There will be changes to the Monday competitions next year. These are still being worked on.
15/12/22: Elias wins Handicap Trophy tournament; George takes the annual title
There were just seven players braving the sub-freezing outside temperatures to contest the ninth and last of this year's series of Handicap Trophy tournaments at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday.Elias Hamati was the main flight winner, defeating George Georgiou and Steve Morris after receiving the only quarter-final bye.
Steve had overcome Stephen Little and Tim Line en route to the final.
The consolation flight honours went to Stephen Little, who beat Hazel Harper and George.
George has added the HT title to his burgeoning portfolio, with the absent Ben Crowden finishing as runner-up.
14/12/22: Cecilia wins Wednesday tournament
There were just ten players in action on Wednesday to contest the fiftieth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Cecilia Rogers, whose victims were Gaz Owen, Chris Rogers, Warner Solomon and -- in the final -- Elias Hamati.
Elias had arrived there via a first round bye and victories over Tim Line and Cynthia Roberts.
Tim took the consolation flight by defeating Stephen Little, Gaz and Alan Joicey.
12/12/22: Eighteen in Monday action
There were eighteen players in action on Monday to contest the ninth and penultimate session of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix in DMP round robins over two environments.The fourteen online formed one group, while the four at Sportsmans did likewise, playing each opponent twice.
Steve Pickard took the honours online, while Kian Sabet was the live group winner.
Elias Hamati holds a narrow AGP lead over Kev Peters going into next week's deciding session.
The live group also had time for an impromptu 3-point round robin, which was won by Ian Tarr.
08/12/22: Ian wins December Bristol Grand Prix tournament
There were just nine players in action on Thursday to contest the twelfth and final monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournament of the year at the Rainbow Casino.Ian Tarr took the main flight honours, defeating George Georgiou, Stephen Little and, in the final, Gaz Owen.
Gaz had arrived there wins over Tim Line and Elias Hamati.
George won the consolation flight, defeating Tim and Steve Morris.
Gaz's run to the final brought him just enough points to overhaul absent Bristol Grand Prix leader Simonetta Herrera and claim the title.
It is Gaz's third BGP title win in the last four years, leaving him one short of Roland Herrera's record four wins.
08/12/22: Adam wins Wednesday tournament
There were fourteen players in action on Wednesday to contest the forty-ninth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Adam Sinclair, whose victims were Mandy Macdonald, Gerald Whitehouse, Tim Line and -- in the final -- Alan Joicey.
Alan had arrived there by defeating George Georgiou, John Curran and Safi Tracy.
George took the consolation flight by defeating Cynthia Roberts, Robin Gunney and Ian Anderson.
05/12/22: Nineteen in Monday action
There were nineteen players in action on Monday to contest the eighth session of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins over two environments.The thirteen online were split into groups of seven and six, while the six at Sportsmans formed their own group.
Ian Anderson and Adam Sinclair took the honours online, while George Georgiou and Kian Sabet shared the spoils from the live group.
Elias Hamati has taken over the AGP leadership from Kev Peters.
03/12/22: Michael takes outright Premier Three championship
The only match on Saturday was an important one.Simon Tracy and Michael Petrakas -- having won the Green Division and Yellow Division titles respectively -- played for the honour of winning the outright Premier Three chanpionship title.
And Michael took it with an 11-6 victory.
02/12/22: Kev pips Robin to Premier Two championship; Steve wins the year's final GP10 tournament
There were just nine players in action on Thursday, seven of them to contest the tenth and final session of the GP10 series of tournaments at the casino.The other two -- Robin Gunney and Kev Peters -- were online to fight for the outright Premier Two title, having won the Blue Division and Red Division titles respectively.
And it was a very close affair, with Kev just nicking it by the tightest of margins.
In the tournament Steve Morris was the main flight winner making the most of a quarter-final bye by defeating Hazel Harper and George Georgiou.
George had got past Cynthia Roberts and Ian Tarr en route to the final.
Gaz Owen took the consolation flight with victories over Cynthia and Stephen Little.
George's dominance of the series is reflected by the fact that his final points tally was exactly twice that of the second placed player.
That is what tends to happen when a player has made it to six main flight finals and won four of them!
01/12/22: Chris wins on Wednesday again
There were sixteen players in action on Wednesday, fourteen of them to contest the forty-eighth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Chris Rogers -- for the sixth time in this year's series -- whose victims were Simon Tracy, Natalie Singh, Elias Hamati and -- in the final -- Mandy Macdonald.
Mandy had arrived there via victories over Robin Gunney, Tim Line and Alan Joicey.
Ian Anderson took the consolation flight by defeating Simon, Stephen Little and Gaz Owen.
There was also Premier League action, with the final match of the regular season.
Andy Zographou defeated Martha Beal in Premier Three Green.
28/11/22: Andy takes Nackgammon title
There were thirteen players in action on Monday to contest the last of eleven Monday Nackgammon Grand Prix sessions across two environments.The seven online and six at Sportsmans made up single groups.
Andy Boysan won the online group, while Stephen Little and Ian Tarr shared the honours in the live group, Ian taking the side pool.
Andy has clinched the annual NGP title, with Ian finishing as runner-up.
28/11/22: Ian relegated as Neil and George reach safety; Gerald's promotion confirmed
There were four Premier League matches played on Monday, with some important issues resolved.In Premier One already relegated Alan Joicey scored a narrow victory over Ian Hedges, which meant that Neil Young could no longer be relegated.
Neil was then able to tackle his final match later at Sportsmans without the tension there would otherwise have been.
But his opponent, George Georgiou, would have been fully justified in feeling that tension, as he needed to defeat Neil to reach safety himself at Ian's expense.
And George did win.
Meanwhile Gerald Whitehouse needed to avoid a whitewash at the hands of Phil Charlton to finally clinch promotion to the top flight from Premier Two Red.
And although he lost, the 7-11 margin of defeat was enough to see him up.
And Pearl Foster, already assured of a second place finish in Premier Three Green, lost her final match of the season to Marcel Bancroft.
27/11/22: Sunday's Premier League action
The two Premier League matches played on Sunday were a double header in Premier Two Red.And Paul Watts ended his season with a brace of victories over Jordan White.
26/11/22: Simonetta wins the ninth Brunel Trophy
The ninth and final round, effectively the final, of the ninth annual Brunel Trophy was played at Kellaway Avenue on Saturday.And Simonetta Herrera made the most of home advantage to take the title, defeating Simon Tracy 11-3.
Simonetta becomes the seventh different player to lift this title, with her previous best performance being equal fifth in the inaugural event in 2014.
Simon's best tournment result to date was foreshadowed by a good run at the first attempt last year, when he finished equal fourth.
So in two forays into the competition he has won ten matches out of fourteen.
26/11/22: Saturday's Premier League action
Three Premier League matches were played on Saturday.In Premier One Simon Baker's win over Ed Turner finally banished fears of relegation for him.
And in Premier Three Green Martha Beal beat Andy Zographou.
Later Hazel Harper defeated Andrew Cobb to complete a very satisfactory first season in the second tier.
She is in fifth place in Premier Two Red, but only separated from second place by points difference, although Gerald Whitehouse might change that in his final match.
25/11/22: Adam wins Speedgammon Grand Prix event; George takes the title
There were just seven players in action on Thursday to take part in the eighth and final instalment of the year's Speedgammon Grand Prix at the Rainbow Casino.The seven -- including a flying visit from Cornwall by Adam Sinclair -- formed a single round robin group, with no following knock-out phase -- the top two taking the prize money.
And it was Adam who took the honours by pipping Andy Boysan and Ian Tarr on points difference, thanks largely to winning his first four matches while losing only two points.
George Georgiou had one of his least productive events of the series, but had already done more than enough in earlier tournaments to take the seasonal title, with Ian 45 points behind in the runner-up slot.
25/11/22: Chris Rogers wins the UK Champions League
The eighth annual UK Champions League reached its conclusion on Thursday, when reigning Bristol Premier League champion Chris Rogers defeated Dicky Biddle in the best of three 11-point matches final.The competition, devised and operated by Dicky himself, brings together the cream of players from around the various leagues in the UK in two phases of competition.
The group phase weeds out half the field, who then progress to the second phase which is straight knock-out, but still in the best of three match format.
In most recent years Bristol has been allocated four of the thirty-two qualifying slots, and this will rise to five in 2023, thanks to the overall numerical strength of the league.
But the even better news for Bristol is that, as the reigning UK Champions League champion has his/her own slot guaranteed, there will now be six Bristol players in the 2023 competition, which is good news for Stuart Mann -- a finalist in the inaugural event in 2015 -- who has finished sixth in this season's league.
25/11/22: Premier League action on Thursday -- Simon Hughes relegated
There were four Premier League matches played on Thursday.In Premier One Simon Baker bagged a narrow victory over Alan Joicey and has moved out of the bottom four at George Georgiou's expense.
Later Alan scored an emphatic win over Simon Hughes, a result which condemns Simon to relegation.
Three matches now remain, and each has a bearing on the race to avoid relegation, where four players are scrambling for three safety slots.
Neil Young -- who faces George in his final match -- has the advantage of having won ten matches, while the other three have one victory fewer.
However, because Simon Baker, Ian Hedges and George all have superior points differences to Neil, nothing can be taken for granted.
Meanwhile in Premier Three Green Marcel Bancroft defeated Martha Beal.
And the final Premier Two Blue match of the season saw Mandy Macdonald end her disappointing season with a whitewash of Chris Hughes.
24/11/22: Gerald on the brink of promotion; Chris wins Wednesday tournament
There were sixteen players in action on Wednesday, fourteen of them to contest the forty-seventh of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Chris Rogers, whose victims after a first round bye were Tim Line, Gaz Owen and -- in the final -- Elias Hamati.
Elias had arrived there via victories over John Curran, Stephen Little and Natalie Singh.
Tim took the consolation flight by defeating Cecilia Rogers, Simon Tracy and Alan Joicey.
Elias won a post-tournament jackpot.
There was also Premier League action.
And Gerald Whitehouse now finds himself on the brink of promotion to Premier One, after defeating Mike Smith.
Should Gerald score just one point in his final match, against Phil Charlton, he will have clinched the second promotion slot, accompanying Kev Peters into the top flight.
The other action was in Premier One, between two players who might have hoped for more at stake than the destiny of the fourth place prize money.
And in a high quality two-game match, with a four-cube gammon and a two-cube gammon, Chris whitewashed Gaz.
22/11/22: Premier League's Tuesday action
There were three Premier League matches played on Tuesday.In a Premier One double header at Sportsmans, Ed Turner scored a brace of narrow victories over Simon Hughes.
Ed is already relegated, but now Simon's chances of avoiding the drop have been substantially reduced.
Only a handsome victory in his final match plus other results going favourably for him can possibly see him safe.
And in Premier Two Blue Steffen Nowak and Ian Tarr rounded off their campaigns, Steffen scoring his sixth league win in succession.
22/11/22: Eighteen in Monday action
There were eighteen players in action on Monday to contest the seventh session of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins over two environments.The twelve online were split into two groups of six, while the six at Sportsmans formed their own group.
Tim Line and Elias Hamati took the honours online, while Stephen Little did likewise in the live group.
Kev Peters' AGP lead has been reduced to five points by Elias.
20/11/22: Ben pips Jon and reaches Premier One; Tim goes second
There were two Premier Two matches played on Sunday.In Premier Two Blue Ben Crowden won a nail-biter against Jon Organ and has clinched the second promotion place in his first season in the second tier.
And in a Premier Two Red match in Shepton Mallet Tim Line's victory over Hazel Harper moved him into second place at Gary Plant's expense, while also ending Hazel's promotion hopes for the season.
Only Gerald Whitehouse can now prevent Tim's ascent into the top flight.
18/11/22: Friday's Premier League action
There was just one Premier League match played on Friday.And that was the Premier Three Green meeting of Rosemary Whitehouse and Andy Zographou.
Rosemary rounded off her season with a victory, having -- as usual -- begun the season slowly, before recovering strongly.
18/11/22: Steve wins Handicap Trophy tournament
There were nine players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino, just eight of them to contest the eighth of this year's series of nine Handicap Trophy tournaments.Steve Morris was the main flight winner, defeating George Georgiou, Nick Barham and -- in the final -- Tim Line.
