The Magnus Carlsen Invitational, the Fourth event of the Champions Chess Tour, will be held on March 13-21. The World Champion has teamed up with Breakthrough Initiatives to commemorate the 60th anniversary of man’s first flight to outer space. The organisation that is driven by a quest for investigating the fundamentals of life beyond Earth is funded by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, headed by philanthropists and tech investors Yuri and Julia Milner.
American GM Wesley So slays it on Valentine’s Day leaving the World Champion heartbroken as one of his own arrows back-fired and drowned him in a mire of blunders.
Following two draws that led to a thrilling final game, a third one sealed the overall victory for So giving him the rare opportunity to beat the Norwegian Chess King twice in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
Wesley So had earlier won the opening match – the Skilling Open - of the online chess tour in November 2020 against Magnus Carlsen, “ruining” Carlsen’s 30th birthday that fell on the D-day.
Azerbaijan’s Teimour Radjabov clinched third place playing against the Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, winning twice with white.
It is a year-end warm-up for chess lovers as the prestigious online Champions Chess Tournament 2020 kick-started by November end, followed closely on the heels by the Speed Chess Championship in December. As the championships bring cheers to chess galleries, it would be interesting to look back at some of the most controversial tournaments that stirred up a few storms in the history of chess.
What comes to your mind whenever you think of Chess? Probably a few geeky minds and a game that has got to do with intelligent and strategic moves. Well you are almost right, since about 80% of Chess players relate the game like you do, but people generally have a misconception on how this essential cognitive skill is taught.
On February 10, 1996, the history of chess took a sharp turn, when for the first time a computer beat a grandmaster, the then chess champion at his own game.
IBM’s prodigy-computer Deep Blue beat the legendary Garry Kasparov in the first game of a six-game match. It was a moment when machine intelligence wallowed in its glory!
Those of you chess players who have sat through an entire game, however amateurish it was, would know the sequence of emotions that arise within you at every change in the game. Though the ancient board game could give off a “monk-in-meditation” vibe for the less enlightened mortals, it sure affects your adrenalin as any other sport does.
Chess surely requires wise tactics to win. But what if tactics were loaded with superstitions and craziness?
Today the game holds the throne as one of the most dignified and intellectual games in the world. But the Gentleman’s Game wasn’t exactly so in the early centuries of its evolution. The history of Chess is amusingly dotted with, and at times scarred by, weird antics, foul play and vengeance.
The Chessmasters in the early centuries came up with strange methods laced with superstitions and cheap tricks to ensure their victory. From cigars and cats to sunlight and amulets, many went overboard with berserk attempts to distract and defeat their opponents.
As COVID-19 grounded us for months, one of the games that thrived and beat the odds would be chess! Chess enthusiasts happily teleported to the web enjoying the game online. Parents too gratefully let the restless kids explore the net and encouraged online chess coaching. If children need to play online, what better game than chess? Their mind, brain, and body would stay engaged for a few hours; that too, in a disciplined way. Online chess is a good bargain.
How about an interesting trip to the behind-the-scenes fun facts of Chess, the ancient “game of thrones”?
Of all the games, Chess has that intriguing aura about it that makes the players the proud participants, the audience awe-struck, and the “illiterates”, well, embarrassed (?). The medieval game that is rooted in our “very own” rich soil has the world in its brainy fist today.
The outbreak of a pandemic has given us a generous scoop of home-based e-learning. Thanks to the ever-evolving technologies and access to high-speed internet, online learning is flourishing and could soon be a substitute to traditional classroom teaching. But does e-learning facilitate the overall progress of a child?
With the restricted interaction and physical activity of e-platforms, how far can they modulate cognitive skills in children? Can brain stimulators like mind games that develop cognitive capabilities in children be taught effectively online?
As the pandemic resulted in a pause to classrooms for over 1.2 billion children globally it gave birth to the rise of e-learning and online classes on digital platforms. Within the span of a few months the Covid -19 has changed the education system and acted as a catalyst for educational institutions worldwide to find innovative solutions to keep the learning steady.
Two months in this lockdown and we are already disturbed, stressed and anxious. The unprecedented circumstances have only made this a turmoil for all. The children are the worst hit as their physical and mental state is compromised. For physical exercise, an adult can take up aerobics and yoga, and even talk to close ones about one’s state of mind.
When the world is on a break and industries seem to have shut down for aeons, what could probably prosper? Entertainment seems to be the only segment that has crawled out of the casualties with very few scratches. As the world takes refuge on the internet and makes it home, thanks to the lock-out, games that are versatile online seem to shine through the darkness. Chess, for one, has experienced little to no change in spreading a lot more than just enlightenment.
We are dealing with a young generation that is hooked to the internet. Social media defines and determines their lives. Apps and chats keep them breathing! And as the world is in the grip of a virus, they are enjoying their ‘viral’ fevers on whatsapp, facebook and more! You must have spent a significant amount of time convincing your kids to reduce their screen time, and in vain!
The crisis consuming the world is a talk of every household. The worried confused faces peeping through balconies and windows is tragic to see and the theories floating in the air is only adding to the miseries of all. Amongst this, the little spare moments of fun and laughter are life saviours. Recreational activities like chess, robotics etc, are proving to be an oasis in a desert, making people feel fulfilled and engaging them rationally. Though played for leisure, what about those who are learning these games? Is discontinuation the answer to this?
