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22nd June 2010
48 Entries, 9 Tournaments, 30 Players, £1395 Prize Fund,
Tobias Hellwag wins Jackpot.
Tobias Hellwag
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A few years ago I attempted to run a backgammon tournament when
England were playing Denmark in either the World or European Cup.
Actually "attempted" is an exaggeration; everybody went to watch
the game and nobody came to play backgammon so I too joined
everybody else in front of a television. But England were not
playing in the South African World Cup this evening and besides
it's a moot point if England have actually played any proper
football thus far in South Africa. But at least we're not is such
disarray as the French are who are now, as I write, travelling 2nd
class back to France where I expect they will be given a
traditional revolutionary reception at La Bastille. Our D Day
comes tomorrow and Capello is no Churchill. Argentina have been
one of the few teams on form thus far so, given that they were
playing this evening, I wondered how many backgammon players would
come along this evening.
30 came. Hay, that's cool! Jackpot 1 went to £50 with an optional
pool of another £100. Jackpot 2 was a £25 affair, we had a £10
Swiss, a £10 Round Robin for 4, 2 7.30pm arrivals and a couple of
8.00pm arrivals for a workshop.
Two areas of interest in the running of tournaments this evening:
Clock play and friends playing friends. I sense that Jackpot
players are getting keener on clock play and I'm now wondering if
our current policy of "if matches are running behind schedule
we'll put clocks on them" is the correct one. Should we move to
"Clock Preference"? I.E. If either Jackpot player or the T.D.
wants to play on a clock then a clock play match it shall be. But
I'm not going to rush headlong into this; a survey of players will
be going out soon which will decide that.
Some players come along to our events with their mates or
partners. Whilst I realise that if they play backgammon together
outside of Bg in London events it might not be highly desirable
for them to be drawn against each other at our events, but there's
a but... should I rig a draw so that a Mr & Mrs or two friends do
not play each other in Round 1? No. To do so would be unfair on
other players. The history of tournament backgammon played in
London tells us not to go down that path because it damn near
killed off another club a few years ago. So let me be clear on
this matter: I don't rig draws and I won't rig draws. If partners
(of any sort) do not wish to be drawn against each other, it's
simple; don't play in the same tournament. By 7.30pm we usually
have at least 4 different tournaments on the go so there are
choices available. Here endeth my sermon.
Edward Leighton progressed in quick time to the Jackpot 1 final
while Nicky Check and Tobias Hellwag were still playing their
Round 1 match so Edward went to eat sushi across the canal.
Shortly after, at 8.15pm, Zoe informed me that The Canalside
kitchen was now closed. What? It should be open until 9.00pm. I
questioned the barman about this and then called for the manager
who explained to me that they have had a change of kitchen closing
time. Seeing as the chef had already left there was little I could
do no the evening about this but will be speaking to the
management of the Canalside Bar this week about it. Meanwhile
players found food elsewhere - not ideal at all. In Jackpot 1
Round 2 Tobias played Michel Bach on a clock. Mike George and
Kenroy Brown became the Jackpot 2 finalists.
In our Swiss Tournament it was Alan Beckerson who won with Monica,
David Garofalo and Colin Kristov winning their entry fee back by
winning 2 out of 3. As other players lost in Jackpots 1 & 2 so we
set up a string of Mini-Jackpots, 2 of which were SpeedGammon
Tournaments which seem to be becoming more popular with every
session we run.
A chap called Ossie had called me during the day asking about a
workshop. He'd arrived at about 8.00pm with his friend Harry. For
their future reference I explained how we run tournaments then
Richard Biddle sat down to play an explanation 3 pointer with
them. It was great; placed in the centre of the bar with other
players joining in as and when they could so that camaraderie was
part of it as well. The 3 pointer took up the rest of the evening
and Ossie and Harry seemed to really enjoy the vibe. See yous
again and thanx Richard and others.
Back to Jackpot 1. Tobias Hellwag is our second German player to
currently be living in London. Like Uli Koch, Tobias is making his
mark with us and did so this evening by winning Jackpot 1. Will
England play Germany in the World Cup? Yee Gads! Jackpot 2 went to
Kenroy, Monica won a Mini-Jackpot while Catalin won a Mini-Jackpot
then a SpeedGammon and Nicky Check stayed on to also win a
Mini-Jackpot & Speedgammon. Sean Williams won the 4 player Round
Robin.
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