Ratings

Jonathan Cerf is the 1980 world Othello champion and the first non-Japanese world champion.

Jonathan was one of the founding members of the US Othello Association (USOA) in 1978 and quickly became one of the top US players.

In 1979 he won his first US Nationals title defeating the defending US Champion Carol Jacobs in the finals. Just two weeks later he finished runner-up at the 1979 WOC in Rome, losing in the final to the 1977 world champion Hiroshi Inoue.

The following year Jonathan successfully defended his US Champion title and then created history at the 1980 WOC in London where he defeated the Japanese champion Takuya Mimura in two straight games in the finals, becoming the first non-Japanese player to win the world title. 

Article on the 1979 US Nationals final featured in Sports Illustrated November 1979