Masayuki Mochizuki - Japan

Mochy hosted at Istanbul Backgammon Championship

12/01/2011

#1 backgammon giant and 2009 world backgammon champion Masayuki "Mochy" Mochizuki will be a special guest of the 2011 Istanbul Open Backgammon Championship. The tournament is organized by the Turkish branch of the World Backgammon Federation, WBF-Turkie, and it is the first stop in the Turkish Backgammon Tour, which will make additional stops in Ankara, Bursa, Antalya and other Turkish metropolis.

WBF Istanbul Backgammon Open Championship includes a main event with consolation and last chance rounds, double consultation events, 1-point matches and other side events. The Istanbul backgammon champion, finalist and consolation champion would win flight and accommodation at one of the planned WBF events in 2011. Mochy will give a free seminar to the attendants of the 2011 Istanbul Backgammon Championship on the subjects of reference positions and cube ownership. Mochy's seminar will take place on the second day of the event on Saturday, 15 January at 19:00.

The game of modern backgammon will be played on the Istanbul Backgammon Championship, a different version of the traditional Turkish backgammon (tavla), commonly played in Turkey's cafes and streets. Modern backgammon and tavla main difference is the addition of the doubling cube and its accompanying strategy and calculation. The tournament attendants will be introduced to modern backgammon rules at the opening of the event, plus Mochy's seminar will aim to strengthen the local backgammon players' weaker point, the cube action.