Well WDCXII is over and the new champ gets to write his view of it. I have written a few articles lately and it is becoming difficult to get inspiration on the format for this one but I had better write something before I can't remember it at all. It was after all about three months ago.

Wednesday

A while back someone said lets host WDC (whichever one we can get) and we all agreed to give it a go. So we put in a bid and began down a long road of successes and failures. Eventually after what seemed like forever I was finally at the venue on the Wednesday before the tournament was due to begin. At last we were here. Ken and I drove up together from Melbourne. A quick 8 hours in the car or so. We checked into our room and decided to play a game of tennis. The weather was kind to us and we had a great game. Ken lost.   A good start you might say.

Thursday

The next day we began to put things together. Finalizing things with Rydge's, setting up tables, PC's, tourist information packs, etc. Before long it was time for a game and when Edi Birsan arrived it seemed appropriate that Edi and I should take to the archery field. Again lovely weather and it was nice to be out in the sun foot loose and fancy free. Another great game. Edi Lost.   A pattern for the weekend was beginning to emerge. So as Thursday drew to a close it was now a matter of hours rather than days before WDC XII was under way and it was time to celebrate the fact that everything had finally come together. Everything was in place and my job as organiser was pretty much over. It was now up to Ken to Direct the tournament and to ensure that the games were played in the spirit intended. Ken did a fantastic job. He got roped into it a bit but once he committed to do the job he didn't take a backward step. His hard work and time may have gone unnoticed by some but not by me. I think it is fair to say that Ken was the Champion of the tournament. All hail Ken!

As I said my job was pretty much done and everything was set up and so it was time to have a beer. I did want to do well at the tournament and I did want to walk away the champ but I have to admit by this point all I wanted to do was sit back and have a beer. It is very stressful worrying about all of the details of such a tournament. So as always one beer turns into two and three and so on.

Friday, Round One

Of course Ken loves to torture me and it is early morning when he awakes as he always does and decides to go for his morning walk. A very healthy habit that I wish I could do more often. I tend to be led around by Ken though as I try not to throw up from the night before. We trudge off for some breakfast (complimentary with the room deal we secured). Bacon, eggs, tomatoes, toast, OJ, coffee, tea and so on. A truly magnificent breakfast. I forced as much of this into me as I could stomach. All I wanted to do was throw up. Before a tournament and during them I usually don't eat that much. I guess it is nerves. I don't know why but the human body can really turn on itself at a dip tournament. The round begins and due to the fact that the numbers are not perfectly divisible by seven I sit out the round. I wandered around watching the day unfold and chatting with Ken and others who were also not playing and studied a game that I thought had some pretty big names on it. I did write up an article on the game and it came with photos and everything as I had my digital camera with me. It was in the DAANZ (Diplomacy Association of Australia and New Zealand) rag but it is quite lengthy and I don't know where it is on the web if anywhere. They were a very decent bunch of players and I was especially impressed with Cyrille Sevin's play but then again I new I would be. Craig Sedgwick topped the board with 14 as Austria. Geoff Baker, Greg Evans, Frank Meerbach, Cyrille Sevin, Rohan Keane and Edi Birsan got to keep what Craig couldn't take. Needless to say this didn't leave much for the rest of them. By the end of the round Craig was in equal first place. He was sharing the lead with Manus who got a 14 centre Russia and Geoff Kerr who finished with a 14 centre England. So it was time for some beer and playing of various board games other than Diplomacy.

Saturday, Round Two

If I thought I was crook the day before I was wrong. I felt like hell and probably looked and smelt like it too. Not a great way to start the day. Of course Ken would have asked me to go for a walk but I doubt I went with him. Breakfast is done and Ken calls out the names. I am on the board Broadford and am playing Russia, Edi Birsan was Austria, Andrew Cheevers was England, Larry Peery was France, Stephen Muzzati was Germany, Yann Clouet was Italy and Griff Young was Turkey. I was in no fit state to play but this doesn't usually matter too much as once the game gets going I tend to forget the throbbing in my head and so on. I should have been re-hydrating but the thought of food and water was too much to bear. By 1903 Griff's Turkey was but a fleeting memory and in 1906 Larry's France followed. My only hope had been to make it for a stalemate line. I tried to get my last man into the middle of the board hoping that both sides would keep him alive. For a couple of turns all I did was study the board write a useless order and then go and lie down in the corner. It was of course my own fault. I brought the hangover on myself and do not expect the readers sympathy still I thought I should tell you the way I remember it. My strategy of survival did not work out and in 1907 I was eliminated. They played on for a further two years before calling a draw but I was not up to it and so do not have clear memory of things. I thought this would be a good time to get some rest and try and recover before the afternoon round began and so I headed off to bed.

