Cat Gets the Cream

With Alley Cats streaming number 1 on Netflix we had our own mercurial feline beauty scoring number 1 at Worcestershire ahead of a packed field, a good number of whom were warming up for the World teams – so the room roamed with sharp-clawed beasts.

One half wondered if an August tournament might produce a sleepier field, with many off bucket and spading, but it didn’t have that feel.  The Dave Sanders led staff were on top form, with a super slick operation all round, particularly the results service.  Plus, we got to enjoy the glorious surrounds of Hillscourt with up to three large playing rooms and a magnificent restaurant.  We had an air-conditioning emergency on Day 2, but fortunately that was where the spare rooms came in very useful.  With deluxe coffee machines and lots of free biccies, plus a “Green room”, the thought occurs that venues are producing ever more “bells and whistles” for the players, and that facilities on the UK tour are now often outstanding.

Saturday’s round-robin schedule allowed the all-important 2^nd loss, and the play-offs were also generous, just one match required which was a 3 pointer.  All this “only” qualified one for the last 32 – but simply making it to the Sunday, “the cut” in golfing parlance, is what most players strive for – it is no joke to get there.

It looked for all the world like the fancied Cat Bucur would miss out in the play-offs, when he was in this monstrous position against Steve Carder at 0-2 in the play-off.  Steve [white] has a 51 to play:

The natural looking Bar/20* 8/7 is the play, but Steve overthought it and played Bar/24 13/8, for the near triple blunder.  It’s a fascinating example of the psychological side of backgammon, and how tricky it is to ‘put the ball away’.  After this, Cat rolled 43 [8/5, 8/4] to suddenly have a dangerous board from which Steve couldn’t escape, and winning the next he suddenly had all the momentum going into the knock-outs.

Superb cube from Granville which triggers horror take

I was dominating my match with Richard, at 5-2 [9] and looking good in the next when the game suddenly lurched violently and he hurled in this astonishing cube as white:

What on earth?!  But I was a go or two behind the times.  It had all happened too fast for me, and my dominating game had crumbled.  Richard is only 63% here but it’s a stone-cold pass.  Forget my pretty 5-prime, he has far too much on me, and could have a dozen rolls to get out of there.  A classic example of a game imploding before you realize what’s happened.

So tantalizing to cube this:

in the next at 5-6, somewhat on tilt, I was desperate to cube this.  Are you?:

It is just a fraction too big, and I was right to hold off, and of course rolled the 62.  But without such a joker I simply had too much to do.

Dramatic end to a brutal match:

At 7-6 to me I have this amazing 61 to play.  What say you?:

Many are playing the natural 23-16, but to me it screamed of too many gammons.  To my credit, I found the rather prosaic play of 22/16, 9/8, and wondered a lot about 23/22 16/10, but that achieves too little.  The problem with my play, although correct, is that Wilbur and Wilmur continue to rot in Guantanamo, and so it came to pass as I suffered yet another heinous gammon, this time for match.  Great stuff from Richard though who also won his next to progress onto the quarters.

And what about this super take from the UK skip:

It was good to see our very own “Mike Brearley” warming up for the world teams.  He may not take his place in the playing arena, due to the spectacular team that he’s raised, but with takes like this, that is some serious largesse on the bench.  Here’s Adrian Jones [black] cubing Chris Rogers at 1-0 to 7 in the round-robin:

This looks like Too good-pass to me, but the cube is ok from Adrian and remarkably it’s quite a comfortable take for Chris, which he found.  It just shows the importance of not being at the edge of the prime, which makes this position so contrary to mine above.  Chris duly got punished – and gammoned – for his excellent take.

Neither finalist Chris or Cat report great drama from the final, but it was Cat who came through to take the title, after his recent runner-up in Canterbury.  Congrats to both men.

And as an aside, it was a fine weekend for cats with Cat Thome overcoming a tangy field in Marbella, for her first tournament win – pictured with fellow Brit Tyson Barber.

Results:

Champion:  Catalin Bucur;  Finalist:  Chris Rogers
Consolation:  Robert Perry;  Finalist:  Alex Polden
Last Chance:  Aydin Kolcak;  Finalist:  Robin Jones
Doubles:  Mike Snowdon & Alex Hannam

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Monte Carlo – a hat-trick of “World Champions”:

Team UK made a superb late rally at Monte Carlo after a horror-show performance over the first couple of days when 16 out of 17 in the Masters fell fairly cheaply.  Grim stuff.  But we veritably painted the prize-winners enclosures thereafter, including three members of the same family getting a menche in dispatches.  Surely that is some kind of first.  And we can we claim the world champion at Seniors, DMP and U18 in Paul, Janette and Bobby.

Adopted Brit Jason Pack made it to the final of the Main where his brave penchant for super deep takes saw him suffer three gammons and a backgammon in quick succession.  But that shouldn’t mask what was a brilliant run to get there; and Petko Kostadinov’s triumph was a hugely popular win at the third time of asking.

Monte Carlo struggles for relevance more than ever and the Main is now down to a vanilla 211, when it could easily be 500 with a bit of wit and wisdom.  More than ever this locale is a “relic from the Cold War”, as even the most well-heeled balk at the £3k+ price tag to attend.  But MC is now being encroached from all angles, like the upcoming WBGF “World Individual Championship”; all things IBF; Istvader and even the dear old “Gammon Slam” tour.

However, notwithstanding all that, for us to provide the event with four winners is pretty epic, and three-quarters of the world’s best Seniors are British, don’t’cha’ know!

Monte Carlo World Championships UK best results:

Finalist – Main Event:  Jason Pack
Finalist – Last Chance:  Chris Rogers
Seniors – Winner:  Paul Moulton
Seniors – Finalist:  Ali Al Daftari
Seniors – Semi-finalist:  Stefan Paliwoda
Advanced Consolation – semi-final:  Nick Blackwell
Super Jackpot #1:  Winner: Oli Squire
Super Jackpot #2:  Semi-finalist:  Will Blackwell
Women’s Tournament, Semi-finalist:  Lilian Lousky
U18  –  Winner:  Bobby Blackwell
DMP  –  Winner:  Janette Hodgkinson