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10 Koca-Hansen, WSOB Round Three, Riviera Cup Final.
This fantastic conclusion to the PartoucheGammon.com WSOB RIVIERA
CUP saw Great Dane Gus sink deep into the mire against UBK as he
is now known on the message boards (“Unflappable Bob Koca”).
8-2 to UBK in quick time before Gus showed all of his best
grafting abilities and poker bluffing doubling skills to force the
match into DMP. Gus briefly went favourite to threaten a fairytale
comeback, but UBK flapped over the line.
9 Doing An Olsen.
This could just become everyday backgammon parlance, and is
already used in my local chouette. It refers to voluntarily
leaving yourself odd at the back with your opponent closed out on
the roof, giving yourself a bad 55 or 66. To lose due to this
error is said to be “internet dice” due to the freakish nature of
the parlay; but it CAN happen and did in spectacular fashion to
poor ACO (Andreas Christian Olsen) in his WSOB Championship match
with world champion Trabbi. It cost ACO, Denmark’s number-3 ranked
player, a cool 20,000 euros in equity.
8 Excitement of the WSOB Race.
The Riviera Cup crackled with intrigue all throughout the Main,
the Consolation and the Last Chance. Top players everywhere
behaving like kids in a candy store gazing with pleading eyes at
the big jar of gobstoppers just out of their reach. My only
quibble is that less than a handful spots were up for grabs… Next
time around perhaps WSOB might open things up a little more, to
say, 12 live qualifiers, and then get set for the fur to really
fly! Also, perhaps the winning of a major event is triumph enough,
and shouldn’t guarantee entry to the WSOB championship. This would
mean that the tournament winners won’t have the option to sit the
other events out, as John Hurst cannily did. (Agreed, ED)
7 Nicky Check-Kenny Nissen, Riviera Cup Quarter-final.
A real classic, between a juggernaut: chairman of the Danish
Backgammon federation, and a nervy, edgy, at times
hyper-ventilating British journeyman who tends to have his fans
peeking out from behind the furniture – watching Nicky play is not
for the squeamish. The match went to the formbook with Nissen
grinding Check down for the 8-3 lead, before Check dug in deeper
than he ever has before to find himself leading 11-10. Nissen wins
the next and it’s Crawford. Checks blitzes for all he’s worth and
with the help of a magical 22 closes out Nissen for the all but
certain gammon and win. Unless he gets hit off the roof. He does!
So close to a famous victory, but surely not to be. But Check
wriggles, and wriggles some more. The crowd are spellbound. Check
somehow gives himself a 66 shot from Nissen’s ace-point to spring
himself to game, set and match. IT’S THERE!
6 Undisputed Success of the WSOB “Final Table”.
Backgammon’s longest day, it will live in memory for all who saw
it. There were some magnificent matches, two of which are listed
in their own right below, and moments of scintillating drama. One
thing for sure, the short matches still gave ample opportunity for
the players to show moments of incredible skill: Bob Koca’s Take
against Falafel being the shining example. Being blitzed to
kingdom come, Koca’s fabulous Take gave him the passport to go on
and win the match. And why did he take? Because he’d studied the
position in practice. Not luck therefore, just skill. There was a
flip side too: the high pressure combat produced some incredible
blunders. Rzymann’s 44 in the bear-off let in Andrieu for a
100,000 euro jackpot, Olsen (above), and of course Carlsson
infamously neglecting to point-on Simonsen’s head. Amazing –
errors you wouldn’t normally see in a 1000 games of live play.
5 Rzymann-Mathiesen, WSOB Round Two, Nordic Open Final.
This fantastic match captivated the huge crowd. The purist
Mathiesen, well known for his coaching abilities, against the wild
and wily Rzymann, who never knows when he’s beaten. Rzymann had
two major problems in the match: being constantly behind, and
screaming for a comfort break. However, he had used up both the
breaks he’d been allocated so had to quite literally sweat it out.
A remarkably inspiring comeback saw Rzymann go 16-14, but
Mathiesen had him locked in a seemingly hopeless deuce point game
in Crawford. Rzymann hit a last gasp shot, and the race was a
nerve-shredder. It came down to Mathiesen needing a double off his
last throw. Great theatre as he prowled the studio floor, taking
run-ups and flinging his dice all over the stage – anywhere but
the board. Finally, miraculously both dice found their target, but
Mathiesen couldn’t find the double.
