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The manga streaming platform recently launched a new manga based on the strategy game chess called BLITZ. Since chess was created in India and as Indians and chess fans we were keen to learn more about the manga. Thus, we reached out to BLITZMangaCreator, Cedric Biscay &Artist, Daitaro Nishihara, for an interview with Animehunch.

Heres what we asked them:

1.Whatinspiredyoutochoosechessasasporttomakeamangaon?Werethereothersportsmanga&anime,ormangaingeneralthatalsohelpedinspiredyou?

CedricBiscay:AsIamabigfanofsportsmangasuchasCaptainTsubasa,SlamDunkandothersandIhadthe wish for a long time to create this type of manga. That said, obviously theres a lot of competition in the manga market, so I had to find a sport where I could find good inspiration for stories and chess has a huge potential worldwide. I live in France and American football is widely played or popular here, although Eyeshield 21 was a hit here.

ThatswhatIhavealwayslikedaboutshonenmanga.Whateverthetopicis,theJapanesemangakaareabletomakeitaddictive.

DaitaroNishihara:Iaminfluencedbyvariouspartsofmanymanga.Itishardtopickjustone. ButifImaysayso,itwouldprobablybeBerserk.AlthoughnotreflectedinBLITZ,IamveryinspiredbyBerserkscharacters,scenes,andthewaytheframelayoutispresented.

2.GarryKasparovsinfluenceinthemangaisseenfromthefirstchapterandhowTom inherited many of Garrysmoves.HowdidGarrybecomeinvolvedinthisprojectandhowdidyoudevelopaleadcharacterthat couldchallengeGarrysgeniusandintellectin chess?

CedricBiscay:Tome,GarryKasparovislikeasuperhero.Duringmychildhood,Iremember aboutsome stories heardattheradioregardingthegameswithDeepBlue,theIBM supercomputer it was the ultimate man vs machine. I respect him a lot and I immediately contacted him when I thought to make a chess manga. Ofcourse,Ididnot know him, so Isimplycontactedhiscompanywithsomeverybasicpitchmaterials,thenIreceivedareplyfora first meeting in Paris and he has greenlighted everything at that time including his appearances in the story.

Hewasextremelyniceanddowntoearth,andIwasveryexcitedforhis involvement and support. The lead character of theBLITZmanga, Tom, has a personality very far from the chess high standards especially because he is not good at concentrating.

Formeitisinterestingtoshow how one can succeed, step by step by i any activity by dedication, practice and willingness to learn.

DaitaroNishihara:Inmyopinion,TomisabitpresumptuoustochallengeGarrysgeniusand intellect in chess when they onlyjustmet. However , I can say without a doubt that Garry becomes a shining star guiding Tom. And it is nice to see how Tom recklessly faces the difficulties and takes on challenges. I want him to remain a character who faces any challenge without fear.

3.Garryhasmentionedontheofficialwebsitethatmangahasgainedtractionaroundtheworld.Areyou working onreleasingananimecounterparttoBLITZaswell?

CedricBiscay:HavingananimeofBLITZwouldbegreat.Wearenotworkingonitdirectly,but I do believe the international exposure of the manga series will generate the interest of potential producers and studios. We already had several offers but we are still waiting for the right situation to develop.

4.Asmentionedinthemanga,Chessisagamethatchallengesaplayersmentalcapabilitytostrategize.Will this lead to Tom, the protagonist of the manga, to implement his own moves and strategies combined with Garrys moves and strategies? How do you see his character progressing?

CedricBiscay:Well,IdonotwanttospoilthestorytoomuchbutofcourseBLITZisnota manga someone who simply usesofsomeoneelsesabilities.Tomhashisownjourneyand starts playing from scratch. Whatever the situation there is a way to move. A solution.

