News items from 2019 (first half)
30/06/19: Gaz wins Sunday tournament
With several regulars missing for a variety of reasons, there were just ten players in action on Sunday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the sixth of the year's ten Sunday tournaments.
And Gaz Owen was the main flight winner, defeating George Georgiou, Stephen Little and Daniel Eldridge in the process.
Daniel had arrived in the final by beating Rosemary Whitehouse and Ian Tarr.
George got past Rosemary, Mandy Macdonald and Gerald Whitehouse to win the consolation flight.
And in between the main semi-finals and final Daniel found time to extend his Premier Two Blue lead to six points by defeating Mandy.
28/06/19: Roland wins June GP10 tournament
There were eighteen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, including the sixteen who contested the fifth of the year's nine GP10 knock-out tournaments.
Before the tournament there was action in Premier One and the Brunel Trophy.
Tim Line became the latest to bow out of the fourth round of the Brunel Trophy when he suffered defeat to Ismail Yilmaz.
And Phil Charlton maintained his terrific start to the season, supplanting Nick Barham in second place of the top flight after defeating him 11-8.
A neat turnout of sixteen in the GP10 tournament eventually saw Roland Herrera come out on top.
He defeated Stephen Little, Andy Boysan and Gaz Owen, before overcoming Ian Tarr in the final.
Ian had got past Mandy Macdonald, George Devlin and Richard Owsley.
Tony Walters won the consolation flight, beating Mandy, Peter Crispin and Simonetta Herrera.
Peter was making his first Thursday appearance since February 2012.
Roland takes over the GP10 leadership from Daniel Eldridge.
26/06/19: Wednesday action
Two matches were played on Wednesday.
In the held over final of last week's Gaz Owen's 40th Birthday tournament Stuart Mann narrowly defeated Andy Boysan at the Pump House.
And in Premier Two Red Pearl Foster met Jon Organ at the Three Brooks and came away with an 11-4 victory.
26/06/19: Tuesday round-up
Four matches were played on Tuesday.
In the fourth round of the Brunel Trophy there were wins for Gaz Owen and Cecilia Sparke, over Kev Peters at the Globe and Adam Sinclair in Portland Square respectively.
While Kev is eliminated from the competition, Adam still has one life remaining.
Premier Two Blue leader Daniel Eldridge fell to a 5-11 defeat by Fred North at Bristol Yard.
And Jon Organ completed his second mega Premier Two Red comeback in just eight days when he turned around a 2-10 deficit against Ian Tarr at the Three Brooks.
24/06/19: Sixteen in Monday action again
There were sixteen players in action on Monday at the Bristol County Sports Club, including the fifteen who contested the sixth phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- a pair of DMP Tournos.
There was also league action.
Premier Two Blue leader Daniel Eldridge defeated Stephen Little.
And Kim Topasna moved to the top of the embryonic Conference League table by defeating Adrian Farthing, who also started a match with David Hoare, which was adjourned.
Another match to be adjourned featured Alan Parfitt and Jim Green of Premier Three.
In the DMP Tournos the groups were both won outright, one by Simonetta Herrera and the other by Ed Turner.
Simonetta takes over the lead in the SGP table, by virtue of having played fewer sessions than Stephen, who is level on points.
Kim leads on two fronts -- being the leading intermediate in the SGP table, and heading the DMP section of the John Curran and Roland Herrera intermediate sponsorship -- although Pat Meek would be in pole position in both categories if she were a paying player.
23/06/19: Paul out of Brunel Trophy
The latest casualty in the fourth round of the Brunel Trophy is Paul Watts.
His defeat at the hands of Daniel Eldridge on Sunday at the Rainbow Casino reduces the number of survivors to fifteen.
21/06/19: Thirty in birthday party mood while Frank takes Intermediates Trophy title
There were thirty players -- the largest turnout since September 2016 -- in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, including twenty in Gaz Owen's 40th birthday tournament and six in the eighteenth annual Intermediates Trophy tournament.
Three Premier League matches were played, plus two fourth round Brunel Trophy matches, one of which occurred earlier in Portland Square.
That encounter saw Simonetta Herrera exit the competition at the hands of Chris Rogers, a fate which later befell Fred North at the casino against Simon Hughes.
Stuart Mann and Tim Line shared the spoils of a Premier One double header, and Paul Watts edged home against league leader Richard Owsley in Premier Two Red.
Frank Jones became the eighteenth winner of the Intermediates Trophy with victories over Michael Clarke, Dave Cank and, in the final, Adrian Farthing.
In the birthday tournament, where the field included a welcome visit from Manchester duo Mark Calderbank and Andy Marshall, Andy Boysan won the first of Gaz's free doubling cubes for eliminating Gaz from the main flight.
Nobody managed to eliminate Gaz from the consolation flight, however, which he won by beating Roland Herrera, John Sprague and Simonetta.
Meanwhile Andy was progressing to the main final by overcoming Steve Morris, Adam Sinclair and Mary French, for whom a semi-final appearance stands as a career highlight to date.
In the final Andy will meet Stuart, whose victims had been Julian Minwalla, Chris and Steffen Nowak.
The final will no doubt be enacted soon, and the winner will receive one of those cubes, two of which went to the Intermediate finalists.
18/06/19: Sixteen in Monday action
There were sixteen players in action on Monday at the Bristol County Sports Club, including the thirteen who contested the fifth phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- three 3-point round robins.
There were three other matches played.
Two undefeated Brunel Trophy players met in the fourth round, and it was Miles Farren who kept his record in the competition unblemished at Stephen Little's expense.
And in Premier Two Red honours were shared in a double header between Simon Hughes and Jon Organ.
Jon made a remarkable comeback in the opening encounter, recovering from 0-10 to sneak a memorable victory.
In the round robins pots were shared in two of the three groups, while Roland Herrera won the other outright.
Stephen resumes tenure of top spot in the SGP table, with four others within 22 points.
Kim Topasna remains the competition's leading intermediate, and also confirmed top spot in the final table of the January to June 3-point round robin section of the John Curran and Roland Herrera intermediate sponsorship.
16/06/19: Cliff latest to exit Brunel Trophy
The first of the fourth round Brunel Trophy ties was played at the Old Fish Market on Saturday.
And Jim Green continued his serene progress in the competition by eliminating Cliff Blofield.
Jim remains undefeated, which guarantees him a place in the sixth round at least.
14/06/19: Gaz wins June Grand Prix tournament
There were seventeen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, including the fifteen who contested the sixth of the year's monthly grand prix tournaments.
Two Premier Two Red matches were also played.
These both involved Carwyn Jenkins, who suffered mixed fortunes, defeating league leader Richard Owsley but losing out narrowly to Ian Tarr.
The Red Division promotion race looks like becoming as intriguing as that of the parallel Blue Division.
In the tournament it was Gaz Owen who emerged as the winner, following on from his great form at the weekend.
He got past Ian Tarr, Ian Hedges and Simonetta Herrera before defeating Cynthia Roberts in the final.
Cynthia had beaten Nick Barham, Rosemary Whitehouse and Roland Herrera en route to the final.
Adrian Farthing won the consolation flight, defeating Pete Wright, Gerald Witehouse and Steve Morris.
Nick's BGP lead is cut from 40 points to 10, where Gaz and Roland are in hot pursuit.
11/06/19: Simonetta wins Monday Tric Trac Tourno
There were thirteen players in action on Monday, including the eleven at the Bristol County Sports Club who contested the fourth phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- a Tric Trac Tourno.
Three matches were played in the division which is promising to be among of the closest contested Bristol Backgammon league divisions ever.
Premier Two Blue leader Daniel Eldridge scored a narrow victory over Stephen Little, while the Star and Dove was the venue for a double header with the spoils shared.
This featured Steffen Nowak, who won the opener 11-10, and Ian Hedges, who struck back with an 11-2 victory.
The top eight players are currently well in contention for the two promotion slots.
Simonetta Herrera won the Tric Trac Tourno.
George Georgiou did enough to wrest the SGP leadership away from Stephen, while Kim Topasna still heads thr race to be the competition's top intermediate.
Kim also heads the Tric Trac Tourno section of the John Curran and Roland Herrera intermediate sponsorship, although Pat Meek would be a clear leader if she didn't have the habit of taking the zero payment option on Mondays.
09/06/19: Bristol successes at Blackpool
A small Bristol contingent made it to the Blackpool Imperial Open this weekend, and not without some success.
Gaz Owen made it to the main final, where he succumbed to Paul Christmas, having already been runner-up to Seb Wilkinson in the Super Jackpot.
Stuart Mann made it to the last eight of the main event, while Chris Rogers was eliminated at the semi-final stage of the consolation flight.
Andy Boysan won the Friday warm-up tournament, and then teamed up with Tim Line and Adam Sinclair in the sixteen team Triples event.
The Bristol trio made it all the way to the final, where they overcame a Romanian team to take the title.
And another Bristolian, Jason Champion, won the Tower Trophy.
07/06/19: Fourth round Brunel Trophy draw made
The draw for the fourth round of the 2019 Brunel Trophy was made at the casino on Thursday by George Georgiou.
There are nineteen survivors from the first three rounds, seven of whom have both lives remaining.
The odd number of course meant one bye to be allocated, and that fell to one of the two players with the best records (allied to the records of their opponents so far).
Nick Barham was the lucky recipient, with Jim Green missing out this time.
Three of the matches will be "sudden death", while in one match both players have both lives intact.
Matches are to be played before the fifth round draw, which falls on July 11th.
07/06/19: Roland wins GP30 tournament
There were twelve players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, including the nine who contested the fourth of the year's GP30 tournaments.
There were also three and a half Premier League matches played.
Simon Hughes's Premier Two Red campaign gathered momentum with a brace of victories over Paul Watts.
In the parallel Blue Division leader Daniel Eldridge suffered his second league defeat in two days, this time to Ian Hedges.
And Premier One leader Gaz Owen got through part of a match against Tim Line between tournament matches.
Gaz led 9-4 when they adjourned.
In the GP30 event it was Roland Herrera who took the honours, beating Gaz in a close final after eliminating Ian Hedges and Nick Barham
Gaz had got past Simonetta Herrera and Stephen Little en route to the final.
