On Monday, 2015-Apr-20, at 1:00 p.m. PDT, there will be an interesting backgammon exhibition between Mochy and Phil Simborg. They will play 30 money games, alternating the opening roll. Phil will start each game owning the cube at 2. Mochy, who is the reigning number 1 Giant of Backgammon, will bet even money.

There are two purposes:

1. To see whether a strong player, with a 3.0 PR (or greater) advantage against a weaker player, can overcome the handicap of giving away the cube in a money game.
2. To raise money for Mochy’s charity.

Details of the event, including a link for the live video stream can found here:

http://www.bgonline.org/forums/webbb...es;read=177713

You can read more about the event in this thread at BgOnline:

http://www.bgonline.org/forums/webbb...es;read=174720

Mike

Very cool. I would bet on the cube assuming Phil is 3 pr worse than Mochy. I would think with computers one or both of them no exactly what the cube is worth.

Yes, this should be fun. It is being held in Las Vegas, so there are lots of ways to bet on it. Supposedly Mochy and Phil have a significant per-point wager between themselves. I don't know what Mochy has done, but Phil says it is a large enough bet that he brought in backers.

In the second link above, there is a lot of discussion about who is favored. The general consensus is that Phil might have a small edge. Phil writes, “I have played hundreds of money games that I have either played against XG or have put into XG, and I play around 5 PR.” Assuming that is correct, then Mochy would have to play at 2.0 in order to have a 3.0 PR advantage.

Neil Kazaross determined that, “[In XGR++ evaluations,] the value of starting [a game] owning the cube [at 2] is shown to be a bit less than 3/8 of a point.”

Rick Janowski calculated the break-even point in two posts that can be found here and here. He concluded, “It now looks to me like Mochy needs a PR edge of about 3.3 to break even.”

Having stated that he averages around 5.0, Phil has been trying to reduce expectations by saying, “My guess is I will play about 5 or 6 PR worse than Mochy.” That way, if Phil turns in, say, a 7.0 or 8.0, he can claim that he did better than expected. He is further buttressed against the embarrassment of playing in double digits. It is a fair warning to those who have backed him!

Mike

What was the result?

Is there a recording of it somewhere?
I didnt find any on twitch.

That was among the best things I have ever seen on the internet.

Might even be top 5. A+++++++ Would 4/20 again.

And thanks Taper for the eminently importable files (GNU) from the LV Open.

Mochy won 14 units. Phil conceded with a couple of games left I think. Phil didn't play as well as I expected.

Somebody has the XG files? Phil pr? Mochy pr? Thanks

I understand that the video will be uploaded somewhere, perhaps to YouTube, and also that match files will be forthcoming. Might take a couple of days.

Mike

Here is part 1, part 2 is on same channel. Stick said he would have a file up soon over at his site.

http://youtu.be/oBGqb6z2LZE

NSFW because Falafel drops a few curse words as he loses bets. No sound would be advised.

A backgammon player utters a curse word as he loses a bet? I feel faint. Get my smelling salts. I'll definitely have to mute this.

Stick posted his XG match file and commentary at BgOnline last tonight. The final PRs were:

Phil 6.6
Mochy 3.9

Right now, there is no GnuBg file, but if you check back later today, someone will probably have converted the XG file into a TXT format that can be read by GnuBg users.

Stick also assembled a 7-problem quiz based on positions taken from the exhibition. These are positions where, writes Stick, "Falafel had, let's say, an overly confident opinion."

Due to technical problems, much of the original 1080p video recording was lost. A complete recording made by a viewer has now been posted at YouTube. It has two parts: Part 1 and Part 2.

If you enjoy this as much as I did, I hope you will make the voluntary $5 contribution to Mochy's charity that has been requested. Stick gives the details in the commentary I linked above.

Mike