Tim had overcome Hazel Harper and Andy Boysan en route to the final.
The consolation flight honours went to Stephen Little, who beat Ian Tarr and George.
George has edged ten points clear of previous HT leader Ben Crowden.
There was also one Premier Two Blue match played pre-tournament, Steve succumbing to Jon Organ to complete a disappointing campaign for him.
16/11/22: Robin wins Wednesday tournament
There were just twelve players in action on Wednesday to contest the forty-sixth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Robin Gunney, whose victims after a first round bye were Cynthia Roberts, Natalie Singh and -- in the final -- George Georgiou.
George had arrived there via victories over Adam Sinclair, Elias Hamati and Tim Line.
Nick Barham took the consolation flight by defeating Andy Boysan and Adam.
Ian Tarr won a post-tournament jackpot.
15/11/22: Tuesday's Premier League action
There were four Premier League matches played on Tuesday.Three of those were in Premier Two Red.
Phil Charlton defeated Frank Jones and a double header between Adrian Farthing and Tim Line followed.
Tim scored a brace of very narrow wins to keep himself firmly in contention for the second promotion slot.
Ever since late July Gary Plant has been wondering whether or not his 42-point haul would be enough to see him promoted.
And now, at this very late stage, there are still three pursuers who can do it.
Gerald Whitehouse would overhaul him with one win from his two remaining matches, while Tim would also manage the feat by winning his final encounter.
That match is against Hazel Harper, for whom nothing less than two wins from two will suffice.
The day's other match -- in Premier Three Green -- featured already promoted Natalie Singh, who fell to defeat against Rosemary Whitehouse.
Natalie's great start to the season was enough to ensure that the five match losing sequence at the end didn't matter too much.
15/11/22: Ian's win relegates Alan
A temporary reporting glitch in the Bristol Backgammon Leagues room on Heroes on Monday morning means that a result from Premier One has just come to light.And the win for Ian Hedges over Neil Young means that Alan Joicey can no longer escape relegation.
Ian has hauled himself out of the bottom four at Simon Baker's expense, and Neil is still not safe from the drop.
Matches in hand for both Simon Baker and Simon Hughes leave the situation wide open.
Automatic reports from "the room" appear to have switched off for a brief time -- the Pearl Foster and Natalie Singh result also went unreported automatically.
15/11/22: Safi gives herself a chance
There were twenty-two players in action on Monday, seventeen of them to contest the sixth session of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix in DMP round robins over two environments.But the most significant action of the day occurred in Premier Two Blue, where Safi Tracy, whose recent slide from promotion favourite had dropped her to third favourite to take the second promotion slot, scored a necessarily emphatic win over Jon Organ.
There is nothing Safi can do now but wait, as she has finished her campaign.
However her margin of victory has edged Ian Tarr further out of contention as he will need to defeat Steffen Nowak by at least eight points to overhaul her.
And of course Ben Crowden can make all of this irrelevant if he can defeat Jon in his final match.
A defeat for Ben, however, would slip him below Safi, unless by a score of 10-11, at which point they would be dead level, and facing a possible play-off.
Also in the Blue Division, in a match featuring two already relegated players, Dave Pym defeated Steve Morris to give himself the best chance of any reprieve from relegation.
And in Premier Three Green there was a meeting of two already promoted players, with Pearl Foster's narrow win over Natalie Singh confirming that they will finish second and third respectively.
Meanwhile in the the round robins, the twelve online and the five at Sportsmans formed their own groups, with the live group playing against each opponent twice.
Adam Sinclair took the honours online, while Ian Tarr did likewise in the live group.
Kev Peters is now 22 points clear of the chasing group as AGP leader.
13/11/22: Simon reaches Brunel Trophy final
The only action on Sunday was in the eighth round of the 2022 Brunel Trophy.The year long double elimination tournament, which began with fifty-two entrants, has now been whittled down to just two.
Simon Tracy today defeated Adam Sinclair to move into the ninth round, which will effectively be a final decider with Simonetta Herrera.
13/11/22: Steffen's win takes Blue Division promotion chase to the wire
The only Premier League action on Saturday was in Premier Two Blue.A win for Ben Crowden would have settled the promotion issues once and for all.
But his defeat at the hands of Steffen Nowak leaves things in the balance.
Steffen has had fine run of results, but will fall just short of promotion even if he wins his final match.
However the contenders for the second promotion slot, accompanying champion Robin Gunney to the top flight, are Ben, Ian Tarr and Safi Tracy, each of whom has a single match to play.
Ben, with the advantage over his rivals of an additional win, will be promoted if he defeats Jon Organ.
Should he lose, however, he would be at the mercy of either Ian or Safi or both, and it would all go down to points difference.
Ian's final match is against Steffen, while Safi plays Jon.
To illustrate the dramatic nature of the scenario, if Ben were to lose 6-11, Safi were to win 11-6 and Ian were to win 11-8, they would all finish equal on points difference!
The next level of tiebreak is head to head results, and Safi would have the advantage there, having beaten Ian twice, so Ian would be well advised to win 11-7.
12/11/22: Natalie promoted as Mathew and Rosemary fall short
The only Premier League action on Friday was in Premier Three Green -- the first match in that division for six weeks!And while Mathew Nicholls finished his season with a win, neither he nor his opponent Rosemary Whitehouse can now convert their faint hopes of edging into the third promotion slot.
That means promotion to Premier Two for Natalie Singh, assuming she doesn't pick up any penalty points.
11/11/22: Andy wins November Bristol Grand Prix tournament
There were ten players in action on Thursday to contest the eleventh of this year's series of twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments at the Rainbow Casino.Andy Boysan took the main flight honours, defeating George Georgiou, Nick Barham, Ian Anderson and, in the final, Robin Gunney.
Robin had arrived there via a first round bye and wins over Steve Morris and Andy Zographou.
Ian Tarr won the consolation flight, defeating Ian Hedges and George.
Bristol Grand Prix leaders Simonetta Herrera, Gaz Owen and Roland Herrera were absent again, so go into the final tournament of the series as the main contenders for the title.
After the tournament Ian Hedges defeated George in a Premier One match, a result which means George is still not safe from the threat of relegation, while Ian still has a chance to survive.
10/11/22: Adam wins Wednesday tournament
There were just ten players in action on Wednesday to contest the forty-fifth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Adam Sinclair, whose victims were Elias Hamati, Ian Anderson and -- in the final -- Cecilia Rogers.
Cecilia had arrived there via victories over Natalie Singh and Robin Gunney.
Elias Hamati took the consolation flight by defeating Natalie and Nick Barham, then followed up by winning a post-tournament jackpot.
09/11/22: Intermediate status to be reviewed
Bristol's unique division of players into those with Premier Status and those without may soon become a thing of the past.This has been used over the past two decades and more as a filter for the Premier League, given the serious year-long commitment required for that competition.
However, the influx of new players during 2022 has been so negligible that there is an argument for Bristol player statuses becoming a thing of the past, and a more flexible, common sense, approach being applied.
This means that intermediate competitions like The Bristol Conference League and The Intermediates Trophy -- neither of which have been held this year -- could be terminated.
Bristol Backgammon Director Ian Tarr will make a decision over the coming weeks.
08/11/22: Gerald close to promotion target
The only Premier League action on Tuesday was in Premier Two Red.And in a match involving two of the four players still able to overhaul Gary Plant for the coveted second promotion slot, Gerald Whitehouse's stunning whitewash of Adrian Farthing has changed the balance of the race.
Gerald and Hazel Harper can overhaul Gary's win total by winning their last two matches.
But whereas Hazel cannot better Gary's points difference with a win and a defeat, Gerald now has the luxury of knowing that his difference would still be superior to Gary's with only one win.
Adrian, on the other hand, is almost out of the race, as only two 11-0 victories would put him above Gary.
The other complication is that the only other contender -- Tim Line -- is Adrian's opponent in those two matches.
Tim also has to play Hazel, and three victories are what he needs to beat Gary on difference.
08/11/22: Nineteen in Monday action
There were nineteen players in action on Monday to contest the fifth session of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins over two environments.Fourteen were split into groups seven online, while five who made it to Sportsmans formed a single group of their own.
The online groups were won by Kev Peters and Nick Barham, while the live honours were shared by George Georgiou and Ian Tarr.
Kev has moved twenty points clear as AGP leader.
07/11/22: Gaz wins Bristol Open!
The tenth Bristol Open reached its conclusion on Sunday.
And for the second successive incarnation of Bristol's flagship event, it was a local player who took the masters title.
Gaz Owen followed reigning champion Stuart Mann into the history books, becoming the third local player to win the event (Simonetta Herrera was the first).
Gaz defeated Londoner Mike Ireland in the first match between the winner of the two brackets to clinch the crown.
Also cashing in the masters were equal fifth placers Andy Boysan and Ian Tarr.
In the intermediates, it was Tom Thorpe from Exeter who took the title, beating Ian Anderson in their second deciding match.
It had been a great weekend for the visiting duo from Exeter, as Tim Paulden finished third in the Masters.
Simon Tracy also cashed, finishing fourth.
The Speedgammon final heat saw another Bristol player, albeit in exile, James Newman taking the honours.
In the last chance flight, a k a the Tombstone Trophy, Plamen Sivrev beat Daniel Rovira in the final, while there was Bristol success in the 64-player DMP knock-out, where George Georgiou met Stephen Little in the final, George prevailing.
The winners (Bristol players are in BLOCK CAPITALS):
MASTERS (59 players):
1st: GAZ OWEN; 2nd: Mike Ireland; 3rd: Tim Paulden; 4th: Paul Statter; 5th=: ANDY BOYSAN, IAN TARR.
Intermediates (37):
1st: Tom Thorpe; 2nd: IAN ANDERSON; 3rd: Aydin Colcak; 4th: SIMON TRACY; 5th=: Roland Archer, Merrin Rose.
SUPER JACKPOT (8 after Camden auction):
1st: Ary Nogueira; 2nd: Vasile Schiopu.
SpeedGammon (64, including multiple rebuys):
1st: JAMES NEWMAN; 2nd: Dan Feeny.
Erhan Board Friday Warm-up (44):
1st: Graham Sievers; 2nd: Merrin Rose; 3rd=: IAN ANDERSON, Can Cag.
Tombstone Trophy (Last Chance) (42):
1st: Plamen Sivrev; 2nd: Daniel Rovira; 3rd=: Reinhold Heinlein, Ary Nogueira.
£5 DMP (58, including multiple rebuys) :
1st: GEORGE GEORGIOU; 2nd: STEPHEN LITTLE; 3rd=: Daniel Molan, Mohammad Torkani.
Most match results are browseable at Mark Calderbank's excellent site, msc27.me.uk/bris2022/ (apologies for my failure to get the link to work).
07/11/22: Ben on the brink
The only Premier League action on Sunday was in Premier Two Blue.And Ben Crowden's victory over Chris Hughes was a major step towards securing a place in the top flight for 2023.
One win from his final two matches will clinch the deal, although even that may not be needed if neither Ian Tarr nor Safi Tracy manage to win their single remaining matches while improving their points difference.
06/11/22: Bristol Open gathers pace
The Bristol Open hit maximum activity on Saturday with the launching of the weekend's two major events.
At close of play on Saturday the 59-strong Masters field had been whittled down to just ten, including Andy Boysan and Gaz Owen in the main bracket and Ian Tarr in the fighters bracket.
Still in the intermediates, with six remaining from the original 37 entrants, are Simon Tracy in the main bracket, with Gerald Whitehouse and Ian Anderson in the fighters.
06/11/22: Robin clinches Blue Division title
Robin Gunney and Steve Morris made time between big tournament matches at the casino on Saturday to play their outstanding Premier Two Blue match.And Robin came out on top, a result which confirmed two things.
Robin has finally clinched the divisional title after an uncharacteristic losing streak of three, while Steve can no longer reach the safety of tenth place.
Robin later concluded his season with a defeat at the hands of Stephen Little.
That leaves one further issue to be solved in that division: who will accompany Robin into the promised land of Premier One?
We may be closer to finding that out later today when Ben Crowden attempts to consolidate second place when he plays Chris Hughes.
Meanwhile online Andrew Cobb played out a Premier Two Red double header against Jordan White.
Both matches had one-sided scorelines, Jordan taking the opener before Andrew struck back.
