Swiss Backgammon Champion Open 2010 interview
Source : www.play65blog.com
Denis Etienne of Geneva, Switzerland is the winner of the 2010 Swiss Open, held last weekend at the Casino Barriere in Montreux, Switzerland and was partially sponsored by Play65. Etienne had played the very tense final against the famous German backgammon player Tobias Hellwag; first leading 10-0, then 12-2, and finally winning 15-14.
Play65 Swiss Open qualifiers champion, Gian-Reto Iseppi, has championed the second consolation tournament.
Denis Etienne, backgammon champion
Denis Etienne, 54, deputy editor in chief at the Tribune de Genève, and a veteran GammonEmpire player, did not win Play65 Swiss qualifiers, but he has won several online qualifiers in the past:
"thanks to Play65, I could go to the Portuguese Open in Estoril (2008) and the Nordic Open in Copenhagen (2010)." He said when switching the
interviewer seat with Play65.
"I play backgammon for 30 years, but seriously for 5-6 years. In Estoril, my first big tournament, I was the Consolation finalist. Otherwise, I played mainly in Switzerland, where the best players traditionally came from the German-speaking part, but it is maybe changing (Geneva is in the French-speaking part ;-). Here, I was Swiss Clubs Champion (with Geneva in 2007), and last year I won the Geneva Open."
"The backgammon association in Geneva is young - founded in 2005 - but thanks to its president (Alexandre Ben Lassin, who is a good player too), it has grown very fast. Today, there are 60 regular members, some of them are excellent players and, as it is an international city, players come from all the parts of the world. "
- How do you see the connection between online and live backgammon? Play65 sponsorship of the Swiss Open, for example.
"I find that they are excellent initiatives. It is surely well for the backgammon sites; it also helps the tournaments’ organizers, and it is excellent for the players too (who can qualify themselves at low cost)… So, it is win-win-win situation. Actually, it is an important component, now even necessary, of backgammon promotion."
Denis Etienne of Geneva, Switzerland is the winner of the 2010 Swiss Open, held last weekend at the Casino Barriere in Montreux, Switzerland and was partially sponsored by Play65. Etienne had played the very tense final against the famous German backgammon player Tobias Hellwag; first leading 10-0, then 12-2, and finally winning 15-14.
Play65 Swiss Open qualifiers champion, Gian-Reto Iseppi, has championed the second consolation tournament.
Denis Etienne, backgammon champion
"I play backgammon for 30 years, but seriously for 5-6 years. In Estoril, my first big tournament, I was the Consolation finalist. Otherwise, I played mainly in Switzerland, where the best players traditionally came from the German-speaking part, but it is maybe changing (Geneva is in the French-speaking part ;-). Here, I was Swiss Clubs Champion (with Geneva in 2007), and last year I won the Geneva Open."
"The backgammon association in Geneva is young - founded in 2005 - but thanks to its president (Alexandre Ben Lassin, who is a good player too), it has grown very fast. Today, there are 60 regular members, some of them are excellent players and, as it is an international city, players come from all the parts of the world. "
Playing Online Backgammon
"Backgammon online I began playing on Yahoo. For some years, I have been playing mostly on GammonEmpire and sometimes on TrueMoneyGames."I find that they are excellent initiatives. It is surely well for the backgammon sites; it also helps the tournaments’ organizers, and it is excellent for the players too (who can qualify themselves at low cost)… So, it is win-win-win situation. Actually, it is an important component, now even necessary, of backgammon promotion."
