30/08/05: Bristol Wide Open report by Ian Tarr

That weekend ......
Unique. 
That is the best word to describe a tournament the like of which the world -- never mind just Bristol, or even the UK -- has never seen. 
And the world may not see the like of the Wedding Tournament ever again, although there was much talk of anniversary tournaments to keep the feeling alive. 
Four days of varying activity at three different -- and superb -- venues, fourteen separate competitions, involving 78 different players, with a cash turnover -- including entry fees, side pools and auctions -- exceeding £12,500. 
The strength in depth of the field was quite possibly unparalleled in the history of UK tournaments, with 29 players travelling from overseas -- nineteen Danes, three Norwegians, two Poles, two Dutchmen, an Italian, a Belgian and one top player all the way from Japan! 
The 49 UK based players included no fewer than 25 who have tasted bread and butter Bristol competition, the others arriving from all over the country. And very gratifyingly from both a British perspective and a Bristol perspective, there were some outstanding performances from the members of this much maligned island backgammon race! 
Oh, and yes, I nearly forgot. There was a splendid wedding thrown in for good measure! 
It all started on Friday, when Roland and Simonetta were married at the Clifton Pavilion, which is a part of Bristol Zoo. This joyous occasion in superb surroundings was followed late in the evening by a 31-player Warm-up Tournament of 5-point matches, Peter Bennet kicking off what was for him a very profitable weekend when he defeated Steve Ferrer in the final. 
The main event, at the Clifton Club, a k a the Gentlemen's Club, took place over Saturday and Sunday. Steered by Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr, with great support from Alison Lee and the outstanding Jo Curl, the assembled throng had negotiated its way through eleven separate competitions before the Sunday awards ceremony. 
Forty-one players, including the esteemed host and hostess (deliberately kept in separate halves of the draw), contested the Professional Category -- consisting of 15-point matches all the way through -- and the target was to whittle them down to eight quarter-finalists by Saturday's close of play. 
Two matches from the last 16, however -- Lawrence Powell versus Andy Bell, and Mike Heard against Simonetta were adjourned a few points from their conclusion, and had to be "tidied up" on Sunday morning. 
At this stage, though, it was already clear that the last eight would contain no fewer than five Brits, including occasional Bristol visitor Paul Gilbertson. 
Two Danish giants, current national number one Mikael Jensen and former top Dane Lars Bonding decided to play their quarter-final on Saturday evening in a restaurant, Mikael prevailing, and Lars deciding to return home next day. 
Apart from Mikael, just one player stood between the Brits and a stunning main event victory -- Japan's Mochy Masayuki. 
Meanwhile, the Amateur Category, featuring 32 players was on a less demanding schedule, with two rounds of 11-point matches anticipated before Saturday's close. 
Here three Brits -- all with Bristol connections -- made it to the last eight. Two pairs couldn't wait for tomorrow, however, and this spelt Saturday quarter-final exits for both Rosey Bensley and Juanita Ferrer. Only Steffen Nowak remained to carry our flag into the Sunday, although which flag would it be? 
Sunday morning saw the respective demises of Lawrence Powell and Simonetta, so the Pro Main quarter-final line-up looked like this: Mochy Masayuki (Japan) versus Andy Bell (UK); Mike Heard (UK) versus Paul Gilbertson (UK); Lars Bonding (Denmark) versus Mikael Jensen (Denmark) -- already completed; and Martin Barkwill (UK) versus Dod Davies (UK). 
Mochy, Mike and Martin joined Mikael in an alliterative semi-final line-up. Mochy beat Mike, and Martin edged past Mikael to set up an intriguing final clash. 
And it was Mochy who kept ahead all the way to take the weekend's top prize of £3,290. 
Meanwhile, the Amateur Main saw Juanita's and Rosey's conquerors -- Anni Bech Nielsen of Denmark and Norway's Jorn Nesdal -- vying for a place in the final. Anni Bech won through, and had to wait for an opponent. 
In the two outstanding quarter-finals, Steffen Nowak got past Denmark's Line Karkow, while the sole visiting representatives of Italy and Belgium -- WBF supremo Marco Fornasir and Michel Lamote contested the other one, Michel winning through. 
Michel then went on to eliminate Steffen, before defeating Anni Bech to take the Amateur crown, along with £800. 
