Othello News April 2015
Tetsuya Nakajima wins 3rd Tokyo OpenLocation: Tokyo, Japan
Date: April 29th Tourney format: 6 rounds, 38 players Link to results on JOA website An undefeated victory for Tetsuya Nakajima, he took the full 6 points. Two players with 5 points: Makoto Suekuni, the 2014 World Champion and Yura Abe. Takeshi Murakami, who finished 5th with 4wins, analysed all his games in his blog. Have a look, it's in Japanese but online translation is a big help. |
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Marc Tastet played his 100th EGP tourney in Madrid.
Marc Tastet World Champion 1992
Marc Tastet (FRA) was World Othello Champion in 1992. He won the French National Championship in 1991, 2004 and in 2008. Also winner of the European Grand Prix in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997. Eight EGP stage victories. EGP Madrid was Marc's 100th EGP tourney! Marc is a true Othello Champion, always willing to help other players and a very important source of information for Othello News. He enjoys the game and the friends and is one of the nicest players I have met. Victory or loss, who cares, as the french say..... ppppfffff
> Marc, you won the EGP 4 times, the last time in 1997. You won 8 stages. Which was your sweetest victory?
Maybe Milan 1992 which was my first EGP win, or Barcelone 2013 which was my latest.
> Last year there were only 4 players who played in 4 or more EGP stages and the year before that the score was 5. You are about to play in your 100th tourney. What drives you? How can we attract more players? Maybe change the EGP system? You have any ideas?
I think many players would like to join EGP tournaments, because it's always great fun to play EGP tournaments. I'm always happy to meet good friends that I have been meeting several times a year for many years and play very interesting games with them.
I heard some players say: OK, if I could go to EGP tournaments, I would win all of them easily, but I don't have time nor money to go to EGP tournaments. About time, I think you have to make choices: if you are really interested, you can find time to go to EGP tournaments. About money, it's not that expensive. Usually, I can find a return ticket by plane or by train for between 70 and 120 euros. Then, you can share a hotel room with other players, or even sometimes have free private accomodation at some players' home. As only the best 4 results are taken into account, if you are really strong, going to 4 tournaments or even 3 is enough to win the EGP. So why not have a try?
> So many different stages in the EGP, is there one, outside of France, that is your absolute favourite?
Many EGPs are very exciting. Maybe my favourite is Barcelone because I always win there. :-) But Prague is always great (and cheap). I also keep a very good souvenir of tournaments which were played on a site where everybody stayed to play, eat and sleep, like Oslo (Moss) 2011 or Netherlands (Texel island) 2014.
> You played your first otb tournament in 1984 and you won the WOC eight years later in 1992. You have seen many players come and go. Who were your Othello heroes in those early years? Who left his/her mark on the Othello World?
I guess Hideshi Tamenori is the player who most impressed me. I remember the WOC 1988 in Paris, when I was a table judge of a Murakami-Tamenori game. At some point, Tamenori thought for a while. Then he played a semi-forced sequence quickly and at the end of the sequence, he had a clearly winning position that I hadn't anticipated.
And Hideshi Tamenori left his mark on the Othello World, by winning the WOC 7 times over a 20-year period.
> Former champions often reinvent themselves. You did not play in Bangkok last year, but at the Stockholm WOC in 2013 you came pretty close to the semifinals and ended 5th place ex aequo with Ben Seeley. Is the EGP your idea of a WOC training session?
I didn't play in Bangkok because I never liked jet lag and it's not going to be better as I'm getting older. EGP is an interesting competition in itself. Of course, it can help training for the WOC but it's more than that.
> For those who never heard about it, please explain your "sous-marin" strategy :)
There are some cases when it's good to have a bad start in a tournament to make a come-back in the end. This strategy is specially useful when you don't feel well on the Saturday and hope to feel better on the Sunday. It's important not to lose to too many top players on Saturday so as to be able to beat and overtake them on Sunday. You also need to have enough weak players in the tournament, so that you can beat them with large scores to have a good tie-break. The best situation is when there is a player who has won everything and you meet him at the last round when he is already sure to make it to the final. You beat him and get to play the final vs. him.
> Thanks Marc, good luck in the next tourneys!
And Hideshi Tamenori left his mark on the Othello World, by winning the WOC 7 times over a 20-year period.