So now Jordan cannot escape the drop back to the third tier, as Andrew has assured himself of another season in the second.
05/11/22: Bristol Open up and running
The tenth Bristol Open began on Friday with the usual warm-up events.
The welcome buffet preceded the 47-player warm-up flight, where Graham Sievers was the victor, pipping Merrin Rose in the final.
Best Bristol performer was Ian Anderson who made it to the semis.
The Super Jackpot was won by Brazil's Ary Nogueira, with Vasile Schiopu the runner-up.
And satellite events, where players vyed to earn their main tournament entry fees, saw wins for Kev Peters in the Masters and Rosemary Whitehouse in the Intermediates.
04/11/22: Ian and Ian win as the GP20 climax is boosted by many visitors
There were twenty-six players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the eighth and final instalment of this year's series of GP20 tournaments.The field was mightily boosted by a host of visitors warming up for the weekend's big tournament, making the turnout a record for this particular event.
There were Bristol Backgammon debuts for Mohammad Torkani, Thibaud Thompson, Olivier Evard, Carter Mattig and Tim Paulden, and a welcome return to action for our very own Simonetta Herrera.
Local players took most of the plaudits, Ian Hedges winning the main flight, defeating Tim Paulden, Tim Line, top American Carter and -- in the final -- Safi Tracy after receiving a first round bye.
Safi had overcome Nick Barham, Thibaud, George Georgiou and Simonetta en route to the final.
Chris Rogers won the consolation flight, defeating Olivier, Jysen Quah, Tim Paulden and Nick.
Carter won both side pools.
Ian Tarr's GP20 lead was not threatened despite his failure to win a match, so he takes the title.
02/11/22: Cecilia wins latest Wednesday tournament
There were seventeen players in action on Wednesday, fourteen of them to contest the forty-fourth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Cecilia Rogers, whose victims were Gaz Owen, John Curran, Elias Hamati and -- in the final -- Nick Barham.
Nick had arrived there via a first round bye and victories over Chris Hughes and Natalie Singh.
Gaz Owen took the consolation flight by defeating Cynthia Roberts, Chris Hughes and Ian Anderson.
Stephen Little won the post-tournament jackpot.
There was also action in the Premier League.
In Premier Two Red Mike Smith is now assured of safety from relegation after defeating already doomed Frank Jones.
And Safi Tracy's waning hopes of promotion from Premier Two Blue suffered another blow with defeat by Stephen.
Safi must win her final match to stand any chance, and hope that other results work in her favour.
01/11/22: Robin still awaiting title confirmation
There was just one Premier League match played on Tuesday, in Premier Two Blue.Ian Tarr defeated Robin Gunney to keep alive his slim chance of promotion, a result which also means that Robin is not yet crowned divisional title winner, as Ben Crowden still has a mathematical opportunity to overhaul him.
01/11/22: Thirteen in Monday Nackgammon action
There were thirteen players in action on Monday to contest the monthly Monday Nackgammon Grand Prix event across two environments.The eight online were split into two groups of four, while five made up another group at Sportsmans.
Group winners were Kev Peters and Tim Line online, George Georgiou winning the live group.
Andy Boysan's NGP lead has been cut to eight points by Tim, with only the November session to go.
30/10/22: Cecilia rounds off fine league season
There was just one Premier League match played on Sunday, in Premier One.Cecilia Rogers scored a narrow victory over George Georgiou to firm up her runner-up spot, while George could still do with some more points to be sure of top flight safety.
28/10/22: Dave Pym relegated
There was just one Premier League match played on Friday, in Premier Two Blue.And Ian Tarr's narrow victory over Dave Pym means that Dave can no longer avoid eligibility for relegation, while Ian's very slim chance of promotion is also preserved.
28/10/22: Gaz wins GP10 tournament
There were eleven players in action on Thursday to contest the ninth session of the GP10 series of ten tournaments at the casino.And Gaz Owen was the tournament winner, defeating Steve Morris, Nick Barham and Richard Owsley.
Richard had got past Ian Tarr and Tim Line en route to the final.
Cynthia Roberts took the consolation flight with victories over George Georgiou, Hazel Harper and Ian.
George has long since been certain to win the GP10 title, so the race is on for the minor positions, with Ian heading many contenders.
27/10/22: Andy takes Wednesday honours
There were eighteen players in action on Wednesday, sixteen of them to contest the forty-third of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Andy Boysan, whose victims were Elias Hamati, Cecilia Rogers, Adam Sinclair and -- in the final -- Ian Tarr.
Ian had arrived there via victories over Chris Hughes, Stephen Little and Tim Line.
Gaz Owen took the consolation flight by defeating Cynthia Roberts, John Curran and Chris Rogers.
Ian Anderson won the post-tournament jackpot.
There was also action in Premier Two Red, where Frank Jones hauled himself off the bottom of the league by narrowly beating Paul Watts.
25/10/22: Tuesday league wins for Andy and Stephen
There were two Premier League matches played on Tuesday.Andy Boysan concluded his extraordinary Premier One title winning season by defeating Gaz Owen.
His record of twenty-two wins out of twenty-four matches is the best ever recorded in the twenty-three year history of the top flight.
The spell of dominance of Gaz and Chris Rogers is over for the moment, and those two will play their final match of the season to decide fourth and fifth places.
And the Brunello Lounge, Weston-super-Mare, was the venue for a Premier Two Blue match between Cliff Blofield and Stephen Little, which saw Stephen prevail.
Cliff has finished his league programme, and there still remains a slight chance of relegation for him.
25/10/22: Twenty-two in Monday action
There were twenty-two players in action on Monday, twenty of them to contest the fourth session of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins over two environments.Fifteen were split into groups of eight and seven online, while five who made it to Sportsmans formed a single group of their own.
The online groups were won by Steve Pickard and Kev Peters, while the live honours were shared by George Georgiou and Stephen Little.
Kev has moved fractionally ahead of Tim Line as AGP leader.
There were also two Premier League matches played.
Recently crowned league champion Andy Boysan defeated Gaz Owen in Premier One.
And the final match of the Premier Three Yellow season saw Michael Petrakas increasing his title-winning margin by defeating Michael Corbett, who has finished in mid-table on his return to action after such a long break.
23/10/22: Michael's fine Brunel Trophy run ended
Sunday's only match was an eighth round Brunel Trophy tie.With just four players remaining, each with a single life left, the eighth round is effectively a semi-final round.
And Michael Petrakas had his fine run in the competition ended by defeat to Simonetta Herrera, who will meet either Adam Sinclair or Simon Tracy in the ninth and final round.
23/10/22: Saturday win for Michael Corbett
There was a single Premier Three Yellow match played on Saturday.Michael Corbett defeated John Curran in what was John's hundredth Premier Three match.
21/10/22: Ian wins Speedgammon Grand Prix event
There were just seven players in action on Thursday to take part in the seventh instalment of the year's Speedgammon Grand Prix at the Rainbow Casino.The seven -- including a welcome debut appearance by Fleur Cook from Twickenham -- formed a single round robin group, with no following knock-out phase -- the top two taking the prize money.
Ian Tarr took the honours with a clean sweep of six wins from six, George Georgiou in second place with four victories.
George's SGGP lead has been cut to 60 points over second placed Ian, but with only one tournament in the series remaining, it is very unlikely that George will be overhauled.
19/10/22: Another Wednesday tournament win for Chris
There were twelve players in action on Wednesday to contest the forty-second of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Chris Rogers, whose victims were Elias Hamati, Ian Tarr, Gaz Owen and -- in the final -- Kev Peters.
Kev had arrived there via a first round bye and victories over Tim Line and Stephen Little.
Tim took the consolation flight by defeating Andy Boysan and Cecilia Rogers.
And Stephen won the post-tournament jackpot.
18/10/22: Brunel Trophy eighth round draw made
The draw for the eighth round of the ninth incarnation of the Brunel Trophy was made on Monday.
There are four survivors from the seventh round, each with a single life remaining.
So what started as a double elimination event has now morphed into a familiar semi-final-type situation.
Simonetta Herrera meets Michael Petrakas, while Adam Sinclair's opponent is Simon Tracy.
The matches are to be completed by November 20th.
18/10/22: Twenty-two contest third Autumn Grand Prix sessions
There were twenty-two players in action on Monday to contest the third sessions of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins over two environments.Sixteen were split into groups of eight online, while six who made it to Sportsmans formed a single group of their own.
The online groups were won by Gaz Owen and Elias Hamati, while the live honours were shared by George Georgiou, Stephen Little and Kian Sabet.
Tim Line remains the AGP leader, holding a 16 point lead over joint second placers George and Kev Peters.
16/10/22: Kylie promoted; Simon out of Brunel Trophy
There were three matches played on Sunday.And the two in Premier Three Yellow decided the outcome of the promotion race in that division.
Kylie Hedges needed victories over Eamonn Reay and James Lintell-Smith to pip James for the third promotion slot.
She also had some points difference issues to sort out, and succeeded admirably on both counts with a brace of 11-2 wins.
She joins Michael Petrakas and Hemal Getalal in next season's Premier Two, while James misses out on automatic promotion, but will hope that his fourth place finish might be enough for a back door promotion.
Meanwhile the seventh round of the Brunel Trophy is complete.
Simonetta Herrera returned to action to clinch an eighth round place at the expense of Simon Baker.
The four survivors will find out their eighth round opponents very soon.
14/10/22: George wins October Bristol Grand Prix tournament
There were ten players in action on Thursday to contest the tenth of this year's series of twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments at the Rainbow Casino.George Georgiou took the main flight honours, defeating Ian Tarr, Steve Morris and, in the final, Hazel Harper.
Hazel had arrived there via wins over Ian Hedges, Tim Line and Kylie Hedges.
Nick Barham won the consolation flight, defeating Ian Hedges and Stephen Little.
Bristol Grand Prix leaders Simonetta Herrera, Gaz Owen and Roland Herrera were absent, so George took full advantage to move closer in fourth place.
12/10/22: Andy wins Wednesday tournament
There were twelve players in action on Wednesday, ten of them to contest the forty-first of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Andy Boysan, whose victims after a first round bye were Ian Anderson, Tim Line and -- in the final -- Ian Tarr.
Ian had arrived there via victories over Stephen Little, Adam Sinclair and Cynthia Roberts.
Hazel Harper took the consolation flight by defeating Ian Anderson and Elias Hamati.
There was also a Premier Two Blue match played.
Safi Tracy whitewashed Mandy Macdonald to keep her promotion hopes alive.
11/10/22: Tuesday win for Chris
In Tuesday's only Premier League action, Chris Hughes beat Cliff Blofield in Premier Two Blue.Both players remain under a slim threat of relegation, since whoever finishes lower of the two might conceivably be overhauled by either Dave Pym or Steve Morris, but not both of them.
11/10/22: Seventeen contest opening Autumn Grand Prix sessions
There were seventeen players in action on Monday to contest the second session of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix in DMP round robins over two environments.Eleven contested the online group, while the six who made it to Sportsmans formed a single group of their own, playing each opponent twice.
The online group was won by Kev Peters, who pipped Tim Line on the PR tie-break, while Ian Tarr took the live honours.
So Tim maintains his early AGP lead, with Kev now in second place.
07/10/22: Hemal promoted with last match win
There was just one Premier League match played on Friday -- the first in any division since the September 30th checkpoint.And it was a significant one.
In Premier Three Yellow John Curran met Hemal Getalal, in what was Hemal's final match of the season.
And Hemal's victory moved him up to second place in the table, where he can now only be overhauled by second placed James Lintell-Smith.
A maiden season at this level was not looking quite so promising when he hit a sticky patch midway through the season, but a closing run of nine wins from eleven has done the job for him.
James is still favourite to clinch the third promotion slot, where only Kylie Hedges can surpass him.
Kylie must defeat James and Eamonn Reay to make it to third place, but the relative points differences of the two players would decide the issue.
06/10/22: Nick wins GP20 tournament
There were just seven players in action on Thursday at the Rainbow Casino to contest the seventh of this year's series of eight GP20 tournaments.Nick Barham won the main flight, defeating George Georgiou and -- in the final -- Tim Line after receiving a first round bye.
Tim had overcome Hazel Harper and Steve Morris en route to the final.
Ian Tarr won the consolation flight, defeating George and Stephen Little.
Ian now holds a 45 point GP20 lead over second placed George with just one tournament remaining.
