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MITO--In a strategic move sure to please fans, the hugely popular board game Othello will return to its birthplace next year when the World Othello Championship is held in Mito.
The announcement for the 2016 event was made Sept. 3 at a news conference in Mito by Mayor Yasushi Takahashi and Goro Hasegawa, the 82-year-old head of the Japan Othello Association. It will mark the first time in 10 years that the Ibaraki capital will host the event.
Organizers expect about 100 players representing 30 countries and regions to compete in the tournament, which will be held Nov. 1-4, 2016, at Hotel Lake View Mito.
Due to its background as the game's birthplace, Mito holds a special place in the hearts of Othello enthusiasts, said Benkt Steentoft, a senior official of the World Othello Federation Council in Stockholm. Steentoft said at the news conference that he hopes next year's tournament will be a grand event that everyone will want to participate in.
The Japan Othello Association, the Mito city government and other concerned organizations expect the 2016 championship to be one of the largest tournaments ever.
"We hope to announce more details by next spring," Takahashi said. "We also hope to organize events that will prompt participation from around the world. As the birthplace of the game, we're determined to make the tournament a big success."
The first World Othello Championship was held in Tokyo in 1977. Subsequent championships were held in major cities worldwide, but tradition has it that landmark events take place in Japan. The 10th and 20th editions of the championship were held in the Japanese capital, with the 30th anniversary edition taking place in Mito in 2006.
Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo were also candidates for next year’s event until it was decided to return the championship to the birthplace of Othello.
Extremely popular in Japan, Othello is a classic board game of strategy similar to the British game Reversi. Othello is said to have been invented by Hasegawa in 1945, shortly after the end of World War II.
A student at Mito high school at the time, Hasegawa created a game he called "Hasami-go," a variation on the traditional board game Go. Hasami-go was then developed into Othello, which became a national sensation after the board game was first marketed in 1973. Today, Japan boasts 60 million Othello players.
The game's popularity has also spread globally with 600 million enthusiasts and gaming associations established in 36 countries and regions around the world.
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发表于 2015-11-27 16:42:36
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发表于 2015-12-2 10:33:34
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