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Tuan Minh Le Wins Bullet Brawl Chess Tournament Amid Top Grandmasters

Grandmaster Tuan Minh Le marked the beginning of 2024 with a stunning victory in the Bullet Brawl chess tournament, standing out among a group of widely recognized chess grandmasters. The tournament saw participation from eminent players such as Hikaru Nakamura, Daniel Naroditsky, Anish Giri, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Teimour Radjabov. Le concluded the tournament with an impressive score of 193 points, winning a cash prize of $400.

The Bullet Brawl, a weekly event hosted by Chess.com, is a fast-paced 1+0 time control tournament lasting for two hours. The event offers a total prize fund of $1,000 and attracts top players from around the world. Les exceptional performance against other super grandmasters was a highlight of the tournament. His endgame strategy against French GM Vachier-Lagrave and his games with Giri left spectators and fellow competitors in awe. Despite not directly overcoming Nakamura and Naroditsky, Les consistent strength led him to his commendable victory.

International Master Polina Shuvalova, with 94 points, secured the top female player award. At the same time, Cesar Talledo Lagos managed to claim his third consecutive community brawl victory. The event also witnessed remarkable games like the face-off between young chess prodigies FM Faustino Oro and FM Tani Adewumi. The game ended in a draw after a nail-biting 66-move match.

Les success in this edition of Bullet Brawl, considered one of the strongest to date, promises a bright future for his upcoming tournaments, including the Bullet Chess Championship where he aims to improve on his previous 11th place. Les strategic prowess and endgame technique, demonstrated in his matches against the likes of Vachier-Lagrave and Giri, hint at a promising future in the world of competitive chess.

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Tuan Minh Le Wins Bullet Brawl Chess Tournament Amid Top Grandmasters - BNN Breaking

At the end of 2023, some top players made great efforts to secure their ticket to the Candidates Tournament, either through the FIDE circuit or by rating. In India and France, tournaments were organised at short notice to give players from these countries a chance to qualify at the last minute.

Gukesh made the most of this opportunity - he won the Chennai Grandmasters and qualified via the FIDE circuit. In France, Alireza Firouzja qualified by winning the Rouen Open with 7 out of 7. The first prize in this Open was 500 euros, but he also gained the necessary rating points to overtake Wesley So in the FIDE rankings from 1 January. Firouzja is now the player with the highest Elo who has not yet qualified for the Candidates and who wants to play. Magnus Carlsen, the world number one and winner of the 2023 World Cup, is no longer interested in the classical World Championship and does not want to start in the Candidates.

During the World Cup in Baku the Norwegian said:

"I think everyone should assume that I won't be playing in the Candidates and that everyone else who is in the semi-finals will qualify for the Candidates."

The nation with the most participants in the two candidate tournaments is India. This also documents India's emergence as one of the leading chess nations. In the country ranking, which is based on the Elo rating of the ten best players in the country, the USA is in first place, but India has been in second place for some months now, ahead of Russia, once the biggest chess nation.

The participation of Praggnanandhaa and Vidit after their successes at the World Cup and the Grand Swiss has already been widely celebrated in India. Now Gukesh is the third Indian player in the Candidates Tournament, while R. Vasihali, Praggnanandhaa's elder sister, and Humpy Koneru will be representing India in the women's event.

Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana are playing for the USA in the Candidates. At the 2018 World Championship Caruana held Carlsen to 6-6 in the classical games, losing only in the rapid tiebreak, and at that time Caruana was also very close to the World Champion in the rating list. After the match, Caruana suffered a few setbacks that cost him a lot of Elo, but he is now the world number two again. 2023 was a very successful year for Caruana, who qualified for the Candidates Tournament by rating, by finishing third in the World Cup and by winning the FIDE Circuit. But it is the result in the World Cup that counts.

Russia is still represented by Ian Nepomniachtchi, who won the last two Candidates Tournaments.

The players who qualified for the Candidates:

*Magnus Carlsen is expected to withdraw from the Candidates Tournament. He has already made statements to this effect in interviews. In this case, Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan, Elo 2641, world rank 102) will move up to fourth place in the 2023 World Championship. If any other qualifiers withdraw, players from the world rankings will move up.

The women's qualifying race was a little quieter and finished earlier. Lei Tingjie, the runner-up at the last Women's World Championship, and Tan Zhongyi, the former Women's World Champion, will play for China. India will be represented by Vaishali and Humpy Koneru and Russia by Ekaterina Lagno and Alexandra Goryachkina. They will be joined by Ukraine's Anna Muzychuk and Bulgaria's Nurgyul Salimova, who like Vaishali is a newcomer to the Candidates. Six of the eight players are close together in the rankings. Vaishali and Salimova are slightly behind, but both are on the rise and always good for a surprise.

The players who qualified for the Candidates

* Grand Swiss runner-up A. Muzychuk qualified via the World Cup.

The Candidates' Tournament for the absolute World Championship and the Candidates' Tournament for the Women's World Championship will be held at the same time and place this year, from the 2nd to the 25th of April in the Canadian metropolis of Toronto.

