Category: BMS(BE)

The 6th Merit Open International Backgammon Championship is a monster event in Cyprus (40.000€ added prize money) which starts on Wednesday 31 October. Johan Huyck will be the only BgFed.be member present. The strike by the luggage handlers in Zaventem forced him to make a costly detour to Warshau, but there is no doubt Johan will be well-rested and eager to perform when he appears at the board on Day 1 (Wednesday, 2 pm).

Johan has been making progress lately. Long stranded with a 6+ PR on the BMS GT, he is now slowly making his way to the 5,50 PR region. Over the past two months, Johan played two Master Series, assembling 188 EP in the process. Here is how he did in the first one, against Paul Van Dijke :

These PR’s are a clear indication that Johan is establishing a significant skill gap between himself and his his closest pursuer, Paul Van Dijke.

In the same period, Johan played another Master Series against Geert Van der Stricht, currently Belgium’s second-highest ranked player (PR 4,81).  This series consisted of ten 11-pointers:

Again the skill difference is clear. One PR point is close to indisputable in a Master Series of 110 EP. Johan again manages a below-6 PR and seems to have found some solidity in his performances. So has Geert, of course, who will surely dip below 4,50 PR in the months leading up to the European Team Championship in Montenegro next year (8-10 April 2019).

Johan is now firmly positioned on spot 4 on the BMS Grading Table with 5,60 PR.

On 15 and 16 September 2018, 26 players competed in a BMAB event in Nottingham. Typical for these BMAB events is that ALL matches are filmed by the tournament organization (i.c. Rick Janowski) and that the overall PR’s of all players are incorporated in the International BMAB list.

Eager to make progress on that list, Geert Van der Stricht and I made the trip. Geert took a Friday night flight and I went by ferry and car on Thursday. Afterwards we were both happy. Geert won the event with 5 victories out of 5 matches (Geert was tied first with Lawrence Powell, but won the 1-point decider for the trophy) and I shared 2nd prize in the PR contest with a morale-boosting performance. Also part of our satisfaction was the fact that the hotel is supremely located close to Midlands Airport, offers great rooms  for about 65€ (with English or continental breakfast) and is organized with strict adherence to the schedule.

The PR prize was won by GM Sebastian Wilkinson from England (aged 28) with a PR of 3,2 or thereabouts. For Geert, cube actions in lopsided scores against inferior opponents proved to be a delicate balancing act and this is reflected in his PR. As we can see from the Player’s Profile below, Geert’s cube play suffered greatly from the fact that he was mostly far ahead in matches against weaker players. Adjusting with the cube is the first thing you should consider if there is a significant skill disparity and you play to win, but if you play for PR at the same time, this can have a ruinous effect on your Cube PR. Also Geert’s Checker Play PR, while very strong, is slightly below what he is capable of :

In that respect, I had an easier task. I lost my first round match and could bury my hopes of winning the tournament. I could take the factor “winning” out of my decision-making process and focus solely on making the objectively optimal choices. This benefitted my PR greatly :

After this event, Geert and I remain in close proximity on the BMS Grading Table. We are both about 0,4 PR point behind Belgium’s uncontested number 1, Marc Van Damme.

Nick De Ruyck and Paul Van Dijke played, recorded and transcribed six 13-point matches over the past months (MS1 0053). Here is how they performed :

A great PR for Nick, who is currently ranked as an Intermediate player on the BMS GT. This corresponds to a 10+ PR. Scoring an Advanced PR of 8,64 in six 13-point matches can’t be coincidental. Nick has been filming and transcribing his matches for more than a year now and it is encourageing to see that all this hard work is paying off. If Nick can keep up this consistent dedication, he will surely join Belgium’s small group of Advanced players in the near future. And who knows where he will go from there…

Nick’s opponent was Paul Van Dijke, ranked 6 on the BMS GT. Paul’s current overall PR is 6,25, which gives him Master Class 3 status :

Not a bad PR, but probably slightly disappointing for an ambitious player who is determined to improve. Paul has already scheduled a couple of other Master Series, so we will know soon enough if he can make a step forward.

