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The chess world will have a new world champion soon, but for many fans the legitimacy of the title will be questionable.

Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has been the world champion for a decade, decided not to defend his title. He remains the top-ranked player in the world, and is considered one of the best champions in the history of the game.

That means the worlds second and third-best players, Ding Liren of China and Ian Nepomniatchtchi of Russia, will battle for the championship in a match scheduled for Astana, Kazakhstan between April 7 and May 1.

Nepomniatchtchi won the right to be Carlsens official challenger before the world champion decided to abdicate the throne. Carlsen defeated him soundly in the last championship match in 2021, and clearly lacked the motivation for a repeat encounter.

If the contestants for next months title match feel sheepish about becoming world champion in Carlsens shadow, they have something else to consider. The matchs main sponsor, Freedom Holding Group, has funded a 2 million prize, with 60 per cent going to the winner.

The match will be broadcast on chess.com

White played 38.Ne7+ Rxe7 39.Rf8+ Kh7 40.Rh8+ and Black resigned.

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There will soon be a new world chess champion, but it won't be the ... - The Globe and Mail

In week four of the 2023 Pro Chess League, the Levitov Chess Wizards and the Garden State Passers won their matches against the Canada Chessbrahs and California Unicorns, respectively. The Chess Wizards qualify for the Playoffs, while the Passers move on to week five.

GM Aleksandr Shimanov was unquestionably the MVP for the Chess Wizards as he handed World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen his second loss of the season. In the second match, GM Oleksandr Bortnyk scored a 3.5/4 and defeated the opposing board one, GM Gukesh D.

On Friday, March 10, 2023, beginningat 7:30 a.m. PT/16:30 CET, Team MGD1 faces the Norway Gnomes in the first match, while the Spanish Maniac Shrimps will play the Saint Louis Arch Bishops in the second.

It's impossible not to notice the gargantuan rating of the Chessbrahs' board one, as well as their board two, but the Chess Wizards had a more evenly rounded lineup. Having the strongest board four in the PCL in GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, for example, was a critical part of winning.

The higher-rated players won on all boards in both rounds one and two. All eight games were decisive, but this nevertheless resulted in an even score.

World Champion Carlsen was on fire. In round two, he shocked the commentators as he had a winning position hardly 10 minutes into the round against GM Denis Lazavik.

Repeating a line he played against Aronian in 2020, Carlsen broke through with the old "h4, h5, sac, sac, mate," an attacking plan GM Bobby Fischer once described. The world champion's bishop sacrifice on move 20 seemed to come out of the blue.

Speaking of Fischer, the American world champion enjoyed playing the white side of the King's Indian Attack (even from a young age). Maybe it's just a coincidence, but the Chess Wizards' board one, GM Rauf Mamedov, played this same opening in round two. It just happened to also be Fischer's birthday (he would have turned 80.) The Azerbaijani GM won a nice attacking game:

Chessbrahs' board four, WGM Maili-Jade Ouellet, nearly upset Shimanov in round two in a topsy-turvy gameheartbreakingly, she lost on time in a winning position.

After two rounds, the score was even: 4-4.

The breakaway happened in round three as the Chess Wizards mounted a 3.5-0.5 score. Kosteniuk defeated GM Razvan Preotu while Lazavik scored his first victory in the match against Ouellet, but the crowning achievement was certainly Shimanov's upset victory over Carlsen.

In a Sicilian Dragon, the Russian grandmaster sacrificed the exchange for an attack with which the computer wasn't particularly impressed. In rapid chess, momentum matters, and Carlsen wasn't able to stave off the problems he faced and resigned one move before a forced checkmate.

This, of course, is our Game of the Day, annotated by GM Dejan Bojkovbelow.

GM Hikaru Nakamura also covered this game in the video below:

A Chessbrahs comeback was unlikely. Although we've seen such miracles happen this season, "ChessQueen" Kosteniuk snuffed those dreams as she achieved a winning position as early as move 12 against Ouellet on board four. With this win, the match was over, regardless of the other boards.

The Chess Wizards earn their third victory and qualify for the Playoffs. The Chessbrahs go into week five; a win will qualify for the Playoffs while a loss will result in elimination.

What more to say? The Passers came to play. Even with a tough day at the office for IM Carissa Yip, the winning team sailed to victory on the backs of the top three boards who each scored three points or higher.

The Passers nearly won on every board in the first round. The highlight was the one game that didn't go in their favor, IM Carissa Yip vs. Gukesh. The former U.S. women's champion had a winning advantage out of the opening in a version of the razor-sharp Sicilian Najdorf Poisoned Pawn Variation, but the Indian prodigy survived and won the game.

The Unicorns won round two 2.5-1.5 and reduced the Passers' lead to just one point, but round three essentially sealed the deal as the New Jersey team won 3-1 once again.

