GM Thomas Haver instructs Daniel Fahrenthold, Dan Shmueli and Andrew Sherwood	Matt Calkins and John Stevens discuss their relative positions while others adjourn to the hall.

The Diplomacy tournament at the WBC was back for the second straight year after an extended absence. Much like last year, the tournament was a three-round event held over Friday and Saturday of the final weekend. Tournament scoring was best two of three rounds using the convention-friendly Carnage scoring system, which relies on board rank rather than draws. The revamped Diplomacy tournament also uses quicker timed-rounds and order writing periods to move the game along so players can keep their WBC schedules intact. In addition to the plaques provided by the WBC, we had seven best country awards to give away as well as boardgame prizes. We were pleased to have 28 players this year, with many familiar faces.

Round 1 featured three boards in Kinderhook with a new hanging-light setup to improve visibility in the room. Board 1 was a back-and-forth affair that saw DC-area player Sachin Singhal square off with tournament veteran Richard Bliss and WBC regular Evan Walter. After some (planned) miscommunication between Austria and Italy that resulted in Austria with no builds in 1901, the duo of Evan Walter (Austria) and Andrew Sherwood (Italy) dominated the eastern side of the board. Despite Bliss' (Turkey) best efforts to rally the board, the Austrian-Italian duo held on to finish the round tied at board top with eight centers a piece.

Over on Board 2, game designer Matt Calkins (England) and ally Kevin Lewis (Russia) carved up the board with surgical precision. Both powers started strong, teaming up to eliminate Germany after Russia worked with Austria to eliminate Turkey. England easily topped the board with 13 centers, while Russia came in second with 10 centers. On Board 3, defending champion Christian Pedone (England) was engaged with Jason O'Donnell (Italy) and Steve Boone (Russia) in a bizarre affair. There were multiple misorders on the board, resulting in a likewise number of TD rulings. Eventually the players settled down into a three-way draw for first place among England, Italy and Russia at seven centers.

Round 2 began promptly at 9am on Saturday morning. The same as last year, I brought the players coffee and doughnuts for the morning round. Two former Best Country award winners, Wall Hnitaw and Robbie Mitchell, returned for the morning round. Both gentlemen ended up on the same board with Christian Pedone. The morning coffee and aggravating result from the prior night gave Pedone all the motivation he needed, as his Austria allied with Turkey & England from the start to sweep Russia from the board by 1904. Italy was seemingly along for the ride from the beginning, but the Austria-English-Turk alliance was too strong. Germany fell to the trio in 1906, followed by France in 1907. Finally, the hammer came down on Italy in 1909, leaving only the three allies in the game. That's where the game ended, with Robbie Mitchell's England at 14 centers, followed by Christian Pedone's Austria at 12 centers and Sachin Singhal's Turkey at eight centers.

In contrast, the other morning board was more slowly developing. By 1906 no player had more than 6 and no fewer than 4 centers. A Western Triple emerged from the start with little benefit, but a fierce defense led by Jason O'Donnell's Turkey stymied the triple, leaving the board seemingly in stalemate. Frustrated, the Italians and Austrians turned on each other, opening the way for the Western Triple to pounce. Italy was eliminated in 1907, with the benefactors being Matt Calkins' Germany, Richard Bliss' France and Jason O'Donnell's Turkey. The game seemed destined for another three-way tie for first place, but Matt Calkins made a late-game stab of France to jump to ten centers, sealing his first place rank and another board top.

Going into the final round, Matt Calkins had a clear lead with two board tops in a best two-out-of-three tournament. A few players with solid Round 1 and Round 2 scores were hoping to claim another board top with more centers to overcome Matt's lead. With an uneven number of players, Matt demonstrated the same grace that had defined his play in the tournament by electing to sit out. On the first board, Robbie Mitchell (Austria) was challenging Christian Pedone (Germany) and Jason O'Donnell (Russia) for a board top and an opportunity at knocking Matt from the top spot. Christian's Germany ran into Russia from the outset, which proved a costly mistake as he was gobbled up by an England-France duo from behind. Eventually, O'Donnell's Russia flipped the allies, and working with rising star Kevin Lewis (Italy) swung the board in their favor. Russia topped with ten centers and Italy finished second with seven centers.

The final board of the tournament was witness to the shifting alliances and posturing that is common in a last round. Players are vying for honors and the WBC championship. Two early alliances formed in the game: Austria-Italy and England-France. Both pairs managed to effectively eliminate (Russia, Turkey) or hinder (Germany) their targets with ease. However, the true game began when the four powers were competing for Best Country awards. Given the prior scores in the tournament, it was impossible for Austria, Italy and England to all receive Best Country honors. They could not afford a three-way tie and walk away as all winners. France was eventually knocked out in 1908, but there was tremendous argument over who would top the board. The game became locked in a stalemate, with neither side willing to budge. As the midnight deadline approached, the discussion grew more agitated. Eventually, the Italian relented and offered England assistance, as it became clear that England just needed to wait out the clock to board top. This gift was further turned into an outright offer to help David Rynkowski's England achieve a solo. So it was in 1909, with the Fall turn beginning before midnight, David wrote the orders to grab two additional centers, bringing his England from 16 to 18. A solo victory for England.

As with any Diplomacy tournament, a solo victory means more in scoring than any other result because it is a win -- a rare occurrence in Diplomacy. Typical board tops will net you 7000 points plus your supply center count in Carnage, whereas a solo earns you 28034 -- all the points on the board. On the last turn of the last board of the tournament, David Rynkowski snatched victory. Congratulations to David, our 2013 WBC Diplomacy Champion!

The WBC 2013 Best Country Awards went to:

Evan Walter	David Rynkowski	John Stevens	Matt Calkins	Andrew Sherwood	Jason O'Donnell	Jason O'Donnell
Austria	England	France	Germany	Italy	Russia	Turkey

As always, a picture is worth a thousand words, so 142 pictures would be worth ....

Richard Bliss, Evan Walter and Otis Comorau	Time for the negotiations to begin away from the table.