Geert Van der Stricht and I also wrapped up a 6*13 Master Series (MS1 0058) :

Another top-notch PR for Geert, who keeps performing at World Class level. He has now tentatively established himself as Belgium’s number 2 on the BMS GT.

Lackluster performance by me and a serious setback ( “for an ambitious player who is determined to improve”). I was hoping to consolidate my Master Class 1 status, but things are going the other way… Hopefully my next MS1 (10*13 against Robin Bilderbeek) will be better.

Johan Huyck and I played, recorded and transcribed ten 11-point matches over the past months. This is how we performed :

Johan has nestled himself in pole-position to turn Belgium’s below-5 trio into a quartet. Some consistence will be required to achieve this, of course.

As for me, I will have to keep putting in the dedicated practice if I want to continue making progress. Needless to say that this is true for all of you readers out there…

One of the best ways to learn and improve your game is to record your matches, transcribe them into XG and study your mistakes carefully. This is what the best players in Belgium have been doing for some years and the results are there for all to see.

Over the past month, Geert Van der Stricht (BMS GT : 4,67 PR, ranked number 2) and Johan Huyck (BMS GT : 5,67 PR, ranked number 4) played, recorded and transcribed six 19-point matches. This 56th Master Series ended in a 3-3 draw, but more important is how  both players performed :

Geert’s dedication and hard work are bearing fruit. XG’s evaluation (“World Class”) is not just a flattering epithet. It is a reliable and accurate reflection of a player’s skill level. True, in a Master Series, there is not much at stake and players can approach the challenges on the board in a purely academic fashion, but have a look at how Geert did in Monte Carlo, during the most recent World Championships :

This is a pretty strong PR, bearing in mind that these matches were played under high-pressure conditions with the prestigious title of World Champion at stake. It was certainly not for lack of skill that Geert was eliminated in the early rounds of the Championship…

Also Johan Huyck excelled in this Master Series :

After some months away from the game, Johan seems to have come back refreshed and eager to improve. This encourageing PR may well be the boost Johan needed to continue his progress towards the 5 PR boundary. Especially his Cube Play in these long matches is worth noting.

 

 

The 51st Master Series was played between the BMS ranking’s numbers 1 and 3, Marc Van Damme and Geert Van der Stricht. They played, recorded and transcribed nine 13-point matches in the course of January and February. Here is how they did :

This performance confirms Marc’s imminent rise to Grandmasterdom. Needless to say that playing better than your opponent is never a guarantee for victory in a capricious game like backgammon.

Geert will not be happy with this PR. Sometimes, however, a combination of factors (complex positions, awkward dice rolls, lack of focus after a hard day’s work, etc.) can lead to below-par PR’s. My bet is that Geert will overcome this setback with a vengeance in the months to come.

Spurred on by Tournament Director Geert Van der Stricht, the 12 participants transcribed all thirty 9-point matches within 48 hours, an unprecedented achievement. Here are the results :

The field consisted of 7 Belgian players, 3 Dutch players and two German players. It was Dirk Schiemann from Germany who took the PR prize with a grandmasterly performance of 3,85 PR. Marc Van Damme and myself did our best to play like a grandmaster… but could not quite pull it off. Still, our PR’s promise good things for the future.

All in all, the level of play at this tournament was very decent. The average PR of all players combined was 6,01. Most players played slightly better than their current BMS rating, which deserves praise. Funnily, the bottom 6 players on the PR list scored the most wins, namely 16 versus only 14 for the top 6. Most victories were scored by Paul Van Dijke (4 wins : winner of the Xmas Trophy) and Johan Huyck (4 wins : runner-up).

Playing conditions in the Sandeman Club in Gent were excellent. The schedule was meticulously respected and the catering and service were top. BMS(BE) would like to thank all participants for their sportsmanship and transcribing zeal. Many thanks also to Geert and his team (Johan Huyck and Paulus Van Rooijen) for making this great event happen. The 3rd Xmas Trophy will be held at the same location somewhere in the last week of 2018.

Days before the last important BMS event of the year, the 2nd Xmas Trophy, Marc Van Damme en Geert Van der Stricht wrapped up another Master Series. They played, recorded and transcribed nine 9-point matches. Marc produced some high quality backgammon and came up with this groundbreaking result :

This is by far the highest level of backgammon ever played in Belgium by a local player. Undoubtedly the result of hard work and daily practice. Marc hereby confirms his unchallenged number 1 spot in Belgium and looks poised to aim for Grandmaster status in 2018. Congratulations, Marc!

