are qualified by right for the top two tiers.
Premier Two remains slightly larger than usual, fourteen in both the Blue Division and the Red Division.
This is the case in order to facilitate even splits in the third tier, and also allows two players -- Michael Corbett and Richard Owsley, who just missed out on promotion -- to gain "back door" entry to the second tier.
The increased entry means that for the first time we will have three divisions at Premier Three level, with nine players in each, playing each opponent three times.
The Green Division and the Yellow Division now have a sibling Purple Division.
While only four of those who ended the 2023 season have dropped out, we have six returning after gaps of varying lengths, and eight who are totally new to the Premier League.
Full line-ups are:
PREMIER ONE: Simon Baker, Nick Barham, Andy Boysan, Jim Green, Tim Line, Stuart Mann, Gaz Owen, Kev Peters, Cecilia Rogers, Chris Rogers, Adam Sinclair, Natalie Singh and Neil Young;
PREMIER TWO BLUE: Phil Charlton, Neil Edwards, Hemal Getalal, Robin Gunney, Hazel Harper, Chris Hughes, Stephen Little, Jon Organ, Richard Owsley, Mike Smith, Warner Solomon, Ian Tarr, Simon Tracy and Rosemary Whitehouse;
PREMIER TWO RED: Michael Corbett, Ben Crowden, Phil Doubtfire, Pearl Foster, Elias Hamati, Steffen Nowak, Mathew Nicholls, Michael Petrakas, Dave Pym, Eamonn Reay, Ed Turner, Paul Watts, Gerald Whitehouse and Ismail Yilmaz;
PREMIER THREE GREEN: Ian Anderson, Marcel Bancroft, Ian Hedges, Frank Jones, Mandy Macdonald, Gary Plant, Barry Vasili, Flora von Michel and Andy Zographou;
PREMIER THREE YELLOW: Dicky Biddle, Cliff Blofield, Caroline Boulton, Kylie Hedges, Simon Hughes, Fred North, Ann Pocknell, Matt Sharp and James Timoney;
PREMIER THREE PURPLE: Simon Blinkhorn, Tom Chapman, Andrew Cobb, Ben Crabb, Richard Davies, Mark Dixon, Alan Joicey, Steve Pickard and Cynthia Roberts.
Players will be given full instructions in the next couple of days.
22/12/23: Steve's Christmas Fizz tournament brings down the Bristol Backgammon 2023 curtain, Neil taking the title
The last Bristol Backgammon event of the year, 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 eighteen players at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday.
This was the twelfth incarnation of the event.
With only 3-point matches throughout, the eighteen slotted nicely into the two-phase format, forming four round robin groups -- two of five players, two of four -- for the opening phase.
The top two or three in each moved on to the main knock-out flight, the remainder contesting the consolation, so ten in the main flight and eight in the consolation.
A nice feature of the event was that every single player won at least one match.
Group winners Alan Joicey, Barry Vasili, Cynthia Roberts and Chris Rogers all won £15 for their round robin efforts, Alan the only one to win every match.
Stephen Little and Neil Young emerged through the main flight to contest the final, Neil taking the top prize.
And in the consolation it was Marcus Evans who won the flight, defeating Robin Gunney in the final.
All four finalists received their bubbly prizes from Steve as well as their prize money, and all in all, a good time was had by all.
Bristol Backgammon now takes its annual festive break, with "hostilities" to be resumed on Wednesday January 3rd.
21/12/23: Business as usual at the last of this year's Wednesday tournaments
There were just nine players in action on Wednesday, eight of them to contest the fifty-first and last of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
And the story was a familiar one.
Gaz Owen was this week's main flight winner, defeating Ian Tarr, Alan Joicey, and -- in the final -- Chris Hughes, which was a repeat of last week's final.
Chris had arrived there via wins over Elias Hamati and Tim Line.
It was the fifteenth Wednesday win of the year for Gaz in thirty-five events contested.
Rumours of a ban to allow others to take the spoils are thought to be unfounded!
Elias took the honours in the consolation flight, overcoming Ian Anderson and Chris Rogers.
Tim won the customary post-tournament jackpot.
20/12/23: Tim wins record third Brunel Trophy
Steffen Nowak and Tim Line -- the last men standing -- met at the Globe, Newton St Loe, on Tuesday to contest the final of the tenth Brunel Trophy.
And Tim won a one sided encounter to notch a record third Brunel title.
The first round draw, made back on January 31st, comprised fifty-one players.
With further random FA Cup style draws every five weeks, the double elimination format ensured involvement for many until the field was gradually whittled down to the final two contesting the tenth and final round.
18/12/23: Kev takes Autumn Grand Prix title
There were twenty-one players in action on Monday to contest the final session of our Monday Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins across two environments.
The five at Sportsmans formed a single group, while the sixteen online split into two groups of eight.
Flora von Michel won the live group, while the online groups were won by Kev Peters and Gaz Owen.
Kev's final flourish ensured that he took the AGP title, with Tim Line in second place.
15/12/23: Gaz wins monthly Grand Prix event; Ian takes third title
There were ten players in action on Thursday to contest the twelfth and last of our 2023 monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments at the Rainbow Casino.
Gaz Owen was the tournament winner -- for the second successive month -- defeating Hazel Harper, Steve Morris and -- in the final -- Dicky Biddle, after receiving a first round bye.
Dicky had arrived there by getting past Ian Hedges, Ian Tarr and Nick Barham.
Barry Vasili took the consolation flight with wins over Hazel, Tim Line and Ian Hedges.
Ian Tarr has finished on top of the BGP points table.
Tim, the only player who could conceivably have threatened the lead, lost that slim opportunity when he lost his opening match to Steve Morris.
Ian's title is his third in the series, leaving him behind only Roland Herrera, and level with Stuart Mann and Gaz.
It also brings to an end a successful year for Ian in Thursday competition, when he has also won the GP20 series and the Speedgammon Grand Prix, while finishing second in the GP10 series and third in the Handicap Trophy.
14/12/23: Premier League set for record entry
With a week to go to the registration deadline, the Bristol Premier League entry record is set to be broken.
Fifty-four have already committed to the 2024 season, and with several yet to confirm, it is anticipated that the all time Premier League entry record of fifty-nine will be comfortably exceeded.
13/12/23: Gaz wins fourteenth Wednesday tournament
There were eleven players in action on Wednesday, ten of them to contest the fiftieth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
And Gaz Owen was this week's winner, defeating Ian Anderson, Ian Tarr, and -- in the final -- Chris Hughes, having received a first round bye.
Chris had arrived there via wins over Chris Rogers and John Curran.
It was the fourteenth Wednesday win of the year for Gaz.
Ian Anderson took the honours in the consolation flight, overcoming Adam Sinclair, Elias Hamati and Tim Line.
Tim won the customary post-tournament jackpot.
13/12/23: Adam defeats Jim to take outright Premier Two title
Premier Two Blue champion Jim Green and Premier Two Red champion Adam Sinclair met online on Wednesday to decide the outcome of the outright Premier Two title.
And it was Adam who prevailed, winning 11-6.
Bizarrely this was the tenth time in eleven years that the honour has fallen to the Red Division winner.
12/12/23: Seventeen in Monday action
There were seventeen players in action on Monday, fifteen of whom contested the ninth session of our Monday Autumn Grand Prix in DMP round robins.
Only three made it to Sportsmans, insufficient for a competition, so one of those then attempted to join the online groups, but had to abort due to lack of Premium Heroes membership.
This left fifteen online, in groups of eight and seven, and group winners were Andy Boysan and Gaz Owen.
Kev Peters retains his 6 points lead of the AGP table, with one session remaining.
Back at Sportsmans Steve Morris and Ian Tarr played a friendly match.
08/12/23: Barry wins year's final Handicap Trophy event; Tim takes title
There were just six players in action on Thursday to contest the ninth and final Handicap Trophy tournament of the year at the Rainbow Casino.
And although one match has been held over, all the important issues were decided.
As there were six players, the event switched to a round robin format, for the second time this year.
And Barry Vasili took full advantage of his handicap of two, topping the league with four wins out of five.
Steve Morris pipped Tim Line on points difference for second place, although Tim's efforts were sufficient to land him the annual HT title.
The title race finale had been anticipated as a shoot out between Tim and Hazel Harper, but Hazel's tournament was anti-climactic as she failed to register a win on the night.
She will be hoping to remedy that when tidying up the one outstanding match, but at least has the satisfaction of a clear second place overall..
07/12/23: Ian Anderson wins Wednesday tournament
There were ten players in action on Wednesday to contest the forty-ninth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
And Ian Anderson was this week's winner, defeating Adam Sinclair, Simon Blinkhorn, and -- in the final -- Elias Hamati, having received a first round bye.
Elias had arrived there via wins over John Curran and Gaz Owen.
Adam took the honours in the consolation flight, overcoming Mandy Macdonald and Alan Joicey.
Elias Hamati won the customary post-tournament jackpot.
04/12/23: Seventeen in Monday action
There were seventeen players in action on Monday to contest the eighth session of our Monday Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins across two environments.
The four at Sportsmans formed a single group, while the thirteen online split into groups of seven and six.
Ian Tarr won the live group, while the online groups were won by Kev Peters and Ian Anderson.
Kev has moved into a six points AGP lead, with Tim Line in second place.
02/12/23: Matt wins inaugural Feeder League
The Feeder League, set up earlier this season for those not involved in the Premier League, finished at midnight on Thursday.
The successor to the Conference League, which was last contested in 2021, starting encouragingly in April, and six players were involved, but after nine matches were played before the end of June, things petered out in a disappointing fashion, with only two more matches playerd thereafter.
One commendable aspect of the league was that all matches were played live, despite players having the online option available.
Matt Sharp contested six of the eleven matches played, and won them all to take the title convincingly.
Whether or not his form had a deflating effect on his rivals, we may never know.
But nobody seemed willing to grasp the opportunity to challenge his lead, despite the addition of £50 to the prize pool from an anonymous sponsor.
01/12/23: Ian wins final GP10 tournament but Gaz takes the title
There were ten players in action on Thursday to contest the tenth and final GP10 tournament of the year at the casino.
Gaz Owen held a 55 point GP10 lead going into the tournament and, allowing for discards, only Ian Tarr of those present had the chance to overhaul him.
And when Ian received a bye in the first round, that meant only a tournament win would give him that chance.
In fact he did get the win, but Gaz's sole match win on the night was just enough to keep him in first place.
Ian's victims were Hazel Harper, Steve Morris and -- in the final -- Tim Line.
Tim had got past Nick Barham and Barry Vasili en route to the final.
Nick took the consolation flight honours with wins over Stephen Little and Hazel.
29/11/23: Tim wins Wednesday tournament; and relegation for Gary and Alan
There were fifteen players in action on Wednesday, ten of them to contest the forty-eighth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
And Tim Line continued a good week by winning the tournament, defeating Simon Blinkhorn, Stephen Little and -- in the final -- Gaz Owen, having received a first round bye.
Gaz had arrived there via wins over John Curran, Simon Tracy and Ian Anderson.
Chris Hughes took the honours in the consolation flight, overcoming Simon Blinkhorn and Adam Sinclair.
Elias Hamati won the customary post-tournament jackpot.
There were also two Premier League matches played -- the last two of the season.
The action was in Premier Two Blue.
Safi Tracy ensured there would be no more penalty points for her by playing a nail biter against Jim Green.
She ended on the wrong side of the result, but ensured a safe finish, as failure to complete that match would have resulted in penalty points which would have substantially altered the outcome at the foot of the league.
That was Gary Plant's last hope of avoiding the drop.
And the other result decided the other relegation poser -- Alan Joicey needing victory to haul himself clear of trouble at Chris Hughes's expense.
Alan was unable to get the result he needed as bottom of the league Simon Hughes ended the season with his fifth successive victory.
It is an indication of the quality of Premier Two these days that the three players relegated from the Blue Division -- Gary, Alan and Simon H -- have all previously tasted Premier One backgammon.
So if it's a given that climbing out of the second tier is now no mean feat, it's now likely to be tougher than ever to rise from Premier Three.
28/11/23: Tuesday's results round-up; Tim reaches Brunel final
There were five matches played on Tuesday.
Gaz Owen played two live matches.
The first, at the Rose and Crown, Two Mile Hill Road, was the held over final from Thursday's Speedgammon Grand Prix final.
And Gaz was the victor over Ian Tarr to win the tournament. Ian had already clinched the 2023 SGGP title.
From there Gaz moved on to the Globe, Newton St Loe, where he met Tim Line in the ninth round of the Brunel Trophy.
And it was Tim who clinched victory, recovering from a 6-10 deficit to clinch a tenth round meeting with Steffen Nowak for the title.
Online Safi Tracy found time away from her studies to fit in three Premier Two Blue matches.
An emphatic defeat at the hands of Alan Joicey was followed by a double header against Chris Hughes, who won the first but was whitewashed in the return.
