Checkers For Show, Cube For Dough

There’s an old saying in pro golf:  “You drive for show and putt for dough.”  And the above is the backgammon equivalent.  Even novices can transport the pieces around the board in a fairly credible way, but ask them to play on the cube, and they will get found out with swift severity.  This is where serious matchplay backgammon is decided, as the swings on a single moment can be 8 points, or more.  This remarkable tournament in St Albans with a fantastic field of 96 hung on many intriguing cube actions and some stupendous blunders.  The cube is a slippery bar of soap, and let no man say otherwise.

Superb Production

But first, our kudos and congrats to Tim Spring and his loyal sidekick Liviu Ionescu for a magnificent event.  Wall to wall backgammon, with minimal delays and prizes for over a third of the field in eight tournaments, what a delight.  Horror Saturdays could turn into barn-storming Sundays, like Catherine Thome’s violent 0-5 wipe-out before all but reaching the Second Chance final, if not for the smiling assassin Martin Sher’s 66 66 in the race at DMP.  Martin went on to defeat Radu in the final.  Whatever dice fairies Martin is conducting clandestine affairs with, they’re working – not the first time has he been mentioned in dispatches.

Kate Geddes, the all singing, all dancing, all barking, gaffer

What a breath of fresh air and ebullient energy Kate Geddes is to the community.  From her humble perch of 1,674 in the land she set about Group B with all fire and brimstone, and had us running for cover like President Trump at a Washington Correspondent’s dinner.  Kate won 4 of her 5 matches and it would have been all 5 if not for an errant cube to me at 7-5 [9] – it’s a super narrow window that.  The next morning Kate got the worst possible draw in Gaz Owen who would surely have no mercy, and promptly white-washed him.  This game!

For those who might find Kate’s wild energy and patter “a bit much”, I’d say, enjoy the fresh blood into the game, and the joy that she brings.  If you want foreboding silence, most of the rest of the field will gladly accommodate you, but some birds aren’t meant to be caged; their feathers are just too bright.

Cube Catastrophes a comin’

A testing last 32 clash came on the big stage on Sunday morning between the UK’s #13 &14 Andrew Darby and Jon Barnes.  The match lived up to its billing, and the pyrotechnics were lit at 7-5 to Barnes with Darby on roll.  Cube action?

At 2 away 4 away you need the slightest of invitations to cube and at 60% with 18% gammons, this is it.  But Andy missed it.  A moment later, Jon, now black as it’s a photo, has this ticklish 11 to find.  Are you playing big or small?

JB opts to play big by slotting the bar, and XG doesn’t really care [1.5% more wins but giving up 5% more gammons], as he’s passing anything that comes his way.

If Jon plays safe, his take is .288 incorrect, and if he slots his take is a .505 blunder.  He goes big, the cube sails over, and he still takes!  He was in the lap of the gods now, and soon relied on a 50-1 shot [Andy’s 63 17-1 roll] to leave a shot which Jon hit.  But it was insufficient, despite Andy leaving another last gasp shot at the death.  Breathless stuff, as the gammon for match was complete.

An SOS for Florence Nightingale

Another very tense match followed for Andy versus Jason Pack.  Here Jason has turned a fine 61 into an illegal lemon, by playing 14/9 instead of his intended 14/8 9/8.  The correct play is actually 9/2* to kick up gammons by 20%.  He has pressed the clock, had his illegal play pointed out, and pleads in horror for Andy to spare him some “Lady with the Lamp” benevolence.

Jason explains:  “I got confused and made a completely illegal play, we agree on that.  It was obviously not on purpose, not trying to gain an edge or anything I just spaced out, like I was too tired, that is all.

Seeing ghosts for four long minutes

In the hot seat, one often can’t bear to do the correct, volatile, dangerous play.  You know it’s right, but you also know that when it goes wrong, that’s the match.

Andy ran his clock down from 6:30 to 2:30 here as he loathed to give Jason his passport to the match with this 63:

16/10 8/5* is the play, but Andy just couldn’t bear to do it, seemingly transfixed by the neat 16/10 13/10.  Finally, with his clock becoming dangerous, he made the right play, winning 13% more but giving up a grisly 21% extra gammons.  He also set up a truly monstrous 55 for JP, which naturally arrived, and it was Goodnight Vienna.