Ian Tarr took the consolation flight, defeating Ian Hedges and Simonetta.
Roland takes over from Nick at the head of the GP30 table, establishing a 15 points lead.
05/06/19: Fred ends Daniel's run
The sequence of seven wins which had taken Daniel Eldridge to the top of Premier Two Blue came to an end on Wednesday at Bristol Yard.
Fred North inflicted an 11-8 defeat on him.
04/06/19: Brunel wins for Gaz and Jim
There were seventeen players in action on Monday, including the thirteen at the Bristol County Sports Club who contested the third phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- a pair of Nackgammon Tournos.
Away from the club, the action centred on the last two third round matches of the Brunel Trophy.
At the Old Plough, Kingswood, Andy Boysan made his exit from the competition when he lost to Gaz Owen, while a Rainbow Casino meeting between Jim Green and Neil Young resulted in a narrow win for Jim.
Gaz and Neil have one life remaining, while Jim retains both of his.
With nineteen players remaining in the competition, this means another bye when the fourth round draw is made on Thursday.
In the advertised competition the smaller group was won outright by Ian Tarr, while there was a triple tie for the spoils of the larger group.
Stephen Little takes over the leadership of the SGP table, with four pursuers within 13 points of him.
Kim Topasna remains the competition's leading intermediate, with Adrian Farthing 14 points behind him.
Kim also retains the leadership of the Nackgammon section of the Roland Herrera and John Curran intermediate sponsorship.
And in the Drew Caudwell sponsored Nackgammon Grand Prix Adam Sinclair leads, with John Curran his closest pursuer.
01/06/19: Five penalised at the May 31st Premier League checkpoint
The second of the year's Premier League checkpoints passed at midnight on Friday, and five players have been penalised.
In Premier One Neil Young has incurred three penalty points as well as having the single point incurred on March 31st made permanent.
And while Premier Two Blue and Premier Three players have negotiated the checkpoint without a hitch, it's a different story in Premier Two Red.
The Red Division could justifiably be renamed the Invalids' Division this season, with no fewer than four players being severely hampered with various health related difficulties.
While Peter Thistlewood's eagerly awaited return to action after serious surgery is still on ice, he has always been marked out as a special case, not least because he has successfully and efficiently extricated himself from a similar backlog before.
But with the other players affected now returning to normality, it should be possible for them to get things back on schedule before the July 31st checkpoint bites.
However four players -- Simon Hughes and Jon Organ with three penalties each, Carwyn Jenkins and Paul Watts with two apiece -- have fallen foul of the current checkpoint, and it is to be hoped that they will all be able to claw the points back at the July checkpoint.
31/05/19: Third tournament win in four weeks for Tim
There were sixteen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, including the twelve who contested the fourth of the year's Speedgammon tournaments.
There were also seven Premier League matches completed.
Chris Rogers suffered Premier One defeats at the hands of Simon Baker and Phil Charlton.
In the same division Nick Barham and Neil Young shared the spoils of a double header, and Tim Line edged home against Andy Boysan in a match which had previously been adjourned with Andy 10-5 ahead.
The Globe, Newton St Loe, was the venue for a Premier Three double header where Andrew Cobb and Alan Parfitt swapped 11-4 victories.
In the two phase advertised event the twelve players were split into three groups of four, with Roland Herrera, Tim Line and Ian Tarr taking the group winner prizes.
In the second -- knock-out -- phase Tim and Ian reached the final, which Tim won, taking his third tournament victory in four weeks.
Nick and Simonetta Herrera are now joint SGGP leaders, with three others within 50 points of the top.
30/05/19: Spoils shared at the Rising Sun
A Premier Two Blue double header was played at another new Bristol Backgammon venue on Wednesday.
And Mandy Macdonald's 11-10 victory was followed by Steffen Nowak's 11-4 success.
28/05/19: Simon beats Rufus
In a Premier Two Red meeting at the Rainbow Casino on Tuesday, Simon Hughes defeated Rufus Rozelaar 11-6.
28/05/19: Monday at the Old Fish Market
Three Premier League matches played on Monday -- all at the Old Fish Market.
Daniel Eldridge went to the top of Premier Two Blue with a brace of victories over Drew Caudwell.
And Cliff Blofield beat Ian Tarr in Premier Two Red.
26/05/19: New Sunday tournament conditions voted a success
There were nineteen players in action on Sunday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the fifth of the year's monthly Sunday tournaments.
This was the first time since the first such event in October 2015 attracted the same number of participants that that level had been reached -- none of the intervening events reaching more than seventeen players.
And the main reason for the good turnout, undeniably, was the decision to reduce the entry fee from £40 to £20.
A couple of other matches were played before and after the advertised event, and both involved Tim Line.
A third round Brunel Trophy defeat at the hands of Stephen Little, was followed by another against Chris Rogers in Premier One.
Tim does have a life remaining in the former competition, however.
In the Sunday tournament main flight it was Mark Dixon who stole the show.
The former Bristol Backgammon regular defeated Tim, Simonetta Herrera and Nick Barham, before beating Roland Herrera in the final.
Roland's run to the final took him past George Georgiou, Adam Sinclair and Rosemary Whitehouse.
Gaz Owen took the consolation flight by beating Adrian Farthing, Cynthia Roberts, Daniel Eldridge and Tim.
25/05/19: Saturday Premier League round-up
There were three Premier League matches played on Saturday.
The Lock Keeper was the venue for Ed Turner's 11-7 Premier Two Blue defeat of Chris Hughes.
And James Lintell-Smith visited the Cabot Court Hotel in Weston-super-Mare, coming away with a brace of Premier Three victories over Tom Chapman.
25/05/19: Chris halts Gaz's run
In a Premier One meeting on Friday at the Phoenix Chris Rogers scored an 11-8 win over league leader Gaz Owen.
It was Gaz's first defeat in six league matches, and the victory was much needed by Chris as he hauls himself clear of relegation danger.
24/05/19: Twenty-five in Thursday action
There were twenty-five players in action on Thursday, including twenty-one at the Rainbow Casino, of whom seventeen contested the fourth of the year's nine Handicap Trophy tournaments.
There were three third round Brunel Trophy matches played, plus three and a half Premier League matches.
At the Old Plough, Kingswood, Gaz Owen extended his Premier One lead by defeating Simon Baker.
And Nick Barham maintained his title challenge with a win over Tim Line at the casino.
Tim was also heading for a likely defeat, when his next match -- against Andy Boysan -- was adjourned in readiness for the tournament with Andy 10-5 ahead.
In a Premier Two Red match Pearl Foster overcame Steve Morris.
Both Mike Smith and Phil Charlton are out of the Brunel Trophy after suffering their second losses in the competition, Mike's demise occurring in Portland Square at the hands of Chris Rogers, Phil's against Steffen Nowak at the casino.
Nick Barham pipped reigning champion Cecilia Sparke in the evening's other Brunel match.
Nick and Steffen have both lives remaining, while Chris and Cecilia have one apiece.
The tournament saw welcome Bristol Backgammon debuts for Gerald and Rosemary Whitehouse, who are regular players from the Tamar Valley club.
Adam Sinclair won the main flight, reaching the final via victories over fellow zero-handicappers Roland Herrera, Ian Tarr and Daniel Eldridge.
There he met Cynthia Roberts, who had beaten Ian Hedges, Adrian Farthing and Rosemary.
Consolation flight honours went to Mandy Macdonald, whose victims were Stephen Little, Tim and Roland.
Stephen still heads the Handicap Trophy rankings, although his lead over second placed Steve Morris is cut to 20 points.
22/05/19: Phil maintains challenge
In a Premier One meeting at the Plough, Congresbury, on Wednesday Phil Charlton defeated Stuart Mann 11-5.
Having won seven out of nine matches thus far, Phil is maintaining his title challenge.
21/05/19: Steve Cox resigns from Premier Two Blue
A change of life circumstances, involving a move to the Peak District, has forced Steve Cox to conclude that he will be unable to fulfil his remaining Premier Two Blue fixtures.
This has the unfortunate effect of wiping his seven results from the league table, with varying effects on those he had played.
Stephen Little now finds himself top of he league, while previous leader Steffen Nowak slips to third place.
21/05/19: Tuesday's league action
Four Premier League matches were played on Tuesday.
In Premier One Stuart Mann defeated Cecilia Sparke 11-6 at the Pump House.
Ian Tarr played twice in Premier Two Red and suffered mixed fortunes, beating Pearl Foster 11-5 at the Compass before succumbing by the same score to Simon Hughes at the Old Stillage.
And the Westbury Park was the venue for Chas Perry's 11-4 Premier Three defeat of John Curran.
That makes it eleven out of eleven for Chas this season, a new record winning sequence for that division.
21/05/19: Cecilia goes second
There were eighteen players in action on Monday, including the sixteen at the Bristol County Sports Club who contested the second phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- three three-point round robins.
At the Rainbow Casino a Premier One double header saw a brace of victories for Cecilia Sparke over Simon Baker which moved her into second place in the league table.
The advertised event comprised one group of six players and two of five.
The smaller groups were both won outright -- one by Stephen Little, the other by Roland Herrera -- while in the larger group the pot was shared by Daniel Eldridge and Adam Sinclair.
George Georgiou still leads the SGP table, by a short head from Stephen.
Kim Topasna heads the race to be the competition's leading intermediate, and cannot now be caught in the January to June 3-point round robin section of the John Curran and Roland Herrera intermediate sponsorship.
19/05/19: Sunday league round-up
Three Premier League double headers took place on Sunday.
In Premier One Tim Line visited Adam Sinclair in Clifton and came away with a brace of victories.
Meanwhile, at the Rainbow Casino, Carwyn Jenkins and Paul Watts shared the spoils of their Premier Two Red matches.
And the Lock Keeper was the venue for a brace of much needed Premier Two Blue victories for Chris Hughes over Mike Smith.
18/05/19: Friday action
Two matches were played on Friday.
