Backgammon in London @ Biba 5, 6, 7 September 2008

Report by Michael Crane

Mike Main, the sponsor of the event is a man of many trophies. Last year he provided so many trophies that everyone who entered went home with one! OK, so I'm exaggerating, but it was pretty close. This year the turnout was double that of last year and entrants actually had to compete for a trophy!

In the Main (42) one of the keenest entrants was Peter Bennet; already on 10 consecutive wins in 11-point matches and the recipient of the prestigious 1000-to-1 Trophy, Peter was aiming a lot higher and going for 20 wins in a row, which would earn him a Million-to-One trophy! Unfortunately it was not to be, he was knocked out in his 3rd match when he went up against Andy Darby in the quarter-finals. He didn't get his Million-to-One but with 12 wins he did equal Michael Brereton's total which has stood since 2001.

Peter's peers in the last 8 were, Zoe Cunnngham vs Sean Williams (husband and wife pairing - been married two weeks!); Marcus Wrinch vs Chris Ternel; Mike Heard vs Lawrence Powell. In each pairing the latter won. The semi-finals saw Sean lose to Andy and Lawrence lose to Chris, resulting in a Chris vs Andy final.

I have yet to plonk the match into Snowie so I can't relate any positions (I have to get the Bibafax formatted and to the printers by tomorrow morning) but the match went Chris's way and he came out the winner.

Chris Ternel	Andy Darby

Nicky Check	Richard Owsley

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In the Consolation (38) there was a bit of controversy when it became clear that the draw (as devised by Mike and powered by his spreadsheet drawsheet) was biased against Main 1st Round losers and biased towards Main 2nd losers who had a bye in the Main. The upshot was there became a two-round gap between the two entries which meant that the 1st Round Consolation entrants had to play 7 rounds and the others, 5 rounds. Also, the draw pitched a few players against the opponents they were knocked out in the 1st Round of the Main. The drawsheet used by Biba is free from such 'problems' so players are less likely to get double-byes or meet the same player twice in the same event.

None of the Consolation non-prog 1st rounders made it to the last four in their draw, these places went to Myke Wignall vs Simonetta Herrera and Richard Owsley vs David Motley - encounters from which we had a 'final' between Myke and Richard from which new-member, Richard went into the Consolation final. Here he met Nicky Check from the prog side who had beaten Marcus Wrinch in the semi. Nicky proved a bit too much for Richard to handle as Nicky left Richard in 2nd place.

Phil Tutchings and Jeff Barber	Daniel Tutchings and Lee Wood

Having faired badly in the Main and Consolation, Jeff Barber played into the Last Chance (16) final to face Phil Tutchings. Jeff had already beaten Phil's son, Daniel in Round 2 and Phil was hoping to regain the family honour - but Jeff was having nothing to do with him as he took home the winner's trophy. Not to be outdone, Daniel powered his way into the Mad Monkey (16) final where he hoped to prevail where his dad had floundered - but his opponent, Lee Wood wouldn't give in and it was Lee who brought about the second, Tutchings Runner-up place of the weekend.

In the Friday 500 (12) it was David Nathan who took home the Weekend Break when he beat Julian Fetterlein in the final. The battle between Myke Wignall and Nicky Check continues as each vies for the top spot and the £100 prize money! Myke went a couple of rounds ahead of Nicky and Nicky's 1st place was relegated to 2nd. Mind you, the £100 could still go to someone else, there are a few within striking distance. Also, there are quite a few who can still make the Final 16, all they need to do is enter and win a few rounds! There is the Sandy Osborne (Oct) and the Townharbour (Nov) left to enter. Book now! Click here for latest Friday 500 list

Gang - Nicky Check	Poker - Myke Wignall

On Saturday evening a couple of events took place. One, The Gang (9) saw two teams battling it out, loudly and rowdily, for a shot at the 'winner-takes-all' fund. My team was robbed (yet again!) and the winning team split in two and then in two again until Nicky Check emerged the winner - for which he got one of Mike's many trophies. The second event of the Saturday evening was the Poker (9). Won by Myke Wignall, the changes to the listing were not major, but Rosey Bensley has been nudged out of the money and Myke Wignall gains on the top position. Paul and Tony are keeping him at bay, but with two more poker nights, October & November, there could still be some major changes. Certainly Lawrence will be in the money as soon as he gets in that 5th entry. Click here for latest poker list

So, that's the end of the Biba elements, but Mike had a few more trophies to shift and he did so with three jackpots, Friday - Saturday and Sunday, the winners of which were David Motley, John Reddington and Jeff Barber. I'm not 100% certain but I suspect Mike handed out a few more trophies, but by this time I'd lost count!

David Motley	John Reddington	Jeff Barber

Finally
I'd like to thank Mike for sponsoring the event and for being the 'director' and allowing me to 'assist'. Also I'd like to thank him on behalf of the many, many, many trophy winners for the many, many, many trophies! No doubt if you log onto his web site, Backgammon in London Mike will be posting his own report and more pictures.