Geert was not able to match this ferocious form and failed to improve on his BMS standing. Still a very worthy performance of course :

Marc Van Damme is currently the highest ranked player on the BMS Grading Table. Only spectacular improvement by his two closest pursuers, Geert Van der Stricht and myself, could pose a threat to Marc’s dominant position.

Some cracks in Marc’s armour showed in our most recent Master Series (MS 0049). In six 13-point matches, Marc played a bit below his known skill level, whereas I was able to slightly outperform myself :

The 2nd Xmas Trophy, which will be held on Wednesday 27 December, will pit the vanguard of Belgian backgammon against each other at the Sandeman Club in Gent. 12 players will play five 9-point matches. Start of the first round is 10am. A report on ALL players’ performances will be published on this website before 10 january 2018.

Keep learning!

Recording your matches with a webcam (or otherwise), transcribing them in XG and afterwards studiously analysing your errors, is a very efficient and fun way to get ahead in backgammon. This is demonstrated by the significant progress made by those who invest time and effort in this exercise.

Geert Van der Stricht and Robin Bilderbeek played, recorded and transcribed six 13-point matches over the past month. Here is how they did :

It looks like the days of 5+ PR’s are over for Geert. Nothing more or less than the result of sustained study. The same can be said of Robin, who has taken spectacular steps forward in the past year :

Geert played another Master Series against Belgium’s star attraction, Marc Van Damme, currently our undisputed number one. They played ten 13-point matches :

Pretty solid stuff by both players. True, the absence of pressure (there is no pecuniary reward at stake) may cause these PR’s to be slightly inflated and thus a bit flattering, but it is my guess that they will not diverge by more than 0,3 PR from both players’ real playing strengths.

I also played a Master Series. I travelled to Dubrovnik (Croatia) and took part in the tournament there. I played two 13-pointers in the Main Flight, four 9-pointers in the Second Chance, and one 5-point match in the Last Chance. I filmed and transcribed all my matches and came up with this PR :

One can always hope for more and better, but all in all that is a satisfying PR for matches played in tournament conditions.

Next challenge on the agenda is the 2nd Xmas Trophy, which will be held on Wednesday 27 December 2017 at the Sandeman Club in Gent. Among the contenders are almost the complete top-10 of the BMS GT and … the winner of the Dubrovnik Open 2017 : Tilman Söhnchen from Berlin (GER). Also attending is the German top player (GM?) Dirk Schiemann.

 

 

 

 

 

In an effort to facilitate participation and make procedures more transparent, BMS(BE) has revised the Conditions of Play ( = CoP). We asked Geert Van der Stricht what the revisions entail :

Geert :  An important change is the fusion of the BMS Grading Table and the BPR Ranking Table. When the two tables were conceived we expected a significant discrepancy between both tables because of match length. This has turned  out not to be the case. After processing the data of more than 1000 matches the average PR of the 11 players represented on both tables appeared to be less than 0,01 PR.

M : So now there is only 1 tabel?

Geert : Yes, the BMS Grading Table.  A lot of work went into the merging of both tables, but it is done. By the way, another improvement is the change of the rolling EP to 750. This decreases volatility and is more accurate.

M : Anything else?

Geert : Yes, something important.  From 1 November onwards, opponents of BMS-applicants [ = players who film for BMS-validation] will have the option to have their PR’s incorporated in the BMS GT, if they so wish. We call this ‘Mutual PR agreement’. That means that if you are a BGFed.be member who is not yet listed on the BMS GT and you play an official match in a tournament, Four Cubes encounter, or BIC match, against a BMS-applicant, you can  gain a spot on the BMS GT by saying so to your opponent, the BMS applicant. That means that your PR will be mentioned on the GT and you will be considered a BMS participant from then on. This was done to lower the access threshold and allow players who do not film themselves to gain access to the table. There was quite a lot of interest for that

M : Sounds good. More things BGFed.be members need to know?

