The British Open 2008

The first ever British Open Stratego tournament took place on May 3rd 2008 at "Trinity College Cambridge". The tournament was a big success and attracted players from the Netherlands, Ukraine and from Great Britain.
Britain fielded its top 4 players and a few promising new players from around the country. The day was made even more enjoyable by the stunning location of the tournament and the bright sunshine which graced the day of the tournament. The players showed a great camaraderie and the organisers would like to thank everyone who attended the event. Special thanks go to the Dutch and Ukrainian players who attended and supported us. Fun was had by all and a great day was made even more memorable as the B.S.A. formally signed it's constitution after the tournament.

The story on the board wasn't too surprising with the top 3 players before the tournament (based on their ISF ranking) finishing in the top 3 places. A good day for Anthony saw him finish overall winner with 100% wins. The favourite before the tournament (Tim Slagboom) finished in 2nd place overall. The second highest ranked player (Richard Ratcliffe) finished in 3rd place. Just behind Richard came a strong Dutch and Ukrainian contingent who finished in places 4th to 6th. In 7th place Cris Sargeant confirmed his place as Britain's #3 with a strong performance, just ahead of his closest British rival. (Matthew Ratcliffe)
This was especially satisfying for Cris, as Matthew finished above him in the National Championships and recently went marginally above Cris in the "Gravon" rankings.
The day was especially pleasing to see such close competition between the British players. Seasoned players like Cris & Matthew met tough competition from new and promising British players. There should be a few extra names on the World rankings, with wins for all all but 1 of the British players, showing the close competition among our players.

We also had some interest from the local television network, who filmed the tournament in progress and interviewed the organisers about the tournament and about the game.

Medal Positions

Gold = Anthony Melbourne (GB)

Silver = Tim Slagboom  (NL)

Bronze = Richard Ratcliffe (GB)

Final Standings

1st	Anthony Melbourne	GB	30 points
2nd	Tim Slagboom	NL	25 points
3rd	Richard Ratcliffe	GB	20 points
4th	Julian Schooljan	NL	17 points
5th	Kees de Vos	NL	17 points
6th	Mark Coenen	UA	16 points
7th	Cris Sargeant	GB	15 points
8th	Matthew Ratcliffe	GB	12 points
9th	Sean O' Connor	GB	10 points
10th	Luke Daniels	GB	10 points
11th	Jay Smith	GB	06 points
12th	Jack Sargeant	GB	01 points

Pictures from the British Open

Inside Trinity College


Cris & Kees

Two British players (Matthew & Sean) battle in a very close game.


Luke & Mark prepare to battle.


Jay wins his first game in the competition and celebrates. (Why do kids always pull faces whenever you point a camera at them?)


Anthony & Tim battle it out on table 1.


A few passersby check the notice board outside Trinity College and find Anthony Melbourne leads at the Lunch break.



They think it's all over, well actually it is for this year. All the players pose for photo's outside the venue.
(From left to right: Sean, Kees, Luke, Julian, Anthony, Mark, Richard, Jay, Jack, Cris, Matthew & Tim)





A few pictures of the tournament venue (Trinity College) before we all go for a well deserved drink.

     
Trinity College outside




   
Inside the college where we played the 2008 British Open.







           
Mark, Kees, Tim and Julian relax and chat with the British players outside a local bar.





Cris is rumbeled as Jack discovers where his Dad has been hiding his flag all these years.





Action shot of the British players signing the constitution.








        
Trinity College has so many nice buildings, here are 2 more pictures of the college from Kings Parade.