It wasn't long before Ken and Craig arrived. They looked at me and had a bloody good laugh. I wasn't recovering at all and when Ken jumped on the bed and asked me if I was OK I didn't get to answer him. I ran for the toilet and threw my guts up. At last some form of relief. I then stood tall looked Ken and Craig in the eyes and said "I'm back" and for a moment I almost believed it. I couldn't go on and proceeded to throw up again and again.

Saturday, Round Three

I was too ill to go on and didn't play in round three (fortunately for me the numbers still didn't divide into seven) and so I would have to finish off the tournament a bit stronger than I had started. By the half way mark of the tournament I would have been very close to last. Having played only one game and getting eliminated it wasn't looking good. Still I had three games to go though and a few players only had one left and so I certainly didn't think I was out of it. Sunday would be a new day and I went into recovery mode now and let the body have some form of rest. I was thinking I should have stuck to Tennis and Archery though.

Sunday, Round Four

You know the drill. Walk. Breakfast. Feel ill. Draw the boards. So I sit down to play Italy. The board was called Woomargama and the players were....... Christian Gemballa Moura as Austria, Brendan Whyte as France, Guillaume Vuillin as England, Brian Sheldon as Germany, Greg Evans as Russia and Grant Steel as Turkey ( Just a bit of trivia for you all here. The boards were named by Ken. The game name are the names of suburbs of Melbourne and country towns you must pass through if you drive from my place in East Doncaster to the venue in Canberra). As Italy it can be difficult to come up with a winning strategy. I do enjoy playing Italy though as you have to negotiate with everyone and with some luck it isn't impossible to get a win. Sometimes it just isn't possible to get a big score with this country but this doesn't mean you won't have had a great game. This game went until 1910 and it wasn't until 1908 before the first player got eliminated. It was Austria (Christian) and it was two years later when France (Brendan) was eliminated. After this the big guys on the board didn't see a reason to go on and the little guys just wanted out. At least that was what I thought. I wasn't big but I did want out. A draw with 5 units in round 4 and I was on the board at last. Guillaume picked up 13 and had three good games out of the four rounds. He had a poor round one though and would now have to sit in the leaders box and watch the field come in. Grant finished with 15 points to put himself into a position to go for the tournament win as well but like Guillaume he had had a bad round one and would have to finish very strongly to win.

Sunday, Round Five

It makes for a long day when you play two rounds in the one day but it is the same for everyone who did it so you just have to suck it in and get stuck into it. After all we only play this game every couple of months and why not pack as much into one long weekend as you can? I had finally recovered by now (as much as one can at a tournament). Awake at last and ready for anything. The beer nearly completely out of the system and the shakes had gone away. Surely it would be a Western power with a couple of amateurs around me. I was in the mood for something a little easier than working my arse off just to survive with five units. The Draw comes out and I am Turkey. O'Well! At least it was in a corner and I had a better chance to defend if and when the attacks came [I think it is time I let you all know everyone wants me dead first in this hobby. I am not being paranoid this is a fact. Ask anyone. That's right they even want me dead more than you. Your the one being paranoid over nothing ;-)]. The game was named Coolac after a small little town in New South Wales and the players were........Shane Cubis as Austria, Sean Phelan as England, Rohan Keane as France, Geoff Kerr as Germany, David Norman as Russia, and Ian Moes as Italy.

Although I didn't know it at the time Shane Cubis had had two good games in rounds one and two and was well and truly in the running. He has copped a lot of flack from people as a result of what happened in this game but few people stop to think of the consequences for Shane. He gambled and went with me in an alliance. If the gamble had paid off he may very well have won WDCXII. It took great courage and he played very skilfully but in the end I knifed him. He was very unlucky that my first two games had been so poor as this meant I needed an 18 centre victory if I was going to have any chance of winning WDCXII. The final result was an 18 centre victory for me that pretty much knocked Shane and everyone else on the board out of the tournament but it is not his fault alone. Geoff Kerr as the German opened into the Baltic and Prussia. From spring 1901 he advertised a huge EFG (with some help from various tacticians explaining it to the whole board) that I as Turkey was able to exploit. When the Germans move like this, the English leave them alone and head off North and the French start off towards the Italians in 1901 it doesn't make it hard for the Turks to get the AIR looking elsewhere (truth be known I didn't have to convince them at all. As I said a few choice words from astute tacticians did the job for me). From 1901 I am just looking for the next build and the next and so on. Biding my time.

