Luigi Villa

Luigi Villa is a backgammon player from Milan, Italy.Allen, Henry. "Gammonoid the Conqueror," "The Washington Post". 17 July 1979, pg. B1] In 1979, he was the winner of the first World Championship held in Monte Carlo.Bray, Chris. "Man vs. Machine", "The Independent (London)". 11 December 2004, pg. 75.]

The same year, he was defeated in a 7-point match by Hans Berliner's computer program BKG 9.8,Berliner, Hans, et al. "Backgammon program beats world champ", "ACM SIGART Bulletin", Issue 69. January 1980. pp 6-9.] becoming the first world champion in any board game to be defeated by a software program. Although Villa's play in the match was stronger, the computer received more favorable dice rolls, winning the match 7-1. The match was played for US$5,000, and drew an audience of 200 people.

In 2006, Villa placed second at the World Championship following a six-hour, 25-point final [ [http://www.backgammoninfo.net/pages/bg.php?s=wcob2006final.mat&g=1 Interactive replay of Villa's final against Philip Vischjager] ] round against Philip Vischjager.Bray, Chris. "Monte Carlo 2006", "The Independent (London)". 29 July 2006, pg. 61]

References