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Iart Luca Shytaj

He was born in Albania (Tirana) in 1986. His parents moved to Italy when he was six years old and he became an Italian citizen in 2007.

Luca (as he is known to friends) is a very strong player whowon the Albanian Chess Championship in 2003 and represented Albania twice in Olympiads (Calvia 2004 and Turin 2006) and Italy once in an Olympiad (Dresden 2008 the picture above, by Cathy Rogers, was taken there) and once in a European Team Championship (Novi Sad 2009).

He won the Albanian Championship (2003), the Italian Rapid Championship (2009), and the Italian Team Championship in 2016 playing for the Fischer Chieti team.

Luca was awarded the title in October 2018, the 14th Italian player to achieve the title of GM.

In the scientific field Luca holds a master degree in Genetics and Molecular Biology (from the La Sapienza University in Rome). He obtained a PhD in Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, working on an HIV cure project under the supervision of Andrea Savarino. Later he performed his research at the Italian Institute of Health in Rome and at Heidelberg University in Germany. He is currently a visiting Professor at the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.

When I showed Luca the click-baittitle of my article, he asked me if I knew Betteridge's law, which states that "any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no". I definitely hope that this is not the case here. I have urged Luca to abandon his attempts to rearrange little pieces of wood on a checkered board slightly better than other people, and concentrate on the more urgent global tasks that need to be solved.

Luca and his team have been working on Cobicistat, a drug used in HIV/AIDS therapy, showing that it could have an effect against COVID-19. That is the result of a study, until now conducted only in vitro and in an animal model, published in the journal of the American Society of Microbiology, mBio.

The international team of authors proved thatCobicistat inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 with a different mechanism from those of the drugs currently used, i.e. by blocking the fusion of the virus to its target cells. Furthermore, the drug can attenuate the progression of the disease in a hamster animal model (Mesocricetus auratus), by enhancing the effect of another drug previously tested against COVID, i.e. Remdesivir.

If you are interested in the details of the research, the article on COVID is now published and free to read:

Combinations of direct-acting antivirals are needed to minimize drug resistance mutations and stably suppress replication of RNA viruses.

Currently, there are limited therapeutic options against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and testing of a number of drug regimens has led to conflicting results.

Here, we show that cobicistat, which is an FDA-approved drug booster that blocks the activity of the drug-metabolizing proteins cytochrome P450-3As (CYP3As) and P-glycoprotein (P-gp), inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication. Two independent cell-to-cell membrane fusion assays showed that the antiviral effect of cobicistat is exerted through inhibition of spike protein-mediated membrane fusion. In line with this, incubation with low-micromolar concentrations of cobicistat decreased viral replication in three different cell lines including cells of lung and gut origin.

When cobicistat was used in combination with remdesivir, a synergistic effect on the inhibition of viral replication was observed in cell lines and in a primary human colon organoid. This was consistent with the effects of cobicistat on two of its known targets, CYP3A4 and P-gp, the silencing of which boosted the in vitro antiviral activity of remdesivir in a cobicistat-like manner.

When administered in vivo to Syrian hamsters at a high dose, cobicistat decreased viral load and mitigated clinical progression. These data highlight cobicistat as a therapeutic candidate for treating SARS-CoV-2 infection and as a potential building block of combination therapies for COVID-19.

Excerpt from:
Can a chess grandmaster save the world? - ChessBase

This years edition saw all the strongest players in Romania, with a record number of titled players, but also young kids participating! Was it thanks to the increased prize fund, the Romanian Federations efforts to offer the best possible conditions for the players, or the increased media attention chess has started to get in Romania? From my perspective, all these factors played an important role and I feel proud of the Romanian Federations latest work to get chess the attention it deserves!

Before jumping to chess, Id like to take a moment to thank the president of our federation - Vlad Ardeleanu (CEO at Medima Health) for his passion for chess and for all his efforts (together with his young and enthusiastic team) for us, the players, to be proud to represent Romania at both the national and the international events! In his speech at the closing ceremony, Mr. Ardeleanu said that his approach was to be among the players, hear them out, and get a real feel about the challenges we face and thats exactly why he decided to participate in the Blitz Championship himself - an initiative I can only applaud!

