Mind Sports Zine Polls - Millennium Poll

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Mind Sports Zine: Polls
5 December 2000

Millennium Polls Index
MILLENNIUM POLL

WHO WAS THE PLAYER of the millennium for your favourite game? Who was the best in Backgammon, Bridge, Chess, Go, Shogi, and Xiangqi? Who invented the best games?

The Mind Sports Zine wants to find the answers to these questions by asking you, the fans, for your opinions. This is your opportunity to make yourself heard and vote for your favorites. Cast your ballot and see how your fellow gamers voted.

Backgammon Player of the Millennium
	Billy Horan USA. Won World Cup in 1990 & 1992. Won Bahamas Pro-Am Doubles in 1991.
	Paul Magriel USA. World Champion in 1978. Won Bahamas Pro-Am Doubles in 1994 & 1995. Istanbul runner-up in 1993.
	Bill Robertie USA. World Champion in 1983 & 1987. Won Istanbul 1994. Won Bahamas Pro-Am Doubles in 1993.
	Mike Senkiewicz USA. Has been at the top for two decades. Voted Best player in 1995.
	Wilcox Snellings USA. World #1 rated player.
	Mike Svobodny USA. Won the World Cup in 1992. World Champion in 1984.
Someone else? Tell us by E-mail or post to our Backgammon message board.

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Bridge Player of the Millennium
	Giorgio Belladonna Italy. 16-time World Champion. Member of the legendary "Blue Team" which dominated world Bridge from the 1950s-1970s.
	Gabriel Chagas Brazil. WBF Grand Master. Won World Teams in 1976, Bermuda Bowl in 1989, and World Open Pairs in 1990. One of only 8 players to have won the "Triple Crown."
	Peitro Forquet Italy. 12-time World Champion. Member of the fabled "Blue Team." At one time, considered by most experts the best player in the world.
	Bob Hamman USA. 9-time World Champion. Considered by many the best player in the world from about 1985-1995.
	Oswald Jacoby USA. A member of the famed "Four Horsemen" and "Four Aces" teams. Winner of numerous championships. Columnist & author.
	Zia Mahmood Pakistan/USA. Regarded by many as the finest rubber & duplicate player in the world today. Winner of numerous international championships. Author of several books.
	Jeff Meckstroth USA. World Champion in 1981, has won many other world titles. Along with Eric Rodwell, the two were considered the most feared partnership of the 1980s & 1990s.
	Terence Reese UK. Won Bermuda Bowl in 1955. WBF Grand Master. Won European Teams 4 times. Columnist & author of numerous books.
	Eric Rodwell USA. Winner of all three major world championships. Partner of Jeff Meckstroth. Has co-authored many books & is a well-known ambassador in the world of Bridge.
	Howard Schenken USA. Many consider him the best of all time. A 3-time World Champion. Author & columnist.
	Helen Sobel USA. Considered by many the greatest woman Bridge player of all time. Formed an extremely successful partnership with Charles Goren.
	Bobby Wolff USA. 10-time World Champion. An original member of the "Dallas Aces." Author, columnist, & former ACBL president.
Someone else? Tell us by E-mail or post to our Bridge message board.

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Chessplayer of the Millennium
	Alexander Alekhine World Champion, 1927-1935, 1935-1946.
	Mikhail Botvinnik World Champion, 1948-1957, 1958-1960, 1961-1963.
	Jose Capablanca World Champion 1921-1927.
	Deep Blue Strong IBM computer. Defeated Garry Kasparov in a match.
	Bobby Fischer World Champion 1972-1975.
	Anatoly Karpov World Champion 1975-1985.
	Garry Kasparov Defeated Karpov for the World Championship in 1985. Considered by many the current best player in the world.
	Emanuel Lasker World Champion 1894-1921.
	Paul Morphy Unofficial world champion after traveling to Europe in the late 1850s and defeating the best players.
	Wilhelm Steinitz First official world champion, 1886-1894.
	Mikhail Tal World Champion 1960-1961.
Someone else? Tell us by E-mail or post to our Chess message board.

