for the people [Updated October 2007]  

2007 WBC Report    

 2008 Status: pending 2008 GM commitment

James Pei, TX

2001-07 Champion

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Event History
1999    James Pei     22
2000    Trevor Bender     21
2001    James Pei     22
2002    James Pei     29
2003    James Pei     32
2004     James Pei     35
2005    James Pei     24
2006     James Pei     27
2007     James Pei     30

PBeM Event History
1999    James Pei     24
2002    Stefan Mecay     46

WAM Event History
2003    James Pei      8
2004     James Pei     12
2005    James Pei     17
2006    James Pei     11

 Laurels

Rank  Name              From  Last  Total
  1.  James Pei          VA    07    466
  2.  David Dockter      MN    06    147
  3.  Mark Giddings      NY    07    117
  4.  Trevor Bender      CA    03     62
  5.  Stefan Mecay       TX    02     60
  6.  Mike Mitchell      GA    05     47
  7.  Tim Miller         GA    07     40
  8.  Nicholas Pei       CA    06     38
  9.  Baron August       PA    02     36
 10.  Peter Reese        VA    04     28
 11.  Rob Winslow        NY    05     21
 12.  Dan Hoffman        NC    02     19
 13.  Hank Burkhalter    GA    02     18
 14.  Doug Whatley       MD    00     18
 15.  Tom Drueding       TX    99     18
 16.  Tom Thornsen       NY    07     16
 17.  Bill Pettus        NJ    05     16
 18.  Bob Sohn           PA    07     15
 19.  Tim Miller         GA    05     12
 20.  George Young       VT    03     12
 21.  Paul Risner        TN    02     12
 22.  Tim Hughes         UK    02     12
 23.  Taylor Golding     ON    04     12
 24.  Chris Byrd         CT    07     11
 25.  Bill Thoet         VA    03     10
 26.  Steve Bucey        OH    99      9
 27.  Chris Byrd         CT    06      8
 28.  Doug Mercer        MD    05      7
 29.  Kevin McCarthy     OH    99      6
 30.  Keith Butler       CA    03      5
 31.  Henry Russell      PA    06      4
 32.  Don Chappell       TX    05      4
 33.  John Firer         WI    01      4
 34.  Mike Welker        OH    99      3
 35.  Jon Gautier        NY    06      2

2007 Laurelists

Mark Giddings, NY
2nd

Tim Miller, GA
3rd

Tom Thornsen, NY
4th

Chris Byrd, CT
5th

Bob Sohn, NJ
6th


Past Winners

James Pei, TX
1999, 2001-2007

Trevor Bender, CA
2000


George Young and Bob Heinzmann square off in the opening round.

Nothing is quite as awe inspiring to an old wargamer as a row of wargames in tournament array.

Yawn ... Pei Again ...

Once again a strong field of 30 participants battled each other in the ninth running of the WBC For The People tournament. As always, the thought on everyone's mind was would James Pei repeat yet again?. With James' nemesis David Dockter unable to find a VTC facility in Moscow , the field saw many of the other perennial top contenders vying for the chance to unseat Pei. What is becoming a cliché in this grueling tournament, the field continues to remain numerous. Although not an event for the feint of heart, once again a new crop of strong rookies entered the fray. An example of how tough the competition was occurred when Padawan Pei (aka Nick Pei, James' younger brother), a perennial semi-finalist, went down in Round 1 to Chris Byrd who made an exceptionally strong showing this year. This year also saw the re-entry of George Young a revered CDG player who defeated Stefan Mecay (current reigning WBC internet champion) in the first round (Stefan would later return the favor when they met in the Twilight Struggle tournament). Other strong showings were seen from Tim Miller, Tom Thornsen, Doug Mercer, and Bob Sohn.

However, the man of the hour was Mark Giddings who fought brilliantly to reach the Final. Giddings is a particularly strong Union player who is perennially in the top four. Mark is one of the more adept Union players whose strategy features oversized corps defending the Northern routes to restrict Confederate invasion options. The downside of this tactic is it tends to increase the rate of Union attrition in the early game.

In the Final, the early going saw much feinting and maneuvering with Pei's South capturing Kentucky in 1861. This was followed by a Union riposte when the Union captured Columbus, Georgia after James failed to place reinforcements there after Fort Gadson fell to a Union amphibious assault on the previous turn. During the post mortem James stated that this force deep in Dixie was the situation that worried him the most during the game. However, in classic Pei fighting style he chose to defend by attacking. James put serous pressure in the East that kept the initiative and the Union desperately, but successfully, defending the North. As the battle raged the Union sent numerous naval expeditions to open up the game, but well timed ironclad builds kept the Union naval forces at bay.

The turning point came during Turn 5, when a frustrated South, unable to get their invasion rolling sought refuge in the political game. James opened Turn 5 with Dixie, taking his SW over 110. Giddings knew what this meant but had no effective response. James then got the political relief he sought when Europe, heeding the call, entered the fray with Foreign Intervention. This was a telling blow, but the Union wasn't finished yet.

In Turn 6, the Union sought to play for all the marbles when they ended with a Locomotive shortage followed by a Major Campaign. In a series of three desperate assaults Giddings sought to capture Richmond and change the course of the contest. Although well executed, the dice failed to support the effort and when the dust settled Morgan's Cavalry Brigade was the lone survivor of the onslaught. With no Union blockade and the severe losses taken by the Union from attrition, combat, and Foreign Intervention, the writing was on the wall with Mark graciously conceding.

Thanks to all for making it another great tournament. I look forward to seeing all of you next year for the tenth anniversary running of the FtP tournament.


2002 PBeM Tournament

Stefan Mecay of Texas proved the best of a field of 46 in winning the second BPA PBeM tournament of For The People. Other laurelists were:

2nd: Baron August, PA

3rd: James Pei, VA

4th: Mark Giddings, NY

5th: Tim Hughes, UK

6th: Paul Risner, FL

 GM      Mark Herman  [5th Year]   NA
    NA    NA

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