One of the Games of the Year

The semi final between Andrew Fotiadis and Jason Pack was a blockbuster and had the Green Room spellbound, as we savoured a fine streaming service, here, and the dulcet tones of James Macnaughton.  The Grandmaster Pack versus the lesser known Bash Street Kid, although on closer observation Andrew is 15 in the UK to Jason’s 79 [the rankings to be taken with a pinch of salt due to their volatility], and wins 3.8% more of his matches [62.9 to 59.1], so this was going to be close.

At 1-0 to Andrew we saw one of the finest games that will be seen in tournament play this year, and well worth looking up on Youtube.  The cube could easily have gotten to 16.  [As an aside, Julia Hayward lost on a 16 cube in her round robin match, which when playing to 9 is quite special].

We begin the drama with Jason, white, cubing without a point in board.  At just 65% he is right by .006, but is a hyper-aggressive play.  The cube’s risk is highlighted by an immediate 41.  Not ideal:

Astonishing volatility followed, and JP faced a scary 4 cube.  He correctly took, but is then supposed to cash this as red, which looks far too good.  Who on earth is finding this?:

But XG promptly showed exactly why, as Jason rolled 61.  Do you safety the checker on the 4, or make your bar?  It is basically a tie.  Jason left it slotted and Andrew’s stunning 44 soon capturing two men whilst suffering a blitz.  The cube actions saw a tranche of “too goods/not good enoughs”… the window between the two is so slight, but daylight pops up eventually.  It did here after Jason sprung a man loose, but is now crunching on the other side of the world!:

After not finding the cube, Jason’s 42 spelt quite serious trouble, but his 6 then came on cue and Andrew narrowly ran off the gammon.  What a game.

At 3-5 Andrew [white] served up this thunderclap:

Being behind on an efficient score, leading the pip count 148-104, with JP having a man on the roof and the ace-point made, with gammons at 34%, and white perfectly diversified with 36 good numbers; it takes an enormously brave man to take, but Jason was just that for the .473 blunder.

At 5-5 Jason cashed here, but something like this is worth hanging on for “Too good”, as the extra point is vital, and even if you miss from the roof, you’re still ahead:

Run, Forrest! Run!

At 6-5 Jason did well to time a complex 1-4 back game, but Andrew bore in pretty safely, until this explosive moment:

This is top-level international matchplay at its most severe, and is not the faint of heart.  You have to be so clinical, switched on, and precise.  Without hesitation, under severe time pressure, JP tried 14/9, but he failed to hear the sirens, or spot the sprinklers going off on the stage due to small fires igniting all around.  The position requires a minute or two of forensic analysis.  Not running from the back increases backgammons for match from 10-20%.  He left the next time and was then correct to stay for the terrifying world of Coup Classique.  We all crave a good Coup Classique – the last gasp chance to pick up two blots, but the denouement here was a brutal backgammon for the half a dozen points that Fotiadis required:

It had been an amazing match with both players’ checkers strong, but with AF enjoying a healthy edge on the cube:

Sara Salves the Soul Again

After Roni Sofroniou ripped me to pieces in the Quarters with a rambunctious cube that came off a beauty, Sara Sathyanandha was less amenable in the Semis, and we had our final between two of the strongest players in the land.  I have written about Sara a lot on these pages and his laid back and friendly manner belies a steely resolve.

The match was a slugfest reaching into the night after a 1030 start to the day.  A key moment sprung up at 10-10 and yet another key cube, this from Sara.  Are you tempted?

I know I wouldn’t be able to resist, as at 10-12 the match would be very much alive and here’s your chance to win a sneaky one. Perhaps even with an efficient recube.  There are no gammons, so basically Andrew has a free kick here at 28.5% and must take a punt.  But after passing, a similar sort of game followed when he had two shots, missed them both and we had a hugely worthy champion to a great event.  Sara has now won 17 of his last 19 in live play, whilst being deadly online [Galaxy], one notch above some bloke called Cross.

We!  Are the Champions, my Friend:

Main:  Sara Sathyanandha;  Andrew Fotiadis

Consolation:  Jon Barnes;  Becca Bell

Second-Chance:  Martin Sher;  Radu Ciortan

Remainders:  Tom Thorpe;  Neil Foston

Disconsolates:  Hannah Parente;  Cecilia Rogers

Mischance:  Rosalie Johnson;  Steve Atkinson

Last Chance:  Lee Smith;  John Ingamells

Last Gasp:  Raed Ibrahim;  Fraya Dravern