The British Open 2008The
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. All in All a great day for British Stratego and a memorable day for so many good reasons.
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 OpenInside Trinity College  Cris & Kees Cris & Kees talk about their game with Julian Schooljan
 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.
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