Geert : Well, because the BPR RT has merged into the BMS GT, all applications for Master Series or other PR matches need from now on be sent to Johan Huyck, and no longer to Walter Meuwis. This can be done by mail (johan.huyck@wiskin.be) or even with a text message (0496/644872), no later than 5 minutes before start of the recorded match.

M : Ok, so one table instead of two and one person who processes the data instead of two. That sounds like simplification to me.

Geert : We hope so. We have also added an extensive appendix covering what to do in cases of ‘technical failure’. We needed some rules to guide us in cases where recordings were flawed.

M : Where can people find these revised Conditions of Play?

Geert : By clicking on BMS(BE) in the black banner above.  A printed copy will also be available for perusal at the Brussels Backgammon Day of 1 November 2017 since that is the day when the new CoP come into effect.

M : Ok, thank you, Geert, for the update. Good luck further with BMS(BE)!

 

 

Four of Belgium’s top-5 players finished another Master Series. With very encourageing results.

Marc Van Damme (2) and Geert Van der Stricht (3) played, recorded and transcribed ten 15-point matches in the course of 2 months. The encounter ended in a 5-5 draw. Here is how they did :

Johan Huyck (5) and Michel Lamote (1) chose a slightly less demanding format. They played six 13-point matches of which Michel won 5 and lost 1. Both players managed to do well :

 

 

For the first time since its inception in 2015, the BMS Grading Table  sees a player with 500 experience points (= the equivalent of, say, thirty 13-point matches and ten 11-point matches) dip below 4,75 PR.

This feat was accomplished by Michel Lamote, whose PR’s in his two most recent MS1 matches (3,18 PR (match to 13) and 2,47 PR (match to 11) got him over the line.

With this accomplishment, Michel becomes the first Belgian player to get a taste of Master (Class 1) status.

Congratulations, Michel!

At the top of Belgian backgammon persistent efforts are being made to reach higher degrees of proficiency. Study, play, and analysis are key ingredients in that endeavour. To measure improvement, there is nothing like a challenging Master Series :  a pre-designated series of longer matches, played live, recorded, transcribed, and mercilessly analysed and evaluated by the world’s absolute best player, the masterfully engineered robot : eXtremeGammon.

Marc Van Damme, currently ranked 2 on the BMS Grading Table, and Paul Van Dijke (6) wrapped up the 40th Master Series. Their MS consisted of six 13-point matches, played at the Sandeman Club in Gent over the course of a month.

Here is how they did :

As usual, the difference in acquired skill, no matter how small, is reflected in the respective PR’s. Seldom, if ever, will a lesser player come out of a 6*13 MS with a better overall PR than his opponnent.

Marc will be slightly disappointed not to have dipped below the 5 PR threshold, but his performance is still comfortably within his Master Class 2 range. Paul, for his part, confirmed his Master Class 3 status, but would have loved to see a 5 behind his name. In short, pretty routine stuff by two Masters of the game.

M

Over the course of a couple of weeks, Geert Van der Stricht and Marc Van Damme played, recorded and transcribed six 13-point matches. Here is how they did in MS 0039, which ended in a draw (3-3) :

With this excellent performance Geert narrowly misses a Grandmaster (Class 3) result and emphatically solidifies his top-3 status.

Confident below-5 performance by Marc, who remains only a hair’s breadth away from the number 1 spot on the BMS Grading Table.

After an absence of many years, Marc Van Damme has catapulted himself to the number 1 spot in Belgian backgammon. In his slipstream follow Geert Van der Stricht and Michel Lamote, trying to benefit from the leader’s pull.

Marc and Paul Van Dijke played, recorded and transcribed six 13-point matches (6*13) over the past weeks. Here is how they did :

An affirmative performance (!) by Marc. It is tempting to ascribe his results to some form of innate talent, whereas, of course, such level of play can only be the fruit of hard work and sustained study.

Paul too will surely be satisfied with his result.   Although he was blasted with a numbing 6-0, he can find solace in the unmistakable progress he has made.

Geert and I played six 17-point matches in the course of the past 2 months :

PR’s below 5 are both acceptable and encourageing for Geert and I, bringing us closer to the 5 PR boundary on the BMS Grading Table.