> Former champions often reinvent themselves. You did not play in Bangkok last year, but at the Stockholm WOC in 2013 you came pretty close to the semifinals and ended 5th place ex aequo with Ben Seeley. Is the EGP your idea of a WOC training session?
I didn't play in Bangkok because I never liked jet lag and it's not going to be better as I'm getting older. EGP is an interesting competition in itself. Of course, it can help training for the WOC but it's more than that.
> For those who never heard about it, please explain your "sous-marin" strategy :)
There are some cases when it's good to have a bad start in a tournament to make a come-back in the end. This strategy is specially useful when you don't feel well on the Saturday and hope to feel better on the Sunday. It's important not to lose to too many top players on Saturday so as to be able to beat and overtake them on Sunday. You also need to have enough weak players in the tournament, so that you can beat them with large scores to have a good tie-break. The best situation is when there is a player who has won everything and you meet him at the last round when he is already sure to make it to the final. You beat him and get to play the final vs. him.
> Thanks Marc, good luck in the next tourneys!
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SHAMAN David 29-35 TASTET Marc WOC 1992, final game 1 |
TASTET Marc 35-29 SHAMAN WOC 1992, final game 2 |
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Alessandro Di Mattei wins Città di Roma stage 4Location: Rome, Italy
Date: April 26th Tourney format: 5 rounds Another victory for Alessandro Di Mattei who won the three previous Città di Roma stages and now added another one. A very smart second place for Leonardo Caviola, bravo! 
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find more great pictures by Biagio Privitera on Othello Italy-FB Photoarchive
Nicky van den Biggelaar wins 75th Dutch Othello Open
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Location: Lent, The Netherlands
Date: April 26th Tourney format: 7 rounds Nicky van den Biggelaar won the tourney with 6 wins and 1 loss. The loss was in round 7 against Jan de Graaf (36-28) They also played a game in round 4 and that was a win for Nicky( 49-15). Results per round can be found on the NOV website. Final result:
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FRANSEN Martin 31-33 DE GRAAF Jan C. 75th Dutch Othello Open, round 1 |
DE GRAAF Jan C. 29-35 HOBO Roel 75th Dutch Othello Open, round 2 |
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And some more Dutch Othello news: the ranking of 13 players of "De Burijn" elementary school in Alkmaar . This tourney was played earlier this week.
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Tomás Douda wins stage 4 of Czech Grand Prix Othello
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Hiroyuki Iwata wins 100th Shinagawa Seaside OpenLocation: Shinagawa, Japan
Date: April 25th Tourney format: 6 rounds, 28 players Best player of the tourney was Hiroyuki Iwata who won all of his six games. Runner-up was Takeshi Murakami who won 5 games. Third place for Tetsuya Nakajima who had 4 wins. I hope to receive some transcripts later today. Link to results on JOA website |
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MURAKAMI Takeshi NAKAJIMA 39-25 Tetsuya Shinagawa Seaside Open, round 4 |
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MURAKAMI Takeshi 28-36 IWATA Hiroyuki Shinagawa Seaside Open, round 5 |
Thierry Lévy-Abégnoli wins Ile de France 4
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Location: Paris, France
Date: April 25th Tourney format: 5 rounds, 8 players Thierry Lévy-Abégnoli won the Ile de France 4 with a perfect score of 5/5. Tourney report by Thierry is posted on the FFO website. Usually it's Bintsa who takes the pictures, this time he was also caught on camera. Final result: 1: 5 pts [215] LEVY-ABEGNOLI Thierry (3598) {FRA} 2: 3.5 pts [198] TOUCHENE Fouad (50067) {FRA} 3: 3 pts [197] ANDRIANI Bintsa (45) {MDG} 4: 2.5 pts [160] BUSUTTIL Michel (228) {FRA} 5: 2 pts [143] MARTINE Jean-Christophe (50004) {FRA} [134] CLUZON Gilles (3734) {FRA} [133] OVION Jacques (649) {FRA} 8: 0 pts [100] MARTINE Valentin (50005) {FRA} |
Thierry and Fouad Touchene
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BUSUTTIL Michel 32-32 TOUCHENE Fouad Tournoi Ile de France 4 |
LEVY-ABEGNOLI Thierry 37-27 TOUCHENE Fouad Tournoi Ile de France 4 |
MARTINE Jean Christophe 33-31 CLUZON Gilles Tournoi Ile de France 4 |
Jihoon Chung 정지훈 wins 23rd Korea Othello Championship
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Location: Seoul, South Korea
Date: April 19th Tourney format: 5 rounds, 21 players The undefeated winner of the 23rd Korea Othello Championship was Jihoon Chung. Four players ended just behind him with 4points Top 4 players:
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KO, Junhyoung 16-48 CHUNG, Jihoon 21st Korean Othello Championship, round 1 |
HA, Seungsup 26-38 CHUNG, Jihoon 21st Korean Othello Championship, round 5 |
Miroslav Voracek won European Grand Prix Madrid
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More results can be found on our special EGP Madrid page.
