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Mind Sports Organisation Worldwide
P.O. Box 13388, London NW3 5FB, England
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Company Press Release:
Saturday, August 18, 2001 | |
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5th Mind Sports Olympiad
Saturday 18th August 2001
World's first Backgammon Grandmaster defeated.
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US outsider, Alef Rosenbach, today brushed aside
John Clark, the World's first Backgammon Grandmaster.
The American stormed to 3/3 and is now clear favourite.
South Africa claimed their first Olympiad Gold when
Konrad Scheffler pipped England's Tanya Fox to
win the Settlers of Catan European Qualifier in a tightly
fought tournament.
The masters did not fare well in the Commonwealth
Chess Championships. Grandmaster Neil McDonald was
held to a draw by rising star Thiruchelvam Murugan (aged
12) while International Master Graeme Buckley suffered defeat
at the hands of untitled David Lyell.
The Othello 10 by 10 World Championship (starting on
Monday) is wide open as a formidable field lines up. 3 times
runner up Graham Brightwell, who started well toeday in the
more friendl blitz championships, feels confident despite the
opposition. Former World Champion, Marc Tastet, the
ex Australian Champion, Geoff Hubbard, the Canadian No. 1,
Michael Handel and the current Israeli Champion Leonid
Shifman beg to differ. Some are likely to meet in the final
rounds of the weekend warm up, tomorrow.
Experience pitted itself against wide eyed youth in the Poker -
5 Card Draw. The record entry shows that gamblers get
younger with 10 year old Jonathan Miller setting
the early pace and 12 year old Angela Sontoro breathing
over his shoulder.
Matthew Macfadyen was in action today, in the run up to
his British Go Title match. He remained undefeated
while his Korean challenger, Kim Young watched on.
Among the games on display today, Number Quest stood out for
its originality. The game's inventors Jack Berkovi and
Edgar Fineberg have added an extra twist to this
popular game, already in use in over 200 schools. "Number Quest
captivates young minds with simple arithmetic and its aims match
those of Sir Brian Tovey".
"Innocent pleasure of Mind Sports"
"Innocent enjoyment infuses the whole ethos of the Mind Games", enthused
the former head of GCHQ, Sir Brian Tovey, in his opening address
for the 5th MSO. The harmless fun of
these competitive games serves to improve concentration and
stimulate the mind in a myriad of ways. It is encouraging and reassuring
to see so many participants, young and old, keeping mentally alert. It can
be no coincidence that so many men and women in places of great
responsibility excel at mind games.
So far there have been over 1300 entries, with participants
from 45 countries aged between 7 and 88. Numbers are expected to
grow rapidly during the week.
All press enquiries to Andrew Webster on tel: 07973 516718
fax: 020 7815 7168 e-mail
andy@tcs-chess.demon.co.uk or
write to 5th MSO, 51 Borough Way, Potters Bar, EN6 3HA.
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