The European Backgammon Team Championship will take place in Helsingor (Denmark) in October this year. As announced, selection for the team is solely based on playing strength as indicated by the assembled data in the 2 BMS tables : the BMS Grading Table (predominantly longer matches) and the BPR Ranking Table (mostly shorter matches).
After 8 months of play (hundreds of matches) the BMS BE data have yielded the following ranking :
Therefore, the selection for Helsingor is as follows : 1. Michel Lamote 2. Geert Van der Stricht 3. Walter Meuwis 4. Johan Segers 5. Johan Huyck 6. Guy Van Middelem 7. Alain Chif. Substitute : Maurits Pino.
BGFed.be is happy to send this robust team to Denmark. Of course, with no player who plays solidly below 5, we cannot count ourselves among the favourites. However, the team’s skill level and international experience is high enough to warrant some hope for at least an outside chance of success.
As Team Captain I hope that in the coming months all selected players will conscientiously prepare for this event. Any improvement in whatever aspect of the game can make a difference when crunch time comes.
M