Top 4 EGP Madrid:
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Marc Tastet World Champion 1992
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Marc Tastet (FRA) was World Othello Champion in 1992. He won the French National Championship in 1991, 2004 and in 2008. Also winner of the European Grand Prix in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997. Eight EGP stage victories. EGP Madrid was Marc's 100th EGP tourney! 
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Top 10 on the World Othello Federation ratingist per April 16th. Use this link to check your own rating.
Takuji Kashiwabara wins Tournoi Prequalificatif de Reims
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Location: Reims, France
Date: April 11th - 12th Tourney format: 7 rounds, semifinals and final Results after 7 rounds: 1: 6 pts [290] DELAUNAY Arnaud (3518) {FRA} 2: 5 pts [291] CLINTON Samuel (50036) {FRA} [274] KASHIWABARA Takuji (839) {FRA} [233] TASTET Marc (2) {FRA} 5: 4 pts [237] ANDRIANI Bintsa (45) {FRA} 6: 2 pts [142] MILLOT Jean-Marc (50076) {FRA} 7: 1 pt [157] TOUCHENE Fouad (9025) {DZA} There was a lot at stake in round 7. If Bintsa had succeeded in beating Arnaud in round 7, 5 players would have finished with 5 points. Bintsa had a 33-31 win at move 47, but the game ended as a win for Arnaud. Lucky for Marc Tastet who would otherwise have missed the semifinal. As always, thanks to Marc and Bintsa for the updates and pictures. Semifinals start Sunday at 10 am.
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KASHIWABARA Takuji 34-30 CLINTON Samuel Tournoi Prequalificatif de Reims, round 7 |
ANDRIANI Bintsa 27-37 DELAUNAY Arnaud (Round 7) Tournoi Prequalificatif de Reims, round 7 | ||
Results semifinals:
Arnaud Delaunay 29-35 Marc Tastet
Marc Tastet 36-28 Arnaud Delaunay
Takuji Kashiwabara 42-22 Samuel Clinton
Samuel Clinton 24-40 Takuji Kashiwabara
The games between Arnaud and Marc were broadcasted on LiveOthello. Up to move 54 in the second game, I was sure there was going to be a third game, but Arnaud missed the winning move. Probably because he had very little time left on his clock.
The other semifinal was also completed in 2 games. Takuji Kashiwabara and Marc Tastet qualified for the final. Arnaud Delaunay forfeited the playoff as he was extremely tired, so Samuel Clinton finished 3rd and Arnaud Delaunay 4th.
Results final:
Final game 1: Takuji Kashiwabara 26-38 Marc Tastet
Final game 2: Marc Tastet 29-35 Takuji Kashiwabara
Final game 3: Takuji Kashiwabara 42-22 Marc Tastet
Arnaud Delaunay 29-35 Marc Tastet
Marc Tastet 36-28 Arnaud Delaunay
Takuji Kashiwabara 42-22 Samuel Clinton
Samuel Clinton 24-40 Takuji Kashiwabara
The games between Arnaud and Marc were broadcasted on LiveOthello. Up to move 54 in the second game, I was sure there was going to be a third game, but Arnaud missed the winning move. Probably because he had very little time left on his clock.
The other semifinal was also completed in 2 games. Takuji Kashiwabara and Marc Tastet qualified for the final. Arnaud Delaunay forfeited the playoff as he was extremely tired, so Samuel Clinton finished 3rd and Arnaud Delaunay 4th.
