Othello in the computer age
You made the very bold decision to play Logistello during your first title reign. Looking back now do you have any regrets? Did the result against Logistello have an effect on the popularity of Othello?
No regret at all. Since the rules of Othello are so simple, the game of Othello itself has always been considered wrongly to be very simple and not as complicated as chess, shogi, or go. Many people didn't even know that there are World Champions.
| "This new net generation of players is becoming a true threat to only-on-the-board players like myself." |
However, since the the match against Logistello was held just after the historic match between Kasparov and Deep Blue, it was covered by the media in a similar manner, describing Othello correctly as one of the profound, no-luck-involved, highly strategic games. I think such media coverage has raised the status of Othello in the game world. On the other hand, I am not sure what kind of impact the match has had on the popularity of Othello.
I haven't met anyone who says he lost interest in playing Othello because of the result of the match. Players seem to know that computers which beat humans can no more reduce the charm of playing Othello among humans than a robot which runs 100 meters in 5 seconds can reduce the charm of human competition at Olympic Games. After all, it's human opponents that we play in tournaments and not computers.
However, potential players who have not yet taken up Othello might consider the dominance of computers over humans to be a fatally discouraging factor in even playing the game between humans. We players know it's not true, but you can never control what people believe. It will take some time to know the true impact of the match.
Does Logistello still play, or has it retired with its reputation safe?
It has retired from playing in computer tournaments. However, Michael Buro, the researcher who has developed Logistello, says he will let it play if a very good human player wants to challenge it.
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| Tall Tim Krzywonos, Internet prodigy, meets Takeshi Murakami
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How has Othello's popularity grown in general - still more popular in Japan than elsewhere? How has the Internet affected the game?
Othello is still by far most popular in Japan. Almost every household has an Othello board, and it's hard to find a Japanese who has never played the game. But most of these people regard Othello as a child's game, and the number of players who regularly play in tournaments is still very small; I would say only several hundred. But the situation is changing because of the internet.
I occasionally play on line, at Yahoo Japan's game site, and Othello always has more people playing than chess, go or draughts. At night more than a thousand people are playing Othello on line, at Yahoo Japan alone. I play in tournaments in Tokyo once or twice a month, and nowadays I face many players who have gained most of their experience on line. And I occasionally lose to them!
This new net generation of players is becoming a true threat to only-on-the-board players like myself. Tim Krzywonos of Canada, who finished fourth in Copenhagen, is a good example. He lives in a remote country where there is nobody to play with. Krzywonos has played more than 20.000 games on line!
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