Adelaide Club News

Current Ladder

Tuesday 23rd June was the last night of the 1st half of the 2009 League. Tuesday 30th June is the first night on the 2nd half of the 2009 league, extending to 8th December.

The top ten and their percentages are as follows. The top 10 now play off to see who goes into the end of year final by the best of 3, 9 point matches - good luck to all.

05 Jun 09 - JUNE 2009 KNOCK OUT RESULTS - ANGELO ALI defeats SIEGFRIED POHLENZ (7-5) Siegfried (Ziggy), may have thought that 5-2 up to 7 was a good place to be. And so it might have been if his opponent was not Angelo Ali ("he who never gives up") and so he did not and fought his way through to win 7- 5. Well done Angelo.

12 May 09 - Attached is a photo of SIEGFRIED POHLENZ, 2008 CLUB CHAMPION Runner-up. And a reminder that on Sunday the 28th June, the Angie Hambour Double Elimination Tournament will be played at the Hilton Adelaide - see flyer attached.

08 May 09 - A happy SOTO PHILLIS(l) defeated CHRIS BENHAM (that name yet again) 7-6 in the May 2009 Knockout tournament held Tuesday 5th May. Well done Soto. Scoresheet here.

01 May 09 - 2008 CLUB CHAMPION - CHRIS BENHAM won the 2008 Backgammon Association of SA CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP on Tuesday night 28 April 2009.

Chris defeated SIEGFRIED POHLENZ as below.
Players were to match-off the best of 3, 9 point games.
Congratulation Chris, adding yet another title to your repertoire.
And commiserations to Seigfried who did not quite get into the first game but made a fist of it in the second but not quite enough.

Match 1 : Chris / Seigfried : 0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2, 4-2, 8-2, 8-3, 9-3 (8 games)
Match 2 : Chris / Seigfried : 1-0, 1-2, 1-3, 2-3, 4-3, 5-3, 5-4, 6-4, 6-6, 8-6, 9-6 (11 games)

10 Apr 09 - APRIL 2009 KNOCKOUT TOURNAMENT RESULTS - Well done NICK PAPADOPOULOS who defeated CLAUDIE TROMP 7/5 to take out the event on Tuesday 7th April.

NSW OPEN TOURNAMENT—A PERSONAL VIEW BY CHRIS BENHAM
(You can see some photos here)

A few weeks ago on the Saturday-Sunday of March 7-8, the NSW Open Backgammon was held. It was a 128-spot knockout, with 49 starters including 4 from South Australia: Terry Efthimiou, Peter Geelen, John McLean and myself (Chris Benham).

It was held in a very nice venue, the Ryde Ex-Services Club on Victoria Road near the corner of Blaxland Road in the suburb of Ryde. The play was mostly on a verandah with a very nice view.

Play started each day at 11.00 am. All 128 spots were eventually filled, which meant that the average player bought back 1.61 times. There were 4 different price tags for spots: early bird $100, normal initial entry $120, first buy-back $80, subsequent buy-backs $60. Like the SA Open the rounds started at 9 points and the grand final was to 15 points. I think the total prize-money paid out was $12,000. I made it to the last 8 without buying back and then got knocked out by experienced and enthusiastic Sydney player Alex Falon 7-11, giving me a win-loss score of 4-1 and winning me $500. The other SA players did less well.

My closest winning result was 9-7 against the only player from New Zealand, Grant Hoffman. In my losing match I was on the wrong end of an 8-cube which shifted my score from 2-2 to 2-10 Crawford.

One of the events' organisers, Ben Phillips, tells me that the event is likely to be repeated next year in the same venue at about the same time of year. I will play again. The accomodation (an "AMG" motel) was very close to the venue, and I found it comfortable and satisfactory.

Ben Phillips also tells me that there will be an Australian Open in Sydney around late October or early November, presumably with some sponsorship and bigger prizes. I look forward to it.

While I was in Sydney I bought myself a copy of "Backgammon for Dummies" by Chris Bray from Dymochs for about $28. Not just for beginners, I recommend it. There was a copy in the Rundle Mall Dymochs store, and presumably one can be ordered there.

