Undercover Backgammon Grandmaster plays in Istanbul Grand Bazaar (FUN TO WATCH!) 

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I don’t know what the hell is going on but that was enjoyable to watch.

When l was travelling in Europe by train in the 80's, l would put my backgammon board somewhere visible and wait. Someone would always come and play and it never mattered whether we spoke the same language or not. Passed many fun hours that would have been boring otherwise.

I can’t believe I found myself in a Tavla video unexpectedly. Was such fun to watch. Interesting fact is we, Turks, barrowed the game from Persians. In fact, we still call numbers on dice in Farsi. You were mentioning Shesh. It is 6. However, in Turkish, it’s actually Alti. Also, Tavla is bland without the banter. No one plays it without making fun of the opponent. Basically, mental war is part of the game. If you play and win against any Turkish person ever, close the board and stick it under their armpit. It is a smybol of saying “I wrote the book of Tavla. Open it back and read it at home”. If you think symbolism there, you open the board in the same way you open a book. Also, this is how usually carry a book ;)

We call that spectator sitting next to you as "Yancı" can be translated as "Sidekick". He is there to make opponent sick. His mission is suck your energy out of you. Every card game player has a Yancı and most Backgammon players have one either. You played great against them at their home.

Turkish people especially elders and shop owners are very obsessed with this game. Playing in Grand bazaar is also seems very exciting. Fun to watch the video

Look how he slowed down after you started beating him he started to have to think he knew you were good

haha, those guys they will talk for years about the match against the european grandmaster! 😅

no idea of backgammon rules couldnt understand a word said and found this extremely interesting

I lived in Turkey two years. I learned to play "Tavla" while living there. I still love to play. I have some friends who own shops in the Grand Bazaar. I am 95% sure that the fella you called "the spectator" who sat close to you and kept touching the pieces is the bother of my dear friend who owns a carpet store. The last I knew his brother was selling Iznik pottery. A special kind that was an expensive reproduction of ancient techniques. My friend's name is Aydin Copur. I think his brother's name is Ercan. The shop you were in looks like the one I bought my Walnut board in. The owner was a friend of Aydin's. That makes me think he knew Ercan and invited him to the match. Amazing the small world we live in. Congrats on the win! If you are ever in central Pennsylvania, drop in for a Turkish Coffee and some Tavla.

Loved watching this video. Loved seeing the laughter and the smiles on everyone's faces. This video reminds me of a time, while vacationing in Cancún just a couple of years ago, where I met and played another tourist out by the hotel's pool. Each game we played, the man also picked up the dice _immediately_ after I rolled them! I did get him to admit later, it was "logical" to leave them on the board until I finished my move, in case I misread the die and moved differently. I also remember he played differently regarding picking and passing in your own home board. (He said that wasn't allowed.) I enjoyed meeting him and playing several games with him, out by the hotel pool, that afternoon.

9:19 - Eight hour discussion over which shot to leave 12:42 - "We are not playing chess my friend"

Even though the basics of the "tavla" is similar to backgammon, the main goal is demoralizing the opponent by trash-talking and forcing them to play fast and make mistakes. If you think about a move more than 2 seconds, your opponent will probably say "are we playing chess?". If you roll a 64 and make 2 point in your board, it's commonly called as "sucker point". Hoping to see you in İstanbul in the future Marc. Love your content, big fan.

Would love to see more of these types of videos. Aside from the gameplay being phenomenal, I really enjoyed the culture and the language.

07:06 "adama bak, delikanli adam" something like "look at this guy, he is a man of hounor" nice to see you n istanbul ;)

Haha very interesting to see a grandmaster play against our traditional players. They can be annoying sometimes but I think the energy overall was great!

Your game is really good but the fact that you could take anything from that bazaar for free is legendary. İ am so happy that street player played against a grandmaster though. İt was fun.

In one of the games the local player called out "shesh" which means 6 in Persian (where backgammon originated about 5,000 years ago). Old-school Turkish players still call out dice rolls in Farsi (Persian), not Turkish, and the numbers are 1-yek, 2-du, 3-se, 4, jar, 5-pench, 6-shesh. I learned this at the Grand Bazaar.

In Greece the same they roll the dice before I even saw what I rolled 😳😂 & I was counting spaces then & they went bam bam done. Made my head spin! Love this video💜 also you can choose beginning win roll if you want to roll again or keep roll.

I wanted to slap that spectators hand so many times. No toucha my pips, eh?

What I beautiful immersion into Turkish culture, I've been playing on a Turkish backgammon app for year's, and Turkish players would always chide me for a playing slower than them. Love that board.

