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Who Cares! ** long **

Posted By: Barry Silliman
Date: Thursday, 14 November 2013, at 4:13 p.m.

In Response To: Kill Em All (Stick)

Almost anything can be improved, and suggestions and constructive criticism are welcomed by most parties, including tournament directors. I don't see any whining in this thread and I think Stick probably started it with an eye-catching title in order to provoke discussion.

Almost everything, even if good, can be improved- otherwise we'd all still be driving around in Model T's or flying in a bi-plane or watching a black-and-white television or using Jellyfish.

ABT

To admonish Bill Davis for not responding to questions from his post on his position on legal moves is unfair. IIRC, somebody asked for Bill's position on legal moves, he posted it in response, but that doesn't mean he's legally or morally bound to address every point that raises.

I think the ABT is brilliant and especially the addition of the silver coins for #4-10 and then #4-20.....Patrick Gibson got my attendance at the Los Angeles Open last December solely because I wanted to hold on to (and managed to) the #20 spot and get a silver coin. I enjoyed the venue enough to hope to make it back to Los Angeles in the future, whether or not I'm in contention in the ABT point race or not. That the Los Angeles venue offers access to the world-class medical facilities of Venice Beach and a Carl's Jr. next door is just icing on the cake.

I'm not saying a master point system wouldn't be a good idea- it would. But I wonder- if backgammon tournaments were like bridge tournaments, where there are small or no cash prizes, I wonder how many of the game's top players would come?

Giants list

I also guarantee that whatever master point system is cooked up, that the formula will let some 'Open' players slip through into the 'Advanced' bracket if you went strictly by the numbers. This is where the Giants list could come in- if you're in the Giant top 64, (or 128, or whatever arbitrary number one may choose) you're not eligible for Advanced, period. And if we're going to have a master point system that rates everyone down to the third decimal place on ELO or PR or variance reduced result, and you think that should be a big weight in the Giants list, then why bother with the Giants list? You've got your numerical list. Keep the Giants list the way it is. If you think it's a popularity contest and don't care about it, don't vote. Who cares! Even when you get the masters point formula nailed down solid to the thirtieth decimal place, how do you answer the argument that the luck element in the game and the small sample size of rated matches renders the formula less than an absolute indicator. Here's how I answer it- Who Cares? I'm 1-0 lifetime ABT against Mochy! I'm 1-0 lifetime ABT against Stick! I'm 1-0 lifetime ABT against MCG! I'm 1-0 lifetime ABT against Malcom Davis! I even beat Ray Fogerlund one time. Vote for me for #1 Giant! Who cares!

I have an easy formula for how many tournaments one needs to attend to be eligible for the Giants list. If Stick plays in X tournaments over a two-year span, the minimum is X + 1. Who cares!

World Championship

Let's call Monte Carlo world championships 'Monte Carlo WC'. That way those who think it's the legitimate world championships can say the WC stands for World Championship and others can say it stands for Who Cares. Who Cares? We in the U.S. call our baseball championship the World Series but they are serious about baseball in Japan, Cuba, Latin America, the Netherlands and I'm sure other places. Who Cares? Let the big backgammon tournament in a lovely and expensive part of Europe call itself the World Championship if they want to. Who cares?

I think a "world backgammon federation" will be as successful in unifying backgammon as the United Nations is in preventing wars.

Final suggestion to make everybody happy

I'd suggest that those who love the game of backgammon and enjoy playing live, go to a live tournament and enjoy it.

For those who want to wait until some world federation or point system rates everybody down to the 3rd decimal point with variance reduced results, I hope you enjoy the wait.

Now if you read this whole rant, I salute you! At least I tried to use correct spelling and capitalization and punctuation and a semblance of grammar to try to make it readable. And if I made a mistake in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar or style- Who Cares!!

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