05/10/22: Ian Anderson wins Wednesday tournament
There were fourteen players in action on Wednesday to contest the fortieth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Ian Anderson, whose victims were John Curran, Adam Sinclair, Ian Tarr and -- in the final -- Chris Hughes.
Chris had arrived there via a bye and victories over Safi Tracy and Simon Tracy.
Cecilia Rogers took the consolation flight by defeating Cynthia Roberts, Tim Line and Elias Hamati.
Elias won a post-tournament jackpot.
04/10/22: Seventeen contest opening Autumn Grand Prix sessions
There were seventeen players in action on Monday to contest the opening sessions of the Monday Club Autumn Grand Prix in 3-point round robins over two environments.Thirteen were split into groups of seven and six online, while the four who made it to Sportsmans formed a single group of their own.
The online groups were won by Tim Line and James Timoney, while George Georgiou took the live honours.
Ian Anderson won the side pool in James's group.
So Tim is the early AGP leader, closely followed by James, Adrian Farthing and George.
02/10/22: Focus on the Premier One run in
With two months to go, there are thirteen matches remaining in Premier One, arguably the nation's finest single division of any league.The standards set in the previous two seasons by Chris Rogers and Gaz Owen, where their dominance was underlined by 67 wins and 19 defeats against the remainder of a strong league, appear to be inspiring the competition to bridge the gap.
As evidenced by the extraordinary season of Andy Boysan, whose studies are paying dividends, to the extent that he has lost only two of twenty-two matches thus far, in romping to a convincing maiden title.
Gaz and Chris are unsurprisingly among the five who are ahead of the rest of the field and are assured of being Bristol's UK Champions League representiatives for 2023.
Cecilia Rogers is favourite for the runner-up spot, with Gaz the only player who can thwart her.
Nick Barham has also had a fine season, finishing in either third or fourth place with sixteen wins.
Six times champion Stuart Mann finds himself out of the reckoning, but still in a respectable sixth place.
But it's at the bottom that most of the drama is yet to unfold.
Several fine players are vying for the safety of seventh, eighth and ninth positions.
Ed Turner is already consigned to the drop, and Alan Joicey can only be saved by the greatest of miracles.
Neil Young, with ten wins under his belt, is close to safety, while George Georgiou, Simon Baker, Simon Hughes and Ian Hedges are scrambling for survival.
Six of the remaining matches are relegation six-pointers, and although Alan seems to be doomed, he can still have a major say in who accompanies him as all three of his remaining matches come into that category.
02/10/22: Focus on the Premier Two Blue run in
With two months to go, there are sixteen matches remaining in Premier Two Blue.League leader Robin Gunney has a nine points lead, is already promoted, and is almost certain to be crowned divisional champion.
The division's surprise packet is Ben Crowden, who squeezed into Premier Two via the back door, but has done rather better at the higher level, and can now be considered favourite to hang on to the other promotion slot.
Three wins out of three would put things beyond doubt, while two would leave him open to a challenge from third placed Safi Tracy, who for so long had appeared on course for elevation.
There are others with a slim chance of crashing the party.
Ian Tarr, in fourth place, could only do so with the help of Ben and Safi faltering, while the hopes of Steffen Nowak, Stephen Little and Jon Organ are realistically only mathematical.
As for relegation, Mandy Macdonald is already doomed.
The other occupants of the bottom three -- Dave Pym and Steve Morris -- can make it to thirty points by winning their remaining matches, but as they still have to meet, one of them cannot.
That would potentially threaten Chris Hughes and Cliff Blofield.
02/10/22: Focus on the Premier Two Red run in
With two months to go, there are fourteen matches remaining in Premier Two Red.Kev Peters is clear as divisional champion to clinch an immediate return to Premier One.
Another to finish his season early, Gary Plant, has been sitting in second place ever since.
His tally of 42 points has been the target for a plethora of pursuers, and at first it didn't look likely to be enough to secure that second promotion slot.
But as the results have flowed in he does have cause for optimism.
There are still four players who could overhaul him, but each would need to perform very well in the remaining matches.
For Hazel Harper, three points behind, one win out of two will not be enough because of points difference.
Statistically Gerald Whitehouse has the best chance, as his superior points difference means that two wins from his three remaining matches would almost certainly be enough.
Adrian Farthing currently matches Gerald's record, apart from his points difference, which means it's just possible but highly unlikely that two wins will do the trick.
And for Tim Line the equation is simple. Three wins out of three will do the job.
The complicating factor is that four matches feature mouth watering clashes of those four pursuers.
As for those eligible for relegation, the bottom three are all strong odds on to occupy those positions to the end.
Richard Owsley has finished his programme, and his only possible salvation would involve three hefty defeats for fourth from bottom Andrew Cobb.
Bottom of the league Frank Jones can hit Andrew's current points total by winning all three outstanding matches, but would need to considerably improve his points difference in the process.
And Jordan White, with four matches remaining, is hampered by a penalty point, but three wins could still conceivably save him.
The fact that two of his matches are against Andrew could turn out to be a key factor.
And fifth from bottom Mike Smith is still not quite safe, although it would take four wins from Jordan to trouble him.
01/10/22: Focus on the Premier Three Green run in
With two months to go, there are eight matches remaining in Premier Three Green.Simon Tracy has been the stand-out performer and finishes as divisional champion, following daughter Safi Tracy up to Premier Two.
And Pearl Foster, in second place, has sealed an immediate return to the league above with a strong late season showing.
So the only important issue remaining is the destiny of the third promotion slot.
Natalie Singh is big favourite for this, and even if she were to lose her final two matches, the likelihood is that her superior points difference would be too much for either Mathew Nicholls or Rosemary Whitehouse, the only two who can match her thirteen wins.
But since Mathew and Rosemary still have to meet, only one of them can possibly threaten Natalie.
01/10/22: Focus on the Premier Three Yellow run in
With just two months remaining, overall progress has been very good, and there should be no problems completing the Premier Three Yellow season on time.In fact there are just five matches left.
Michael Petrakas has had a memorable first season in the league, and has been assured of the divisional title for a while now.
But what of the other two promotion places?
Second placed James Lintell-Smith can settle his own fate by winning his last match, which is against fourth placed Kylie Hedges, as can third placed Hemal Getalal by defeating John Curran.
Should Kylie defeat James, however, she could overhaul him with victory over Eamonn Reay.
The only other player in the equation is Michael Corbett, although his chances are slim as he would need emphatic wins over John and Michael P and a defeat for Hemal.
01/10/22: Just one penalty at the September 30th checkpoint
The September 30th Premier League checkpoint passed at midnight on Friday, and just one player was penalised.Unfortunately Jordan White -- in Premier Two Red -- also failed to claw back his July 31st penalty point, so that becomes permament, while the freshly incurred point can be clawed back.
The points difference penalty unique to this checkpoint has also been applied to his points difference.
Otherwise the league tables in all five divisions have a pleasingly even look as players face the run in, where several important issues remain to be resolved, with anything between zero and three matches to play.
30/09/22: Friday's Premier League results; Pearl returns to Premier Two
There were three Premier League matches played on Friday.In Premier One Alan Joicey and Neil Young met at the Wellington to finish their adjourned match, which had been interestingly poised at 10-8 in Neil's favour with a game in progress.
Neil sealed the win, but not before Alan had made it to 10 points, making it the fifth time this season he had lost 10-11.
His chances of top flight survival now look bleak, while Neil looks likely to stay up.
And 11-10 was also the score of the day, Jordan White pipping Mike Smith in Premier Two Red, while Pearl Foster was the winner in her Premier Three Green match with Andy Zographou.
Pearl's strong run in means she makes an immediate return to Premier Two.
30/09/22: Ian wins GP10 tournament
There were seventeen players in action on Thursday, including the eight who contested the eighth session of the GP10 series of ten tournaments at the casino.And Ian Tarr was the tournament winner, defeating Steve Morris, Simon Tracy and Nick Barham.
Nick had got past Tim Line and George Georgiou en route to the final.
Alan Joicey took the consolation flight with victories over Steve and Tim.
George is already certain to win the GP10 title, so the race is on for the minor positions, and Ian has moved into second place, some 240 points behind George.
There were also seven Premier League matches played, including one at the casino before the tournament.
That was George's win over Alan, a result which enhances George's chances of Premier One survival, while leaving Alan with no margin for error in his final four matches.
Simon Baker defeated Stuart Mann before losing to Nick, and he still has work to do in his last two encounters.
In Premier Two Red Mike Smith is now all but safe after defeating Richard Owsley, who can only be saved from relegation if Andrew Cobb loses his last three matches by hefty margins.
Richard's plight is all the more surprising after he won nine of his first fifteen matches.
Eamonn Reay suffered mixed fortunes in Premier Three Yellow, emphatically beating champion Michael Petrakas before being pipped by Michael Corbett.
And Rosemary Whitehouse beat Andy Zographou in a Premier Three Green encounter.
29/09/22: Another Wednesday, another Rogers win
There were eighteen players in action on Wednesday, twelve of them to contest the thirty-ninth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner, after two successive Chris Rogers wins, was Cecilia Rogers.
Cecilia came through the long half of the draw, defeating Natalie Singh, Kev Peters and Stephen Little, before accounting for Gaz Owen in the final.
Gaz had arrived there via a bye and victories over Alan Joicey and Elias Hamati.
Ian Tarr took the consolation flight by defeating Robin Gunney and Natalie.
Ian Anderson won a post-tournament jackpot.
There were also three Premier League matches played.
In Premier Two Red Gerald Whitehouse won a battle of potential promotion winners, beating Hazel Harper.
Mike Smith was the other winner in that division, overcoming Frank Jones.
And Caroline Boulton ended her Premier Three Yellow campaign by defeating Kylie Hedges.
Caroline had given herself a mountain to climb by losing her first seven matches, althogh her subsequent results were much improved.
27/09/22: Premier League Tuesday round-up
There were four Premier League matches played on Tuesday.In Premier One Simon Hughes played twice, defeating Nick Barham before succumbing to Ian Hedges.
And there was a Premier Two Red double header, where Tim Line and Mike Smith won one apiece.
27/09/22: Robin promoted and Simon takes title as twenty-one taste Monday action
There were twenty-one players in action on Monday, including the twelve who contested the monthly Monday Nackgammon Grand Prix event across two environments.The eight online were split into two groups of four, while four made up another group at Sportsmans.
Group winners were Kev Peters and Tim Line online, Ian Tarr winning the live group.
Andy Boysan still leads the NGP table by sixteen points from Ian, and with discards beginning to bite, that will be a difficult gap to bridge.
In a post tournament jackpot Ian Anderson was the winner.
There was also Premier League action, with almost five matches played.
In Premier Two Blue a defeat for Safi Tracy by Steffen Nowak means that league leader Robin Gunney is now assured of promotion to the top flight, while Safi's hopes have suffered another blow.
Ben Crowden would make certain of taking the other promotion slot by winning his last three matches, but he may need less than that, depending on the efforts of the pursuers -- notably Safi, but in mathematically dsecending order Ian Tarr, Steffen, Stephen Little and Jon Organ.
Gerald Whitehouse kept his promotion chances alive with a Premier Two Red victory over fellow contender Adrian Farthing.
With Kev Peters already installed as divisional champion, it's all about the pursuit of second placed Gary Plant, who has finished his fixtures and is awaiting the results of others.
Hazel Harper, Adrian, Gerald and Tim all need to do well in their remaining matches to stand a chance of pipping Gary.
Rosemary Whitehouse played twice in Premier Three Green.
A narrow defeat to Simon Tracy ensured that Simon takes the divisional championship, while also divesting Rosemary of her last vestige of promotion hope, and an emphatic defeat at the hands of Martha Beal followed.
The other action featured Alan Joicey and Neil Young, whose Premier One match was adjourned with Neil tantalisingly 10-8 up.
25/09/22: Sunday's Premier League round-up
There were nine matches played on Sunday across four divisions of the Premier League.In the top flight Nick Barham defeated Ed Turner at the Old Colonial, Weston-super-Mare, and later beat Simon Baker online, after Simon had shared the spoils of a double header with Cecilia Rogers.
Nick's first win ensured that the current top five will qualify for the 2023 UK Champions League.
There were Premier Two Blue wins for Ian Tarr and Ben Crowden, their respective victims being Jon Organ and Stephen Little.
