in anticipation of the pre-con
...
An excellent weekend at the WBC Diplomacy Tournament
as fifty Diplomats negotiated, schemed and back stabbed their
way to glory or retirement on the final weekend of WBC 2002.
The competitors were a combination of our WBC regulars, including
some of the best in the world, and some excellent new players.
In addition to the 16 boards played in three rounds, there were
a couple of pickup gunboat games played Saturday night. Of special
interest was the documentary filming done by Ray Setzer during
the second round. Ray will be editing the film and preparing
it for showing at World DipCon in Denver next February.
The number of boards in the rounds were six, five and five
respectively, and total attendance was up by five over last year.
Competition was very tough; as there were no outright wins, one
game ending in a five-way draw and another ending in a six-way.
This years GOLDEN BLADE
AWARD went to Andy Marshall for his "double" stab of
Austria on his way to part of a two-way draw in the third round.
He stabbed for two centers in 1903, talked himself back into
the good graces of the Austrian player, worked with him for four
years and then stabbed him again, taking him out in 1907. This
was key to his overall victory.
The HAMMERED AWARD went
to Ken Mathias as a salute to his gutsiness and dedication to
the game. Ken drove all the way from South Carolina to play in
just the Friday and Saturday rounds and, through no fault of
his own, was eliminated in both.
Best Country Awards:
Best Austria: Ric Manns - 16 centers in a 2 way draw for 38
points.
Best England: Doug Faust - 13 centers in a 2 way draw for 35
points.
Best France: Evan Maier - 14 centers in a 2 way draw for 36 points
Best Germany: Andy Bartalone - 13 centers in a 2 way draw for
35 points.
Best Italy: Rick Desper - 9 centers in a 3 way draw for 19 points.
Best Russia: David Hood - 14 centers in a 3 way draw for 24 points.
Best Turkey: Andy Marshall - 16 centers in a 2 way draw for 38
points.
This years WBC DIPLOMACY CHAMPION is Andy Marshall. Andy,
who has improved his game substantially over the last several
years, scored 19 points with a nine-center Russia in a 3-way
draw in the first round, and 38 points as the Best Turkey in
the final round for a total of 57 points.
The rest of the top board were: Melissa Nicholson with 52
points, Michael Czajhowski with 50 points, David Hood with 47
points, Mike Hall with 46 points, Doug Faust and Ric Manns with
44 points each.
As one of WBC's pre-cons next year, we are looking forward
to a bigger event in 2003 when many closet diplomats are expected
to join us without foregoing the other WBC events that conflicted
with our usual Friday to Sunday slot. Next year look for us in
the preceding Saturday to Monday before WBC proper begins.
The WBC 2002 Best Country Awards went to:
Ric Mann |
Doug Faust |
Evan Maier |
Andy Bartalone |
Rick Desper |
David Hood |
Andy Marshall |
Austria |
England |
France |
Germany |
Italy |
Russia |
Turkey |
2w16 |
2w13 |
2w14 |
2w13 |
3w9 |
3w14 |
2w16 |
|