axis & allies [Updated August 2001]

A&A   6 prizes Experienced Swiss Continuous 
   10  Round 2 15  Round 3 20  
  Round 4 9  Round 5 14  Round 6 19  
  

  Valley

Patrick Mirk. FL

2001 Champion

2nd: Joe Powell, VA

3rd: Kevin Keller, MD

4th: Alfred Wong, IL

5th: Joe Collinson, MD

6th: David Huss, Sayville, NY
Event History
1991    None      -
1992    None      -
1993    None      -
1994    None      -
1995    None      -
1996    None      -
1997    None      -
1998    None      -
1999    Kevin Keller     43
2000    Tim Rothenhoefer     43
2001    Patrick Mirk     41

AREA Ratings:

GM: John Sharp

One Top-Six GM Nomination

six rounds of swiss action

Following the same format as the 2000 A&A tournament, 2001 saw two of last year's top players face each other in the top of the first round: Kevin Keller (1999 champ) and John Sharp III (4th in 2000) played to an Allied win in five turns, leaving Kevin the top dog for the upcoming rounds. Defending champion Tim Rothenhoefer, and last year's 3rd place finisher Phil Rollins, didn't enter this year.

Other strong contenders matched in the initial round: Keith Levy and Bill O'Neal, Joe Powell and Alfred Wong (5th in 2000), Dave Ketchum and VITP GM Glenn Petroski, and Matt Daly and Eric Hill.

Bids were generally higher this year. Overall, the average was 14.75, with bids generally rising throughout the tournament.

There were 69 games played, with 41 Allied wins and 28 Axis wins (59.42% vs 40.58%).  It appears that for a second year, bids were not high enough to give the Axis an even chance.

On the other hand, this year's champion, Pat Mirk from Tampa, Florida, won six (6) times as the Axis! Taking the (believed) disadvantaged side each round with bids of 12, 15, 14, 17, 15 &18, Pat swept the Allies aside to claim an undefeated 6-0 championship with 76 tournament points. Pat receives the coveted Rommel/Yamamoto Award for exceptional Axis play.

In second place with a 5-1 record, Joseph Powell of Manassas, Virginia, lost his first round as the Axis, but then cleaned up as the Allies in the remaining five rounds. His streak earned 64 tournament points and the cherished Patton/Montgomery/Zhukov Award for exceptional Allied play.

Third place went to last year's runner-up Kevin Keller, the top AREA rated player in Axis & Allies. Top-seeded Kevin faced a tough schedule, ending up with 53 tournament points to match his 4-2 record.

Alfred Wong took fourth place with 52 tournament points and a 4-2 record. Alfred handed Joe Powell his only loss and worked through his schedule as the Allies in every match.

Fifth place went to Joe Collinson, with 49 tournament points and a 4-2 record. Joe played mostly Axis (three wins) to capture fifth place.

David Huss grabbed sixth place with a 4-2 record and 47 tournament points. Dave posted three Allied wins and one Axis win in his matches.

Players had a variety of experiences in this year's play. This note from one of Joe Collinson's games caught my eye:

"Moscow attacked by five German aircraft; four shot down by AA. 13 of first 14 Allied rolls were hits. Germany took Brazil, Panama, West Indies and West USA!"

You never know what you will experience!

Overall, players faced a higher level of play this year. Returning players from last year's competition had honed their skills, while new ideas were brought to the playing boards by fresh competitors new to the event.

Tournament scoring on a laptop this year helped get matches underway quickly. Gone were the long waits while the GM slowly calculated each player's scores each turn. Next year, expect improvements in format, scoring, instructions, clarifications and awards.

 GM      John Sharp  [2nd Year]   4701 Hamlets Grove Dr, Sarasota, FL 34235  
    aefajohn@gte.net   NA

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