afrika korps [Updated October 2003]   

 2003 WBC Report  

 2004 Status: pending 2004 GM commitment

Jonathan Lockwood, VA

2003 Champion

2nd: Bruno Sinigaglio, AK

3rd: Vince Meconi, DE

4th: Andrew Miller, GA

5th: Lane Newbury, TX

6th: Patrick Mirk, FL

Event History
1991      John Poniske      12
1992      Mike Crowe      15
1993      Joe Beard      20
1994      Joe Beard      17
1995      Phil Evans      16
1996      Bruno Sinigaglio      10
1997      Bruno Sinigaglio      25
1998      Gregory Smith      23
1999      Gregory Smith     24
2000      Randy Heller     20
2001      Lane Newbury     29
2002      Vince Meconi     29
2003      Jonathan Lockwood     22


Offsite links:

AREA Ratings

boardgamegeek 

 Laurels
Rank Name

From

Last
Total
 1. Jonathan Lockwood

VA

03
73
 2. Vince Meconi

DE

03
72
 3. Bruno Sinigaglio

AK

03
72
 4. Lane Newbury

TX

03
48
 5. Randy Heller

MD

00
30
 6. Greg Smith

PA

99
30
 7. Barry Smith

NY

00
18
 8. Phil Evans

VA

01
15
 9. Mark Gutfreund

KY

99
12
10. James Tracy

NB

02
10
11. Andrew Miller

GA

03
  9
12. Ed Menzel

CA

03
  9
13. Robert Hahn

NY

02
  8
14. Steve Likevich

OH

01
  6
15. Pat Mirk

FL

03
  3

Past Winners

John Poniske - PA
1991

Mike Crowe - VA
1992:

Joe Beard - AZ
1993-1994

Phil Evans - VA
1995

Bruno Sinigaglio - AK
1996-1997

Greg Smith - PA
1998-1999

Randy Heller - MD
2000

Lane Newbury - TX
2001


Vince Meconi - DE
2002
       
 


once more behind the sand dunes ...

Johnny Hasay (left) goes down to defeat to Greg Smith in the preliminary round as several onlookers watch the action and check out strategy articles from The GENERAL.

The turnout was 22 players this year, down from the record highs of the two previous years. Fortunately, the flexible starting times and recruitment of new players into the tournament made a big difference in offsetting some of the loss of players. The ratio of victories also shifted dramatically in favor of the British, with the Brits winning 13 matches to the Germans 6! Obviously the supply dice were not kind to Rommel's Afrika Korps this year, as defense would play a decisive role in determining this year's champion.

In the first round, the balance was relatively even, with six British victories to four German, and one player advancing by forfeit. Also for the first time, there were several newcomers who managed to take out some of the older veterans. Players advancing to the second round included GM Jonathan Lockwood, two-time champion Bruno Sinigaglio, defending champion Vince Meconi, Patrick Mirk, 2001 champion Lane Newbury, two-time champion Gregory Smith, James Tracy II, newcomer Joseph Collinson, Russian Campaign champion and "newcomer" Gary Dickson, newcomer Bill Riggs, and newcomer Andrew Miller, who would prove to be the best of the newcomers, having been schooled in AFK by Gregory Smith.

In the second round, the play balance stayed relatively even, as the British recorded three victories to the Germans two, with one victory occurring on a forfeit awarded to Patrick Mirk. Jonathan Lockwood's Paleveda Gambit defense outlasted Bill Riggs German assault, as the British counterattacked near Alexandria to kill two German units and leave the Afrika Korps without supply for counterattack, forcing the Germans to retreat. The Crusader reinforcements then enabled the British to batter the Afrika Korps into submission in one of the bloodier matches of the tournament. But the Joseph Collinson-Andrew Miller match was the real slugfest of the event, going the full 36 turns, with Miller's British defense managing to hang on at Alexandria by the strength of a single unit remaining. Also advancing were Bruno Sinigaglio (GE) over Gary Dickson (BR), Lane Newbury (BR) over James Tracy II (GE), and Vince Meconi (GE) over Gregory Smith (BR).

In the third round, there were just three matches, with the British taking all three. Vince Meconi's British defense outlasted Patrick Mirk's offensive, as supplies proved to be a crucial factor in his undoing. The same could be said for the Newbury-Sinigaglio match, as Sinigaglio's British defense stymied Newbury's offense, giving Bruno a fourth round bye that would put him in the championship match for the second straight year. And GM Lockwood had his hands full with Andrew Miller, who as the Germans employed an "anti-Paleveda Gambit" German opening designed to prevent Lockwood from using his favorite defense. Lockwood shifted into a Modified Standard defense, and the game became a very conservative setpiece battle, with the Germans leaving a substantial force to contain Tobruch while driving on Alexandria with just the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions. Lockwood counterattacked in November with the Crusader reinforcements, destroying two Recce battalions with automatic victories, along with two supply units in the exploitation, to send the Germans into permanent retreat from Alexandria. But Andrew Miller had already proved himself the best of the newcomers by far, finishing fourth overall.

In the semifinal round, Vince Meconi decided to forfeit his match against GM Lockwood in favor of continuing on in the VIP tournament, which sent Lockwood against Sinigaglio in the finals. Bruno employed a variation of his "anti-Paleveda" opening designed to entice the British into employing the Paleveda Gambit, then crushing it with massive force along the coast road. Lockwood instead shifted immediately into a Modified Standard defense, which would prove to be a better move, as the Germans missed five of their first six supplies, and nine of their first 15 overall prior to November. Bruno methodically battered his way to the gates of Tobruch, where he hurled the "Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch" (1-1 against Tobruch) in October II 1941, resulting in an exchange, taking Tobruch at heavy cost to the Afrika Korps. The match continued, with Lockwood bringing up the November reinforcements to launch an offensive against the Afrika Korps before it could rebuild. But in a last ditch counterattack, Bruno unleashed a 1-1/1-2 combination attack against Lockwood's forces on the escarpments which, if successful (1 in 18 chance), would have pocketed and destroyed an entire British division and evened up the game. The attack failed, however, and the Germans conceded shortly thereafter, giving GM Lockwood his first AFK wood, and making him only the second player in the AFK tournament to "do it all with defense" by winning all of his matches as the British.

 GM      Jonathan Lockwood  [4th Year]   P.O. Box 3436, Reston, VA 20195-1436
    locklamp@starpower.net   NA

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