ThatsthestoryofTomandHarmonyinthismanga.Itisinterestingtofollowaguywhoistotallyoutofhisleaguewhenhebeginsbuthegetsbetterandbetter.Soyes,intheupcomingvolumesofBLITZ,readerswillbesurprisedabouthowTomwillmanagethingsaboutCassa

5.ChesswasfirstcreatedinIndiaandthenittravelledtheSilkRoadandreachedtherestoftheworld.Areyou planning somethingforIndianaudiencesaswellconsideringchess has such a massive following in India?

CedricBiscay:Inoticedthisimmediately.ThemainantagonistisfromIndiaandreaderswill see him appear for the first time in volume 2. I would love to see BLITZ published in India. I do not know that country well, but it is quite fascinating to me and I know they have a deep rooted love of comics and manga there.

6.Whathavebeenthemostchallengingpartsaboutdevelopingthisproject?Whatwas the workflow process for BLITZ? Canyoutellushowyoubothworkedtogether?

CedricBiscay:Tome,thefacttohaveaninternationalteamisactuallymorechallengingthanhavingauthorsand artisitslivinginthesamecountryandsharingthesamelanguage.Thereisalotofexchangeswithtranslations,we mainlyuseJapaneseandEnglish,butsometimesIneedtouseFrenchandthenaskforatranslationwhenIneedto explain something in more detail.

The process is as follows, I wrote the general story outline for BLITZ, then for each volume, I separated the story into chapter and worked with a Japanese writer, Tsukasa Mori, on it in order to add more details and aspects to make the manga also resonate with fans of the genre, especially in Japan. Then once the story for a volume is ready, the artist, Daitaro Nishihara works on the storyboards. I am always impressed about the quality of his work.

Once the storyboard is ready, we finalize the dialogues and then Daitaro can finalize the drawings. Of course, I am givingjustasimplifiedoverviewbutthewholefollow-upisdonebytheShibuyaProductions team both in Japan and Monaco.

DaitaroNishihara:TherearemanycharactersinBLITZandsincepartsofthestoryfocuson the team aspects of chess there are often many characters in a single scene, which can be challenging. But I enjoy bringing Cedrics vision to life and look forward to readers discovering Toms Journey to become a chess grandmaster.

Link:
Exclusive: Ablaze's BLITZ Creators Talk About Their New Manga, Chess And Grandmaster Gary Kasparov - Animehunch

The ramifications of advances in artificial intelligence (A.I.) are being felt further afield than anyone expected. A.I. perhaps entered the public consciousness in the 1990s thanks to chess competitions, but it's now infiltrating art competitions and, soon, the written word. Some commercial offerings can provide paragraphs of text based on brief prompts, keywords, and tone parameters. Users of Google's email service have, of course, been microdosing on A.I. since 2018, when Gmail rolled out Smart Compose.

What these developments bring home is that people in the so-called "creative class" are now facing the first-person reckoning that automation has long presented to blue-collar workers: Technology is going to radically change the way we work.

As an analyst at a think tank, my job consists of processing policy trends, formulating new ideas to tackle economic and social problems, and advancing them through the written word. If programs like Midjourney, DALL-E, and Voyager can already captivate human audiences, I haven't the slightest doubt that my modest ability to metabolize the policy landscape, reason my way to novel solutions, and manipulate language in provocative, engaging ways will soon be matchedand then surpassedby A.I. programs designed for the task.

While I am under no illusion that my work merits any blue ribbons, putting thoughts into words that persuade or stir emotion entails a certain artistry. It's an engrossing and gratifying process, one from which I derive identity. When I contemplate that a computer could soon do it better, I, like the Lancashire handloom weavers of the early 19th century, feel more than a bit threatened.

Garry Kasparov dealt with this conundrum two decades ago and has had a head start in managing the prospect of obsolescence. Kasparov, an all-time great chess player, had the distinction of holding the world title just at the same moment that computer chess programs ramped up their prowess. In 1996, Kasparov beat what was then the strongest chess engine ever created, IBM's Deep Blue. But as he recounts in his memoir, Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins, he knew then that his reign would soon end. Indeed, in a 1997 rematch for which Kasparov was handsomely compensated, an updated Deep Blue brought the age of A.I. to global attention, dealing the champion a stunning defeat in the match's decisive sixth game.

