There were two sections that can be entered -- an Open Division and an Advanced Division. Anybody can enter the Open, while the Advanced is reserved for the players who are less than championship caliber. At the time I registered, I was torn between entering the two divisions. On one hand, I knew that there would be a lot of big guns at the event, and that it was my first time in such a tournament. On the other hand, I felt like I was good enough so that I wouldn't embarass myself. So, I finally decided to go with the Open Division.
I set my goals very modestly. With this being my first big tournament, I just wanted to win a match. Just one. If i had gone 1-3, I would have felt OK.
Three other BCSD players entered. Sho Sengoku was also there, as expected. Sho is well known in the backgammon world as a serious contender, and is well respected. Sho made the most recent Giants of Backgammon list at #59, and in particular won the 48th Gammon Associates Invitational. Also making the trip were Adrian Costa and Mark Weiner. Adrian and Mark entered the Advanced bracket. I also drove up and split a hotel room with Adrian.
The tournament was held at the A.R. Club on Beverly Boulevard. It has two main playing rooms and a couple of small side rooms. The decor is, well, artsy. It's a fun place to play. It was a little bit crowded, but that's a testament to the popularity of the tournament.
The format of the tournament is sometimes described as triple elimination, but that's not quite accurate -- while it's true that you get to keep playing until you have lost three times, once you lose twice, you're out of the running for first place. The format is correctly described as double elimination with progressive consolation and a last chance.
There was a side event that started on Friday -- the Super 32. That side event was too rich for my blood, so I made my first appearance on Saturday.
When I arrived, I was immediately awed. In no time, I recognized many faces that I had seen on the internet from pictures of other tournaments. Instantly, I second guessed my decision to enter the Open Division, but it was done -- my entry fee of $240 was paid and there was no going back.
While waiting for the draw to be made and the brackets to be posted, I wandered around watching people playing on the side. I saw Neil Kazaross in action giving his analysis of a position. Neil posts frequently on the GammOnLine bulletin board, and I enjoy reading what he posts. Watching him in action analyzing a position while he thought out loud was very illuminating.
Before the tournament, a silent calcutta auction was held for both brackets. Cards with people's names were placed on a table, and anybody that wanted to bid on the players could write their bids on the cards. Should you win an auction and the person you bought placed in the tournament, you'd win a prize. As an unknown, nobody bid on me, so I bought myself for $10.
Next thing I knew, the brackets were posted, and the tournament was underway. My first opponent was Eliot Bean, who is a tough competitor. Sure enough, the match seemed to be over before it began. Eliot ran off a 10-0 lead in the 11 point match, and while I managed to salvage a game, the rout was on, and I was quickly shunted into the Consolation bracket.
Now I faced the prospect of having to fight my way through the Consolation bracket -- it appeared to be a long haul to the finals, and at that point, I didn't even want to try to count how many I would need to win. My next match was ready, and it was against Fred Kalantari. I didn't know it at the time, but Fred is an extremely solid player.
The match against Fred was tough, but what really put the pressure on was that during the match, Ray Fogerland walked by and mentioned that he was due to play the loser of our match. I was faced with the prospect of having to play Ray Fogerland, the current ABT leader, in a match to save my tournament life. Fortunately for me, it never happened, as I rallied to beat Fred Kalantari to advance.
I had done it! I had met my very modest goal of not going three and out. After this, anything would have to be a bonus. What happened after this amazed me.
I defeated Michael Bernstein to lead up to the dinner break, which was sorely needed. After the break, David Kaufman fell to my wily ways, giving me a rematch against Eliot Bean which didn't start until 11 p.m.
For the next two hours, I battled long and hard with Eliot. At 1 a.m., I emerged victorious, but at the price of a slight headache, and a feeling of exhaustion, albeit exhilaration. With Saturday in the books, I had gone 4-1, and suddenly the top spots were actually in sight. Patrick Gibson gave me a starting time of 10 a.m. on Sunday morning, so I desperately needed some sleep. I would be playing Alain Azoulay when play resumed on Sunday, needing just two wins to make some money.
At 10 a.m., after some sleep and an early breakfast, I returned very energized. My exhaustion from the day before was gone, and I was raring to go. Alain, my opponent, was nowhere to be found. Pat Gibson assessed penalty points, and was on the verge of forfeiting the match in my favor when Alain finally turned up, and we started playing, with a 4 point penalty assessed in the nine point match. The lead I was given turned out to be helpful, as I managed to defeat Alain, but it was another tough match.
