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The tournament which will
henceforward be known as the third Bristol Open can be
viewed as a success on a few levels.
Fifty-eight players in all (including six who only contested the
Friday warm-up event) participated, and that was a good number
considering the late decision to stage the event, which
undoubtedly had an adverse effect on the turnout of overseas
visitors.
The two previous incarnations of the event, the 2005 Wedding
Tournament, and the 2006 Bristol International Festival were more
lavish affairs given the nature of the celebrations, but the event
has now settled into being a more orthodox backgammon event,
although still, hopefully, a celebration, and one hoping to cater
for a wide variety of players.
The venue, which we also used in 2006, is not plush, but it is
spacious, with a ridiculously inexpensive bar, willing helpers,
and is perfectly situated in the most visually pleasing area of
our city. Despite being in the most vibrant part of Bristol, the
Artillery Grounds is also quite secluded. But if you need a
break, there are bars, restaurants, hotels, and heaving night-life
right outside the gate.
Friday evening's warm-up saw twenty-seven players getting the
weekend off to a great start.
2006 Bristol Festival champion John Clark made his way to
the final, where he met Dave Moon. This was held over until
a suitable gap the following day, when John prevailed.
Meanwhile, a quarter entry Championship satellite resulted in top
Dane Mikael Jensen securing a nice cheap entry.
In all a pleasing thirty-six signed up for the Championship
category, with a handy sixteen contesting the Intermediate
competition. With such a strong Championship field, it was
inevitable that there would be some eminent casualties early in
the piece.
Dane Michael Soerensen went out to Birmingham's David
Startin, Raj Jansari succumbed to Kazuhiro Shino,
Stuart Mann lost to Pia Jeppesen, Mikael Jensen
yielded to Peter Bennet, Bristol's Ed Turner saw off
Denmark's Poul Lindberg, while Mike Heard and
Chris Ternel were also victims at the hands of Martin
Barkwill and Simonetta Herrera.
And as the quarter-final line-up was being clarified, out too went
Lawrence Powell, Pia Jeppesen, Amsterdam based Egyptian
Rida Hassan, and the reigning champion John Clark, who had a
£50 bounty on his head that was too much for Ed Turner to resist,
a double backgammon providing the spectacular coup de grace.
As is often the case, the progressive consolation was slow to get
off the ground, more of which later. With only eleven point
matches in the main flight, however, the Intermediate category was
progressing excellently. There were twelve current Bristol
players, one former one -- Phil Doubtfire -- making a
welcome visit, and a contingent of three from Birmingham. Two of
the most strongly fancied players in terms of past results --
Ralph Eskinazi and Martin Hemming -- fell at the first
hurdle, rendering the flight wide open. Richard Owsley and
Simon Hughes were their conquerors.
In the last eight, it was left to Birmingham's Pat Holly to
fly the non-Bristol flag, a task she performed admirably,
progressing to a final meeting with Derek Clew, arranged
for noon on Sunday. Richard Holness and Simon Hughes had
cashed as losing semi-finalists.
Saturday evening featured the now customary Texas Hold 'Em event,
while the side events -- masterminded expertly by London's main
man, Mike Main -- also got under way.
Sunday morning came, and many eyes were focussed on the top
flight. From a Bristol perspective, seeing a last eight line-up
containing no fewer than five current Bristol players was a
tremendous sight. Two of those, Ed Turner and Ann Pocknell,
had got ahead of the pack and played their quarter-final the
previous evening, Ann coming out on top.
But Peter Edwards and Gaz Owen were also still in
contention, along with the more experienced Simonetta. Peter and
Gaz were to lose out extremely narrowly -- Peter to Shino, and Gaz
to Julian Fetterlein, while Simonetta moved on at the
expense of Martin Barkwill.
The non-Bristol semi-final saw Julian defeat Shino, while the
Bristol ladies went head to head, Simonetta eventually coming
through.
The final was a see-saw affair, with each player getting an eight
points windfall along the way. Losing nearly all of an 11-2 lead
at a single stroke might have seriously fazed Simonetta in times
gone by, but she steadfastly stuck to her guns and the match
arrived at DMP. She prevailed for the finest achievement of her
international career, even -- dare I say it -- eclipsing her last
sixteen placing in Monte Carlo last year.
In the progressive consolation things had moved on very well after
earlier worries about progress. Lawrence Powell eliminated Martin
Barkwill at the semi-final stage, while the Bristol flag was being
expertly carried by yet another top lady, Cecilia Sparke,
who edged home against Dave Moon to reach the final, having
earlier claimed the esteemed scalps of Raj Jansari and Mikael
Jensen. Lawrence was to prevail, but Bristol ladies taking three
of the top six prizes on offer is a staggering statistic.
The last chance, seven points all the way, proceeded without a
problem. The Danes, who had not been having the customary share of
the spoils in the other flights, began to make their mark, with
both Poul Lindberg and Michael Soerensen reaching the semis. Poul
went out to Mike Heard, but Michael made it all the way by
defeating Rida Hassan. And it was Michael who also won the final,
ensuring that Denmark would not return home entirely unrewarded.
The Intermediate final was another close affair, but Derek Clew
edged out Pat Holly to take the title. Derek has only been playing
live backgammon for a very short time, but he has impressed many
Bristol observers, to the extent that the win was no surprise. As
for the exceedingly modest Pat, she will hopefully be encouraged
to enter more events. Her ability certainly warrants this.
And the Birmingham Three all cashed! Ralph Eskinazi avenged his
main flight elimination at the hands of Richard Owsley by beating
him in the consolation final, while Fak Laight took the
last chance final with a win over Martin Hemming.
All was done and dusted, and the response from the players has
been generally good, with a couple of exceptions. In defence of
Tournament Director Ian Tarr, he may somehow have acquired
a reputation as a top TD, but it should be remembered that when it
comes to large events like this, he is still pretty inexperienced.
His style is to attempt to bridge the gap between the relaxed,
laissez faire approach and its draconian opposite, and this is
sometimes a hard path to steer. One criticism was entirely
justified -- the initial draw for the Championship progressive
consolation was skewed against those who were unlucky enough not
to get a bye in the main.
Another criticism surrounded the lack of communication with a
player who was awaiting a match with a player who had retired for
the day on the TD's advice. These imperfections were unfortunate,
but will be eliminated when we assemble for the fourth Bristol
Open in 2009, which Ian and co-organiser Roland Herrera are
now firmly committed to staging.
As a footnote, the organisers would like to thank the many players
who contributed their help in so many ways, large and small. The
presence of our great friend Mike Main was a vastly reassuring
one, and Nicky Check contributed some constructive help.
Mark Dixon ran the poker, Chris and Cynthia Roberts
stepped in to help with the preparation of food, some players
bought the organisers drinks and made them coffee, a handful of
players arrived early to help set up, and some stayed behind to
help with the tidy up.
All in all, a fine team effort, and our thoughts are now firmly
set on a bigger and better event next year.
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