View source for Mind Sports Olympiad

{{Short description|International multi-disciplined event}}
{{Infobox tournament
| name = Mind Sports Olympiad
| image =File:Mind Sports Olympiad logo.jpg
| caption =
| sport = Games of mental skill
| location = London, England
| start_date = <!-- or | date = or | month_played = -->
| end_date = <!-- or | month_played = -->
| established = 1997
| defunct =
| teams =
| number =
| commissioner = [[Mind Sports Organisation]]
| format =
| current_champion = <!--Use if still played-->
| final_champion = <!--Use if no longer played-->
}}

The '''Mind Sports Olympiad''' ('''MSO''') is an annual international [[multi-sport event|multi-disciplined competition]] and festival for [[game of skill|games of mental skill]] and [[mind sport]]s by [[Mind Sports Organisation]]. The inaugural event was held in 1997 in [[London]] with £100,000 prize fund<ref name="times97">''Mind Sports Olympiad Supplement'', [[The Times]], 11 August 1997, online version available from studiogiochi MSO archives [http://www.studiogiochi.com/en/p/MSO1997.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828204502/http://www.studiogiochi.com/en/p/MSO1997.html|date=28 August 2012}}</ref> and was described as possibly the biggest games festival ever held.<ref name="ind_wh"/>

The MSO was the first event of its kind<ref>''Mind Sports Olympiad'', [[The Manila Standard Today|The Manila Standard]], 17 August 1997, [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cZVOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HgsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6230,1667558&dq=mind-sports-olympiad&hl=en] retrieved 16 July 2012</ref> celebrating mental skills and awarding gold, silver and bronze [[medals]] for each event<ref name="times_mso1">''The Mind Sports Olympiad Supplement'', [[The Times]], July - August 1997</ref> and was highly influential on the mind sports movement and competitions that have followed since. The main MSO tournament has been held every year in [[England]].<ref name="potters"/><ref name="toronto_star">''Underwater chess is one of the mind games at the Mind Sports Olympiad'', [[The Toronto Star]], Josh Tapper, 12 June 2012 [https://www.thestar.com/sports/london2012/article/1210101--underwater-chess-is-one-of-the-mind-games-at-mind-sports-olympiad] retrieved 12 July 2012</ref>

In 2020,  due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], for the first time, the entire MSO tournament was held online.<ref name="msoworld.com">{{Cite web|title=Mind Sports Olympiad is coming soon|url=https://msoworld.com/2020/05/mso-2020-to-proceed-online-in-august/|access-date=2021-10-29|language=en-US}}</ref>

==History==
The first Mind Sports Olympiad was held in London's [[Royal Festival Hall]] in 1997. It brought together an unprecedented number of strategy games and events. [[William Hartston]] in [[The Independent]] said, "The biggest gamesfest ever to hit these (or perhaps any other) shores".<ref name="ind_wh">[[William Hartston]], [https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-south-bank-brain-show-1256991.html The South Bank Brain Show], ''[[The Independent]]'' 21 June 1997. Retrieved 2 August 2009</ref>

The inaugural MSO along with a very large number of games, introduced two new events of their own creation the [[Pentamind]] and the [[Decamentathlon]]. These were two events to parallel the multi-event games in athletics of the [[modern pentathlon]] and the [[decathlon]]. This was part of the ambition to create an [[Olympic Games|Olympics]] of the mind.

