THE WORLD OTHELLO CHAMPIONSHIPS 1999 were held on 28 to 30 October in Milan. This was the third time that the tournament had been held in Italy. The action took place in the palatial rooms of a bridge club near the historic centre of the city.

The format of the competition has been unchanged for several years. Each participating country sends a team of up to 3 players. The players compete in an individual tournament which is a 13-round Swiss, followed by semi-finals and final. The winning team is determined by scores in the Swiss part of the individual tournament.

This year there were 34 competitors, representing 15 countries. The field included one former world champion, David Shaman. Shaman, originally from the USA but now representing the Netherlands, won the title in London in 1993. Among the other contenders this year were Imre Leader of the UK and Emmanuel Caspard of France, both losing finalists in previous championships. Leader had lost to Ishii of Japan back in 1983, while Caspard was the runner-up to Shaman in 1993 and lost to Murakami of Japan in the 1998 final.

Caspard came to the 1999 tournament on a roll, having won the European Grand Prix. He clinched this title by finishing first in the Paris tournament in August, ahead of a strong field including Tominaga Kenta, the current Japanese champion and Meijin title holder. After this excellent victory, Caspard, along with Shaman, had to be one of the favourites.

Japanese players had been victorious in 18 of the 22 previous world championships, and Tominaga would have been the clear favourite to win this year. However, he unfortunately had to withdraw at short notice due to illness. His place was taken by Nakajima Tetsuya, who held the Meijin title in 1998. Nakajima is one of Japan's top players, and most considered him to be the pre-tournament favourite. The other Japanese participants were the Japanese junior champion Aoki Kazune and the Japanese women's champion Sano Yoko.