Matvey Natanzon, a\/k\/a Falafel, was born in\u00a0Soviet Russia\u00a0and moved with his mother to\u00a0Azor, a small\u00a0Israeli\u00a0town near\u00a0Tel Aviv, in 1972.<\/p>\n

He moved to\u00a0Buffalo, New York\u00a0as a teenager and graduated from the New York State\u00a0University at Buffalo\u00a0in 1991 with a degree in accounting.<\/p>\n

Shortly thereafter he moved to Manhattan. Homeless, he lived for several months in Washington Square Park where he learned chess and backgammon from local gamblers. The cheapest food he could buy was falafel.<\/p>\n

Some of Falafel’s associates at that time went on to become famous poker players, including\u00a0Phil Laak<\/a>,\u00a0Gus Hansen<\/a>, and\u00a0Abe Mosseri<\/a>. Falafel himself plays poker and was part-owner of a card parlor in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

In 2005 Natanzon played on the Israeli team in the Nations Cup backgammon tournament.^{<\/sup><\/p>\n}

In 2007, Natanzon was named the number one backgammon player in the world by an unscientifically compiled peer-audited review known as\u00a0Giants of Backgammon. Although the rankings are not precise, Jake Jacobs, the list’s compiler, says about it that “We can never know for certain who is the best player in a given year, but we can confidently eliminate 99.99 percent. Falafel survived the cut.”<\/p>\n

With his quick wit and fast analysis, Falafel was in demand as a commentator. I was fortunate to have him as a co-commentator for the 2018 Monte Carlo World Championships.<\/p>\n

Falafel died February 14, 2020 from brain cancer.<\/p>\n

Falafel taught many of the world’s greatest players. In his eulogy, Masayuki Mochizuki (Mochy) wrote:<\/p>\n

Spring In 2009, I stayed in his apartment in Tel Aviv for 2 weeks to study backgammon with him. I played GridGammon and he simply pointed out my mistakes and explain. He was so fast to find the right play and so confident. He has no hesitation to criticize my lack of understanding and it was really painful but I was forced to accept how stupid I was and kept on. We did it for hours and hours. Later in the same year, I won the world championship and my life changed forever since then. I owe him a lot. I will not be standing today as a backgammon professional without that lesson.<\/p>\n

The difference between him and me was that I became a backgammon player, but he was born to play backgammon. Backgammon was in his blood. He could find the right play in a second then made up the explanation that fit his play, while I always try to find the explanation to find the right play. He had a very high understanding of the game and the great sense of a subtle distinction. He also had amazing focus and memory.<\/p>\n

I always thought if falafel had studied opening and a match equity stuff along with other theory he would have become a monster. He never did of course, because he is Falafel. He lived with his style and died with his style.
\nIn approaching the right play I will never be like him and he never be like me. Yet we respect each other a lot.<\/p>\n

It is beyond sad to miss you but at least we have great memories. We played so many games and discussed so many positions. We shared win and lose. I spent much more time with you, than my family, at least for a long time. I thank Backgammon for connecting a big Israeli\/American with a baseball cap (reversed!) and a skinny Japanese with glasses. We have one thing in common and that was enough for us.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matvey Natanzon, a\/k\/a Falafel, was born in\u00a0Soviet Russia\u00a0and moved with his mother to\u00a0Azor, a small\u00a0Israeli\u00a0town near\u00a0Tel Aviv, in 1972. He moved to\u00a0Buffalo, New York\u00a0as a teenager and graduated from the New York State\u00a0University at Buffalo\u00a0in 1991 with a degree in accounting. Shortly thereafter he moved to Manhattan. Homeless, he lived for several months in Washington … <\/p>\n

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