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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns should serve as a 2019 case study that division titles are not won in the offseason. There have been plenty of NFL teams before the Odell Beckham Jr.-infused Browns that were crowned in July and failed, but last season hit Cleveland in a way most wont forget.

Yet, with that hype from a year ago in mind and those scars of disappointment still showing on fans, why does it seem difficult not to buy back in?

Let me try and answer that.

The Browns havent won a single game and coach Kevin Stefanski is 0-0 as a head coach. This regime still has everything to prove. But, it is tough denying this offseason seems calculated.

Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry have put an emphasis on team building and culture by playing chess rather than throwing darts at the bar.

A new Browns Way, or culture, cannot be established until the facility in Berea opens, allowing players and coaches to finally be together. That is out of the control of Stefanski and Berry. What they do have a grip on is team building, specifically a vision for what the Browns will be in 2020 and beyond.

Rather than throwing darts at Beckham, Olivier Vernon and Kareem Hunt like John Dorsey did, this front office doesnt move unless it makes sense on their chessboard. Lets review them quickly and highlight what a dart throw may have looked like.

Chess move: Signing Austin Hooper.

Dart throw: Starting a rookie at tight end.

If the only knock on signing Hooper is that the Browns overpaid, then that is a lame argument. Every team overpays top free agents. Its how the system is set up and why elite quarterbacks hardly ever hit the open market. If Russell Wilson was available, hed command at least $15 million more than his already $35 million annual salary.

The Browns made their move on Hooper, knowing Stefanski couldnt run the offense he wants with just David Njoku, Stephen Carlson or a rookie. Since the 2020 tight end draft class is one of the weakest positions, Hooper was worth it and Stefanski/Berry know that.

Chess move: Signing Jack Conklin.

Dart throw: What the Browns did at right tackle last year.

The Browns made a choice last year to neglect the right side of the offensive line by trading Kevin Zeitler and entrusting Chris Hubbard at right tackle. Berry left little to chance by signing Conklin, and more moves on the offensive line are expected.

Chess move: Signing Case Keenum.

Dart throw: Bringing in talent like Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota.

Signing either couldve been defended. Winston was a former No. 1 pick and Mariota was a No. 2. Perhaps the right situation could turn their careers around.

Say the Browns sign Mariota and all of a sudden he starts playing well in the preseason. Though the starting quarterback market is oversaturated right now, that will swing the other way eventually. The Browns could consider trading him for a draft pick and it wouldve looked smart and great.

However, signing Keenum is the low key, calculated and more appropriate move.

Chess move: Staying flexible on defense.

Dart throw: Quick fix, big linebacker contracts.

Quick exercise: Name the starting middle linebacker for any of the four teams that played on Championship Sunday this year (Chiefs, Titans, Packers, 49ers).

Tough task, eh?

Im not saying linebackers are unimportant. Like any position, having a talented guy there helps a lot. But it is okay to go cheap at linebacker and that is what the Browns are doing for now. Better than being the Jets a year ago, giving C.J. Mosely a five-year, $85 million deal.

The draft serves as the Browns next move. Theres far too much yet to happen to know if theres a chance Cleveland can checkmate the league, but at least the franchise seems to be playing the same game other smart front offices favored for years.

Getting to know the newest Browns

Find out about the new Cleveland Browns for 2020 via free agency in these videos.

Browns Hooper swayed by Mayfields competitive spirit -- Mary Kay Cabot reports on what she learned from a conference call with Hooper this weeks.

Conklin is important addition for Browns, even if he is just a right tackle -- Conklin spoke with reporters and downplayed his role as an offensive lineman. Dan Labbe has the story.

Browns QB Case Keenum: If Mayfields shoelace comes untied, Im going to be ready to go -- Cabbot writes about how eager Keenum is to get on the field even though he accepts his role as a backup.

Andrew Billings adds valuable depth on interior of Browns defensive line -- Labbe covers what he learned from talking to Billings via conference call.

