axis & allies updated August 2000

A&A     
   10   15   20  
   9   14   19   
  

  Valley

Tim Rothenhoefer, MD

2000 Champion

2nd: Kevin Keller, MD

3rd: Phil Rollins, ME

4th: John Sharp III, FL

5th: Alfred Wong, IL

6th: John Koskl, MD
Event History
1991    None      -
1992    None      -
1993    None      -
1994    None      -
1995    None      -
1996    None      -
1997    None      -
1998    None      -
1999    Kevin Keller     43
2000    Tim Rothenhoefer     43
AREA Ratings
 1    Kevin Keller      5701
 2    Tim Rothenhoefer      5516
 3    Phillip Rollins      5471
 4    John Sharp III      5400
 5    Barry Shoults      5386
 6    William O'Neal      5293
 7    Richard Curtin II      5209
 8    Richard Beyma      5200
 9    Mike Terrana      5200
10    Jason Ley      5200

Access & Allies ... Not

The 2000 WBC Axis & Allies Tournament (sic) - unlike the "Access & Allied" game cited in the local newspaper's coverage of the WBC, featured 43 players competing in a swiss-style, six-round format. 65 (yes, count 'em, 65) games were played during the grueling two days. Each round was 4.5 hours long, with a 30 minute break to facilitate scoring by the GMs. Play started at 10:00 AM Wednesday and went through 11:30 PM Thursday - two tough days! The average bid to get the Allies was 9.554 points. Bids ranged from a low of 0 to a high of 23.The Axis won 23 matches, the Allies 42.

Play was competetive, with many hard lessons learned. Bids tended to rise as the tournament progressed. With the ratio of Axis to Allied wins, it appears that bidding may have to be a bit more aggressive next year to balance sides. A few new moves were seen at the tables, including the Karelia Gambit. Axis players beware - you can get stung badly by this neat maneuver! Watch for the Russian player to RETREAT from Karelia - including the anti-aircraft gun! Next round (or during any Allied player turn), British/American heavy bombers strike Karelia with devastating effect, and NO losses!

Few games were adjudicated. During the initial organization period (right after I "volunteered" to run the A&A tournament), discussions about how to adjudicate games were heated. I am against adjudication, because as GM, I must bear the wrath of those adjudicated against. We all come to the WBC to have a good time, even GM's! If you want to experience stress, adjudicate a game between two good players who have just played for 4.5 hours! Fortunately, wise heads helped me formulate a system for adjudication that worked very well. I thank all players whose gamesmanship allowed them to gracefully yield a lost cause, rather than subject their harried, overworked, underpaid, under-rested GMs to the rigors of yet another adjudication. And for those of you whose games were just too close to yield, bravo! We (I and my two trusty assistants, Kevin Keller and Glenn Petroski, whom I thank again now) adjudicated perhaps ten games out of 65 matches. In all cases but one, we could see a clear winner. In the one contest where a clear winner was NOT apparent, I, as GM, rolled a die. Odd was an Axis win, even an Allied win. The die roll decision went against long-time friend and mentor (and assistant GM) Glenn Petroski, who never flinched or blinked. Thank you, Glenn.

Next year, expect a Rules Clarification published prior to the tournament. It will be available by e-mail long before the next WBC (June 26-July 1, 2001), and will also be available in print at the tournament. A number of issues were raised, and will be resolved before the next WBC. Once again, thanks to all 43 players for a great tournament.

 GM      John Sharp  [1st Year]   NA  
    NA   NA

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