This leaves just two Premier League matches to be played before Thursday's midnight deadline -- both of them in the Blue Division, and both scheduled for Wednesday.
Alan meets Simon Hughes, while Safi plays divisional champion Jim Green.
Alan needs a win to haul himself out of the bottom three at Chris's expense, while Safi just needs to play her match to avoid being sucked into the equation by penalty points.
28/11/23: Twelve in Monday action; Stephen takes Nackgammon title in unexpected circumstances
There were twelve players in action on Monday, ten of whom contested the tenth and last of our Monday Nackgammon Grand Prix 3-point round robin sessions.
This would normally be across two environments, but since only two turned up at Sportsmans, there was no feasible live option.
So after a fifteen minute delay to the online session, just to make sure no live latecomers were to arrive, the two -- Stephen Little and Ian Tarr -- were afforded the unusual opportunity to play online in the live venue!
Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction!
This meant two online groups of five, the winners of which were Kev Peters and Gaz Owen.
So the final NGP table saw Stephen and Ian remaining in the top two positions despite scores which they had to discard, Stephen winning his first NGP title.
Ironically, had Kev been able to win a six player group rather than a five, he would have gained enough points to overhaul both the top two.
As it turned out, there was just a two point span covering the top three.
There was also Premier League action.
And Premier Three Green was finally completed when Tom Chapman defeated Caroline Boulton.
26/11/23: Tim pips Ian in Blue Division promotion race finale
There were two Premier League matches played on Sunday, and they made for an exciting Premier Two Red promotion race showdown, a great way to bring the curtain down on the Red Division season.
The second automatic promotion slot rested between Ian Tarr -- in second place on 51 points -- and Tim Line -- in third place on 48 points.
Their points differences were close enough to make it interesting, should Ian lose and Tim win, given that a nine point swing would result in an unprecedented promotion play-off match.
Wins for both contenders, defeats for both contenders, and a win for Ian coupled with a defeat for Tim -- all those combinations of results would keep Ian in second place.
Both matches were originally scheduled for a 10am Sunday start to add to the excitement, but a work-related issue made this impossible for Simon Tracy, so an evening match was arranged.
Tim versus Pearl Foster proceeded on schedule, however, with Pearl leading for most of the match, before Tim got home 11-8.
This left Ian with the options of winning, or losing by less than six points, to achieve the promotion aim.
Things went Simon's way from the start, though, and Ian was unable to raise his score beyond four points.
So the pair finished level on points, while Tim's points difference of plus 27 shaded Ian's by just 1.
Tim's latest four year stint at Premier Two level is thus over, while Ian's sequence will be in it's ninth year next season, the longest current sequence along with Chris Hughes, assuming Chris stays up.
24/10/23: Gaz and Ian make it to Speedgammon final; title is Ian's
There were fourteen players in action on Thursday, with ten taking part in the eighth and last of the year's Speedgammon Grand Prix sessions at the Rainbow Casino.
For the first time since the June event, the turnout dictated more than one group, and consequently a knock-out phase.
The two groups of five saw wins for Nick Barham and Ian Tarr, with the top three in each group progressing to the knock-outs.
And Ian and Gaz Owen made it to the final, which will be played some time soon.
Ian's run sealed this year's SGGP title -- a record fifth success -- and given the number of points on offer only Tim Line had the opportunity to challenge.
But his failure to get past the group phase put paid to that aspiration, and he finishes second.
There was also Premier League action online.
Simon Hughes defeated Stephen Little in Premier Two Blue.
And the Premier Three Yellow season was completed by Michael Corbett's emphatic victory over Martha Beal.
22/11/23: Gaz wins on Wednesday -- for the thirteenth time this year
There were fourteen players in action on Wednesday, twelve of them to contest the forty-seventh of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
And Gaz Owen -- for the thirteenth time this year -- was the winner this week, defeating Nick Barham, Tim Line, Adam Sinclair and -- in the final -- Gerald Whitehouse.
Gerald had arrived there via a first round bye and wins over Chris Rogers and Ian Anderson.
Elias Hamati took the honours in the consolation flight, overcoming Nick and Ian Tarr.
Ian Anderson won the customary post-tournament jackpot.
There was also one Premier League match played.
Simon Tracy defeated Phil Charlton in Premier Two Red, bringing Phil's season to an end in anti-climactic fashion.
Since being very well placed amongst the main promotion contenders after fourteen wins from his first eighteen encounters, Phil has experienced a scarcely believable sequence of eight defeats, despite very often having a superior PR to those of his opponents.
21/11/23: Tuesday's Premier League action
There were two Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
And the Premier One season is over.
Outgoing champion Andy Boysan saved his top flight status by the skin of his teeth by pipping his champion successor Gaz Owen.
This was bad news for Gerald Whitehouse, who slipped below the dreaded dotted line, and surrenders his hard won top flight status after an eventful first year at the level.
Simon Hughes, already eligible for relegation from Premier Two Blue, at least maintained his recent return to form by defeating Ismail Yilmaz, whose last match of the season this was.
Ismail must now wait for the remaining action to unfold, and could yet slip into relegation territory.
21/11/23: Sixteen in Monday action
There were sixteen players in action on Monday, twelve of whom contested the seventh session of our Monday Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins online.
Only two made it to Sportsmans, so Pete Kearsey was put through his paces in a couple of friendly matches by Ian Tarr.
The twelve online formed two groups of six, which were won by Nick Barham and Tim Line.
Stephen Little's absence from action meant that his AGP lead was slashed to a mere fraction by Tim, with Kev Peters not far behind.
There was also one Premier Two Blue match played, Michael Petrakas defeating Safi Tracy.
17/11/23: Tim wins to set up Handicap Trophy showdown with Hazel
There were fourteen players in action on Thursday, ten of them to contest the eighth of this year's series of nine Handicap Trophy tournaments at the Rainbow Casino.
The ten included a Thursday debut for Ben Crabb, who has already dabbled in our Monday and Wednesday competitions.
The tournament main flight winner was Tim Line, with wins over Ian Tarr, Safi Tracy and Stephen Little.
Stephen had reached the final by defeating Steve Morris and Cynthia Roberts.
Barry Vasili took the consolation flight by getting past Ian, Ben and Hazel Harper.
Hazel's clear HT lead has been wiped out, and she leads Tim only by virtue of one of the lesser tiebreak conditions, where her win percentage throughout the HT season is marginally superior.
With just one of the series remaining, that tournament will feature a shoot-out for the title between Hazel and Tim, with no other candidate even remotely close to their points tallies.
There were also two Premier League matches played.
Alan Joicey kept his Premier Two Blue survival hopes alive by defeating Ismail Yilmaz, who is still not quite safe himself.
And in Premier Three Yellow John Curran finished his campaign with a victory over Michael Corbett to lift himself off the bottom of the table at Frank Jones's expense.
15/11/23: Chris returns to take the Wednesday tournament
There were sixteen players in action on Wednesday, ten of them to contest the forty-sixth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
And Chris Rogers -- fresh from a hugely successful visit to the Merit Park Cyprus Open -- brought that form back with him to win this week's event, defeating Alan Joicey, Tim Line and -- in the final -- Elias Hamati.
Elias had arrived there via wins over Nick Barham and Simon Blinkhorn.
John Curran took the honours in the consolation flight, overcoming Nick and Alan.
Tim won the customary post-tournament jackpot.
Earlier there had been Premier League action, with three matches played.
Hemal Getalal made sure of tier two safety when he signed off his Premier Two Blue season with victory over Paul Watts.
Simon Tracy defeated Phil Charlton in Premier Two Red.
And Rosemary Whitehouse had to be content with a third place finish in Premier Three Yellow, having concluded her campaign with defeat by Michael Corbett, when a win would have pushed her ahead of second placed Phil Doubtfire.
14/11/23: Tuesday's Premier Two action; Natalie and Adam promoted
There were four Premier Two matches played on Tuesday, all of which had a bearing on important outstanding issues.
Two of the three remaining promotion contenders in the Red Division were in action.
Long time league leader Adam Sinclair finally got over the line, his defeat of Steffen Nowak also confirming him as divisional champion.
But Tim Line suffered a blow to his chances of elevation, losing to Jon Organ, who signed off his best ever season in style.
Tim needs to win his final match, while second placed Ian Tarr loses his for the tables to be turned.
Mike Smith needed a win against Stephen Little to clinch promotion from the Blue Division.
But his agonisingly close match went the wrong way for him, leaving Natalie Singh confirmed in the second promotion slot.
At the other end of the table Chris Hughes scored an important victory over Hemal Getalal, giving himself a good chance to escape the bottom three in his last two matches.
Hemal remains tantalisingly close to safety.
13/11/23: Twenty-one in Monday action; Rosemary promoted
There were twenty-one players in action on Monday, seventeen of them to contest the sixth session of our Monday Autumn Grand Prix in DMP round robins across two environments.
The five at Sportsmans and the twelve online formed separate groups.
Ian Anderson and Adam Sinclair came first and second online, while Steve Morris took the live group honours.
Stephen Little's AGP lead over second placed Kev Peters has increased to just under fourteen points.
There were also two Premier League matches played.
Rosemary Whitehouse's Premier Three Yellow defeat of Fred North confirmed her promotion to Premier Two.
And Hazel Harper signed off her Premier Two Red season with victory over Jon Organ.
12/11/23: Sunday's Red Division results round-up
There were three matches played on Sunday, all in Premier Two Red.
A double header between Ed Turner and Andrew Cobb was a mere tidying up of loose ends exercise.
A win apiece to end their respective seasons left Ed in a comfortable upper mid table spot, while Andrew's eligibility for relegation had already been confirmed.
The other match, however, sealed James Lintell-Smith's relegation, while victor Jon Organ is in the process of consolidating his highest ever finish.
09/11/23: Ian wins monthly Grand Prix event; Gerald must wait
There were fourteen players in action on Thursday, eight of them to contest the eleventh of our twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments of the year at the Rainbow Casino.
Ian Tarr was the tournament winner -- his third such success this year -- defeating Cynthia Roberts, Stephen Little and -- in the final -- Tim Line.
Tim had arrived there by getting past Barry Vasili and Hazel Harper.
Barry took the consolation flight with wins over Cynthia and Steve.
Ian's BGP points table lead has extended to 75 points and, allowing for discards, only Tim has the chance to overhaul him.
Even then, there will need to be a field of more than eight, and Tim will need to win the tournament too.
There were three other matches played online earlier.
In Premier One Simon Baker made sure of another season in the top flight by defeating Gerald Whitehouse, while Neil Young was cementing third place with a victory over Ben Crowden.
Gerald must now wait for the outcome of the one and only remaining top flight match to see whether or not he will get a second stab at Premier One life.
In that final match Andy Boysan meets newly crowned champion Gaz Owen.
A win for Andy would see him stay up at Gerald's expense.
The other match was held over from the October Nackgammon Grand Prix session, and Matt Sharp was the victor over Heena Crabb.
09/11/23: Elias wins Wednesday tournament
There were eleven players in action on Wednesday, ten of them to contest the forty-fifth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
And Elias Hamati won this week's event, defeating Chris Hughes, Ian Anderson, Ian Tarr and -- in the final -- Gerald Whitehouse.
Gerald had arrived there via a first round bye and wins over Stephen Little and Alan Joicey.
Stephen took the honours in the consolation flight, overcoming Simon Blinkhorn and Tim Line.
Tim won the customary post-tournament jackpot.
Earlier there had been league action, in the form of a crucial Premier Two Red promotion battle.
League leader Adam Sinclair took on equal second placed Ian Tarr, and in a match of two halves Ian prevailed after recovering from 1-9 in arrears.
A win for Adam would have sealed his promotion, while Ian will probably need victory in his final game to stand a chance of claiming one of the two slots, with Tim the only other contender, now that the slim mathematical chances of Phil Charlton and Jon Organ have evaporated.
07/11/23: Tuesday's results round-up
There were four matches played on Tuesday.
At the Merit Park Hotel, Northern Cyprus, Ian Anderson and Gaz Owen played the held over consolation flight final of last week's GP20 tournament, and Gaz was the winner.
Ben Crowden and Stuart Mann played a Premier One double header, and shared the spoils of two one sided matches.
Stuart finishes fifth, but Ben's relegation is confirmed.
And in Premier Two Red Hazel Harper took a large stride towards safety, while denting Ian Tarr's promotion hopes.
Hazel and James Lintell-Smith each have one match remaining.
A win for James and a defeat for Hazel, with a combined points difference of more than nine points would see James safe, but any other combination of results would work in Hazel's favour -- except for that nine points differential, which would force a relegation play-off.
As for Ian, he is now dead level in second place with Tim Line, both players having two remaining matches.
So assuming Adam Sinclair is able to confirm his promotion, the second place would rest with whichever of Ian and Tim fares better, although both Phil Charlton and Jon Organ retain minute mathematical hopes of figuring in the final equation.
