Zděnek Žížka
世界大師專訪 Interview with Grand Masters


Zděnek Žížka 是現今全世界排名一二的雙陸棋專業棋手。他著作了 “The Zizka Method - Dominating Backgammon Through Storytelling”，一本進階的雙陸棋學術書；他也是 ZZ Backgammon 的創辦人。
Zděnek is currently one of the best backgammonist in the world. He is the author of “The Zizka Method - Dominating Backgammon Through Storytelling”, and the creator of ZZ Backgammon.

他曾經和 葉會長 11、12 年前在捷克打過幾次比賽，最後一次是在捷克 Pardubice 城 2012 年捷克公開賽交過手。當年 葉會長奪得冠軍，而 Zděnek 只有 11、12 歲。事隔十來年，2023年9月兩人在杜拜「綠州公開賽」中再次碰面，並錄取了以下專訪片段。  
Zděnek and Apollo have played a couple of times 11, 12 years ago in Prague, but notably at the 2012 Czech Open tournament in Pardubice, where Apollo won the championship that year. Zděnek was 11 or 12 years old at the time.


問：哇這真是，有點妙不可言的感覺。說來聽聽，你愛上雙陸棋是因為你媽媽 Eva Žížková 對嘛，她也是歐洲最厲害的棋手之一.....
Q: Listen, this is very funky. Too funky for words really. I imagine you first fell in love with backgammon because of your mom, obviously, who is one of the best players in Europe, Eva Žížková, is that correct?  

答：其實我們倆是一起愛上這棋的，我們是一起開始玩的，是我爸有一天帶了這棋回家。我跟媽媽都是一起從零開始，一直玩的.....
A: Well, we fell in love with it together, because we started together, when our father brought this game to us. So we started together, we started at zero, and started to play the game regularly, just from the beginning together…

問：真的嗎？！
Q: Is that right?!

答：是的哈哈哈，關於我們怎樣開始玩，有不少陰謀論，但基本上我們真的是一起開始玩的。
A: That’s right hahaha. There’s a lot of conspiracy theories about how we started, but yeah, basically we started together.

問：那時候你多大？
Q: How old were you then?

答：我 5 歲。當然，起初進步是很快的，而且我們每一天都在玩，很好玩啊，就變成了我們家庭遊戲。
A: I was 5. Of course you get better, way faster in the beginning, yeah, and we just played every day, it was just fun. It was our game, it was what we played in the family.

問：我一直以為是因為她玩得好，來教你...
Q: Oh I thought it was her being good, and she teaching you…

答：後來的確是有一點，但其實她和我是一起在雙陸棋裡成長的
A: Afterwards that was part of it, yes, but we grew up together in backgammon.

問：你爹玩嗎？
Q: Does your father play?

答：他會玩，但他不喜歡跑來跑去，也不是「真真」的玩，他就是這樣。
A: He knows how to play, but he doesn’t travel. He doesn’t REALLY play but that’s him.

問：聽說你還有一個小弟...
Q: And now I heard you have a brother…

答：有呀，他也玩，但不是...
A: I do have a brother, he also plays, but not like…,

問：像你這種玩。
Q: Not like you guys.

答：對，不是我們這樣玩。
A: No, not like us.

問：你現在多大了？
Q: Ok. How old are you now?

答：我現在 24 歲。
A: I am 24 now.

問：24 哼...哇已經十二年了。我腦子還沒轉過來哈哈哈，以前在 Pardubice 這瘦瘦的小伙子，那你現在已經...（伸手示意）哈哈哈，你還住在布拉格嗎？
Q: 24 hm…damn it’s been 12 years. I couldn’t get it over my head man, hahaha, this skinny guy in Pardubice, and now you are like, like [gesturing with arms]…hahaha…You still live in Prague?

答：哈哈哈是的。
A: Hahaha, yes I do.  

問：那好，你是什麼時候作出這巨大決定，就是，這雙陸棋就是我的真愛、我的生命這種...?
Q: So ok, when did you make this big decision, that, you know, backgammon is it, this is my love, my whole life…?

答：我大概 12、13 歲左右吧，那時候我開始真的去研究它吧，我就很喜歡這棋，我特別喜歡這棋給我的挑戰。我就想成為世界第一。那時候我就不斷地、仔細地去分析、研究、去搞懂這遊戲所有的格局、變化，等。其實是一種進階數學來嘛。我本來就很喜歡邏輯思維的東西，那雙陸棋就是這種，所以我就想去明白、理解這棋的一切。我 13 歲開始就一天 10 到 15 個小時，真的不騙你，去磨練...
A: So when I was 12, 13, I started grinding the game, because I really enjoyed the game, I enjoyed the challenge, what it gave me, and I just wanted to be the best. I was pounding it and wanted to understand everything, understand what is behind the moves. And it was like mathematics. I like all kinds of logical stuff, and this was like something I wanted really to understand, like everything behind it. So I was grinding, since I was 13 basically, 10 to 15 hours a day, and I am not joking, I was basically grinding all day trying to understand, and…

問：等會，跟你媽媽一起分析研究嗎？
Q: Wait, wait, hold on. With your mom?