12 Mar 09 - MARCH 2009 KNOCKOUT - Kim Brown is seen happy with his medal and the score sheet says it all - Don Schulz was not able to get into the match - Kim winning 7-2. NSW OPEN - 2009 The South Australians who attended report that is was a good event but their results were not - more information as it comes to hand. SA OPEN PHOTOS - Check out the suite of photos courtesy of Simon Woodhead.

17 Feb 09 - The 2009 AGM was held on Tuesday 17 February. The audited accounts indicated a surplus for the year was achieved and the club's finances were in good shape. The accounts were formally accepted my members present. Elections were also held and the following were duly elected.

* President - Nick Begakis
* Treasurer - John O'Grady
* General Committee - Angelo Ali, Chris Benham, Siegfried Pohlenz and Vassilios Toubakaris.

Photos attached show members enjoying the generous supper that followed official proceedings.

NEVER GIVE UP Shane McNally and Nick Begakis played this game (score sheet attached) last Tuesday night. Shane was really steaming with Nick only able to watch in horror as it all unfolded. We have all been in this position at one time or the other and felt like we were playing in another game somewhere else rather than this game we are actually playing in. Anyway, Nick made it past Crawford and the rest is history. Moral of the story is, if your opponent can win 10 points straight, so can you - never give up! (apologies to Shane)

KYM BROWN Good to see Kym back, having lost none of his sense of humour and his keen playing style although his first competitive outing for some time was a bit of a disaster, down 11-0 to Nick Papadopoulos.

15 Feb 09 - SA Open at the Adelaide Hilton - CHRIS BENHAM won yesterday's SA OPEN BACKGAMMON CHAMPIONSHIP from PETER GEELEN. Finalists were Vassilis Toubakaris and Don Schulz. The Consolation Tournament was won by TONY WALKER from John McLean. Report and Photos here. Congratulations to all.

05 Feb 09 - The February knock-out tournament was played on Tuesday night 3/2/09 and SOTO PHILLIS defeated JOHN McLEAN : 7-3. Congratulations Soto and commiserations John who was finalist in January 09. The SA OPEN Early bird finishes Tuesday 10th so get in early and save. And the 2009 AGM is scheduled for 9:00 pm on Tuesday 17th February with supper provided.

13 Jan 09 - The January 09 Knock Out Tournament was won in fine style by Chris Benham from John McLean -> 7-0 !!
And the SA OPEN is officially announced - see the attached flyer. We have had some interest from interstate and we welcome the competition.

19 Dec 08 - Knock-out tournament - The third December 2008 and the last for this year was won by JOHN O'GRADY from CLAUDIE TROMP (7/5) in a close match. Well done John.

Middle Eastern Treasures - Looking for a traditional backgammon board - contact Souraya Serham at 94A Prospect Road Prospect on 8344 1945. http://www.middleeasterntreasures.com/reviews.html

2009

Remember, our first night back is Tuesday 6th January 2009 and we will have our January 2009 Knock-out Tournament.

UPCOMING EVENTS

15th February - Sunday - SA Open - at the Hilton Adelaide
28th June - Sunday - Angie Hambour Double Elimination Tournament - at the Hilton Adelaide 15th November - Sunday - Spring Tournament Triple Elimination Tournament - at the Hilton Adelaide
1st Tuesday of every month - Monthly Knock-out Tournament

15 Dec 08 - Compliments for the Festive Season

Dear Backgammon Friend, We are pleased to publish our tournament dates and calendar of events for 2009:

1. First club night in 2009 - Tuesday 6th January - Monthly knock-out tournament night
2. League 2009: 1st Half - First night for 2009 - Tuesday 6th January
3. SA Open - Sunday 15th February at the Hilton Adelaide
4. Annual General Meeting & Elections - Tuesday 17th February at the Hilton Adelaide including supper
5. League 2009 - Last night for 1st half, 2009 - Tuesday 23rd June
6. Angie Hambour Double Elimination Tournament - Sunday 28th June at the Hilton Adelaide
7. League 2009: 2nd Half - First night for 2009 - Tuesday 30th June
8. Spring Tournament Triple Elimination Tournament - Sunday 15th November at the Hilton Adelaide
9. League 2009 - Last night for 2nd half 2009 - Tuesday 8th December
10. Last night for 2009 - Tuesday 15th December

Well, a John was always going to win. From the score sheet, it can be seen that John McL made a good start, 1-0, 3-0, 4-0 to 7 points, a very good start indeed. But as we know in this game, a good start means not a lot. John P finally scored and again and again 4-1, 4-1, 4-4. If your opponent can win 3 games straight, then so can you, irrespective of the core.John P then powered ahead 6-4 and finally 7-4. Well done .... JOHN PAPADOPOULOS.