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Chess Personality of the Millennium
	Max Euwe World Champion 1935-1937. Former President of FIDE.
	Paul Keres From 1936 to about 1960 was ranked among the top players in the world.
	Sultan Khan Perhaps the greatest natural player of modern times. Unable to read or write, he never studied any books on the game.
	Viktor Korchnoi One of the world's leading players from 1960 to about 1990.
	Francois-Andre Danican Philidor Reputedly the best player of his time (late 1700s).
	Judit Polgar The world's top-ranked female player.
	Howard Staunton The world's leading player in the 1840s. Wrote the "Chess-Player's Handbook" as well as several other books.
Someone else? Tell us by E-mail or post to our Chess message board.

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Popular Chess Writer of the Millennium
	Robert Byrne U.S. Open Champion, columnist for the New York Times.
	Reuben Fine Wrote "Basic Chess Endings" & many other books.
	Raymond Keene British Champion, author of numerous books, newspaper & magazine columnist.
	Aaron Nimzovitch Author of the influential book "My System," among others.
	Fred Reinfeld Was the world's most prolific chess writer, with more than 100 titles to his name.
	Eric Schiller Author of numerous books.
Someone else? Tell us by E-mail or post to our Chess message board.

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Go Player of the Millennium
	Cho Chikun = Cho Chi-hun (Korea/Japan; 1956 ~ ) Currently the number one player in Japan. Considered one of the great prodigies in the history of the game. At one time, held the top 4 Japanese titles simultaneously.
	Cho Hun-hyeon (Korea; 1953 ~ ) His style has been described as: "Master of technique & quick, fighting jabs leading to a knockout."
	Fan Xiping (China; 1709-?) One of the greatest players China has produced.
	Go Seigen = Wu Qingyuan (China/Japan; 1914 ~ ) Believed by some to have been the best player of the 20th century.
	Honinbo Dosaku (Japan; 1645-1702) One of the strongest players in the history of the game. The 4th Honinbo & the first Kisei. It is estimated he was almost 2 stones stronger than his nearest rivals.
	Honinbo Shusai (Japan; 1874-1940) Never lost an important game, and was dubbed the "Invincible Meijin." Participated in the establishment of the Nihon Kiin. Trained many famous students.
	Honinbo Shusaku (Japan; 1829-1862) Considered by some as the greatest player who ever lived. He had complete mastery of the strategic principles & the practical techniques of the game.
	Huang Longshi (China; 1651-?) One of the most accomplished & praised Go champions of all time.
	Liu Zhongfu (China; 11th century) Legendary historical figure.
	Yi Ch'ang-ho = Lee Chang-ho (Korea; 1975 ~ ) Considered by many to be the current best player in the world.
Someone else? Tell us by E-mail or post to our Go message board.

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Shogi Player of the Millennium
	Amano Soho Top player of 19th century.
	Fujii Takeshi Inventor of a major opening system.
	Goda Masataka Victories include Oi, Kisei, & Nihon Series (3 times).
	Habu Yoshiharu Top player of 1990s, 7 crown holder, (holds 4 currently).
	Kato Hifumi Tournament victories include Meijin, Kio, Osho, & NHK Cup (7 times).
	Kimura Yoshio Top player of 1930s and 1940s.
	Maruyama Tadahisa Top player of 1999.
	Masuda Kozo Top player in 1950s.
	Nakahara Makoto Top player in 1970s and early 80s, Eisei Judan, 16th Meijin.
	Ohashi Soei "Founder of modern shogi."
	Oyama Yasuharu Top player in 1960s, 15th Lifetime Meijin.
	Sato Yasumitsu Victories include Ryu-O & Meijin (1998, 1999).
	Sekine Kinjiro 13th Meijin, "Father of modern shogi."
	Tanigawa Koji Top player of 1980s, Kisei, 17th Meijin.
	Yashiki Nobuyuki Victories include Kisei (1990, 1997) & Zen Nihon Pro Tournament.
	Yonenaga Kunio Victories include Meijin, Kisei (7 times), Kio (5 times), & Osho (3 times).
Someone else? Tell us by E-mail or post to our Oriental message board.