07/11/23: Eighteen in Monday action
There were eighteen players in action on Monday to contest the fifth session of our Monday Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins across two environments.
The eight at Sportsmans formed two groups of four, while the ten online -- including online debuts for Gary Owston and Ben Crabb -- split into groups of five.
Caroline Boulton and Ian Tarr won the live groups with clean sweeps of three victories apiece, while online Frank Jones won all four of his matches and Kev Peters pipped Elias Hamati on PR in the other group.
Cynthia Roberts took the side pool in Frank's group.
Kev has cut Stephen Little's AGP lead to just under ten points.
05/11/23: Fred misses out
There were two Premier League matches played on Sunday, both of them in Premier Three.
In Premier Three Yellow Fred North suffered defeat against John Curran, a result which rules Fred out of automatic promotion.
There are four matches yet to be completed in the division, and if they all go in Michael Corbett's favour he will snatch the third promotion slot from Rosemary Whitehouse's grasp.
Meanwhile Andy Zographou was ending a disappointing Premier Three Green season on a high with victory over Tom Chapman.
05/11/23: Brunel Trophy ninth round news
No draw was necessary for the ninth round of the tenth incarnation of the Brunel Trophy.
The original field of fifty-one in this double elimination tournament having been whittled down to just three, the only bone of contention was the name of the recipient of the necessary bye.
Of the survivors, Tim Line and Gaz Owen have both received byes in earlier rounds, so the third wheel -- Steffen Nowak -- gets the honour this time.
All three players are down to a single life, so the remainder of the competition will consist merely of a ninth round meeting of Tim and Gaz -- they coincidentally met in the eighth round, too -- and a tenth round final tie between Steffen and the winner from round nine.
The ninth round match is due for completion by December 10th.
Check out the draw and results so far here.
03/11/23: Safi out of Brunel Trophy
There were four matches played on Friday.
Most significant was the eighth round Brunel Trophy meeting of Safi Tracy and Steffen Nowak.
Steffen was the victor, Safi exiting the competition in fourth place.
In Premier One Nick Barham and Robin Gunney ended their respective campaigns, Nick winning emphatically.
Nick finishes comfortably in mid table, while Robin, already having suffered relegation, will be rueing the string of defeats he endured early in the season.
His form in the second half of the season suggests that he will be back in the top flight sooner rather than later.
Another to end his season was Cliff Blofield who signed off his Premier Two Red campaign with a victory over Ed Turner.
And Caroline Boulton defeated Tom Chapman in Premier Three Green.
03/11/23: Visiting Mark wins GP20 tournament; Ian takes title
There were seven players in action on Thursday to contest the eighth and final instalment of the year's GP20 tournaments at the casino.
And Texas resident Mark Ferrin took the honours, defeating Ian Anderson, Ian Tarr and -- in the final -- Stephen Little.
Mark -- whose only previous visit was in 2019 -- had booked his visit to Bristol in anticipation of the ill-fated 2023 Bristol Open, which had to be abandoned due to uncertainty over the casino redevelopment plans.
His success made sure his time with us before he leaves for the big Cyprus tournament on Monday wasn't entirely wasted.
Ian Tarr's semi-final defeat ensured that he would fail to add to his leading GP20 points tally.
But the absence of second placed Tim Line and the paucity of points on offer for third placed Stephen meant that the title was destined to go Ian's way even before any dice were rolled.
Stephen's run, however, was good enough to raise him into the runner-up spot.
The consolation flight final featuring Gaz Owen and Ian Anderson, was adjourned to another date, time and place.
02/11/23: Ian wins Wednesday tournament
There were ten players in action on Wednesday to contest the forty-fourth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
And Ian Tarr won this week's event, defeating Tim Line, John Curran and -- in the final -- Elias Hamati, after receiving a first round bye.
Elias beat Gaz Owen and Ian Anderson en route.
Gaz took the honours in the consolation flight, overcoming Chris Rogers and Tim.
Stephen Little won the customary post-tournament jackpot.
31/10/23: Thirteen in Monday action
There were thirteen players in action on Monday, eleven of whom contested the tenth of our Monday Nackgammon Grand Prix 3-point round robin sessions across two environments.
The five at Sportsmans -- including welcome debut player Heena Crabb -- and the six online formed single groups.
Alan Joicey won the online group, while second placed Nick Barham took the optional side pool.
Back live the honours were shared between Stephen Little and Mathew Nicholls.
Stephen has moved into a fractional lead in the NGP table, with Ian Tarr just behind, although one outstanding match may affect the points standings.
There was also Premier League action.
In Premier Two Red Hazel Harper pipped James Lintell-Smith and leapfrogged him out of the bottom three.
29/10/23: Neil and Ian tie up a loose end
The only match on Sunday was the held over consolation final of the October 5th GP20 tournament.
Played online, Ian Tarr defeated Neil Young to consolidate his lead of the GP20 table, taking a 65 points lead into the final session this coming Thursday.
27/10/23: Gaz wins to take big GP10 lead
There were just seven players in action on Thursday to contest the ninth of the year's ten GP10 tournaments at the casino, where we were back in the Riverview Suite.
Gaz Owen won the main flight, defeating Ian Tarr, Tim Line and -- in the final -- Steve Morris.
Steve had got past Hazel Harper and Frank Jones en route to the final.
Stephen Little took the consolation flight honours with wins over Frank and Hazel.
Gaz's win moves him into a 55 points lead in the GP10 table, and with just one event in the series remaining, that will be difficult to overturn.
25/10/23: Tim wins Wednesday tournament
There were twelve players in action on Wednesday, ten of them to contest the forty-third of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
And Tim Line won this week's event, defeating Simon Blinkhorn, Chris Rogers and -- in the final -- Nick Barham, after a first round bye.
Nick beat Ian Anderson and Elias Hamati en route.
Chris Hughes took the honours in the consolation flight, overcoming Gaz Owen and Ian Anderson.
Tim also won the customary post-tournament jackpot.
24/10/23: Gaz wins fourth Premier League title
There were five Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
And the only Premier One match was the one which decided this year's league title.
Gaz Owen, who still has one match to play, defeated outgoing champion Andy Boysan 11-6, a margin which means he cannot be dislodged from the top spot.
It is Gaz's fourth such title, moving him to within two of Stuart Mann's tally, but only his second in the past nine seasons.
He also has six runner-up finishes, and three in third place.
For Andy, meanwhile, things are getting serious.
He will survive in the top flight if he wins his final match, which -- not entirely coincidentally -- is also against Gaz.
In Premier Three Yellow new Nottingham resident Martha Beal was tidying up some loose ends.
She played three times, losing once to Rosemary Whitehouse and twice to Frank Jones.
Rosemary is one step closer to promotion, although there could be last ditch challenges from Fred North and Michael Corbett.
Victories in her final two matches would even move her up to second.
And Andrew Cobb narrowly defeated Cliff Blofield in Premier Two Red, both players now confirmed for the drop.
24/10/23: Bristol allocated a sixth Champions League place for 2024
Dicky Biddle, director of the UK Champions League, has announced the qualification criteria for the 2024 competition.
Top players from nine leagues around the UK are invited to take part, and the number of places allocated to each is dependent on their respective numerical strengths.
This year the Bristol leagues were allocated five places, while Chris Rogers took another as the reigning champion.
For next year there are six Bristol slots among the total of thirty-two, while there is still a chance of a seventh as Simon Baker and Stuart Mann meet in the semi-final of the current competition.
24/10/23: Thirteen in Monday action
There were thirteen players in action on Monday to contest the fourth session of our Monday Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins across two environments.
The four at Sportsmans formed a single group, while the nine online split into two groups of five and four.
While Mathew Nicholls won the live group with a clean sweep of three victories, Kev Peters and Cynthia Roberts won the online groups.
Stephen Little's AGP lead has increased to nearly sixteen points, with Tim Line in second place.
23/10/23: Bristol successes at the Irish Open
The weekend's Irish Open featured a couple of great runs by Bristol players.
After Neil Young won the 7-point Friday warm-up, Stuart Mann took Sunday's consolation flight.
22/10/23: Elias wins Premier Three play-off final
Saturday's only match was the play-off for the outright championship of Premier Three.
Green Division top dog Elias Hamati met his old friend and Yellow Division champion Warner Solomon.
And it was Elias who prevailed to claim the title.
22/10/23: Gerald still not safe
Saturday's only match was in Premier One.
And Cecilia Rogers signed off her season with a narrow victory over Gerald Whitehouse which sees her finishing fourth in the division -- in the last of the cash prize places and also qualifying for the 2024 incarnation of the UK Champions League.
For Gerald, however, nothing is yet certain, as he is one of the players who could still sink into the two remaining relegation slots.
He is level on points with Simon Baker, and the pair meet in their final match. The winner will definitely be safe, while the loser might not be.
20/10/23: Fred keeps slim promotion hopes alive
There was just one match played on Friday.
In Premier Three Yellow Fred North defeated Martha Beal to maintain an interest in the promotion race.
20/10/23: Gaz wins October Speedgammon Grand Prix event; Stephen misses out
There were eleven players in action on Thursday, with seven taking part in the seventh of the year's eight Speedgammon Grand Prix sessions at the Rainbow Casino.
The turnout dictated a single round robin group, with each player playing six matches.
And Gaz Owen -- an avowed Speedgammon enthusiast -- having left it late to make his first SGGP appearance of the season, took the honours with a clean sweep of six wins.
Tim Line took second place, and has closed the gap behind Ian Tarr at the head of the SGGP table to just 30 points.
Meanwhile online there was important Premier Two Blue action, as Stephen Little met Hemal Getalal.
Stephen needed the win to remain in with a chance of overhauling Natalie Singh for the second and last divisional promotion slot, but it was Hemal who prevailed.
Only Mike Smith can now oust Natalie, and ironically it is Stephen he must defeat.
As for Hemal, he is now almost safe from relegation.
And Phil Doubtfire also ended his season in Premier Three Yellow with a defeat to Mandy Macdonald.
19/10/23: Adam's hat-trick of Wednesday wins
There were twelve players in action on Wednesday to contest the forty-second of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
The event featured a Bristol Backgammon debut for South Wales based Simon Blinkhorn.
And Adam Sinclair won this week's event, the third successive week that he has prevailed.
His sixth Wednesday success of the year featured wins over Elias Hamati, Gaz Owen and -- in the final -- Chris Hughes, after a first round bye.
Chris came through the long part of the draw, beating Frank Jones, Tim Line and Ian Anderson en route.
John Curran took the honours in the consolation flight, overcoming Simon Tracy and Elias.
Tim won the customary post-tournament jackpot.
17/10/23: Caroline's win confirms Elias as Green Division champion
There was just one Premier League match played on Tuesday.
In Premier Three Green Neil Edwards's successful season ended in anti-climax when he was narrowly defeated by Caroline Boulton.
This was a match which Neil needed to win to take the divisional title, so Elias Hamati is confirmed in that position.
Elias had finished his campaign as early as mid-March, setting a target of fifteen victories (with an average points difference of 1.708) for the remainder of the division to emulate or surpass.
Ultimately nobody did.
17/10/23: Twenty in Monday action
There were twenty players in action on Monday to contest the third session of our Monday Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins across two environments.
The six at Sportsmans -- including a welcome debut for Nailsea based Ben Crabb -- formed a single group, while the fourteen online split into two groups of seven.
While Matt Sharp won the live group with a clean sweep of five victories, Andrew Montgomery and Tim Line won the online groups.
Stephen Little's AGP lead has increased to nearly fourteen points, with Andrew in second place.
15/10/23: Neil misses out on league title; Mike gives himself a chance
There were three Premier League matches played on Sunday.
The Alma Tavern was the venue for a Premier One match between Neil Young and Andy Boysan.
Andy won, extinguishing Neil's final hope of taking the league title for the first time, an honour which will fall to either Chris Rogers or Gaz Owen.
The win was important for Andy, though, as he battles to fight his way out of the relegation places.
Meanwhile, online in Premier Two Blue, Mike Smith was grabbing two of the three victories needed to oust Natalie Singh from the second promotion place.
His wins, over Ismail Yilmaz and Hemal Getalal, leave him needing a win in his final match.
That match -- against Stephen Little -- is doubly important as Stephen would achieve the same objective by winning his final three matches.
13/10/23: Eamonn promoted; Ian misses opportunity to extend BGP lead
There were two matches played on Friday.
The held over main flight final of the previous night's monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournament occurred at the Rose and Crown, Kingswood.
And Ian Tarr missed an opportunity to pull 75 points clear in the BGP points table, losing emphatically to Gaz Owen, who moves up to fourth in the standings.
The other match saw Eamonn Reay sign off his Premier Three Green season with a 7-11 reverse at the hands of Neil Edwards.
Although he lost, the margin of defeat was such that he can no longer be dislodged from the third promotion place, since even three 11-0 victories for Tom Chapman in his remaining matches would see him losing out on the head-to-head tie-break.