Vlad Ardeleanu, President of the Romanian Chess Federation

Jumping to the chess part, the first dare was the Solving Championships - a discipline which I love and participate at every time I get the chance! It consists of 9 puzzles and one can get a maximum of 5 points for each - 2 mates in two moves, 2 mates in 3 moves, one mate in 4 moves, two studies, one self-mate and one help-mate, all to be solved in 120 minutes. Mate in 2, how come - should be easy, one would be compelled to think. But no! These are not straightforward mates, but rather crazy and irrational ones. Those of you knowing a bit about chess composition are probably familiar with the concept, but for those who hear about it for the first time, here are some positions which gave me quite a headache, thanks to one of the arbiters of the competition and the one in charge for our headaches at the National Solving Championships for many years now: IA Dinu-Ioan Nicula.

Mate in 3- position #4 at the Womens National Solving Championship

Solution: 1.Ne3 - 1.5p (threatening 2.Qf2+ - 0.5p)

1Ke4 2.Qd5+ -1.5p

1Kxg3 2.Qg2+ -1.5p

This one was a nightmare - I couldnt solve it and lost quite a lot of time and nerves on it, as I usually dont struggle so much in finding the mates in 2 and 3 and it was so frustrating not being able to find the solution

Another very tricky one was the help-mate, a task in which black starts and helps white to mate him in 2 moves. I could find only one of the two solutions - the first one. (the notation for help-mates is a bit different, as we use "1." for blacks first move rather than "1")

Helpmate

Solutions: 1.Bb3-Rd5 2.Bc2-Nd3# - 2.5p

1.f5-Rb3 2.Bf3- Rb6# -2.5p

Isnt it fascinating? I love how one can use ones imagination to think in a completely different way that is unusual for a professional chess player when solving this type of puzzles! I believe this was a very good training before the Rapid & Blitz and even if not all the titled players share my enthusiasm and prefer to keep their energy for the other disciplines - the competition at the solving tournament was fierce! Interestingly enough, a high rating is not a guarantee that someone is be good at solving. For example, I had 25.65 points out of 45, and with an Elo rating of 2390 I was the highest rated player in the event whereas Dariana-Gabriela Didiliuc, who finished second with 25.5 points, has only a rating of 1841 in classical chess! Third place went to WIM Silvia-Raluca Sgircea (2238 ELO).

Irina Bulmaga, Dariana-Gabriela Didiliuc, WIM Silvia-Raluca Sgircea

In the open section, the first two players both scored 34.5/45, but IM Mihnea Costachi finished first, as he used 119 minutes while GM Vlad Jianu used all his time (but only one minute more - 120 minutes). FM Marius-Nicolae Ceteras (long-time coach of IM Mihnea Costachi) came third with 32.5 points.

GM Vlad Jianu, IM Mihnea Costachi and FM Marius-Nicolae Ceteras

The Womens Rapid Championship was a tough competition, with all the members of the National Team present along with dangerous and quickly-progressing young players.

A future Romanian Champion?

At the end, it all came down to the last round. I was leading throughout the event and had 7.0/8 before the last game, and was one point of WGM Elena-Luminita Cosma, WCM Iselin-Amanda Lolici and IM Corina Peptan who all had 6.0/8.

I needed only a draw to secure first place, but I had to play with black against IM Corina Peptan, who probably has won more tournaments than any other female player in Romania. The first tie-break was the result between the tied players, so a loss would mean that I might lose the title. However, in case of a three-player tie the best Buchholz would count, and I probably would still be first as I had the best Buchholz before the round. Cosma quickly won against Lolici securing me a three-way tie should I lose against Peptan.

I got a good position against Peptan and a drawish endgame arose, but then I suddenly started to blunder all my pawns Did I relax too soon or was I already too tired? Who knows At a certain point, I just wanted to resign, but then decided to keep fighting until the end, even with 3 pawns down. When we had only seconds on our clocks, I managed to hold a draw in a position which reminded me of the Solving Championship

WGM Elena-Luminita Cosma came second with 7.0/9, while WGM Mihaela Sandu scored 6.5/9 and finished third on tie-break.

