Kelly Krieble ponders his options against 2007 champ Ty Hansen in opening round action.	Thomas Brock and Alex Gregorio kept the graybeards at bay as they met in a battle of the next generation of boardgamers.

The movement of the event to Pre-Con status on the opening weekend was rewarded with the best turnout in my six years at the helm - successfully reversing - at least temporarily - the attrition of the field in recent years. Hopefully, we can build on this success to further grow the numbers going forward. Another treat was the presence of a special guest of past A&A fame - Joe Angiolillo. He was part of Nova Games back when they produced the first version of Axis and Allies. It was great to hear stories about the early work on the game.

The first round saw 13 games contested. Defending champ Andrew Murphy lost his opening match against Konrad Bergandy in what would become a harbinger of things to come. Veterans Kevin Keller, Joe Powell, Phil Shea, Ty Hansen, and Patrick Mirk also won their first round games and were joined by Thomas Brock, Brad Tumey, Henry Russell, Ted and Alexander Lange, Melvin Casselberry, and Don Tatum in the winner's column. All told, there were nine newcomers in the first round and 15 for the event plus the return of some players that hadn't participated in many years.

The second round paired the early winners and was highlighted by a match of former champs as Phil Shea and Joe Powell squared off. After surviving a tight contest in the first round against Richard Beyma, Phil stretched it out against Joe. Kevin Keller cruised to his second straight concession win against the famed hat-man Keith Levy. Last year's giant killer, Brad Tumey, once again put himself into contention with a second win. Two more prior champs, Ty Hansen and Patrick Mirk, along with a couple of blasts from the past, Don Tatum and Ted Lange, also improved to 2-0.

With the event format being the way it is, invariably a 2-1 player will advance to the SE round. With that in mind, a player scratching their way back from a first round defeat to even their record at 1-1 is part of the drama. Richard Beyma, Andrew Murphy, and Michael Reiner were among those who had lost in the first round, but still had enough VTs to keep them in the hunt. Added to this 1-1 mix were those who had won in the first round but stumbled in the second. These included Konrad Bergandy, Joe Powell, Thomas Brock, and Melvin Casselberry.

The third round opened on Sunday morning with ten games. Top-ranked Kevin Keller got thumped by Ted Lange, dashing his hopes of advancing. Phil Shea renewed his rivalry with another ex-champ, Ty Hansen, and lost his chance to advance based on the second scoring tie-breaker for deciding a game winner - IPC percentage increase. Patrick Mirk bested Brad Tumey in a tight affair that, based on their VTs totals coming into the game, was a win or go home match. The prior statement was true because Richard Beyma had come roaring back into the mix with his concession win in the second round over David Pack. More importantly, he had set himself up to be in this position by earning a "good" loss against Phil Shea in the first round. It was this same game that would come back to haunt Phil in the advancement rankings. While he won that game, it was tight enough that its low VTs total gave him the lower three-game TVTs.

Richard got his second straight concession win in the third round to become the highest ranking 2-1 player and secure the final spot in the semi-finals. After losing to Don Tatum in the first round, Michael Reiner fought back to a 2-1 record by beating Nick Pei in the second and Alexander Lange in the third. Joe Powell also rebounded from his second round loss with a nice win in the third round moving back up to 2-1 for the tourney. Rodney Bacigalupo went down hard in the first round but then bounced back with an impressive win in the second round against Jack Stalica followed by a narrow victory over Andrew Murphy in the third round. The Dice Gods were unkind to Mr. Murphy for the majority of the event. Such is the capricious nature of A&A combat.

Other notable winners in preliminary play included Don Tatum, who was 2-0 after the second round but then withdrew. Another player who ended the event 2-0 was Chris Trimmer. If not for a slow set of traffic connections in getting to Lancaster from Philly on Saturday, there may have been a different participant in the SE rounds instead of Ted or Richard.

As stated earlier, an infusion of first timers spiced things up and a few grabbed at least one win. Carl Copeland, Thomas Brock, Henry Russell, Melvin Casselberry, Kelly Krieble, and Matthew Russell joined John Pack in this group. It takes some practice though to improve upon this and move to the next level. There is a tough group of "sharks" that patrol these waters and you need to put in the time to make sure you aren't the chum!