Neil, meanwhile, will pip Elias Hamati for the divisional title if he can win his final match of the season.
13/10/23: Eamonn almost there; Brunel gets complicated; monthly Grand Prix final held over
There were sixteen players in action on Thursday, fourteen of them to contest the tenth of our twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments of the year at the Rainbow Casino.
That pleasing turnout meant that some early matches were played in the bar and the restaurant.
The main flight final between Gaz Owen and Ian Tarr was held over, and will probably be held on Friday afternoon.
Gaz defeated Hazel Harper, Gerald Whitehouse and Tom Chapman to get there, while Ian made the most of a first round bye, getting past Ian Hedges and Barry Vasili.
Hazel took the consolation flight with wins over Ian Hedges, Steve Morris and Stephen Little.
That result broke an amazing sequence of wins for Stephen, who had taken the honours on all four of his previous BGP consolation flight appearances this year.
Ian Tarr's BGP points table lead has extended to 40 points, with Tim Line second, but a final win would increase that margin to 75.
Tim scored a notable win before the tournament, inflicting Gaz Owen's first Brunel Trophy defeat of the year.
So there will be three players in round nine, all with a single life remaining.
And the only Premier League match, played online, saw Eamonn Reay secure the win which moves him into the third Premier Three Green promotion slot at Richard Owsley's expense.
He can only be usurped by a Herculean finish to the season on the part of Tom.
12/10/23: Adam wins on Wednesday again; Dave misses out
There were just eight players in action on Wednesday, six of them to contest the forty-first of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
The turnout dictated a switch to round robin format, featuring five five-point matches.
And for the second week in succession the week's winner was Adam Sinclair, who managed four wins out of five, and could have made it a clean sweep of five wins had he not been timed out against Gaz Owen, who ultimately finished second.
It was Adam's fifth Wednesday success of the year.
Earlier there was a vital Premier Two Blue match.
Dave Pym spent a lot of 2023 at the head of the table, before being overhauled, first by Jim Green, and more recently by Natalie Singh.
With Jim already assured of the divisional championship, and Natalie having completed her fixtures, Dave could have reclaimed the second promotion place once and for all with a win of 11-9 or better in his final match.
However, his opponent was Jim, and he lost a close encounter 9-11, leaving Natalie second and only vulnerable to a three match winning sequence on the part of either Mike Smith or Stephen Little, but not both as the two still have to meet.
10/10/23: Richard's win may not be enough
In Tuesday's only match Richard Owsley ended his Premier Three Green season with an emphatic victory over Eamonn Reay.
The win moved Richard above Cynthia Roberts and into the third promotion slot.
However the odds are against him staying there.
Cynthia has long since completed her season, but Eamonn and Tom Chapman both have the opportunioty to overhaul Richard.
For Eamonn one win from his final two matches would do the job, while Tom would need to win all three of his remaining matches while bridging a points difference gap of 17.
10/10/23: Thirteen in Monday action
There were thirteen players in action on Monday to contest the second sessions of our Monday Autumn Grand Prix in DMP round robins across two environments.
That number should have been fourteen, but Director Ian Tarr negligently omitted John Curran from the online group of eight (which should have been nine).
The five at Sportsmans also formed a single group, playing each other twice.
Gaz Owen and Cynthia Roberts were first and second in the online group, while Andy Zographou took the live honours at Sportsmans.
Stephen Little still heads the AGP table.
06/10/23: Steve wins GP20 tournament
There were nine players in action on Thursday, seven of them to contest the seventh of the year's eight GP20 tournaments at the casino.
Steve Morris won the main flight, defeating Neil Young, Ian Tarr and -- in the final -- Tim Line.
Tim had arrived there via wins over Chris Aquilina and Hazel Harper.
The consolation flight final, featuring Neil and Ian, was adjourned to another date, time and place.
Tim has reduced Ian's GP20 lead to 55 points, but this would rise to 65 were Ian to win the consolation final.
Meanwhile online the held over jackpot final from the previous evening was won by Ian Anderson.
05/10/23: Adam wins Wednesday tournament
There were just nine players in action on Wednesday, eight of them to contest the fortieth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
This week's main flight winner was Adam Sinclair, who defeated Nick Barham, Simon Tracy and -- in the final -- Gerald Whitehouse.
Gerald had beaten Tim Line and Ian Anderson en route to the final.
Stephen Little took the consolation flight, defeating Tim and Nick.
Then the customary post-tournament jackpot failed to reach a conclusion after Stephen, thinking he had won it, disappeared out of circulation while still needing to face Ian Anderson in the final.
This will be played some time soon.
03/10/23: Tuesday win for Stuart
In Tuesday's only match Stuart Mann whitewashed Gerald Whitehouse in Premier One.
The result means Stuart is now mathematically safe from relegation, while Gerald's top flight place could still be under threat.
03/10/23: Seventeen in Monday action
There were seventeen players in action on Monday to contest the opening sessions of our Monday Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robin sessions across two environments.
The six at Sportsmans formed a single group, while the eleven online were split six and five.
Chris Hughes and Nick Barham won the online groups, while Stephen Little made it a clean sweep of five wins at Sportsmans, where Mathew Nicholls and Ian Tarr shared the side pool.
Stephen becomes the first leader of the AGP table.
02/10/23: Brunel Trophy eighth round draw made
The draw for the eighth round of the tenth incarnation of the Brunel Trophy was made on Monday afternoon by matching two numerical sequences.
The original field of fifty-one in this double elimination tournament has now been whittled down to just four.
This looks like a normal semi-final, but the complication is that Gaz Owen still has two lives remaining, while the other three have just the one.
One match -- the meeting of Steffen Nowak and Safi Tracy -- is effectively sudden death, while Gaz faces Tim Line in the other.
So the number progressing to round nine will be either two or three.
Matches are to be completed by November 5th.
Check out the draw and results so far here.
01/10/23: Adam almost up
In Sunday's only match Adam Sinclair narrowly defeated Phil Charlton in Premier Two Red.
When a player has a record of won eighteen and lost six, it usually means that promotion is already secured.
And while Adam is now strongly odds on for a return to Premier One, there are still two players who have a chance of catching him.
01/10/23: Cecilia interview on the WBGF site
There's a brilliant article on the WBGF site featuring our very own former Ladies World Champion Cecilia Rogers.
Well worth a read.
01/10/23: Three pick up penalties at final Premier League checkpoint
The September 30th Premier League checkpoint passed at midnight on Saturday, and three players fell foul of the penalty avoidance requirements.
In Premier Two Blue Safi Tracy not only incurred two fresh penalty points, but also failed to claw back the three points incurred in July.
In the same division Hemal Getalal incurred a single penalty point.
And Martha Beal is docked two points in Premier Three Yellow.
All of the fresh penalty points can be clawed back by timely completion of the season.
Meanwhile under the unique terms of the September checkpoint all three players have non-negotiable additions to their points against tallies.
Once the September checkpoint passes Director Ian Tarr can always breathe a sigh of relief as no further expungements can occur.
In the other three divisions -- Premier One, Premier Two Red and Premier Three Green -- all players met the requirements.
30/09/23: Saturday's Premier League action
There were two Premier League matches played on Saturday, both in Premier Two.
In the Blue Division Mike Smith stayed in promotion contention by defeating Gary Plant, who has now completed his fixtures and must wait and see whether or not he gets relegated.
The Red Division encounter of Andrew Cobb and Cliff Blofield went Cliff's way.
Both players need to win their remaining matches to stand a chance of avoiding relegation.
29/09/23: Ian goes second
In the only action of Friday, Ian Tarr scored the narrowest of victories over James Lintell-Smith in Premier Two Red.
29/09/23: Tim wins GP10 tournament round robin
There were just eight players in action on Thursday, four of them to contest the eighth of the year's ten GP10 tournaments at the casino.
The turnout of four equalled the record low Thursday turnout established at the July Speedgammon Grand Prix event.
That Speedgammon event merely followed the normal Speedgammon format, but this time was the first ever where four players have contested a round robin of 7-point matches.
Tim Line won the event, with Ian Tarr as runner-up.
Ian takes over the leadership of the GP10 table from George Georgiou.
Online there was Premier League action, with two matches played.
Simon Hughes defeated Ismail Yilmaz in Premier Two Blue.
And Michael Corbett's Premier Three Yellow defeat by Fred North confirms the promotion of Phil Doubtfire.
Michael and Fred still have a chance to claim the third promotion slot currently occupied by Rosemary Whitehouse, although they have little margin for error.
28/09/23: Andy wins Wednesday tournament
There were eighteen players in action on Wednesday, eight of them to contest the thirty-ninth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
This week's main flight winner was Andy Boysan, who defeated Tim Line, Chris Hughes and -- in the final -- Elias Hamati.
Elias had beaten Ian Anderson and Adam Sinclair en route to the final.
Tim Line took the consolation flight, defeating Ian Tarr and Nick Barham, and then won a post-tournament jackpot.
Five league matches were played.
Simon Baker defeated Ben Crowden in Premier One, a result which gives Simon a real chance of top flight survival, while giving Ben no margin for error in his last three matches.
Safi Tracy defeated Hemal Getalal in Premier Two Blue.
Michael Corbett still has a chance to break into the top three of Premier Three Yellow after his latest victory, over Mandy Macdonald.
Andy Zographou ended his run of Premier Three Green defeats by beating Tom Chapman.
And at the Pump House there was a rare piece of Feeder League action, Matt Sharp preserving his undefeated record at the expense of league debutant Dom Verrall.
26/09/23: Tuesday's Premier League action
There were four Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
In Premier Two Blue Ismail Yilmaz scored wins over both Michael Petrakas and Hemal Getalal, while champion elect Jim Green resumed his winning ways against Safi Tracy.
And Tom Chapman added to his recent run of victories against Caroline Boulton in Premier Three Green.
26/09/23: Twenty-two in Monday action
There were twenty-two players in action on Monday, eleven of whom contested the ninth of our Monday Nackgammon Grand Prix 3-point round robin sessions across two environments.
The five at Sportsmans and the six online formed single groups.
Tim Line kept the online group waiting, having fallen asleep at home, and then had the temerity to win the group with a clean sweep of five wins.
Back live the honours were shared between Mathew Nicholls and Ian Tarr.
Kev Peters, currently on holiday, still leads the NGP table, but Ian has cut the gap to a mere fraction.
There were also six Premier League matches played.
In Premier One Andy Boysan still has work to do to avoid relegation after losing to Cecilia Rogers.
Jim Green, already assured of the Premier Two Blue title, defeated Hemal Getalal, but then lost to Simon Hughes.
That defeat ended a run of thirteen successive Premier Two victories, a sequence only twice bettered in the history of that level.
That it was Simon who broke the run was ironic, as Simon has suffered by far and away the worst run of his career.
He has recently rediscovered the art of winning, but that appears to have come too late to avoid relegation to Premier Three.
In Premier Two Red James Lintell-Smith boosted his hopes of avoiding relegation by defeating Jon Organ, whose slim promotion chances have further diminished.
There were Premier Three Yellow wins for Fred North (over Frank Jones at Windmill Hill City Farm) and Michael Corbett (over second placed Phil Doubtfire).
Fred and Michael thus cling on to their slim hopes of promotion.
25/09/23: UK Champions League update
The ninth annual UK Champions League is approaching the final stages.
Bristol's six representatives (out of a field of 32) continue to be prominent.
All six made it through the group stage to the last sixteen, where the competition's knock-out phase begins.
Gaz Owen and Nick Barham were both eliminated by fellow Bristol players in Simon Baker and Stuart Mann.
Cecilia Rogers is the only Bristol player so far to be eliminated by a non-Bristol player, Reece Hodges of Worcester.
Simon and Stuart both progressed to the semis, getting past Sussex based Rich McQuillan and our own Chris Rogers, and the two will play for a place in the final against an as yet unresolved opponent.
24/09/23: Premier League action on Sunday
There were seven Premier League matches played on Sunday.
In Premier One Simon Baker continued his fight for top flight survival with defeat at the hands of Cecilia Rogers followed by victory over Gerald Whitehouse.
Natalie Singh gave herself a chance of promotion from Premier Two Blue by signing off her season with a brace of victories over Simon Hughes.
Dave Pym, who has one match remaining -- against league leader Jim Green -- now definitely needs to win that encounter to stand a chance of fending off challenges from any of Michael Petrakas, Stephen Little, Mike Smith or Safi Tracy, whose chances took a knock when she lost to Paul Watts.
And in Premier Two Red Ian Tarr suffered mixed fortunes, losing to Ed Turner before a comeback win over Phil Charlton.
Leader Adam Sinclair remains favourite to fill one of the two promotion slots, with Tim Line and Ian next best placed, while none of Phil, Jon Organ or Ed can still be ruled out of contention.
