Friday 31 March 2017

Rouen: BikeGammon day#2

Hopper, starting 3:0 up, never looked back. It may have been the luck or it may have been the skill, but either way he won it (notwithstanding an ill-advised, but well-negotiated 16-cube).

Hopper 3
Biddle 1
Nicolas 0

And - what would you do here? (White to play: 66 in a 17 point match, black leads, 9 - 3.)


The tournament possibilities begin to narrow. Biddle and Nicolas need to make inroads. However, there will be six points to be won on Sunday evening. And tomorrow, it's Biddle flying solo. Can the Nicolas/Hopper consulting pair triumph?

As for the evening - wine was taken, offal was eaten, songs were sung, coffee was drunk. It's France, after all.

On to Valenciennes!

Saved!

Philip's bike was taken to the tyre repairer...
... but while we were waiting we were able to begin match #2 with Hopper as the soloist. Either superior play or good dice propelled him to a 3:0 lead.

Three hours late, the trio set off via country roads, assertive overtaking manourvres and a delicious Petit Boullabaise lunch for an eventual arrival in Rouen where rooms have been taken, bikes secured and a match recommencement time of 20.15 agreed upon.

Can Hopper maintain his slender lead? What is the correct cube strategy when 14-away, 17-away? Will the consultees prevail for a second night? These questions and more beg answers.

Watch this space...

Catastrophe!

On BikeGammon, one must be prepared for the unexpected.

The tour is temporarily on hold.

Suggested cube action?

Thursday 30 March 2017

Escalles: BikeGammon day#1


A concatenation of motorcycles in a French hotel carpark?


Intense late-night competition in a French hotel bedroom?

It must be BikeGammon!

Yes, the show is on the road and - after a short but tantalisingly gorgeous ride along the winding coast road from Calais to Escalles - the competition got under way. Match-day 1 saw Philip 'Newbie' Nicolas as the singleton bravely confronting the twin, consulting schoolyard bullies of Simon 'BGBoy' Hopper and Dicky 'Biddle of the Board' Biddle in a 17-pointer.

Philip's game effort saw him come a dignified second resulting in a first-day match score* of:

Biddle 1
Hopper 1
Nicholas 0

All is to play for as the circus heads south-west along more of that Le Manche-hugging highway to Rouen and match-day 2 on which it's Hopper as the solo player vs Biddle conferring with Nicolas.

Will youthful enthusiasm (eh?) prevail over the  wisdom of the years? Will it rain en route? Will anyone read this blog? Tune in to find the answers to these questions and more!


*See earlier post for details

Tuesday 21 March 2017

It's happening...

Founder of BikeGammon: Simon 'BGBoy' Hopper

On Thursday 30th March three Backgammon-playing motorcyclists will leave on the World's First BikeGammon tour/competition.

This ground-breaking event will take place as outlined elsewhere in this blog with the perfect number of rider/players for a three-man tournament.

Details of the event have been finalised with the tournament now filling all four evenings of the trip. It's going to be intense!

Bashful Tournament Director; Dicky 'Biddle of the Board' Biddle

The tournament, in the words of the TD, will operate as follows:

Doubles Singles Round Robin
Players take it in turns to play on their own against the other two consulting players.  Single player gets 2 points for a win, Doubles players get 1 point each for a win.  There will be two rounds of the Round Robin.  The First Round will be five point matches and should take one evening to complete.  The Second Round will be 17 point matches and take three evening sessions to complete.

Highest score at the end of the Round Robin wins the BikeGammon 2017 Trophy.

Philip 'Newbie' Nicolas
Follow the outcome here!

(Those interested in signing up for 2018 should contact Simon Hopper. See more on the UKBGF website.)