With the three preliminary rounds completed and all the information tabulated, the semi-finals were set. The match ups pitted top-ranked Ty Hansen versus the resilient Richard Beyma and the young wolf Ted Lange against the old dog Patrick Mirk.  

Final Player Rankings after Three Preliminary Rounds

Player Rank	Won-Loss	TVTs	IPC %
1. Ty Hansen	3-0	50	98.57
2. Ted Lange	3-0	49	66.37
3. Patrick Mirk	3-0	48	81.07
4. Richard Beyma	2-1	48	86.76
5. Michael Reiner	2-1	44	45.24
6. Kevin Keller	2-1	43	54.46
7. Brad Tumey	2-1	43	33.90
8. Philip Shea	2-1	43	22.05
9. Joe Powell	2-1	42	36.61
10. Rodney Bacigalupo	2-1	36	1.99
11. Andrew Murphy	1-2	36	-22.86
12. Carl Copeland	1-2	33	-18.81
13. Thomas Brock	1-2	30	-31.25
14. Alexander Lange	1-2	25	-48.39
15. Henry Russell	1-2	23	-71.07
16. Keith Levy	0-3	24	-43.75
17. Don Tatum	2-0	30	28.57
18. Chris Trimmer	2-0	28	28.57
19. Konrad Bergandy	1-1	25	20.83
20. Melvin Casselberry	1-1	24	15.80
21. Kelly Krieble	1-1	21	-6.96
22. Todd Treadway	0-2	22	-33.39
23. Kurt Miller	0-2	19	-17.44
24. Joe Angiolillo	0-2	16	-40.63
25. David Pack	0-2	13	-47.92
26. John Pack	1-0	16	31.43
27. Matt Russell	1-0	16	25.71
28. Chris Skuce	0-1	8	-9.38
29. Alex Gesing	0-1	8	-18.75
30. Nick Pei	0-1	7	-20.83
31. Jeoff Allbutt	0-1	7	-24.29
32. Jack Stalica	0-1	6	-25.00
33. Alex Gregorio	0-1	5	-31.25

During each of the preliminary rounds, I draw out names of event participants and they receive prizes that were donated by the GM, the Table Tactics game company, and Field Marshall Games (FMG). The recipients for this year were:

Rd #1-
TT Risk 2042- Melvin Casselberry
TT New Units- Rodney Bacigalupo
FMG Combat Dice- Kevin Keller
AA42- Brad Tumey
AA42- Henry Russell

Rd #2-
AA42- Chris Skuce
AA42- Keith Levy
FMG Combat Dice- Andrew Murphy

Rd #3-
AA42- Richard Beyma
AA42- Chris Trimmer
FMG Combat Dice- Ted Lange

Single Elimination Rounds-
What follows is the game summary for both of the Semi-finals and the Final.

SF #1

Ty received 6 IPCs to be the Allies. He placed an armor unit in India and gave the extra IPC to the UK starting cash.

R1- Soviets tentatively moved forward into West Russia and set up for the German onslaught.
G1- Germany pushes north into Karelia and takes Egypt in North Africa. Purchases a CV for the Baltic Fleet.
UK1- UK stays put in India, places an IC there, and launches a CV in SZ 8.
J1- In response to the UK, Japan concentrates in and around French Indochina and hits the US in Hawaii.
US1- US reinforces the Home Isles by moving to SZ 8. Places a CV on the West Coast US and an IC in Sinkiang.