The Mind Sports Olympiad returned to London with sponsorship in both 1998<ref>''Sheehan on Bridge'', [[The Times]], [[Robert Sheehan]], 20 October 1998</ref> and 1999.<ref>''Games: Bridge'', [[The Independent]], Alan Hiron, 5 December 1999, [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/games-bridge-1130510.html] Retrieved 2 August 2009</ref> Despite a falling out between the organisers<ref>''Britain's Mind Games end in debt and tears'', [[The Independent]], Robert Mendick, 13 March 2001, [https://web.archive.org/web/20010519175349/http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=71910]. Retrieved 10. September 2016</ref> a successful event was held in [[Alexandra Palace]] the next year in 2000.<ref name="alex">''Fierce rivalry in 'Olympics' for brainboxes'', [[CNN]], Paul Sussman, 24 August 2000 {{cite web|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/08/23/mind.olympiad/index.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628014250/http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/08/23/mind.olympiad/index.html |archive-date=28 June 2013 }} retrieved 16 July 2012</ref>

During this time several satellite events were held around the world bearing the Mind Sports Olympiad name. These have occurred in [[Cambridge]], England;<ref>''Uganda: Kampala Wins Gold'', [[AllAfrica.com]], Norman Katende, 10 May 2002
[http://allafrica.com/stories/200205100267.html] retrieved 16 July 2012</ref> [[Singapore]];<ref>MSO (Singapore) 2000 opening speech archived by [[Ministry of Education (Singapore)]], [http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2000/sp06092000.htm] retrieved 16 July 2012</ref> [[Seoul]], [[South Korea]];<ref>{{cite web| title=MSO Korean Contest Will be Held on July 22| work=Korea JoongAng Daily| date=14 July 1999| url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=1872372| access-date=27 June 2014 | url-status=usurped | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127010455/http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=1872372 |archive-date=27 January 2013  }} retrieved 16 July 2012</ref> [[Milan]], [[Italy]];<ref>[[Shogi]] results for MSO Italy 2000 [http://www.shogi.net/ital-champ/AIS-champ2-2000.html from shogi.net] retrieved 16 July 2012</ref> [[Oulu]], [[Finland]];<ref>Mind Sports Festival announcement [http://www.chessbanter.com/rec-games-chess-misc-chess/6807-mind-sports-festival-oulu-2003-a.html from chessbanter.com] retrieved 16 July 2012</ref> and [[Prague]], [[The Czech Republic]].<ref>''Looking Forward To The Mind Sports Olympiad'', [[Radio Praha]], 17 September 2006, Jan Velinger, {{cite web |url=http://new.radio.cz/en/article/83223 |title=Radio Prague - Looking forward to the Mind Sports Olympiad |access-date=5 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716105221/http://new.radio.cz/en/article/83223 |archive-date=16 July 2012  }} retrieved 2 August 2009</ref>

The Mind Sports Olympiad main event continued to happen with smaller sponsorship and the tournaments were held at a number of different universities. The event was still going strong for the years 2001–2006.<ref name="ward">''Cerebral Athletes Play Mind Games'', [[The Guardian]], David Ward, 22 August 2005, [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/aug/22/davidward] retrieved 2 August 2009</ref> The main 2004 event featured a separate event for schools, featuring competitions and activities in chess, Go, quizzes and intelligence puzzles. But in 2007 the Mind Sports Olympiad was reduced to a much smaller venue in [[Potters Bar]] due to no sponsorship and no advertising.<ref name="potters">''This time it's Personal'', [[The Guardian]], Stephen Moss, 27 August 2007, [https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,,2156846,00.html] retrieved 12 July 2012</ref> In 2008 the MSO saw a revival, returning to a central London venue, the [[Royal Horticultural Halls]], [[Westminster]] and again on 21–31 August 2009<ref name="venue2009">''Cheam Man's Mind Bending Puzzles at Mental Olympiad'', [[Sutton Guardian]], Kevin Barnesm, 28 August 2009, [http://www.suttonguardian.co.uk/news/4568630.Cheam_man_s_mind_bending_puzzles_at_mental_olympiad/] retrieved 30 April 2011</ref>

The 2010 event was held at the [[Soho Theatre]] in London.<ref name="jc" /> In 2011, the Mind Sports Olympiad moved to a bigger venue, the [[University of London Union]].<ref name="venue_summary">''Mind Sports Olympiad moves to bigger venue'', DigitalJournal.com, Alexander Baron, 3 May 2011, [http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/306296] retrieved 15 July 2012</ref> The 16th MSO took place once again at the University of London Union in 18–27 August 2012, and similarly the 17th MSO was also at ULU.<ref name="toronto_star" />

