Category Archives: Blog

We were back in the Harbourside Restaurant this month as there was a huge wedding taking place in the Member’s Bar.
Looking at all the members sitting down to lunch I wondered if Backgammon takes 2^nd place to friends sharing a meal together! I derive a huge amount of pleasure from it 😊

Dave took out the 1^st prize with an undefeated 4/4 A bottle of wine and $120. Well done!
Matt 2^nd, returning after a period of absence 3/4  +9. A bottle of wine and $80.
Your TD 3^rd, 3/4 +8 and $40

I’ll mention 4^th and 5^th as this will have a bearing on the next part of my report: Paula 3/4 +7 and Adam 3/4 -3.

By accident I ran Buchholz on the results on Saturday which meant I had to calculate the differences by hand. I can confirm that I was correct. But I thought I’d explain Buchholz in detail as it was a topic of conversation over lunch.

Buchholz = total of opponents’ wins (bye rounds use the players average as a substitute).

First, the wins for each player after R4:

(Dave 4), Matthew 3, John 3, Paula 3, Adam 3

Now Buchholz for each:

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Paula (B’holz = 12)
Opponents: Matt (3), Noah (2), Adam (3), Dave (4)
Average = (3+2+3+4) = 12

Paula played the strongest field — two players with 3 wins and the tournament winner. That’s why she ranks highest among the 3-win players.

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TD (B’holz = 10)
Opponents: Marina (2), Steve (2), Dave (4), Philip (2)
Average = (2+2+4+2) = 10

I played Dave (the winner) which boosted my score significantly.

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Adam (B’holz = 9.33)
R1 opponent was Bye → use average of other 3 opponents = 2.33
Opponents: Philip (2), Paula (3), Marina (2)
Average = (2.33+2+3+2) = 9.33

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Matt (B’holz = 8)
Opponents: Paula (3), Hammon (2), Zach (1), Steve C (2)
Average = (3+2+1+2) = 8

Matt played the weakest field of the four — notably Zach who only won 1 match, and Hammon. Despite having the best T/Diff among the 3-win players, Buchholz drops him to last among them because his opponents, on the day, were weaker.

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Summary:

Buchholz rewards players who play stronger opponents. Paula rose to the top because 2 players had at least 3 wins including the tournament winner with 4. Matthew dropped despite his big point differential because two of his opponents only won 1-2 matches overall. Buchholz essentially asks “how hard was your path to 3 wins?” — and Paula’s path was the hardest.

I hope that clarifies how Buchholz works, but remember, its only a proposal for next year and only if wins and differences can’t split the top placed players.

Your thoughts and comments are welcomed.

Thanks for the photos Adam.