| DAANZ Bismark Cup Standings (Top 10):
With just two of the year's major tournaments out of the way, the race for the Bismark Cup is already heating up. Leading the charge is last year's winner Rob Stephenson, who has a good lead on the chase pack!
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Regatta 2 - DipCon 34
DENVER - A sudden case of pneumonia wasn't enough to keep Manus Hand from putting together another great tournament this year. 66 players attended this year, including large contingents from both ends of the continent. But despite the strong competition, it came as no surprise when perennial favorite David Hood walked away with the title of North American Champion!
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NADF Grand Prix Standings (Top 10):
With the spring behind us, the North American tournament scene begins to swing from the western to the eastern part of the continent. Will David Hood's lead hold up, as some of the continent's best players gather in his own back yard?
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| Waikato Open
by Craig Purcell WAIKATO - A lot of thought and preparation went into this as last year we had one or two hiccups with less people turning up than expected (19 instead of 24). The idea of a continuous tournament was driven and a calhamerist scoring system were agreed upon (if the numbers suited). The numbers didn't suit and though a little disappointed a standard 3 round tournament with Detour 98f scoring was accepted and on we went with life. We had entries from Australia (2) Auckland, Wellington and a much better showing from Hamilton. Round 1 saw 19 players and had Quentin Ball working 2 GM boards. Of note that from 3 board there were only 5 eliminations (aren't we nice in the Waikato). Solid games were had by James Millington and Grant Torrie, but the early leader was a 14 centre Russia from Rob Stephenson. Round 2 started with a couple of people waving farewell (Chris popped home to have a baby but sadly wasn't back in time) and Scott Tasker breezed in the nick of time to loose his tournament diplomacy virginity This left us with 3 GM positions. This was by far the most contentious round with the different philosophies on how the game should be played coming to a head on the board I was on. 2 disputes committees were required as the TD was playing in the game and they ruled accordingly. I would describe what ensued was an example of fairly poor sportsmanship from most players on the board and it raises issues of what it is we are trying to build in the hobby on both sides of the Tasman. Results wise, Will B topped the contentious board, Torrie had a second win (leader in a draw) and Scott Tasker lost his virginity in style with a 12 centre 'win' as Turkey. Leader board (unpublished) was looking like Torrie, Stephenson, Dominick type of thing but nobody is ever too sure under Detour as it is a tad complex. Sunday brought the return of Rick V and the mighty Adam Purcell looking for his first great tournament victory which meant we had Q play 2 GM boards and act as TD (Just brilliant - Thanks). Board 1 saw a dramatic 17 (so close to an 18 I did lose it) from Russell Barke who played me and Quentin for a ***. Some last minute luck went our way as Sean C kept handing centres over without defending anything screaming "you should've stopped attacking me when we had the chance". Luck favoured us and a last minute change of heart from Sean meant that even with the time Draw an 18 wasn't likely. This clearly put RB in contention for the Scroll. Board 2 saw a six way draw 7/7/7/7/5/1 which I am told was classical stalemate with no one prepared to risk there life. Rick V being one of the 7 gave him leadership (joint) in 3 out of 4 tournament games he has played. Board 3 was where the action was with Grant and Rob drawing Austria and Germany and went 10 /12 respectively to see Rob slip marginally into the lead and claim the Scroll for the big Island once again. The Great Andrew Page attended the prize giving to add a subliminal touch to what was overall a very good tournament. My thanks to the 11 Aucklanders who made the trip and made the tournament possible. Nice to see a 3 Waikato players in the top 10 and hope that the fun side of the game continues to be driven hard here in Hamilton and around the country. Special thanks to Sean and Rob for making the effort - see you at WDC 2002 - if not before. . . . . . . . |
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Matt Shields (chirchill@diplom.org) |
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