There are three main entertainments for man, which were invented a long time ago – billiards, playing cards and chess.
The birthplace of one of the most popular games – billiards, is Asia (probably China or India).
Genoese merchants brought this interesting entertainment to Europe along with silk and gunpowder. In the Middle Ages, the English liked to roll balls on hard ground that had first been well tamped down. Their task was to roll the balls through a gate. The game was called pall-mall. The word “billiards” itself comes from two English words – ball and yeard, which translates as a round ball and a long stick.
The Germans, around the same time, had a similar version of the game called “Balkespiel”. The game was played on large special tables with recesses in which the opponent’s ball had to be knocked out with the help of cudgels.
Billiards was brought to Russia by Peter the Great, who was shown the game in Holland. On the order of the Tsar, a billiard table was made and placed in the reception room so that the nobles would not waste their time and spend it profitably.
After a while people liked this fun and soon it began to gain popularity and billiards became played by absolutely everyone. As early as in the XIX century, the classic billiards began to be played in taverns and other establishments. At first billiards was played with wide holes and relatively small balls. The Russians thought the game was too easy and decided to make it more challenging by reducing the size of the holes.
After a while people liked this fun and soon it began to gain popularity and billiards became played by absolutely everyone. As early as in the XIX century, the classic billiards began to be played in taverns and other establishments. At first billiards was played with wide holes and relatively small balls. The Russians thought the game was too easy and decided to make it more challenging by reducing the size of the holes.
Interesting facts:
There was a similar game played in ancient Egypt;
Billiards was the first sport to have a proper world championship (1873);
In the film “The Colour of Money”, a real professional performed the trick with balls instead of the main character;
Earlier the game of billiards was called “sharokat” and the players were called “sharokats” respectively.
A special place in the history of billiards belongs to A. Freisberg, who developed a new type of tables – “Freiberg billiards”, the main features of which have survived to the present day: strict, protruding from the sides of the pockets and boards of medium elasticity. It is impossible to hit the ball along the board into the middle hole, and only a very accurate shot will hit the corner hole.