Over the Christmas holidays, something very exciting for
three young zoners - they got an all-expense paid trip to United Arab
Emirates to play in the 2nd annual Abu Dhabi Backgammon Championship. Until they were invited,
many of us had never even heard of the tournament. Even more surprising
for me, was what I found out just recently.
It turns out that a number of the Abu Dhabi contestants, including the
Sheik, play on the MSN Gaming Zone! In addition, one
of the three Zoners that went this year, was invited last year and won
the Tournament. In neither case did we hear about this from the
Zone! In fact, were it left up to these three modest guys, we probably
wouldn't know about now. We have two other zoners, SusanJane and
Nrgizd_Bunny, to thank for bringing this to everyone's attention.
Personally, I think it is absolutely wonderful that these guys were given
this opportunity and there is no amount of sour grapes critiquing that
is going to lessen my enthusiasm for what happened.
Let's look at the obvious here, three players on the Zone, whom many of
us have played or chatted with, were invited to an international tournament!
I had a chance recently to sit down and chat with them - Peter (Plodd),
Alex (cool_Canadian) and Larry (MadKnave, also know on the ladders as
KARNAK_) - and asked them a few questions. I hope you find this
interview as interesting (and entertaining) as I did.
Any opening comments, gentlemen? <Plodd> ...most challenging aspect of trip
was getting CC ready in time ! lol <cool_Canadian> First thing I want to say in the interview
is that I kicked Plodd's ass in my hotel room in an 11 pointer <Plodd> lol
Lets start with a little Background.How
long have you been playing BG? <cool_Canadian> 2 years <Plodd> I learned 20 years ago....but only played regularly
for last 2 <MadKnave> I have been playing BG around 35 years, my father
taught me and my brother at about age 5, I have never stopped playing
after that, me and my brother still play almost every day.
How long have you been playing on the zone? <cool_Canadian> 1 year <Plodd> since August 1998 <MadKnave> I have been playing on the zone, before BG was
on the Zone, I started on the zone, when it Had the little village, with
the hearts spades on the doors, and you clicked on a house to get into
a game room, I remember back then there was days with less than 100 on
the whole zone.
Do you play bg on any other sites? <cool_Canadian> VOG and GAMESGRID occassionally <Plodd> I first started on mplayer...one day it was down
and it was then I discovered Zone and have played here ever since. I
have played 2 matches on GamesGrid. <MadKnave> Yes, I have played on FIBS, Games Grid, Netgammon,
Vog, and a few others, at the present I play on the Zone and Games Grid.
Do you have a favorite site? If so, which one, and
why? <cool_Canadian> I enjoy the zone the best
because it's a very nice social atmosphere and I have made good friends
here. <Plodd> The Zone is my favorite bg site. Because of
the sense of community in rr1, which I attribute in part to the lobby
interface. . I like the boards in Zone better than GamesGrid's. <MadKnave> My favorite site is the ladder room on the Zone,
& Games Grid.
How did you first hear about the AbuDhabi Tourney? <cool_Canadian> While playing a match in
r-1, I received a zone message from one of the Abu Dhabi officials inviting
me to play in their tournament. <Plodd> I first heard that Alex had been invited. It
wasn't until later that Bunny approached me on the Sunday before the tournament
asking if I had a valid passport. <MadKnave> Sheikh Tahnoon.
How did you feel when you were invited? <cool_Canadian> My first impression led me
to believe it was a hoax that Plodd was playing on me, but after closer
investigation and confirmations it became clear that it was for real. <Plodd> I was honored to be invited.....this was a wonderful
opportunity for me as bg in NZ is a minor game. I have only ever
played in one other real life bg tourney and never been to Middle East. <MadKnave> The whole thing has been a great experience, and
would not have missed it for the world. the greatiest prize to me has
been the friends I have made.
I understand, Larry, you were invited last year and won <MadKnave> Yes, last year was the first Abu
Dhabi BG tourney, I was invited by H.H. Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,
It was a long hard tourney, and I did Win, First prize was 100,000 in
gold. But greater than the money, was all the friends I made and people
I met . <MadKnave> They had many great players from all over the
world, and also a great many from their country. I have traveled
to many countries in the past, including most of Europe, Egypt, Africa,China
& South America, but I have never met people that were as nice as the
people of the U.A.E. I think the other peoples of the world could learn
a lot from them.