So we have GOLD - SOTO PHILLIS, SILVER - LAKIS KALEAS and BRONZE - PETER GIATZIS.

This was an interesting event because not everyone played everyone else. A draw was done so each player played 3, 5 point matches, without the cube. So you can imagine that up to 9 games could be played for an outcome and all to be played and finished on the night.

It is worth noting that GOLD MEDALLIST - SOTO PHILLIS was a late substitute for George Bourtsouklis so it was fated.

The order of merit for BASA players were, with 3 wins - SOTO PHILLIS, with 2 wins - CLAUDIE TROMP, JACK CLARK & JOHN McLEAN, with one win - NICK BEGAKIS, ANGELO ALI & CHRIS BENHAM and without a win SIEGFRIED POHLENZ.

The order of merit for the TAVLI team were, with 3 wins - LAKIS KALEAS, with 2 wins - NICK PAPADOPOULOS, PETER GIATZIS, and TONY KARAPETIS, with one win - JOHN PAPADOPOULOS, CHRIS PYROMALLIS and PETER ATHANASOPOULOS and without a win JOHN GIOUZELIS.

And as to which team were decalred 2008 OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS, amazingly enough [as calculated on the number of wins alone], each team scored 12.
So it is a draw but calls have been made for a repeat in 2009.

Many thanks to JOHN O'GRADY who engineered the draw and made sure we ran on time.

2008 SPRING TOURNAMENT UNLIMITED CONSOLATION TOURNAMENT WINNER This was as reported, CHRIS BENHAM and the above photo shows a happy Chris with his medal trophy.

07 Nov 08 - Melbourne Cup fever was still running strong at the Hilton and it was not until about 8:00pm that the revellers left us in peace. In the midst of all this fun and noise ; SIEGFRIED POHLENZ defeated JOHN O'GRADY in the October knock out tournament and in spectacular fashion last Tuesday 4/11/08. After winning the first game and then losing the next 3 to go to 3-1 down, it all went pear shaped for John O'Grady with Siegfried winning the next game [and the 7 point match] and scoring 8 points to win 9-1. See the attached score sheet.

In the Unlimited Buy Back as part of the Spring Tournament held 2 November 08 had 32 entrants and was finally won by ; CHRIS BENHAM from SIEGFRIED POHLENZ. Finally, our photo is not of the 3 amigos, not of the 3 tenors but of the 3 winners, Jack, John and John. Well done guys.

17 Apr 08 - Attached are some "happy snaps" of the 2007 Club Champion - Vassilis Toubakaris [L] and runner-up Chris Benham. Also we have a photo of the April 2008 Knock-out Tournament with winner Theo Georgiou [R] and runner-up Chris Benham. Players may find the following site interesting, I certainly did. www.piphit.com Good to see Henry Nurse pop up a week or so ago. And as promised, we publish Chris Benham's [the 2008 SA OPEN Finalist] review of Paul Weaver's [the 2008 SA OPEN Champion] book. Paul knocked out Chris in the final. Many thanks to Chris for his work. Enjoy.

Review of "Backgammon Openings (Book A)" by Paul Weaver and Nack Ballard, 2007.
by Chris Benham

This book is all about how to play the roll 3-1 on moves 1,2 or 3. Also there is an excellent explanation of the relative merits of the five point versus the seven point, which mentions some rolls besides 3-1. All the reasonable options are discussed and the explanations are excellent. The default situation is "money" or players are level in a match with cube in middle and the players are say four or more points away from winning. In some special match situations the best play is different, and these variations are explained.
From the explanations we can infer big hints on how to play similar rolls in similar situations. (In other words the concepts discussed don't only apply to the roll 3-1.). The findings are based on exhaustive rollouts by very strong playing/analysis computer programs ("bots") like Snowie and the excellent free GNU Backgammon. Only two of the 3-1 opening reply recommendations given in the article linked below differ from those in the book.