Ben's fine run of results has thrust him into second favourite status in that division, with the second promotion slot now looking to rest between him and Safi Tracy.
In Premier Three Green Rosemary Whitehouse beat Marcel Bancroft twice to keep alive her faint hopes of promotion.
And there was a Premier Three Yellow victory for James Lintell-Smith over Eamonn Reay.
A win in his final match would assure James of second place and promotion.
25/09/22: Ben moves into top two
There were two matches played on Saturday, both in Premier Two Blue.And Ben Crowden's emphatic win over Jon Organ has moved him into the promotion bracket at Safi Tracy's expense.
The other match saw Ismail Yilmaz conclude his campaign with a defeat by Stephen Little.
25/09/22: Friday's belated Premier League round-up
There were five matches played on Friday across four divisions of the Premier League.Stephen Little played two Premier Two Blue matches, defeating Safi Tracy before succumbing to Dave Pym.
Safi's top two place is now under some pressure, while Dave still retains hope of avoiding the drop.
In Premier Two Red Frank Jones narrowly defeated Phil Charlton.
Michael Petrakas, already confirmed as Premier Three Yellow champion, beat Caroline Boulton.
And in Premier Three Green Andy Zographou pipped Rosemary Whitehouse.
23/09/22: Ian wins Handicap Trophy tournament; George closes on leader Ben
There were sixteen players in action on Thursday, but just seven of them at the Rainbow Casino to contest the seventh of this year's series of nine Handicap Trophy tournaments.Ian Tarr was the main flight winner, defeating Steve Morris, Tim Line and -- in the final -- Stephen Little.
Stephen had overcome George Georgiou and Simon Tracy en route to the final.
The consolation flight honours went to George, who beat Steve and Simon Tracy.
George has drawn level with Ben Crowden in the HT standings, but Ben takes precedence as he has entered fewer events.
There was also Premier League action, with five matches completed.
In the top flight there were wins for newly crowned champion Andy Boysan and Neil Young over Stuart Mann and Alan Joicey.
Stuart will almost certainly miss out on UK Champions League qualification, while Alan, along with Ian Hedges and Ed Turner, has a mountain to climb to avoid relegation.
Chris Hughes played two Premier Two Blue matches, losing out to Jon Organ before defeating Mandy Macdonald.
Jon still has a remote chance to make the promotion bracket, while Mandy is already relegated, and the favourites to join her are Steve Morris and Dave Pym.
In Premier Three Yellow Michael Corbett edged to victory over Eamonn Reay, but both players have only the merest glimmer of hope when it comes to making the top three.
22/09/22: Chris wins second successive Wednesday tournament
There were seventeen players in action on Wednesday, twelve of them to contest the thirty-eighth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner -- for the second successive week -- was Chris Rogers, who made the most of a first round bye before defeating Simon Tracy and Tim Line, and then Safi Tracy in the final.
Safi had arrived there via victories over Roland Herrera, Stephen Little and Elias Hamati.
Andy Boysan took the consolation flight by defeating Gaz Owen, Roland and Simon.
The result against Roland came after a concession, as Roland was unwell.
Ian Tarr won a post-tournament jackpot.
There were also three Premier League matches played.
In Premier Two Blue Steffen Nowak scored a pair of wins over Mandy Macdonald and Ismail Yilmaz.
And Pearl Foster moved one step closer to an immediate return to Premier Two by defeating Rosemary Whitehouse in Premier Three Green.
20/09/22: Andy takes Premier League title in the most convincing way
There were ten matches played on Tuesday, featuring every division of the Premier League, with the top flight taking centre stage.A double header between reigning champion Chris Rogers and champion elect Andy Boysan promised to provide the highlight, and didn't disappoint.
Andy, already in a near impregnable position, signalled the end -- for the time being at least -- of the Rogers:Owen dominance of the competition with a brace of wins, leaving him in an unassailable position, despite still having three more matches to play.
Winning nineteen out of twenty-one encounters tends to do things like that.
Andy's previous best performances were his fourth place finishes in 2018 and 2020.
Chris, who had been looking to be the first player to take the title three successive times, may even finish outside the four prize money slots, although he may well qualify as one of Bristol's five UK Champions League representatives for 2023.
As the battle for those secondary placings continues, Cecilia Rogers and Nick Barham continued to press their claims with wins over Neil Young and Simon Hughes respectively.
Simon at least had the consolation of a whitewash win over Alan Joicey.
In Premier Two Red Hazel Harper remained in contention for the second promotion slot by defeating a potential rival, Gerald Whitehouse.
Steffen Nowak played two Premier Two Blue matches, succumbing to Ismail Yilmaz before defeating Ian Tarr.
In Premier Three Green Pearl Foster dealt a blow to Mathew Nicholls's promotion hopes while keeping hers very much alive.
And Caroline Boulton beat Eamonn Reay in Premier Three Yellow, a result which confirms Michael Petrakas as divisional champion.
20/09/22: Elias clinches Summer Grand Prix title
In view of the doubts about whether or not to go ahead with our usual backgammon activities, given the uniqueness of the day, the decision to play was wholly justified by the fact that no fewer than twenty-eight players were active, either in the Premier League (see story immediately below this one) or the Monday Club Summer Grand Prix sessions in 3-point round robins across two environments.Seventeen online were split into two groups of six and one of five, while the five who made it to Sportsmans formed a single group of their own.
The live group used the downstairs lounge area at the club for the first time, as there was a very loud disco in the bar area, which impressed this correspondent, but not everyone else!
The online groups were won by Elias Hamati, Andy Boysan and Chris Hughes, while Stephen Little and Ian Tarr tied for leadership of the live group, Ian winning the side pool.
Elias merely underlined his superiority as runaway winner of the SGP, while Daniel Miles took the John Curran sponsored top intermediate title.
19/09/22: Monday league action
There were six Premier League matches played on Monday.Ian Hedges fitted in two Premier One matches, succumbing to Alan Joicey before defeating George Georgiou.
Tim Line won twice in Premier Two Red -- Gerald Whitehouse and Richard Owsley his victims.
In the same division Frank Jones scored a win over Jordan White.
And Hemal Getalal beat James Lintell-Smith to set up an intriguing Premier Three Yellow promotion run in.
18/09/22: James goes second
A Sunday Premier Three Yellow victory for James Lintell-Smith over Eamonn Reay has propelled James to second in the lague table.18/09/22: Saturday wins for Cecilia and Hemal
There were two Premier League matches played on Saturday.Cecilia Rogers kept her slim Premier One title hopes alive by defeating Ed Turner.
And similarly Hemal Getalal's chances of promotion from Premier Three Yellow are still there after his victorious visit to Michael Corbett in Fishponds.
16/09/22: Friday wins for Gerald and John
There were two Premier League matches played on Friday.Gerald Whitehouse continued his recent good run of form by defeating Jordan White in Premier Two Red.
And John Curran scored a Premier Three Yellow victory over James Lintell-Smith.
16/09/22: Nick wins Speedgammon Grand Prix tournament
There were twenty-four players in action on Thursday, twelve of whom took part in the sixth instalment of the year's Speedgammon Grand Prix at the Rainbow Casino.The twelve were split into three round robin groups of four, with the top two from each qualifying for the second phase of straight knock-out.
Group winners -- all outright -- were Ian Tarr, Nick Barham and Simonetta Herrera, with the performances of Nick and Simonetta earning them byes in the knock-out phase.
Nick and Simonetta also made it through to the final, where Nick prevailed.
George Georgiou's SGGP lead has been further reduced to 105 points, with Ian now in second place, and Roland Herrera, Simonetta and Nick close behind.
There were also seven Premier League matches played.
In the top flight Andy Boysan took another step towards what appears to be an inevitable maiden league title with a victory over Stuart Mann, while Nick scored the narrowest of wins over Ed Turner before the tournament.
Robin Gunney is another who is well on course to take a title in Premier Two Blue, and he could have clinched promotion by defeating Ismail Yilmaz.
He didn't, so he will have to wait.
Steve Morris was the other winner in that division, defeating Chris Hughes.
Mathew Nicholls continued his resurgence with victory over Andy Zographou at the Post Office Tavern, and moves into the top three of Premier Three Green.
And in the parallel Yellow Division there were wins for Eamonn Reay and Michael Corbett over Hemal Getalal and Caroline Boulton.
16/09/22: Michael was promoted on September 7th
This column missed the fact that Michael Petrakas was assured of promotion from Premier Three Yellow on September 7th when Kylie Hedges was defeated.15/09/22: Chris wins Wednesday tournament
There were twenty players in action on Wednesday, fourteen of them to contest the thirty-seventh of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Chris Rogers, who defeated Stephen Little, Elias Hamati and Tim Line before beating Ian Anderson in the final.
Ian had arrived there via victories over Warner Solomon, Andy Boysan and Robin Gunney.
Stephen Little took the consolation flight with victories over Gaz Owen, John Curran and Nick Barham.
Ian Tarr won a post-tournament jackpot.
There were also five Premier League matches played.
In Premier Two Red Hazel Harper's promotion hopes were dented by a whitewash defeat at the hands of Phil Charlton, whose recent resurgence in form has come fractionally too late to threaten the top two positions.
Mathew Nicholls is making a concerted attempt to break into the Premier Three Green promotion race, his latest successes coming at the expense of Marcel Bancroft.
And Caroline Boulton suffered a brace of Premier Three Yellow defeats, John and Hemal Getalal the victors.
13/09/22: Andy's run ended
Tuesday's Premier League action comprised a match in Premier One and one in Premier Three Green.And the top flight match saw the end of Andy Boysan's twelve match unbeaten run -- the third longest in Premier One history.
Nick Barham, well in the running for prize money and UK Champions League qualification, did his chances no harm at all with a resounding victory.
Andy still has plenty in hand for his assault on a maiden league title.
Mathew Nicholls was the winner in the Green Division, defeating Rosemary Whitehouse.
13/09/22: Thirty-two in Monday action
There were thirty-two players in action on Monday, twenty-one of them to contest the ninth Monday Club Summer Grand Prix session in DMP round robins across two environments.Fifteen online and six at Sportsmans formed individual groups, with the live group playing each opponent twice.
Nick Barham took the online group by a distance, while live the honours were shared by Frank Jones and Ian Tarr, although the side pool went Ian's way as Frank had opted out.
Elias Hamati remains 20 points clear at the top of the SGP table, with just one session remaining.
13/09/22: Flurry of league action
Monday saw the completion of ten matches in the top two flights of the Premier League.In Premier One there were two double headers -- Stuart Mann twice defeating George Georgiou at Sportsmans, and Cecilia Rogers and Simon Hughes sharing the spoils online.
Stuart's opening win saw him become the first player to complete 500 Premier League matches.
Earlier Gaz Owen had edged to victory over Alan Joicey.
The division seems to have split more and more into the haves and the have-nots, with the top six competing for honours and the bottom seven looking to avoid the drop to Premier Two.
In Premier Two Blue there were wins for Mandy Macdonald, Ismail Yilmaz and Jon Organ.
Jon had a mixed day, suffering defeat at the hands of bottom of the league Mandy before inflicting a rare defeat on runaway league leader Robin Gunney.
Ismail's win came at the expense of Chris Hughes.
Another double header came in Premier Two Red, where Jordan White and Phil Charlton won one apiece.
11/09/22: Sunday win for Ben
In the only action on Sunday, Ben Crowden defeated Chris Hughes in Premier Two Blue.The result keeps Ben in contention for promotion.
10/09/22: Premier One wins for Andy and Ed
There were two Premier One matches played on Saturday.Andy Boysan scored a victory against Cecilia Rogers -- one of his few remaining rivals for the title.
He can now finish no lower than fifth, assuring himself of a UK Champions League place for 2023 at the very least.
And it now appears that the title is Andy's to lose, as four wins from his seven remaining matches would do the job, even assuming his rivals win every remaining match.
Meanwhile at the foot of the league table Ed Turner leapfrogged Alan Joicey by defeating him.
10/09/22: Friday results round-up
There were two matches played on Friday.Another seventh round Brunel Trophy match was played, and Michael Petrakas progressed to the last four at the expense of Gerald Whitehouse.
And in Premier Two Blue Chris Hughes defeated Ismail Yilmaz.