In a third round Brunel Trophy match Daniel Eldridge defeated Chris Hughes at the Christmas Steps in what was effectively a sudden death match in this double elimination tournament.
And Andrew Cobb beat John Curran in a Premier Three match at the Globe, Newton St Loe.
17/05/19: Two tournaments in a row for Tim
There were twenty players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, including the sixteen who contested the fourth of the year's nine GP10 tournaments.
The day's only league match featured John Curran and Kev Peters, whose Premier Three meeting ended 11-6 in Kev's favour.
Another Brunel Trophy third round match was played, Paul Watts defeating Cliff Blofield, a result which leaves both players with one life remaining as they head for the fourth round draw.
And the GP30 tournament from two weeks previously was rounded off with the playing of the main flight final, where Andy Boysan beat Tony Walters.
In the advertised event there was a long awaited Bristol Backgammon debut for Kylie-Clair Bewley.
The tournament was won by Tim Line, who also took last week's monthly Bristol Grand Prix honours.
Tim got past Nick Barham, Andy and Tony before a narrow victory over Simonetta Herrera in the final.
Simonetta had defeated Roland Herrera, Daniel Eldridge and Ian Tarr en route.
Simon Hughes won the consolation flight with wins over Nick, Adam Sinclair and Adrian Farthing.
Despite having an average tournament Daniel's GP10 lead is increased to 50 points, with Steve Morris now in second place.
17/05/19: Adrian exits Brunel Trophy
In a late reported result from Wednesday Adrian Farthing was eliminated from the Brunel Trophy.
Kev Peters moves on to the fourth round with one life remaining after his victory at The George at Nunney.
15/05/19: Tom and Frank out of Brunel Trophy
Two third round Brunel Trophy matches were played on Wednesday, and two players lost their second lives to exit the tournament.
The George, Backwell, was the venue for Simon Hughes's victory over Tom Chapman, while Frank Jones succumbed to Miles Farren at the Alma Tavern.
Both Simon and Miles enter the fourth round draw with both lives intact.
15/05/19: Tuesday wins for Mandy and Fred
Two Bristol matches were played on Tuesday.
A third round Brunel Trophy match at Ye Shakespeare saw victory for Fred North over James Lintell-Smith, a result which means James is out of the competition, while Fred progresses to round four with one life remaining.
And at the Windmill Mandy Macdonald scored a Premier Two Blue victory over Chris Hughes.
14/05/19: George and John win DMP Tournos
There were twenty players in various kinds of action on Monday at the Bristol County Sports Club, inclusing the thirteen who contested the opening phase of the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix -- a pair of DMP Tournos.
There were two Premier Two Blue matches played, and one third round Brunel Trophy match.
In the Brunel Trophy Roland Herrera exited the tournament after a narrow defeat to Ismail Yilmaz, who has one life remaining.
Winners in the Blue Division matches were Stephen Little and Simonetta Herrera, over Mike Smith and Ian Hedges respectively.
And new player David Hoare had some friendly match action with Director Ian Tarr.
In the advertised event there was a competitive debut for James Huddy, who had had one previous fact finding session.
The seven player group saw a clean sweep victory for George Georgiou, while John Curran managed a similar feat in the six player group.
Thus George is the early SGP leader, while Kim Topasna is the competition's leading intermediate.
And Pat Meek would be the leader of the DMP section of the Roland Herrera and John Curran intermediate sponsorship if she elected to pay entry fees.
As it is Kim is in pole position to take the prize.
12/05/19: Saturday wins for Simonetta and Andrew
There were two Bristol matches played on Saturday.
The first of the third round Brunel Trophy matches was completed at the Rainbow Casino, and Simonetta Herrera's victory over Richard Owsley signalled the end of Richard's involvement in that competition for another year.
And the Rose and Crown, Larkhall, was the venue for a Premier Three meeting between Andrew Cobb and James Lintell-Smith, which Andrew won 11-9.
10/05/19: Tim wins May Grand Prix tournament
There were eighteen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the fifth of the year's twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments.
Two of them -- Simon Hughes and Steve Morris -- played out a Premier Two Red match beforehand, and it was Steve who edged home 11-10.
The tournament main flight saw BGP leader Nick Barham and Tim Lineemerge from the field as finalists.
Nick's progress to the final had come via victories over Andy Boysan, Adrian Farthing and Simonetta Herrera, while Tim's victims were Mandy Macdonald, Gaz Owen and Roland Herrera.
And Tim staved off a fightback to keep Nick from building a hefty lead in the BGP table.
As it stands he is still 40 points ahead of Tim, who has taken over second place from Roland.
In the consolation flight Simon took the honours by defeating Tony Walters, Steve and Mandy.
06/05/19: Monday league wins for Richard and Tom
Two Premier League matches were played on Monday.
At the Compass Richard Owsley defeated Pearl Foster 11-8 to extend his Premier Two Red leadership.
And Tom Chapman whitewashed John Curran at the Rainbow Casino in Premier Three.
05/05/19: Carwyn wins twice in Bedminster
Carwyn Jenkins visited Rufus Rozelaar in Bedminster on Sunday and came away with a brace of Premier Two Red victories, 11-10 and 11-5 the margins.
04/05/19: Brunel Trophy third round draw
The draw for the third round of the 2019 Brunel Trophy was made on Thursday evening, and is browseable here.
Matches are to be played by June 6th, the date of the fourth round draw.
There are twenty-nine players surviving, the odd one this time being Adam Sinclair with the bye.
Three of the ties feature players with two lives remaining, while there are seven sudden death ties.
03/05/19: Andy and Tony to contest GP30 final
There were twelve players in action on Thursday, including the ten at the Rainbow Casino who contested the third of the year's eight GP30 tournaments.
Elsewhere, a Premier One encounter at the Pump House resulted in an 11-5 win for Adam Sinclair over Stuart Mann.
In the GP30 event Andy Boysan and Tony Walters emerged from the field to reach the final, which will be played some time soon.
Tony received a first round bye, and capitalised by defeating Simonetta Herrera and Roland Herrera, while Andy's victims were Stephen Little, Gaz Owen and Ian Tarr.
Stephen then defeated Tim Line, George Devlin and Nick Barham to win the consolation flight.
Despite Nick's relatively unsuccessful tournament he moves from joint GP30 leader to sole occupancy of pole position, ten points ahead of Simonetta.
01/05/19: Nick and Andy share spoils
A Premier One double header took place at the Rainbow Casino on Wednesday.
And an 11-5 win for Nick Barham over Andy Boysan was followed by an 11-6 victory for Andy.
Nick moves to within six points of leader Gaz Owen.
01/05/19: Jim wins on two fronts
Eamonn Reay made another flying visit from Galway on Monday and played a double header against Jim Green at the Rainbow Casino.
An 11-9 win for Jim in Premier Three was followed by an 11-2 success in the Brunel Trophy.
The Brunel defeat signals the end of Eamonn's campaign in that competition.
01/05/19: Top flight wins for Gaz and Phil
Two Premier One matches were played on Tuesday.
The Bay Horse was the venue when Cecilia Sparke met Phil Charlton, and Phil squuzed home 11-10.
And Gaz Owen further extended his league leadership when he defeated Andy Boysan 11-6 at the Alma Tavern.
30/04/19: Ed and Kim take Spring Grand Prix honours
There were sixteen players in action on Monday at the Bristol County Sports Club, of whom fourteen contested the sixteenth and last phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a trio of 3-point round robins.
There was also second round Brunel Trophy action, where there were victories for Stephen Little and Roland Herrera.
Mary French -- Stephen's victim -- lost by the very narrowest of margins and exits the competition, while Mike Smith's defeat by Roland at least leaves him with one life remaining.
The one and only remaining second round match is rumoured to have been played but if it was, the result is not yet to hand.
The round robins saw competitive Bristol Backgammon debuts for Pete Kearsey, who made his initial, fact finding, visit a fortnight previously, and Geoff Paffett, a veteran of casino tournaments back in the eighties.
Each of the three groups had an outright winner with a 100% record.
In the larger groups Stephen and George Georgiou held sway, while Geoff took the smaller group.
George was unfortunate that it would have needed a six-player group to give him the opportunity to gain enough points to overhaul Ed Turner at the summit of the SGP table, so Ed is crowned SGP champion.
Kim Topasna was runaway winner in the race to be the competition's leading intermediate, although Pat Meek would have run him close had she chosen the paying option.
29/04/19: Jordan out of Brunel Trophy
Paul Watts and Jordan White met at the Rainbow Casino on Wednesday to play their second round Brunel Trophy match.
And Paul won 11-6 to send Jordan out of the competition.
26/04/19: Simonetta takes Speedgammon honours
There were sixteen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, of whom twelve contested the third of the year's eight Speedgammon Grand Prix tournaments.
Three second round Brunel Trophy matches were played, along with one from Premier Two Blue.
That league match saw victory for Ian Hedges over Mike Smith.
But Ian was to suffer elimination from the Brunel Trophy afterwards at the hands of Frank Jones.
Also out of the Brunel was Simon Baker after losing to Simon Hughes, while Phil Charlton -- defeated by Tim Line -- has one life remaining.
In the first phase of the Speedgammon the players were drawn into three groups of four.
Surprisingly, nobody managed to win three matches out of three in any group, so points difference came into play more than is usually the case.
Simonetta Herrera, Roland Herrera and Daniel Eldridge were group winners, and proceeded into the knock-out phase along with the runners-up.
And Simonetta defeated Cynthia Roberts, Daniel and Gaz Owen to take the honours.
She has cut Nick Barham's SGGP lead to 30 points.
24/04/19: Gaz and Ed are Wednesday's league winners
Two Premier League matches were played on Wednesday.
At the King William IV Gaz Owen extended his Premier One lead with an 11-6 victory over one of his closest pursuers, Phil Charlton.
And Ed Turner defeated Fred North 11-4 at the Bay Horse in a Premier Two Blue encounter.
23/04/19: League wins for Chris and James
Chris Rogers scored a much needed 11-5 Premier One win over Stuart Mann at the Pump House on Tuesday.
And in a Premier Three meeting at Grounded, Henleaze, James Lintell-Smith defeated Mathew Nicholls 11-4.