How could this be? I was just winning and winning and winning. I felt remarkably calm through all of this, and very focused on the matches. But the toughest competition was yet to come. I was now in the quarterfinals, and paired with Tad Bright, who is well known as a very strong player. The winner would be assured of no worse than 3rd place in the tournament, so we hedged $200 on the outcome, at the suggestion of Tad.
I expected a tough fight, but everything went my way, and in rather quick fashion, I had clobbered Tad. Now I could do no worse than third place! This was unbelievable!!! But I had no time to reflect, as my next opponent was ready... and it was Norm Wiggins, another name I recognized as a tough opponent -- Norm won the 12th and 39th Gammon Associates Invitationals. After hedging another $200, the result was the same. Another crushing victory, and I had made it to the finals.
Wait... the finals? The FINALS? This is the first time I was in a major backgammon tournament, and I am in the finals? This must be a dream... somebody pinch me! My opponent was ready to play -- one Mr. Wayne Jeffcoat, somebody who was only slightly less unknown than me in these circles.
Wayne had made it to the finals by winning six straight matches without a loss. As I had suffered a loss, and had emerged from the loser's bracket, I would have had to beat Wayne twice to win the tournament, first in an 11 point match, and then in a 9 point match.
And so the match was underway. Wayne struck out to an 5-2 lead, when Lady Luck struck again, and I backgammoned Wayne on a 2-cube to take an 8-5 lead, a game that I would hope could be the turning point.
Later, the match was 9-7 in my favor, and I was faced with this position (note that I do not recall the position exactly, except that I do recall the exact pip count):
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Black leads 9-7 in an 11 point match.
Black on roll. Pip counts: White 78, Black 65
I doubled, Wayne took and recubed to 4, and the match was down to one thrilling race to the finish.
A few twists and turns later, we wound up with this position with Wayne on roll:
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Black leads 9-7 in an 11 point match.
White on roll. Pip counts: White 32, Black 3
I really think the thing I'm most proud of in my time at the Gammon Associates Invitational is how it all ended. Many backgammon players I know would audibly lament their awful luck, wondering how it could have happened. I did no such thing -- when those double fours popped, I had absolutely no reaction other than to say, "Congratulations," whilst offering a hearty handshake to the winner.
Afterwards, Wayne said to me, "You're in an awfully good mood for a guy who just got jokered out in the finals." I responded, "Not enough backgammon players these days observe good sportsmanship -- something everybody should be doing." I think I won AND lost with dignity and class.
When we lose at backgammon, we should not bemoan our luck -- we should congratulate our opponent, and if you insist on bemoaning your luck, do so away from the tournament event. I will never forget Wayne's joker sequence, but I will also never forget how Wayne was a gentleman throughout -- he never complained about his poor luck when I backgammoned him. If I have to lose, I'm very glad I did so to somebody as respectful as Wayne.
But besides which, I had another reason for being in a good mood -- I had just taken second place and won a bunch of money!!! I couldn't be upset about that at all!
So, a tiring weekend was over for me. Adrian, Sho, and Mark were all eliminated from the tournament, so both Adrian and Sho played in the doubles tournament. Adrian's team lost to Sho's team, and then Sho's team went on to lose in the semifinals, and that was it for the San Diego crew. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't participate in the doubles tournament, but that's OK -- I couldn't do it only because I was doing so well in the main tournament!
I don't think there's any doubt that I had a lot of luck. I had a lot of playing luck, as well as the fact that while I faced some tough players, I never played any of the real superstars like Neil Kazaross, Steve Sax, Malcolm Davis, or Art Benjamin. If I keep going to tournaments like this, no doubt I will one day.
For my efforts, I won a prize of $1,795 for second place, plus $303 for buying myself in the Calcutta auction. I hedged away a total of $400 ($200 to Tad Bright and $200 to Norm Wiggins), so in the end, after expenses, I walked home with a profit of just under $1,400. Not a bad payday! I even scored some American Backgammon Tour points, and right after the tournament, I stood at 17th place in the nation for the year. All right!!!
For the rest of the year, there will be more tournaments in the works. I'm hoping to attend the 10th Las Vegas Open in November, and I will DEFINITELY be back to enter the 54th Gammon Associates Invitational in December.
I have to say that I learned a lot about many different things. I have a different sense of what top flight backgammon is like, and I have some ideas of how to take my game to another level, which I'm going to need to do if I want to really compete with these guys on a consistent basis. My good friend Mike Godsey told me afterwards, "I don't think this was a fluke. You won't always do this well, but you'll definitely do this well again and even better." I can only hope so!
Jason Lee