July 9th, 2008

The Waiting is Over – Cannes is here!

By WSOB reporter Will Cockerell, 9 July, 2008

There are just a few days to go until the eagerly awaited climax to the World Series of Backgammon 2007-8.  It has been a splendid festival of tumblin’ dice so far, and a bumper field are set to descend on the Palm Beach Casino, seeking a coveted spot at the WSOB’s last 16 ‘final table’, the €160,000 shoot-out, the WSOB Championship.

Of the 8 players who qualify from the three tournaments of the UK Masters, Nordic Open and Riviera Cup, we know the identity of two for sure in John Hurst (GBR) and Tassilo Rzymann (AUT).  As for the rest, another four spots would appear to be accounted for.  Unless Hurst or Rzymann freakishly win at Palm Beach as well, the Riviera Cup winner gives us our third qualifier.  The tornado that is Rida Hassan must feel all he’s got to do is show up for his name to go into the hat.  Denmark’s Andreas Olsen needs to have a reverse shut-out in all matches in Cannes for him not to progress, while Germany’s Jan Jacobowitz would also have to suffer an uncharacteristic collapse for him to flunk qualifying.

Realistically, then, there are two spots up for grabs for someone not winning the tournament – and there are about 40 realistic contenders.  Even your humble correspondent is still dreaming back in 29th place… A streak of 4 wins in the main… then another 4 in the consolation and perhaps another 3 in the Last chance.  That’d give me 277 points for the tournament, and the top 5 (discounting Hurst and Rzymann) currently reads 228, 175, 162, 142, 142.  Granted, all of those will receive 64 loyalty points if they pitch up, but players as low as 30th, 40th or even 50th are still in with a shout.  All that’s needed is one piece of momentum, and a euphoria-fuelled surge through the rounds.

Momentum is one thing that Riviera defending champion and many people’s top player Sander Lyllof has been unable to find in this year’s WSOB.  His win-loss stats read: WLLWWWWLLLL.  A neat little run in the London Last Chance is all Sander’s been able to muster.  He is most certainly overdue to click into gear.

A good example of clicking into gear is Japan’s Mochizuki Masayuki.  He had endured a torrid time at the WSOB until suddenly:  WLLLLWWWWWWW, and bang, he’d walked off with the Nordic Consolation.  Mochi lurks menacingly in 13th place on the leaderboard.

Staking her claim to be the world’s leading female player, Bulgaria’s Maya Peycheva has enjoyed success at the WSOB:  LWWLWWWWWWWLWWLL.  That middle flurry of wins being London’s Last Chance gold medal.

And what of Falafel? Pretty impeccable stuff from the great one, albeit somewhat quiet at the Nordic. But his excellent sequence of results read: LWWWWWWLWWWWWLWLWLL which see him occupying the final qualifying spot in 8th. He’ll be doing all in his power to stay there.

And finally, you may wonder how the top 3 have managed to detach themselves from the rest of the field like they have.  It’s easy to see why when perusing their results.

Jan Jacobowitz:  LWWWWWLWLWWWWWL

Andreas Olsen: WWLLWWWWWWLWWWWLWLWL.  Andreas has thus entered a mere two backgammon tournaments and enjoyed no fewer than 20 top quality matches for his entry fees, the most of anyone.

And finally, there’s the sensational run of the inimitable Rida Hassan.  How about this for a sequence on the world’s biggest backgammon stage: WWWWLWWWWWWWLWWWL.  Played 16 won 13, lost 3.  And that last loss from a totally impregnable position, he wailed to me.

So it’s all set up beautifully then: the ubiquitous television cameras will soon be fired up and ready to go; and Jessie, Gus and John are tuning up their ‘mics’ to call the action.  There’s no reason why the Riviera Cup won’t be every bit as dramatic and exciting as London and the Nordic.  I look forward to seeing you there, and if you still haven’t decided whether to join the field of play, let me entice you with this observation:  Of the 8 semi-finalists we have seen so far, only one, Jacobowitz, has been a truly well-known player.  The other seven:  Plenz, Hurst, Westermann, Shino, Parshami, Mathieson and Rzymann have been refreshing, ebullient surprise packages.  No-one really saw them coming; so go on and surprise us with your dashing skills, we may not see you coming either...

Read my daily reports from Cannes here at Worldseriesofbackgammon.com

Copyright World Series of Backgammon Enterprises Limited / Will Cockerell 2008