The main MSO event<ref name="toronto_star" /> remains truly international,<ref>''MSO XV Pentamind'' article from [http://www.boardability.com/article.php?id=10 MSO website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722015047/http://www.boardability.com/article.php?id=10 |date=22 July 2012 }} retrieved 12 July 2012</ref> because it is still regarded as the foremost competition for all-rounders especially the "coveted Pentamind World Championship",<ref name="toronto_star" /> won in 2010 by Paco Garcia De La Banda from [[Spain]],<ref name="banda">''Paco Garcia De La Banda wins the Mind Sports Olympiad XIV'' (translated from [[Spanish language|Spanish]]), elapuron.com, 11 September 2012, [https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http://www.elapuron.com/noticias/sociedad/3431/paco-garca-de-la-banda-triunfa-en-las-xiv-olimpiadas-de-deportes-mentales/] retrieved 16 July 2012</ref> while the 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2016 Pentamind World Champion Andres Kuusk is from [[Estonia]].<ref name="kuusk">''Estonian Mind Athlete Wins World Championship'', [[Eesti Rahvusringhaaling|ERR News]], Ingrid Teesalu, 30 August 2011, [http://news.err.ee/sports/cced719d-60db-4aa9-a795-a8cc02fe202f]
retrieved 6 September 2011</ref>

===Structure of the organisation===
{{main|Mind Sports Organisation}}
When the MSO was initially formed in 1997, the main organisers included [[David Levy (chess player)|David Levy]], [[Tony Buzan]], and [[Raymond Keene]]<ref name="times97" /> with David Levy being the original founder of the MSO concept.<ref name="TES">''Don's diary: games and gold medals in Mind'', [[Times Higher Education]], 17 October 2003, [[David Levy (chess player)|David Levy]] [http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=184239&sectioncode=26] retrieved 14 July 2012</ref>

As of 2012 the board running the MSO along with David Levy<ref name="jc">''Scrabble, Monopoly and more at shul games fest'', [[The Jewish Chronicle]], Robyn Rosen, 26 August 2010,[http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/37303/scrabble-monopoly-and-more-shul-games-fest] retrieved 14 July 2012</ref> are Tony Corfe<ref name="BBC2005">''Mind games tournament under way'', [[BBC Manchester]], 19 August 2005, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4167626.stm]</ref> and [[Etan Ilfeld]]<ref name="jc" />

===Logo, medals, and awards===
[[File:Exekias,_anfora_con_achille_e_aiace_che_giocano_a_dai,_castore_e_polluce,_da_vulci,_540-30_ac_ca._03.JPG|thumb|[[Ancient Greece | Ancient Greek]] art that was used as a direct inspiration for the MSO logo, depicting Ajax and Achilles playing a game thought to be [[Five Lines]]]]
The Olympiad's logo depicted [[Ajax the Great|Ajax]] playing [[Achilles]], used for their medals and awards<ref name="sunday_times">''Brain Spotting'', [[The Sunday Times]], Richard Johnson, [http://www.rjsj.demon.co.uk/articles/suntimes/brain.htm online copy from author's website] retrieved 14 July 2012</ref><ref name="ranks">[http://www.boardability.com/article.php?id=ranks MSO article on ranks and medals] including image of medals with logo retrieved 12 July 2012</ref>
is based upon the famous depiction found on over 150 items of ancient pottery from around 500 BC
.<ref>''Exekias'', [[American Journal of Archaeology]], [[John Boardman (art historian)|John Boardman]], 1980, [https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/503793?uid=3738032&uid=2&uid=4&sid=56308832453]</ref>
Probably based either on an item from [[The British Museum]]<ref>[[Etruscan art|Etruscan]] [[Amphora]] from [[The British Museum]] Collections, [https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=400038&partid=1&IdNum=1851%2c0806.15&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database%2fmuseum_number_search.aspx]</ref>
or [[Vatican Museum]] collections.<ref>Image of amphora from [[Vatican Museum]] from [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/123724/Amphora-with-Ajax-and-Achilles-playing-a-board-game-painted]</ref>