Trying to break out of the corner and position my men for more centres is a difficult thing to do. It is a game of balance and took a lot of diplomacy to be allowed to move my men forward while everyone else's fought the EFG. For a couple of seasons in a row I moved through Shane's centres in the Spring and out in the Fall and I was not interested in taking them off him unless it meant 18 (I was of course ready to take them if the need arose). I was taking my time and positioning myself if and only if the chance came. Unbelievably it did. Rohan Keane as the French should have known better and tried a lot harder to stop me but I guess he couldn't or didn't want to. Maybe he just didn't see it. Maybe he had been just as stuffed as me earlier and was off his game. As one of the most experienced on the board it may have been up to him to form the line against me but unfortunately for him and Sean Phelan as England they just weren't up to it. I guess when you just don't have the trust for most of the game with someone it is hard to believe them just when things are starting to look good for you. Perhaps more time studying my men than looking at their own would have been a better idea. Needless to say when the other five players still in the game at the end couldn't settle their differences and work together there was nothing that could be done.

I stabbed Shane and completely mucked it up. Only one or two of my men went where I wanted them and I think two of them bounced each other out of a province. I couldn't believe I had done it. I had agonised as to whether or not the 18 was there and stuffed it up. I rushed it and didn't check my orders properly and got beaten by the deadline. Still there was hope after the blunder. If I could talk Shane into not falling back I would have an even better jump on him. Shane saw that I had mucked it up too. He and I discussed it and I agreed to pull out. I can't say for sure why he did it but the reality of it was that he was the only one who really looked like doing anything to stop it. I guess a few years of walking in and out of his centres had paid off as he now hoped I would do it again. Both the Russians and Italians by now were working with me with their last man or two just hoping I would let them live. Neither of them had been given any reason to help the others out so they just didn't bother. I convinced Shane I would leave. I would give him back the two centres I was about to take (I stabbed in the spring turn and so hadn't taken anything yet) and we would call it a draw if we couldn't get anything else off the others. Of course when I studied the board properly I realised it was now or never. If Shane did believe me I could really hit him. So I did. My men spread out like tentacles going in every direction and capturing as much as I could. The plan was to completely hobble Shane so that he couldn't hit back and then somehow try and hold onto the gains. Shane lost 5 units that turn. I built 3 and started the long march to the front lines. It was now a race. Could I hold onto the centres on the other side of the stalemate line with the limited number of men I actually had up against the French, Austrian, Italian and Russians? The answer was eventually yes. Only just though and only because they didn't work together. My men were all over the place but the organised resistance just wasn't there. It worked to my favour that there was still so many people left in the game. I could write my orders quickly and then continue to keep the others arguing and distracted. I told a few of them that the 18 was there and they couldn't stop it and I think one or two may have just given up without even checking for themselves. So round five ended and with an 18 I was back in the tournament with a round to go. To think I was going to go back to Tennis and Archery.

Monday, Round Six

Same old stuff. Churning stomach. Tough to hold breakfast down. I didn't study the tournament scoring system to the letter and I never do. I knew I was certainly in it though with an 18 but I wasn't sure of other peoples results just more concerned about my own. When the board was drawn and the discussions started it was obvious this board had some leaders on it (everyone was saying Dom and I were leading but I never truly believe this stuff at the time and I don't waste my time trying to work out everyone's scores exactly) and it was going to be tough to say the least. The game was called Yass and the players were Rob Stephenson as Austria, Sean Colman as England, Rob Schone as France, Tony Collins as Germany, Dominic Stephens as Italy, Vincent Carry as Russia and Philippe Clavaud as Turkey. That's right first and second in the tournament playing Italy and Austria. I nearly died when I picked out Austria as I had now been on the Eastern side of the board in every game and worst still Dom was next to me as Italy. How the hell were we ever going to work this out? We both knew we could win if we knocked the other one out and had a good survival. How good a survival was another thing? This was to be one of the most precarious games of Dip I have ever played. Rob Schone's other three rounds had also been very good but how good. There was also a bit of scuttlebutt about Tony's results as well who eventually finished in 15th. Add to the fact that there were five other boards being played at the same time I was happy to call a draw right then and there and see if anyone could catch Dom and me. Alas this didn't happen and never was going to but one can hope.