The most significant victory, of the three for the Passers, was that of Bortnyk over Gukesh, the Unicorns' board one. In a back-and-forth game, the Indian grandmaster lost control in a position where he was better-to-winning. Given a tactical chance, Bortnyk snapped up the win.

Can you find the winning moves? White to move and win material.

GMJohan-Sebastian Christiansenkept the Unicorns alive another round with a win over Yip in round three.

However, just like the first match, this one too was decided in the first game to end. GM Aleksandr Lenderman, a former 2600-rated player who's proving to be a monstrous board-three, defeated Christiansen to bring the Unicorns' season to a close.

After the match, Bortnyk spoke about beating Gukesh in the possibly match-determining game: "I just didn't have time to think about nerves."

The Passers win their second match of the season. Next week, they need to win another one to qualify for the Playoffs, while a loss would eliminate them.

The Unicorns exit the season earning $4,000 for reaching this stage.

Standings | Week 4

The Pro Chess League (PCL) is the number-one online global chess league for teams from all over the world. The event features 16 teams playing rapid games for their piece of the $150,000 prize fund.

The main event will continue throughout March and features top players like GMs Magnus Carlsen, Daniel Naroditsky, and Hikaru Nakamura.

Previous coverage:

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Chess Wizards Stun World Champion, Advance To Playoffs; Bortnyk ... - Chess.com

Rob Mitchell| Guest columnist

Smart students dont always play chess, but students who play chess always become smart. Chess teaches patience, critical thinking, problem solving and reasoning. It teaches students to not only see the turn but to see around the turn, because in chess you have to think five moves ahead.

Building resilient students is not about teaching them how to become successful. Its about teaching them how to respond when theyre not successful. It's not about teaching them what to think but how to think. It teaches them that inordertogrow intellectually andemotionally they must recover and learnfrom losses.

Failure is motivating. Success can be paralyzing. We have to be OK with sort of getting out of that comfort zone and moving into the learning zone, which is close to the frustration zone.

Being an equity-focused teacher or leader is about finding out the needs of our students and giving them what they need to be successful. Chess is that tool. For many children who live in poverty or in struggling communities, their parents wont be able to afford to send them to Johns Hopkins for science camp or to Notre Dame for exchange programs. In communities where most students live at or below the poverty level, to have access to a program that will challenge their mind at a high level is rare.

Chess provides competitivegender equity. Susan Polgar, one of the first women grandmasters in the world, was running all-girls chess tournaments because she saw, even at her level, the need for attracting girls to the game. Now, that need for separategender based programs is not necessary Just to give them an environment where they can be comfortable exhibiting their greatness.

You can sit across from someone who may come from a family with access, power, privilege, and destroy them in this game. Chess eliminates the preconceived notions, all the biases, the judgment. Chess pits one's mental ability and skill against another's. Money, power and popularity don't matter in chess.

The best thing for students to do is learn through books and online platforms. But playing face to face provides opportunities for socialization which is so necessary today.

Thegoal of thechess enriched, critical thinking curriculum that we propose to bring to our schools doesnot have a goal to create a competitive chess player. We will give them the opportunity to develop that perseverance, that stamina, that self-esteem, that self-efficacy whichwillequip them for a successful life.

It isn't an entirely new and novel concept. Alabama is using the chess enriched curriculum approach and so is the state of New Hampshire. The European Union has pressed forward with initiatives stating that chess should be taught in schools as part of every educational curriculum.

Results from other countries empirically prove that students' literacy improves, scores in STEM subjects improve as well as behavior and emotional maturity. One would question why the reluctance to invest in such a program? Especially when the cost to develop a statewide program is less than the cost to fully equip a high school football team!

We are attempting to raise awareness with the public through a seriesof charity chess matches between the elected officials from local communities. One such match being pursued (challenges have been issued as of March 7) are between Hamilton officials and Rutherford County officials. If the challenge is accepted, Rutherford County may have a decided advantage as Mayor Joe Carr is an avid and excellent chess player!

I have alreadyreceiveda pledge from Marcus Lemonis, chairman of Camping World and television star of the show" TheProfit," of $5,000 for our program for children in thejuvenile detention center. This is a great start. We also have the attention of the executive producer of the movie "Critical Thinking" regarding our efforts. We are off to a promising start.

Our first moves have been solid. We nowmust plan and executea successful strategy. Now is the time to make sure our elected leaders hear from you that you desire programs that help develop good people whoarewell prepared for whatever comes their way. It is now up to the citizens to hold us accountable.

Rob Mitchell is a 30-plus-year resident of Rutherford County and avid chess player for more than 60 years.He has been involved as a parent volunteer for chess clubs for his children at Walter Hill Elementary and Siegel Middle. Mitchell is actively pursuing a chess program for at-risk children at the Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center and has received a $5,000 pledge from Marcus Lemonis, chairman of Camping World. Mitchell has served as the elected property assessor for Rutherford County since 2012.