Alongside bestowing titles of Olympiad and [[World Champion]]s, the MSO organisers originally envisaged having their own ratings and ranks system, however, not all of these ideas came to pass.
The MSO continues to give its own ranks of up to International Grandmaster.<ref name="ranks" />

==Venues==
[[File:Mind Sports Olympiad, 17-08-2014.jpg|thumb|Players at the 2014 Mind Sports Olympiad]]
The Mind Sports Olympiad main event was at large venues for the first four years before being reduced in size due to funding difficulties.<ref name="venue_summary" /> It has been held annually since 1997 at the following locations in [[England]]:

# 1997 [[Royal Festival Hall]], London<ref name="times_mso1" />
# 1998 [[Novotel Hotel]], [[Hammersmith]]<ref>''Independent Pursuits: Chess'', [[The Independent]], 3 September 1998, [[Jon Speelman]], [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/independent-pursuits-chess-1195762.html]  retrieved 31 July 2009</ref>
# 1999 [[Olympia (London)|Kensington Olympia]], London<ref>Robert Nurden. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/mental-athletes-tune-up-for-mind-games-1114330.html ''Mental athletes tune up for Mind Games''], 22 August 1999. Retrieved 2 August 2009</ref>
# 2000 [[Alexandra Palace]], London<ref name="alex" />
# 2001 [[South Bank University]], London<ref name="venue2001">''Chess'', [[The Independent]], [[Jon Speelman]], 29 August 2001 [https://web.archive.org/web/20130518195058/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5193764.html archived abstract] retrieved 15 July 2012</ref>
# 2002 [[Loughborough University]], [[Loughborough]]<ref name="venue_summary" />
# 2003 [[UMIST]], [[Manchester]]<ref name="TES" />
# 2004 UMIST, Manchester<ref name="nytimes2004">''Meanwhile: Tired already? Try the Mind Olympics'', [[The New York Times]], Michael Johnson, 13 August 2004, [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/13/opinion/13iht-edjohnson_ed3_.html] retrieved 18 July 2012</ref>
# 2005 [[Manchester University]], Manchester<ref name="venue2005">Mind games tournament under way, [[BBC Manchester]], 19 August 2005 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4167626.stm] Retrieved 30 April 2011</ref><ref name="man_council">''Manchester Hosts 9th Mind Sports Olympiad'', [[Manchester City Council]] News, 2 August 2005, [http://www.manchester.gov.uk/news/article/612/manchester_hosts_9th_mind_sports_olympiad] retrieved 18 July 2012</ref>
# 2006 [[University of Westminster|Westminster University]], London<ref name="venue2006">Archived poster from [[British Go Association]] MSO event 2006 [http://www.britgo.org/importfiles/tournaments/2006/MSO10go.pdf] retrieved 15 July 2012</ref>
# 2007 United Reformed Church, [[Potters Bar]]<ref name="potters" />
# 2008 [[Royal Horticultural Halls]], London<ref name="venue2008">MSO [[Backgammon]] results from uk backgammon site [http://www.backgammon-biba.co.uk/MSO2008.htm] retrieved 15 July 2012</ref>
# 2009 Royal Horticultural Halls, London<ref name="venue2009" />
# 2010 [[Soho Theatre]], London<ref name="jc" />
# 2011 [[University of London Union]], London<ref name="venue11">''Mind Sports Olympiad'', [[Time Out (company)|Time Out London Magazine]], August 2011, [http://www.timeout.com/london/around-town/event/230769/mind-sports-olympiad] retrieved 15 July 2012</ref>
# 2012 University of London Union, London<ref name="toronto_star" />
# 2013 University of London Union, London
# 2014 [[JW3]], London
# 2015 [[JW3]], London
# 2016 [[JW3]], London
# 2017 [[JW3]], London
# 2018 [[JW3]], London
# 2019 [[JW3]], London
# 2020 Held online
# 2021 Held online
# 2022 [[JW3]], London
# 2023 [[JW3]], London
# 2024 [[JW3]], London

