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BGonline.org Forums
Into the Fray
Posted By: Phil Simborg In Response To: Into the Fray (Bill Phipps)
Date: Tuesday, 26 June 2012, at 7:44 p.m.
While I find your basic premise and all of your points logical, Bill, if I were Stick, and I was not a cheater, I would be very fearful of taking up your challenge unless it is agreed in advance that there would be many games and matches played before the results were made public. As you know, a great deal of what determines an individual's PR in a specific match just just how difficult the positions happened to be in that match. I would expect someone with a 2.3 PR to occasionally play at 4.5. I have shown individual positions to Stick that he got wrong, even blundered...he is human just like everyone else. However, I have also shown Stick positions, live, that other Giants have completely missed and he quickly got the right play, was absolutely sure, and willing to bet on it, and he could explain why in a way that made the other Giants change their minds even before we did the rollout.
Why should Stick justify rumors and accusations by accepting your challenge? Why should he be "required" to clear his name and justify his skill?
It appears that David Wells has shown more guts (and honesty) than others who are said to have "gossiped" about Stick's PR, and whether David is right or wrong in what he says or suggests, it seems like he is in a position to make the "challenge" to Stick worthwhile and interesting.
Since nobody has ventured a more formal recommendation, what if David were to offer 2 to 1 odds on, say, $10,000 that Stick can't average under 2.7 PR in 10 live, monitored 7 point matches on XG playing ExtremeGammon level.
I would be happy to hold the money and be part of a group that monitors the matches. As additional incentive to Stick, these matches will be made available, with commentary from Stick, to anyone who wants them for a fee of, say, $50 each...with Stick getting the money. A small price to pay to see 7 famous annotated matches with comments from Stick.
But unless Stick has a major incentive to accept a challenge, and unless his challengers have some skin in the game, I think it is very unfair to ask him, or anyone, to be put under this pressure. From my point of view, if Stick took this challenge and ended up playing at 3.3, and everyone agreed, after looking at the matches, that there were a lot of extremely difficult checker and cube decisions, then at the very least, I think we would all have to agree that the test did not prove anything definitive either way.
So, David, what are you willing to bet and on what terms? Stick, what would you be willing to take to submit yourself to such a test? And by the way, if either or neither of you choose to respond, that is certainly your prerogative and says nothing about your character.
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