4 Hurst-Plenz, WSOB Round One, the UK Masters Final.
A magnificent match full of some spectacular moments, even better
than the brilliant Hurst-Westerman semi. Both matches often
involved Hurst rolling jokers sent straight from the angels, or
almost maniacal cube action by said party. The final DMP game
remains with all who saw it. Breathless punch and
counter-punching, with Hurst squeaking home when all seemed lost.
Hurst’s cube action all throughout the UK Masters was the key to
his success, and he is deserves the plaudits for his fearless
approach.
3 Falafel-Bredahl WSOB Quarter-Final.
Backgammon’s equivalent of Federer-Nadal. The world’s number one
versus Bredahl who sailed to both the Nordic and Riviera
Consolation Finals – a remarkable achievement, which makes Bredahl
arguably the world’s hottest tournament player right now. The two
gladiators cancelled each other out, and arrived deep into the DMP
game with the identical positions of both trying to bearing in
against the 4-point off the ten point. Incredible tension as
Falafel it was who left the shot, Bredahl uncharacteristically
missed and we were into a nip and tuck race after Bredahl’s 44.
Falafel won by a whisker. Scintillating drama, with 40,000 euros
at stake. And mind you, Bredahl’s match with Tardieu in the
previous round wasn’t bad either!
2 Hurst 8-cube to Krancheva, Quarter-final, UK Masters.
For me, the most exciting single moment of the whole year. To
remind you, Krancheva had already cubed Hurst to 4 earlier,
correct by just 0.003, and now here, with the match score 4-2 to
Hurst, he cubes to 8 with two on his 6 point, and then one, one,
one, one. Krancheva has three on her six-point and then gap, one,
one, one. And Hurst IS ALSO correct by 0.003 to cube!! But what
guts to lay the match on the line like that – pure instinct, he
thought for less than five seconds. The cube is doubly brilliant,
not just for its wafer-thin correctness, but for Hurst reading his
opponent expertly. He felt there just a small chance Krancheva
would incorrectly pass. Which…after some considerable anguish…and
much reflection… SHE DID!! It’s a triple blunder and gave up
around 10% in match-winning chances. Backgammon is not a game for
the faint-hearted, and here we saw huge courage – and a very faint
heart.
1 Falafel vs Korper, WSOB Championship round of 16 (R1)
A true David and Goliath contest. If ever a match captured the
spirit and thrilling nature of backgammon this was it. The number
one Giant versus, quite literally, the million-to-one outsider.
This is what Dutchman Aron Korper would have had to do to win the
WSOB, by winning TWENTY matches in a row. Korper was just what
you’d expect someone who had never played a live event and paid
just 4 euros to win a 10,000 euro seat to be like: nervous,
perspiring, wide-eyed, star-struck, slightly over-awed, but with a
polished, tight, no-frills game that the harsh world of internet
backgammon will often produce. Falafel dominated the first two
games, but slipped-up badly in game two by being too afraid to
cube when up in the race. Finally, he cashed, and Korper grimly
claimed Crawford. The DMP game will live long in the memory: the
crowd in the players ‘Green Room’ baying for Korper’s blood,
whilst at the same time cheering vociferously for the underdog to
put out arguably the biggest threat. The atmosphere was electric
as Korper ran into real time trouble… and was desperately trying
to time a complicated 2,4 back game. But he was staying afloat;
Falafel was going to leave shots here! THERE’S the DOUBLE SHOT!
But Korper couldn’t find the hit. Another shot! Missed again, and
Falafel was home, but only just. What a battle.
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So it’s all over. Three great tournaments, and one sweet cherry on
top in the form of the WSOB Championship. It won’t be easy to wait
a few months to do it all over again. I, for one, will be there,
determined to improve on my record of 11 wins, 9 losses, this time
around. Falafel will be there too, he writes to me:
“A fantastic end to a great competition. I’m looking forward to
next season’s events.”
And the last word goes to Carter Mattig: “How many French
photographers are needed to beat four Danes?”
“Just the one.”
And such is the mystery – and magic – of backgammon. Although
three big name players made it to the semis of the WSOB final
table, that element of luck allowed the unknown amateur to sneak
in and win the jackpot.
Bye for now!
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