kremlin [Updated October 2007]  

2007 WBC Report   

 2008 Status: pending 2008 GM commitment

Pete Stein, OH

2006-07 Champion

Offsite links:

 

Event History
1991    Jim Fuqua      25
1992    Sean Cousins      20
1993    Jim Fuqua      49
1994    Caleb Cousins      42
1995    Sean Cousins      36
1996    Sean Cousins      20
1997    Tracy Graf      46
1998    Chris Geggus      46
1999    Bruce Glassco     38
2000    Tom McCorry     45
2001    David Buchholz     51
2002    Steve Cuccaro     50
2003    Llew Bardecki     56
2004    Steve Cuccaro     48
2005     Steve Cuccaro     40
2006     Pete Stein     39
2007     Pete Stein     33

 Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  Steve Cuccaro      MD    05    112
  2.  Peter Stein        OH    07     80
  3.  Tom McCorry        VA    01     46
  4.  Llew Bardecki      ON    03     40
  5.  Marc Houde         VA    04     35
  6.  David Buchholz     MI    01     30
  7.  Bruce Glassco      NJ    99     30
  8.  Sean McCulloch     OH    06     28
  9.  Nick Smith         UK    07     27
 10.  Charles Davis      WV    04     25
 11.  Jim Jordan         MD    07     24
 12.  Peter Pollard      TN    02     24
 13.  Bob Jamelli        PA    00     24
 14.  Chris Geggus       UK    06     18
 15.  Brian Carr         VA    05     18
 16.  Peter Staab        PA    99     18
 17.  Jason Wagner       NJ    00     16
 18.  Lee Rodrigues      VA    05     12
 19.  Jerry Ohlinger     NY    03     12
 20.  Ron Wuerth         VA    02     12
 21.  Sean Cousins       ME    01     12
 22.  James Hopkin       CA    00     12
 23.  Ray Stakenas II    MI    05      9
 24.  Joe Delaney        NY    06      9
 25.  Steve Cameron      PA    01      9
 26.  Ewan McNay         CT    07      8
 27.  Roy Pettis         VA    07      8
 28.  Linda Pattison     MD    03      8
 29.  Ray Stakenas       MI    02      8
 30.  Greg Tanner        AZ    06      6
 31.  Jay O'Donnell      OH    99      6
 32.  Phillip Yaure      PA    07      4
 33.  Barry Shoults      MI    03      4
 34.  David Rohde        MI    02      4
 35.  Elizabeth Lang     MA    00      4
 36.  Martin Davis       CT    06      3
 37.  Don Tatum          MD    04      3
 38.  Zach Fietsch       NC    01      3
 39.  Mark Neale         ME    99      3

2007 Laurelists

Jim Jordan, MD
2nd

Ewan McNay, CT
3rd

Nick Smith, UK
4th

Phillip Yaure, PA
5th

Roy Pettis, VA
6th


Past Winners

Jim Fuqua, MI
1991, 1993

Sean Cousins, ME
'92, '95-'96

Tracy Graf, MD
1997

Chris Geggus, UK
1998

Bruce Glassco, VA
1999

Tom McCorry, PA
2000

David Buchholz, MI
2001

Steve Cuccaro, MD
2002, 2004-2005

Llew Bardecki, ON
2003

Pete Stein, OH
2006-2007


It took 17 years but Kremlin attendance has finally slipped into Trial status.

Linda Pattison and James Jordan check out the inner workings of the Politburo.

Laughing at the Cold War ...

The GM followed in Pete Stein's tradition by playing in all heats but never finishing better than second. His best shot at a win was in Heat 3, where on Turn 7 he controlled the Party Chief, the Foreign Minister and the Defense Minister. To prevent any problems, however unlikely, the GM played a first purge card on Rob Seulowitz's 95-year-old KGB head. Paul Weintraub then played the Bee Pollen Cure to de-age the KGB head, and he proceeded to purge all of the other top slots plus two more before his forced retirement. The game ended that turn with a half-empty politburo and Rob as the winner. This was one of three heat games that ended this way; six were won on waves, and only one lasted the full 10.5 turns.

Eleven qualified players showed for the semi-finals, which according to the tournament rules would lead to an immediate six-player Final. By unanimous consent, the players chose to ignore this rule - Pete Stein was given a bye and two tables of five played for the remaining four slots in the Final. (The ruling will be changed next year to allow the GM more flexibility in arranging the semi-finals.) At the first table, Ewan McNay won on Turn 6 with three straight waves, with second place going to Philip Yaure with two failed waves on Turns 2 and 3. The other table had a more fiercely fought battle. Eric Hymowitz started strong with a wave on Turn 1, but his party chief was convicted of an assassination on Turn 2 after the replacement phase, leading to no wave attempt that turn. Jim Jordan and Roy Pettis spent the next four turns trading control, each having one successful and one failed wave, until at Turn 7 Nick Smith gained the Party Chief slot and never let go, getting his third wave on turn 10. A die roll tiebreaker sent Jim to the Final and gave Roy 6th place overall.

The Final began with Ewan getting the first wave on Turn 1. After a bad health die roll put Nestor away, some negotiation put Jim's candidate in the Party Chief slot. Much to everyone's regret, Jim expressed his happiness through a Happy Dance. He got two waves on the next two turns, and was ready to try for the third when the assassin card was played. Jim failed to remember that he had the alibi card and allowed his Politician to be convicted, leaving the fourth turn waveless. On Turn 5, Pete repeated his winning play from yesteryear, busting the Foreign Minister to the people to ensure his candidate became Party Chief. While he never managed to wave, he did get control of the KGB head and went on a purging spree, causing the game to end in the replacement phase of Turn 7 when the Politburo could not be filled. Pete took the 1st place wood due to his use of the Add Influence phase on Turn 6 - although he didn't realize it at first, he had 10+ points of influence on the final Party Chief, beating Philip's 10 points. So, after 15 years of failure, Pete has won two in a row. Methinks the chances of him being GM again are slim.

 GM      Steve Cuccaro [2nd Year]  NA
    Cuccaro@fastmail.fm   NA

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