When the game began Dom and I had some very serious issues to talk about. Unfortunately for us the other five were probably talking about those very same issues. Normally you can come up with something that keeps both players happy during negotiations but in this case ( probably first and second at the moment in WDCXII ) it was tough. Not to mention tough to sell when I did come up with an idea. I asked Dom if we could just forget about the scores and play this game as allies. If we fought from the outset trying to get the jump on each other in an effort to win the tournament we were both going to be dead. He agreed and we decided that if we stuck together we could try and both get a decent score and finish first and second.

The basis of my negotiations for the whole of the game was to play the game as though the scores didn't matter and hope that all of the other players would too. I don't know who was in the lead at the time and I can't remember whether we thought it was Dom or me or someone else altogether. I would rather second though than just shoot myself in the foot in the last round by doing something stupid. Maybe when the video of WDCXII is finished by Craig Brown and Melissa Gowen we will see some of the last round negotiations on it. Until then you will just have to take this as the truth according to my old tired brain.

The game began and France and Germany went after England. This was good that they weren't coming straight for me and Dom in 1901 and I hoped that with a bit of time some trust might be built up between us. Of course I also wanted Turkey and France attacking Dom as I decided that I couldn't really trust him. I did not want to upset the Russians or Turks at all as I figured I was going to struggle to find friends. Everything was based on picking up a couple of builds and hoping to survive. I was just going to have to let the cards fall and see where they land. I felt I had to outlast Dom and not do anything hasty like attack him or anyone else for that matter. I needed to find an ally.

It wasn't enough that Tony wasn't attacking me as once the English were gone what else was he going to do. Hoping against hope that Vincent and Philippe could find some honour in the way I had played the game and then that they would allow me to survive as a result was the plan in a nutshell. When the Germans and French inevitably turned there attention East I would hold the line and rely on the kindness of Vincent and Philippe. All I wanted was for someone to want to help. Just one ally isn't a lot to ask is it? It's a huge turn around in games from the day before when all I wanted to do was attack and take it all but now was about survival. My hunch was right about Dom and it wasn't to long before he attacked me. I wasn't surprised but I was disappointed as I thought it may have been the end of both of us. I knew we were both in deep trouble now.

Tony and Rob Schone would finish off Sean in England soon and then their attention would turn towards the East. I couldn't work with Dom. That only left me with Vincent and Philippe. I didn't know how these two Frenchmen would play the game but I decided very early in the piece to ally with the Turk as Austria. I figured he would be my salvation or my downfall. The very same alliance that Shane had tried with me in Round five the day before that had brought about his destruction was now my only hope. I didn't have to speak to Philippe much at all about what I hoped to achieve. He agreed to work with me (as any sane Turk does when negotiating with a floundering Austrian). I told him my game was based on doing what I thought was right with regards to playing the game as though it was separate from the tournament. I wasn't prepared to let the current placings effect the way the game was to be played as this was not playing diplomacy properly but rather it was playing the tournament. Philippe played conservatively and fairly to both Dom and me. He sat back and watched to see what we did and when Dom attacked me it was the best thing that could have happened. I didn't know it at the time but Philippe told me after the game he was going to play without trying to affect the result of the tournament. He had the chance to attack me and pick up a centre or two when I did stop to hold the line but because I had done what I told him I would and because I hadn't done anything silly he was more than happy to let me live. I have to admit I was a bit surprised by the way Philippe had played but I had no idea what his motivation would be. I guess I was mostly surprised because of the fact that he told me the truth all through the game and stuck to his word when push came to shove. From the day before when I got the 18 people were blaming Shane for letting me into the tournament but I can tell you right now that if Philippe had felt like it he might have stopped me winning in the last round. If he had attacked there was every chance I was gone.

No one got eliminated in our game. A seven way draw was called for seven different reasons in 1905. Although I don't know what those reasons were I will make a few guesses as to what they might have been. I suspect Sean and Vincent called it so that they could survive (they were both on 2 centres). I guess Dom having failed to take me out and seeing nothing more but destruction just wanted out as well ( he also was on 2 centres but a valuable 4 points and so cut his losses). I suspect Tony agreed because he was on 9 centres and in his very first tournament was just pleased to get out with that. His ally Rob Schone I can only guess about as well. More experienced than Tony and with more to gain I would have thought he would play on but he agreed to end on a draw with 8 centres under his wing. He finished in equal 8th place in the tournament and may have also been worried that his 8 might fall apart. Who knows? As for Philippe. As I said earlier I believe he didn't want to affect the outcome of WDCXII by taking advantage of the position he was in as a result of the countries the players had drawn in the game. For me I just wanted out. I could see the French and Germans coming from one side while the Turk came from the other and so WDCXII ended for the seven of us mostly as a result of fear. Basically we had managed to get ourselves into a stalemate position that only the Turk could muck up and expect to gain. The Italians and Russians could have thrown their own centres away or Philippe could have set up and taken two off me in another turn. There was nothing I could do about it if Philippe wanted to do it. I guess it was lucky for all of us that it wasn't a T,F,G alliance but then again how often do you see that one.

