Only a week ago the 1st Mind Sport Games were still in full action. Now most of the participants and volunteers are back home. The below mentioned movies are for those who want to relive the Games.

Registration of the players
Opening ceremony
Finals 10×10 international draughts

At the start of the final of the 64 Russian tournament Viktoriya Motrichko could not believe that she would win. Her opponent and friend Elena Miskova had to play a beginning position that was giving a clear advantage to one of the colours.

Motrichko decided to play a tactic micro-match. ‘I had to play the weakest colour in the 1st game of the micro-match. From the start I played for a draw and succeeded in that. The 2nd game was then more comfortable for me and I won!’, she says with a big smile on her face.

While Miskova and Motrichko are both playing on the same top level in this draughts game, they meet each other often in tournaments. ‘Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, but both of us always fight for it. Games are games and being friends is something different.’

The brand new Dutch program ‘Veldheer’ is designed for beginning draughts players on the 10×10 international board. During the WMSG the developpers worked on having a version in the Chinese language also and they succeeded just in time! As from now you will find this java based computer program on www.10×10.org/veldheer in Dutch, English and Chinese. Enjoy playing draughts!

Another Dutch program for beginning players is DamMentor.

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Final 10×10 rapid world championships
Men: Guntis Valneris - Alexander Georgiev 1-1 barrages: 1-1 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-2
Women: Elena Milshina - Tamara Tansykkuzhina 1-1 barrages: 0-2
Veterans: Alexander Mogilianski - Edvard Bouzinski 1-1 barrages: 0-2
Men under 23: Roberts Misans - Andrei Tolchykau 1-1 barrages: 1-1 0-2
Women under 23: Olesia Abdullina - Irina Platonova 1-1 barrages: 2-0

3th/4th place 10×10 rapid world championships
Men: Bassirou Ba - Alexei Chizhov 1-1 barrages: 0-2
Women: Natalia Shestakova - Marfa Danilova 0-2
Veterans: Victor Volosienkin - Viacheslav Shchegolev 1-1 barrages: 0-2
Men under 23: Pim Meurs - Ainur Shaybakov 1-1 barrages: 0-2
Women under 23: Ariunzaya Eruuljav - Olga Fedorovich 0-2

After a draw in the regular final, Dashkov won two of the three barrages and with that became the winner of the 64 Brazilian draughts competition.

Alexander Moiseyev meets Vladimir Ptitsyn, president of the FMJD

The checkers tournament ended just after the regular 9th round, there was no need for play-offs. Alexander Moiseyev (USA) won in a very convincing way, having scored 4 points more then runner-up Ronald King from Barbados. Raivis Paegle took the bronze home to Latvia.

Alexander Moiseyev enjoyed the World Mind Sports Games and not only because he won the checkers 3-move competition. He absolutely enjoys seeing old friends with whom he lost all contact after his emigration from the Soviet Union to the USA. According to a Russian saying ‘you cannot cross a river twice’. ‘This catching up with old friends feels almost as if I am crossing the river again, though’ the five times world champion in checkers 3-moves says.

Moiseyev began to play draughts on the 64 square board when he was 7 years old. He switched to the 10×10 international draughts in the late seventies and became a master in this international mind sport. When he left the Soviet Union in 1991, he was ranked 17th on the FMJD rating list. He did not play for 5 years and restarted in 1996. Shortly after his restart he got aware that there would not be a future for him in the 10×10 game. He then decided to have his second emigration… from 10×10 to checkers. In the USA checkers is considered to be a kids game, but Moiseev is fighting against that prejudice. ‘It is really sport’, he says.

Switching to the checkers game was not an easy solution, but Moiseyev took the consequences: learning the rules, new tactics and strategies. Of course he benefits from his 10×10 draughts background: the process of organizing, calculating and strategic formations are more or less the same. Moiseev still studies checkers for 2 or 3 hours per day. He plays any tournament in the US when it is within the reach of an 8 hour drive from his home. All together he plays 180 games a year. He loves doing it, the checkers world is like a nice family.

After a short break Ion Dosca went back to the playing area to play the barrage against Oleg Dashkov for the 1st place in the 64 Brazilian WMSG competition.

The players in the 10×10 rapid championship sure like to keep on playing. All finals ended in a draw, with which all the finalists have at least one nother game ahead.

In the battle for the bronze there were two decisions on the board: Marfa Danilova (women) and Olga Fedorovich (women under 23) won their games!