The English Open, 3, 4, 5, June 2011

Report by Michael Crane

Main (22): A turnout of 22 was a bit disappointing. I had guaranteed a first prize of £350 and it fell a bit short, but the winner got what was promised. Before this weekend we had four out of six tournaments this year won by a Julian: Minalla @ 3 - Fetterlein @ 1, and in two of Minwalla's finals, Fetterlein had been Runner-Up! So, what were the odds a Julian would become the new English Open Champion? Well, Julian Minwalla got off to a very poor start when he lost in the first round to Michelle Ford. Julian was leading 10-5 Crawford when Michelle fought back to take the match. So, this left Julian Fetterlein to keep the Julian's going. Already the winner of seven main titles, he was soon on his way as he made the Sunday semi-finals where he met and beat, George Hall (Biba World Champion 2010). In the other semi-final, Marc Turner (yet to win a main title) beat Chris Ternel (winner of four mains including Biba World Championship 2009 & the UK Finals 2010), a good scalp for Marc.

So, could Marc stop the run of Julians? Sadly, no. Julian took an early lead, 3-0. Marc pulled it back to 3-3 but from thereon Julian edged up a gear and Marc failed to win another point. A summary by XG rated both players quite highly, Julian @ World-class and Marc @ Advanced - despite Mark making 31 errors of which 12 were blunders! By comparison, Julian made just 8 errors (based upon XG Roller+ analysis). Here, (without comment) are Julian's eight errors and XG's preferred move for comparison.

Game 1 - Julian 0 Marc 0 JF: 25/20, 9/6 XG: 25/20, 7/4*	Game 4 - Julian 3 Marc 1 JF: 24/18, 13/7(23) XG: 24/18(2), 13/7(2)
Game 5 - Julian 3 Marc 3 JF: 5/2 XG: 9/6	Game 6 - Julian 5 Marc 3 JF: 10/5, 2/1 XG: 10/5, 8/7 & 10/5, 7/6
Game 7 - Julian 9 Marc 3 JF: 11/7, 6/1 XG: 11/7, 8/3	Game 8 - Julian 10 Marc 3 Crawford JF: 13/8, 7/4 XG: 21/16, 7/4
Game 8 - Julian 10 Marc 3 Crawford JF: 8/1 XG: 16/9	Game 8 - Julian 10 Marc 3 Crawford JF: 11/9, 11/8 XG: 16/11

This match is available in JellyFish, Snowie or XG format. Email info@backgammon-biba.co.uk stating your preference.

Main: Julian and Marc

Meanwhile, in the Consolation (18), Richard Biddle and Gerry Enslin, both of whom had lost in the Main 1/4 Finals, each made it to the Consolation Final via their Progressive entry. Neither player had won a Consolation before and after the match was over, Richard still hadn't!

Consolation: Richard and Gerry	Last Chance: Phil and Mark

The Last Chance (16) was an open draw in which the initial intake of eight players, four were allowed re-entry on their first-round loss, and four entrants in the Consolation had a reserved place waiting for them. However, the two finalists, Phil Tutchings and Mark Calderbank made it through from the initial draw, and it was Mark that prevailed in the Final to win his first Biba trophy.

The Grammy: Marc, Michael and Myke	The Tee Shirt

With such a low turnout the Grammy (8) was a smaller knockout than usual, but, that being said, it was good little event, named after a good friend and backgammon player, Grahame Powell. Grahame died of cancer 10 July, 2007 at the age of fifty. Since his death I have named the Grammy after him and worn 'his' tee shirt in his memory. Now, if you think this tee shirt is in bad taste, then you're mistaken and obviously didn't know Grahame! To get an idea of the man he was, take a look at his obituary HERE. Anyway, back to the Grammy. The final was fought between Marc Turner and Myke Wignall, and it was the latter that won the Grammy - which pleased Myke no end, he being a good friend of Grahame. Incidentally, the 1-Point Knockout (19) Final was also fought over by Myke and Marc, and Myke prevailed for a second time!

On Saturday night the Poker (6) saw Myke Wignall comment wryly, "I see all the top players are left in" as he went out, leaving Anabel Carrington, Mardi Ohannessian, George Hall and Mick Harris at the table. The winner was Anabel, and the remainder are in the order mentioned. Mark Calderbank, organiser, was the first to go out and this early exit prompted him to take a look at the last-table bonus when fewer than 8 players sit down to play. More on this on the Poker web page later.

Also, on the Saturday night we had the Doubles (5). 'You Can't Be Serious' shaved 'One and a Half Beards' in the semi, and 'Indifferent' were totally indifferent to 'Strangers in the Night' as they went into the Final. But, their indifference wasn't enough and 'You Can't Be Serious' went out the winners.

Of course, the weekend kicked off with the Friday 500 (8), an event that saw last month's finalists, Myke Wignall and Anabel Carrington each going out in the Final to Tim Line and Gerry Enslin respectively. In the Final it was Tim who took home the Weekend Break first prize.

Finally. It wasn't the best turnout ever, but, no matter how many turnout, Biba is always there to stage the tournament. I'm just grateful that twenty-two others joined me!