Matvey Natanzon
Matvey Natanzon (better known by his pseudonym Falafel) (July 5, 1968 - February 14, 2020) was a Russian-born Israeli backgammon player. Life and career Natanzon was born in Soviet Russia and moved with his mother to Azor, a small Israeli town near Tel Aviv, in 1972. He moved to Buffalo, New York as a teenager. Natanzon graduated from the New York State University at Buffalo in 1991 with a degree in accounting. Shortly thereafter he moved to Manhattan. Homeless, he lived for 6 months in Washington Square Park and learned to hustle chess and backgammon from local gamblers. Some of Natanzon's associates at that time went on to become famous poker players, including Phil Laak, Gus Hansen, and Abe Mosseri. Natanzon himself played poker and was part owner of a card parlor in Tel Aviv. In 2005 Natanzon played on the Israeli team in the Nations Cup backgammon tournament. In 2007, Natanzon was named the number one backgammon player in the world by an unscientifically compiled peer- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Backgammon
Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back nearly 5,000 years to the regions of Mesopotamia and Persia. The earliest record of backgammon itself dates to 17th-century England, being descended from the 16th-century game of Irish.Forgeng, Johnson and Cram (2003), p. 269. Backgammon is a two-player game of contrary movement in which each player has fifteen pieces, known traditionally as 'men' (short for 'tablemen') but increasingly known as 'checkers' in the US in recent decades. These pieces move along twenty-four 'points' according to the roll of two dice. The objective of the game is to move the fifteen pieces around the board and be first to '' bear off'', i.e., remove them from the board. The achievement of this while the opponent is still a long way behind results in a triple win known as a ''backgammon'', hence the name of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Giants Of Backgammon
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion * Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'giant' *Giants (Welsh folklore) *Giants (esotericism) *Nephilim, a Hebrew term loosely translated as 'giants' in some Bibles *List of giants in mythology and folklore Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Giants (Marvel Comics), a fictional race of people * Giant (''Dungeons & Dragons''), 1974, a type of fictional character * Judge Giant, two fictional characters in the 1977 ''Judge Dredd'' comic strip * The Giant (''Twin Peaks''), an inhabitant of The Black Lodge in the 1990s television series * Lily Duncan, also known as "Princess Giant", from the 1999 television series ''Mona the Vampire'' Films * ''The Giant'' (1938 film), a black-and-white Japanese film * ''Giant'' (1956 film), a film adaptation of Ferber's novel * ''Giant ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1968 Births
The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * January 10 – John Gorton is sworn in as 19th Prime Minister of Australia, taking over from John McEwen after being 1968 Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, elected leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party the previous day, following the disappearance of Harold Holt. Gorton becomes the only Australian Senate, Senator to become Prime Minister, though he immediately transfers to the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives through the 1968 Higgins by-election in Holt's vacant seat. * January 15 – The 1968 Belice earthquake in Sicily kills 380 and injures around 1,000. * January 21 ** Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh – One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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University At Buffalo Alumni
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The first universities in Europe were established by Catholic Church monks. The University of Bologna (), Italy, which was founded in 1088, is the first university in the sense of: *being a high degree-awarding institute. *using the word ''universitas'' (which was coined at its foundation). *having independence from the ecclesiastic schools and issuing secular as well as non-secular degrees (with teaching conducted by both clergy and non-clergy): grammar, rhetoric, logic, theology, canon law, notarial law.Hunt Janin: "The university in medieval life, 1179–1499", McFarland, 2008, , p. 55f.de Ridder-Symoens, Hilde' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sportspeople From Buffalo, New York
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-developed physiques obtained by extensive physical training and strict exercise accompanied by a strict dietary regimen. Definitions The word "athlete" is a romanization of the el, άθλητὴς, ''athlētēs'', one who participates in a contest; from ἄθλος, ''áthlos'' or ἄθλον, ''áthlon'', a contest or feat. The primary definition of "sportsman" according to Webster's ''Third Unabridged Dictionary'' (1960) is, "a person who is active in sports: as (a): one who engages in the sports of the field and especially in hunting or fishing." Physiology Athletes involved in isotonic exercises have an increased mean left ventricular end-diastolic volume and are less likely to be depressed. Due to their strenuous physical activities, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Place Of Death Missing
Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often implies a dead end (street) or cul-de-sac * Place, based on the Cornish word "plas" meaning mansion * Place, a populated place, an area of human settlement ** Incorporated place (see municipal corporation), a populated area with its own municipal government * Location (geography), an area with definite or indefinite boundaries or a portion of space which has a name in an area Placenames * Placé, a commune in Pays de la Loire, Paris, France * Plače, a small settlement in Slovenia * Place (Mysia), a town of ancient Mysia, Anatolia, now in Turkey * Place, New Hampshire, a location in the United States * Place House, a 16th-century mansion largely remodelled in the 19th century, in Fowey, Cornwall * Place House, a 19th-century mansio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jewish American Sportspeople
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The people of the Kingdom of Israel and the ethnic and religious group known as the Jewish people that descended from them have been subjected to a number of forced migrations in their history" and Hebrews of historical Israel and Judah. Jewish ethnicity, nationhood, and religion are strongly interrelated, "Historically, the religious and ethnic dimensions of Jewish identity have been closely interwoven. In fact, so closely bound are they, that the traditional Jewish lexicon hardly distinguishes between the two concepts. Jewish religious practice, by definition, was observed exclusively by the Jewish people, and notions of Jewish peoplehood, nation, and community were suffused with faith in the Jewish God, the practice of Jewish (religious) l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American People Of Russian-Jewish Descent
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Israeli People Of Russian-Jewish Descent
Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (born 1984), Israeli basketball player See also * Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ..., the ancient people of the Land of Israel * List of Israelis {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Soviet Emigrants To Israel
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national republics; in practice, both its government and its economy were highly centralized until its final years. It was a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the city of Moscow serving as its capital as well as that of its largest and most populous republic: the Russian SFSR. Other major cities included Leningrad (Russian SFSR), Kiev (Ukrainian SSR), Minsk (Byelorussian SSR), Tashkent (Uzbek SSR), Alma-Ata (Kazakh SSR), and Novosibirsk (Russian SFSR). It was the largest country in the world, covering over and spanning eleven time zones. The country's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917, when the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Russian Provisional Government th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Backgammon Players
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |