Antoinette-Marie Williams

They were arguing, mostly in Bulgarian, about the plays to make.

They made some of the worst plays I had ever seen.

They were really bad.

After watching for several days, Figge, one of the Bulgarians, invited me to play.

Had he read my mind, Jesus, he invited me into this game.

I was so excited.

That evening, I walked home with more ducats than I came with.

It was truly reassuring and exciting to play with them.

We played several days a week and I walked away generally with more money in my pocket.

Sometimes I lost and my motto, it's just an investment, kept them coming back, putting more money in my pockets.

After playing with them for a while, I heard about Monte Carlo.

Monte Carlo has the largest world backgammon championship in the world.

I always thought that this Mediterranean Wonderland tournament was out of my reach, too expensive.

I did some research.

Monte Carlo, here I come.

It was a week-long tournament in July, and I went.

There were over 200 people in the intermediate division, very few women, but I was there representing the sisterhood.

When I walked into the room, I heard the melodious tune of the shaking of the dice.

It was music to my ears.

Most of the men there, male opponents, underestimated me.