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2/12
1939

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The Difference IS The Difference!"

betroit Jewish News

How popular is Othello in
Britain, the United States, the
world? Do you see an increasing
interest, and do you think it will
ever reach the status of chess, for
example?
The number of players competing
in over-the-board (as opposed to
Internet) competitions in Britain has
dropped over the last few years,
'though the standard of the top play-
ers in the UK has become very high.
There are a lot of people who play
casually, without knowing much
about correct strategy. I think that the
same is true in many other countries.
The country with the largest group of
players competing in Othello tourna-
ments is probably _Japan.
Othello has become very popular
on the Internet. Some of these play-
ers also take part in over-the-board
tournaments now. I hope that the
popularity of Othello will continue
to grow.

At what age do you believe chil-
dren should start playing the game?
I don't think it is a question of
"should." Children can easily learn
the rules at age of 4 or 5 (though I
have known some to start playing
at 3). If they enjoy it, they should
carry on!

Do you have any pointers for
those just beginning, and for those
who already are experts?
Most people realize fairly early
on that if you get a piece in a cor-
ner of the board, then it can never
be taken away from you. But many
mistakenly believe that it is a good
idea to have lots of pieces on the
edges without the corners attached.
These pieces can count against you
late in the game.
Some rules of thumb for beginners:
#1) Don't take too many pieces
early on. To keep control of the
game, as a very rough guide, the
fewer pieces you have near the
beginning the better (out don't lose
ALL of your pieces).

#2) Don't give away corners for
no reason. Unless you know what
you are doing, you should avoid
playing in squares next to empty
corners, if possible.
#3) If you take too many pieces,
your opponent will gain control of
the game and you may be forced
to give away some or all of the cor-
ners for no compensation.
Most countries have an Othello
organization which publishes some
sort of newsletter. Some useful Othello
articles often are available on the
Websites of these organizations.
There also are strong Othello pro-
grams freely available on the Internet,
for example W— hor for PC and Cas-
sio for Macintosh. The good thing
about these is that they include a
large database of international com-
petition Othello games which are
worth studying. However, even on
low levels they play a very strong
game, which can be a bit discourag-
ing for beginners (or even experts!).

What are championship games
like? Is there a great deal of con-
centration and silence, such as one
sees in a chess match? Do you get
nervous? Do you have any prepa-
ration rituals?
Competition games are very simi-
lar to chess, though the time limit is
shorter, with each game lasting only
about an hour in total. Concentra-
tion is vital throughout the game.
But, as Othello players are mostly
keen amateurs, the atmosphere is
often a little more relaxed than at
chess tournaments.
• I still get very nervous before each
game, especially at the World
Championships. I have no rituals: I
used to take mascots to tourna-
ments, but haven't bothered with
this recently.

Can you recall any one game
that was especially memorable?
Probably my most memorable
game was the first time that I won
the British Championships title, back

in 1989. It all came down to a one-
game playoff between me and the
then-hot favorite, Graham Brightwell,
which I was very pleased to win.

When you're not playing Othello,
what else do you like to do?
Mainly music and mathematics
research. I don't have the time to
keep up with all of my other interests.

You're also a violinist; do you
believe your musical abilities help
in your Othello-playing skills?
My wife and I are keen amateur
violinists. We play in the Notting-
ham Symphony Orchestra, which is
a good local amateur orchestra. I
think that music, mathematics and
Othello have some key things in
common, as well as some major
differences. These abstract abilities
take different forms in different peo-
ple, of course.

What makes a great Othello
player? Is it a matter of practice
makes perfect, or are some just
born to play the game?
As in chess and other similar strat-
egy games, the ability to think sever-
al moves ahead is vital. This is hard
in Othello because so much can
chan g e with each move, and also
because until you develop a feel for
strategy it is hard to see what your
opponent's replies are likely to be.
I think that you can learn a lot by
playing games against strong play-
ers, and getting them to explain
what you are doing wrong.
Because of the unintuitive, abstract
and rather unmaterialistic strategy of
Othello, it is very unlikely for any-
one to become strong at the game
without study and guidance from
others, as well as practice. Some
people do become good quite
quickly, though. Li

YOu can learn more about the
game by visiting wykrw.iioa.org ,
home page of the international Inter-

net Othello Association.