In Deep Thinking, published in 2017, Kasparov explains how his perspective on A.I. has evolved and why. Despite the anguish the 1997 loss caused him, he views A.I. as one of the greatest opportunities for humanity to advance its well-being. The reason is that Kasparov has observed in the intervening years that the highest level of performance, on the chessboard and elsewhere, is reached when humans work with smart machines.

After Deep Blue's programmers established that it could see deeper into the game than the human mind, Kasparov and a group of partners came up with a new concept: What if instead of human vs. machine, people played against one another but with the assistance of chess software?

They called the new style of play "advanced chess," and the outcomes surprised Kasparov. It wasn't the player with the best chess software that necessarily won, nor was it the best human player. Rather, the top performers were the players who were able to use the machines most effectively, those who were able to get the most out of the chess engines and their own creative abilities.

Operating on the premise of Moravec's Paradox, i.e., where machines are strong is where humans are weak and vice versa, what Kasparov took away from the advanced chess experiment is that a clever working process beats both superior human talent and superior technological horsepower.

The same insight can be leveraged by artists, composers, writers, designers, and the like. Rather than viewing A.I. as the end of our livelihoods, we ought to see the opportunities it presents for better work.

For the creative class, the answer to the A.I. challenge is to make the most of the programs available to us. Is artistry lost because of A.I., or is it unlocked, as we are freed from some of the more formulaic structuring processes that drain energy? By delegating these aspects of creation to A.I., I anticipate having more mental space available to generate the rhetorical flourishes and the witty bits of embroidery that make writing enjoyable.

Yes, people deploying A.I. in the writing world, art competitions, and elsewhere will likely face scorn. But while a level playing field is appropriate in defined competitions, in open-ended fields to accuse a rival of cheating would be no more meaningful than in that of the textile industry. For the intrepid writer, A.I. will create opportunities to produce better work at a faster clip, just as the power loom did for the weavers of Lancashire.

Rather than fear, and certainly rather than Luddite suppression, this ought to be a moment of optimism. A.I. is coming for our jobs. Its arrival, however, will not be a harbinger of obsolescence but a catalyst for greater achievement.

More here:
Artificial Intelligence Will Change JobsFor the Better - Reason

RADHICA DE SILVA

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

Six years after they started playing Chess, the Balliram Brothers of San Fernando TML Primary School have emerged winners of the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association (TTCA) Second National Individual Primary School Chess Championship.

The competition was held last Saturday at C3 Centre in Corinth, San Fernando. Fifty -six participants from 27 schools participated in the competition.

The Balliram twins Tristan and Taydan told Guardian Media their goal now is to enter more international tournaments.

Both of them scored 5.5 points each while Alexandra Kumar of Scarborough RC Primary School had a score of 5.

Smiling as they were given the 2022 National Primary School Champion Challenge Trophy, the brothers said chess had improved the quality of their academic lives as they continued to be straight-A students in all subject areas.

The twins as well as Aiden Tinnie and Samaara Ali scored a total of 17 points which earned them the trophy.

Cedar Grove Private Primary had won the competition last year but this time, they placed second to San Fernando TML with a score of 14.5, thanks to the commendable efforts of the Allum brothers- Adrian and Dominic; Denae Headley and Karishma Rampersad.

The third-place winner was Maria Regina Grade School which scored 13.5 points.

The Best Female performance went to Adaya Johnson of Maria Regina Grade School.

Thanking players, coaches, school principals, and parents for their continued support in keeping the sport of chess alive despite the challenges of Covid-19, officials of the TTCA also paid tribute to Chief Arbiter, FA Roderick Noel, and assistant arbiters, David Martin, Keevin James, and TTCA Secretary Sandy Razark.

The twins were first enrolled in a chess class when they were five years old along with their elder brother Luke.