The winners of the Women's Rapid Championship (from left to right): IM Irina Bulmaga, WGM Elena-Luminata Cosma, WGM Mihaela Sandu, WIM Silvia-Raluca Sgircea, WFM Ekaterina Nikanova

The Open Section saw an all-star field, with all the players of the National Team present along with other strong GMs and IMs, but here too, a lot of promising youngsters started.

A future Romanian Champion?

Before the last round, GM Constantin Lupulescu and his student IM David Gavrilescu were sharing first place with 7.0/8 each. Five players with 6.5/8 each followed half a point behind. Lupulescu drew his last round game with Black against Romanias number one GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac, but Gavrilescu, who also played with Black, managed to win against GM Marius Manolache and won the tournament with a fantastic score of 8.0/9!

IM David Gavrilescu

Lupulescu (who had the best tie-break), 16-year old CM Teodor-Cosmin Nedelcu, and IM Alexandru-Vasile David shared places two to four with 7.5/9 each.

The winners of the Open Rapid Championship (from left to right): IM David Gavrilescu, GM Constantin Lupulescu, IM Teodor Cosmin Nedelcu, IM Alexander-Vasile David, GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac, IM Lucian Filip

The Blitz Championships followed on Sunday, starting at 9 am in the morning - the only thing I could criticize the organization for, as I believe many of us love our Sunday sleep, but, on the other hand, once the first game started and the adrenaline started to pump, we quickly forgot about the early hour!

In the Womens Section, IM Corina Peptan was leading throughout the event and finished first with an impressive score of 8.0/9. I believe the critical moment was our game in round 6. I had White and avoided a repetition but soon found myself in a completely lost position which Corina had no problems to win!

In round 8 Corina suffered her only loss in the tournament against Cosma, who in the end finished third with 7.0/9. I was a bit disappointed by my bad loss against Corina, but managed to pull myself together and won all my remaining games to finish second with 7.5/9.

The winners of the Women's Blitz Championship: (from left to right): IM Corina Peptan, IM Irina Bulmaga, WGM Elena-Luminata Cosma, WFM Alessia Ciolacu

In an interview after the tournament, Corina mentioned that this might be her last National Championship, as she felt like focusing on other things after a long and successful career. I hope she will change her mind and we will continue seeing her competing in the future as there are so many things one can learn from her - and Im not only talking about the chess qualities she has, but also about the fact that she is a very humble and kind person - qualities which our (chess) world desperately needs.

IM Corina Peptan

In the Open Blitz Championship, four players shared first, all scoring 7.5/9. Lupulescu had the best tie-break, followed by Deac, Jianu and GM Costica-Ciprian Nanu.

The winners of the Open Blitz Championship (from left to right): GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac, GM Constantin Lupulescu, GM Vlad Jianu, GM Ciprian Nanu, IM David Gavrilescu, GM Vladislav Nevednichy

Last, but not least, it was the first time the Romanian Blitz, Rapid and Solving Championships were covered live by a great media team, with commentary by WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor and IM Vladimir Doncea. I was told they did a great job and many of our supporters had a great time following the action from their homes!

WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor and IM Vladimir Doncea

After a weekend full of adrenaline and emotions, I would once again like to thank the organizing team for this celebration of chess and for the very fine job they did, for us, the players, who had the chance to enjoy the game and to give our best! Caissa smiled to some of us, but I hope she also inspired the many lovers of the game and young children to work on their chess, to demonstrate fair-play, be fierce, but also not to forget about being kind and humble!

Proud to be Romanian!

One could check the social media pages of the Romanian Federation for more material from the event:

Visit link:
The joys of chess: The Romanian Blitz, Rapid and Solving Championships - ChessBase

Press release by FIDE and the FFE

The Chess for Mental Health international event, a joint effort of FIDE and the French Chess Federation (Fdration Franaise des checs or FFE) with the support of Imagine Institute, Teladoc Health and AESIO Mutuelle, was held on 9 March 2022, in Paris.

Eloi Relange, the President of FFE, said:

Among its many assets, the game of chess brings many benefits in the service of mental health. Achievements and projects are multiplying at the international level. The French Chess Federation is proud to host this international conference organized by our Health Social Disability Commission and our International Commission.

Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.3 - The Hedgehog

Throughout my playing career I have found the Hedgehog one of the most difficult type of positions to master. The basic aim of this video is to improve understanding of these complex positions and to help tournament players score better.

Franck Droin, President of the Health Social Disability Commission of the FFE, added:

We have set up Health Social Disability Commission of FFE to pilot a set of programs dedicated to issues related to health, well-being and social inclusion through the game of chess. The Infinite Chess Program is the first of a set of measures focused on research and mental health in order to make chess a new tool at the service of health professionals and citizens.

The list of other key participants of the conference included Ministry of Health and Solidarity Franck Belivier, FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Prime Minister Services Interministerial Delegate Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Claire Compagnon, World Health Organization Director, Mental Health and Substance Use, WHO Devora Kestel, President of the Psychiatric French Society and President of CNQSP FFEHealth Social Handicap Maurice Bensoussan, and others.

FIDE Managing Director Dana Reizniece-Ozola noted:

Professional sport is not the only mission of FIDE. Chess and sports, in general, have to be used for other goals as well to make society stronger. Chess is an excellent tool for doing that, and we are trying to use these opportunities. Especially lately, we have developed various social initiatives where chess is used not for the sake of teaching the game itself but for the sake of social cohesion, increasing mental skills, girls empowerment and other things. Last year we also adapted our social responsibility guidelines, which goes very well with those principles that have been already encoded in our charter and policies.

Introducing chess to children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder is one of the key social initiatives of FIDE. The Infinite Chess Project aims to enhance knowledge and awareness about chess for children with ASD, give practical advice for teachers and parents, study the benefits of introducing chess and develop teaching methods.

Master Class Vol.3: Alexander Alekhine

On this DVD GMs Rogozenco, Marin, Mller, and IM Reeh present outstanding games, stunning combinations and exemplary endgames by Alekhine. And they invite you to improve your knowledge with the help of video lectures, annotated games and interactive tests

In the second part of the conference, Anastasia Sorokina, FIDE Vice President and leader of the Infinite Chess project, opened the discussion on chess for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, which was followed by presentations made by specialists from different countries, who shared their practical experiences in teaching chess to children with ASD.

Speakers, including Natalia Popova, curricula author, leader of the two-year-long project teaching chess to children with ASD, Ala Mishchanka, special needs educational assistant with more than 15 years of experience, Luis Blasco De La Cruz of FIDEs Commission for Chess in Education, Mara Rodrigo Yanguas, WFM and a sports psychologist, Erick Takawira, Director of the KZN Chess Academy, and Kanthi Devi Sarjoo, speech/language pathologist/audiologist from the Browns' School, Emmanuel Nieman, Chess Trainer, Eric Desailly of Foundation Ellen Poidatz, Franois Lescure, President of Teladoc Health France, and Sophie Krief, CEO of AESIO Mutuelle, covered various topics related to mental health, including autism, DYS, concentration, hyperactivity. The results of their studies showed that chess could improve multiple aspects of mental health.

According to the speakers, many recent studies have already highlighted the benefits of playing chess to support the development of children with autism spectrum disorders, the DYS (dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia) or attention and hyperactivity disorders. But these results must be confirmed by new studies, more extensive and more followed over time.

Kanthi Devi Sarjoo, Browns School Speech-Language Pathologist/Audiologist, said:

Observational data compiled indicated that chess is a viable medium to improve children's social skills with an autistic spectrum disorder. The use of role-playing in the chess lessons elicited emotive language and developed their creativity and imagination.

Finally, Aurlie Renard-Vignelles, Edith Jebob Duvernet, Maxence Augier, and Dr Maurice Bensoussan discussed troubles of DYS, concentration, and hyperactivity.

Presentations are available for download (pdf):

See the original post:
FIDE and FFE host international conference Chess for Mental Health - ChessBase

Even though the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has entered day 21, there are no signs of the conflict ending anytime soon as Moscow shows no signs of relenting in its pursuit of invading Kyiv. Amid the ongoing crisis that continues to inflict massive destruction across the streets of major Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv and Kharkiv, Indian Chess Grandmaster PentalaHarikrishna has announced that he would donate 10% of his prize money from the Charity Chess Cup to children in Ukraine.

