The Weekly Weasel — Week of April 6

Hey, CODCon is this weekend, and here’s what’s going on with the Weasels.

Supersizing CODCon
Over the eight previous CODCon Open Diplomacy tournaments, we’ve averaged a total of exactly seven boards per year. This year’s installment is this weekend, and we have a legitimate chance to match that number or top it on Saturday alone.

As of right now, we have 28 people on the list of confirmed attendees. That number includes ex-pat Aash Anand, who’s flying in from Denver; Eric and Danny Grinnel, who are driving up from Kentucky; and Ben Johnson and Zach Moore, who are driving down from Wisconsin or Minnesota, I’m not really sure where. Ben lived in Madison, I think, when he attended CODCon the first time in 2013. But I’m pretty sure he’s in Minnesota now. Maybe.

Anyway, those five travelers are on the list, as is our Prime Weasel, Nate Cockerill, who will be driving in from Ohio. How about that? (And talk about burying the lead.) We haven’t seen Nate since June. He was diagnosed with cancer last fall and has been battling it as fiercely as he ever battled us. He recently received some encouraging news, and he’ll make the trip to CODCon to stab and be stabbed with the club he called home the previous four years. His appearance at CODCon is another homecoming of sorts — the first time Nate played in the Chicago hobby was at the 2009 CODCon Open. Look at me. Nate’s not even here yet, and I’m already getting all sentimental.

Okay, we’ve got old farts like Eric Grinnel and Nate on the list, but there could be a board’s worth of whelps at this tournament. Danny Grinnel will play, of course, as will my son Kevin, but we also heard from a high school freshman named Jorge Zhang. He plans to attend with a couple of friends. The three of them are on the list, but Jorge may bring two others who aren’t yet listed.

I’m waiting to hear from a couple of other folks, as well, including a prolific postal player from the 1980s who emerged from hibernation to play a bar game with us earlier this year. We could push attendance past 30. We haven’t had 30 players at CODCon since the first one in 2007. We haven’t even been close. We’re really close now.

While the confirmed attendees won’t all play all three rounds, we should be able to hit three boards for sure in each of the Saturday rounds. We may even hit four boards in one of them, if not both. That would be awesome. We’ve never had more than three boards in a round at CODCon. It is, after all, our minor tournament.

It’s not too late to join us. Registration starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday. We’ll be in the usual spot, the Student Resource Center at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, 425 W. Fawell Blvd. Consider joining us for the pre-con shindig Friday night at Dan Burgess’ home in Downers Grove, 5409 Benton. Dan’s doors will open at 6 p.m. If you don’t want to drive, you can take Metra to the Downers Grove Main Street station and either walk to Dan’s or contact him for a ride.

As always, we’ll play two rounds on Saturday with a hard ending at midnight, and one on Sunday. The tournament will end no later than 4 p.m. on Sunday. Then we’ll probably go to Alfie’s. Tradition.

It should be a great event this year. Hope to see you there.

A Tale of Two Lokkens
We played a house game on Saturday. For one Lokken, it was the best of times; for the other, the worst of times. Check out the game summary.

Nathaniel and the Fat Lady
If opera singer and new Weasel Nathaniel Olson had brought a fat lady with him to last Wednesday’s game at the Red Lion, she would have belted her tune in 1904. Learn why.

Moot Preregistration Is Now Open
Hroom, Hroom! You know what that call means. The Weasels are gathering, and you have been summoned. Weasel Moot IX will be June 13-14 in the Atrium at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and if we’re on the brink of a record turnout for CODCon, think about how huge Moot could be!

Housing is available in a dorm attached to the Atrium, but only if you preregister, which you may do now. You can get a single room at the dorm for $41 per night or share a double for $30. (In either case, you’ll be sharing a bathroom with another room.) The website lists other housing options for those who are done with dorm-style living.

Dues Are Due
Dues for 2015 are now due. We’ve kept our rates the same. A regular membership will cost you $25; the student rate is just $10. Dues will get you a discount on our tournament entry fees (including $5 off at this weekend’s CODCon Open!), eligibility for club awards and the Weasel Royale championship game, and–when we think of it–first crack at our house games. Dues pay for our club awards, the Meetup group, our website, and the Royale award and hosting subsidy. Please consider paying dues today. You may do so via PayPal here or by giving cash to a member of the Sneak. Thank you to the 18 Weasels who have paid up so far! We appreciate your support.

Upcoming Games

• May 13 at the Red Lion in Lincoln Square, beginning at 6:30 p.m. until no later than 11. Have six; need one more for the first board!

Sign up for games here, on Meetup, or by emailing me (jimthegrey1013@yahoo.com).

Important Dates

• April 11-12: The 2015 CODCon Open!
• June 13-14: Weasel Moot IX!

Up Next on the Tournament Circuit

• CODCon 9 (That’s us!): April 11-12 in Glen Ellyn. (http://windycityweasels.org/codcon9)
• 2015 WDC: May 1-3 in Milan. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1500292310187264/)

That’s all for this week. See you at CODCon!

Jim