Denis Etienne of Geneva, Switzerland is the winner of the 2010 Swiss Open, held last weekend at the Casino Barriere in Montreux, Switzerland and was partially sponsored by Play65. Etienne had played the very tense final against the famous German backgammon player Tobias Hellwag; first leading 10-0, then 12-2, and finally winning 15-14.  Play65 Swiss Open qualifiers champion, Gian-Reto Iseppi, has championed the second consolation tournament.

Denis Etienne, 54, deputy editor in chief at the Tribune de Genève, and a veteran GammonEmpire player, did not win Play65 Swiss qualifiers, but he has won several online qualifiers in the past: "thanks to Play65, I could go to the Portuguese Open in Estoril (2008) and the Nordic Open in Copenhagen (2010)." He said when switching the interviewer seat with Play65.

"I play backgammon for 30 years, but seriously for 5-6 years. In Estoril, my first big tournament, I was the Consolation finalist. Otherwise, I played mainly in Switzerland, where the best players traditionally came from the German-speaking part, but it is maybe changing (Geneva is in the French-speaking part ;-). Here, I was Swiss Clubs Champion (with Geneva in 2007), and last year I won the Geneva Open."

"The backgammon association in Geneva is young - founded in 2005 - but thanks to its president (Alexandre Ben Lassin, who is a good player too), it has grown very fast. Today, there are 60 regular members, some of them are excellent players and, as it is an international city, players come from all the parts of the world. "

Playing Online Backgammon

"Backgammon online I began playing on Yahoo. For some years, I have been playing mostly on GammonEmpire and sometimes on TrueMoneyGames.

- How do you see the connection between online and live backgammon? Play65 sponsorship of the Swiss Open, for example.

"I find that they are excellent initiatives. It is surely well for the backgammon sites; it also helps the tournaments’ organizers, and it is excellent for the players too (who can qualify themselves at low cost)… So, it is win-win-win situation. Actually, it is an important component, now even necessary, of backgammon promotion."

Future Plans

"In December, for the first time, I will be taking part in the Meribel Backgammon International Tournament in the French Alps, everybody says it is the nicest (not including Geneva Open and Swiss Open, of course ;-)"

The 35th World Backgammon Championship took place this July in Monte Carlo. The champion is Lars "Buster" Bentzon of Denmark, member of the Danish Backgammon Federation who is best known as Gus Hansen’s close friend and former manager. Bentzon becomes the fifth Dane who wins the world championship, but unlike most of his fellow countrymen he says he does not plan to pursuit a career in poker. The semi finalist and the only famous player who had reached the top four, Pia Jeppesen, was also from Denmark.

This year, the World Backgammon Championship was attended by only 158 players, less than the 178 who played last year and even less than the 238 who played in 2005, for example. Several players claim that it is the timing (alongside the WSOP no-limit Hold’em championship) and the location (far, expensive and isolated from any other backgammon activities) are to blame in the low attendance rates. If this video is representative, it seems like there is more backgammon action in the World Series of Poker:

Mary Hickey, the winner of Play65 US Open satellites, is the second US Backgammon Open Champion. After beating backgammon giant Falafel 7-6 at the Play65 satellites final, Hickey, also known as Mamabear64, fought Dorn Bishop at the 17-point US Open championship final, not minding even a 9-point lagging – and won.

US Open Championship is Mary Hickey’s highest backgammon achievement so far, and it awards her with about $9,000 first prize, free entry to the next World Backgammon Tour event (the Swedish Open, in Stockholm, Sweden on September 2010) and a chance to win over $50000 at the tour grand finale. And it all begun with a $60 Play65 tournament…

The fact the US Open is won for the second time by a woman backgammon player is also worth mentioning. Last year, the US Open backgammon tournament was launched with the winning of Carol Joy Cole, who beat former World Backgammon Champion Joe Russell at the final, and this year - Mary Hickey, who overcame a field of 44 players including some past and present giants (not including the giants she beat on Play65 to free enter the event). My guess is that next year the field will be filled with backgammon giantesses.

Backgammon world champion and Play65 bot buster Masayuki Mochizuki (aka Mochy) had replaced Matvey Natanzon (Falafel), another one of Play65 backgammon programs detectors, at the top of the Giants of Backgammon list for 2009.

Mochy represents the young, analytic, computer-oriented generation in backgammon. At only 31, he has managed to attend dozens of international backgammon tournaments (and win some of them, including the last Monte Carlo world championship), read all recommended backgammon books, and practice backgammon daily, mostly on online backgammon servers, such as Play65 for example. In between backgammon tournaments, Mochy teaches schoolchildren in Japan about the wonders of math using backgammon, obviously.

Falafel, then, had dropped one place to number 2, as his giants of backgammon runner-up predecessor, Nack Ballard, dropped lower to number 6. The third place, formerly taken by Francois Tardieu, is now taken by Neil Kazaross, formerly number 5. Sander Lylloff remains at number 5, and on number 7 Stick Rice makes a fresh new entry straight from #63. Lars Trabolt, World Backgammon Champion for 2008, progresses to #8, and Michihito Kageyama (aka Michi) progresses to #9 from the 35 position. Play65 third bot buster, Robert (Bob) Wachtel goes down from #9 to #10, and closes the top ten backgammon giants list for 2009.