23/09/23: Saturday wins for two Michaels
There were two Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Michael Petrakas kept his tenuous Premier Two Blue promotion hopes alive by defeating Paul Watts.
And in Premier Three Yellow Michael Corbett did likewise in beating Mandy Macdonald.
22/09/23: Friday's Premier League round-up
There were three Premier League matches played on Friday.
Andy Boysan defeated Nick Barham in Premier One, a result which means Robin Gunney can no longer escape relegation.
Michael Petrakas suffered a damaging defeat in his bid for promotion from Premier Two Blue, going down to Simon Hughes.
And in Premier Two Red Jon Organ had his revenge over Ed Turner for the defeat he suffered the previous day.
22/09/23: Hazel wins to take commanding Handicap Trophy lead
There were twenty-five players in action on Thursday, nine of them to contest the seventh of this year's series of Handicap Trophy tournaments at the Rainbow Casino.
The nine included two very welcome new players, Carmen van-der-l'Isle and Niclas Kupper.
There were also signs that our exposure in the main room of the casino is attracting a little more interest, with six others expressing an interest during the evening.
The tournament main flight winner was Hazel Harper, with wins over Niclas, Frank Jones and Chris Hughes.
Chris had reached the final by defeating Stephen Little and Carmen.
Ian Tarr took the consolation flight by getting past Steve Morris, Tim Line and Stephen.
Hazel's points tally got enough of a boost to take her 70 points clear of second placed Tim, with just two of the series remaining and discards beginning to bite.
There was also a flurry of Premier League action online, with results in all five divisions.
Stuart Mann defeated Robin Gunney in Premier One, a result which all but seals Robin's relegation.
Michael Petrakas scored a brace of Premier Two Blue wins, over Simon Hughes and Paul Watts, to keep his slim promotion hopes alive.
Simon later defeated Alan Joicey to end his dismal run of defeats.
In Premier Two Red Ed Turner beat Jon Organ.
Marcel Bancroft signed off her "break even" Premier Three Green season by defeating Andy Zographou, while in the same division Richard Owsley dented Eamonn Reay's promotion hopes.
And in Premier Three Yellow there were wins for Frank Jones and Fred North over John Curran and Martha Beal.
21/09/23: Elias wins Wednesday tournament
There were fourteen players in action on Wednesday, eight of them to contest the thirty-eighth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
This week's main flight winner was Elias Hamati, who defeated Gerald Whitehouse, Tim Line and -- in the final -- Chris Hughes.
Chris had beaten Ian Anderson and Nick Barham en route to the final.
Ian Tarr took the consolation flight, defeating Ian Anderson and Gerald, who won a post-tournament jackpot.
Three Premier League matches were played.
Paul Watts narrowly defeated Simon Hughes in Premier Two Blue, keeping alive his slim hopes of promotion.
In Premier Three Green Tom Chapman overcame Richard Owsley.
And at the White House, Oxford, Phil Doubtfire beat Fred North in a Premier Three Yellow encounter.
Only a miracle can now prevent Phil claiming promotion, as a favourable result in any one of eight outstanding matches involving either Phil or Michael Corbett would confirm his elevation.
19/09/23: Tuesday's Premier League round-up
There were seven Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
Stuart Mann played twice in the top flight and lost both times, first to Gerald Whitehouse, then to Andy Boysan.
Premier Two Red saw most action, Tim Line consolidating his second place in the league with a whitewash of Andrew Cobb, while Mathew Nicholls was rounding off his season with a double header at Simon Tracy's.
Mathew's brace of wins have all but secured his Premier Two place for another season, while the results rule Simon out of the promotion race.
League leader Jim Green further extended his run of Premier Two Blue wins against Chris Hughes, and only penalty points or a remarkable run by Safi Tracy could stop him claiming the divisional title.
And Rosemary Whitehouse's defeat of Mandy Macdonald in Premier Three Yellow means she will now be tough to dislodge from the top three.
19/09/23: Nineteen in Monday action
There were nineteen players in action on Monday to contest the tenth and final one of our Monday Summer Grand Prix sessions of 3-point round robins across two environments.
The ten online formed two groups of five, while the nine at Sportsmans were split five and four.
Andrew Montgomery and Matalie Singh won the online groups, although Natalie's failure to invest in the optional side pool was good news for Ian Anderson.
Honours were shared in the larger of the live groups, with a three way split of the points, featuring Aidan Kenny, Mathew Nicholls and Kian Sabet's, while Matt Sharp won the smaller group outright.
Ian A has finished top of the SGP table, as Stephen Little missed the opportunity to overhaul him.
18/09/23: George expunged from Premier One
Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr has today made the regrettable decision to expunge George Georgiou from Premier One, after difficulties with conpletion of fixtures.
As ever with such occurrences, this has differing effects on the chances of different players, with some suffering from the disappearance of victories while others benefit from the removal of defeats.
Main beneficiaries from the decision are Chris Rogers and Gerald Whitehouse, while Nick Barham is one to suffer disappointment, while others are running out of games to achieve various objectives.
Targets for the upcoming September 30th checkpoint have been revised down in line with the reduced fixture load.
17/09/23: The weekend's Premier Two action
The only two Premier League matches played over the weekend were in Premier Two Blue, and both involved a player on a long winning sequence.
On Saturday it was Jim Green, who extended his league winning sequence to eleven matches by defeating Alan Joicey.
The win has moved him above Dave Pym at the top of the league, and the title appears to be his to lose.
But on Sunday Safi Tracy lost narrowly to Paul Watts to halt her winning sequence at eight.
15/09/23: Friday wins for Steffen and Eamonn
There were two Premier League matches played on Friday.
Steffen Nowak defeated Pearl Foster in Premier Two Red.
And in Premier Three Green Eamonn Reay took another step towards a return to Premier Two with a narrow victory over Caroline Boulton.
15/09/23: Richard's defeat confirmed promotion for Elias
Yesterday's defeat for Richard Owsley confirmed that Elias Hamati will finish in the three berth promotion bracket in Premier Three Green.
Only Neil Edwards and Eamonn Reay can overhaul him.
15/09/23: Ian Hedges breaks sequence to win September Bristol Grand Prix event
There were eighteen players in action on Thursday, just seven of them to contest the ninth of our twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments of the year at the Rainbow Casino.
That turnout was the lowest for a Lesters event in the Bristol (Open) Grand Prix era, i.e. since 2000.
Ian Hedges has for some time been "boasting" that he cannot win a match in this particular event.
This time, after eleven successive defeats, he managed to string together enough wins to take the main flight, defeating Steve Morris, Hazel Harper and -- in the final -- Tim Line.
Tim had arrived there with wins over Aidan Kenny and Ian Tarr.
Stephen Little took the consolation flight with wins over Hazel and Aidan.
Ian Tarr's BGP points table lead has extended slightly, but Tim is now second, eighteen points behind.
Ian Hedges has a great chance of qualification for the 2024 Bristol Masters.
There were also six Premier League matches played online.
There were top flight wins for Simon Baker and Robin Gunney, over Ben Crowden and Gerald Whitehouse.
In Premier Two Blue Alan Joicey suffered a brace of defeats, going down to Gary Plant and Michael Petrakas.
Marcel Bancroft dealt a blow to Richard Owsley's Premier Three Green promotion chances.
And in Premier Three Yellow Mandy Macdonald defeated John Curran.
13/09/23: Gaz wins Wednesday tournament round robin
There were seventeen players in action on Wednesday, but just six of them to contest the thirty-seventh of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
The turnout of six dictated a round robin format, the winner of which was Gaz Owen, with Tim Line in second place.
The results can be viewed here.
Ian Anderson won a post-tournament jackpot.
Six Premier League matches were played.
Natalie Singh and Gary Plant fought out a Premier Two Blue double header, where they swapped 11-9 results.
Natalie still retains a tenuous interest in the promotion race.
In Premier Two Red Ed Turner's promotion chances diminished with a defeat at the hands of Mathew Nicholls.
Premier Three Yellow saw wins for Michael Corbett and Frank Jones over Martha Beal and Mandy Macdonald.
And Tom Chapman scored an emphatic win over Richard Owsley in Premier Three Green.
12/09/23: Tuesday results round-up
There were eight matches played on Tuesday.
A Premier One double header saw spoils shared between Simon Baker and Robin Gunney.
Steffen Nowak had the best of a Premier Two Red double header against Cliff Blofield.
And in the same division there were wins for James Lintell-Smith (over second placed Tim Line) and Ed Turner (over Hazel Harper).
Phil Doubtfire defeated Mandy Macdonald in Premier Three Yellow.
And the held over main flight final from the August GP20 tournament saw Simon Tracy defeat Gaz Owen.
12/09/23: Jon also won on Monday
In a late reported result from Monday evening, Jon Organ defeated Steffen Nowak in Premier Two Red.
The match was played on Heroes 3, so no automatic match report was created.
12/09/23: Thirty in Monday action
There were thirty players in action on Monday, twenty-one of whom contested the ninth of our Monday Summer Grand Prix sessions of DMP round robins across two environments.
The thirteen online and the eight at Sportsmans formed single groups.
Ian Anderson and Steve Pickard came first and second in the online group, scooping the side pool 70%:30%, while the honours were shared in the live group, although Stephen Little's failure to invest in the side pool left the way clear for Kian Sabet to profit alone.
Ian A has moved to the summit of the SGP table, not far ahead of Stephen Little and Gaz Owen.
With only next week's session to come, discards may be crucial in the final outcome.
There was also Premier League and Brunel Trophy action online.
In the seventh round battle of the Brunel Trophy undefeated it was Gaz who prevailed, leaving him with a distinct advantage going into round eight.
Safi and Jim Green continued their fine sequences in Premier Two Blue, Jim getting past Chris Hughes while Safi was defeating Alan Joicey.
Second placed Jim is now massively odds on to take one of the two promotion berths, having six matches in hand over leader Dave Pym, but Safi still has some hard work to do after her slow start to the season.
In Premier Two Red Steffen Nowak scored a narrow victory over Pearl Foster.
Eamonn Reay's Premier Three Green win over Caroline Boulton keeps him well in the hunt for a top three place.
Meanwhile Rosemary Whitehouse is closer to achieving elevation from Premier Three Yellow after defeating Martha Beal.
10/09/23: Sunday's Premier League round-up
There were four Premier Two matches played on Sunday.
Hazel Harper and Tim Line played a Red Division match chez Tracy in Henleaze, and Tim's win moves him back into second place in the league table.
The other three matches were online in the Blue Division.
Alan Joicey scored two much needed wins, over Gary Plant and Ismail Yilmaz, while Ismail also succumbed to Safi Tracy.
10/09/23: Saturday wins for Pearl and Mandy
There were two Premier League matches played online on Saturday.
Pearl Foster's victory dented Simon Tracy's promotion chances in Premier Two Red.
And in Premier Three Yellow Warner Solomon signed off his championship winning season with a degree of anti-climax, losing emphatically to Mandy Macdonald.
But his nineteen wins from twenty-four matches tell a more positive story.
08/09/23: Friday's Premier League action
There were three Premier League matches played online on Friday.
Ian Tarr defeated Steffen Nowak and moves into second place in Premier Two Red.
In Premier Two Blue Natalie Singh beat Chris Hughes.
And in Premier Three Green Tom Chapman scored an emphatic win over Eamonn Reay.
08/09/23: Nick wins September Speedgammon Grand Prix event
There were ten players in action on Thursday, with six taking part in the sixth of the year's eight Speedgammon Grand Prix sessions at the Rainbow Casino.
The low turnout meant that the tournament consisted of a single round robin group, with each player playing five matches.
And Nick Barham swept aside all contenders with five victories.
Tim Line took second place.
Ian Tarr's SGGP lead has been cut by Tim to 60 points.
Before the tournament Nick and Simon Tracy tidied up a loose end, when they completed their unfinished GP20 semi-final from the previous week.
It had been adjourned at 6-4 to Nick, but Simon fought back to earn a final meeting with Gaz Owen.
There was also online action in the Premier League.
Neil Young kept his title hopes alive in Premier One by defeating Robin Gunney.
And Jim Green's imperious course towards the Premier Two Blue title was maintained with his win against Alan Joicey.
07/09/23: Tim wins Wednesday tournament
There were thirteen players in action on Wednesday, ten of them to contest the thirty-sixth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
The main flight winner this week was Tim Line -- for the fourth time this year -- who shrugged off being in the long half of the draw, beating Gaz Owen, Stephen Little, Warner Solomon and, in the final, Natalie Singh.
Natalie had arrived there by defeating Alan Joicey and Nick Barham.
Gaz took the consolation flight with wins over Ian Anderson and Ian Tarr.
Ian Tarr won a post-tournament jackpot.
Two Premier League matches were played earlier online.
Ian Tarr beat Pearl Foster to stay in promotion contention in Premier Two Red.
And Eamonn Reay is another to harbour promotion ambitions in Premier Three Green, his latest win coming at the expense of Andy Zographou.
