Pleased to report that the first 10 entries have been received. By nation they are from: UK(3), Germany (3), Netherlands (2), Spain (1) & Sweden (1). Quite a number of expressions of interest have also been received.
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The Friedrich World Championships 2017 were held in Alt Moabit, Berlin last weekend. 27 competitors from half a dozen countries took part. Congratulations to Andreas Buschhaus on his first world title. In a very long and tight final, which finished after midnight, Andreas (with Russia) defeated Mark Luta (France, then Imperial Army) and former champions Anton Telle (Prussia/Hannover) & Christian Blattner (Austria).
The UK had its best ever showing with Andrew Brown coming 5th (for the second time - you'll make it to the final one day Andrew!) and John McCullough 7th. FriedrichUK18 will take place at the Bar Convent in York from Friday 8th June to Sunday 10th June 2018. Come and play some of the best players from Europe and the US! Enjoy the friendly atmosphere and social events (starting with the traditional curry evening opener on Thursday 7th).
Entries now open (via FriedrichUK Facebook page or e-mail to [email protected]). Entrants will receive travel & accommodation information documents by return. Rules will be published in 2018. Entry Fee £20 (payable in 2018). 4 games (1 in each role) guaranteed. 1st games start mid-afternoon Friday; 4th games end lunchtime Sunday. The four top-ranked players will play a final starting mid-afternoon Sunday. Other players can stay to watch, play other games etc. Thanks to everyone who responded so promptly to consultations about the dates. Thanks also to BM York (York's boardgaming club based at the Bar Convent), who have agreed to our Friday pm session running alongside a regular club evening session. The 12th Friedrich World Championships take place in Berlin on 8-10 September 2017, this time at a new venue in Alt Moabit in old West Berlin. There is still plenty of time to enter, so head to the Histogame or BoardGameGeek websites for more info..
Richard Sivel, the designer of Friedrich, joined 15 other players from 6 nations to take part in CAFE17 (the Spanish Open) in Madrid on 16-18 June 2017. Guy Atkinson (Spain) topped the 4 round qualification table and took the role of Friedrich in the final. However 40C+ temperatures no doubt contributed to more mistakes than usual from experienced players, especially in afternoon games and an early mistake by Guy enabled Richard's Russian generals to encircle & destroy his main defence army v Russia. Despite a valiant effort by Guy, that eventually proved crucial. Bjorn von Knorring (Sweden) was unlucky, as had Richard taken just one more turn to win, Bjorn would have won a joint victory with Austria. Maurice de Wijs (Netherlands) played France in the Final.
Andrew Brown yet again was the top UK qualifier but John McCullough had the consolation of a fascinating final game as Austria defending against a (extremely rare in tournament play) Prussian offensive option by Jose Manuel Hernandez (?) (Spain). John eventually managed to eliminate 3 Prussian armies in the same turn for lack of supply but was just beaten to the win by France. Well done Richard! The 11th Friedrich World Championship was held in the baroque splendour of the Schloss Friedrichsfelde, set in the grounds of Berlin's Tierpark. It was an international affair with players coming from The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Germany and USA. Andrew Brown and John McCullough represented both UK and Beyond Monopoly York (BM)!
Andrew and John both won 2 out of 4 games (both as Prussia/Hanover, Andrew also as France, and John also as Austria/Imperial Army). Commiserations to Andrew who came an agonising 5th out of 30 entrants with 39.2 points, thereby missing out on becoming the UK's first ever finalist (which comes with Grandmaster status). John came 13th with a creditable 36 points. The winner was Martin Hoefer from Celle in Germany. Andrew and John would love to introduce/reacquaint members of BM to this elegant war/strategy game based on the famous Seven Years War. Rather than face them, they would be happy to oversee any beginners, improvers or just plain curious in a game. See either of them at the club or e-mail John at [email protected] to express an interest. Congratulations to current Friedrich World Champion Christian Blattner from Germany who won the FriedrichUK 2016 tournament in York last weekend. A special commendation to Pete Manning from the UK, who came 2nd in his 2nd tournament (and with little opportunity to play in between).
After the 4 qualification rounds the scores were: 1 Christian Blattner Germany 40.7 2 Pete Manning UK 37.8 3 Guy Atkinson Spain 37.5 4 John McCullough UK 36.9 5 Klaus Blum Germany 36.8 6 Maurice de Wijs Netherlands 36.6 7 Mark Luta USA 36.5 8 Andrew Brown UK 35.7 9 Bill Fisher UK 34.8 10 Reserves UK 28.5 11 Arnold de Wijs Netherlands 28.3 12 Arvid Breitenbach Germany 24.0 The final went the full 23 rounds before Sweden dropped out. Pete nearly won after draining Christian's diamonds in Saxony but a timely card of fate that allowed Friedrich to move 4 spaces saw Christian escape to an undefended Silesia. Guy threatened also until Elisabeth dropped at the end of turn 16. During the qualification rounds Friedrich had a 66.66% win rate - aided by many early allied cards of fate: in 3 of the 12 games Russia dropped out by turn 9, in another 3 France dropped out by turn 10 and in another both had dropped out by turn 10! Many thanks to everyone who supported the tournament. As of 05 June 16 (6 weeks to go) we have 3 full tables. We would struggle to run the tournament successfully with 13 or 14 players. Individual entries will therefore no longer be accepted. A group entry of 3 or 4 will still be accepted. Individuals may ask to go on a waiting list, in case we make a group of 3 or 4 with other interested individuals.
Entries are now invited for FriedrichUK 2016. The tournament will be held in York from mid-afternoon 15 July - 17 July 2016. The tournament will have the same overall format as the World Championships & CAFE tournaments (4 games minimum guaranteed - in the 4 roles).
Entry Fee £15. Entries will be confirmed upon receipt of the Entry Fee. Full refunds will be given for withdrawal notifications received before 01 July, discretionary refunds thereafter. Local players can pay by cash, cheque or paypal; other UK players by cheque or paypal; overseas players by paypal ([email protected]). Entries/any questions to my e-mail address above. Confirmations will be sent, along with accommodation & travel info documents and a copy of the tournament rules. The Spanish & UK organising groups have reached an agreement to alternate the CAFE & Friedrich UK summer tournaments, starting with Friedrich UK in 2016 in York and following with CAFE 17 in Madrid in 2017.
Both groups have pledged to support each other's tournaments, other international participation will not be split and hopefully entries of 20+ will be achieved. Both groups have been working together towards a common set of rules, which should be agreed soon. Friedrich UK will take place between 15-17 July 2016. Entries will be sought in early February - when full details of the tournament, rules and advice about accommodation and travel will be published." |
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