I played another Master Series of six 17-point matches against Johan Huyck :

Probably not a coincidence that my PR seems to hover around the 4,90 mark. I think I will grant myself a small psychological boost by optimistically assuming that my level of play is currently somewhere in that neighbourhood. Johan, on the other hand, surely hoped for something better than 6,80. Mitigating circumstances abound of course : it is hard to play your best after 8 stressful hours on the workfloor, to mention just one.

Robin Bilderbeek and Nick De Ruyck tried their hand at eight 9-point matches :

In eight highly entertaining matches Robin proved that the progress he made in the past 6 months is real. With this result he has overtaken seasoned players like Luc Palmans (13) and Guy Van Middelem (12) on the BMS Grading Table and only narrowly fails to grab the number 10 spot. Only 0.02 PR separate him from Ronny Conaert (10) : 7,47 v 7,45…

Nick for his part knows that the road ahead is long and windy. Although his table presence is admirably composed and professional, Nick will have to be patient and determined to make the step from Intermediate to Advanced.

In the more rarefied regions of Belgian backgammon, persistent efforts are being made to notch up the level of play. Marc Van Damme and Geert Van der Stricht, the current numbers 1 and 2 in the BMS realm, scored ringing PR’s in their respective Master Series.

Marc played eight 11-point matches against top-5 player Johan Huyck :

This strong performance was sufficient for Marc to break the symbolic 5-PR barrier and comfortably land on 4,94 on the Grading Table. With an EP of 173 behind his name, Marc has now achieved official Master Class 2 status.

Geert, in full preparation for the 2017 World Championship to be held in Monte Carlo (1-6 August), confidently equalled Marc’s performance in a tough 6 x 17 Master Series (also against Johan Huyck) :

Geert is now only a breath away from below-5 status. His current PR on the BMS Grading Table is 5,06.

The opponent of both players was Johan Huyck, trailing the two pack leaders by about 1 PR (currently 6,02 on the BMS GT).  Against Marc (8 x 11) Johan let things slip a little,

but he did better against Geert (6 x 17) :

Johan is showing great tenacity in his efforts to raise his game and his sustained diligence should soon bear fruit.

M

If you play a pre-designated number of medium-length matches, say eight matches to 9 points, you can be pretty sure that your overall PR will give a reliable idea of your true playing strength. That is, if you make an honest attempt to play your best game.

This is what Alain Chif and Guy Van Middelem did over the past month. Both are seasoned bridge players with a subsidiary intrest in backgammon. They play frequently, go through their matches to learn from their mistakes, struggle through  the occasional backgammon book, etc. In short, they are competitve players with a keen intrest to improve their level of play.

Here is how they did :

These performances will certainly earn both players appreciative nods in the BMS community. Both Guy and Alain scored PR’s below-7 in five of the 8 matches, which is great. Guy even played 2 matches below-4 (!).

Unfortunately, these heartening PR’s are polluted by some disturbing slip ups. In this demanding and mentally challenging format, consistency is key. You  cannot allow a couple of PR’s of 10-plus to mar your overall result.  Sure, backgammon matches can have widely varying levels of difficulty, but PR discrepancies of 6 or more (i.e. the difference between PR 4 and PR 10) do not occur in the Master category, where performances are significantly more solid.

In this Master Series, Guy and Alain have displayed unmistakable signs of expertise. If both players put their mind to it, they could lift their game to Expert level ( PR < 7,50) in a matter of months. Progress, however, is not like manna. It does not miraculously appear out of nowhere. Continued study and dedicated practice are vital ingredients of a backgammon player’s regimen, without which no steps forward can possibly be made.

M

 

 

 

Back in 2001, when I was a novice to the game, Marc Van Damme (47) was already a player of some stature. In Paris, where Marc had shown up with Bert Van Kerckhove, Marc reached the finals of the Advanced flight and it was there that we met. There was no ExtremeGammon in those days, but Marc used Snowie (the predecessor of XG) with keen interest. This already made him a formidable player back then.

Then Marc mysteriously disappeared from the backgammon scene. We will have to wait for his autobiography to find out the how and why, but now Marc has resurfaced. With a splash…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On four consecutive Tuesday afternoons in March, Marc and Robin played, recorded and transcribed eight 9-point matches. The 50 € question before start of play was : has Marc’s talent grown stale, or is class perennial?