05/09/23: Red Division wins for Tim and Jon
There were two Premier Two Red matches played on Tuesday, and both of them were close.
Tim Line beat Phil Charlton and leapfrogs him into the second promotion slot.
Meanwhile Jon Organ continued his run of good form by defeating Hazel Harper, and is closing on the leading promotion contenders.
05/09/23: Twenty-two in Monday action
There were twenty-two players in action on Monday, eighteen of whom contested the eighth of our Monday Summer Grand Prix sessions of 3-point round robins across two environments.
The twelve online fell neatly into groups of six, while the seven at Sportsmans were whittled down to six, Matt Sharp gallantly stepping aside to allow Director Ian Tarr to compete.
Matt had earlier played a held over match from last week's Nackgammon Grand Prix session.
Alan Joicey and Tim Line won the online groups -- Adam Sinclair taking the side pool in Alan's group -- while honours were shared at Sportsmans by Stephen Little and Mathew Nicholls.
Stephen has edged ahead of absent previous leader Gaz Owen in the SGP table.
There was also Premier League action online.
In Premier Two Red James Lintell-Smith defeated Pearl Foster.
And Fred North was the victor against Frank Jones in Premier Three Yellow.
03/09/23: Steffen knocks Chris out of Brunel Trophy
There was just one match played on Sunday.
The Lock Keeper, Keynsham, was the venue for a seventh round Brunel Trophy tie.
And Steffen Nowak's victory over Chris Rogers means that he will join Tim Line, Gaz Owen and Safi Tracy in round eight, while the only issue to be decided is who will be the only player still with two lives.
Chris finishes in fifth place.
03/09/23: Warner takes Yellow Division title
There were two Premier Three Yellow matches played on Saturday, both involving Rosemary Whitehouse.
And while Rosemary was hoping to consolidate her promotion credentials, she will now need to wait, after defeats to John Curran and Warner Solomon.
And that latter result confirmed Warner as the divisional champion.
Rosemary is still odds on to take one of the other promotion slots, but still has a little to do.
01/09/23: Friday's Premier League round-up
There were three Premier League matches played on Friday, two of them affecting the higher reaches of Premier Two Red.
Second placed Phil Charlton suffered defeat at the hands of Jon Organ, while Tim Line moved into third place by beating Pearl Foster.
Meanwhile there was Premier Three Yellow action, with Warner Solomon closing in on the league title after his victory over John Curran.
01/09/23: GP20 tournament unfinished!
There were twelve players in action on Thursday, ten of them to contest the sixth of the year's eight GP20 tournaments at the casino.
In the main flight one of the semi-finals was adjourned.
Nick Barham was kept waiting for two hours for an opponent, who eventually turned out to be Simon Tracy, courtesy of a double backgammon at 5-away 5-away against Aidan Kenny.
The pair were unable to finish the match in the time before Nick's departure for a bus back to W-s-M, and will resume at some later date, time and place with Nick 6-4 ahead.
The winner of that match will face Gaz Owen in the final, after Gaz's victories against Tim Line and Steve Morris.
Stephen Little added only ten points to his GP20 tally, but this was enough to reduce Ian Tarr's lead to 70 points, as Ian's 20 points are discarded.
Gaz would move to within 65 pounts of Ian by winning the final.
Ian Hedges took the consolation flight by defeating Tim Line, Hazel Harper and Ian Tarr.
Online there was a Premier Three Green match played, Marcel Bancroft nrrowly beating Neil Edwards.
30/08/23: Wednesday tournament win for Nick
There were sixteen players in action on Wednesday, twelve of them to contest the thirty-fifth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
The main flight winner this week was Nick Barham, who made the most of a first round bye by defeating Simon Tracy and Safi Tracy, before overcoming Elias Hamati in the final.
Elias had arrived there by beating Chris Hughes, Tim Line and Ian Anderson.
Gaz Owen took the consolation flight with wins over John Curran and Simon.
Tim won a post-tournament jackpot.
There were also two Premier League matches played.
Hazel Harper defeated Cliff Blofield in Premier Two Red.
And Neil Edwards took another step towards promotion from Premier Three Green by narrowly beating Caroline Boulton.
29/08/23: Seventeen in Monday action
There were seventeen players in action on Monday, fifteen of whom contested the eighth of our Monday Nackgammon Grand Prix 3-point round robin sessions across two environments.
The six at Sportsmans formed a single group, while the nine online were split five and four.
Ian Anderson and Kev Peters won the online groups, while the live group still has two results outstanding, and the leadership could go a number of ways.
Nackgammon is included in the schedule of events for a reason, as lots can be learned from the format.
This can lead to some very absorbing games, although last night's live session seemed to be so absorbing that the doubling cube tended to get overlooked!
Kev holds a fourteen point NGP lead over Adam Sinclair, although when the points from the incomplete live session get added in, Stephen Little is likely to be well in the mix.
There was also a Premier One match played, Robin Gunney grabbing three valuable points from a nail biter against Cecilia Rogers.
28/08/23: Brunel Trophy seventh round draw made
The draw for the seventh round of the tenth incarnation of the Brunel Trophy was made on Monday afternoon by matching two numerical sequences.
The original field of fifty-one in this double elimination tournament has now been whittled down to just five.
So once again there is a bye, which goes to the player with the best record who hasn't already received one.
And that player is Tim Line.
That leaves two ties, one of which -- the meeting of Steffen Nowak and Chris Rogers -- is effectively sudden death.
The other one pits the two unbeaten players -- Gaz Owen and Safi Tracy, so the number progressing to round eight will therefore be four.
Matches are to be completed by October 1st.
Check out the draw and results so far here.
26/08/23: Friday's Premier League round-up
There were two Premier League matches played on Friday.
Dave Pym's effort to set a formidable target for his Premier Two Blue pursuers encountered an obstacle in the shape of Michael Petrakas, who continued his recovery from a lean spell.
Dave has just one match remaining, and with 48 points already in the bank, only Jim Green looks odds on to overhaul him.
Meanwhile there was the first Premier Three Green action for almost a month when Caroline Boulton defeated Andy Zographou.
25/08/23: Hazel wins GP10 tournament
There were ten players in action on Thursday, eight of them to contest the seventh of the year's ten GP10 tournaments at the casino.
And Hazel Harper was the main flight winner, defeating Aidan Kenny, Ian Tarr and -- in the final -- Stephen Little.
Stephen had defeated Steve Morris and Simon Tracy en route to the final.
Aidan took the consolation flight with victories over Ian Hedges and Steve.
George Georgiou still heads the GP10 standings, while Ian Tarr has moved to within five points of him.
Online there was Premier Two Red action, Andrew Cobb winning out against Phil Charlton.
24/08/23: Wednesday tournament switched to round robin mode
There were just six players in action on Wednesday to contest the thirty-fourth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
this week's winner was Ian Anderson, who won four of his five matches, and the runner-up spot was shared three ways.
This was the result of a decision by Director Ian Tarr to use head-to-head results as the tie-breaker.
Elias Hamati, Tim Line and Stephen Little therefore earned minute cash prizes.
This was the first time this year where the event was forced down the round robin route -- it happened twice last year.
22/08/23: Tuesday win for Mathew
There was just one match played on Tuesday, a Premier Two Red meeting between Phil Charlton and Mathew Nicholls.
And Mathew upset the form book by taking the three points.
22/08/23: Sixteen in Monday action
There were sixteen players in action on Monday, fifteen of whom contested the seventh of our Monday Summer Grand Prix sessions of 3-point round robins across two environments.
The six at Sportsmans formed a single group, while the nine online were split five and four.
Ian Anderson and Elias Hamati won the online groups, while Bahman Salahshour won the live group.
Gaz Owen was absent but still holds an SGP lead of fourteen points, with Kev Peters now second.
There was also a Premier Two Blue match played, and Jim Green took another step towards promotion with a win over Natalie Singh.
20/08/23: Sunday's Premier League results
There were two Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Kev Peters narrowly defeated Robin Gunney in Premier One.
And in Premier Two Blue Paul Watts beat Natalie Singh for the second successive day.
19/08/23: Saturday's results round-up
There were two matches played on Saturday.
Tim Line won his sixth round Brunel Trophy tie with Steve Pickard.
Steve is eliminated and Tim progresses to the last five.
And Paul Watts won a Premier Two Blue meeting with Natalie Singh.
18/08/23: Marcus wins August Handicap Trophy event
There were just eight players in action on Thursday, six of them to contest the sixth of this year's series of Handicap Trophy tournaments at the Rainbow Casino.
Amounting to the equal lowest ever turnout for one of these events, the format changed from the usual two flight knock-out scenario into a round robin.
And making the most of his handicap of 3 was Marcus Evans, who won four of his five matches to scoop the tournanent win prize plus both side pools.
Hazel Harper took second place, having a superior points difference to that of Ian Tarr.
Tim Line's HT lead over second placed Hazel has been reduced to just five points.
There was also one league match played.
And Phil Charlton's narrow victory over James Lintell-Smith kept him well on course for promotion from Premier Two Red.
16/08/23: Yet another Wednesday tournament win for Gaz
There were just ten players in action on Wednesday, eight of them to contest the thirty-third of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
Once again the week's winner was Gaz Owen -- his eleventh Wednesday main flight victory of the year -- who got past Chris Rogers, Warner Solomon and in the final Ian Tarr.
Ian had arrived there by beating John Curran and Nick Barham.
Chris took the consolation flight with wins over Natalie Singh and Elias Hamati.
There was also one Premier League match played.
Michael Petrakas defeated Chris Hughes in Premier Two Blue.
15/08/23: Tuesday's results round-up
There were four matches played on Tuesday.
Gaz Owen pressed his claim for the league title with a brace of Premier One victories, over Gerald Whitehouse and Simon Baker.
He is now top of the league, ahead of previous leader Chris Rogers on points difference with three matches in hand.
Another making good progress towards a major goal is Phil Charlton, whose Premier Two Red win over Pearl Foster has moved him into second place in that division.
And Steffen Nowak is assured of a place among the last five of the Brunel Trophy by defeating Kev Peters.
15/08/23: Stephen won on Sunday, too
In a result which was reported but temporarily overlooked, Stephen Little moved into second place in Premier Two Blue on Sunday.
This was his narrow victory over Chris Hughes at the Globe, Newton St Loe.
15/08/23: Twenty-two in Monday action
There were Twenty-two players in action on Monday to contest the sixth of our Monday Summer Grand Prix sessions, which comprised DMP round robins across two environments.
The ten at Sportsmans and the twelve online made up two competitive groups.
The live session was ably hosted by Hazel Harper in Ian Tarr's temporary absence.
The online group saw the side pool proceeds go to Kev Peters and Adam Sinclair, while the live recipients were Tim Line and Jim Green.
Gaz Owen's SGP lead is up to twenty points, with Stephen Little still second.
Gaz had earlier won another Premier One match against Nick Barham to move into second place in the table.
14/08/23: Sunday's Premier League round-up
There were two Premier One matches played on Saturday.
Nick Barham continued his recent resurgence with a win against Simon Baker.
And Ben Crowden scored a much needed win -- a narrow one -- over Gerald Whitehouse.
12/08/23: Saturday was Nick's day
There were three matches played on Saturday.
They were all in Premier One, and they all featured victories for Nick Barham.
He started with a double header against Ben Crowden and followed this up against Kev Peters.
The day's work doesn't assure Nick of staying in the top flight, but he is certainly a lot closer to doing that.
11/08/23: Matt continues to set Feeder League pace
After a six week lull in activity, a Feeder League match was played on Friday at he Clifton Club.
And Matt Sharp scored a victory at the expense of Richard Davies to extend his league lead.
11/08/23: Tim wins August Bristol Grand Prix event
There were just nine players in action on Thursday to contest the eighth of our twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments of the year at the Rainbow Casino.
Tim Line took the main flight honours this time, defeating Gaz Owen, Safi Tracy and -- in the final -- Ian Tarr.
Ian had arrived there with wins over Ian Hedges and Simon Tracy.
Steve Morris took the consolation flight with wins over Aidan Kenny, Gaz and Hazel Harper.
Ian Tarr moves just ahead of George Georgiou in the BGP points table, with Tim closing in third place.
Tim has also assured himself of qualification for the 2024 Bristol Masters, having won two of these events.
09/08/23: Gaz wins another Wednesday tournament
There were sixteen players in action on Wednesday, twelve of them to contest the thirty-second of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
This week's winner was Gaz Owen -- his tenth Wednesday main flight victory of the year -- who got past Tim Line and Kev Peters after receiving a first round bye, before beating Chris Rogers in the final.
Chris had arrived in the final by beating Nick Barham, Ian Anderson and Warner Solomon.
Stephen Little took the consolation flight with wins over Simon Tracy and Tim.
Ian Tarr won the post tournament jackpot.
There was also 11-point action.
