Tomorrow we play the third of what has become a regular fixture – the Team UK Men v Women Challenge. The men won by the narrowest of squeaks in Bradford, 2018, with a gammon on the final Crawford game; and again online in summer 2020 by a slightly wider margin of 12-9. Can the women strike one back for equality? Play starts at 11am and we’ll be live-streaming five games with expert commentary through the day youtube.com/ukbgf . You can also catch up with the scores either on Twitter or the live scoreboard… https://docs.google.com/…/1ve9aUktoR3QJwi…
Both sides are turning out strong teams with a whole host of tournament wins behind them – while many of the faces may well be familiar to regular readers, we’re delighted to welcome Safi Tracy to the women’s side. Having only started playing in 2016, she’s already won Newcomer of the Year in Bristol, and won the Backgammon Hub “warmup” tournament back in November. She’s a protégé of Tim Cross, and by some fluke of my randomiser, grandmaster Tim will be commentating on her match in round three – no pressure, then!
We’re dedicating this match to the memory of Dorothy Lee, not only a great friend to so many of us but also a devoted player and a major part of the UK Women’s Team right from its inception at the Bradford match through to a series of online internationals throughout 2020-1 culminating in the memorable Genud Cup against the USA last year.
You really have to watch the stream! These matches seem to produce some of the most thrilling finales and this was no exception; after a very strong showing in rounds 1 and 4, the women were 12-8 ahead needing only one match from the final round of five. Of course, I couldn’t keep the scoreboard updated as I was busy playing, but the men pulled back one match after another and the one you can see at the end of the live stream is the final one in play, myself v Steve Bibby with the overall match tied. And the dice gods decided to punish one of us for a very loose double… all I can say is we’ll be practising for the next rematch!
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