The tournament is sponsored by the Canadian Scheinberg family, long-time sponsors of the Isle of Man Open, which has been upgraded by FIDE as the "Grand Swiss" to a qualifying tournament for the Candidates Tournament. FIDE has been able to win over the Scheinberg family for a long-term commitment to chess. The Scheinberg family is providing a prize fund of USD 750,000 for the two Candidates' Tournaments in Toronto.

FIDE reforms the qualification paths to Candidates Tournament

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The participants of the Candidates - ChessBase

Heading into 2024, Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes seemed to be likely a course for one of the main event matches at WrestleMania 40, but on Monday, another intriguing possibility emerged. During the Day One edition of "WWE Raw," The Rock teased a feud with Reigns as he asked the San Diego crowd if his dinner plans should entail him sitting in a booth, at a bar, or at the head of the table a clear reference to one of Reigns' nicknames. On a recent episode of "Busted Open Radio," WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray assessed the potential implications that Rock's apparent challenge to Reigns could have on other top stars, such as Rhodes and Randy Orton, as WWE heads into WrestleMania season.

"[The main event landscape] is a very interesting, I say, internal chess match of, 'If we do this, then this. And if we do this, then when do we do this? But if we do it then, will the people lose faith?' [CM] Punk wins the Rumble, chooses Seth [Rollins to face at WrestleMania]. I think that's what the majority of the people want to see. So I think we can take Punk and Seth out of the equation, which leaves us Randy, Roman, possibly Rock, because we don't know if what The Rock says pertains to WrestleMania. He said 'head of the table.' That could happen at Royal Rumble. That could happen at Elimination Chamber. That could happen at WrestleMania. So Cody, Roman, Rock, and Randy, there's your [main] four, and where do they go, when and why."

Should WWE position The Rock vs. Reigns on the WrestleMania 40 card, Ray believes Orton should dethrone Reigns at the Royal Rumble event, forcing the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship to change hands. Per Ray's vision, after Orton unseats "The Tribal Chief" at the Royal Rumble, he would then go on to lose the title to Rhodes at WrestleMania 40, and thus, fulfill Rhodes' quest to "finish the story."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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Bully Ray Assesses 'Internal Chess Match' With WWE Main Event Stars - Wrestling Inc.

Each contestant has to try their best to make it to the final to be in with a shot of winning the prize money, and one of those contestants is 45-year-old Anthony.

The key to Anthony's game plan is to be flexible, because things are forever changing, but will that help him?

As the outcome unfurls on TV, read on for everything you need to know about The Traitors season 2 contestant Anthony.

Age: 45

Job: Chess coach

Location: Birmingham

Anthony sees The Traitors like a real-life game of chess, and being a chess coach himself, it was a no-brainer to apply for the show.

When he originally watched the series, he saw it as a game where everyone is expendable, much like a game of chess.

"Ultimately, the idea is to checkmate and win the game," he explained. "For me, it was like a chess tournament, where you've got to control your emotions and psychologically manage yourself. I was completely intrigued by it."

If you are a Traitor, how far are you prepared to go to win the game?

"All the way! That's where I'm prepared to go. At the end of the day, I'll quote it again, 'Everybody is expendable.'"

If you're a Faithful, what do you think your game plan would be?

"If I'm a Faithful, then the plan changes. Again, if I liken it to a game of chess, the Traitors make the first move and have the upper hand. As long as they survive the Round Table, then they get to influence the game.

"As a Faithful, it's going to be really tough in the beginning, because you've got to navigate who the other Faithfuls are and also not become a danger to the Traitors, trying to identify them but not becoming a major threat.

"As the game goes on and the numbers get lower, I think you then have the advantage as a Faithful. If I am a Faithful, I'm going to try and feel people out really quickly, and stay enough in the shadows so that I'm not identified as a threat."

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The Traitors season 2 starts on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Wednesday 3rd January 2024. The Traitors season 1 is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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Who is Anthony? The Traitors season 2 contestant and chess coach - Radio Times

Artem Sachuk, vice president of the Ukrainian Chess Federation, was killed in action while fighting on the front lines, the chess organization reported via Facebook on Nov. 26.

Sachuk, 39, was a resident of Zhytomyr who volunteered for the army shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In an interview with the Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne in July 2022, Sachuk said he taught his fellow soldiers how to play chess and used the game to give examples of combat formations.

"Chess is actually a war game. It is an imitation of a military conflict and it absolutely has practical value. Many chess players are now defending Ukraine as part of various units, not just the Armed Forces," Sachuk told Suspilne.

The Ukrainian Chess Federation said Sachuk was "a well-known figure" in the chess world, and that he organized many competitions within Ukraine and internationally.

Details regarding the circumstances of Sachuk's death have not been reported.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russias increased weapons production may lead to new attacks elsewhere, commander says

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.

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VP of Ukrainian Chess Federation killed in action - Yahoo News