Safi Tracy visited Simonetta Herrera for their sixth round Brunel Trophy tie.
And Safi's win came about after a sixteen cube!
She goes into round seven as one of two unbeaten players, while Simonetta has made her exit.
And online Pearl Foster scored an emphatic win over Cliff Blofield in Premier Two Red.
08/08/23: Tuesday's results round-up
The were four matches played on Tuesday, three in Premier One and one in the sixth round of the Brunel Trophy.
Chris Rogers visited the Lock Keeper for two matches.
He narrowly defeated Hemal Getalal to eliminate him from the competition, and still has one life remaining.
Then he faced Andy Boysan in a top flight league match, and it was all over in a single game -- an eight-cubed gammon in Chris's favour.
Chris remains top of the league, and still won't have given up on regaining the title, while Andy faces the real prospect of relegation if his results don't pick up soon.
Online in the same division Stuart Mann and Nick Barham played a double header, Nick winning the first before Stuart struck back to end his recent run of defeats.
08/08/23: Warner clinches promotion
There were nineteen players in action on Monday, seventeen of whom contested the fifth of our Monday Summer Grand Prix sessions of 3-point round robins across two environments.
The eight at Sportsmans made two four player groups, while the nine online were split five and four.
That should have been five and five, but there was a technical problem on the site with Elias Hamati's changed username, which forced his withdrawal, which he graciously accepted.
Tim Line and Gaz Owen won the online groups, while the live groups saw ties for the lead -- featuring Mathew Nicholls and Stephen Little in one group, Bahman Salahshour and Ian Tarr in the other.
Gaz's SGP lead is up fractionally to fourteen points, with Stephen second.
There was also a Premier Three Yellow match played, and it proved to be a memorable one in that Warner Solomon's victory over Rosemary Whitehouse sealed his promotion to Premier Two.
07/08/23: Catching up with the news...... Two Sunday defeats for Simon
The were two matches played on Sunday, both of them involving Simon Baker.
And he incurred two Premier One defeats, an emphatic one at the hands of Kev Peters and a narrow one against Nick Barham.
07/08/23: Catching up with the news...... Rosemary pips Warner on Saturday
The was just one match played on Saturday.
That was the Premier Three Yellow match between runaway leader Warner Solomon and Rosemary Whitehouse.
The result was a narrow win for Rosemary, and it is looking increasingly likely that the current top three -- Warner, Phil Doubtfire and Rosemary -- will be the ones to gain promotion from that division.
07/08/23: Catching up with the news...... Thursday's GP10 tournament
There were just eight players in action on Thursday to contest the sixth of the year's ten GP10 tournaments at the casino.
And George Georgiou, making a surprise return to action, was the main flight winner, defeating Stephen Little, Hazel Harper and -- in the final -- Tim Line.
Tim had defeated Gaz Owen and Ian Hedges en route to the final.
Stephen took the consolation flight with victories over Gaz and Aidan Kenny.
George has moved to the top of the GP10 table, twenty points ahead of Gaz.
02/08/23: Tim wins Wednesday tournament
There were fourteen players in action on Wednesday to contest the thirty-first of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
This week's winner was Tim Line, who got past Cynthia Roberts, Elias Hamati and Gaz Owen before defeating Simon Tracy in the final.
Simon had arrived in the final by beating Cecilia Rogers, Warner Solomon and James Timoney.
Cynthia took the consolation flight with wins over Steve Pickard, Dom Verrall and Ian Anderson.
Ian Tarr won the post tournament jackpot.
01/08/23: Fourteen penalised at the July 31st checkpoint
The July 31st Premier League checkpoint passed at midnight on Monday, and a few players incurred initial penalties, although thankfully nobody who needed to claw penalties back from the May checkpoint failed to do so.
Five from Premier One, five from Premier Two Blue, three from Premier Two Red, and one from from Premier Three Yellow have a little more work to do than was really necessary to meet the September checkpoint requirements.
Premier Three Green players all had a clean bill of health.
01/08/23: Seventeen in Monday action
There were seventeen players in action on Monday, fifteen of them to contest the seventh Monday Nackgammon Grand Prix sessions across two environments.
Six online formed a single round robin group, while the nine at the Sportsmans were split into groups of five and four.
Gaz Owen won the online group, while the larger live group saw Stephen Little and Jake Mochnacz share the win, although because neither invested in the side pool, Bahman Salahshour took that.
Ian Tarr won the smaller live group.
Kev Peters's lead of the NGP table is extended to fourteen points, with Adam Sinclair still in second place.
There was just one other match played, Steffen Nowak scoring an emphatic Premier Two Red win over Jon Organ.
30/07/23: Chris and Warner fare well in Monte Carlo
The World Backgammon Championships, held in Monte Carlo each year, may not be widely regarded as the biggest tournament in the game these days, but it cannot be denied that it is still very prestigious.
It has a rich history, having just reached its 54th incarnation this week.
And that tradition -- and the title -- is still a big draw for many of the game's biggest names.
For the main event, the World Championship itself, there were 182 entrants from all over the globe, including thirteen Brits.
Among those thirteen were two with strong Bristol Backgammon connections, double Bristol Premier League champions Mark Dixon and Chris Rogers.
Mark left the area long since, having won his titles in 2005 and 2007.
But Chris, of course, is still a major force in these parts, his titles having come in 2020 and 2021.
The double elimination format of the competition, with 17-point matches in the Main and 11-point matches in the Second Chance, meant that Mark's opening round defeat didn't mean the end of his interest, but after three wins in the Second Chance bracket, he was eliminated by Norwegian Dagfinn Snarheim.
For Chris, however, it was a very different story.
Main bracket victories over Lucas Sfez (France), Tristan Bettencourt (USA), fellow Brit Will Cockerell, Fabrice de Carbon (France), Chris Trencher (USA), and Kengo Nagasuka (Japan) took him to a Round 3 meeting with another American Victor Ashkenazi.
(Unusually the rounds are numbered in reverse, starting in Round 9!).
A narrow defeat consigned Chris to the Second Chance bracket, where he slotted in at Round 4.
There he beat Israeli Ofir Balali, only to be pitted once again against Victor -- a strange quirk of the format, where one might normally expect Main bracket adversaries to be slotted into different parts of the Second Chance draw.
This time he turned the tables to progress to Round 2.
Here he met Kengo once again, but this time it was the Japanese player who prevailed.
Chris's stunning run had come to an end, but he was well into the realms of cashing, finishing in equal fourth place.
Although the main event attracted most of the limelight, there were plenty of other competitions available.
For those not feeling up to tackling the biggest names, there was the Intermediates category.
Here 64 players competed for the title, again in a double elimination format.
And here Warner Solomon of Premier Three Yellow excelled.
Scoring six victories, Warner went all the way to winning the Main bracket.
Then, for the Intermediates title, he met Second Chance winner Max Petersen of Denmark, having already defeated Max in the third round of the Main bracket.
And continuing the theme of tables being turned, it was Max who took the title.
Great work by Chris and Warner, flying the Bristol flag in all the right places.
30/07/23: Sunday's Premier League action
There were six Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Gerald Whitehouse defeated Cecilia Rogers in Premier One.
Chris Hughes scored a brace of Premier Two Blue victories, over Paul Watts and Stephen Little.
In Premier Two Red the winners were Jon Organ and Tim Line, over Simon Tracy and Steffen Nowak.
And Michael Corbett beat Fred North in Premier Three Yellow.
One more purported Yellow Division match was played, but it proved to be surplus to requirements.
28/07/23: Friday's Premier League action
There were three Premier League matches played on Friday.
Mathew Nicholls and Ian Tarr played out two hard fought Premier Two Red matches at Sportsmans, and Ian came out on top both times.
He is now in hopeful pursuit of the top two.
And online there were two matches.
Rosemary Whitehouse continues her surge towards promotion from Premier Three Yellow, having defeated John Curran.
And Caroline Boulton defeated Andy Zographou in Premier Three Green -- the match being the thousandth played at Premier Three level.
27/07/23: Tim pips Ian to win July Speedgammon Grand Prix event
There were twelve players in action on Thursday, with just four taking part in the fifth of the year's eight Speedgammon Grand Prix sessions at the Rainbow Casino.
The event was shifted from the Riverview Suite to the Mahjong area of the casino, and it appears that our long spell of Riverview usage is now at an end, as a revamp of the entire building is imminent.
The four who entered the event had the distinction of comprising the equal smallest ever field for a Bristol Backgammon Thursday or Wednesday event.
It would have been five had one player not turned back after failing to find a parking space.
So the Speedgammon consisted of a single round robin group, with each player playing three matches.
After two matches apiece all four players had one win each, so the final round of matches was all important.
Ian Tarr moved into contention from fourth place on points difference with a whitewash of Hazel Harper, leaving Tim Line needing a 5-1 (or better) win to take the title.
At 3-1 ahead his opponent ran out of time, so it was job done for Tim!
Ian's SGGP lead is up to 115 points, with Tim now in second place.
There was also online action in the Premier League.
Ed Turner suffered a blow in his attempt to muscle in on one of the Premier Two Red promotion slots, going down to Pearl Foster.
In Premier Three Yellow Rosemary Whitehouse picked up three more points by defeating Frank Jones, and is looking on course for promotion.
And Richard Owsley and Eamonn Reay strengthened their bids for one of the Premier Three Green promotion slots with wins over Tom Chapman and Andy Zographou.
27/07/23: Bristol Open will not take place this year
The popular annual flagship event of Bristol Backgammon, the The Bristol Open will not be taking place this year.
The event, which has been held most years since the original in 2005, has received fulsome international acclaim, and has always attracted a sizeable overseas entry, as well as many more from around the UK to supplement the local interest.
Current Bristol Open TD Tim Line explains the cancellation following a Rainbow Casino communication thus: "Because of the impending loss of the Riverview Suite they are unable to guarantee that we will have use of it. The casino are unfortunately still being kept in the dark about where the planning/consultation is and when a decision will be made. They are under the impression that as soon as planning is granted, the area will be cordoned off and they will no longer be able to use it. These plans will also result in the loss of part (if not all) of the poker room."
At the same time, of course, this has implications for our regular weekly events, but the understanding is that we can still be accommodated elsewhere in the casino.
27/07/23: Elias takes Wednesday tournament honours
There were twenty players in action on Wednesday, but only eight of those contested the thirtieth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
This week's winner was Elias Hamati, who got past Stephen Little and Hazel Harper before defeating Ian Anderson in the final.
Ian had arrived in the final by beating Tim Line and Gaz Owen.
Simon Tracy took the consolation flight with wins over Tim and Stephen.
And Tim won the post tournament jackpot.
There was Premier League action involving twelve players.
In Premier One Neil Young suffered a blow to his title chances when he lost to Gerald Whitehouse, while Cecilia Rogers defeated Andy Boysan, for whom relegation is becoming a real possibility.
Michael Petrakas halted a run of Premier Two Blue defeats with a win against Chris Hughes.
Ed Turner and Jon Organ scored Premier Two Red victories at the expense of Cliff Blofield and Andrew Cobb.
And Neil Edwards beat Andy Zographou in Premier Three Green.
25/07/23: Tuesday's Premier League results round-up
There were five Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
Phil Charlton scored another victory to bolster his Premier Two Red promotion chances at the expense of rival Ian Tarr, and has moved into second place.
In Premier Two Blue there was a double header played out at Brookhouse Farm, Swindon, where Stephen Little and Gary Plant shared the spoils.
And in the same division Paul Watts defeated Simon Hughes online.
Michael Corbett won his Premier Three Yellow match against John Curran.
25/07/23: Brunel Trophy sixth round draw made
The draw for the sixth round of the tenth incarnation of the Brunel Trophy was made, slightly belatedly, on Tuesday by matching two numerical sequences.
The original field of fifty-one in this double elimination tournament has now been whittled down to just nine.
So there is a bye, which goes to the player with the best record who hasn't already received one.
And that player is Gaz Owen.
That leaves four ties, three of which are effectively sudden death.
The number progressing to round six will therefore be either five or six.
Matches are to be completed by August 27th.
Check out the full draw here.
25/07/23: Twenty-one in Monday action
There were twenty-one players in action on Monday, eighteen of whom contested the fourth of our Monday Summer Grand Prix sessions of 3-point round robins across two environments.
The eleven at Sportsmans outnumbered the online contingent -- who made up a group of seven -- with groups of six and five, including welcome new player Simon Dicken.
Ian Anderson won the online group, while the live winners were Gary Owston and Neil Young.
Gaz Owen had a less than productive session, and his SGP lead is down to thirteen points, with Stephen Little second and Ian Anderson third.
There was also a Premier Three Yellow double header, where Mandy Macdonald and Martha Beal won one match apiece.
And one Premier One encounter at Sportsmans began but was not finished.
23/07/23: Sunday's Premier League results round-up
There were six Premier League matches played on Sunday, and for the second successive day every division featured.
