11th Bright ‘n’ Breezy 2008

Report by Michael Crane to follow

Click here for pictures taken by Mahmoud Jahanbani

Before leaving home I looked at the weather forecast, paying especial interest in the Brighton area - the 5-Day Forecast told me: Wind & Rain, Wind & Rain, Wind & Rain . . . . need I go further? Needless to say, it was spot on. Mind you it wasn't all gloom, well not for the weekend's winners, it wasn't. In the first of the Friday 500 (42), Paul Barwick tore through the field like the wind outside tore through your warm winter undies. Martin Barkwill tried to stop him in the final but he was blown away. Not only does Paul take an immediate lead with 20 points in the 500, he also walks away with a free weekend at The Ship and one for the Barceló English Open in June; well done, Paul.

Was John Hurst able to win his third Bright 'n' Breezy Main (90) in a row and continue his winning streak after the UK Masters? The short answer is No! Despite the luxury of a bye and beating Irving Czechowicz in the 2nd Round, he was then knocked out by George Miltiadou; and then George fell to Howard Furr-Barton in the next round, an action that propelled Howard into the Last 8:

Mark Heidenfeld vs Ray Kershaw;
David Barker vs Mike Heard
Roy Hollands vs Adrian Jones
Arthur Musgrove vs Howard Furr-Barton

Mark was the only one of the eight that had won the event before (2004) and he had his sights set on doing a 'Hurst' and getting his name on the trophy twice. In each of the fixtures above the former player won - and Mark was on track. David tried to block his progress but Mark wasn't being cooperative; and in the bottom half of the draw, Roy took on Arthur and rolled his way into the final. Unfortunately for Roy the final didn't go his way at all. I have yet to input the match into Snowie, but poor Roy was unable to even score a single point as a wind-backed Mark stormed through the match, sailing to an 11-0 victory. Were the Dice Gods against Roy? Did they favour Mark? Hopefully these questions will be answered after the analysis. So, Mark gets his name on the trophy for the second time, and in the process he qualifies as the first entrant in the Gilbertson UK Finals; well done, Mark. No doubt he'll be aiming for a 3rd engraving next January . . . and who can stop him?

Main: Roy & Mark	Consolation: Rachel & Rida

In the Progressive Consolation (86) the new Excel spreadsheet made my job a lot easier and all those weeks (and I am not joking!) of hard work and brain-sapping writing were worthwhile as the boxes filled themselves in and the draw hummed nicely along. From the Non-Prog side Ray Tannen & Bill Young, and Andy Bell & Rachel Rhodes battled it out in the 'semi-final', battles from which Bill emerged to play against Rachel . . . and Rachel emerged victorious to go into the Consolation final. Here she awaited the outcome of the Progressive 'semi' between Ray Kershaw (last 4) and Rida Hassan (last 8). New-member, Rida saw off Ray, and then he saw off Rachel to win his first ever Biba trophy. Well done, Rida.

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My boast of the BB being the favourite of many backgammon players from around the world proved true when Rida (Egypt) was joined by Michel Lamote when Michel beat former world champion, Philip Vischjager in the final of the Last Chance (64). The Tidal Wave (64) saw two 'local' players fight it out in the bar due to the fact that we had to vacate the playing-room. Ed Turner fell at the last fence when he was beaten by Ian Davidson. Tidal Wave: Ian, Sharen & Ed Unfortunately the Last Chance picture of Michel & Philip foiled to come out.

Of course, there was also action on the Saturday evening. We had a very noisy and raucous Team (19) event. With two teams, 9 and 8 on either side of the single board, there was bound to be a bit of bovver . . . and there was! At one stage the barracking from one side was so powerful that the opposing team captain walked out! This departure was greeted by cheers and jeers from both sides of the table . . . and when the captain returned a little later, the cheers and jeers were repeated! Eventually it all settled down to a 3 vs 2 team, and it was the 2 that prevailed, Ian Davidson and Dorothy Lee; who, seeing the time was 3.30am Sunday, decided to stay Joint 1st and split the pot. Good idea! The Poker (22) was a success, well it was for winner, Philip Vischjager. Roy Hollands (who openly admits to not knowing anything about how poker is played) came in 2nd, followed by Paul Learmount, John Batty and Alison Lee. It goes without saying, these five lead the Poker Grand Prix. Nicky Check's £50 Jackpot (4) wasn't as well supported as he'd hoped but that didn't stop him from winning it and leaving Rachel Rhodes in 2nd place!

Finally
The weekend was a bit like the curate's egg, good and bad. From my point of view it was a great venue and the playing-rooms were superb, spacious and sparkling. I enjoyed the meals and my room was adequate considering the age of the hotel. However, some members didn't have the same experience. The restaurant failed in several ways - especially when serving tables of 6 and 10 guests; this led to some of the food being lukewarm and even cold a couple of times. One guest, ordering a vegetarian meal was served one containing fish and meat! Although the bars and rooms on the Reception level were well decorated and bright and airy, the bedrooms (of some guests) were not as good as they could (or should) be. One room even had a gale blowing in through a broken window pane - how was that missed by housekeeping? The curtains billowing out at right angles to the window should have been a major clue! I am afraid the hotel is like an aging actress; no longer will a lick of mascara and a dab of foundation cream cover up the cracks and lines. Something more substantial is needed - like a facelift.

One thing that that stood out for me was the staff. I couldn't fault them. They were attentive and helpful and made sure the playing-rooms were properly served and looked after . . . . which was lacking at the Hilton, I'm afraid to say. My thanks to all concerned in making it a good venue for the tournament. If I can get a good deal and the Manager will have us, I think we'll be back next year. Watch the calendar for details.

Footnote: There was only one ruling incident that marred the weekend . . . surprise, surprise, it was a clock issue! I had to assign a clock to one match and as a consequence one of the players involved lost on time. He wasn’t very happy about it (as you can imagine), and when he complained to me about my decision to impose a clock he said, “You did the same thing to me last year!”