==Games at the MSO==
The MSO consists mainly of single event competitions most of which are for the nominal title of Olympiad champion, though some trademarked games are authorised by the game designer and publishers as the [[World championship|official world championships]]. All games, whether an Olympiad or the official World championship, can count towards the Pentamind. Medals, and more recently trophies, are awarded for gold, silver and bronze positions in each competition as well as ranks, with similar awards for the top juniors in each event. In early Olympiads sponsorship allowed for generous financial prizes to go with many of the events. In recent years such prizes have been limited to a small number of events, usually as a result of specific outside sponsorship for that discipline.

Notable games include (most other references mention some of these):<ref>List of games, http://www.boardability.com/games_az.html. Retrieved 2 August 2009</ref> the well-known: [[chess]], [[Contract bridge|bridge]], [[draughts]], [[shogi]], [[backgammon]], [[Chinese chess|Chinese chess (xiangqi)]], [[Reversi|Othello]], [[poker]], [[cribbage]], ''[[Mastermind (board game)|Mastermind]]''; and many newer games like: ''[[Abalone (board game)|Abalone]]'', [[Bōku]], [[Continuo (game)|Continuo]], ''[[Entropy (1977 board game)|Entropy]]'', [[Kamisado]],<ref>Op-Ed: Mind Sports Olympiad 2011 - with chess diving, Digital Journal, 23 August 2011, Alexander Baron,
http://digitaljournal.com/article/310713. Retrieved 6 September 2011</ref> [[Lines of Action|Lines of Action (LOA)]], [[Octi]],<ref>2019 Mind Sports Olympiad Schedule, https://mindsportsolympiad.com/2019-mind-sports-olympiad-schedule/</ref> [[Pacru]],<ref name="pacru">Mike's test for the old grey matter, [[Manchester Evening News]], Patricia Roberts, 8 December 2005 [http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/190/190584_mikes_test_for_the_old_grey_matter.html]</ref> [[TwixT]]

==Pentamind==
This was one of the Mind Sports Olympiad's original events.<ref name="times_mso1"/> It was an attempt along with the [[decamentathlon]] to produce an event for all-rounders to parallel the Olympic Games with its events the decathlon and pentathlon. Unlike the decamentathlon's fixed format (see separate article) the pentamind has very little fixed format. It disallows using games that are considered too similar and normally requires a long event, but otherwise any five
events from the schedule could be used.

The Pentamind champion is the player with the highest numerical score in "pentamind points" from 5 valid events.
This is calculated using the formula 100 x (n - p) / (n - 1), where n is the number of players and p is the player's position in an event.<ref name="ward" /> The position is the position before tie-breaks and any split positions are shared amongst all of the tied players. When there are fewer than 10 players in a tournament, the score is multiplied by a secondary factor [p / (p + 1)].