Nick Barham scored a much needed Premier One victory over Cecilia Rogers.
Phil Charlton underlined his promotion credentials with a Premier Two Red win over Cliff Blofield.
In Premier Two Blue Mike Smith defeated Chris Hughes.
Neil Edwards was beaten by Marcel Bancroft in Premier Three Green.
And in Premier Three Yellow the winners were Fred North and Phil Doubtfire over John Curran and Michael Corbett.
22/07/23: Saturday's Premier League results round-up
There were eight matches, spread over all five divisions of the Premier League, played on Saturday.
A Premier One double header at the Pump House saw Cecilia Rogers twice defeat Stuart Mann, whose strong start to the season appears to have eveporated.
The Fire Engine, Redfield, was the venue for Premier Two Red meeting, where Ed Turner trailed for most of the match, but not for the important part against Ian Tarr.
Online in the same division Mathew Nicholls and Cliff Blofield shared the spoils of a double header.
In Premier Two Blue Gary Plant defeated Mike Smith.
Neil Edwards scored a Premier Three Green victory over Tom Chapman.
And in Premier Three Yellow John Curran gained his revenge for Tuesday's defeat at the hands of Mandy Macdonald.
21/07/23: Friday's league action
In the only match played on Friday Ian Tarr defeated Hazel Harper in Premier Two Red.
21/07/23: Ian Hedges wins GP20 tournament
There were eleven players in action on Thursday, eight of them to contest the fifth of the year's eight GP20 tournaments at the casino.
In the main flight Ian Hedges was the winner, defeating Tim Line, Simon Tracy and -- in the final -- Ian Tarr.
Ian T had got past Stephen Little and Steve Morris en route to the final.
Stephen took the consolation flight with victories over Hazel Harper and George Georgiou.
Ian Tarr -- whose lead in the GP20 table has extended to 80 points, with Stephen now clear in second place -- was contesting his fourth successive GP20 final, three of which he has lost.
Before the tournament, George played his fifth round Brunel Trophy tie online, and he exited the tournament, while victor Steffen Nowak has one life remaining.
And in Premier Two Red Ed Turner defeated Pearl Foster.
19/07/23: Gaz wins another Wednesday tournament
There were sixteen players in action on Wednesday, just eight of them to contest the twenty-ninth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
This week's winner was Gaz Owen -- for the ninth time this year -- who got past John Curran and Stephen Little before defeating Ian Anderson in the final.
Ian had arrived in the final after beating Elias Hamati and Simon Tracy.
Elias took the consolation flight with wins over John and Tim Line, and then won a post tournament jackpot.
Earlier there was online Premier League and Brunel Trophy action.
In the fifth round of the Brunel Neil Young and Chris Hughes made their exits from the competition, losing respectively to Safi Tracy and Simonetta Herrera.
Safi will go into the sixth round draw as one of just two survivors with both lives intact.
Hemal Getalal defeated Gary Plant for the second successive day in Premier Two Blue.
And Phil Charlton scored a Premier Two Red victory over Hazel Harper.
18/07/23: Tuesday's results round-up
There were eight matches played on Tuesday.
Robin Gunney became the latest player to exit the Brunel Trophy, losing his fifth round tie against Gaz Owen, who still has both lives intact.
A Premier One double header saw the spoils shared by Ben Crowden and Andy Boysan.
Hemal Getalal and Chris Hughes were the winners in Premier Two Blue, Gary Plant and Paul Watts their victims.
Tim Line beat Steffen Nowak in Premier Two Red to maintain his promotion challenge.
Richard Owsley stayed in promotion contention in Premier Three Green by defeating Caroline Boulton.
And in Premier Three Yellow Mandy Macdonald continued her recovery from a slow start to the season by beating John Curran.
18/07/23: Twenty-one in Monday action
There were twenty-one players in action on Monday, seventeen of whom contested the third of our Monday Summer Grand Prix sessions of 3-point round robins across two environments.
Five at Sportsmans made a single group, while the twelve online formed two groups of six.
Kev Peters and Nick Barham won the online groups, while Gaz Owen took the live group honours.
Gaz is building a handy SGP lead, with an eighteen points cushion over second placed Adam Sinclair.
He also played George Georgiou in a Premier One match before the tournament, winning 11-2.
Gaz and Neil Young are best placed to overhaul league leader Chris Rogers, who must surely win his final match to have any chance of staying top.
Meanwhile the top two in Premier Three Yellow were in action online.
Warner Solomon defeated Fred North and is seemingly closing on the twin objectives of promotion and the divisional championship.
Phil Doubtfire, however, lost a little ground in losing to Mandy Macdonald, but is still on course for promotion.
17/07/23: Sunday's Premier League action
There were two Premier League matches played on Sunday.
In Premier One Cecilia Rogers defeated Robin Gunney.
And in Premier Three Yellow Frank Jones ended his run of defeats by beating Michael Corbett.
15/07/23: Saturday's Premier League action
There were two Premier League matches played on Saturday.
In Premier Two Blue Gary Plant defeated Simon Hughes.
And in Premier Three Green Marcel Bancroft beat Tom Chapman.
14/07/23: Friday's Premier League action
There were two Premier League matches played on Friday.
In Premier Two Blue Ismail Yilmaz defeated Gary Plant.
And Caroline Boulton scored her second Premier Three Green win in successive days, beating Andy Zographou.
14/07/23: Simon wins July Bristol Grand Prix event
There were seventeen players in action on Thursday, ten of them to contest the seventh of our twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments of the year at the Rainbow Casino.
Simon Tracy took the main flight honours this time, defeating Cynthia Roberts, Steve Morris and -- in the final -- Stephen Little, having received a first round bye.
Stephen had arrived there with wins over Frank Jones, Tim Line and Hazel Harper.
George Georgiou took the consolation flight with wins over Cynthia and Ian Tarr.
George extends his BGP points table lead to thirty points over Ian.
There was also Premier League action online.
Robin Gunney had an overdue good day in Premier One, scoring victories over Stuart Mann and Ben Crowden.
Natalie Singh maintained her Premier Two Blue promotion challenge with a win against Michael Petrakas.
And Caroline Boulton scored a narrow Premier Three Green win over Marcel Bancroft.
12/07/23: Chris wins Wednesday tournament
There were just thirteen players in action on Wednesday, ten of them to contest the twenty-eighth of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
This week's winner was Chris Rogers, who received a first round bye before getting past Safi Tracy and George Georgiou.
He then inflicted a final defeat on Gaz Owen -- the first time Gaz has lost in nine Wednesday finals this year.
Gaz also had a first round bye, then defeated Tim Line and Ian Anderson en route to the final.
Ian Tarr took the consolation flight with wins over Elias Hamati, Simon Tracy and Tim.
Tim won a post tournament jackpot.
Earlier there was live Premier League action.
Gaz narrowly defeated Stuart Mann in Premier One at another new Bristol Backgammon venue, the Pelican, Chew Magna.
And the Compass, Tormarton, played host to Jim Green's latest Premier Two Blue victory, Gary Plant the victim.
11/07/23: UK Champions League progress
The ninth annual UK Champions League is more than half way to completion.
And Bristol's representatives are making a very strong showing.
Granted six of the thirty-two places this year, including one for reigning champion Chris Rogers, every one of Bristol's finest progressed through the group stage to the last sixteen, where the competition morphs into a knock-out.
Unfortunately it's guaranteed that at least two will bow out before the quarter-finals, as the draw has paired not only Simon Baker and Gaz Owen together, but also Nick Barham and Stuart Mann.
Cecilia Rogers plays Worcester's rising star Reece Hodges, while Chris has already moved into the last eight at the expense of Simon Morecroft of the London Players' League.
11/07/23: Tuesday's Premier Three action
There were four Premier Three matches played on Tuesday.
In the Green Division there were victories for Tom Chapman over Marcel Bancroft and Richard Owsley over Andy Zographou.
And John Curran played two Yellow Division matches, succumbing to Phil Doubtfire before edging to victory over Frank Jones.
11/07/23: Nineteen in Monday action
There were nineteen players in action on Monday, fifteen of them to contest the second Monday Summer Grand Prix sessions of DMP round robins across two environments.
Six at Sportsmans and nine online made good sized groups, with the live players facing each opponent twice.
In the online group there was a four way tie in terms of games won, but thanks to the PR tie-break Gaz Owen and Kev Peters took the two side pool prizes.
Meanwhile Jake Mochnacz took the live group honours, although his non-investment in the side pool was good news for second placed Frank Jones.
Gaz takes over the leadership of the SGP table from Stephen Little.
There was also Premier League action.
Another new venue for Bristol Backgammon matches -- the Dumb Post Inn, Calne -- played host to a Premier One double header, Chris Rogers regaining top spot by virtue of his brace of wins over Simon Baker.
With only one more match remaining, however, it remains to be seen whether he will have done enough to fend off pursuers like Neil Young, Gaz Owen or Stuart Mann.
And in Premier Three Yellow John Curran scored a much needed win over Martha Beal.
09/07/23: Liverpool win for Hazel
At this weekend's Liverpool Open Hazel Harper had a great Sunday, coming through a 64-player field to win the one point shoot-out.
09/07/23: Kev wins on Sunday
There was just one match played on Sunday.
In Premier One Kev Peters defeated George Georgiou.
08/07/23: Tom wins on Saturday
In the only action of Saturday, Tom Chapman defeated Marcel Bancroft in Premier Three Green.
It was the first result registered in that division in 38 days.
07/07/23: Gaz and Jake take annual doubles title
There were fourteen players in action on Thursday, twelve of them to contest the ninth annual Consulting Doubles Championship tournament at the Rainbow Casino.
With just six pairs, two had the good fortune to receive byes to the semi-final, and it was one of those pairs -- Gaz Owen and Jake Mochnacz -- who moved on to take the title.
They defeated Stephen Little and Fraser Mackenzie in the semis, and Gerald and Rosemary Whitehouse in the final.
The Whitehouses had fought their way past Tim Line and Hazel Harper, and then George Georgiou and Dom Cybulski.
Tim and Hazel took the consolation flight, beating Stephen and Fraser before despatching Cynthia Roberts and Frank Jones in the final.
Gaz thus became the first player to win this title four times, having partnered Ian Hedges last year, and his brother Luke Owen in both 2013 and 2016.
There was also a fifth round Brunel Trophy tie played.
Hemal Getalal got past Richard Owsley in what was effectively a sudden death tie in this double elimination event.
05/07/23: Adam wins Wednesday tournament again
There were fifteen players in action on Wednesday, twelve of them to contest the twenty-seventh of the year's series of stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.
This week's winner was Adam Sinclair, who has now won three of his last four Wednesday tournaments, and he "only" reached the final in the other.
His victims, after a first round bye, were Ian Tarr, John Curran and -- in the final -- Tim Line.
Tim had arrived there by beating Cynthia Roberts, Chris Aquilina and Elias Hamati.
George Georgiou took the consolation flight with wins over Mandy Macdonald, Phil Doubtfire and Gaz Owen.
Ian won a post tournament jackpot.
Earlier there was Premier League action.
Gaz narrowly defeated Stuart Mann in Premier One.
And Hazel Harper pipped Pearl Foster in a Premier Two Red encounter.
05/07/23: Tuesday wins for Gaz, Natalie and Tim
There were three Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
In Premier One Gaz Owen moved into third place with a victory over Gerald Whitehouse.
Another to move into third place was Tim Line in Premier Two Red, when he beat James Lintell-Smith.
Meanwhile, in a battle between two Premier Two Blue promotion contenders Natalie Singh furthered her prospects and damaged her opponent's when she overcame Stephen Little.
04/07/23: Twenty-one in Monday action
There were twenty-one players in action on Monday, seventeen of them to contest the opening Monday Summer Grand Prix sessions of 3-point round robins across two environments.
Six at Sportsmans made a single group, while the eleven online formed groups of six and five.
Gaz Owen and Adam Sinclair won the online groups, while Stephen Little shared the live group honours with Ian Tarr.
In Gaz's group four players won three out of five matches, but Gaz's average PR of 1.4 was the deciding factor.
Gaz, Ian and Stephen share the lead in the first SGP table.
There was also 11-point action, with two Premier Two Blue matches played.
Hemal Getalal defeated Natalie Singh, while Chris Hughes succumbed to Mike Smith.
02/07/23: Adam closes on promotion
There were just two Premier Two Red matches played on Sunday.
Andrew Cobb and Adam Sinclair played out a double header, and Adam won both matches.
With only three more to play, it will take an extraordinary twist or two to prevent Adam returning to the league's top flight.
02/07/23: Saturday Premier League round-up
There were four Premier League matches played on Saturday.
In Premier Two Red league leader Adam Sinclair shared the spoils of a double header with Tim Line.
And there were Premier Three Yellow wins for Fred North -- over Michael Corbett -- and leader Warner Solomon -- over both John Curran and Frank Jones.
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