Falafel, Backgammon Giant #2

Play65 Team is currently topping the elite division of the Danish Backgammon League, one of the strongest backgammon leagues in the world and the habitat of many world champions. The Play65 Team have outplayed the very strong Nemo team, consists of backgammon champions such as Mads Andersen, Morten Lassen, Katja Spillum and random guests like Bob Wachtel and Gustav Hansen.

The Play65 Team, also known as the Mama Boyz, were gathered about two years ago, consists of Steen Grønbech, Karsten Bredahl, Michael K. Larsen and others, and it has been representing our online backgammon room in several local and international tournaments including the two recent Nordic Open events, and in one of them even won two team events.

Backgammon Kingdom of Denmark 

The Danish Backgammon Federation is one of the most well-organized and devoted backgammon associations worldwide. Its established leagues system is probably the main reasons for the plenitude of Dane players in backgammon tournaments. The DBgF, started out in 1987 as a small backgammon club in Copenhagen, now has more than 100 branches in the small Nordic country, many of them holding weekly tournaments on top of special annual events.

The Danish Backgammon Federation leagues system includes three hierarchical regional divisions and one elite division, with 12 teams of 8-16 players each. Every team gets to play against all other teams in its division twice a year. The winning teams climb up the ladder and the less successful ones drop to a lower division.

The three players sent by Play65 to the Cyprus Backgammon Open, which ended yesterday, had a great success at the reputable tournament. Jürgen Orlowski of Germany; finished second at the Masters and Sven Rümcker, also of Germany, won the Main Consolation, and even tournaments’ newbie Israeli David Bar made it to the semifinals of the Consolation, but losing to Rümcker dropped him off the competition.

Dane backgammon pro Steen Grønbech, who led the Play65 Team in several backgammon tournaments in the last couple of years, is currently on the top of the WSOB Race, preceded only by WSOB Cannes 2009 champion, Salamzy Najibullah, and followed by backgammon giants such as Falafel Natanzon (fourth place), Sander Lylloff (fifth), and even the new world backgammon champion, Masayuki Mochizuki (nineteenth).

Steen Grønbech, who finished third at the World Series of Backgammon Cannes Championship and championed the Second Chance competition, still has a gap of 22 points separating him from the top spot and the adjunct WSOB Gold Cube, a gap that can be closed or at least minimized at the next World Series of Backgammon event, WSOB Prague, scheduled to begin on September 16th.

About Play65 Team

Play65 Team is a group of four leading backgammon players of Denmark, who represent the backgammon website in several events, most recently at the Play65 21st Nordic Open in Denmark. Last year, the group has made Play65 very proud by winning the WSOB 20th Nordic Open Team Event.

Play65 is happy to congratulate Masayuki "Mochy" Mochizuki for winning the 2009 World Backgammon Championship final, held yesterday at the Fairmont Hotel in Monte Carlo, after defeating reigning champion, Lars Trabolt of Denmark in a 25-points match. Mochy, who is also one of Play65’s backgammon bot busters, is the first Japanese champion in the history of the world backgammon championships, and probably one of the youngest players (born in 1979) to achieve this impressive title.

Mochy, carrying Play65 on his back

A rare session of blindfold backgammon was played last night during the Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship between Falafel and Sander Lylloff, two backgammon masters (no. 1 and 4 in the latest Giants of Backgammon list) who never reject an offer to make things interesting. The backgammon game was physically performed by two other players, who rolled the dice, informed on the outcome and moved the checkers according to Falafel and Sander’s orders. The game went quite well, say spectators; unofficially, it was Falafel stepped out as a winner, Snowie evaluation is required to determine the real winner.

 World Backgammon Championship Finals

 It is the last day of the 34th Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship, and the championship final is taking place right now, and in a few hours we will be able to tell whether the Japanese player, who was born as Masayuki Mochizuki but mostly known as Mochy, is going to win his first world title, or if Dane Lars Trabolt will reclaim his 2008 world backgammon championship. The champion will take home a check on €62,280, while his runner up will do with €20,760.

The two backgammon pros arrived to the final after beating less experienced players in the semi finals; Mochy outplayed 23-21 a French man called Phillippe Lecomte and Trabolt defeated Roland Herrera of the UK 21-21 after the Crawford rule, both in front of cheering crowds that was thrilled to see that after all, skill bested luck in backgammon.

who said backgammon is not a spectators’ sport? 2008 World Backgammon Champion at the semi finals

Last Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship?

The general air of disappointment surrounding the event in the last few years, imply that it might be the last year the World Backgammon Championship is held in Monte Carlo in the current format. Rumors say that the next world championship might take place in Las Vegas, probably under a brand new direction.

Probably not, neither can it cure AIDS, Nevertheless, backgammon can, in some roundabout way, promote co-existence between Arab and Jewish children in Israel and treat African HIV carriers.

One to One Children’s Fund had hosted its 9th annual Omar Sharif One to One backgammon and poker charity tournament on the 10th of May in Sketch Restaurant, London in the company of many local celebrities including Take That’s Mark Owen, Radio 1 DJ Colin Murray, Guy Ritchie’s favorite actor Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) and others. Each participant paid £365 entry fees (the cost of £1 donation a day), while non playing spectators paid only £100 for the company and the champagne and gourmet finger foods.

At the end of the day, the backgammon/poker tournament raised £100,000, which will be split between the Middle East projects, designed to bring closer children of three religions in Israel, and the Africa projects, that provide medical treatment to kids with HIV or AIDS.