http://www.bkgm.com/openings/replies.html

When the opening play is 63:24/15 and the replier's match situation is "Gammon Go" (i.e. is greatly helped by winning a gammon but losing one is no worse than losing a single game) then the book says 31:13/10*,24/23 is best (while the rollout quoted in the article says 31:13/10*/9).
When the opening play is 62:24/16 and the replier's match situation is "Gammon Save" (i.e. losing a gammon is worse than losing a single game but winning one is no better than winning a single game) then the book says best is 31:13/9* while the article says that best (by an insignificant margin) is making the five point.
The rollouts on which the book are based were much more thorough than those used for the article, so I prefer the book's answers. Also the book gives replies for some unusual opening moves that the article ignores, like 6-2 and 6-3 played by moving both back men. Plus to explain concepts the article discusses one or two very-unlikely-to-occur "reference positions".
I missed the first part of Paul Weaver's lecture at the start of the SA OPEN, so at a few points in the book I was wishing that it also covered the other way to roll 4 pips, 1-1.
The book is physically a good quality hard-back, and I didn't find any errors (spelling etc.). I found the price of the book to be very reasonable value.
It can be ordered from http://www.nackbg.com/buynewbook.htm Some other good books can be bought from http://www.fortuitouspress.com/

11 Apr 08 - STOP PRESS - 2007 CLUB CHAMPION - VASSILIS TOUBAKARIS

VASSILIS TOUBAKARIS defeated CHRIS BENHAM
to be the
2007 SA BACKGAMMON ASSOCIATION BACKGAMMON CHAMPION

Original text by Club Treasurer, John O'Grady with embellishments by Club President, Nick Begakis

Vassilis Toubakaris defeated Chris Benham 3/9, 9/8, 95. Chris won the 2007 first half season by defeating Chris Benham in the final. In that first half season, Chris came from 4th place to defeat 5th placed Theo Georgiou and first placed Nick Begakis. Vassilis came from 6th place defeating 10th placed Claudie Tromp, 3rd placed Siegfried Pohlenz and 2nd placed Nick Papadopoulos.

In the second half season, Vassilis again was in 6th place and won through to the final by defeating 7th placed Theo Georgiou, 3rd placed Claudie Tromp and 2nd placed Louis Kalogiannidis. His opponent, Siegfried Pohlenz came from 5th place defeating 9th placed Emmanuel Lavrentiadis, 4th placed Nick Papadopoulos and 1st placed Angelo Ali. And of course, Vassilis defeated Siegfried in the final to again play Chris Benham.

And it is interesting to note that none of the top 3 in each season half made it through to their respective finals.

The final - played 8/4/08, in the best of 3, 9 point matches played [see attached score sheets], the first match went Chris's way with Vassilis only managing 3 points. Interesting to see gammons [2 point games], gammons with the cube on 2 [4 point games] and backgammons [3 point games] featuring on the score sheet.

The second match was as close as it gets. First 2 points to Vassilis, 2 to Chris. One to Chris, one to Vassilis. Two to Vassilis, two to Chris. One to Chris, one to Vassilis. Six all. Then 2 to Chris, one to Vassilis in the Crawford game and it is 8/7 Chris's way. But that was it for Chris and Vassilis scored a further 2 points in the next game to win 9/8. So, one all in matches.

In the decider Chris lead early with 4 points in the first game, 4/0 to 9. Vassilis responded by his winning 4 points too. 4 all. Chris takes one - 5/4.Then Vassilis wins a further 4 point game taking his score to 8/5 with the Crawford game ahead which Vassilis won.

So Vassilis is the new Club Champion, taking over the mantle from 2006 Club Champion Angelo Ali.

Well done VASSILIS TOUBAKARIS, 2007 Club Champion.

The Backgammon Association of South Australia Inc. 1977.
PO BOX 219 Mitcham SA 5062 AUSTRALIA. Phone 0412 836 266 - Fax. +61 8 8373 2580 www.sydbg.uniq.com.au/adelaide.html www.wbfonline.com/ www.online-backgammons.com nbegakis@bigbutton.com.au