Having just got back fom an Othello tournament in London, I wondered why I continue to go to these tournaments year after year. When I think about it there are many reasons:

• 1 The game is apparently really simple, all you do is trap your opponents pieces and turn them over with the aim of getting the most pieces when the board is full.
• 2 The apparent simplicty is just a veneer, once you play someone who is really good you realise that the game has many facets.
• 3 As soon as you want to play well you need to realise that the most fundamental strategy in the game is the exact opposite of the obvious strategy of taking as many pieces as possible. (It is logical when you think about it - in general if you have fewer pieces on the board you generally have more moves to choose from.)
• 4 I have played it since I was a kid.
• 5 The Othello comunity is worldwide and hasn’t been tainted by large amounts of prize money, so Othello players tend to help each other out, irrespective of nationality, race, religion or any other differences. This also means that you can travel to loads of places and meet people you know, some of whom are locals and know all the best places to go.
• 6 Some of the most interesting people I’ve met have been Othello players. (Aubrey de Grey, Imre Leader and Ben Pridmore are some of the most prominent) - probably because you need to think in an unusual way to play the game well, I find that almost all Othello players can think independently and very rarely give you stock answer to a question.
• 7 My first inroduction to the internet was through playing Othello on IOS (Internet Othello Server see Item 12) in the mid 90’s - and I was absolutely amazed at the opportunity to talk with people from all over the world.

Well that sums it up pretty well - and for those Othello players who may read this, my next Othello trip of consequence is likely to be the Gdansk EGP in June.