Adelaide Club News - 2009

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LEAGUE 2ND HALF 2009

This concludes 8th December 2009 and so far (29 Oct) we have the following in the top 10:

19 Dec 09 - First we have Cedric Vasseur [L runner up] congratulating CHRIS BENHAM as winner of the December 2009 knock out tournament.

Second we have the score sheet of the last 'unofficial' Dec 09 knockout where JOHN O'GRADY performed a demolition job on Claudie Tromp, 7-0.

Third, some additional valid score sheets were found last week that have been added to the league and there have been some changes (see league ladder above).

We have a tie for the 10th spot at 38.5% between 4 players - Kim Brown, Theo Georgiou, John O'Grady and Nick Papadopoulos. The usual methods to elicit a winner from these 4 has not been able to be used so these 4 will have to play a round robin in January 2010 to determine who receives the 10th spot. More in 2010.

ALL THE BEST FOR A SAFE AND ENJOYABLE FESTIVE SEASON
WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND
A PROSPEROUS 2010 AND
MAY ALL YOUR CUBE ACTION BE GOOD.

13 Dec 09 - DECEMBER 8th TOURNAMENT - CEDRIC VASSEUR WINS

The 8th December knock out tournament [without trophies] saw CEDRIC VASSEUR knock out KIM BROWN : 0-1: 1-1: 1-2: 1-6: 3-6: 5-6: 7-6. If you were Kim you might be forgiven in thinking maybe, just maybe that at 1-6 to 7, you were home. But not with Cedric, who refused to lie down and came from behind to win. Kim made it into the final by knocking Chris Benham out in one game winning 8-0 to 7 points, a gammon with the cube on 4.

We will be organising another knockout event [without trophies] on the 15th December, which is our last night for 2009.

Our first night for 2010 is Tuesday 5th January.

ALL THE BEST FOR A SAFE AND ENJOYABLE FESTIVE SEASON WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND A PROSPEROUS 2010.

3 Dec 09 - CHRIS BENHAM WINS DECEMBER 2009 KNOCK OUT TOURNAMENT

Again Chris is in the winner's circle - well done.
The final 4 were Chris Benham, Angelo Ali, Cedric Vasseur and Nick Begakis. Chris defeated Angelo and Cedric defeated Nick. As the score sheet shows, Cedric scored first but that was about it. The score got to 5-1 before he scored again and that was it for Cedric with Chris winning 7-2. Cedric is a new member and is doing rather well. Someone to watch out for - seems he has deft hand with the cube!

SPRING TOURNAMENT WINNERS

We have a photo of the trophies and a photo of 3 of the 4 winners on the day congratulating each other and generally having a good time - Terry Efthimiou [Finalist] is absent.

22 Nov 09 - 2010 Dates - Now confirmed by the Hilton and as published below.

Chicago Point has come into possession of the last new Al Imm Backgammon Board. Al Imm was the master board craftsman of the 1980s. Al was inspirational in Tak Morioka's entry into the field. And Taki ranks Al as true woodworking master. Bidding ends December 13 at 11:59 pm. Opening bid: US $1200. Check out the board here: www.chicagopoint.com/imm.html

16 Nov 09 - Our last monthly knockout tournament, that for December 2009, will be played on Tuesday December 1st.
The 2009 League finishes Tuesday 8th December.
Our last meeting for 2009 is Tuesday 15th December, when we will be playing a knockout tournament with all the bells and whistles but without trophies.
Also on the 8th December for those interested, we will be playing a knockout tournament with all the bells and whistles but without trophies.

Our first meeting for 2010 is Tuesday 5th January when we will be playing our regular monthly knockout tournament with all the bells and whistles and with trophies. Below [L] is a photo of Nov 2009 Knock out Tournament runner-up, Nick Papadopoulos looking somewhat relaxed and pleased with himself and a photo of winner Don Schulz's medal [where are you Don?]

2010 tournament and AGM dates are TENTATIVELY [and we do mean tentatively until confirmed by the Hilton] are;

1. 7th February SA OPEN
2. 9th February AGM
3. 4th July ANGIE HAMBOUR TOURNAMENT
4. 28th November SPRING TOURNAMENT

And in 2010, we will consider trialing a knock out tournament twice a month, perhaps the 3rd Tuesday of the month. This will mean tournaments on the 1st Tuesday [with trophies] and 3rd Tuesday [without trophies] of each month.

New members : Kathryn and Chris Clifford - welcome.

And Vassilis Toubakaris will be absent for a couple on months recovering from a fall which resulted in 2 broken ribs, whilst in Sydney where he attended the Australian Open. All his friends at the club wish him a speedy recovery.

15 Nov 09 - CHRIS BENHAM defeated TERRY EFTHIMIOU to win the 2009 Spring Backgammon Tournament yesterday, Sunday 15th November. Report and photos here.

08 Nov 09 - NOVEMBER 2009 Knock-out Tournament Result: DON SCHULZ defeated NICK PAPADOPOULOS[L] 7-0.

29 Oct 09 - October 2009 Knock-out Tournament Result: Siegfried Pohlenz [L] defeated CLAUDIE TROMP [R] to take the October 2009 tournament. Claudie is taking her loss a bit seriously [!] while Siegfried, seemingly, is trying hard not to laugh.

03 Sep 09 - Well it happens - Jack is sitting at 10-0 and Jack would be thinking "this one is mine" as we all would. And Shane would probably be thinking, having lost 4 double games, one of which included the cube at 2 [the last game Jack won], maybe thinking a few thoughts, might these be running through Shane's mind. "Well, what the hell just happened, what more do I need to do to turn this around and what do I have to lose [nothing of course]". Just as your opponent can win 10 points in a row, so can you. It is about not giving up no matter how hopeless the task ahead appears. Jack's game then proceeded to fall into a hole whilst Shane's fortunes changed decidedly for the better. Having passed the Crawford Game, Shane repeated his opponent's winning pattern [4 double games, one of which included the cube at 2 - the final game] but with odd numbers, managed to make it 11 rather than just 10.

05 Aug 09 - KIM BROWN defeated CHRIS BENHAM 9-4 (in a 7 point match) to win the August 2009 Knock-out Tournament. The scoreline (Kim first) proceeded as follows; 4-0 , 5-0, 5-2, 5-4, 9-4. The first and last games (the two 4-pointers) weren't gammons, (there were not any in the match), just cube used and recubed back, so it could have been anybody's match.

14 Jul 09 - VALE - ALEX ATHANS. It is with considerable sadness we advise that long time member and friend ALEX ATHANS passed away at 4pm on Sunday 12th July 2009. His funeral will be held on Thursday 16th July at 10:00am at The Greek Orthodox Church of St Anthony at Milner Street Prospect. The club will be represented and our sincere condolences go out to his family and friends. regards Nick

08 Jul 09 - NICK BEGAKIS WINS JULY 2009 KNOCK OUT TOURNAMENT DEFEATING JOHN McLEAN (7-3)

The match was even until Nick surprised John in the last game, playing a back game after accepting the cube early and with 6 pieces back, recubing, having the cube at 4 accepted and then coming from behind, rolling perfect dice to win 4 points and the match.

Photo is attached of Nick and John after the match as is the score sheet.

28 Jun 09 - Angie Hambour Double Elimination Tournament - at the Hilton Adelaide. Congratulations to winner JOHN McLEAN , SOTO PHILLIS FINALIST and SHANE McNALLY RUNNER-UP. CHRIS BENHAM wins CONSOLATION TOURNAMENT. Nick's report and photos here.

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.

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