Their mother Tisha Balliram said the cognitive skills her children learned from the game have given them patience, time management skills, and analytical thinking far beyond their years.

Multiple studies have confirmed that chess improves academic performance, concentration, logical thinking, judgment, creativity, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and social skills.

It also reduces anxiety, depression, and the risk of getting Alzheimer's and dementia as it improves brain functions.

Principal of San Fernando TML Wahida Mohammed-Narine and Standard Five teacher Shazara Mohammed commended all students for participating in the competition. All trophies are expected to be displayed at the school as an incentive for other budding chess players.

See the article here:
Sando TML beats Cedar Grove to take Chess Championship - Trinidad Guardian

Gennadiy Golovkin had no excuses for his lack of activity in many of the rounds in the trilogy showdown with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.

At the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) dominated Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) for the majority of the fight for a twelve round unanimous decision to retain the undisputed super middleweight crown.

The scores were 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113.

Most observers saw the fight was being much wider in favor of Canelo. The majority of scorecards at ringside gave Golovkin no more than two or three rounds.

Golovkin, now 40-years-old and inactive over the last few years, was very tentative, especially in the first eight rounds, before he finally began to open up more often in the ninth.

Golovkin admits that he was overly cautious of being countered by the much faster Canelo.

"Everybody knows who is Canelo, everybody knows [that if you take] a bad step, you lose the fight," said Golovkin.

"You [can] lose [from] one punch, you lose the fight. Look at his face, look at my face. We're like this because it was a high-level fight because we trained well and we did a very good quality fight. This fight was more tactical, like chess. Today Canelo was better."

The trilogy fight lacked the punch and drama of the first two meetings.

In their first encounter, back in 2017, they fought to controversial twelve round split draw. There were many who felt Golovkin should have been the winner. The rematch, which took place a year later, saw Canelo win a very close twelve round majority decision. It was a close fight that could have gone either way.

Read the rest here:
Golovkin: This Fight Was More Tactical, Like Chess, Canelo Was Better - BoxingScene.com

It is well known that MrBeast has been a great content creator for years, but one thing that fans dont know is the fact that he is a very good chess player as well. Although he might be good in a casual match, it was once proved that he had to suffer an embarrassing loss while playing against American Chess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.

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In this match from 2020, the millionaire YouTuber MrBeast had an embarrassing defeat from Nakamura, since the Grandmaster used only a King, a Queen, and a few pawns with a Rook for the entire match. This made MrBeast feel really embarrassed as his recently found love for Chess almost ended during this.

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In 2020, MrBeast posted a tweet saying that he is looking for any creator who is willing to play chess with him, as he was addicted to the game. Later, many creators and influencers commented on the tweet and one of them was Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, who promised Jimmy 100k if he won against him.

But surprisingly, instead of Carlsen, Nakamura took the challenge and played against MrBeast. But to make things easy for Jimmy after several warmup rounds, MrBeast was given the advantage by Nakamura that the American grandmaster will play only using a King, a Queen, a rook, and three pawns.

Although MrBeast was a bit confident about this, he lost the match and was frustrated with his loss. At the start of the match, he said, I quit. Im not even playing anymore, I dont like chess, I retire, I will stick to giving away money and just making YouTube videos. Chess is a lot harder than I thought it was. While after losing he said, Oh My Gosh, are you kidding me? I quit, Im not even playing anymoreI dont like chess, I retire, I quit.

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MrBeast has been very open about his love for chess, and in many videos, he can be seen playing the popular board game with other creators. Surprisingly, he has also participated in the popular online chess tournament POG Champs 3 and 4 and even performed really well against other creators.

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What are your thoughts on this hilarious take of MrBeast on his defeat? Do you think that you can take him on as an opponent? Let us know in the comments below.

WATCH THIS STORY:Ranking YouTube Superstar MrBeasts most watched videos of all time

More:
Ill Stick To Giving Away Money $54 Million MrBeast Once Had A Hilarious Encounter With American Chess Grandmaster - EssentiallySports