21/04/19: Tim wins Sunday tournament
There were ten players in action at the Rainbow Casino for the latest of our Sunday tournaments.
And the winner was Tim Line, who got past Adam Sinclair, Tony Walters and James Newman before defeating Ian Tarr in the final.
After receiving a first round bye Ian eliminated Cynthia Roberts and Simonetta Herrera en route to the final.
Stephen Little, victor over George Georgiou and Adam, won the consolation flight.
20/04/19: Richard tops Red Division again
In a Premier Two Red double header at the Bristol County Sports Club on Saturday the honours were even.
Richard Owsley won his opening encounter with Cliff Blofield 11-6, but Cliff struck back with an 11-10 victory in the return.
Richard is back on top of the division.
20/04/19: John wins at the Westbury Park
The Westbury Park Pub was the venue on Friday for a Premier Three match.
John Curran was the 11-8 victor over James Lintell-Smith.
20/04/19: Three out of three for Garry
There were eighteen players in action on Thursday, including sixteen at the Rainbow Casino, of whom fourteen contested the third of the year's nine Handicap Trophy tournaments.
A Premier Three match was played at the Clyde Arms, where Jim Green scored an 11-2 win over Mathew Nicholls.
And one and a half Brunel Trophy matches were fought out at the casino.
Ismail Yilmaz stayed in the competition by eliminating Steve Morris, while Frank Jones leads an adjourned match with Ian Hedges 6-5.
In the advertised event it was Garry Hutchinson who starred, winning his third Thursday tournament in just three visits.
After receving a bye in the first round Garry defeated Steve and Daniel Eldridge, before overcoming Stephen Little in the final.
Stephen had fought his way past Tim Line, George Devlin and Cynthia.
Steve Morris took the consolation flight, defeating Ian Hedges, Tim and Ian Tarr.
Stephen Little is the new Handicap Trophy leader, 35 points ahead of Steve Morris.
17/04/19: Chris stays alive in Brunel Trophy ...... just!
A second round Brunel Trophy match was played at the Lock Keeper on Wednesday.
And Mathew Nicholls is out of the tournament after leading Chris Hughes 10-1.
17/04/19: Rufus tops Red Division again
In a late reported result from Tuesday Rufus Rozelaar played host to Pearl Foster, and moved back to the top of Premier Two Red with an 11-6 victory.
16/04/19: Double header wins for Nick and Steffen
Four Premier League matches were played on Tuesday.
Nick Barham defeated Chris Rogers twice at the Rainbow Casino to move into second place in Premier One.
And at the Oxford Steffen Nowak was the player to record two wins, at Fred North's expense, to go top of Premier Two Blue.
16/04/19: Alan the latest Brunel Trophy casualty
There were twenty players in various kinds of action on Monday, including eighteen at the Bristol County Sports Club, of whom nine contested the fifteenth and penultimate phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a Tric Trac Tourno.
And thanks to the initiative of Kim Topasna there were five first time visitors, three of whom were completely new to the game.
Kim had invited the five -- Roger Selway, Pete Kearsey, Peter Tickner and father and son James and Rafael Huddy -- via Meetup, and the five were given game experience and tuition by Kim and Director Ian Tarr.
Two Brunel Trophy second round matches were played.
At the club Cliff Blofield goes into the third round draw unscathed after inflicting a second defeat on Alan Parfitt.
At the Globe, Newton St Loe, James Lintell-Smith was defeating Kev Peters, so both players progress with one life remaining.
Kev gained some measure of revenge later with a brace of Premier Three wins which keep his promotion bid well on track.
The Tric Trac Tourno saw the pot shared between Stephen Little and Adam Sinclair.
With just one SGP session remaining it will take a lot to topple Ed Turner from top spot.
Only Adam and George Georgiou have a small chance.
Kim, despite his hosting duties, remains the competition's leading intermediate, while Nelson Stephens stays top of the Tric Trac Tourno section of the Roland Herrera and John Curran sponsorship, although Pat Meek, who chooses to enter Monday event for free, would be top if she didn't.
14/04/19: Ed exits the Brunel at the Brunel!
The latest player to be eliminated from the Brunel Trophy is Ed Turner.
He was defeated on Saturday by Neil Young in a marathon match at the appropriately named Brunel, in Bedminster, a pub whose previous names include the Engineers Arms and the House That Jack Built.
12/04/19: Adam is 2019 Masters champion
There were seventeen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, of whom fourteen contested the fourth of the year's twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments.
Before the tournament Phil Charlton and Adam Sinclair played out the final of last week's Bristol Masters tournament, which Adam won 9-3.
And a second round Brunel Trophy match also took place, Tom Chapman preserving his remaining life by defeating Simonetta Herrera, who also retains one life.
Mary French and Stephen Little also played a second round Brunel match, which was adjourned with Stephen in the lead.
In the tournament it was Garry Hutchinson who played the starring role.
Having won a Speedgammon tournament on his only previous Thursday visit, Garry maintained his record with victories over Adrian Farthing, Adam, Tim Line and Ian Tarr, who had reached the final by defeating Lily Owsley, Roland Herrera and Andy Boysan.
Stephen won the consolation flight via wins over Cynthia Roberts and Simonetta.
Moderate returns for the top few players in the BGP table maintained the status quo, with Nick Barham retaining his 25 points lead.
10/04/19: Pearl is latest Compass victor
Another Premier Two Red match was played at the Compass on Wednesday.
This time it was a meeting of Pearl Foster and Steve Morris. Pearl won 11-7.
09/04/19: Ian wins twice at the Compass
A Premier Two Red double header, featuring league leader Gary Plant and Ian Tarr, took place at the Compass, Tormarton, on Tuesday.
Only one match was initially scheduled, but that was over so quickly that the second was a no brainer.
And although this was very much a fifty-fifty affair, the untimate outcome was the same, a win for Ian.
The adverse effect on Gary's points difference was enough to push Gary below new leader Richard Owsley.
09/04/19: Dave exits Brunel Trophy
There were twenty players in action on Monday, including eighteen at the Bristol County Sports Club, of whom thirteen contested the fourteenth phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a pair of Nackgammon Tournos.
Two second round Brunel Trophy matches and four in the Premier League were played.
Adam Sinclair and Steffen Nowak registered Brunel Trophy wins, at the expense of Adrian Farthing and Dave Pym respectively.
While Adrian retains one life, Dave's defeat signalled the end of his 2019 campaign, and to compound his disappointment he suffered a brace of Premier One defeats at the hands of Cecilia Sparke, who moves into second place in that division.
Rufus Rozelaar entertained Gary Plant in Bedminster, and claimed a last gasp 11-10 Premier Two Red victory.
Adrian became the first leader of this year's Conference League when he defeated Jordan White 11-4, courtesy of a sixteen cube.
The Nackgammon Tournos both had outright winners, Adam prevailing in the larger group, John Curran in the smaller one.
Ed Turner's SGP lead over second placed George Georgiou has increased to 26 points.
Kim Topasna remains the competition's leading intermediate, as well as heading the Nackgammon section of the Roland Herrera and John Curran intermediate sponsorship.
Adam takes over the leadership of the Drew Caudwell sponsored Nackgammon Grand Prix.
05/04/19: Phil and Adam reach Masters final
There were twenty-two players in action on Thursday, including twenty at the Rainbow Casino, of whom sixteen contested the nineteenth Bristol Masters.
Six Premier League and two Brunel Trophy matches were played.
In the Brunel Trophy second round there were wins for Nick Barham and Gaz Owen over Chris Rogers and Richard Owsley respectively.
All four players make it through to the third round draw, but only Nick has both lives intact.
Premier Two Blue's play consisted of two double headers.
Steffen Nowak twice got the better of Stephen Little, while Ian Hedges and Chris Hughes won one match apiece.
Pearl Foster and Jon Organ met at the Three Brooks for a Premier Two Red encounter, which Pearl won.
Later Carwyn Jenkins and Richard used their time well after elimination from the Masters by fitting in a Red Division match, which Richard edged.
In the Masters Phil Charlton and Adam Sinclair emerged as maiden finalists from the field of sixteen pre-qualifiers.
Phil, contesting his first Masters event since 2010, defeated Ian Tarr, Cecilia Sparke and Chris Rogers to get through, while Adam was eliminating Richard, Roland Herrera, and Andy Boysan.
The final will undoubtedly be played out very soon.
03/04/19: Brunel wins for Miles and Daniel
The first two matches from the second round of the 2019 Brunel Trophy were played on Wednesday.
At the Alma Tavern Miles Farren defeated Andy Boysan, while Daniel Eldridge was the victor over Fred North at the Bristol Yard.
All four players will be in the third round draw, but only Miles has both lives remaining.
02/04/19: Simonetta tops Blue Division
There were nine players in action on Monday, including the eight who were at the Bristol County Sports Club to contest the thirteenth phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a pair of 3-point round robins.
Earlier Drew Caudwell and Simonetta Herrera met at the Wellington for a Premier Two Blue double header.
Simonetta won both matches, but in very different circumstances.
The first match was one sided, but Drew led 10-8 in the return, only to succumb to a backgammon coup de grace, which moved Simonetta to the top of the division.
One of the round robins was won outright by George Georgiou, while the other saw a three way tie.
George has moved to within 17 points of SGP leader Ed Turner.
Kim Topasna still comfortably heads the race to be the competition's leading intermediate and is also on top of the pile in the January to June 3-point round robin section of the Roland Herrera and John Curran intermediate sponsorship.
01/04/19: Four penalised at March 31st league checkpoint
The first Bristol Premier League checkpoint passed at midnight, and four players have incurred penalties.
In Premier One Neil Young and Tim Line are docked a single point for being one match behind the schedule.
Simon Hughes and Pearl Foster have incurred two points and one point respectively in Premier Two Red.
In the same division Carwyn Jenkins and Peter Thistlewood, who have both been undergoing health issues, have escaped penalty, and will be reassigned new checkpoint targets in the light of their hoped for progress.
All penalties can, of course, be clawed back by compliance with the terms of the May 31st checkpoint.
