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Joe Sylvester

Posted By: David Rockwell
Date: Monday, 13 September 2010, at 3:13 p.m.

In Response To: Backgammon Hall of Fame Candidates (Stick)

During my first 10 years playing competitive Backgammon, one name stood out over all others - Joe Sylvester. There were no bots around then to validate which ideas were correct and which were incorrect. Most players had their detractors. Joe was universally recognized as an elite. His price in Calcutta auctions was obscene. I believe there was at least one auction where he needed to win the 64 player field more than 33% of the time to justify the price. I heard a story once that there was a dispute over an illegal move in a middle game position during one of Joe's tournament matches. The director was called and Joe proceeded to play the entire game back by memory proving that his version of the truth was correct. Joe has played in 3 ABT events or so in the last decade. In one of those, he won both the Masters and the Main, with little preparation or practice. I have met three people in my life whose intelligence impressed me as being way beyond the crowd. One of those is Joe. Joe is at the top of my list for a Backgammon Hall of Fame.

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