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Chess: Bringing a 'critical thinking' curriculum to students - Daily News Journal

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev during their meeting in Moscow on March 25, 2023. | Gavriil Grigorov/Pool via AP Photo

By Kelly Garrity

03/26/2023 11:00 AM EDT

Updated: 03/26/2023 12:29 PM EDT

Multiple American officials expressed concern over reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to move tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus, though the U.S. has not yet seen any moves by Russia to do do, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Sunday.

We have not seen any indication that hes made good on this pledge or moved any nuclear weapons around, Kirby said during in interview on CBSs Face the Nation. Weve, in fact, seen no indication he has any intention to use nuclear weapons, period, inside Ukraine.

Though the U.S. will continue to monitor the situation, weve seen nothing that would cause us to change our deterrent posture, Kirby said.

Over the decades of the Cold War, the U.S. declined to directly intervene after Soviet invasions of Hungary in 1956, of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and of Afghanistan in 1979 because of fears that the Soviet Union would further escalate the situation by using its nuclear weapons against the United States and other NATO countries. During the 13 months of the Ukraine war, some in the West have expressed fears that support for Ukraine could lead to exactly that.

But Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) said Sunday the threat from Moscow should not stop the U.S. from continuing its support for Ukraine.

Putin has engaged in nuclear saber-rattling since the start of this crisis, Gallagher said during an appearance on ABCs This Week. Its something to be concerned about. But we should not allow his threats to deter us. We cant allow that to be a cause for delaying critical weapon system[s] that we need to deliver to the Ukrainians.

Putin announced the plans to build a storage facility for nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus by July 1 on Saturday, according to reports from a Russian state-owned media outlet, Ria Novosti.

Tensions are rising, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said during an interview on Fox News Sunday. I think this is saber-rattling on the part of Putin.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) described Putin as a dangerous man, and said the threat demonstrates the need for U.S. leaders and those vying for leadership to see that threat as vital to U.S. interests.

Speaking on CNNs State of the Union, Warner said that if American support for Ukraine wavers, Putin could move on to threaten Poland or President Xi Jinping could take U.S. weakness as more of a green light to potentially take action against Taiwan.

Anyone who doesnt understand that is remarkably nave, or not understanding the kind of geopolitical challenging times that we live in, he said.

On Sunday, NATO criticized Russia for what it described as dangerous and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, though a NATO spokesperson said the organization had not seen any changes in Russias nuclear posture.

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Russia's game of nuclear chess is worrisome, American officials say - POLITICO

PETALING JAYA: From an early life of poverty and gangsterism to representing Malaysia in chess on the world stage, Genkeswaran Muniyan has made great moves in life.

The 45-year-old, who won the chess bronze medal in the 2013 SEA Games, said he was taught how to play chess in primary school by a teacher and took it up as a hobby.

I was fascinated by the intricacies of chess and the little life lessons that chess could teach me.

I loved imagining myself as the pawn who could then be promoted to a greater piece with enough effort.

This inspired me to push myself in everything I did as I dreamed of one day becoming an important person like the queen is in chess, he said.

However, an early life plagued with poverty and constant domestic turmoil due to an alcoholic father saw Genkeswaran, who is from Carey Island in Kuala Langat, Selangor, eventually drop chess.

The teenager then found his need for attention satisfied by his second family in a local gang.

The chess-loving boy started to stray further away from his passion as gang seniors manipulated him into doing their bidding with promises of fame and riches.

This led to him dropping out of school at the age of 17 and eventually getting arrested by the police after yet another fight, said Genkeswaran.

After the trouble with the law, his second family abandoned him.

He got off with a light sentence thanks to his mother, he said, and he became determined to change and found work at a factory.

After attending a training session in place of my manager, I acquired a newfound sense of self and vowed to never return to a life of crime.

I was so inspired by the training that I asked the trainer to give me personal coaching.

That trainer became my mentor and eventually helped me reignite my passion for chess, he said at the premiere of a documentary about his life titled Wanted: Shades of Life 3 at the Petaling Jaya Performing Arts Centre yesterday.

Genkeswaran added that he went on to thrive in the sport and eventually become a chess master and tutor, with emotional support from his family and mentors.

The film has drawn significant international praise after winning the Best Inspirational Film at Los Angeles Film Awards, Best Documentary Film at FilmCon Awards, and was a finalist at New York International Film Awards last year.

It was also chosen as an Official Selection at Stockholm City Film Festival.

Earlier this year, it was also awarded Best Documentary Feature and Best Indie Feature at Festigious International Film Festival.

Genkeswaran said his story proved that no students in school should ever be left behind as everybody has their own story to tell.

I was always considered among the bottom no-hopers in class due to my poor grades and involvement in gangs.

But I am living proof that even the worst of children have the potential to become an inspirational figure for the country.

Just as how I started as a pawn, I hope all the kids can realise their hidden potential and one day promote themselves to become an important chess piece of our country, he said.

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A chess player who made the right moves in life - The Star Online