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22nd January 2008
60 Entries, 8 Tournaments, 44 Players, £1258 Prize Fund,
Eric Guedj wins Jackpot. |
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Player numbers at a Bg in Camden back in the 40s from the 50s and
the prize fund down. It’s January therefore many are paying off
those credit cards Christmas bills instead of spending. On an
annual comparison attendance in Jan ’07 (just the one event last
year) dipped into the 30s from the 40s. Also this evening Arsenal
were playing Tottenham in the League, Milk, Carling (whatever it’s
called this year) Semi-Final in a North London derby this evening.
So 44 players at a third Bg in London event in Jan ’08 is a good
figure. My prediction was the low 30s so I’m back to being out on
my predictions!
Only 9 players were interested in a minimum £50 Jackpots. While I
didn’t expect this figure to be in the 20s I also was slightly
disappointed to see it less than 12. This I imagine is in some
part due to the introduction of the Auction Commission which I
thought might lead to some voting with their feet. That of course
is their prerogative. However if players are unhappy I would
prefer them to talk to me about it rather than just turn their
backs and say nothing to me. I’m not an autocrat. For Bg in London
it must work for all parties. The BMPs are certainly a party and I
imagine they would like their voice to be heard rather than not.
Basically Bg in London needs to achieve a turn-over in order to
survive. If that doesn't happen then Bg in London will cease
operation and London Backgammoners will be back behind square one
- without yet another Bg organisation providing them venues and
players to play their chosen game. £5 per head per evening does
not produce enough of a turnover so cash needs to be generated by
another method. The Auctionable charge is in effect only playable
by the winners of the Auctionable Tournaments. Those 7 players
that lose in an Auctionable Tournament only pay their £5
registration. If big money players wish to find other venues to
play and can generate from that a constant stream of new players
promoting themselves to big money play from lesser money play then
that of course is their choice. I understand that some of the big
money players see the registration fee and the Auctionable
Tournaments fees are a double charge and I'm sorry if they view it
as such.
In other countries in Europe bg players are used to paying a rake.
I ran 35 x 4 player Jackpots at the WSOB UK Masters in November
which had a huge field of northern European players - mostly
Scandinavian. A 10% rake was charged on all those Jackpots and the
only one player to mutter about it was an Englishman. To
Scandinavians a rake is the norm - and look at the standard of
Scandinavian backgammon. This is no coincidence. If players want
professional backgmmmon it's simple - they must pay something back
to the game in order for the game to be provided at a professional
standard. As I've said if players are unhappy about this then I'd
like them to contact me and for us to discuss this matter.
Meanwhile back in The Lockside Lounge….. our 9 players were
reduced to 8 when I took the entry fee up to £70 and the remain 8
were all happy to play for £100 each. 4 players were up for
playing for £25 so we got them started hoping that another 4 would
join soon. Then we had 14 players who commenced play for a tenner
a head, 4 at £5 a head and 4 at £1 a head. By 7.30 we had 6
Tournaments on the go. Late arrivals (there had been a bad
accident on Chalk Farm Road) were slotted into these and by 8.00
pm we had over 40 active players.
Some members of The Imperial College Backgammon Club had joined us
this evening and were standing at the bar watching away when I
approached them. They had been holding back because the entry fees
were too high for them. No worries – we’ll have a £1 Tournament.
Soon they were playing away with some other first time Bg in
London players. Of the other first timers a mention must be given
to Solly if only because you can hear Solly from a mile away. It’s
mostly his laughter that does this and from that he generates fun
and enthusiasm in those around him. He got walloped in his 1st
match, came back into another, lost that and came back into a
third which went the same was as the others – but he was still
laughing and joking away.
Up in T1 Eric Guedj saw off his mate Andy Bell, Raj polished off
Edward, Michael Michael saw for John B and George S did for Nicky
C. In Round 2 Eic motored through George. Eric is over in London
on business so was looking for a reasonable early night. Having
gained a place in the Final he was interested in doing a split.
However the other two Semi-Finalists were not interested. I was
asked if anything could be arranged. And so my only T.D. decision
of the night happened. The answer was no – the arrangement as far
as our rules are concerned is that the Prize Fund goes to the
winner. It is handed over to the two finalists in case they wish
to do a deal but if one of them insists that they wish the Prize
Fund to go to the winner only then that’s that. End of story. Eric
had a drink while he kicked his heals and waited for the outcome
of the other Semi-Final. Slightly later, Raj fell of his
bandwagon. Repeat/reiterate: Raj lost. He is fallible after all!
Bravo Michael Michael. So Eric and Michael sat down to play. Eric
recently became the French National Backgammon Champion 2007. The
format is tough. It commences with Swiss followed by a best of 3
matches system. As such it must be as much a test of endurance as
well a play against strong opposition. Back here in Camden Eric
had little trouble in this final and won it 7-0. Early night
achieved.
Half way through the evening I took the opportunity to make an
announcement about next weeks BG in London event. It’ll be a Bg in
The City on MONDAY 28th Jan.
The inaugural Bg in The City evening (last week) was a pleasant
evening but we were only 24 players. I know compared to some
previous bg venues that's an excellent figure and as a first time
meet not a bad kick off figure at all but the honest fact is that
if Bg in The City is going to be able to continue in this venue we
need more players to attend.
The pub we are using (The King's Stores) has opened their upstairs
function room (with bar) for us so that we have plenty of room to
shake dice etc. However just 24 players does not produce enough
business for the Landlord to warrant opening up upstairs and
laying on the extra member of staff (excellent) required to man
the bar, to serve drinks to tables (a nice touch) and take orders
for meals (better than at The Lockside Lounge and mostly £7.50)
and serve them to active or non-active players. Granted the
kitchen did close at 8.00 pm which was too early for most players
to eat so next time it'll be open until 9.00 maybe 9.30 pm to
solve this problem.
On MONDAY 28th Jan we’re looking to achieve a good turnout of
players (minimum 40) otherwise we're probably looking for a new
venue in The City. That would be a step backwards rather than the
required forwards. It's basically the bar and kitchen spend that
needs to increase. This can be achieved with approx. 40 players.
I'm also aware that a lot of those city workers finish work at
approx. 5.00 pm so I'm sending out a suggestion that players might
like to eat downstairs between 6.00 pm and 7.00 pm before bg play
commences upstairs.
So it’s all down to
Bg in The City on MONDAY 28th please if you can. Thank you.
New players often win at Bg in Camdens and this evening was no
exception. Alf won T5 and Viktor won T6. The funny thing was that
earlier on in the evening I was told by the Imperial College Gang
that Viktor wasn’t really one of their players but after he had
won he apparently was. Ok – no explanation required; I think I’ve
got the gist! Gerhard was with us this evening after a break of
absence of what must be a couple of months. His return was crowned
by winning T3. John Reddington also made his mark on the
proceeding by storming though to the final of T4 before other 1st
round matches were still in progress. After a longish wait he also
won the final against Monica Beckerson. Having lost in round 1 of
T2 Phil C entered and won T7 and a late arriving Martin Barkwill
won the 4 player T8. The last match of the evening was the final
of the 7 pointer £25 entry Tournament that had started with only 4
players but had gown to 8 players by 8.00 pm. In a shortened to a
3 pointer final it was Sean Williams who won it.
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