Results final:
Final game 1: Takuji Kashiwabara 26-38 Marc Tastet
Final game 2: Marc Tastet 29-35 Takuji Kashiwabara
Final game 3: Takuji Kashiwabara 42-22 Marc Tastet
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TASTET Marc 35-28 DELAUNAY Arnaud Tournoi Prequalificatif de Reims, semifinal game 2 |
KASHIWABARA Takuji 42-22 TASTET Marc Tournoi Prequalificatif de Reims, final game 3 |
Historically, the parish of Sheringham comprised the two villages of Upper Sheringham, a farming community, and Lower Sheringham, which combined farming with fishing.
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Imre Leader wins Sheringham Regional Othello TournamentLocation: Sheringham, UK
Date: April 11th Tourney format: 6 rounds The second leg of the UK Othello Grand Prix was held in Sheringham, Norfolk. Imre Leader won undefeated. He needs 4th place in last remaining Regional to win the British Grand Prix.
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Niklas Wettergren wins Linköping Othello Open
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Location: Linköping, Sweden
Date: April 11th Tourney format: 7 rounds SOF website results 1: 6 pts [466] WETTERGREN Niklas (150009) {SWE} [425] FRONMARK Marcus (1454) {SWE} 3: 5 pts [446] TURUNEN Daniel (1459) {SWE} 4: 4 pts [421] LARSSON Benny (1520) {SWE} [413] ODSELL Caroline (1577) {SWE} [388] EVERTS Jeroen (5231) {NLD} [387] ROSELL Daniel (1566) {SWE} 8: 3 pts [374] VALLUND Henrik (96) {DNK} [314] STEENTOFT Benkt (1301) {SWE} 10: 2 pts [331] JOHANSSON Erik (1493) {SWE} 11: 1 pt [237] BJORNHOLM Mikael (1355) {SWE} 12: 0 pt [250] FAHLESON Rikard (9000) {SWE} |
WETTERGREN Niklas 55-9 VALLUND Henrik Linköping Othello Open, round 4 |
FRÖNMARK Marcus 37-27 VALLUND Henrik Linköping Othello Open, round 6 |
Niklas Wettergren took his second tournament win of the season in Linköping. The first was Uppsala Open in December. |
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Games Festival at Modena, Italy
To all fans of Othello .. The Italian Othello Federation, the FNGO will be present this weekend at PLAY MODENA: the largest Italian convention dedicated to mind games. 'intelligent'. I find his friend Stefano Palermo in abstract chess together, to go, to checkers and other games. At the stand there will be boards for sale.
What a wonderful FNGO poster! Just had to show you :)
What a wonderful FNGO poster! Just had to show you :)
Othello demonstration at Toys 'R Us in Sendai
On April 5th, Takanori Oshimizu played simultaneous Othello games at the Toys 'R Us store in Sendai, Japan. None of his opponents managed to win a game, but they all greatly enjoyed the experience.
the tourney snack: cuberdons
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Jan C. de Graaf (NLD) wins the Ghent Easter tournament 2015Location: Ghent, Belgium
Date: April 7th Tourney format: 7 rounds Jan C. de Graaf (NLD) won the Ghent Easter tournament 2015. Tom Schotte (BEL) took a head start with 4/4, but could not maintain the lead after losses against Martin Fransen and Jeroen De Wael. 
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Hidekazu Nagasaki wins 68th Niigata Othelo Convention
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Location: Niigata, Japan
Date: April 5th Tourney format: 5 rounds, 18 players 第68回新潟県定期オセロ大会 結果詳細 Top 5 Players:
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Want to know when and where next WOC will be held?
Bengt Steentoft send out this email concerning the next World Othello Championship. It seems that nothing much has been definitely decided yet. Look at the list of of past WOC's, my guess is London, Copenhagen or Madrid.
Dear all,
We know that you all waiting for news about the World Othello Championship 2015!
We will inform you that it will be in Europe. The date will be in late October or beginning of November.
We working hard with World Othello Championship 2015 and it is our hope that we will be able to tell you all who will be host for World Othello Championship 2015 latest May 31st! We hope it can be before that date too.
So fast we have positive news about WOC 2015, we will send out informations to all media and World Othello Federations members..
World Othello Championship 2016 will be as planned in Japan.
Best regards,
WOF/WOC
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