31/03/19: Adam wins first ever Sunday round robin
The lowest Sunday turnout on record at the Rainbow Casino precipitated a change of format.
The third of the year's eleven Sunday tournaments saw five protagonists fight out a round robin of first-to-9-points matches.
There would have been a three way share of the pot but for the tie breaks which gave Adam Sinclair the top spot on points difference, with Cynthia Roberts and Ian Tarr sharing second place.
Two Premier Three matches were also played at the casino.
Mathew Nicholls and John Curran were the victors, over James Lintell-Smith and Tom Chapman respectively.
30/03/19: Saturday league round-up
There were three Premier League matches played on Saturday.
A double header at the Rainbow Casino saw the Premier Three spoils shared between Tom Chapman and Andrew Cobb, although Andrew fared the better in terms of points difference.
And Paul Watts visited Rufus Rozelaar in St Johns Lane, coming away with an 11-9 Premier Two Red victory.
29/03/19: Gaz extends Premier One lead
The Horseshoe, Downend, was the venue for a Friday Premier One encounter between Gaz Owen and Neil Young.
Gaz won 11-8, and is setting a fierce pace at the top of the league, with only Phil Charlton close to matching it.
29/03/19: Roland takes GP10 honours
There were sixteen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, of whom thirteen contested the third of the year's nine GP10 tournaments.
Three Premier League matches (all ending 11-8) and the last match of the Brunel Trophy first round were played.
In Premier One Phil Charlton maintained his fine start to the season by defeating Andy Boysan.
Mandy Macdonald visited Kellaway Avenue and came away with a Premier Two Blue victory over Simonetta Herrera.
In the same division Mike Smith beat Steve Cox.
The Brunel Trophy match saw victory for Stephen Little over Ian Hedges.
This enabled the staging of the second round draw, which -- along with all the first round results -- can be viewed here.
Roland Herrera won the GP10 tournament, with victories over Richard Owsley, Ian Tarr and Steve Morris.
Steve had reached the final via wins over Ian Hedges, Nick Barham and Daniel Eldridge.
Cynthia Roberts won the consolation flight, defeating Richard, Mandy and John Curran in the process.
Daniel has moved into a 40 points lead in the GP10 table.
26/03/19: Double success for Phil
Simon Baker met Phil Charlton at the King William IV on Tuesday for a double header with a difference.
The first match was a Premier One encounter, and Phil won 11-8.
The return was their first round Brunel Trophy tie, and although Simon got even closer the outcome was the same.
26/03/19: Nineteen in Monday action
There were nineteen players in action on Monday, including fifteen at the Bristol County Sports Club, of whom thirteen contested the twelfth phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a pair of DMP Tournos.
Five Premier League matches were played.
In the top flight Simon Baker and Dave Pym fought out a double header at the Blunsdon Arms, Swindon, Simon winning the opener 11-9, Dave taking the return 11-5.
And at the Pump House Stuart Mann defeated Andy Boysan 11-1 in the same division.
At the club Stephen Little moved to the top of Premier Two Blue with an 11-10 win over Ed Turner, while Simonetta Herrera was defeating Steve Cox 11-2.
In the advertised event George Georgiou won the smaller group while there was a three way tie for the pot in the larger group.
Ed still leads the SGP table, but George has closed to within 35 points.
Kim Topasna still has a sizeable lead in the race to be the competition's leading intermediate and is also on track to take the DMP section prize in the Roland Herrera and John Curran intermediate sponsorship.
24/03/19: Sunday round-up
There were five matches played on Sunday -- four Premier Two matches and one first round Brunel Trophy tie.
The Brunel match was a repeat of the final matches in last year's competition, where Cecilia Sparke defeated Ed Turner twice to take the title.
This time, at the Phoenix, the result was the same.
There were three Premier Two Red matches at the Rainbow Casino.
Carwyn Jenkins defeated Jon Organ and both players stayed on to suffer defeats -- Jon to Richard Owsley and Carwyn to Ian Tarr.
At the Watershed Daniel Eldridge continued his recovery from a slow start to the season by securing his fifth successive Premier Two Blue win, Mike Smith being the victim.
22/03/19: Nick wins GP30 event
There were eighteen players in action on Thursday, including sixteen at the Rainbow Casino, of whom twelve contested the second of the year's eight GP30 tournaments.
Three Premier League matches were played.
Chas Perry made it ten straight wins at the start of his Premier Three campaign when he defeated Eamonn Reay 11-8 at the Watershed.
At the casino there wins for Paul Watts and Daniel Eldridge.
Both scored 11-9 victories, Paul against Steve Morris in Premier Two Red and Daniel over Mandy Macdonald in Premier Two Blue.
Nick Barham took the honours in the GP30 event, defeating Tony Walters, Tim Line and Roland Herrera in the process.
Roland beat Cecilia Sparke, Simonetta Herrera and Stephen Little en route to the final.
Cecilia won the consolation flight with wins over Ian Tarr, Cynthia Roberts and Adam Sinclair.
Nick now shares the GP30 lead with January tournament winner Simonetta.
21/03/19: Mixed fortunes for Eamonn
Eamonn Reay's latest trip from Galway saw him meet with mixed fortunes on Wednesday.
His first round Brunel Trophy match against Andy Boysan ended in defeat, despite a worthy comeback from a long way down.
Then he met Jim Green in a Premier Three match, which ended suddenly from 5-all with a double backgammon in Jim's favour.
But he won by the same scoreline in another Premier Three match, this at Tom Chapman's expense.
19/03/19: Neil wins in Filton
The Air Balloon, Filton, was the venue for a first round Brunel Trophy tie on Tuesday.
Neil Young defeated Jordan White 11-1.
19/03/19: Dan Lowe disappoints
Having pulled out of his first round Brunel Trophy meeting with Simonetta Herrera yesterday evening, Dan Lowe has withdrawn from both that competition and from Premier Three.
Having shown enthusiasm on previous visits, and having given explicit assurances about his commitment to playing in the Premier League, Dan has now come to the conclusion that "I won't have any time to play many games anymore sorry".
Expungements always damage competitions, and this scenario comes as a reminder to Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr about the reasons for the customary filters for Premier League entry.
Dan having played just one league match, that match is expunged from the table -- much to the detriment of Tom Chapman, who scored an 11-0 victory which now counts for nothing.
Checkpoint targets from May onwards have been adjusted to allow for the slightly decreased fixture load.
19/03/19: Twenty-one in Monday action
There were twenty-one players in action on Monday, including sixteen at the Bristol County Sports Club, of whom fourteen contested the eleventh phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- three 3-point round robins.
Four Premier League matches and a Brunel Trophy match were played.
Steffen Nowak narrowly defeated Roland Herrera in their first round Brunel Trophy tie.
The Grain Barge was the venue for a Premier One encounter between Stuart Mann and Cecilia Sparke which Cecilia won 11-2.
Simon Hughes visited Rufus Rozelaar in Bedminster for a Premier Two Red meeting, and was defeated 11-10.
Mandy Macdonald played two Premier Two Blue matches, defeating Chris Hughes at the Windmill before succumbing to Stephen Little at the club.
In the advertised event, the field was split into three randomly drawn groups, two of five players, one of four.
Ian Tarr won one of the larger groups outright, while the other two saw the pots split.
Ed Turner remains in control at the sharp end of the SGP, leading by fifty points with five sessions remaining and discards already biting.
Kim Topasna is well ahead of the other contenders in the race to be the competition's leading intermediate, and also leads the January to July 3-point round robin section of the John Curran and Roland Herrera intermediate sponsorship.
17/03/19: Saturday round-up
Three matches were played on Saturday.
Gary Plant consolidated his position at the top of Premier Two Red when he shared the spoils of a double header at the Hullavington Arms, Chippenham, with Cliff Blofield, both matches ending in an 11-3 scoreline.
And in a first round Brunel Trophy match at the Globe, Newton St Loe, Tim Line defeated Frank Jones.
15/03/19: Chris and Simonetta end up even
In a gruelling four hour session at the Rainbow Casino on Friday Chris Hughes and Simonetta Herrera played out a Premier Two Blue double header.
Both matches went to the wire, Chris pipping Simonetta in the first match before Simonetta returned the favour in the second.
15/03/19: Adam takes March Bristol Grand Prix honours
There were twenty players in action on Thursday, including nineteen at the Rainbow Casino, of whom fourteen contested the third of the year's eight Bristol Grand Prix tournaments.
There were six Premier League matches played, plus one in the Brunel Trophy.
In Premier One two double headers were completed.
At the Brewhouse and Kitchen reigning champion Simon Baker and Adam Sinclair shared the spoils, although Adam's points difference fared better than Simon's.
And Phil Charlton scored a stunning double success against Tim Line.
In Premier Two Blue Steve Cox edged home against Chris Hughes.
And in the parallel Red Division Richard Owsley defeated Jon Organ.
The Brunel Trophy first round match saw Jim Green recover from an early deficit to defeat Daniel Eldridge.
In the tournament it was Adam who prevailed, making the most of a first round bye before eliminating Cynthia Roberts and Daniel.
In the first-to-11-points final he beat Roland Herrera at DMP.
Roland had beaten Ian Hedges, Steve Morris and Tim enroute to the final.
Ian scooped the consolation flight with wins over Simonetta Herrera, Tony Walters and Richard.
Nick Barham still leads the BGP table by 25 points, but with Roland now in second place.
13/03/19: Red Division wins for Gary and Ian
Two Premier Two Red matches were played on Wednesday.
The Compass, Tormarton, was the venue for Pearl Foster's meeting with Gary Plant, whose 11-10 win propleed him to the top of the league.
And Ian Tarr defeated Jon Organ 11-8 at the Three Brooks.
12/03/19: Home win for Rufus
In a Premier Two Red match on Tuesday Ian Tarr visited Rufus Rozelaar at his Bedminster home and suffered a 9-11 defeat.
12/03/19: Nineteen in Monday action
There were nineteen players in action on Monday, including seventeen at the Bristol County Sports Club, of whom sixteen contested the tenth phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a pair of eight-player Tric Trac Tournos.
Four Premier League matches were played.