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Western Shogi Personality of the Millennium
	Reijer Grimbergen Translates highlights of "Shukan Shogi" magazine. Edits website of the professional shogi world.
	George Hodges Pioneer promoter of shogi in the western world.
	Larry Kaufman Currently the top western shogi player. Involved in writing & promoting the game as well.
	Pieter Stouten A founder of the shogi mailing list, the most popular place to find the latest shogi news in English.
Someone else? Tell us by E-mail or post to our Oriental message board.

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Xiangqi Player of the Millennium
	RongHua Hu Twelve-time Champion of China (ten times in a row.) First made mark in 1950s and still playing at the top level today. A professional-strength Go player. A western chess master-level player.
	QingQuan Li Famous Guangzhou player of the 1930s. One of the best Chinese players of the era. Defeated Zhou DeYu in a match.
	Qin Lu Several times Champion of China. 1st and 3rd World Champion in 1991, 1995.
	JiaLiang Wang Feared attacking player of the 1950s-1980s. Helped develop Heilongjiang into a leading region of China. Editor of BeiFangQiYi magazine.
	KuiLin Wu Taiwanese Champion in 1994. Winner of the 3rd Forshang Cup. World Cup 2nd place in 1997.
	ShaoLong Wu Played circa 1750 AD. Considered head & shoulders above his contemporaries. The unofficial first world champion.
	XiaXun Xie The "Commander-in-Chief of Xiangqi." The most high-profile player in recent history. A top player & pioneer promoter.
	YinChuan Xu Currently the top-rated player in China. A Chinese national champion, as well as many other notable victories.
	GuanLin Yang Legendary Guangzhou figure of the 1950s-1980s. Outstanding endgame technique. Won several Chinese National Championships.
	DeYu Zhou Famous Shanghai player from the 1930s. Became "Champion of the Seven Provinces."
Someone else? Tell us by E-mail or post to our Oriental message board.

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Xiangqi Western Promoter of the Millennium
	Robert Huebner Germany. Western Chess grandmaster, a strong xiangqi player.
	C.K.Lai U.K. Translator and author of many Xiangqi books for western audience European champion in 1994. One of the Xiangqi pioneers in the western world.
	David Li USA. Author of 2 books on xiangqi.
	Sam Sloan USA. Author of the book "Chinese Chess For Beginners."
	Peter Sung Canada. Member of Toronto Xiangqi Association. Created first major xiangqi Internet website.
	David Woo USA. Editor of the influential XiangQi Review, as well as many tournament booklets. A top English-language xiangqi publisher.
Someone else? Tell us by E-mail or post to our Oriental message board.

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Game Inventor of the Millennium
	Alfred Butts Inventor of Scrabble.
	Christian Freeling Inventor of numerous games including "HexDame," "Grand Chess," & the "Glass Bead Game."
	Reiner Knizia Inventor of numerous games, such as "Euphrat & Tigris," "Modern Art," "Samurai," & "Durch die Wuste."
	Alex Randolph Created popular games such as "Rasende Roboter," "Hol's der Geier," "Twixt," & "Halunken & Spelunken."
	Eric Solomon Inventions include "Entropy," "Black Box," "Billabong," & "The Sigma File."
	Claude Soucie Inventor of many games including "Lines of Action" and "Schikeria."
	Sid Sackson Inventor of "Focus," "Kohle, Kies & Knete," "Acquire," & "Sleuth."
Someone else? Tell us by E-mail or post to our Prop Games message board.

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