R2- Far East forces take Manchuria. More troops mass up in West Russia while some units are sent to Sinkiang and India to help cover Allied ICs.
G2- Germany pushes into Africa from Egypt and amphibiously assaults the Caucasus. Units pour into the Ukraine to cover the flank of the successful Caucasus attack.
UK2- Shifts its fleet to SZ 6 to amphibiously assault both Norway and France.
J2- Japan moves west hard taking China and India.
US2- Pacific Fleet is able to move south and take the Solomons while in Europe the Fatherland IC is SBRed. Launches another Pacific CV. Bomber and fighter to Moscow

R3- Soviets counter the Japanese in Asia by hitting China from Sinkiang and Kwangtung from Manchuria. A massive battle occurs in the Ukraine with the Red Army retreating with just an armor unit and a fighter while the Germans are left with four fighters.
G3- The Kriegsmarine amphibs Norway and the Caucasus. In the West it pushes the UK back into the Channel while in the East it drives forward into West Russia. In the Middle East, it drives into Persia solidifying the Axis line from Leningrad to Calcutta.
UK3- Limeys pile into Norway once again and the Aussies bum rush the East Indies. RAF bomber command sends UK bomber to Moscow. It may be a case of "too little, too late". Stalin overheard cursing Churchill about his want for fighters, not bombers.
J3- After repositioning itself on Turn 2, Japan takes back Manchuria and Kwangtung while countering back into China for a second time. The IJN pops the Aussie fleet in SZ 37 and blocks the US Pacific Fleet with transports in SZs 47 and 50.
US3- Fighters sink transports in SZs 47, 50, and 61. Then they meet up with the main fleet in SZ 60. The West Coast reserves move out to Pearl Harbor in support. In Asia, armor from Sinkiang is joined by fighter and bomber from Moscow to hit Persia. German infantry is killed, but takes the armor with it.

R4- Soviets make minor gains to stabilize the Eastern Front by taking back West Russia and the Caucasus. They cover their flank by occupying Persia and bulk up the defenses in Moscow.
G4- The Caucasus amphib crushes the defenders on the first roll. To the North, West Russia is taken and to the South, armor rolls into Persia. Norway regained this time by land forces out of Karelia.
UK4- Stubbornly, the Brits punch back into Norway again.
J4- Pushing up the middle, the Japanese finally take the IC in Sinkiang. Manchurian army takes Buryatia while three armor units and 3 fighters are shifted to the Caucasus in an attempt to stop the trading of this key position. IJN concentrates its forces in the Philippine SZ while placing a blocking transport in SZ 59.
US4- Bomber kills the lone Japanese armor unit in Sinkiang but is shot down by return fire. Main fleet warships, along with fighters, hit transport in SZ 59. Loaded transport in SZ 60 moves to SZ 61 and takes Manchuria. Transport from Hawaii moves to SZ60 and takes back Buryatia. Fighters from SZ 59 battle fly on to East Indies.

R5- Red Army troops take back the now empty Sinkiang VT and hit West Russia.
G5- The Wehrmacht can sense victory within their grasp and push forward on the Eastern Front into Kazakh, West Russia, and Archangel. They have to fight hard to recapture the Norway VT and reposition another armor stack in Karelia. By holding the Caucasus, they can finally produce units there- right on the doorstop of Moscow!
UK5- The deterioration of the Soviets causes the UK to not only plunge into Norway again but to also amphib into Archangel.
J5- IJN goes hard into SZ 60 clearing out the US presence there. Armor shoots through to take the Sinkiang VT. The Novosibirsk VT is also seized, ever tightening the noose around Moscow.
US5- The remaining Pacific Fleet assets move to the SZ 49 in support of the SZ 61 transport amphibing the Philippines.

R6- With the end near, Stalin just loads up on more defending units.
G6- Germany cleans up around the periphery by cracking the UK out of Norway, going into Archangel with a large armor stack, and taking out the lone UK transport in SZ 4 while losing a fighter. The Med fleet is used to send infantry to reinforce the Egypt VT.
UK6- The "stiff upper lip" crew goes into the Norwegian meat grinder for another time.
J6- The IJN smokes the US fleet in SZ 49 and takes back the Philippine VT, they are not so lucky in their attempted amphib on the Hawaiian Islands.
US6- At this point the US had lost pretty much all of its attack capability.

Richard Beyma's Axis take the win with 16 VTs to Ty Hansen's Allied 8 VTs.

Nothing in this game really stood out as the decisive battle and/or mistake that turned the tide either way. It was just a slow grinding down of the USSR by Germany coupled with the Allies being less than successful with its twin ICs in Asia.