At the Three Brooks Gary Plant defeated Jon Organ in a Premier Two Red encounter.
Before the Tric Tracs Cecilia Sparke scored a Premier One victory over Adam Sinclair.
And alongside the tournament Steve Cox and Steffen Nowak played a Premier Two Blue double header, with Steffen recording two narrow wins.
The Tric Trac Tournos saw outright group wins for Roland Herrera and Simonetta Herrera.
Ed Turner's overall SGP lead is extended to 53 points over second placed Adam.
Kim Topasna continues to hold a significant lead in the race to be the competition's top intermediate.
And Nelson Stephens heads the Tric Trac Tourno section of the John Curran and Roland Herrera intermediate sponsorship.
10/03/19: Sunday Premier League round-up
Three Premier League matches were played on Sunday.
In the top flight Andy Boysan edged home against Adam Sinclair at the Alma Tavern.
And a Premier Two Red double header saw the spoils shared in two one sided matches between Paul Watts and Ian Tarr.
09/03/19: Chris scores Brunel Trophy win
In a first round Brunel Trophy tie at the Rainbow Casino on Friday Chris Rogers defeated Dave Pym.
08/03/19: Outstanding Thursday debut for Garry
There were twenty players at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday, including the eleven who contested the second of the year's eight Speedgammon Tournaments.
Four Brunel Trophy first round matches were played.
Lives were lost by Mathew Nicholls, Chris Hughes, Paul Watts and Tom Chapman at the hands of, respectively, Fred North, Nick Barham, Richard Owsley and Adam Sinclair.
The match between Richard and Paul was doubled up as a Premier Two Red match, in which division there was also a double header, Steve Morris scoring a brace of wins over Cliff Blofield.
In the tournament there was a Thursday debut for Garry Hutchinson, who had made a couple of Monday appearances back in mid-2015.
And it was Gary who stole the show, not only winning his first phase group (Daniel Eldridge won the other), but also coming out on top in the knock-out phase, defeating Ian Tarr and Daniel to take the main prize.
Nick is the leader of the SGGP table, leading Gary by 55 points.
06/03/19: Stuart wins his first overseas title
Having compiled an impressive record of successes both in Bristol and further afield in the UK over a number of years, Stuart Mann won his first overseas title at the weekend.
He finished top of the pile at the popular Cork Open.
06/03/19: Wednesday's Premier Three and Brunel Trophy action
There were five Premier League matches and one Brunel Trophy match played on Wednesday.
Kev Peters maintained his winning streak by defeating Andrew Cobb twice at a new venue for Bristol Backgammon, the George at Norton St Philip.
And Premier Three's other match was at the Westbury Park Tavern, where John Curran edged to victory over Jim Green.
Daniel Eldridge scored a brace of wins against Steffen Nowak at the Rainbow Casino in Premier Two Blue.
And James Lintell-Smith was the latest player to lose a Brunel Trophy life when he succumbed to Miles Farren, also at the casino.
05/03/19: Tuesday's Premier League and Brunel Trophy round-up
There were five Premier League matches and one Brunel Trophy match played on Tuesday.
In Premier One Neil Young played two matches at the King William IV, losing both -- first to Gaz Owen, then to Phil Charlton.
A Premier Two Blue match began at the Shakespeare, Totterdown, but adjourned to the nearby Oxford, where Steffen Nowak pipped Chris Hughes.
And a triple header occurred at the Knights Templar.
Kev Peters defeated Alan Parfitt in their first round Brunel Trophy meeting, before Kev completed a clean sweep with two Premier Three victories.
05/03/19: Eighteen in Monday action
There were eighteen players in action on Monday, including sixteen at the Bristol County Sports Club, of whom fourteen contested the ninth phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a pair of Nackgammon Tournos.
Two Premier Two Blue matches were played at the Shakespeare, Totterdown, where Drew Caudwell and Steffen Nowak shared the spoils, albeit with Steffen benefiting more in terms of points difference.
At the club, alongside the Nackgammon, Adrian Farthing was edging home against Steve Morris in the first round of the Brunel Trophy.
The Tournos were both won outright, one by Simonetta Herrera, the other by Ed Turner, who was consolidating his overall leadership of the SGP table.
Kim Topasna continues to set a hot pace in the race to be that competition's top intermediate, and also tops both the Nackgammon section of the Roland Herrera and John Curran intermediate sponsorship and the Drew Caudwell sponsored Nackgammon Grand Prix.
03/03/19: Saturday league action
Pearl Foster narrowly defeated Richard Owsley in a Premier Two Red match at the Rainbow Casino on Saturday.
01/03/19: Friday's Premier League and Brunel Trophy action
There were two Premier League matches and one Brunel Trophy match played on Friday.
In Premier One Chris Rogers defeated league leader Gaz Owen 11-8 at the Phoenix.
Gary Plant moved to the top of Premier Two Red with an 11-7 victory over Pearl Foster at the Compass.
And Mike Smith recovered from a 0-7 deficit to inflict defeat on Mary French at the Kensington Arms in their first round Brunel Trophy match.
01/03/19: Andy wins Handicap Trophy event
There were eighteen players present at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday to contest the second of the year's nine Handicap Trophy tournaments.
A Brunel Trophy match was played before the tournament, and a Premier Two Blue match was played afterwards.
The Brunel Trophy match saw Simon Hughes recover from a 1-6 deficit to defeat Gaz Owen.
And Daniel Eldridge scored an 11-9 victory over Simonetta Herrera to end a nightmare league sequence of ten defeats.
In the tournament it was Andy Boysan who took the main flight honours, beating Cynthia Roberts, George Devlin and Simon before his final victory over Steve Morris.
Steve had arrived there via wins over Kev Peters, Jordan White and Ian Hedges.
Roland Herrera won the consolation flight, defeating Ian Tarr in the final.
Andy takes over the Handicap Trophy lead from Stephen Little, and also leads the event's unique Side Pool Grand Prix.
27/02/19: Gaz wins at the Phoenix
In a Premier One match at the Phoenix on Tuesday Gaz Owen defeated Cecilia Sparke 11-8 to consolidate his pole position.
26/02/19: Tuesday Premier League round-up
There were five Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
In the top flight there were wins for Stuart Mann, Adam Sinclair, Cecilia Sparke and Nick Barham.
Stuart's victory came at the King William IV, where he defeated Phil Charlton.
The Brewhouse and Kitchen was the venue for Gaz Owen's first league defeat of the year, at the hands of Adam.
Cecilia and Nick scored a win apiece when they met at the Rainbow Casino.
And Mandy Macdonald scored a Premier Two Blue win over at the Bristol County Sports Club.
26/02/19: Late starting Conference gets a sponsorship boost
The Conference League has dwindled in numbers in recent years, so much so that interest this year had appeared to be at an all time low.
The league has been given a welcome boost, however, with the news that reigning Conference champion Mathew Nicholls has agreed to sponsor the entry fees of up to six players!
The first two to benefit, and the only two to register a definite interest so far, are Adrian Farthing and Nelson Stephens.
Others are being worked on, however, and more sign ups are expected in the very near future.
26/02/19: Sixteen in Monday action
In another encouraging sign for Monday Bristol Backgammon competition, there were sixteen players at the Bristol County Sports Club for the eighth phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- three three-point round robins.
Before arriving for the event Jim Green and Mathew Nicholls met at the Post Office Tavern for a Premier Three match, which Mathew won 11-6.
In the round robins the larger (six player) group saw the spoils shared between Bahman Salahshour and Kim Topasna, who each won four matches.
George Georgiou won one of the other groups outright, while Andy Boysan and Ed Turner shared the pot in the other.
In the absence of SGP second placed Adam Sinclair Ed moves into a 60 points lead.
Kim has a convincing lead in the race to become the competition's leading intermediate, and also takes over the lead in the 3-point round robin section of the John Curran and Roland Herrera intermediate sponsorship.
25/02/19: Adam wins Sunday tournament
There were twelve players -- including Bristol Backgammon debutant Anton Freidin from Devon -- contesting the second of the year's Sunday tournaments at the Rainbow Casino on Sunday.
The tournament was preceded by a fascinating workshop given by Gaz Owen, based on his Ten Backgammon Commandments (there were actually fourteen!).
Adam Sinclair was the event winner, defeating Tim Line and George Georgiou, before getting past Roland Herrera in a closely fought final.
Roland had beaten Ian Tarr, Cynthia Roberts and Gaz en route to the final.
Simonetta Herrera beat Anton, Chris Rogers and Tim Line to win the consolation flight.
23/02/19: Cliff is first Brunel winner
The first of this year's Brunel Trophy first round matches was played at the Black Castle on Saturday.
And Cliff Blofield beat Ismail Yilmaz 11-8.
22/02/19: Friday Premier League round-up
Six Premier League matches were played on Friday.
The Three Brooks was the venue for Jon Organ's Premier Two Red debut against Gary Plant.
Jon won 11-9.
In the parallel Blue Division Fred North and Drew Caudwell met for a double header at the Bristol Yard (formerly Colston Yard).
Drew won the opener 11-3, but Fred had his revenge, winning the return 11-5 to go top of the division.
And Eamonn Reay made it a nice round ten league matches in three days at the Rainbow Casino with a narrow Premier Three win over John Curran and two defeats to Alan Parfitt.
22/02/19: Awards Night round-up
The Bristol Backgammon Annual Awards Night was held at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday, with twenty-two present.
A total of 90 prizes -- either permanent trophies, or mementoes, or envelopes containing cash -- were scheduled to be dispensed by Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr after the customary buffet.
But as is always the case, a few sponsors and prize winners were unable to attend.
The evening, however, was about those who did attend, and photographs by Roland and Simonetta Herrera are already available here, providing a true flavour of the occasion.
The usual league and knock-out awards took up most of the presentation, but of course there was the element of mystery surrounding the "surprise" awards.
Kev Peters won the Rookie of the Year award (sponsored by Andy Boysan and Ian Hedges); the Gaz Owen sponsored Most Improved Player prize went to Adam Sinclair; and Simonetta Herrera's Sports Person of the Year award was won by Ed Turner.