Here is the answer :

Jaws dropped as the first results became known : Marc played a couple of matches with PR’s below 3, which is about the absolute best a human can perform. Bystanders did agree, however, that Marc was not really challenged in those matches and that, faced with more complicated subject matter, his PR would probably deteriorate. In the end, this is what happened, but the overall result is still remarkable. Combined with the PR’s achieved in a Master Series with Johan Huyck, Marc has usurped the top spot on the BMS Grading Table : PR 5,10 (1) (!).

This convincing performance gives Marc provisionary Master Class 2 status. Why provisionary? Because a player needs 150 EP (Experience Points : the total of match points played) for his grading to be validated. Marc is still 45 EP away from that threshold. Consequently, the five 11-point  matches which remain to be played in his Master Series against Johan Huyck become extremely relevant. Sustaining this respectable level of play will instantly gain number 1 status in Belgium (BGFed.be has proactively sent an order for laurels to Crete), whereas slackening performance might push Marc back to lower ground.

Robin played his dignified part in this high-level contest and stoutheartedly held his ground against his more skillful opponent :

This PR appears to reflect Robin’s current level of play pretty accurately. It seems only a matter of time before Robin will reach Advanced Class 1 Expert level (current standing : PR 7,62 (11).

 

 

Walter Meuwis and Ronny Conaert played, recorded and transcribed six 15-point matches in the course of the past 3 months. These matches were played in the cosy surroundings of Walter’s Hasselt home. With no money, shiny trophies or prestigious titles at stake, players could focus their attention fully on optimal decision making.

Here is how they did :

A heartening performance by Walter, comfortably within his Master Class 3 range. The rightful  jubilation of Walter’s many fans will be slightly dampened, however, when they see that this below-6 PR does not translate into a step forward on the BMS Grading Table (current standing : 6,27 (5)).  Culprit to that are the below-par performances by Walter in the 2017 BIC competition. Although Walter has been steamrollering all opposition, he has not done so by playing world-class backgammon. Or has he become a convert to the anti-dogmatic play-worse-to-win-more school of thought?

Anyway, Walter’s competitiveness and dogged determination are likely to keep him within sight of the top-3 spot in the coming months. Performing well in the upcoming Nordic Open (14-17 April) is infinitely more important than worrying about PR’s. Walter is on a winning streak, but should be aware that streaks, whether lucky or unlucky, are correlative with skill level. Playing better remains the best recipe for success, notwithstanding current obscurantist views to the contrary.

Ronny played well in this demanding format. As is so often the case, however, one slip (a 7,90 in match 1) marred his over-all performance. A Master Class 3 level of play is certainly within Ronny’s reach (current standing : 7,45 (10)). Still, talent alone is seldom enough to make progress in this bewilderingly complex game. Ronny is one of Belgium’s many gifted players who, untethered from familial duties, job obligations and other distractions, would improve dramatically if they could muster the required discipline and dedication. Life is a patchwork of passions, however, and scaling priorities wisely is the mark of sensible men…

Spread over four Fridays in March,  Robin Bilderbeek and I played eight 13-point matches, which we recorded and transcribed. Robin was eager to test his new-found skills against a better opponent and I desperately needed some better-than-average PR’s to give my corroding confidence a boost.

Before play started,  Robin put his aims on a piece of paper : he hoped for a PR around 6,40 (very ambitious for an advanced player) and while he was at it, prognosticated that I was going to score a PR below 4,60. Needless to say, such PR’s cannot be achieved by playing in a leisurely fashion. We would both need to be sharp and muster all weapons in our respective armouries.

Here is how we did :

This is an excellent result for Robin and eerily close to his prediction. There can be no doubt that Robin’s dedicated practice (focused analysis using XG) is bearing fruit. Insiders will not be surprised to see Robin consolidate this Master Class 3 performance in the coming months.

Not as I had hoped in my rosiest dreams, but good enough to draw confidence from. The boundary of Master Class 1 territory ( < 4,75) lies somewhere ahead, but it will still take some hard travelling to reach it.