09/09/22: Simonetta wins to regain Bristol Grand Prix lead
There were twelve players in action on Thursday, just eight of them to contest the ninth of this year's series of twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments at the Rainbow Casino.Simonetta Herrera took the main flight honours, defeating Stephen Little, Hazel Harper and, in the final, Roland Herrera.
Roland had arrived there via wins over Tim Line and George Georgiou.
Tim won the consolation flight, defeating Ian Tarr and Stephen.
Simonetta has regained the lead in the Bristol Grand Prix table, holding a 37 points lead over Gaz Owen.
There was other action online.
Adam Sinclair won his seventh round Brunel Trophy tie against Hemal Getalal, and progresses to the eighth round, which is effectively a semi-final situation, as there will be four survivors, each with a single life remaining.
And Phil Charlton won a Premier Two Red match against Richard Owsley.
08/09/22: Robin wins Wednesday tournament
There were twenty players in action on Wednesday, fourteen of them to contest the thirty-sixth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Robin Gunney, who defeated Natalie Singh, Ian Tarr and Stephen Little before beating Elias Hamati in the final.
Elias had arrived there via a first round bye plus victories over Simonetta Herrera and Simon Tracy.
Tim Line took the consolation flight with victories over Chris Hughes and Roland Herrera.
Ian won a post-tournament jackpot.
There were also four Premier League matches played.
In the top flight Simon Hughes suffered a brace of defeats -- to Simon Baker and Ian Hedges.
And Stuart Mann defeated Alan Joicey.
In Premier Three Yellow James Lintell-Smith beat Kylie Hedges.
06/09/22: Tuesday's Premier League action
There were two Premier League matches played on Tuesday.In Premier One Neil Young defeated Ian Hedges.
And Paul Watts scored his fifth successive Premier Two Red win, Richard Owsley suffering his sixth defeat in a row.
06/09/22: Neil and Stuart did well, too
One Bristol achievement was omitted from the 2022 UK Open report below.Stuart Mann and Neil Young were runners-up in the Masters Consulting Doubles event.
06/09/22: Twenty-four in Monday action
There were twenty-four players in action on Monday to contest the eighth Monday Club Summer Grand Prix session in 3-point round robins across two environments.Fifteen online were split into groups of eight and seven, while the nine who made it to Sportsmans formed groups of five and four.
The online groups were won by Adam Sinclair and Tim Line, while Simonetta Herrera and Roland Herrera won the live groups.
Elias Hamati picked up enough points to consolidate his SGP lead, moving 20 points clear of Kev Peters.
05/09/22: Simon is up!
Recent results in Premier Three Green mean that Simon Tracy's promotion to the next level can no longer be prevented!Barring the unlikely scenario of penalty points, only Pearl Foster and Rosemary Whitehouse can now overhaul Simon, so his place in Premier Two next season is now guaranteed.
05/09/22: No wins, but a few good runs at the UK Open
More than 200 players arrived at Leamington Spa over the weekend for the 2022 UK Open.And as usual Bristol was well represented.
127 were in the main event, the Masters, while 77 contested the Intermediates.
Both categories consisted of a qualifying regime of four rounds of Swiss Format with play-offs to decide who would progress to the last 16.
In the Masters Gaz Owen and former Bristol Backgammon player Jason Champion qualified convincingly, while nobody got through in the Intermediates.
But while Gaz got no further than the round of sixteen, Jason made it to the semi-finals.
As so often in these events, there followed a Consolation flight and a Last Chance, and there was also an "in between" Saturday Consolation.
In the Masters Consolation Chris Rogers made it as far as the semi-finals, while Simon Tracy went one better by reaching the Intermediates Consolation final.
Another noteworthy run came in the Friday 5pm Warm Up, contested by 71 players.
Here Safi Tracy reached the semi-finals.
05/09/22: Weekend wins for Robin and Marcel
There were two Premier League matches played over the weekend.On Saturday Pearl Foster moved into the top three in Premier Three Green with a victory over Marcel Bancroft.
And on Sunday Robin Gunney scored another Premier Two Blue win, Chris Hughes the victim this time.
Although Robin has almost certainly done enough already, just one more win -- penalties notwithstanding -- will see him into the promised land of Premier One for next season.
02/09/22: Tim wins GP20 round robin
There were just eight players in action on Thursday, including the six at the Rainbow Casino who contested the sixth of this year's series of eight GP20 tournaments.The low turnout forced another switch to round robin format.
The six played out a series of five 5-point matches each, and Tim Line vanquished all who stood in his path, whitewashing all of his first four opponents.
Nick Barham won three to take second place.
In the absence of his closest challengers, overall GP20 leader Ian Tarr was able to extend his lead over second placed George Georgiou to 50 points.
There was a Premier Two Blue match played online earlier, and league leader Robin Gunney consolidated his position by pipping Jon Organ.
01/09/22: Brunel Trophy seventh round draw made
The draw for the seventh round of the ninth incarnation of the Brunel Trophy was made belatedly on Thursday morning.
There are seven survivors from the sixth round -- the odd number necessitating a bye for the third successive round.
As per the rules, this went to the player with the best win:loss record, with the number of wins recorded by each player's opponents thus far as a tie-breaker.
Simon Tracy ws the lucky recipient.
As all seven survivors have just one life remaining, all ties from now on will effectively be sudden death, so there will be four in round eight and two in the ninth and final round.
The matches are to be completed by October 2nd, and the draw can be viewed here.
31/08/22: Cecilia wins Wednesday tournament
There were sixteen players in action on Wednesday to contest the thirty-fifth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Cecilia Rogers, who defeated Chris Rogers, Natalie Singh and Kev Peters before beating Ian Tarr in the final.
Ian had arrived there by getting past Alan Joicey, Ian Anderson and Tim Line.
Nick Barham took the consolation flight with victories over John Curran, George Georgiou and Chris.
George won a post-tournament jackpot.
30/08/22: Tuesday results round-up
There were three Premier League matches played on Tuesday.In Premier One Simon Hughes emphatically defeated Gaz Owen.
And in Premier Two Red there were victories for Andrew Cobb and Phil Charlton over Hazel Harper and Tim Line respectively.
30/08/22: Seventeen in Monday action
There were seventeen players in action on Monday, including the fourteen who contested the monthly Monday Nackgammon Grand Prix event online.The fourteen were split into two groups of seven.
Group winners were Nick Barham and Hazel Harper, while Simonetta Herrera won the side pool in Hazel's group.
The absent Andy Boysan still leads the NGP table, although Ian Tarr has closed to within sixteen points.
In a post tournament jackpot Kev Peters was the winner.
There was also Premier Two Red action, with Andrew Cobb twice getting the better of Frank Jones.
28/08/22: Sunday's Premier League action
There were four Premier Two matches played on Sunday.In the Blue Division Safi Tracy and Cliff Blofield shared the spoils of a double header.
Meanwhile in the Red Division Paul Watts scored a brace of wins over Andrew Cobb.
27/08/22: Saturday win for Gaz
Just one match was played on Saturday.In Premier One Gaz Owen defeated Ed Turner.
26/08/22: George wins GP10 tournament again
There were eighteen players in action on Thursday, including the fourteen who contested the seventh session of the GP10 series of ten tournaments at the casino.And once again George Georgiou was the tournament winner.
He defeated Jim Green, Roland Herrera and Simon Tracy.
Simon had got past Tim Line, Ian Anderson and Nick Barham en route to the final.
Simonetta Herrera took the consolation flight with victories over Steve Morris and Hazel Harper.
George has won four of the seven events in this series, and it is diffiocult to imagine how he might have the title wrested from his grasp.
There were also two Premier League matches played.
A new venue for Bristol Backgammon -- the Rose and Crown in Two Mile Hill Road -- hosted Gaz Owen's Premier One victory over Neil Young.
And in Premier Three Yellow leader Michael Petrakas defeated Kylie Hedges.
25/08/22: Simonetta wins Wednesday tournament
There were twenty-four players in action on Wednesday, twenty of them to contest the thirty-fourth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Simonetta Herrera, who defeated Roland Herrera, Stephen Little and Ian Anderson before beating Safi Tracy in the final.
Safi had arrived there by getting past Ian Tarr, Elias Hamati, Natalie Singh and Robin Gunney.
Roland took the consolation flight with victories over Warner Solomon, John Curran and Andy Boysan.
Ian Tarr won a post-tournament jackpot.
There had earlier been Premier Two activity.
Robin took another step towards elevation from the Blue Division when he defeated Steve Morris, who also lost to Dave Pym later.
Ian Tarr and Cliff Blofield shared the spoils of a double header.
And in the Red Division Phil Charlton edged home against Richard Owsley.
23/08/22: Michael wins top of table clash
In the only action of Tuesday, Michael Petrakas defeated Kylie Hedges thus increasing the gap at the top of Premier Three Yellow.23/08/22: Twenty-three in Monday action
There were twenty-three players in action on Monday, eighteen of them to contest the seventh Monday Club Summer Grand Prix session in 3-point round robins across two environments.Thirteen online were split into groups of seven and six, while five formed a single group at Sportsmans.
The online groups were won by Elias Hamati and Adam Sinclair, while Roland Herrera won the live group.
Elias has regained the SGP lead from Kev Peters.
For the second week running new player Jo Elsey played some friendly games with Director Ian Tarr.
There was also Premier League action.
Steve Morris inflicted a Premier Two Blue defeat on Safi Tracy.
And in Premier Three Yellow Kylie Hedges defeated Caroline Boulton.
21/08/22: Sunday's action
There were three matches played on Sunday.The last of the sixth round Brunel Trophy matches was completed.
And Simon Baker's victory over Hemal Getalal means that the seven remaining players -- including Simon and Hemal -- have all lost once, so from now on all matches will effectively be sudden death.
In Premier Two Blue Safi Tracy beat Mandy Macdonald and returns to second place.
Meanwhile Caroline Boulton defeated Michael Corbett in Premier Three Yellow.
21/08/22: Saturday Premier League round-up
There were two Premier League matches played on Saturday.In the top flight Gaz Owen defeated Neil Young to move into fourth place.
And Cliff Blofield scored a Premier Two Blue victory over Chris Hughes.
20/08/22: Friday win for Mathew
The only action on Friday was in Premier Three Green.Mathew Nicholls defeated Natalie Singh, a result which leaves Natalie needing more wins to assure promotion.
19/08/22: Safi wins Handicap Trophy tournament; Ben takes overall lead
There were thirteen players in action on Thursday, eleven of them at the Rainbow Casino to contest the sixth of this year's series of nine Handicap Trophy tournaments.Safi Tracy was the main flight winner, defeating Steve Morris, Nick Barham and -- in the final -- Ben Crowden.
Ben had overcome George Georgiou, Hazel Harper and Ian Tarr en route to the final.
The consolation flight honours went to Steve, who defeated Stephen Little and Simonetta Herrera.
Ben has overtaken George in the HT standings, with a cushion of 25 points.
There was also Premier Two Red action, with Adrian Farthing defeating Richard Owsley.
18/08/22: Robin wins Wednesday tournament
There were fourteen players in action on Wednesday to contest the thirty-third of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Robin Gunney, who defeated Alan Joicey and Elias Hamati before beating Gaz Owen in the final.
Gaz had arrived there by getting past Ian Anderson, Ian Tarr and Natalie Singh.
Adam Sinclair took the consolation flight with victories over Stephen Little, Alan and Chris Hughes.
Stephen won a post-tournament jackpot.
16/08/22: Kev makes immediate top flight return
In Tuesday's only action, Kev Peters rounded of his Premier Two Red campaign in the best possible way.An emphatic victory over Phil Charlton saw him clinch an immediate return to Premier One.
Hazel Harper and Gerald Whitehouse both have the opportunity to overhaul Kev, but since they have yet to meet twice it is impossible for both to surpass Kev's tally.
16/08/22: Twenty-four in Monday action
There were twenty-four players in action on Monday, eighteen of them to contest the sixth Monday Club Summer Grand Prix session in 3-point round robins across two environments.Thirteen online were split into groups of seven and six, while five formed a single group at Sportsmans.
The online groups were won by Mandy Macdonald and Andrew Montgomery, although Kev Peters took the side pool in Mandy's group.
Stephen Little won the live group, with Jim Green taking the side pool.
