For whom the Pell tolls

By Garry Jones

Charles Pell and Richard Basset, main finalists. The victory went to Charles (on the right)

It was a full house of 64 players (with 10 on the waiting list*) for the fourth Worcester Intermediates tournament on Saturday won by Charles Pell who hails from Cambridge, coming out on top with six wins, beating Richard Bassett from Lowestoft in the final.

As a member of the UKBGF the victory secures Charles a place at next year’s Tour Invitational event at Shrigley Hall in Macclesfield in January.

Meanwhile, Aniel Ciobanu continued his fine recent form by winning the Elgar Trophy in the consolation event, with Rob Budworth the runner-up. And it was Mark Williams who came away with the last chance Severn Cup in the final against Pat Brooks. There was also an Unlucky 8 event for those who were knocked out in the third round of the main event. Alan Joicey won, with Worcester’s own Fak Laight the runner-up.
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Intermediate tournaments are critical for the development of and popularity of the game. Intermediates master the art of tournament play (clocks, dice throwing, not dice on checkers, etc.). This is truly a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) tournament! No Super-grandmasters, grandmasters, or advanced players, but new and improving players enjoying a tournament where they are up against players with similar levels of play. This opens the chance of winning and, as this is on the Tour Winners Invitational, can be an opportunity for UKBGF members to get an extra tournament with most of your expenses paid.

The event at the Claines Royal British Legion Club in Worcester was organised by Dave Sanders and Sean Jones, ably assisted by Kev Jones. Sean said: “Thanks to everyone who took part – we were delighted to see so many people, with players coming from across England and Spain to take part.

“It’s a bit of a challenge to cram so many matches into a one-day event and my colleague Dave deserves all the credit for making sure the day ran as smoothly as it did. To help the growth of the game in the UK, it’s important that there are tournaments specifically for intermediates, so we’ll be back next year.” (* Let that be a lesson to you – register now to avoid disappointment).
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Without the necessary nourishment there is no tournament. The great sandwiches/rolls/wraps are all kindly arranged by Ian Gwynne – this enables us to keep costs down and run this tournament with a reasonable registration fee. Thank you, Ian.

As a HIIT day of backgammon with clocks and rules strictly adhered too, the necessity for carbs is high! So, when the last few games are being played (the finals) some Pizzas are ordered to keep the athletes going!

Thanks to Dave, the Steward of Claines Club (ex-serviceman who could tell stories from the battle of the Somme, but not Agincourt), who was delighted with the sale of poppies on the day and who attended to us behind the bar. There are many people behind the scenes or on the day and without naming these people we just say thank you for making this day a pleasure to attend.

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