Tell me about the trip there, anything interesting
happen? <Plodd> I should point out that it was an
all-expenses paid invite. I would never have been able to afford
it otherwise! <Plodd> It was just interesting getting there in time......I
heard about it Sunday pm...had to get my passport faxed to AD for visa
purposes (ty to LouisX111 and his roomate) got travel confirmation at
11:30 pm...left house at 3 am Monday...flew 22.5 hours...arrived AD hotel
4 am on morning of tourney <cool_Canadian> I was overwhelmed with Abu Dhabi, mainly
how beautiful it was there and how friendly and kind the people were to
us. It was a trip I will remember for a life-time
Understand you had a pretty luxurious hotel accomodation? <Plodd> People were very hospitable......Abu
Dhabi is a very modern, clean, uncrowded city......built from scratch
from desert and mangrove swamp from what I understand. And the Ritz-Carlton
was palatial, as was the Hilton. <cool_Canadian> In Abu Dhabi, we stayed at the Hilton
and in Dubai, we stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, both hotels were very impressive,
especially the Ritz, right on the beach; it was breath taking.
<MadKnave> Yes the hotel was great, we stayed at the Hilton in Abu
Dhabi, and the Ritz Carlton in Dubai, and as everything else they were
unsurpassed.
So you traveled to another city, too? <cool_Canadian> Peter, Larry and I were playing
a chouette in my room when our contact telephoned us and told us to be
ready to travel in 30 minutes because they were sending us to Dubai to
complete our trip, We got to spend two nights there. <Plodd> We were honored to receive a dinner invite from Sheikh
Tahnoon. Unfortunately he couldnt make it (this was at the same
time as the air hostage crisis) but he invited us to holiday at a resort
in Dubai instead. <MadKnave> Sheikh Tahnoon sent us to Dubai for a few days
to rest up for the trip back, and to show us more of the country
So tell me about the tournament, what was it like? <Plodd> There was over 130 players in a large
stadium. Each board had a referee watching for rule infractions.
They had a full-time television crew with several cameras relaying proceedings
to a giant screen. <Plodd> I am much more familiar with chess tournaments so
was interesting for me to notice how much more emotion is displayed by
bg players compared to chess players. <Plodd> Tourney started at 9 pm each night and went to small
hours...it was Ramadan while we were there. <MadKnave> Last years tourney was smaller, But i liked it
better, it was more pearsonal, This year had a lot more hussel And bussel
about it. <MadKnave> One thing I liked about last year was Sheikh Tahnoon
and his brother Sheikh Hazza played in the tourney, was hoping they would
this year also, they are 2 of the best players i have ever played.
The guys went on to discuss some of the personal adventures
including cool_Canadian Jet-skiing on the Persian Gulf, while Plodd was
chastising CC to bring his wife next time - he was tired of having to
tie cool_Canadian's tie each night and make him be on time..
Which brought us to another interesting, and hopefully, entertaining story: <cool_Canadian> The 2nd floor of the Hilton
had a piano bar in it, but the bar was closed for the week, so I asked
the front desk clerk if it was ok to go and play it. <Plodd> Keep in mind it was the holy month of Ramadan. Restaurants
were closed during the day in Abu Dhabi so we had room service bring meals
to one of our rooms
<cool_Canadian> So Larry and I go into the piano bar and
I start playing Misty, Larry is looking over the balcony to the first
floor where he can see a big group of people with frowns on their faces... <cool_Canadian> He says to me, "dude, I'm outa here" and
off he goes, he's about 30 feet away hiding behind a corner, and all I
can see is his eyeball from around the corner...
<Plodd> Misty ? Is that what it was...Larry said it sounded
like jazz lol <cool_Canadian> ok, so I jazzed it up a bit, lol, anyhow.....