In a video shared by him on his official social media handle, GM Pentala Harikrishna stated that he had been invited to the Charity Chess Cup, which was the second event of Magnus Carlsen's tour. He further added that the event also acts as a UNICEF fundraiser for children and their families of Ukraine. Harikrishna concluded the video by stating that he would donate 10% of his prize money from the Charity Chess Cup and that others should donate as much as they could as well.

In a previous Tweet, Harikrishna had also expressed his delight when it was revealed that the 44th Chess Olympiad would be moved from Russia to India. The major development had been confirmed by both the All India Chess Federation and FIDE, the International Chess Federation.

Meanwhile,Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin took to his official Twitter handle to explain the staggering milestone his state had achieved as a result of hosting the 44th Chess Olympiad. In a video released via his social media handle, Stalin said,

"Welcome, I am happy to announce an event that will be a milestone in the history of Tamil Nadu. The news is, Tamil Nadu has got an opportunity to host the 44thChess Olympiad. This is a proud moment for all the Tamils. Sports is all about one's potent - talent - beautyand much more.

Chess in particular is an amazing game that is about the steady focus of the participants and the nail-biting thrill enjoyed by the spectators. Tamil Nadu is deeply connected to this amazing game. Starting from world-renowned Grand MasterViswanathan Anand to the young prodigyPraggnanandhaa, Tamil Nadu has been continuously producing world-class chess players."

"This tournament will see participants from over 150 countries across the globe and will be one of the biggest sports events to have happened in India. I thank the FIDE and AICF for this historic opportunity. This event will take Tamil Nadu's hospitality and culture to the global arena. I resolve to conduct this Chess Olympiad in a great manner and welcome all the chess wizards from across the globe. Thank you!"

Shortly after announcing India as the nation which will host the 44th Chess Olympiad, FIDE had also revealed that they had suspended all Russian and Belarusian players from competing in events sanctioned by them with immediate effect. However, the players were given the opportunity to participate in the tournaments under the FIDE flag.

Link:
GM Harikrishna pledges to donate part of prize money from Chess Cup to children in Ukraine - Republic World

While Magnus Carlsen is the number one chess player in the world, his streaming career is not as incredible as his chess career. To be the top chess streamer, you dont really have to be as good as Magnus Carlsen. All you need is great content and a lot of people who like your content. But if not Magnus Carlsen or Hikaru Nakamura who won the best chess streamer award?

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You must have seen the Grammys, Golden Globes, Oscars or something like Nobel prize events. Well, The Streamer Awards is perhaps like a little brother to all of them. Every year, they nominate the best content streamers from different platforms and felicitate them for their amazing content creation in different fields.

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The American-Canadian online chess sensations Alexandra and Andrea Botez won the best chess streamer award for the year 2021. With over 770k subscribers on YouTube and Twitch, Botezlive is one of the most popular chess streaming channel in the world right now. It was started by the elder sister Alexandra in April 2018 and was joined by her little sister Andrea in 2020.

Both the sisters are ace chess players and often indulge themselves in different chess challenges on YouTube and Twitch. The sisters have even played games against Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and other renowned Grand Masters.

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Alexandra and Andrea both started playing chess at a very young age. While the elder sister Alexandra (26) is currently amongst the top ten female players in Canada, the younger sister Andrea (19) is equally aggressive and talented chess player.

Their popularity as chess streamers is proliferating rapidly, and the duo is getting a lot of attention from media as well. Recently, CBS published an article about the elder sister Alexandra Botez on their website.

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The sisters also have a couple of sponsorship deals, including the deal with a Texas-based esports company. Although their content is pretty cool to watch, but whats more fascinating about Botezlive is that they are spreading the game to more and more people.

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They are setting the trend that chess players can be as cool as both the sisters.

WATCH THIS STORYNathan Chen, unsure about his future in figure skating opens up on Russian controversy at Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

See more here:
Queens of Chess Defeat Kings to Win the Best Streamer Award 2021 - EssentiallySports