Backgammon Fun and frustration

Fun and frustration

Hard luck story contest

From:   Einar Tryggvason
Address:   einar.tryggvason@kemi.uu.se
Date:   18 April 1996
Subject:   Hard luck story contest - Finalists
Forum:   rec.games.backgammon
Google:   4l50k3$juq@columba.udac.uu.se

The hard luck story contest came to an end a couple of months ago, but it took me a while to get this posted. So, here are the two finalists! First the runner up, a mr Julian Hayward. He presented a simple race that includes a few important ingredients in a hard luck story. It was an important match (the match before the prisemoney in a tournament), a nasty sequence and a slight error by the opponent. I quote: British Isles Backgammon Assoc. tournament, fourth round out of 6. Appear to be cruising into semi-finals with this position: Score: X (me) 9, O 2 --- to 11. +24-23-22-21-20-19-+---+18-17-16-15-14-13-+ | O O O | | | | O O | | | | O | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | X X | | | +-1--2--3--4--5--6-+---+-7--8--9-10-11-12-+ X O double take 21 redouble take 66 21 43 I double, just to kill off any chance of a fluke. O then went on to win the match. Now, O only gets a shot at his flukey double if I roll 2-1 twice... *Needless to say there was no semifinal for the contributor* And we have a winner. Look at this beauty from Hugh McNeil in Canada: +24-23-22-21-20-19-+---+18-17-16-15-14-13-+ 2 | X | | X | | X | | X | | X | | | | X | | | | X | X | | | | X | | | | X | | | O | | X | | O | | X | | O O O | | X | | O O O O X O | | X | | O O O O X O | | X | +-1--2--3--4--5--6-+---+-7--8--9-10-11-12-+ I quote: X has the cube at 2. X has 3 checkers on the bar. Neither player has any checkers off. O to roll (me). O gets backgammoned. Yes, that is right, double fives, etc, etc, redouble, take, etc etc, backgammon. <*sigh*> So, BG-players, be prepared... Einar Tryggvason

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