Kev has edged ahead of Elias Hamati in the SGP table, while Daniel Miles has taken over leadership of the John Curran sponsored top intermediate prize from Tom Mitchell.
Welcome new player Jo Elsey played some friendly games with Director Ian Tarr.
There was also Premier Two action.
Gerald Whitehouse edged home against Mike Smith in Premier Two Red.
And in Premier Two Blue league leader Robin Gunney also won narrowly against Steffen Nowak.
In the same division a further match straddled the tournament, Stephen unable to convert his pre-tournament lead over Jon Organ into a victory.
14/08/22: A step closer for Robin
In the only Sunday action, Robin Gunney took another step towards the top flight.His Premier Two Blue victory over Dave Pym will have shortened his promotion odds a little further.
13/08/22: Saturday wins for Gerald and Jon
Two more matches were played on Saturday.Ed Turner became the latest player to exit the Brunel Trophy when he lost a very close match against Gerald Whitehouse, who still has one life remaining.
And Jon Organ scored a Premier Two Blue victory over Mandy Macdonald.
12/08/22: Mixed fortunes for Ben
The two matches played on Friday both involved Ben Crowden in Premier Two Blue.A victory over Steffen Nowak was followed by a defeat to Ian Tarr.
All three players retain outside hopes of breaking into the top two coveted positions.
12/08/22: Nick wins first ever Bristol Grand Prix round robin
There were ten players in action on Thursday, just six of them to contest the eighth of this year's series of twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments at the Rainbow Casino.And because there were only six present, the format for the evening changed to a round robin of five-point matches -- the first such occurrence in the 264-instalment history of the Bristol Grand Prix.
Nick Barham fared best, winning four out of five matches to take the honours, while Tim Line's three victories were enough for second place, with the other four all winning twice.
The top positions in the Bristol Grand Prix remain unchanged, with Gaz Owen 63 points ahead of second placed Simonetta Herrera.
There was also Premier Two action.
Steffen Nowak defeated Mandy Macdonald in Premier Two Blue, while Adrian Farthing was the winner in a Premier Two Red meeting with Frank Jones.
11/08/22: Gaz wins Wednesday tournament
There were sixteen players in action on Wednesday, fourteen of them to contest the thirty-second of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Gaz Owen, who defeated Chris Rogers, Elias Hamati, Tim Line and -- in the final -- Adam Sinclair.
Adam had arrived in the final via wins over Robin Gunney, Cecilia Rogers and Natalie Singh.
Chris took the consolation flight, defeating Andy Boysan and Ian Anderson after receiving a first round bye.
Ian won a post-tournament jackpot.
There was also a Premier Three Yellow match played, Hemal Getalal defeating James Lintell-Smith.
10/08/22: Red Division wins for Kev and Paul
There were three matches played on Tuesday.In Premier Two Red there were wins for Kev Peters and Paul Watts over Phil Charlton and Adrian Farthing.
Kev is now all but assured of promotion back to the top flight.
A third match reflected the growing trend of players meeting more times than required, although hopefully Gaz Owen and Simon Baker enjoyed their visit to the Pump House.
09/08/22: Twenty in Monday action
There were twenty players in action on Monday, nineteen of them to contest the fifth Monday Club Summer Grand Prix session in DMP round robins across two environments.Ten online and nine at Sportsmans made handily sized single groups.
The online group saw victory for Andy Boysan, while Tim Line took the honours in the live group.
Elias Hamati's lead in the SGP has increased slightly to nine points, with Kev Peters in second place.
And Tom Mitchell now has a fractional lead in the John Curran sponsored top intermediate race.
There was also Premier One action, with Gaz Owen completing two matches.
An online victory over Stuart Mann was followed by a defeat to George Georgiou at the club.
07/08/22: Weekend wins for Hemal and Simon
Weekend action consisted of just two matches.In the sixth round of the Brunel Trophy on Saturday Simon Tracy edged to victory over Ian Hedges, who is thus eliminated.
And the previous day saw Hemal Getalal scored a Premier Three Yellow win over James Lintell-Smith.
05/08/22: Roland wins Speedgammon Grand Prix tournament
There were just nine players in action on Thursday to take part in the fifth instalment of the year's Speedgammon Grand Prix at the Rainbow Casino.The nine were split into groups of five and four, with the top three and two from those qualifying for the second phase of straight knock-out.
Group winners were Hazel Harper and George Georgiou, with the performances of Roland Herrera, Simonetta Herrera and Cynthia Roberts earning them knock-out berths.
Hazel and Roland made it through to the final, where Roland prevailed.
George's SGGP lead has reduced to 135 points over second placed Roland.
03/08/22: Chris wins Wednesday tournament
There were nineteen players in action on Wednesday, eighteen of them to contest the thirty-first of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Chris Rogers, who defeated Cynthia Roberts, Andy Boysan, Stephen Little, Elias Hamati and -- in the final -- Kev Peters.
Kev had arrived in the final via wins over Roland Herrera, Mandy Macdonald and Gaz Owen.
Cecilia Rogers took the consolation flight, defeating Roland, Warner Solomon and Safi Tracy.
Ian Tarr won a post-tournament jackpot.
There was also sixth round Brunel Trophy action.
And for the second successive day a top Bristol player has exited the competition, Gaz Owen losing narrowly to Michael Petrakas.
02/08/22: Chris exits Brunel Trophy
The only action on Tuesday was a sixth round Brunel Trophy tie.And Simonetta Herrera's victory over Chris Rogers signalled the end of Chris's 2022 Brunel campaign.
02/08/22: Twenty-two in Monday action
There were twenty-two players in action on Monday, twenty of them to contest the fourth Monday Club Summer Grand Prix session in 3-point round robins across two environments.Thirteen online were split into groups of seven and six, but one no show after the draw reduced these to seven and five.
Eight at Sportsmans were split into two groups of four.
The online groups were won by Adrian Farthing and Kev Peters, while the side pool in Adrian's group went to third placed Andy Boysan.
One live group was won outright by Ian Tarr, while the other saw the win honours shared by George Georgiou and Hazel Harper, George taking the pool.
Elias Hamati's lead in the SGP has been reduced to 6 points by Kev.
There was also Premier Two action earlier.
Mandy Macdonald scored a much needed win over Steve Morris in Premier Two Blue.
01/08/22: Sixteen penalised at July 31st checkpoint
The Premier League July checkpoint passed at midnight, and sixteen players have penalty issues to deal with.They are Alan Joicey and Gaz Owen of Premier One, Chris Hughes, Jon Organ, Robin Gunney, Steffen Nowak, Safi Tracy and Mandy Macdonald of Premier Two Blue, Phil Charlton, Gerald Whitehouse, Jordan White and Frank Jones of Premier Two Red, Rosemary Whitehouse of Premier Three Green, and Caroline Boulton, James Lintell-Smith and Eamonn Reay of Premier Three Yellow.
All can claw penalties back at the September checkpoint, however Mandy's single penalty point from May has now become permanent.
01/08/22: Champions League update as Bristol gains a fifth place for 2023
The group phase of the 2022 UK Champions League ended with three of Bristol's four representatives making it through to the main knock-out phase, the exception being Gaz Owen.Stuart Mann, Chris Rogers and Adam Sinclair all progressed in the best way possible by winning their groups.
Sadly Stuart has been eliminated by Daniel Flesch in the first round of the knock-out, but Chris has lost no time in progressing to the semi-finals by defeating Rob Perry and Eric Maillebiau.
Adam plays Eric McAlpine in the last sixteen.
Meanwhile, the good news is that Bristol has an extra place allocated for the 2023 competition.
The allocations are based on the numerical strength of the various participant leagues, and Bristol will now have five of the thirty-two slots.
31/07/22: World title for Chris
From a purely Bristol point of view the highlight of this week's World Championships in Monte Carlo has been the winning of a world title!Chris Rogers, partnered by American David Wells, came out on top of a field of fifty pairs to claim the Consulting Doubles title.
31/07/22: Sunday win for Andrew
Sunday's only action was a Premier Two Red win for Andrew Cobb over Richard Owsley.29/07/22: George wins on Friday
In the only action on Friday,George Georgiou defeated Simon Baker in a Premier One encounter.
29/07/22: Cynthia takes GP10 honours
There were thirteen players in action on Thursday, including the eight who contested the sixth session of the GP10 series of ten tournaments at the casino.And Cynthia Roberts came through to take her first Thursday tournament main flight win since 2017.
She defeated Adrian Farthing, Tim Line and Stephen Little.
Stephen had got past Hazel Harper and Nick Barham en route to the final.
George Georgiou, whose exploits earlier in the series had all but guaranteed him of the title, fell at the first hurdle.
He still managed to win the consolation flight with victories over Adrian and Hazel, but his GP20 lead has been reduced to "only" 225 points by Stephen.
There were also five Premier League matches played.
George beat Simon Baker in Premier One.
Adrian woth both sides of a double header against Andrew Cobb in Premier Two Red.
Ian Tarr beat Mandy Macdonald in Premier Two Blue.
And Premier Three Yellow leader Michael Petrakas suffered defeat to Hemal Getalal.
27/07/22: Simon wins Wednesday round robin tournament
There were twelve players in action on Wednesday, just six of them to contest the thirtieth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.And because of the low turnout, the customary two flight knock-out format was ditched in favour of a round robin of 5-point matches.
This week's winner was Simon Tracy, who won four of his five matches, Elias Hamati taking second place with three wins.
And Stephen Little won a post-tournament jackpot.
Three Premier League matches were played.
Andy Boysan will surely never have a better opportunity to take the Premier One title.
Two thirds of the way through his campaign, he has still been defeated only once, is now top of the league, and may be tough to catch.
His latest victory came at the Lock Keeper against Neil Young.
In Premier Two Red Gary Plant became the second player to complete the 2022 Premier League season.
His win over Richard Owsley sees him occupying the second promotion slot, and he now faces a nervous wait to see if his total of 42 points will be enough to keep him there.
Cliff Blofield was the winner of a Premier Two Blue match against Steve Morris.
26/07/22: Brunel Trophy sixth round draw made
The draw for the sixth round of the ninth incarnation of the Brunel Trophy was made on Tuesday evening.
There are eleven survivors from the fifth round -- the odd number necessitating a bye for the second successive round.
As per the rules, this went to the player with the best win:loss record, with the number of wins recorded by each player's opponents thus far as a tie-breaker.
As Hemal Getalal received the bye last time, he couldn't be the beneficiary this time, despite being the only unbeaten player left in the competition.
Next in line was Adam Sinclair who, along with Hemal, is now assured of a place in thr seventh round draw.
Four of the five ties will effectively be sudden death, so there will be either six or seven survivors to the next stage.
The matches are to be completed by August 28th.
The draw can be viewed here.
26/07/22: Wins for George, Gary and Ian
In Premier League action on Tuesday were:George Georgiou and Simon Hughes, in Premier One double header, where George won both matches;
Gary Plant, who kept his slim promotion chances alive with a Premier Two Red victory over Adrian Farthing;
And Ian Tarr, who revived his dwindling hopes of promotion from Premier Two Blue by defeating Steve Morris.
26/07/22: Fourteen in Monday action
There were fourteen players in action on Monday, including the twelve who contested the monthly Monday Nackgammon Grand Prix event across two environments.Seven online and five at Sportsmans formed single groups.
Andy Boysan won online, while Tom Mitchell and Ian Tarr shared the honours live.
Andy now has a handy 24 points lead in the latest NGP table.
There was also Premier One action.
Nick Barham and Neil Young met for a Premier One double header at The Old Colonial, Weston-super-Mare, and honours were even.
Online Alan Joicey defeated George Georgiou.
24/07/22: Sunday win for Gary
There was just one Premier League match played on Sunday.In Premier Two Red Gary Plant defeated Tim Line.
24/07/22: Who won what on Saturday
There were five Premier League matches played on Saturday.A Premier One double header saw Ed Turner and Ian Hedges share the spoils.
Steve Morris defeated Ian Tarr in Premier Two Blue.
And Gary Plant suffered mixed fortunes in Premier Two Red, losing to Paul Watts before whitewashing Richard Owsley, whose 400th Bristol league match was one to forget.
23/07/22: Another Friday result!
A match between two of the Simons -- Baker and Tracy -- also took place on Friday, apparently.This was their fifth round Brunel Trophy tie.
Simon Tracy was the narrow victor, which means that both players go into the sixth round draw with a single life remaining.
