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WORLD
THE BATTALION
11A
Thursday, October 23, 2003
By Stevenson Jacobs
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KINGSTON, Jamaica —
Brian Baylie, a mild-mannered
exterminator by day, becomes a
cutthroat domino player by
, clacking pieces together
on bar room tables and intimi
dating opponents.
From the beaches of
Barbados to the cafes of Cuba,
dominoes long have been a
favorite pastime in the
Caribbean. Now, more than 500
of the world’s best players are
converging on Jamaica for the
Championship of
Dominoes.
“Jamaicans take dominoes
very seriously,” said Baylie, 38,
who challenges his computer
when he cannot find opponents
on the streets of Jamaica. “It’s is
an accepted part of life here.”
The three-day tournament
beginning Thursday at the Ocho
Rios resort will have players
from a dozen Caribbean coun
tries, the United States, Britain
Mexico squaring off for
more than $150,000 in cash and
prizes.
Dominoes was invented by
the Chinese in 1120 A.D., using
carved from ivory or bone
inset ebony pips. It did not
reach Europe until the early
century, when it appeared
in Italy, France and England
before spreading from taverns
and pubs to the far-flung British
colonies in the Caribbean.
According to the Internet site
worlddomino.com the oldest
domino set was found in
the tomb of Tutankhamun, king
of ancient Egypt about 1355
B,C. Modern leaders also have
been aficionados, the site says,
including President Lyndon B.
Playing it ‘straight’ for $25,000
The world's best domino players gathered in Jamaica to compete
in the 2003 World Championship of Dominoes. The two-person
teams will play the game of straight dominoes against a field of
more than 500 others for the chance to win $25,000.
Straight ## y
dominoes #
• •
Start the game <
Each player starts \
with seven
dominoes. A double
six piece must be
posted by one of the
players to begin the
game. Play then rotates
counterclockwise.
Playing straight
The next player puts a
matching piece to the longer
side of the double six piece;
other dominoes are played "in
line" Doubles are placed at right -
angles to the line of pieces.
SOURCES: 2003 WoM Championship Domino
tournament rules; Associated Press
The winner
The first team to play all of
their dominoes wins. Or if
there are no more
legitimate plays available,
the team with the fewest
total number of dots on their
remaining dominoes wins.
i
Breaking the code
Tournament officials
• will be watching
• closely for players
*' "coding” or using
# prearranged
a gestures to
i communicate
with each other.
The game has been eulogized
fflpoems and stories, including
Puerto Rican poet Jack
Agueros’ “Dominoes & Other
Stories” and U.S.-Dominican
writer Elvys Ruiz’s collection of
plays titled “Coffee
and Dominoes.”
“I like it because it’s a brain
game, a mental challenge,” said
Buxton Rankin, 56, one of about
50 players hunched over felt-
lined tables at a Kingston
nightspot, preparing for the
championship.
First place is worth $25,000,
second $12,500 and third
$7,500.
In straight dominoes, the
game most common in the
Caribbean, a pair of two-player
teams take turns trying to match
the number of dots on their
pieces with those on the table.
The first team to get rid of all its
pieces wins.
Like any game, dominoes
also has its share of cheaters.
Championship judges and sur
veillance cameras will watch
players to guard against illegal
“coding,” a prearranged system
of gestures — like coughing or
scratching one’s head — used
by partners to communicate
strategy or indicate which
pieces they hold.
Last year, officials banned
two Jamaican players for life
after they were caught using
sandpaper to mark pieces to see
which ones remained.
SENIORS
vant vour portrdit
e Aggieland Yearbook.
ation portraits for the
ggieland Yearbook will In
Monday, Oct. 13,throu
Oct. 24, 2003, in Room
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5 p.m. There is no sittinj
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yearbook. To insure
Photographed you sb
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seeing the photogra-
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Texas A&M University Yearbook
Di’s brother discounts conspiracy theory
By Sue Leeman
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON — The year before Princess Diana
died, she was alienated from her brother, Earl
Spencer, and he wrote to her saying she had mental
problems and was manipulative and deceitful, a
newspaper reported Wednesday.
Spencer, speaking on NBC’s “Today” show,
said the letter, published in excerpts from a new
book, was being seen out of context and that he
“adored Diana.”
Worldwide television audiences watched him in
September 1997 give a funeral oration about his sis
ter, in which he spoke of their closeness as children,
honored her memory and appeared to make a veiled
criticism of the royal family.
He also said Wednesday that he did not
believe her fatal 1997 car crash was planned,
despite a letter, published in the same book, in
which Diana said she feared someone would
tamper with her car’s brakes.
Both letters are from “A Royal Duty,” a forth
coming book by Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell,
which is being excerpted in the Daily Mirror news
paper.
Spencer told NBC he hadn’t seen the letters but
had heard from handwriting experts that published
sections appeared to have been written by Diana.
The princess’s companion Dodi Fayed also was
killed in the crash; his father, Mohammed al Fayed,
has never accepted the French verdict that driver
Henri Paul’s use of drugs and alcohol, and the car’s
high speed, caused the accident. Paul also was
killed. Al Fayed says the deaths were intentional.
“My family and I are absolutely certain that
we’ve never seen any evidence of that whatsoev
er,” Spencer said, speaking to NBC from Toronto.
As for Diana’s fears, he said, “I do think it’s just
a horrible coincidence, rather than actually tied in
with reality.”
Asked if Diana’s fears were justified, Spencer
said she had spoken to him about being eaves
dropped on and having her private quarters bugged.
“I think paranoid’s a very strong word but I think
using it in the common way meaning very, very con
cerned about yourself, yes, she was at times,”
Spencer said.
Some players
liken the game to
poker as they try
to gauge oppo
nents’ moves.
“Dominoes in
Jamaica is syn
onymous to base
ball in America,”
said Chris Blake,
general secretary
of the National
Association of
Domino Bodies,
which regulates
the game on the
island of 2.6 mil
lion people. “It’s
second nature to
us.”
On Jamaican
streets, the style of
AP play is loud.
Players thump
domino pieces, or “bones,” on
wooden tables to intimidate
opponents and erupt in joy after
a winning hand. Insults — and
the occasional fist — fly in heat
ed games.
Matches continue for hours
at night, to the chagrin of spous
es and family members.
The game, while known for
cutting across class and race,
traditionally has been dominat
ed by men. However, more
women are joining clubs, enter
ing tournaments — and even
winning.
“Once the guys realize you
can play and aren’t a pushover,
then they respect you,” said
Ann-Marie Benjamin, 38, of
Jamaica.
It’s all part of efforts to bring
uniformity and discipline to the
game, said Ruddy Schaaffe, the
Miami-based chairman of the
World Championship of
Dominoes.
And the ultimate goal?
“We’d like to see dominoes
become an Olympic event,”
Schaaffe said. “It has a long
way to go, but the light in the
tunnel is getting brighter and
brighter.”
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