Hahaha I don't know why this was in my recommend list I don't even play backamon 😂 but it was enjoyable to watch 😂😂 by the way I love Turkey ❤️ greetings from Sweden

Practically every Turk knows how to play Tavla (Backgammon), a knowledge seemingly inherent from birth :) Nice video. Greetings to Denmark from Norway Stavanger. Ha en fin dag Marc !

it gets funnier to watch when you are a turk :D

A really neat and wholesome moment in humanity

You guys are more interesting to watch than a bunch of A-list Hollywood actors in a movie.

You are a humble opponent Marc! Love that about you! Good game!

In Greece (and I presume in Turkey as well, a match is usually to seven points, but we play two more types of game). The tournament backgammon is what we call "portes" (doors). The other two types are: Plakoto: A game where one piece can trap another piece on the same point. So there's no going back but the trapped piece cannot move unless freed. Fevga: A game where one piece by itself can block a point. There are certain special rules on that though: First of all, opponents start on opposite corners of the board. You MUST put your first piece in the opponents starting point before moving the next. And you cannot fill your starting point entirely with your pieces. It's very tactical and quite difficult to master.

So much fun, great video!

Nice Video, thank you for sharing this! :-) Teşekkür ederim!

I used to occasionally play casually with these Eastern Mediterranean guys in their cafes on my travels. They expect to win easily and are always amazed that a westerner can play well. But if you play a Greek and beat him at "normal" backgammon - they will insist you play the other two games - they routinely play what they call a "tria" of 3 different games, only one of which is "our" BG. If you decline (because how can you win at a strange game?) they will then say that our BG game is "the woman's game", in other words its the easiest of the 3 games they play - quite a put-down. It's fun to do it once or twice but their local "etiquette" is annoying and, as a foreigner, you are always at a big disadvantage no matter how much better a player you are. Calling the dice numbers, throwing the dice hard, often onto the floor and before opponent has finished his move, playing and picking dice up almost instantly, discussing tactics openly with their friends, and so on. Marc won here but the odds given were very much in favour of the local guy as he would have priced the board at the "tourist price" and Marc would have had to pay twice that.

When I was young in the 70's this game was very popular. Every bar/pub or coffee shop had them for people to play while enjoying a beverage. We played fast but not like this! Haha! Cool video!

I would hate playing against someone and having ten other people talking and touching the board game as well haha

I have absolutely zero idea about what was happening but it was thrilling nonetheless lol. Plus the grand bazaar is a magical place

I know literally nothing about backgammon but this was quite entertaining to watch

Its funny watching the differences between the two cultures as well

never get enough backgammon lolllllll 1 more!!!!!

So cool i have 2 helena boards my self love to play on it with friends who dont know how to play with doubling cube

Great post! This reminds me of a time, years ago. I was playing a game at my restaurant and this Turk walks in professing to be unbeatable. He would play me for a free dinner. I asked what I stood to win if I won. He said that would never happen.... “ in Turkey we learn to play before we can walk!” Needless to say, I beat him. He threw the dice at me and walked out.... 🤣😂🤣😂 pizzaman1 on backgammon galaxy

Great video that was fun watching Turkish people are so friendly

Great video!

No idea why this showed up on my feed, but am glad it did. There is a saying in Turkey ‘the defeated pehlivan never tires of wrestling’ 😅

This was so fun to watch, the passion and community of Turkish people is beautiful and was definitely on display in this video, I'm glad you go to get a taste of our culture and have this experience

Chess and backgammon heaven, Grand Bazaar. Over 3000 shops. Every time I go to İstanbul, I go there. I also got my beautiful Helena Backgammon board there.

Absolutely brilliant video fast and raw more like this please when possible.

The Real Talent In Street Tavla Is Getting the Required Numbers. Called “zar tutmak”. Respect From Australia Cem Oluklu.

I like how Tavli is the core opposite of Chess. 1) You use a lot of chance instead of perfect information 2) You make as much noise as you can 3) You talk to your opponent and he talks to you 4) Other people that you don't even know, join up and debate on how you should play 5) Your opponent might even help you out telling you how he thought you should play instead 🤣

Tell you what tho they were constantly asking him questions and make him confuse.

pretty funny regular istanbul gammon experience.

Looks like a very unique and beautiful experience. It’s great that you got to do that.

I came to watch this video every night before I go to sleep. I know Turkish. Let's do the English translation. This is a really great video.

When it’s just for fun and laughs and no one’s going to get hurt financially I’m ok with the spectators doing what they do. If I’m in a full fledged big money game no one says a word or else lol. I used to play for many years everyday for 8-12 hours a day then i moved on from that club. And sadly enough haven’t really played much for about 3 years.

I learned backgammon in Romainia under the same anthem: we are not playing chess here! 😂 I enjoied this game a lot!!!!

This was absolutely amazing lol. What an experience

You played against the whole country

So happy to watch this video. because I just started learning to play this game 2 days before haha. And as a Chinese, we didn't play this often but I already started feeling its fun. 🤗

That's such a wholesome video!