Game Score: Axis 16 VTs and 88 IPCs, Allies 8 VTs and 78 IPCs.

SF #2:

In a surprising turn of events, Ted ended up with the Allies and no bid.

At this level of competition, under the scoring system used for this event, the Allies need something. But Ted hasn't played A&A at WBC since 2005 so that lack of experience may have influenced his decision.

R1- Soviets take not only West Russia but Norway too!
G1- In the Med, Germany takes Egypt and adds a transport to his navy. The Baltic Fleet warships move out the Channel and sends land units up through Karelia to take back Norway.
UK1- Royal Navy drops amphibing units into Norway while the RAF is totally shredded by the Kriegsmarine. Subs go down, but the destroyer stands tall!
J1- IJN hits Pearl Harbor and moves southern naval assets to SZ 36.
US1- US sends Atlantic fleet to SZ 12 and amphibs Algeria. Builds a large fleet for the US West Coast.

R2- Red Army surges forward into Belorussia, Karelia, and the Ukraine.
G2- On the Eastern Front, Germany amphibs into Karelia and takes back Belorussia. In the Atlantic, the destroyer and air units dispatch the America interlopers in SZ 12. The Med fleet comes back with amphib forces to crush the US in Algeria. Wehrmacht forces fan out into Sub-Saharan Africa.
UK2- The RN strikes into the Baltic taking out the transport there and launches a suicide amphib into Eastern Europe to kill two fighters. An attack out of India into French Indochina in hopes of killing the light defending force there (including a fighter) has to pull back after the dice failed them. Each side ends the battle with just a fighter.
J2- Japan tries to squash the Aussie fleet with a destroyer and a sub, but the UK sub survives! The southern IJN cleans up the UK Indian Ocean Fleet and walks into India. The northern IJN amphibs Buryatia, kills all the defenders, but loses all its land units in the process. Japan places an IC in French Indochina.
US2- US moves fleet out to Hawaiian waters. Then they add more transports and troops to the US West Coast.

R3- Soviets push forth across the whole Eastern Front. They crush German armor in Belorussia, skimp into Karelia, blitz to Eastern Europe, and trade fighter for fighter in the Balkans.
G3- Takes back Eastern Europe and shoots down to South Africa, but the main action is for the Med Fleet in SZ 13 to move up to amphib the UK Home Isles. German forces crush the surprised Home Guard and take London.

At this point, Ted conceded. Patrick's Axis win 19 VTs to Ted's Allied 5 VTs.

After some soft competition in the preliminary rounds, Ted finally came up against someone with a bit more skill in Patrick. Though getting caught with his "knickers" down was an oversight that he won't soon forget.

Game Score: Concession - Axis 19 VTs and 100 IPCs, Allies 5 VTs and 66 IPCs.

Final:

So the Final matched two familiar adversaries from Waterloo but this would be the first time that they have crossed swords in A&A.

Patrick took the Allies and a 4 IPC bid which he used to place an artillery unit in India.

R1- Soviets make their main thrust into West Russia and it goes swimmingly. The flank strafing attack on the Ukraine goes better than expected and turns into a conquest!
G1- Germany clears the Med of the RN and amphibs Egypt. On the Eastern Front, they clear out the Ukraine but fail to take it. In the north, they move a massive force into Karelia. Build a CV in the Baltic.
UK1- Amphib into Egypt using SZ 35 transport along with Trans-Jordan infantry and the SZ 35 fighter. An infantry unit and the bid artillery unit from India attack into French Indochina, but the artillery retreats back leaving just a fighter for Japan. The Indian destroyer takes out the SZ 59 transport while the Aussie and Japanese subs miss each other in SZ 45. UK bomber tries for German sub in SZ 13, misses, and then flies on to the Caucasus. Indian CV moves down to SZ 33 and a built CV is placed in SZ 8 along with the rest of the UK Atlantic fleet.
J1- Japanese ground units thrust up the gut and take China. The East Indies fleet takes out the UK destroyer in SZ 59 while the rest of the IJN hits Pearl Harbor. An IC is placed in French Indochina.
US1- US sends Atlantic fleet to SZ8 to reinforce the UK fleet and Home Isles and places two CVs on the US West Coast.

