They never knew what hit them. He came across all jovial and jolly and self effacing, but behind the facade of bonhomie there lurked a killer; a ruthless roller and fearless mover who, 'though showing 'respect', had none for any of his victims. First it was Myke Wignall in the Keren di Bona. Poor Myke was bludgeoned from behind and he was left reeling and dizzy with just three points. Next it was David Nathan at the Backpacker. David faired little better than Myke, he was left shell-shocked and trembling with just four points.

Finally, Tony Lee was drawn into his lair. Like something out of the Little Shop of Horrors, Tony was sucked in by an oversized Venus flytrap dangling dubious cubes and suspect moves to entice him in. However; Tony managed to put up a bit of a fight . . . but it was all in vain, his only consolation: eight points. It wasn't enough and Tony was led crying and muttering out of the playing room by two men dressed in white towards a waiting van and oblivion.

So, can anyone beat Tom Duggan? It appears not! Here's a few cube decisions made during Game 2 of the Main(22) when Tom (black) was leading Tony by 2-0.

11 point match
Black 2 White 0
Black cube action

Tom, leading by just 9 pips ships across a dubious 2-cube. Tony - who (usually) knows a thing or two about cubing snatched it up. Tom is too flat around the board and his 3-prime in his outer board is sure to crunch. Sixes play awkwardly (except 66) and giving the cube away in this position is a marginal blunder @ -0.117.

White cube action

A lot has happened since Tony snatched up the cube and it is he that now ships across a dubious re-cube. Now it is sixes that are awkward to play for him . . . it's deja vous all over again - the race is almost level and the re-cube is another marginal blunder @ -0.118! Without a second's thought, Tom snatches the cube back.

Black cube action

At last, a correct cube action: Re-double, pass.

Eventually Tom takes the match to Crawford, 10-1; and then something really wonderful happens: not only does Tony fight back and prevail, but the entire game is played without errors or blunders and each player is deemed extra-terrestrial by Snowie! Unfortunately for Tony this high level of expertise didn't last and Tom finally clinched his third consecutive victory, 10-8.

PS: Here's a tip if you're playing Tom when using his dice. According to the Snowie dice statistics, 2s and 5s came out far more often than expected. Theoretically each number (1 to 6) should be appear 137.3, but 2s came out @ 160 and 5s @ 150. I remember that many of the 2s were accompanied by a 3 . . . so look out for 32!

In the Consolation(20), only one of the progressive entrants made it to the final, Uldis Lapikens. Here he met with Ray Tannen. After a little hiccup they both sat down to play and it was Uldis that came out the winner; which stood him in good stead for the Grand Prix Championship when he was propelled into 2nd place.

The Poker(3) was a non-event for the three entrants and after some negotiations it was decided that they be declared equal 1st and the GP points be divided between them . . . and the princely sum of six quid was added to the prize money for the December play-offs. NB: As I write this report the fund is still short of £158.

The Friday 500(8) saw David Nathan (1st) and Tom Duggan (2nd) consolidate their the places in the finals in December. At the moment we have two players tied for 16th place, Emmanuel di Bona and Sean Williams, and if the situation remains the same then they will be playing each other to see who qualifies. However; I know for a fact that at least one 'qualifier' (and perhaps two more) who won't be taking up their places at the event. So in order to make a full 16 player entry, players occupying positions 17th and downwards will qualify . . . if they are present! So, if you are just teetering around the qualifying level, turn up on the night and see if you can get a place and a shot at the £500; else attend the Townharbour in November and guarantee a place by doing well.

Finally
It was a smaller turnout than expected, but those that did attend the Sandy this year had a good time and those that won a few rounds certainly enhanced their GP and Ranking Championship chances. Don't forget, there are more GP points (and a place in the UK Finals) up for grabs in Dublin on 20 October; and of course, there are six opportunities to make a big difference in November's Swiss-format, Townharbour Trophy.