Luigi Villa
Encyclopedia
Luigi Villa is a backgammon
player from Milan
, Italy
. In 1979, he was the winner of the World Championship held in Monte Carlo
.
The same year, he was defeated in a 7-point match by Hans Berliner
's computer program
BKG 9.8, 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 round against Philip Vischjager
.
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
player from Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. In 1979, he was the winner of the World Championship held in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
.
The same year, he was defeated in a 7-point match by Hans Berliner
Hans Berliner
Hans Jack Berliner , a Professor of , is a former World Correspondence Chess Champion, from 1965–68. He is a Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess, and an International Master for over-the-board chess. He directed the construction of the chess computer HiTech. Berliner is also a chess writer.-Life...
's computer program
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
BKG 9.8, becoming the first world champion in any board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
to be defeated by a software program. Although Villa's play in the match was stronger, the computer received more favorable dice
Dice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
rolls, winning the match 7–1. The match was played for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
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 round against Philip Vischjager
Philip Vischjager
Philip Vischjager is a Dutch backgammon player. Although he began playing backgammon in 1975, he started training more intensively using computer software in 2001. At the same time, he became a regular participant in Dutch backgammon competitions at the highest national levels...
.