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Thresholds, even symbolical ones, are sometimes hard to cross. Johan, studying hard recently, came up with this result :

PR Johan (draws 3-3)

As a consequence, he keeps hovering slightly above Master level with an overall PR of 6,54.  Johan will have to lift his game a notch this coming weekend (BMS Brugge, 6 x 13) if he wants to make the transition from Expert to Master level.

As for me, a couple of months ago I was tiptoeing hopefully around the 5 PR mark, but improving by 0,2 PR is not as straightforward as it seems :

PR Michel (draws 3-3)

With this result, I managed to shave 0,08 off my overall BMS PR, which now stands at 5,16.  The 5 PR line is surely within grasp,  but the Master Class I boundary (4,75) feels like a distant mirage.  The illusive Grandmaster Class III level (< 4 PR) is, as yet,  too preposterous to even contemplate…

This weekend (23-24 July)  7 of our best players (Walter Meuwis, Geert Van der Stricht, Johan Huyck, Guy Van Middelem, Paul Van Dijke, Paulus Van Rooijen and Maurits Pino) will test their skills at the 1st BMS BE event (Hollandse Vismijn, Vismarkt, Brugge). What can they do against 2 Czech players of Master level (Honza Czerny and Pavel Zaoral) and the phenomenal 17-year-old Zdenek Zizka (Grandmaster Class III)?

My answer? The only thing they can do is play to the best of their abilities and then let the chips fall where they may. Win or lose, any player who can perform 1 PR better than his current BMS grading will have reason for contented satisfaction, maybe even high-spirited elation…

Good luck to all players!

M

In the course of the past couple of months, Walter Meuwis and Ronny Conaert found time to play six 15-point matches. Walter recorded and transcribed. They each won 3 and lost 3. Astonishingly enough, like Johan Huyck and myself in our last Master Series, both players performed within 0,1 of their official BMS rating :

Walter’s PR (6 x 15)

Ronny’s PR (6 x 15)

In the meantime, Walter also completed his BIC Series. He played his 7 BIC encounters well within schedule and came up with a fine performance :

Walter in the zone in Velden, Austria.

BIC : Walter’s PR (14 x 13)

Will anyone do better?

M

In he course of 3 weeks, Johan and me played a Midsummer Series. We both hoped to improve on our current BMS rating. Unfortunately, good intentions are not good enough in backgammon. Johan saw some excellent PRs dwindle as a result of time pressure, whereas I failed to dip below 5 because of some lackluster cube actions.

Here is how we did :

PR Johan (loses 3-5)

PR Michel (wins 5-3)

Coincidently (or not?) these PRs are within 0,1 of our skill level as reflected in the BMS table.  This indicates that a series of matches of that length will more than likely give a reliable idea of  playing strength.

Johan and me will now start another Midsummer Series (6 x 13), which we will finish before the BMS event in Brugge. This tournament (6 x 13) will be the last chance for our top players to improve on their BMS ranking and thus strengthen their candidacy for Belgium’s Best, the team that will compete at the European Backgammon Team Championship in Helsingor, Denmark (20-23 October).

Here are the 12 players that have entered the BMS event of 23-24 July (between brackets : current BMS ranking) : Michel Lamote (1),  Walter Meuwis (3), Geert Van der Stricht (4), Paul Van Dijke (5), Johan Huyck (6), Bert Van Kerckhove (8), Guy Van Middelem (10),  Maurits Pino (12),  Paulus Van Rooijen (NL), Zdenek Czizka (Czech Republic, Grandmaster), Honza Czerny (Czech Republic, Master 2), Pavel Zaoral (Czech Republic).

If you play at Advanced level or better, you can still register for the tournament. There are 2 slots available. Entries close Sunday 17 July, midnight.

M

The BMS(BE) Committee hereby announces the introduction of a Rolling EP in both the BMS Grading Table and the BPR Ranking Table.

We asked committee member Walter Meuwis for some clarification :

Walter explains Rolling EP.

M : Walter, what exactly is Rolling EP ?

W : Simple : Rolling EP is an experience threshold, which will be used in the BMS and BPR tables. It will be implemented on 1 August 2016.

M : Why?

W : The effect of a Rolling EP is that players’ PRs will be represented more accurately. Without it, an Intermediate player who has progressed to Advanced level would for ever carry his intermediate PRs with him. Rolling EP allows him to shed these inferior PRs if he can solidify his progress.

M : What will the threshold be?

W : The threshold will be set at 500 EP for the BMS GT and at 300 EP for the BPR RT. The reason this threshold is different for both tables is that the BPR table consists mainly of shorter matches, 3-pointers to 7-pointers. A threshold of 300 represents around 45 matches. The BMS table contains predominantly longer matches, 9- to 15-pointers. A low threshold here would represent only around 25 matches, which in our opinion is too small a database for representing an accurate PR. Therefore, by setting the threshold for BMS at 500, the database will always represent about 45 matches.

M : How will that Rolling EP work?

W : Well, once a player’s experience (EP) exceeds the threshold, his (or her) oldest results will be removed. For  BPR this will always be by removing the oldest cluster. For example, if the oldest result is a cluster of 20 EP, then a total of at least 320 EP must be reached before the cluster is removed. For BMS it is a bit more complicated : in the case of a MS1 series, results will be removed match by match. In the case of a MS2 series, results will be removed by batch.

M : What with the BIC matches?

W : Since a BIC encounter always consists of two matches, both matches will be considered as a batch.

M : Will the removed results still be visible on the BMS and BPR tabels?

W : No. As the results are no longer part of the PR calculation, they will also be removed from the BMS and BPR table sheets. This is done to avoid endlessly long sheets with players’ results. However, all matches remain stored in the BMS(BE) archive.

M : So the biggest plus seems to be that by amassing experience (EP) players can leave bad PRs behind.

W : Indeed. Of course, for players who have already reached Master level, the influence will be small since it becomes progressively more difficult to improve. For Intermediate and Advanced players the effect will be clearer. They have more room for improvement and thanks to Rolling EP their current skill level will be more accurately represented. A good example is Robin Bilderbeek : when he appeared in the tables, he frequently played matches with PRs around 15 or so. Now he routinely plays around 8.  Once he reaches the EP threshold, his oldest results will be removed and his PR as mentioned in the tables will more accurately reflect his current skill level.

M : Sounds good. Thank you, Walter.