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Backgammon On Board VIII: High Seas Fun
By Bill Davis |
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| Kit Woolsey, Nora Luna Righter, Bill Davis and Jake Massler sailed to victory in the “Backgammon On Board VIII” cruise tournament aboard the luxurious Diamond Princess. The ship embarked from Los Angeles, California for a one week Mexican Riviera cruise 20–27 January 2007. Chicago Bar Point Club directors Bill Davis and Peter Kalba organized the combined backgammon and poker event which was sponsored by The Cruise Consultants. | ||||||||
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| BG on Board trophy winners from left: Jake Massler (poker), Lois Merriman (Honorary), Kit Woolsey (Open), Nora Luna Righter (Captain's), Bill Davis (Masters). | ||||||||
| Of the 42 cruisers, 28 entered the $40 Open backgammon tournament. In the end, the cream rose to the top with #5 Backgammon Giant Kit Woolsey and 2006 American Backgammon Tour Player of the Year Richard Munitz battling it out. With their 5-point match tied at 2–2 (matches are kept short so as not to disrupt the “vacation” atmosphere), the following position arose: | ||||||||
| Backgammon On Board Open finals to 5 points. Kit Woolsey (Black) and Richard Munitz (White) are tied 2–2. Black on roll. CUBE ACTION(S)? | ||||||||
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| Kit doubled and Richard took. Some kibitzers thought the take was in question when a Snowie 720 trial rollout (3-ply, precise) shows the take to be trivial and the double correct by only 0.039. Kit won the game and went on to capture his 3rd Open trophy in the last four BG On Board events. | ||||||||
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| A view of the Diamond Princess (BG on Board's cruise ship) from Cabo San Lucas beach. | ||||||||
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| Nora Luna Righter takes time from backgammon to explore Puerto Vallarta on an ATV. | ||||||||
| The $300 Masters tournament drew 8 entrants. Nora Luna Righter KO’d Kit Woolsey and Richard Munitz to face tourney director Bill Davis. Having lost in the last two BG On Board Masters finals (2003 to Kit Woolsey, 2005 to Baron Vernon Ball), Davis was determined to win one. The hard-fought finals came down to this position: | ||||||||
| Masters finals to 11 points. Bill Davis (Black) leads Nora Luna Righter (White), 9 to 7. Black on roll. CUBE ACTION(S)? | ||||||||
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| The decision is simple. If White drops (to trail 10–7 Crawford), her match equity is roughly 17%. a 1440 Snowie rollout (3-ply, precise) shows White winning only 16.1% in this position, so passing is correct. Nora took and Bill was able to roll the game home to claim the evasive title. | ||||||||
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Codirector Peter Kalba is flanked by Janet Davis (L) and Caitlin Thieroff.
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| But Nora still ended up with a trophy. She went on to win the $500 winner-take-all Captain’s Tourney besting last cruise’s winner Michael Davis. The Texas Hold’em Poker event was a popular addition to the tournament. 22 players including reentries fought for one of the six seats at the final table. The last man standing was Jake Massler who outlasted two tough women, Judy Nutting (2nd) and Wanda Roberts (3rd). |
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The Awards Party (sponsored by The Cruise Consulants) is always a fun affair.
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| Special recognition goes to octogenarian Lois Merriman. Lois had the most entries of anyone (7) in her effort to qualify for the Open playoffs. | ||||||||
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| In the Dining Room from left: Wally & Gayle Wolf, Betty & Dancing Dan, Ann & Roger Abbey | ||||||||
| Backgammon On Board IX is tentatively scheduled to sail the Caribbean for another round of fun in January 2009. Plan ahead. It’s great fun!—Bill Davis
[Photographs by Peter Kalba, Gayle Wolf, Nora Luna Righter, and Tammy Marek.] |
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