Geert Van der Stricht becomes number 1 on BMS GT.

At the top of Belgian backgammon, there is little room for sloppiness. Playing a demanding Master Series of six 17-point matches with less than optimal focus can have unpleasant consequences.

I started off this MS1 with another clock violation. My reasonable PR of 5,20 was mercilessly converted into a 9,85, which meant that I could ditch any hopes of improving my overall PR in the coming 6 months. Fortunately,  supportive friends and family kept me from early backgammon retirement and I played the rest of the Series at my known skill level. Better still, I managed to dramatically alter my playing rhythm and have succeeded in avoiding time trouble since then. Even the darkest clouds have a silver lining if you look closely enough …

At times, Geert also flirted with time pressure, but was let off the hook this time. Of course, our new Number 1 can fall back on years of clock experience on the international chess scene, and mostly keeps his composure even with only a handful of seconds left. Noteworthy that  Geert’s PR in this Series is exactly the same as his current overall PR on the BMS Grading Table. Safe to say that it will be hard to knock this ambitious and hard-working backgammon Master off his newly gained top spot :

PR Geert Van der Stricht (wins 4-2)

PR Michel Lamote (loses 2-4)

Four new Master Series are due to start this week : Geert Van der Stricht v Johan Huyck (MS1 0028 : 6 x 17), Johan Huyck v Michel Lamote (MS1 0029 : 6 x 17), Robin Bilderbeek v Michel Lamote (MS1 0030 : 8 x 13) and Johan Huyck v Marc Van Damme (MS1 0031 : 8 x 11).