There was nothing left to do. People wandered from board to board counting centres and points. Coming up to me every so often and telling me things like "Yann is on 6 now and with two 11's and a 16 he is about 4 behind you. Have you seen Grant Steels game? He is England and is flying and what about Craig Sedgwick he is rolling across the board as Italy" and so on. Manus was also doing well but like Tiger Woods I was in the club house. Sitting there waiting to see if someone could finish stronger and win. My score was on the board but unlike Tiger I didn't know exactly what my score was nor did I know anyone else's. It was a long wait sitting there waiting for the results of the other games. I suppose that is the down side of drawing in 1905. Eventually I think it was Manus who came up and said "Congratulations you have got it won now" but I still didn't believe him.

Conclusion

We now know that Andrew Goff and Jason Whitby had finished on one centre each and had failed to finish strong and finished in equal eleventh. Guillaume had been waiting since round four ended and finished up being passed by five of us to come sixth. Grant Steel obviously came home strong to finish with 14 points and to come second by just 3 points. Craig Sedgwick also finished strong but he was in the same game as Grant and so with the two of them splitting the points it meant Craig would come in fifth. Yann was left with 8 points and unable to get more coming in third. Manus also finishing with 8 points to come in equal sixth with Guillaume. Rob Schone who had agreed to the 1905 draw in my game finished with 10 points to come equal eighth with Rohan Flavelle who had finished with 12 points. Looking back now Rob may have missed a chance. He certainly could have pushed for more but probably would have only got two more in England and finished outright seventh. Still it is a funny game and if you don't take risks sometimes you just miss out.

I like Ken Sproat very much and love to chat with him and have a beer with the guy and I can tell you that he is one of the nicest guys in the hobby if not the nicest. A terribly funny man and a damn good mate. Over many years I have jided and joked with him. Had serious discussions about life, the universe and everything but I have to admit I was very interested in what he was going to say next probably more so than I had been for a while. I imagine Grant was hanging on his every word as well after Ken told us all that Yann Clouet was third. That only left Grant Steel and myself for first and second. I was still expecting to hear my name as second but when he said Grant's I still couldn't really believe it. That's about it. I was sitting there with the video crew off to my right and although I am a fireman and have been in the odd hotspot boy did that camera burn a hole in the side of my head. I can't wait to see the video when it is finished to see if I did react at all. I don't remember shouting out or jumping for joy it was more of a stunned feeling I guess.

So a quick speech and it was time to pack everything up. There is no doubt that I won. It is on the net for all to see but I can tell you it was not a walk in the park. I struggled in three games to score and had one outstanding game. There were plenty of good players there and some outstanding efforts by many old hands but it was the newer players who impressed me. Some of them are newer than others but these guys all showed a potential to learn and adapt. Many taking full advantage of their chances. Not the least of which was Grant Steel coming second in only his second ever tournament. I could tell you the stats of some of the others but I will just mention their names for you. Watch out for the following names at your next tournament. Dominic Stephens, Rob Schone, Greg Evans, Tony Collins, Shane Cubis, Brian Sheldon, Chad Nimmagadda and Mark Withnell. Some of these guys showed some dangerous skills that I don't want to be on the wrong side of. Some very good results between the lot of them. Any one of them could have wound up winning with just that ounce of luck.

Steve Gould came up to me and had a quick chat while I was packing the car. Back in 1992 he won WDCIII. A very nice bloke who I have known for some time now and a very capable player. It was good to see him again and he had had a very interesting journey from South Australia just to attend (but that is another story). He told me it was a strange feeling winning back in 1992 and that it took some time to "sink in". I hope it doesn't take too much longer to sink in. The trophy is on the shelf just above this PC and it is the first time I have looked at it in a while. It reminds me of good friends and a great week in Canberra. I hope for all of you out there that your memories of Canberra and WDCXII are just as fond. Until we meet again. If you allied with me. Thanks. If you attacked me. May your chooks turn into emus and kick your dunny down.
 

Your Pal,
Rob Stephenson
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