This was in mai Feed. Dont know Why! Buț it was wonderful!

Welcome to Turkey and welcome to backgammon mainland .😄😎

Normally in my country we play 3 different games followed one after another. Tabla, Gilbara and Tapa. Tapa is the game for the masters

I've never been in a room with a backgammon board let alone played the game but interesting watch nonetheless.

man If u knew turkish this video is gold.

Best tavli players are the Greek grandpas. You can find them anywhere in Greece drinking their coffee and waiting for you to challenge them. But be careful you might lose your house playing against them they play crazy strategies.

That was fun to watch! 🤣🤣

Well.....Late to the party I know, but I loved Backgammon as a kid and recently was interested in taking it up again. I watched this video and it has reignited my love for the game. I particularly like the the way you handled both the board itself AND the opposition. Very calm, very calculating. I'm back into this game. I love it! Bloody well done (from an Englishman).

Just a plug for Backgammon Galaxy. Is a Backgammon Galaxy Grandmaster, the same as an official BGWC Grandmaster?

Küçükken gazetede okumuştum böyle bir haberi, dünya tavla şampiyonu kapalıçarşı esnafıyla karşılaşıyordu, kendi tavla setini getirmişti adamı o zaman çok düşünüyor diye suçlamışlardı, ama adamı yenip göndermişlerdi :D çok keyifli video olmuş bu

Great video. Did they know at any point that you are a Grandmaster? Istanbul is my favourite city in the world. Greetings from London.

I have always wanted to travel to the middle east and play! A good friendly game is what I love! Great fun to watch this match , ty so much for posting! What beautiful boards !!

The thing with Turkish and Greek people is that the people watching you will always have an opinion and comment 😂

Cool. Don't know what's going on. Cool tho

how good are street players man. wow almost beating a gm

How cool is it to share this?? :D You are the most remarkable embassador of backgammon I have seen. THANK YOU, Marc! :)

sooooo cool!!

I picked up my board from the Grand Bazaar too, such a beautiful board

I was a champion player years ago beating a current world champion in a tournament and also winning a lot of money in doing so I played in the world championship in Monte Carlo when I went to Turkey I saw some people from a shop playing and asked if I could play I never told them how good I was they would not play me I think they must of thought it would be a waste of their time.The reason I became so good was because I played with people from Cyprus if you think for more than one second they will not be slow to tell you it's not chess I also learned the moden moves when I went to live in Australia I was told you will lose all your money I won so much money I used to have to point out to people what they should do ie don't take the cube I was worried about getting paid.Now I never play.

I know I don’t understand the culture of the country very well, Mark but that guy you’re playing against is rude as can be.

This is amazing! I bought my backgammon board at that same shop!!

They didnt go easy on you! Am guessing thats good practice.

Great video! We know you are an awesome player so I was sort of hoping he’d win. He played well, especially for playing so fast!

Marc Olsen reminds me of Joshua Waitzkin in the Chessmaster series, same calm tone and masterful commentary, love it.

you can find world class players in bars and parks in eastern europe as well

That was a great watch. No idea what was going on but I'm gonna learn

I miss that place so much, it was one of the most historical market and the oldest market in the world.. i have so much fun watching this.. "Yanci" also known as Sidekick..

After 26 years of wondering what Backgammon was, I decided to learn tonight. Not Disappointed.

Hahahaha I lost it when the glasses flew onto the board 😂

tks for sharing this Marc, very cool indeed!

That was epic!

great video marc..maybe now some foreign pro players can understand why we have difficulties to ply mg's over here and why general turkish players styles are too rapid even in pro tournements where clocks appear...

Wow that was a lot of fun. I am a class A chess player working on becoming a master. I want to learn Backgammon. I have a nice tournament cork set my mom got me for my birthday. I grew up playing pool my whole life and gambling a lot. My friends play BG $100 with cube. I need a spot. 6-1 and the first roll lol.

Beautiful board. Makes me want to play.

So how do street hustlers like these guy fair in terms of elo against a grand master? Maybe Im talking in terms of chess here, does a backgammon grandmaster have elo? And what would that be? And what would the elo be of a player like these people?

We say, in Turkey, for 2 points "Mars" (i do not know why). That's why, you frequently hear the word "Marsilia" referring to 2 points. Supppper funny video!

Where is the full game analysis?

This is how we play the game în Eastern Europe

This short video equals life time in Turkey in every aspect :))

Somebody doesn’t know about dice by sliding

Nice. Never thought I’d watch a video about backgammon, but I’m glad I did! Hard to learn?

As a Turkish all i can say. Yo are very kind and decent guy and you get too much radiation from that match and imn sorry for it :D:D And most funniest part is they think that you are too lucky whick is ridiciliously funny :)) anyway G.G. mate. Will you come again ?

It's funny how the guy with the rosary beads is trying to cheat again and again.