Hemal Getalal is now the only player with both lives intact.
22/07/22: Friday results round-up
There were four matches played on Friday.A Premier One double header saw Simon Hughes and Stuart Mann share the spoils.
Cliff Blofield defeated Stephen Little in Premier Two Blue.
And in Henleaze Safi Tracy beat her father Simon Tracy in the held over consolation final of the previous evening's GP20 tournament.
22/07/22: Ian wins to take GP20 lead
There were eleven players in action on Thursday, including the nine at the Rainbow Casino who contested the fifth of this year's series of eight GP20 tournaments.Ian Tarr won the main flight, defeating Tim Line, Nick Barham and -- in the final -- George Georgiou.
George had overcome Gaz Owen and Hazel Harper en route to the final.
The consolation flight final has been held over, the protagonists being the residents chez Tracy.
Ian's final win was crucial in moving him to the head of the GP20 standings at George's expense.
There was a Premier Two Red match played online, Kev Peters taking another step back towards the top flight, Andrew Cobb being his victim.
21/07/22: Adam wins Wednesday tournament
There were twenty players in action on Wednesday, sixteen of them to contest the twenty-ninth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Adam Sinclair, who defeated Natalie Singh, Cynthia Roberts, Kev Peters and -- in the final -- Gaz Owen.
Gaz had arrived in the final via wins over Safi Tracy, Warner Solomon and John Curran.
Andy Boysan took the consolation flight, defeating Safi, Tim Line and Simon Tracy.
Ian Anderson won a post-tournament jackpot.
There was also Premier Two action.
The spoils of a Red Division double header were shared between Hazel Harper and Gary Plant.
And Dave Pym continued his recovery from a slow start to the Blue Division season by beating Ismail Yilmaz.
19/07/22: Heatwave drives nineteen online
Britain's hottest day on record saw no fewer than nineteen players on Heroes to play Premier League or Brunel Trophy matches on Tuesday.The fifth round Brunel Trophy match was a whitewash.
Already 6-0 ahead, Adam Sinclair clinched victory over Andy Boysan with a quadruple backgammon to progress to the sixth round, while Andy is eliminated.
In Premier One Cecilia Rogers's title challenge is gathering pace.
Victories over Alan Joicey and Ed Turner have moved her into third place.
In Premier Two Blue there were wins for Stephen Little, Dave Pym, Ismail Yilmaz and Steve Morris over Robin Gunney, Cliff Blofield, Jon Organ and Mandy Macdonald.
Robin remains favourite for promotion, however.
Phil Charlton and Adrian Farthing were the winners in Premier Two Red, Gary Plant and Paul Watts their victims.
And Michael Corbett defeated Kylie Hedges in Premier Three Yellow.
19/07/22: Monday round robin and league round-up
There were twenty-four players in action on Monday, seventeen of them to contest the third Monday Club Summer Grand Prix session in 3-point round robins across two environments.Thirteen online were split into groups of seven and six, while there was a group of four at Sportsmans.
The online groups were won by Elias Hamati and Simon Tracy, while the side pool in Simon's group went to Kev Peters.
The live group was won by George Georgiou.
Elias has taken over from Ian Anderson at the head of the SGP, while Daniel Miles is setting the pace in the top intermediate award.
There was also Premier League action.
In the top flight Cecilia Rogers won a battle of two title contenders, edging home against Gaz Owen.
Premier Two Blue saw three results.
League leader Robin Gunney was one of two players who defeated Mandy Macdonald 11-8, the other being third placed Ben Crowden.
And Jon Organ beat Cliff Blofield.
19/07/22: Tim and Safi win on Sunday
There were two matches played on Sunday.Tim Line defeated Gary Plant in Premier Two Red.
And Safi Tracy consolidated her second place in Premier Two Blue with a victory over Dave Pym.
17/07/22: Gary stays well in contention
In the only action of Saturday Gary Plant defeated Paul Watts in Premier Two Red.The win keeps his hopes of a quick return to the top flight well and truly alive.
15/07/22: Friday's results round-up
There were four matches played on Friday.Safi Tracy became the latest player to be eliminated from the Brunel Trophy when her fifth round tie went emphatically the way of Gaz Owen.
Another runaway winner was Ben Crowden in his Premier Two Blue match against Ian Tarr.
Gerald Whitehouse won his Premier Two Red match with Gary Plant.
And Rosemary Whitehouse beat Natalie Singh in Premier Three Green.
15/07/22: Gaz wins to take Bristol Grand Prix lead
There were fifteen players in action on Thursday, ten of them to contest the seventh of this year's series of twelve monthly Bristol Grand Prix tournaments at the Rainbow Casino.Gaz Owen took the main flight honours, defeating Cynthia Roberts, George Georgiou and, in the final, Ben Crowden.
Ben had arrived there via wins over Ed Turner, Stephen Little and Tim Line.
Hazel Harper won the consolation flight, defeating Jim Green and Ed.
Previous Bristol Grand Prix leader Simonetta Herrera was absent on holiday, so her 22 points lead over Gaz has turned into a deficit of 63.
There was also Bristol Premier League action.
At a new venue for the Bristol league scene, the New Inn, Keynsham, Chris Hughes and Stephen met for a Premier Two Blue double header, where the spoils were shared.
Online Kev Peters lost his first Premier Two Red match in eight, Paul Watts edging to victory.
And Marcel Bancroft scored an emphatic Premier Three Green win over Andy Zographou.
13/07/22: John wins Wednesday tournament
There were twenty-one players in action on Wednesday, fourteen of them to contest the twenty-eighth of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was John Curran, who notched arguably the finest win of his career by defeating Nick Barham, Stephen Little, Natalie Singh and -- in the final -- Elias Hamati.
Elias had arrived in the final via wins over Alan Joicey, Ian Anderson and Robin Gunney.
Safi Tracy took the consolation flight, defeating Nick and Simon Tracy.
Tim Line won a post-tournament jackpot.
There was also Premier League action.
In the top flight Simon Hughes met Neil Young for a double header at the Wellington, and the honours were shared.
Meanwhile online Dave Pym scored a much needed Premier Two Blue victory over Ben Crowden.
Gary Plant defeated Gerald Whitehouse in Premier Two Red.
And Simon Tracy is almost certain of promotion from Premier Three Green after beating Martha Beal.
12/07/22: All six reached double figures
Tuesday's Premier League action saw three matches, and each of them ended with an 11-10 score-line.Adrian Farthing and Gary Plant played a Premier Two Red match at the Fox and Hounds, Wroughton, Swindon, where Adrian prevailed.
Online in the parallel Blue Division Steffen Nowak was the victor over Cliff Blofield.
And Premier Three Green leader Simon Tracy succumbed to Martha Beal.
12/07/22: Monday round robin and league round-up
There were twenty-five players in action on Monday, twenty-one of them to contest the second Monday Club Summer Grand Prix session in DMP round robins across two environments.That meant a group of fifteen online, and a group of six (playing each other twice) at Sportsmans.
And just days after Director Ian Tarr had been expressing concern about the dearth of new players, suddenly two arrived at the club within five minutes of each other to make their Bristol Backgammon debuts.
Tom Mitchell -- similarly to Peter Broberg the previous month -- won't be with us for very long, however, as he will be returning to his studies at St Andrews University in the autumn.
But Daniel Miles is a Bath resident, so can be with us for the long haul.
Both players performed very creditably.
The online group was won by Alan Joicey, while the side pool went to Nick Barham.
The live group saw a tie between Jim Green and Stephen Little.
Ian Anderson holds a narrow SGP lead over Elias Hamati, while Tom and Daniel appear likely to be contesting the equivalent top intermediate award.
There was also Premier League action, and both matches featured emphatic victories for the Whitehouses.
In Premier Two Red Gerald Whitehouse beat Paul Watts, while Rosemary Whitehouse defeated Martha Beal in Premier Three Green.
Rosemary did at least allow Martha one point.
09/07/22: Fifth successive win for Andy
In Saturday's only action Andy Zographou defeated Pearl Foster after trailing 1-8.It was Andy's fifth successive Premier Three Green victory.
08/07/22: Awards Night round-up
The Bristol Backgammon Annual Awards Night was held at the Rainbow Casino on Thursday, with twenty present.This was later than the traditional February slot, as we move back towards normality post-lockdown.
Barring any further cataclysms, we should be back to February next year.
A total of 112 prizes -- either permanent trophies, or mementoes, or envelopes containing imaginary cash (the actual cash prizes had long been disbursed) -- were scheduled to be given out 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 largely about those who were there, and photographs by Roland and Simonetta Herrera are already available here, providing a true flavour of the occasion, although the final edit -- complete with captions -- is still ongoing.
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.
Hemal Getalal won the Rookie of the Year award (sponsored by Andy Boysan and Ian Hedges), while the Gaz Owen sponsored Most Improved Player prize went to Safi Tracy.
Stuart Mann became the first player to receive an award for winning 300 Bristol Premier League matches, while the number of players who have received their tokens of admiration for reaching 200 and 100 have now reached 10 and 22.
And after the ceremony, there was a surprise activity!
A twelve player jackpot was won by Natalie Singh, who got past Safi Tracy and Tim Line before beating Simon Tracy in the final.
08/07/22: Thursday Premier League round-up
There were three Premier League matches played on Thursday.Stuart Mann won twice in Premier One, defeating Simon Baker online before ovecoming Nick Barham at the casino.
Steffen Nowak beat Dave Pym for the second succesive day in Premier Two Blue.
06/07/22: Andy wins Wednesday tournament
There were eighteen players in action on Wednesday, ten of them to contest the twenty-seventh of our stand-alone Wednesday online tournaments.This week's winner was Andy Boysan, whose victims were Kev Peters, Simon Tracy and -- in the final -- Adam Sinclair.
Adam had arrived in the final via wins over Elias Hamati and Gaz Owen.
Tim Line took the consolation flight, defeating Kev and Natalie Singh.
Stephen Little joined the fray for a post-tournament £20 jackpot, and won it.
There was also Premier League action.
In the top flight Simon Hughes played twice, succumbing to a whitewash at the hands of Chris Rogers before defeating Simon Baker.
Steffen Nowak scored a Premier Two Blue victory over Dave Pym.
And Paul Watts beat Hazel Harper in Premier Two Red.
05/07/22: Tuesday's Premier League and Brunel Trophy action
There were five matches played on Tuesday.Stuart Mann played twice in Premier One, defeating Ian Hedges before succumbing to Cecilia Rogers.
Andy Zographou scored his fourth successive Premier Three Green win against Marcel Bancroft.
In Premier Three Yellow Kylie Hedges edged home against Hemal Getalal.
And Simonetta Herrera booked her place in the sixth round of the Brunel Trophy by defeating previously unbeaten Gerald Whitehouse.
04/07/22: Monday round robin round-up
There were sixteen players in action on Monday to contest the opening Monday Club Summer Grand Prix session in 3-point round robins across two environments.Twelve were split into groups of six online, while four played live at Sportsmans.
Elias Hamati and Ian Anderson won the online groups, while George Georgiou and Stephen Little tied for the live honours.
Elias and Ian thus share the early SGP lead.
03/07/22: Saturday wins for Ed and Ben
Saturday's action consisted of two matches.Cecilia Rogers made her exit from the Brunel Trophy when she lost her fifth round tie to Ed Turner, who still has one life remaining.
And Ben Crowden continued his highly promising Premier Two Blue campaign with victory over Steve Morris.
01/07/22: Michael beats Michael
The only action of Friday was a Premier Three Yellow meeting between two Michaels.And it was league leader Michael Petrakas who edged to victory over Michael Corbett.
01/07/22: Ben wins second successive Handicap Trophy tournament
There were just ten players in action on Thursday, seven of them at the Rainbow Casino to contest the fifth of this year's series of nine Handicap Trophy tournaments.Ben Crowden was the main flight winner, just as he was last month, this time defeating Cynthia Roberts, Roland Herrera and -- in the final -- Alan Joicey.
Alan had overcome Simonetta Herrera and George Georgiou en route to the final.
The consolation flight honours went to Simonetta, who defeated George and Ian Tarr.
George's lead in the HT standings is reduced to 30 points, with Ben in hot pursuit.
There was also Premier Two Red action, with Jordan White losing twice, first to Frank Jones, then to Richard Owsley.
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