Robin finishes another Master Series (8 x 9) against Marc Van Damme today (Tuesday, 4 April), while other MS1’s are in progress (Johan Huyck v Geert Van der Stricht, Johan Huyck v Michel Lamote, Walter Meuwis v Ronny Conaert). How about you, dear BGFed member?

Thank you to Johan Huyck (BMS Committee) for re-analysis and processing of the data.

Watching a backgammon match can be fun and entertaining, especially when both players play at World Class level and  there is something at stake. When I am out of a tournament, I never play side-events.  I go and watch a match between two of the best players in the room. I ask them permission to sit down at their table and watch their every move, from first to last. It gives me a feel of how top players cope with both the brutal and benevolent swings of the game.

Do I learn from that? Not really. If Mochi (the best player in the world) makes a surprising checker-play in a backgame or takes a cube I would certainly have dropped, I can never be 100% sure that he was right and I was wrong. However, if the match is recorded and transcribed, I can later watch the transcript and find out if the Grandmaster was right, or if I was. That, in my opinion, is a great way to learn.

Similarly, watching a backgammon match between top players on YouTube can be fun, but you can only learn from it if the XG-feed is posted and you know what is the right decision.

But  why don’t you see for yourself? Below is the link to a 9-point match played between Marc Van Damme and Robin “Rain” Bilderbeek. It is an official BMS match (match 1 of MS1 0032), which means the performance ratings (PR’s) will be incorporated in the BMS Grading Table (click on BMS in the black banner above for current standings).

Thank you to Rain (= Robin Bilderbeek) for editing and posting the video.

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 :

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).

Losing a backgammon match can be a frustrating affair. You feel you played better than your opponent, but still ended up losing. Fortunately, some satisfaction can be derived from the computer’s evaluation of your stellar performance. The other side of the coin, however, is that a performance you thought was excellent, may turn out to be nothing better than mediocre…

In their quest for mastery, 5 of our best players played, recorded and transcribed 36 long matches in the last months of 2016. Except for Johan Huyck, nobody seems to have made significant progress.

Geert Van der Stricht challenged Bert Van Kerckhove to a contest of six 15-point matches (6 x 15).  The action took place on Tuesday nights, at the Sandeman in Gent,  after a hard day’s work, so players can be forgiven not to have found their best form. Still, both Geert and Bert might feel slightly uncomfortable when confronted with the numbers. Bert, however, did make progress on the BMS Grading Table. He is only one good performance away from dipping below 7 (current standing : 7,13) :

Geert played another series of 15-pointers against Paul Van Dijke (6 x 15). This time, Geert managed to come closer to what is perceived to be his true potential, while Paul comfortably dipped below 6,50. Both players can rightfully feel encouraged by this performance :

Johan Huyck and I also played an MS1 (6 x 15). Consistent study and dedicated practice are bearing fruit for Johan.  In the past 6 months he has gained a full PR point on the BMS Grading Table, which is a remarkable achievement. He has elbowed his way past Walter Meuwis to the number 3 spot on the BMS table with a current PR of 5,77. Insiders expect Johan to dive below 5 before June 30, 2017 :

My PR, on the other hand, is nothing less than a set-back. I had hoped to solidify my below-5 rating, but the 6th match proved one too many. Clearly, focused study will be required to climb another rung on the ladder :

Walter Meuwis and Luc Palmans opted for 17-point matches (6 x 17). Walter, current holder of the prestigious BIC title (Belgian Individual Champion) and certified BMAB Master (Class 3),  seems to be struggling a bit with his game. His PR in this MS1 is surely below his inherent skill level. Sadly,  this below-par performance is ruthlessly reflected in the BMS Table, where Walter now stands with a worrisome 6,15 behind his name :

His opponent, Luc Palmans, has recently shifted his attention away from backgammon to chess and … other interests. As the numbers show, it is hard to come up with Expert performances when playing in recreational mode, even as one of the most gifted players in the country :

Maurits Pino and Alain Chif have also finished an MS1 (8 x 9),  but the data are still being processed. Of others (Kristoffer De Weert, Sassan Kachanian, Leonidas Sotiriadis, Paulus Van Rooijen, Toon Van Herreweghen, a.o.) we remain in the dark as to their playing strengths.

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