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BGonline.org Forums
Coming of age in Vegas
Posted By: Coolrey
Date: Thursday, 23 April 2009, at 1:40 p.m.
I was impressed in Vegas... Let me tell you why.
BGO has something going here, and recently I read an article about it's creator calling him simply SM, short for Stick Machine. Phil Simborg says he simply is never wrong, and I can prove he is wrong, but not by much!
For a little history; Stick and I reached the Consolation finals opposite one another, and he pounded me into the Vegas pavement 11-0. Stick lost to John O'Hagen, who won the tournmanet... I lost to Kaneko, who was the finalist. This ought to tell you something, I think. Stick started his amazing consolation run, (he lost to John in round 1), with an opponent you all may be familiar with: Mr. Neil Kazaross. Five opponents later it was my turn to be ground up by the SM.
I can tell you from experience that it is very difficult to play well when you are blowing someone out, or at least it is for me, because you are making checker plays and cube decisions often trying to protect your lead and bring home a match. As in football the "prevent defense" is overrated, but we humans all tend to resort to it. Machines, apparently, don't.
Stick made 7 (!) errors in our 11 point match, according to the 2 ply analysis I did on it. That the majority of them were cube mistakes by a ratio of 4-3, is more amazing still. I chatted with Stick recently about the last time he beat me in the Ohio undefeated semi-finals... when he played 2.1 according to the bot. At that time he was laughing at Gnu, and it's analysis, claiming he played much better than the 2.1 the bot had just given him credit for. To be honest with you I do not possess the frame of reference from which to argue the point. I am simply not that good.
In Vegas, Stick's ER, as reported by Gnu was better still at: 2.0. Given the FACT that Stick will ultimately challenge the bot on a few of those 7 points of contention, and WIN... Well you get the picture, don't you?
He has literally blasted me off the board the last couple of times with a type of technical superiority I have seldom experienced. His game has jelled.
Gone are the impulsive cubes to 4 or 8. He was focused and serious in Vegas, still ready to laugh and engage you at a moments notice but... quiet and calculating for the most part. The kid became a man, perhaps THE man... I don't know.
I haven't been here for very long, and maybe all of you already knew this, but I thought I might let you know from an old pro's perspective so that you all might appreciate his gift more fully. Stick is truly a backgammon machine now.
I have also found that the mark of a great player is how he can impart his wisdom to his fellow players. I know that he has played doubles with Rory Pascar alot, and that he and MCG appear to be inseperable.
Rory is coming of age himself as the current Chicago Champion, and a player at this tournament who lost to the eventual winner in the semi-finals... A GREAT champion: John O'Hagan. I don't think I would be surprised if Rory outplayed John when the match becomes public. Rory is not yet a machine, however... and John is a SEASONED pro. Nice job, Rory, welcome to the big leagues.
MCG? He just won the massive Las Vegas last chance.
Dear Neil Kazaross,
We are in trouble!
Ray.
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