Editorial
It's been good weather for billiards this last day or two, cold, wet, the billiards room taking precedence over the garden. It has been a good and an interesting season. There are developments which indicate that next season will be just as interesting with plenty going on to contribute to the billiards revival. The next issue of the B.Q.R. (October) will be the last of the present series. The magazine will continue on a quarterly basis (January '92) and I hope that readers will see fit to renew their subscriptions. In the meantime - a good Summer.
Martin Goodwill
There had been some doubt as to whether or not Martin would be able to defend his English Amateur Title. If the Gulf War had lasted but a little longer then it would not have been possible. Martin retained his title in fine style after only a short period of intensive practice. For good measure he also won the C.I.U. championship beating the veteran Alf Nolan by 995 - 472. Congratulations then to Martin Goodwill, English Amateur Champion 1991/92.
Des Heald
Congratulation are in order (At least I think they are!) to Des on his election to the Billiards Committee of the WPBSA. Congratulations Des also on your getting through to the last 16 players for the World Professional Championship.
Mini-Prix
Mentioning Des reminds me of the Mini-Prix. Des says there are likely to be some changes next season but as yet these have not been fully worked out. B.Q.R. will publish details in the next issue though by then players should know of any changes - if indeed there are any.
Amateurs Only
Thanks to an initiative of Derek Townend there will be some tournaments for Amateurs only. The format will be the popular one-hour games with a half-hour plate. Entries will be taken on the day and play will start promptly at 11.00.a.m. Entries will close at 10.45.a.m and anyone arriving later will be allowed entry only to the plate. The first of these will be held at the Morley Snooker Centre, Bruntcliffe Lane, Morley, Leeds on June 23rd. Entry will be £12. There is a guaranteed £250 prize money and further minor prizes will depend on the entry. It is probable that this edition of the B.Q.R. will not reach readers until after the date of this first, "Amateurs Only." Details of future tournaments may be had from Derek Townend on 0423- 509280 (Evenings.)
Professional Events
The World Professional Championship, scheduled for Delhi on May 13th - 18th, was postponed because of fears of civil unrest during the period of the Indian elections. Subsequent events proved to be profoundly more tragic than anyone had anticipated. The new date for the Championship is July 25th - 29th. The first leg of the Radiant Grand Slam scheduled for Bangalore in June has now been put back to late in the year - probably October. There is a straw in the wind concerning another tournament in Russia. The last one was a great success. Negotiations are at a very early stage for a tournament towards the end of the year, again possibly October.
Ken Shirley and Maurice Butler
The 1986 English Amateur Champion, Ken Shirley, had to withdraw from the Midlands Championship which was lucky for the rest of the competitors as he was playing some pretty good billiards. Ken has had some health problems this last two or three years and was called to hospital for an operation which should ameliorate the condition. Mr. Butler also withdrew from the Midlands after suffering a stroke. B.Q.R. wishes both these gentlemen a speedy recovery.
Russell and the Thousand
Mike Russell has made a thousand break - 1036. It was made whilst playing Jack Karnehm in a private exhibition game. Karnehm told me that it was the best top-of-the-table thousand break he had ever seen; according to Jack, not Lindrum, not Davis, not Newman, ever made a better break. It seems that after only a dozen or so points Mike gathered the balls into position for his preferred floating-white sequence. He then reached the thousand without going to hand and to quote J.K., "the object white never moved more than three or four inches throughout the whole break." We can well believe it. I have myself seen Russell score breaks of two or three hundred where his touch was such that the object white hardly moved at all. I asked Russell what he broke down at but he said he was so excited at the time that he couldn't remember. It would not surprise me to see a thousand break in the Professional Championship from either Russell or Sethi. And talking of Indian players, yet another one of them is hitting the 600 mark. Subhash Agarwal had a 620, which is reported to have taken only 32 minutes, in beating Devendra Joshi to take the Indian Amateur Championship.
Chalking up
Talking of thousand breaks, how many times would a player chalk his tip in such a break? How many times do you chalk your tip in a fifty break, or a twenty break? Snooker players will chalk up between every shot though at the top level this is more a nervous habit than a necessity. My attention was drawn to the matter by Harrogate Professional Steve Hardcastle whilst watching Geet Sethi at Sheffield. Steve had become fascinated by how often Geet used chalk - which was not very often. He said that during the break we were watching, Sethi had played 40 shots without chalking. Later Steve counted a run of 140 points between chalks. Virtually all of these points were at the spot-end and included lots of slow screw pots and a few deep screws. Jack Karnehm commented that this demonstrated perfect plain ball striking, and yet how often do we read that the tip must always be chalked before any screw stroke. All this led me to observe other players in this connection. Lo and behold we find that Mike Russell is not much of a chalker either, nor is Norman Dagley. It was very clear that those players who are rather more concerned with snooker, for example Ian Williamson or Peter Gilchrist, chalked up far more than the purely billiard players. You pays your money and you takes your choice.
Signs of the Times
It seems that the London and Home Counties Billiards and Snooker Association (L.H.C.) may be wound up. There is to be a meeting in late June to discuss the proposed dissolution of the Association. The reasons lie in lack of support. The Huddersfield Billiards and Snooker Association's end-of-season, "Finals Week," has, for many years, included an evening's exhibition/entertainment by a leading snooker player. This year's arrangements had to be cancelled also because of lack of support. In my travels up and down the country I hear many tales of woe from, "he Trade. "he owner of the local club where I sometimes have a game, has decided to close during the daytime due to lack of any business. Has snooker been over exposed? is the "Boom," over? Readers' comments please.