{{as of|2024}}, the World Championship Pentamind event has been won a record six times by Andres Kuusk, surpassing the five times set by [[Demis Hassabis]] and the fifth win Ankush Khandelwal.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}
* 2024: {{flagicon|Estonia}} Andres Kuusk<ref name="Kuusk">{{cite web|url=https://mindsportsolympiad.com/andres-kuusk-wins-a-record-6th-pentamind/|title=Andres Kuusk Wins a Record 6th Pentamind!|date=28 August 2024|website=Mind Sports Olympiad}}</ref> 
* 2023: {{flagicon|England}} Ankush Khandelwal
* 2022: {{flagicon|Estonia}} Andres Kuusk<ref name="Kuusk"/>
* 2021: {{flagicon|Poland}} Maciej Brzeski
* 2020: {{flagicon|England}} Ankush Khandelwal
* 2019: {{flagicon|England}} Ankush Khandelwal
* 2018: {{flagicon|England}} Ankush Khandelwal
* 2017: {{flagicon|England}} James Heppell
* 2016: {{flagicon|Estonia}} Andres Kuusk<ref name="Kuusk"/>
* 2015: {{flagicon|England}} James Heppell
* 2014: {{flagicon|Estonia}} Andres Kuusk<ref name="Kuusk"/>
* 2013: {{flagicon|Estonia}} Andres Kuusk<ref name="Kuusk"/> and {{flagicon|England}} Ankush Khandelwal
* 2012: {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Dario De Toffoli]]<ref name=":2012">{{Cite web|url=https://mindsportsolympiad.com/pentamind-world-championship/|title=Pentamind World Championship|website=Mind Sports Olympiad}}</ref>
* 2011: {{flagicon|Estonia}} Andres Kuusk<ref>{{cite web|url= https://news.err.ee/101223/estonian-mind-athlete-wins-world-championship |title=Estonian Mind Athlete Wins World Championship|first=Ingrid |last=Teesalu|date=30 August 2011|website=ERR News}}</ref>
* 2010: {{flagicon|Spain}} Paco Garcia de la Banda<ref>Un proyecto de emprendeduría infantil de La Palma recibe respaldo internacional, Que Newspaper, 13 September 2010 [http://www.que.es/santa-cruz-de-tenerife/201009130939-proyecto-emprendeduria-infantil-palma-recibe-epi.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311101512/http://www.que.es/santa-cruz-de-tenerife/201009130939-proyecto-emprendeduria-infantil-palma-recibe-epi.html|date=11 March 2012}} Retrieved 30 April 2011</ref>
* 2009: {{flagicon|England}} Martyn Hamer<ref>Martyn Minds if he holds onto his crown..., [[Accrington Observer]], Stuart Pike, 20 August 2010, [http://menmedia.co.uk/accringtonobserver/news/s/1314478_martyn_minds_if_he_holds_onto_his_crown]. Retrieved 30 April 2010</ref> and {{flagicon|England}} Tim Hebbes
* 2008: {{flagicon|England}} David M. Pearce<ref name="resultsto2010">{{cite web|url=http://www.boardability.com/result.php?id=pentamind|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708075057/http://www.boardability.com/result.php?id=pentamind |archivedate=8 July 2011|title=Results for pentamind|website=mindsportsolympiad.com}}</ref>
* 2007: {{flagicon|England}} David M. Pearce<ref name="resultsto2010"/>
* 2006: {{flagicon|Czech Republic}} Jan Šťastna<ref name="resultsto2010"/>
* 2005: {{flagicon|England}} Tim Hebbes<ref name="resultsto2010"/>
* 2004: {{flagicon|South Africa}} Alain Dekker<ref name="resultsto2010"/>
* 2003: {{flagicon|England}} [[Demis Hassabis]]<ref name="resultsto2010"/>
* 2002: {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Dario De Toffoli]]<ref name="resultsto2010"/>
* 2001: {{flagicon|England}} [[Demis Hassabis]]<ref name="resultsto2010"/>
* 2000: {{flagicon|England}} [[Demis Hassabis]]<ref name="resultsto2010"/>
* 1999: {{flagicon|England}} [[Demis Hassabis]]<ref name="resultsto2010"/>
* 1998: {{flagicon|England}} [[Demis Hassabis]]<ref name="resultsto2010"/>
* 1997: {{flagicon|Wales}} Kenneth J. Wilshire<ref name="ward"/>

==Decamentathlon World Championships==
{{main|Decamentathlon}}

The '''Decamentathlon''' World Championship was originally established as the main event to determine the best all-round games player in the world before being superseded by the Pentamind. The Decamentathlon comprises 10 events scored out of 100, lasting 4 hours largely consisting of examined papers.<ref name="times97" />

The following eight mental skills have always been part of the Decamentathlon: [[memory skill]]s, [[mental calculation]], [[IQ]], [[chess]], [[Go (board game)|Go]], [[Reversi|Othello]], 8 by 8 [[draughts]], and [[creative thinking]]. MSO also organizes Mental Calculation World Championship separately. The original two mental skills were [[Contract bridge|bridge]] and [[Mastermind (board game)|Mastermind]],<ref name="times97" /> although these have varied in recent years using [[Backgammon]] and most recently [[Sudoku]] as substitutes.