After the ceremony, there was a surprise activity!
Eamonn Reay hosted some "Quizgammon", which was much enjoyed by two teams of four.
22/02/19: Sunday's tournament features a Gaz Owen workshop at 11am
Sunday's tournament at the Rainbow Casino (draw around 12.15pm) will be preceded at 11am by a workshop from Bristol's top ranked player Gaz Owen, who recently won the EBIF Champions Cup and is a former winner of the Merit Cyprus Open.
Opportunities like these are to be grasped wherever possible, as they are not plentiful.
22/02/19: Brunel Trophy draw done
The first round draw for the 2019 Brunel Trophy was made at Thursday's Awards Night, and is browseable here.
Matches are to be played by March 28th, the date of the second round draw.
22/02/19: Eleven in Thursday Premier League action
There were eleven players in Premier League action at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday.
In the top flight there were victories for Andy Boysan, Gaz Owen and Tim Line over, respectively, Tim, Nick Barham and Chris Rogers.
Gaz's win reaffirms his pole position, with four wins out of four this far.
Steve Morris pipped Simon Hughes in Premier Two Red.
And Eamonn Reay played the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh Premier Three matches of his flying visit, sharing the spoils of double headers with both Kev Peters and James Lintell-Smith.
20/02/19: Eamonn is back in town
Galway resident Eamonn Reay, who last contested a Bristol league in 2015, is back in circulation.
His first, meticulously planned, visit of the year saw him take in three Premier Three matches at the Rainbow Casino on Wednesday.
He is likely to play around ten league matches over these few days.
First up was John Curran, who succumbed 6-11.
But Mathew Nicholls fared better, winning both halves of a double header, 11-7 and 11-9 being the margins.
19/02/19: Tuesday league round-up
Five Premier League matches were played on Tuesday.
There were two double headers in Premier One.
Stuart Mann and Neil Young met at the Bridge Inn, Yatton, where a previously adjourned match finished with Neil 11-9 ahead.
Stuart, however, won the return 11-6.
Andy Boysan began his 2019 league campaign against Dave Pym at the Alma Tavern, where honours were also even, Dave winning 11-10 and Andy 11-8.
Meanwhile in Premier Three the Post Office Tavern was the venue for John Curran's 11-10 victory over Mathew Nicholls.
19/02/19: Fifteen in Monday action
There was another good turnout at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday, with fifteen players contesting the seventh phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a pair of DMP Tournos.
One group finished in a three way tie between Daniel Eldridge, George Georgiou and Adam Sinclair, while the other is as yet unresolved with just one game to play.
Should Simonetta Herrera win that she will take the group outright, otherwise she will share the spoils with Ed Turner.
Because of the uncertainty the points in the SGP table are provisional for six players, but Ed will retain his overall lead whatever the outcome of the final game.
17/02/19: Friday's league action
Four Premier League matches were played on Friday.
Fred North in Premier Two Blue was behind 75% of it, playing and beating Mike Smith twice at the Wellington, before suffering defeat in Kellaway Avenue to Simonetta Herrera.
And the Beaufort, in Clifton, was the scene for a Premier Three match, where John Curran inflicted a first league defeat of the season on Jim Green.
15/02/19: Jason barred from Bristol Backgammon competition
After Thursday's tournament saw the latest in a string of controversies involving Jason Champion over a period of some time, Director Ian Tarr has made the regretful decision to exclude him from all Bristol Backgammon competition with immediate effect.
The most unfortunate effect of this action, unprecedented in Ian's two decades as Director, is that Jason is expunged from the Premier One season.
As always in those instances, the expungement has a detrimental effect on the season.
The disappearance from the table of four matches -- two victories over Adam Sinclair and two defeats to Chris Rogers -- does skew the standings.
15/02/19: Nick wins February Bristol Grand Prix tournament
There were fifteen players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the second of the year's twelve Bristol Monthly Grand Prix tournaments.
A Premier Two Blue double header took place before the tournament.
And Stephen Little won two very close matches against Simonetta Herrera.
In the tournament it was Nick Barham who added to his catalogue of 2019 successes, defeating Daniel Eldridge, Simonetta and Stephen, before winning an ill-tempered final against Jason Champion.
Jason had progressed via wins over Adam Sinclair and Ian Tarr, before receiving a semi-final bye when Alex Hodge left the event.
Cynthia Roberts won the consolation flight, beating Daniel, Adam and Tim Line.
Nick takes over the leadership of the Bristol Grand Prix table from Gaz Owen.
13/02/19: Premier League doubles for Gary and Chas
Four Premier League matches were played on Tuesday -- a pair of double headers.
In Premier Two Red at the Kensington Arms Gary Plant visited Steve Morris and left with a pair of victories -- 11-4 and 11-10 -- for a satisfactory start to his 2019 campaign.
And The Trooper, Bryant's Hill, became the latest new Bristol Backgammon venue when Alan Parfitt strove to end Chas Perry's unbeaten start to the Premier Three season.
But Chas made it nine wins out of nine with 11-6 and 11-9 successes.
12/02/19: Tuesday's Premier League action
Six players were in Premier League action on Tuesday.
In Premier One the Old Plough, Kingswood, was the venue for a close match between Gaz Owen and Dave Pym, which Gaz won 11-9.
There was an adjournment in the same division when Stuart Mann met Neil Young at the Boston Tea Party cafe in Gloucester Road.
The match will be finished soon -- along with the return encounter -- after Stuart ended the session 9-7 ahead.
And in Premier Two Blue Ed Turner and Daniel Eldridge finished off another adjourned match, Ed winning 11-9 at the Bristol County Sports Club.
12/02/19: Eighteen in Monday action
There was a bumper turnout of eighteen players at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the sixth phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- three six-player 3-point round robins.
Two of the groups had outright winners -- Ed Turner and George Georgiou each winning four matches out of five.
In the other group there was a three way tie, with Daniel Eldridge, Adam Sinclair and Ian Tarr all winning four times.
Ed takes over the leadership of the SGP table from Adam, while Kim Topasna leads the race to be the competition's leading intermediate.
Nelson Stephens has taken the lead in the January to July 3-point round robin section of the Roland Herrera and John Curran intermediate sponsorship.
10/02/19: Chris so close to Gibraltar title
Bristol Premier League player Chris Rogers came within a whisker of adding the Gibraltar Open to his list of titles this weekend.
Emerging from a strong field at one of the world's most popular tournaments, Chris yesterday arrived in the semi-finals, where he overcame Najib Kawkab of Germany to reach the final.
Facing another German, Kimon Papachristopoulos, he trailed for the majority of the first-to-21-points match, but pegged his opponent back to lead 20-18.
Sadly, despite arriving at a handful of match winning scenarios, all went against him and he had to settle for second place, which is of course still a great achievement.
08/02/19: Paul opens with a win
Paul Watts began his Premier Two Red campaign with a visit to Rufus Rozelaar in St John's Lane on Friday.
And he came away with an 11-9 victory.
09/02/19: Daniel wins GP10 tournament
There were eighteen players in action on Thursday, including fifteen at the Rainbow Casino, of whom fourteen contested the second of the year's nine GP10 tournaments.
Four Premier League matches were played.
Three of these involved Chas Perry, definitely a man on a mission.
A double header against James Lintell-Smith at the Jolly Sailor, Hanham, went his way, and this was followed by a visit to the Chequers, Hanham, where John Curran was his victim.
That makes it a seven match winning start to his Premier Three campaign, all achieved within the space of ten days.
The other league match was the completion of a previously adjourned Premier Two Red match, Richard Owsley defeating Simon Hughes.
In the tournament it was Daniel Eldridge who came out on top.
Making the most of the receipt of a first round bye, Daniel got past Richard and Simonetta Herrera before beating George Devlin in the final.
George, making his first appearance of 2019, made the final by defeating Nick Barham, Ian Tarr and Steve Morris.
Ian Hedges took the consolation flight with wins over Roland Herrera, Cynthia Roberts and Andy Boysan.
Daniel now shares the GP10 lead with Alex Hodge.
06/02/19: Wednesday Premier Two action
There were three Premier Two Blue matches started on Tuesday, and two of them were completed.
At the Lock Keeper Fred North defeated Chris Hughes 11-6.
And a double header at the Ship, Park Row, ended with Ed Turner 7-5 ahead of Daniel Eldridge, having already won the opener 11-7.
05/02/19: Tuesday Premier Two action
There were three Premier Two matches played on Tuesday.
Rufus Rozelaar's in Bedminster was the venue for a Red Division double header, with Rufus striking back to defeat Steve Morris 11-7 after losing the opener 11-2.
And Fred North visited Mandy Macdonald at the Windmill, coming away with an 11-5 Blue Division win.
05/02/19: Adam takes Monday honours
There were eleven players at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the fifth phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a Tric Trac Tourno.
Adam Sinclair won the group convincingly, and has taken over the SGP leadership by eight points from Ed Turner.
01/02/19: Weekend Premier Two action
There were two Premier Two double headers played over the weekend.
On Saturday Rufus Rozelaar -- still recuperating from surgery -- played host to Cliff Blofield in Bedminster, and managed two Premier Two Red victories, 11-8 and 11-10.
Sunday's meeting was at the Bristol Conty Sports Club, where Mike Smith and Ed Turner scored one win apiece in Premier Two Blue.
01/02/19: Adam kick starts his year
Adam Sinclair's sluggish start to 2019 could be over.
His 11-1 and 11-9 Premier One victories over Chris Rogers in Portland Square on Friday have moved him into mid table.
01/02/19: Simonetta wins GP30 tournament
There were nineteen players in action on Thursday, including seventeen at the Rainbow Casino, of whom fourteen contested the first of the year's eight GP30 tournaments.
Eight Premier League matches were completed, and one more was adjourned.
Premier One saw most action.
At the Bishops Tavern Jason Champion had the better of things against Adam Sinclair, winning 11-8 and 11-10.
In a pre-tournament double header at the casino, the honours were even -- Dave Pym and Chris Rogers scoring, respectively, 11-7 and 11-9 victories.
And Gaz Owen defeated Tim Line 11-7.