There had been some concern about the progress of the progressive consolation flights, especially in the Pro Category, but things did eventually sort themselves out. 
And it was in the Pro Consolation that the weekend's most popular victory occurred. 
The groom, Roland Herrera, having lost to Lars Bonding in the last sixteen of the Main, did better in the Consolation, overcoming Peter Bennet, Dane Jan Petersen, Holland's Rogier van Gemert, and Andy Bell before scoring a famous win against yet another eminent Dane, Mogens Knudsen. 
And there was another local success in the Amateur Consolation, when Steve Ferrer skipped past absent Reading based American Brian Kenny, before despatching Danes Lone Foldager, who likes cellists, and Poul Lindberg Soerensen. 
Rosey Bensley was Steve's semi-final obstacle, but another win saw him into the final against Katrine Teigen, another of the Danish contingent. And Steve triumphed, to add to his Friday Warm-up runner-up spot. 
With the inevitable eliminations and delays a feature of all tournaments, there had to be other activities to fill the void. And these were present in abundance. 
For some the current vogue for poker schools as an adjunct to backgammon tournaments hits the spot. And Martin Hemming conducted these with no little success. 
But for those of us yet to be bitten by the poker bug, other backgammon events are a necessity. 
There was a £5 2-point shoot-out, and a £10 5-point knock-out with a Hatrick Board as the prize. These two events filled gaps nicely during both days at the Gentlemen's Club. 
Buy-backs were also a feature of both events, just as they were (albeit only once) in the Sunday Consulting Doubles event. 
And there were the inevitable eight-player Jackpots, one with a £10 entry on Saturday, a further £10 one on Sunday, and two more at £20. 
Denmark's Henrik Veje won the board, while his compatriot Kristian Stegenborg took the 2-point shoot-out. 
Norway took the doubles, through Ivar Roeynstrand and 13-year-old Jim Remy Nesdal. 
And so, after the presentation ceremony, adorned as it was with beautiful trophies provided by Peter Bennet, you would have been forgiven for thinking that a perfect weekend had come to a fitting climax. 
Wrong. There was more to come, as Bank Holiday Monday saw as many as 50 players staying on for the Team Event and Individual Last Chance at another beautiful venue, Burwalls, right next to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and set in sumptuous grounds, allowing alfresco backgammon for those who wanted it. 
Players arranged themselves into fourteen teams of three players each, with the proviso that a maximum of two could be drawn from the Professional Category. 
There were some appropriate team names, including The Lars Chance, The Bride and the Vikings, Tacos and Tequila and Two Fish and a Cow. 
Players played a single 5-point match against a member of the opposition, and the first team to get two wins progressed through to the next round. 
Meanwhile, the unlucky losing team was jettisoned into the progressive Last Chance. 
There was a fitting success in the Team Event, with no prizes for guessing the identity of "The Bride" accompanied by "Vikings" Lone Foldager and Taus Boytler. 
And rounding off the weekend was a triumph for the only player to join the action as late as Sunday. Blaine Buchanan had been at another wedding over the weekend, but turned up to win the progressive Last Chance final against Chris Ternel. 
The pasta party which followed, complete with live music provided by Roland and Simonetta for a rapt audience, just ended the weekend perfectly. 
Dod Davies had performed both auctions at the weekend in his customary lovably uncouth manner, taking a total of £1,350 in the group auction, followed on Sunday morning by an £880 pot for the individual auction. 
Kristian Stegenborg and Julian Fetterlein made handy profits from their group auction investments, while Peter Bennet made a stunning double raid on the individual auction pot. 
All in all, the weekend was characterised by a slightly ad hoc approach to some aspects of the tournaments, but things passed off with barely a hitch -- although I can think of two people who were hitched! -- and a great spirit. 
There was just one dispute of note, involving two of Britain's top players who, knowing each other very well, digressed from normal tournament protocols and became embroiled in a dispute revolving around interpretation of events. The message for the future, surely, is that if you stick to proper tournament rules, such altercations never need happen. 
The fact that the weekend's hostess was sitting at an adjacent board made the incident the more regrettable. 
One such occurrence in an amazing weekend, though, cannot significantly detract from what was a fantastic success, and a time which will surely be fondly remembered -- and deservedly so -- by Roland and Simonetta for the rest of their days. 
A full breakdown of results will be provided shortly, hopefully to be followed by some photos.