Brugge BC is happy to announce that the 26-player field for BBD2 is now complete. The following players registered : Henri Pollet, Geert Van der Stricht, Johan Segers, Bert Van Kerckhove, Johan Huyck, Johan Swyngedouw, Sassan Kachanian, Luc Palmans, Isabelle Goeman, Line Vandamme, Peter Allemeersch, Zsolt Tasnadi, Marc Steyvers, Paul van Dijke, Paulus van Rooijen, Akbar Soltani, Fakhri Soltani, Johan Brisaert, Sofie Brisaert, Kristoffer De Weert, Alain Chif, Leonidas Sotiriadis, Dan Pascu, Eddy Cabooter, Ronny Lecomte en MauritsPino.
In case you are not on this list, but would still be interested in taking part, you can send me an e-mail (kynos8000@gmail.com). I will contact you should there be a drop-out.
Thanks to all players for registering so promptly. More detailed information will appear on this website on Friday 12 February 2016 at noon.
In the first round of BBD1 two players of the Brussels Four Cubes team were pitted against each other. Zsolt Tasnadi and Alain Chif have worked their way up the national ranking to the edge of the top-10. They are working hard to make the step from Intermediate to Advanced level.
Their match was witnessed by nobody except the camera. All other players were completely wrapped up in their own decision-making processes. Their matches have disappeared into nothingness. The Tasnadi-Chif match, however, has now been transcribed in XG and fully annotated. If you are a member of BGFed, you can send me an e-mail (kynos8000@gmail.com) and we (i.e. Zsolt, Alain, and I) will share this fascinating contest with you. You can review it at leasure and – hopefully – learn something from the annotations.
Game 3 was particularly instructive. Zsolt is leading 2-1, which makes this a 5-away 6-away game. This is a very challenging match score, especially when the cube has been turned. It requires some in-depth understanding to fully grasp the implications of re-cube action. Fortunately for us, this is no issue here, as the game played itself out with the cube in the middle. Let us see what happened :
Position 1. White on roll. Should he double to 2? Can Red take?
This is a borderline No Double for money, but ats ( = at the score), White can turn the cube. White’s Gammon Value (GV) is slightly higher and so is Red’s Takepoint (TP). White is up 21 pips in the race, has a better position (one checker semi-escaped + the bar- and 4-point) and some powerful threats.
No double: +0,763 (-0,076)
Double/Take: +0,840
Double/Pass: +1,000 (+0,160)
Best Cube action: Double / Take
6. 65 : 23/17 8/3*
7. 31 : bar/22* 6/5 61 : ?
Position 2. White on roll to play 61.
61 : bar/24 17/11
After entering with the ace, White cannot afford to give up the 17-point. Alain must be suffering from early morning drowsiness, because this is an error you cannot afford to make. With a stranded checker on the 24-point, you simply must keep the 17-point to keep that man connected. This is a bad mistake (0,166) simply because the correct move is so obvious.
8. 21 : 6/4 5/4 61 : ?
Position 3. White on roll to play 61.
Alain is lucky to have rolled a joker, but unlucky in that there is such an attractive alternative (with a 63 the choice would be crystal clear). How can making the 5-point be wrong? Well, this is a pvp-position (prime-vs-prime) and this territory is governed by different laws. A useful guideline is : Do what is most difficultfirst. Here, your back man is away from the edge of a 4-prime, so he can only successfully jump to the 17-point with 61 and 52 (4 rolls out of 36). Making the 5-point is much more probable : 61, 63, 31, 66, 44, 33, 11 do the job (10/36).
Still, the resulting position after Alain’s move is worth a look :
Position 3a. After 11/5 6/5.
It is easy to see the lure of this position : White has a 5-prime with a spare and only one man behind a stripped 4-prime. Red on the other hand has 2 men behind a 5-prime. The value of the assets is clearly in White’s favour. However, the problem is that Red is on roll : 15 rolls hit the blot on the 17-point and nine 2s anchor up (Red hits with 32). In other words, Red’s initiative negates his positional disadvantages. This is a very important concept in pvp-games. By the way, I would not be surprised if chess players were more likely to go for the 5-prime here than non-chess players.
Another aspect is the cube. After reconnecting with the blot on the 17-point, White is close to a Double if Red does not roll something spectacular like 42, 62, 64 or 22. After making the 5-point, Red has 5s that hit and 2s that anchor, leaving a No Double, Take position. The computer labels this a monstrous blunder (0,447). However, pvp-positions are notoriously complex, so I would not beat myself up over this, had I got it wrong.
Alain was not punished for his mistake and should have doubled here. Failing to do so, costs 0,112. Once again, the dice offer him a tricky choice : one might be tempted to make a full 6-prime with 13/9 (2). Alain keeps a cool head though and finds the right priorities : safety the blot (17/13), come to the edge of the prime (24/22) and put a spare on the 6-point (8/6). Well played!
10. 31 : 13/9 44 : ?
Position 5. White on roll to play 44.
It is almost comical how Alain is once again confronted with a great roll which is so difficult to play. What would you do? Surely one looks at 13/9 (2) 13/5, right? This builds a 6-prime with a great distribution of spares. However, this is a massive blunder, costing 0,342! The key to this position is that Alain is behind a broken 5-prime himself and needs to roll a 5 to escape. Chances of doing that are only 30% (11/36), so that may take a few rolls. Alain’s timing is precarious : his 6-prime may only hold for one or two rolls if a 5 does not come quickly. Therefore he needs to prevent Red from either counter-priming or attacking him. This is achieved by putting Red on the bar. Several plays are worth considering, but the best way to do that is to point-and-shift : 7/3* (2) 5/1* (2)(!!). Congrats to the reader if he got this one right.
