| |
BGonline.org Forums
Favorable Review of Chiva's Tournament in Florida
Posted By: Paul Weaver
Date: Thursday, 20 January 2011, at 12:23 p.m.
I greatly enjoyed playing in the tournament in Ft. Lauderdale January 14-17. Chiva was assisted by two lovely ladies, Elayne and Rynell. The quickly improving Justin Nunez and Rynell are engaged to be married April 30 in Temecula, California. Warmest wishes to both Justin and Rynell!
This is the second time I have played in a tournament run by Chiva and he did a great job both times. I like a tournament that is spread out over four days instead of only three. When a TD has three days instead of two to complete the main event, it takes a lot of pressure and tension off the TD and the players.
The Marriott Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale is very comfortable. The tournament room was large and attractive. On the last day of the tournament, I discovered that there was a men's room with an entrance in the tournament room. For the first three days, I had been walking five minutes through the hotel's lobby to the men's room. How come no one told me earlier?
Although I did not realize it at the beginning, the Legal Moves Rule was in force for all matches at the tournament. I like this rule, but since most players are not accustomed to it, I feel it should be mentioned in the brochure or an announcement should be made at the beginning of the tournament. At my request, Chiva made an announcement.
Congratulations to Bill Davis, who was presented with a special trophy for lifetime achievement. Congratulations also to superstar Mary Hickey, who has won three of Chiva's tournaments over the last nine months. I plan to do a "Who is Mary Hickey?" feature post on this site within the next few days.
Clock usage was mandatory in the main event, jackpots, doubles, and as far as I know, in everything else, as well. The tournament proceeded smoothly and no one had to play too late or too early.
I personally feel that those of us who play backgammon in the USA are fortunate that Chiva has started organizing tournaments in our country. I strongly encourage everyone to attend his next tournament in the USA May 12-15 in San Francisco. This great city has been home to many great players (Nack Ballard, Kit Woolsey, Howard Ring, Chuck Papazian, Bill Kennedy, Dennis Waterman and many more) over the last few decades, but no one (other than Chiva) has been willing to do the work to run a tournament in the Bay area, which many consider to be the most desirable place to live in the USA.
When I sat down to play my consolation match against Dr. Bob Koca, I mentioned to him that there were no numbers on his doubling cube. At first, he disagreed with me. I asked him if he knew the difference between a numeral and a number. I convinced him that there were numerals on his cube but no numbers. I remember how excited I was several years ago when I announced my discovery that all numbers on the doubling cube were even, but I now have to provide an update. There are no even numbers and no odd numbers on any doubling cube. A number is an abstract concept and not something that can appear on a physical object.
I caught a ride on Monday with Larry Taylor and Homer Hector (Happy Birthday to Homer!) to Atlanta. They had three cigars and offered me one. I smoked the first and last cigar of my life. When we were not engaged in our exciting phone conversations with Joe Freedman, we spent the entire nine hours in the car talking about what a great tournament Chiva, Elayne and Rynell had run!
| |
BGonline.org Forums is maintained by Stick with WebBBS 5.12.