<cool_Canadian> At this time, the hotel manager comes up
the stairs and tells me it is against the rules of Ramadan to have live
music played. I apologize to the manager (the entire time, Larry
is still eyeballing me from around the corner. <cool_Canadian> I advised him that I did get permission ahead
of time, and once I told him that, he told me to continue playing, but
of course out of respect for Ramedan, I stopped.
Peter where were you? <Plodd> Can't remember where I was at the
time. <cool_Canadian> Quivering underneith his bed, lol. <Plodd> lol <cool_Canadian> I did feel embarrased about
it, I had no idea <Plodd> One of my funniest memories is the look on Alex's
face when presented with his phone and mini-bar bill. <cool_Canadian> I thought so at the time, but they covered
it, very good of them. Those little tiny bottles of vodka add up
quick.
Given the opportunity, would you go back again? <Plodd> In a flash ! <cool_Canadian> Indeed. <MadKnave> Yes, I would go back even if there was no BG tourney,
How did you guys finish up in the tournament? <cool_Canadian> I was eliminated in the first
round 11-3. <Plodd> It was a knockout till the final 4 were determined.
I got eliminated in round 3. The match hinged on a bear-off race
in the final game. I rolled 2-1 five times lol. <MadKnave> I lost in the 3rd round to the guy who ultimately
won the tourney.
Did you get to meet the Sheikh personally? <Plodd> Yes we did <cool_Canadian> yes, but only very briefly. <MadKnave> Yes the Sheikh was at the tourney several nights.
he is a very nice person and very interested in the game of BG, was sorry
he didn't play in this years tourney, he is one of the best players I
have ever played.
Do you plan to attend any other live tournaments? <Plodd> I live in New Zealand which is a
geographically remote country. As I am not rich I can't really afford
to travel to tourneys outside of New Zealand. Backgammon tourneys
in NZ are rare <Plodd> Which makes it all the more rewarding to play strong
players online. <cool_Canadian> I just found out today that there
is a BG tourney in Toronto every Sunday, I plan on going there as often
as I can - as it's only a 2 hour drive for me. <MadKnave> Yes, next year i plan to check into more live
tourneys, and if time permits attend a few.
Now, what was your most memorable experience for
the entire trip? <Plodd> A highlight was getting to meet Cool_Canadian
:) <Plodd> ( I knew Alex from online before I left but not Larry
(MadKnave) ) <cool_Canadian> There was a fellow there from Zaire,
and he basically told me that I was a poor player and didn't know the
game, he challenged me to an 11 point match. My winning the match
18-2 was very satisfying. <cool_Canadian> Yes, meeting Peter and Larry was a big highlight,
if it wasn't for this tournament, this would never had happened. <Plodd> The tournament was won by possibly the oldest contestant
- a gentleman from Iraq He was also one of the fastest movers. <MadKnave> My most memorable experience was winning last
year,and all the friends I have made, including Sheikh Tahnoon, and Sheikh
Hazza.
Any other things you would like to add? <cool_Canadian> In general, I would say the
main difference between players from North America and the Middle East,
is cube play, as the cube is still new to them, they still have to get
used to it. <Plodd> Yes the most popular variant there does not use the
cube, I understand <Plodd> There were 4 female contestants <Plodd> oh prize money... <Plodd> First prize was 80,000 dirhams which is about US$22,000
dollars <Plodd> Second 40,000 dirhams <Plodd> Third 20,000 dirhams <Plodd> AND there was a luxury car draw from all contestants <Plodd> You remember what make of car Alex ? <cool_Canadian> Yes, it was an audie sports car. <MadKnave> The most interesting thing I can think of was
the country its self, I have learned a lot about it and the people, and
am very impressed with the progress they have made and are continuing
to make today, The country is being transformed into a lush green paradise,
and is without doubt, the premiere country of the middle east. The
President H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, has given the people
a country to be proud of. <MadKnave> I would also like to mention a few other people
that made the tourney possible, Muhammed Khalid, Nasr Kenan and Rhayed.
Guys, thank you very much for your time and good
luck in your future games!
And that was it! Hope you enjoyed the little chat,
and I hope you all do the right thing, and give these guys a virtual pat
on the back. They did good and they deserve it!
Any comments or disagreements? Post them to my forum.