Ian Hedges continued his customarily hyperactive start to the season with a brace of Premier Two Blue matches against Stephen Little, winning the first 11-4, but losing the second 8-11.
And in the parallel Red Division Simon Hughes scored an 11-2 win over Richard Owsley, but is 2-6 in arrears in the return, which was adjourned to facilitate Simon's tournament participation.
Ladies dominated the main flight of the tournament, with all three lady entrants making it to the semi-finals.
Nick Barham, the odd one out in the semis, lost to Cecilia Sparke, while Simonetta Herrera was capitalising on victories over Steve Morris and Tim by eliminating Cynthia Roberts in the other.
Simonetta, aided by a handy double backgammon, defeated Cecilia to establish a useful 50 points lead in the GP30 table.
Chris Rogers took the consolation flight with victories over Steve, Tony Walters and Andy Boysan.
30/01/19: Chas continues strong start
Three Premier Three matches were played on Wednesday.
And Chas Perry has emerged as the early season pace setter in that division, picking up another two victories.
The Chequers, Hanham Mills, was the venue, and Kev Peters the unfortunate opponent, losing two close ones.
And in the same division at the Globe, Newton St Loe, John Curran edged out Andrew Cobb.
29/01/19: Tuesday Premier League round-up
Five Premier League matches were played on Tuesday.
In Premier One Simon Baker began his title defence at the Pump House, where he suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Stuart Mann.
And the Rainbow Casino played host to a double header in the same division, Nick Barham scoring a brace of victories over Dave Pym.
A Premier Three double header at the Post Office Tavern saw a productive return to league action after a four year sabbatical for Chas Perry.
He had two victories over Mathew Nicholls to show for his day's efforts.
29/01/19: Eleven in Monday action at the Sportsmans
There were eleven players at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the fourth phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a pair of Nackgammon Tournos.
John Curran won the larger group outright, while the spoils were shared in the smaller group by Daniel Eldridge and Kim Topasna.
Ed Turner takes over the leadership of the SGP table, with Kim heading the race to be the competition's top intermediate.
27/01/19: Win for Cliff at the Bolero Lounge
In a Premier Two Red meeting at the Bolero Lounge, Yate, on Saturday Cliff Blofield defeated Pearl Foster 11-4.
25/01/19: Nick continues productive run
There were fifteen players in action on Thursday, including thirteen at the Rainbow Casino, of whom nine contested the first of the year's eight Speedgammon tournaments.
Seven Premier League matches were completed.
In Portland Square Chris Rogers scored a brace of Premier One wins over Jason Champion to become the early season pace setter.
There were two changes of leadership in Premier Two Blue.
Mandy Macdonald rose to the top after winning a previously adjourned match against Stephen Little and following up with an 11-3 success against Ian Hedges.
The return match saw Ian leapfrog to the top after winning 11-2.
And a Premier Two Red double header saw honours shared between Steve Morris and Richard Owsley.
The two phase Speedgammon event got under way with two round robin groups, one of five players, the other of four.
Nick Barham scored a clean sweep in the larger group, while Simonetta Herrera did likewise in the smaller one.
Joining the group winners in the second phase, a straight knock-out, were Ian Tarr, Stephen Little and Andy Boysan.
Andy and Nick made it through to the final, where Nick became the competition's early leader, having won six matches out of six for his second tournament win in five days.
22/01/19: Premier Two wins for Pearl and Ed
Two Premier Two matches were played on Tuesday.
At the Compass, Tormarton, Pearl Foster began her 2019 Red Division campaign with an 11-5 victory over Ian Tarr.
And the Bristol County Sports Club was the venue for Ed Turner's 11-2 win against Mandy Macdonald.
21/01/19: Fourteen in Monday action at the Sportsmans
There were fourteen players at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the third phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a trio of 3-point round robins.
Before the tournament Alan Parfitt got his Premier Three campaign off to a great start when he defeated John Curran 11-2.
The three round robins each featured a clean sweep win.
Ian Tarr and Ed Turner won the five player groups, and Ian Preston -- returning to action for the first time since February 2016 -- took the four player group.
Roland Herrera's SGP lead has increased fractionally to 18 points, with Ed now in second place.
And Kim Topasna leads the race to finish as the competition's leading intermediate.
21/01/19: Nick wins year's first Sunday tournament
There were eleven players in action on Sunday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the first of the year's Sunday tournaments.
And Nick Barham made light of being drawn in the long part of the draw to take the main flight.
Cecilia Sparke, Stephen Little, Gaz Owen and Ian Tarr were his victims.
Ian had reached the final after defeating George Georgiou and Chris Rogers.
George took the consolation flight, beating Simonetta Herrera, Cecilia and Adam Sinclair in the process.
20/01/19: Honours even at the Old Colonial
Nick Barham and Adam Sinclair began their respective Premier One campaigns at the Old Colonial, Weston-super-Mare yesterday.
And they scored one win apiece.
Nick started with an 11-4 victory, but Adam won the return mach 11-10.
19/01/19: Honours even at the Rose and Crown
Andrew Cobb and Mathew Nicholls met for a Premier Three double header at the Rose and Crown, Larkhall, on Friday evening.
Mathew won the opener 11-9, but Andrew struick back to win the return 11-6.
18/01/19: Stephen wins Handicap Trophy tournament
There were twenty players in action on Thursday, including eighteen at the Rainbow Casino, of whom sixteen entered the first of the year's Handicap Trophy tournaments.
Seven Premier League matches were played.
In Premier Two Blue Steve Cox and Ian Hedges shared the spoils of a double header before the tournament, while Simonetta Herrera defeated Daniel Eldridge afterwards.
Ye Shakespeare in Victoria Street was the venue for a Premier Three double header, in which Jim Green scored a brace of victories over James Lintell-Smith.
And Tom Chapman later completed two matches in the same division, winning a quickfire match against Dan Lowe, but losing a previously adjourned match to Kev Peters.
In the tournament it was Stephen Little who prevailed, defeating Tom, Simonetta, Ian Tarr and Nick Barham.
Nick had made it to the final via wins over Adam Sinclair, Gaz Owen and Kev.
The consolation final, featuring Ian Hedges and Steve Morris, was held over for another day.
Tournament winner Stephen is the first leader of the Handicap Trophy table, while Nick heads the Side Pool Grand Prix, which is unique to this sponsored event.
15/01/19: Gaz beats Stuart in Westbury
The Black Swan, Westbury-on-Trym, played host to a Premier One match on Tuesday evening.
And Gaz Owen opened his season with an 11-6 victory over Stuart Mann.
14/01/19: Fourteen in Monday action
There were fourteen players at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday, twelve of whom contested the second phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a pair of DMP Tournos.
Stephen Little was on hand well before the tournament to contest two Premier Two Blue matches, both of which ended with an 11-10 scoreline.
He was on the wrong end of the first one, losing to Mike Smith, but later pipped Drew Caudwell.
There was a welcome Bristol Backgammon debut for Kim Topasna in the tournament.
Stephen won one of the DMP Tournos outright to cut Roland Herrera's DMP lead to fifteen points, while the other saw a tie between Simonetta Herrera and Ed Turner.
Kim shares the lead in the DMP section of the John Curran and Roland Herrera intermediate sponsorship with Pat Meek, who would also be leading the race to be the SGP's leading intermediate but for the fact that she chooses the zero entry option.
In "cash" terms, Kim is the leader of that race, fractionally ahead of Nelson Stephens.
13/01/19: Cliff wins in Weston; Cecilia wins at home
The Brunello Lounge, Weston-super-Mare, was the venue for a Sunday Premier Two Red meeting between Cliff Blofield and Carwyn Jenkins.
Cliff won 11-7.
And in Portland Square Cecilia Sparke defeated Chris Rogers 11-9 in their return top flight clash.
11/01/19: Gaz wins January Grand Prix tournament
There were twenty-one players in action at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday, including the twenty who entered the first of the year's monthly grand prix tournaments.
Earlier in the day John Curran scored a narrow Premier Three victory over Kev Peters.
It was the second time in three months that the tournament entry had hit twenty.
Gaz Owen emerged as the winner, reaching the final with victories over Tim Line, Kev Peters, Stephen Little and Simon Hughes.
His final victim, Simonetta Herrera, had prevailed against Cynthia Roberts, Alex Hodge and Nick Barham.
Roland Herrera won the consolation flight, defeating Ian Tarr in the final.
Gaz takes a handy 50 points BGP lead into the February tournament.
08/01/19: James is first to set Premier Three pace
The Westbury Park Tavern was the venue this evening for the first of this season's Premier Three matches.
James Lintell-Smith was the victor, defeating John Curran 11-6.
07/01/19: Eight in Monday action
There were eleven players at the Bristol County Sports Club on Monday to contest the first phase of the Monday Club Spring Grand Prix -- a pair of 3-point round robins.
Included in the field was a welcome debut player, Nelson Stephens.
The six player group was won outright by Roland Herrera, while the five player group saw a three way tie for the lead.
Roland is thus the first leader in the SGP table, while Nelson heads the January to June 3-point round robin section of the John Curran and Roland Herrera intermediate sponsorship.
07/01/19: Chris first to open Premier One account
The first result from the new season's Premier One is in.
And the protagonists didn't even need to leave home to get the job done.
Chris Rogers defeated Cecilia Sparke 11-8 on Saturday.
03/01/19: Alex wins first GP10 event
The inaugural GP10 tournament took place at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday, with fifteen toeing the start line and one other completing a league match.
Drew Caudwell opted out of the tournament, but started his Premier Two Blue campaign with an 11-9 victory over Ian Hedges.
And Alex Hodge emerged from the GP10 event -- which has replaced the GP5 series -- as the winner, after defeating Thursday debutant Kev Peters, Cliff Blofield, Daniel Eldridge and Andy Boysan.
Andy had reached the final as the recipient of the evening's only bye, plus wins over Tim Line and Richard Owsley.
Stephen Little won the consolation flight, beating Adam Sinclair, Ian Tarr and Kev.
Alex is the first leader of the GP10 table, with a handy 50 points lead over second placed Andy.
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