After this game the score was tied at 2-2 (7). Game 4 turned into an exciting blitz : Alain found a world-class Take and Zsolt struggled with the checker-plays. You can review this game and the rest of the annotated match by simply sending me an e-mail (see above).
Johan Segers hammered his way to a convincing triumph at BBD1 yesterday. He nailed a 5-win streak to clinch a resounding victory.
Paul van Dijke was runner-up (4/5) with Geert Dooms, Zsolt Tasnadi and Bert Van Kerckhove sharing 2nd place (4/5).
The hometeam was able to hold on to the Brugse Zotten, but only with the narrowest of margins. Leuven BC came close to achieving a sensational steal, but 5th round victories by Brugge’s Eddy Cabooter and Nigel Vergaerde made sure the hoard of local beer stayed in Brugge.
thank you all for signing up for BBD1. We are looking forward to a fun day full of exciting backgammon.
Here are some last practical guidelines :
1. Draw :
As announced, the draw will be done on Friday at noon. After the draw is done, you will be notified of your table number and opponent, either by mail or SMS.
We have a field of 26 players, with Robin Bilderbeek on the stand-by list.
I count on everybody’s discretion to inform me as soon as possible should unforeseen events prevent you from attending.
2. Getting there :
Car : remember that Saturday is market day in Brugge. Shoppers flock to the city centre pretty early and parking lots tend to fill up quickly. Most practical option is to park your car in public parking Pandreitje (put either Gevangenisstraat or Park 5 in your path finding device). Day fee is 8,70€/day. From there it is less than 5 minutes on foot to the Hollandse Vismijn.
Train : walking from the station to the H. Vismijn takes about 30 minutes. You can also take a bus to the market square and walk another 5 minutes to the Vismarkt.
3. Boards, clocks and other stuff :
If you have not been personally requested to bring your board, then we suggest you do not bring it to the venue. You will not have time to use it.
Boards, clocks, dice, etc. are provided by Brugge BC and some befriended players from other clubs.
The playing room is not spacious and there is no cloak-room available. So travel light and bring only the most necessary things to the H. Vismijn.
4. Schedule (modified!) :
9 – 10 : arrival : you will be greeted by either Line Vandamme or Isabelle Goeman. From them, you will get a coupon which you can exchange at the bar for your welcome coffee. Boterkoeken are upstairs in the playing area.
10 – 10:15 : if you have not moved upstairs by this time, it is time you did. Take a seat at your designated table and await proceedings.
At this time, only players and staff are allowed upstairs. Once the tournament is underway, visitors are welcome. Smoking and pets are not allowed. Visitors are expected to be quiet.
10:15 – 10:30 : Welcome word and Player Presentation (by Michel).
10:30 : start of tournament by wedstrijdleider (tournament director) Geert Van der Stricht. He will inform you on certain aspects of playing etiquette and then get Round 1 of the tournament underway by starting the clocks.
12 : Round 2
13:30 – 14 :15 : lunch break. Soup, sandwiches and cake will be brought upstairs.
14:30 : Round 3
16 : Round 4
17:30 : Round 5
19 : Prize giving.
Players are requested to replace the checkers in the starting position once they have finshed playing their match. They can then either watch some other matches or go downstairs for a drink or a breath of fresh air.
5. Side-pools :
At this time, 4 players have entered the 50€ side-pool. They are : Line Vandamme, Bert Van Kerckhove, Paul Van Dijke and Michel Lamote.
One player has entered the 20€ side-pool. That is Peter Allemeersch.
You can still sign up for either side-pool. Just inform Michel before Saturday, 10 am.
6. Buying drinks :
Upon arrival, you will receive a personalised zuipkaart. Whenever you order drinks during the day, you order will be noted on the card. No need to take out cash. At the end of the day, we count on everybody’s savoir vivre to pay the bill at the counter before stepping into the night.
7. Public table :
We play on 13 numbered tables. All these tables have a board, 30 checkers, 2 dice, 2 cups and 1 doubling cube. Pen and paper are available for scorekeeping. Scoreboards are not provided but feel free to bring your personal scoreboard.
Table 1 is the Feature Table. The board on that table belongs to Geert Van der Stricht. It was awarded to him upon winning the first edition of the BIC (Belgian Individual Championship) in December 2013. If you find yourself playing on that board, you should be first on the Leaderboard (except for Round 1 of course, which is random).
All matches played on the Feature Table will be recorded. Afterwards they will be transcribed in XG and posted on the BGFed website along with some comments and annotations by Michel Lamote.
Table 2 is the Public Table. This board is the only board set up in the café. It brings backgammon and the tournament in the public eye.
Since it is Table 2, the players at this table will probably be seasoned players who should be able to cope with the noise (music, talking, …). However, if you are drawn to play on the Public Table and you feel uncomfortable playing in those rowdy conditions, just let Geert know and you will be allowed to play upstairs in monastic silence.
Tables 3 to 8 are the Homeboard Tables. They are the personal boards of members of Brugge BC, viz. Peter Allemeersch (Table 3), Line Vandamme (Table 4), Paul Van Dijke (Table 5), Guy Van Middelem (Table 6), Nigel Vergaerde (Table 7) and Eddy Cabooter (Table 8).
The last 5 tables are the Guest Board Tables. The boards belong to Johan Segers (Table 9), Maurits Pino (Table 10), Patrick De Wilde (Table 11), Geert Dooms (Table 12) and Luc Palmans (Table 13).
We trust that all participants will treat these boards with respect (or at least try not to spill drinks in the board).
Conclusion :
Let me thank you all beforehand for helping to make this pioneering event a success.
We count on your punctuality and, above all, your sportsmanship.
Michel Lamote
for : the organizing committee (Line Vandamme and Peter Allemeersch)