==Abstract Games World Championships==
The MSO introduced the [[Abstract strategy game|Abstract Games]] world championship in 2008.<ref name="abstract_games">Article on abstract games world championships, http://www.boardability.com/game.php?abstract_games{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, 15 February 2011</ref>

==World Amateur Poker Championships==
The first world amateur poker championships was held in 1998 as part of the second Mind Sports Olympiad.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/23/magazine/sunday-august-23-1998-competitions-i-think-i-can.html Competitions: I think I can], [[The New York Times]], 23 August 1998. Retrieved 12 July 2012</ref> The inaugural event was criticised for the standard of the play<ref>Independent Pursuits: Poker, [[The Independent]], David Spanier, 10 September 1998
[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/independent-pursuits-poker-1197188.html]. Retrieved 12 July 2012</ref> and for the events unique feature as only being played for medals and not for money. However, since the [[Internet poker|poker internet]] revolution the event continued to flourish with increased numbers.<ref name="ward" /> The event also is open to under 18s which the MSO also gives a title since money doesn't change hands<ref>Amateur World Poker Championship details MSO website [http://www.boardability.com/tournaments.php#poker] retrieved 12 July 2012</ref>

The 2012 tournament consisted of the best results from 5 of 7 [[pot limit]] [[poker tournament]]s in the following [[Poker variants|variants]]<ref>MSO 2012 timetable http://www.boardability.com/timetable.php. Retrieved 13 July 2012</ref>

* [[7 Card Stud]]
* [[5 Card Draw]]
* [[Canadian Stud]]
* [[Pineapple Hold'em]]
* [[London Lowball]]
* [[Texas Hold'em]]
* [[Omaha (poker)]]

And formerly also featured other variants such as:<ref>MSO Poker http://www.boardability.com/game.php?id=poker {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623162214/http://www.boardability.com/game.php?id=poker |date=23 June 2012 }}. Retrieved 13 July 2012</ref>

* [[Heads up poker|Heads Up Texas Hold'em]]
* [[Razz (poker)|Razz]]
* [[6 Card Lowball]]
* [[Mexican Stud]]

==See also==
* [[List of world championships in mind sports]]
* [[Mind Sports Organisation]]
* [[World Mind Sports Games]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{cite web |title=Interview with Etan Ilfeld of Mind Sports Olympiad |url=https://www.onlineunitedstatescasinos.com/gambling-articles/interview-with-etan-ilfeld-mind-sports-olympiad/ |website=Onlineunitedstatescasinos.com |access-date=30 September 2020 |ref=interview with Etan Ilfeld}}

==External links==
* [http://www.msoworld.com/ MSO official website]
* [http://www.boardability.com/ MSO website 2009-2013 (still active)]
* [http://www.studiogiochi.com/en/p/MindSportsOlympiad.html MSO archives from StudioGiochi.com]
* [http://www.memoriad.com/ MEMORIAD - World Mental Olympics]
* [https://www.studiogiochi.com/en/activities/mind-sports-olympiad/mso-2018/#1518087796239-ef82228a-56635aed-a287 MSO Italian Competitors, Medals and Interviews]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180518091318/http://www.boardability.com/country_league.php Country Medals]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20240425080916/http://www.boardability.com/all_results.php Results]

{{Multi-sport events}}
{{World Mind Sports Games}}

[[Category:Multi-sport events in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Mind sports competitions]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 1997]]
[[Category:1997 establishments in England]]