"Accepting the trophy at the closing ceremony in front of cameras was a sublime feeling," Kuusk rejoiced on the official website of Estonian Mind Sports Association.

Ankush Khandelawal representing India and the United Kingdom placed second, while Tim Hebbes of UK took the bronze medal.

In total over 150 mind-gamers from 30 countries participated in the event, hosted by the London University Union.

Each player could choose between 40 board and card games and participate in an unlimited number of non-clashing events. According to the statutes, the combination of five best scores determines the championship winner.

Besides classical games such as chess, bridge, monopoly and scrabble, the Olympiad also featured more contemporary events such as diving chess, which combines blindfold play and athletic endurance by requiring players to remain underwater during their turn.

The Estonian mind sport championships are an annual competition, with participants matching wits in five events - sudoku, chess, bridge, gomoku and checkers, Tiit Vunk, one of the organizers of local mind sports games told Kuku Raadio.

Before winning the championship, Kuusk had acquired a total of 13 medals at international tournaments hosted by the MSO, out of which four have been gold. In 2010, he placed second at the Pentamind World Championships.

Ingrid Teesalu