答：大部分時間我是自己一個的。跟電腦玩、XG（雙陸棋分析軟件）、網上找人玩，然後每一局去分析，去理解。那我這樣搞了一兩年吧，我 16 歲那年，得到的生日禮物是去塞浦路斯打我第一個國際公開賽，還贏了冠軍，那是中級組。
我記得，我到了比賽場地，很震撼：五星酒店、東西超好吃、比賽場地鼎盛、那些人都很酷，整件事又好玩、又刺激，太爽了，太愛這遊戲了，只是想去下一個比賽、玩的更好、想去贏所有的中級賽。我那時候已經是玩的不錯，但我要做第一。當時，越來越多比賽，比方說那 BMAB 棋王賽，後來又有些 PR 賽（鬥低錯誤率）那就看到你玩的多好，對嘛，那我就參加了這些比賽，因為我想在這些比賽也拿第一名。基本上就是不停的挑戰、挑戰自己，去理解這棋的一切，去做到最好。剛說的就是開始時的那些年頭，但其實我現在一直還是這狀態。
A: Well, mostly alone. Alone playing with computer, XG, playing against people online and then just analysing it, and trying to understand. And so I have doing this for 1, 2 years, and, when I was 16, I got my birthday present to go to the first international tournament in Cyprus and I managed to win that tournament, in the Intermediate category. So when I came to the tournament, I was like shocked, five-star hotel, amazing food, amazing venue, I just liked the people, it was entertaining, excitement, adrenalin, and I just love the game. I fell in love with it, and it was like, a while, I wanted to travel more, I wanted to get better, I wanted to be winning all the Intermediate categories. I mean I was already playing so-so, but I wanted to be the best. And then by the time, there was more competition and more competition, er, there was for example that BMAB thing, and then there was a PR ratings tournament, and it says how well you play, right? Then I also wanted to compete in that, because, but okay I wanted to be the best there as well. So it was just basically a challenge, and it is still a challenge, like, grinding away and trying my best to understand everything and, er…this was basically the start. This was the start that drove me to here.

問：Arda （塞浦路斯大賽主辦人）說過你這故事啊，你去塞浦路斯那一年，未成年其實不能讓你進場參加比賽的哈哈哈...
Q: Arda was telling us this story, that when you were in Cyprus, you were underaged, hahaha…

答：哈哈哈是的我才 16 歲...
A: Hahaha I was 16…

問：對對對他說要給你一個特赦讓你參賽，他說 “這小伙子，根本不允許讓他進場的...” 哈你看，結果多好。你說是你的生日禮物？
Q: Hahaha and he had to give a Royal Edict to let you play…he said: “I wasn’t even allowed to let him in…” Well, you know, good. And that was your birthday gift?

答：是的，我 16 歲生日禮物。很好的禮物。
A: Yes, that was my birthday gift, yes, for my 16th birthday. It went well.

問：我看你，年輕有為、又高大又有型...又性感？我可以說性感嗎哈哈哈...?
Q: You know, when I look at you, you are young, stylish…sexy? Can I say sexy…?

答：哈哈哈
A: Hahaha…

問：沒有，你看，玩雙陸棋的一直都是一大堆老頭子，你是帶來了一個新面孔。應該推你做這遊戲的什麼大使之類的...
Q: …No, no, for such a long time, backgammon is just a bunch of old faces, and you bring this new look to the game. Perhaps we should make you some sort of ambassador to the game…

答：我現在搞了一個雙陸棋教學指導的，叫 ZZ Backgammon，這好像是一種我的品牌，去訓練、指導、教育雙陸棋，有出售視像課程等，也在製作視頻、內容放上 YouTube 、其他平台上等...我是已經好像自己的大使一樣了。我現在喜歡這獨立的狀態，要去哪一個比賽就去，像這個比賽，或許去你在澳門搞的，到處去盡力推廣這遊戲給所有人。
A: So there’s a project I am doing, it’s what I created, this backgammon coaching, it now called “ZZ Backgammon”. It’s basically having like my own brand, coaching, selling video courses, giving education to backgammon players, and I want to create content as well, on Youtube and everywhere, so…I want to be ambassador by myself, I like being independent right now, and go to the tournaments such as this, or in Macao, and just try to promote the game everywhere as best as I can.

問：作為雙陸棋的清新年輕面孔，我希望大家都可以到處見到你。
Q: As the fresh young face of backgammon, I would certainly like to see more of you.  

答：我也想呀。
A: I hope so too.