R2- Soviets bring everything against the Germans in Karelia. They take heavy casualties and fall back to West Russia after one round of battle. They send reinforcement up and block on the flanks.
G2- Germany once again amphibs Egypt. In the East, they clear out the flank blockers in the Ukraine and Archangel. The main attack on WRU is a two round strafe that knocks the Red Army down to single armor unit. The Wehrmacht armor stack falls back to the safety of Karelia.
UK2- The UK opens a second front by powering into France. The Indian transport moves to SZ 36 to block the IJN movement towards India and the Indian CV changes course and goes toward Australia to SZ 30. Aussie sub moves to SZ 37 and transport moves to SZ 38.
J2- Surface fleet smashes SZ 36 blocking transport while fighters take care of SZ 37 sub and SZ 38 transport. Land units continue the fight up the middle in Asia taking Sinkiang. In the north, the IJN amphibs Buryatia.
US2- US sends a bomber and four fighters against the SZ 60 Japanese fleet that consisted of a battleship, a carrier (with a fighter), a destroyer, and two transports. All air units are reported lost while destroying the destroyer and both transports. US troops reinforce the UK beachhead in France.

R3- Moves westward on a broad front taking Archangel, Belorussia, and the Ukraine. Hits into Sinkiang to take out the Japanese armor threat there. Send the infantry from Persia and armor from the Caucasus to India to help there. Sub moves to SZ 6 to block.
G3- More action in the East as the Germans clean out Belorussia, take West Russia (loses a fighter to make sure he gets it), and pull a combined land/naval action to grab the Ukraine. The Huns suffer heavy losses in France while driving the Western Allies back into the sea.
UK3- Brits wade ashore once again to save the young French lasses from the depredations of the Fatherlands finest.
J3- Japanese armor shoots through Soviet Far East on its way to join the successful attack of Yakut. Soviet forces in Sinkiang are ravaged by vengeful Nipponese armor columns.
US3- Pacific fleet moves out to SZ 57 while the Atlantic fleet moves back to Eastern Canada for more troops.

R4- The armor from India and the Caucasus liberate Trans-Jordan while the single move on the Eastern Front is the take back of West Russia.
G4- Baltic fleet sallies forth to clear the RN from the North Sea and France again falls under the thumb of German oppression. While the Red Army repels an attack on West Russia, the Germans take the Caucasus with another combined land and sea attack.
UK4- UK bomber command SBRs the Japanese IC in French Indochina. Places transports in SZ 2.
J4- IJN sorties in full strength to SZ 57 and proceeds to crush the US fleet. Armor streams across the Russian steppe to take Novosibirsk and Kazakh.
US4- US amphibs into Norway unopposed and drops into Algeria. Places a CV and a transport in SZ 55.

R5- USSR armor sweeps back into the Caucasus.
G5- Germany amphibs back into Algeria and takes both West Russia and Trans-Jordan. Backs most of his forces out of France and loads up the defenses in Germany and Eastern Europe.
UK5- UK moves up to SZ 4 for an amphib of Karelia but misses badly while getting mauled on the beaches.
J5- IJN continues eastward to finish off the US Pacific fleet off of the US West Coast.

At this point Patrick cries "uncle" and concedes. Richard has fought back from a first round defeat to win it all!

The second round Soviet attack on Karelia was a real game breaker. The losses that Patrick sustained there (and in the subsequent German counter) really tilted the Eastern Front towards Richard and gave him the breathing room he needed to hold on. Patrick was scrambling from then on as demonstrated by moves like the US all air attack on the IJN in the SZ 60.

Game Score: Concession - Axis 19 VTs and 100 IPCs, Allies 5 VTs and 66 IPCs.

 Tournament Stats-

Quality Games-
In what I term "Quality Games" (games that don't end in a concession), these are the applicable stats:

Joe Angiolillo, one of the original developers of the game, played Melvin Casselbury.	Richard Beyma met Pat Mirk for the wood as GM Craig Yope kept tabs on his finalists.