Film reviews on the newest Browns players

Can new Browns middle linebacker B.J. Goodson really replace Joe Schobert?-- Ellis L. Williams breaks down the Browns new linebacker can do and where he could improve

What did the Browns defense gain in signing former Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo? -- Williams uses a film review to highlight what caliber of safety the Browns signed.

Why Conklin can change the Browns offensive line from a weakness to a strength -- Find out why the Browns right tackle earned such a major payday.

Why Austin Hooper is the perfect fit for Kevin Stefanski and the Browns offense -- Hooper is exactly what Stefanski needs to run his offense. Here is why.

Other cant miss stories from this week

Baker killing his garage workouts: Trying to keep my sanity during this quarantine period -- Cabot writes about Mayfield and how he is working out this offseason.

Roger Goodell informs Browns and all 32 teams the NFL Draft will take place as scheduled -- The NFL keeps following its original schedule.

Are the Browns winning the offseason in 2020? One measurement says theyre close -- Check out how the Browns are doing this offseason compared to other teams. Scott Patsko has the latest on a new metric.

Case Keenum can still play: Why that is important to the Cleveland Browns -- Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto shares his thoughts on the Browns backup QB.

How Browns free-agency moves stack up against the Bengals, Steelers, Ravens -- Patsko takes a look at the AFC North as a whole.

Orange and Brown Talk podcast

On this weeks Orange and Brown Talk podcast, Ellis L. Williams, Dan Labbe and Mary Kay Cabot share what they learned from Hooper, Keenum and Conklin. Then they identify how these new pieces will fit in with the Browns before getting into Football Insider questions and discussing moves around the NFL.

Read the rest here:
GM Andrew Berry and the Browns are playing chess, not throwing darts this offseason: This Week in the Clevela - cleveland.com

Today half a century ago, one of the greatest chess events of the 20th century started in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. In this match between the Soviet Union and the Rest of the World, virtually all the top players in the world participated.

It was an event that was repeated two more times in later years, but never on the same level, and never speaking to the imagination as much as the first. The 1970 match USSR vs Rest of the World, "an epoch-making battle" in the words of GM Garry Kasparov,had virtually all the top playersincluding GM Bobby Fischertogether for one week in Belgrade, the capital of what was still Yugoslavia.

Video footage of the event (without sound).

Fischer's participation in this event (or in any event, in fact) was far from automatic. In his "My Great Predecessors IV" Kasparov tells the story about how the American player, who would become world champion two years later, initially hesitated.

According to Bobby, he was persuaded by the chief arbiter Bozidar Kazic: "He flew to America and spent a long time trying to convince me. And suddenly he said: 'Think about itif you don't play in the Match of the Century, it will simply be the greatest chess absurdity of the century!' It was hard for me to say anything in reply..."

The team match was held between 29 March and 4 April 1970 in the Great Hall of the Dom Sindikata(the House of Trade Unions) in Belgrade, witnessed by 2,000 spectators and 63 foreign correspondents.

Reportedly, the city lights on the square in front of the match hall were dimmed during the event, so that the outside spectators could better follow the games on what must have been one of the earliest versions of an electronic chessboard.

The match consisted of four rounds, with teams of 10 players each (including six world champions, past, present, and future!) playing four games against the same player.

The Soviet Team, in board order: Boris Spassky, Tigran Petrosian, Viktor Korchnoi, Lev Polugaevsky, Efim Geller, Vasily Smyslov, Mark Taimanov, Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, Paul Keres, and reserves Leonid Stein and David Bronstein.

The Rest of the World Team in board order: Bent Larsen, Fischer, Lajos Portisch, Vlastimil Hort, Svetozar Gligoric, Samuel Reshevsky, Wolfgang Uhlmann, Milan Matulovic, Miguel Najdorf, Borislav Ivkov, and reserves Fridrik Olafsson and Klaus Viktor Darga.

Fischer playing on board two instead of board one is another interesting story. For the line-up of the teams, Arpad Elo's (at the time brand new) rating system had been used, butLarsen objected, claiming he deserved top board based on his recent results and Fischer's inactivity.Here's what happened after, also from Kasparov, who quotes Taimanov:

"This was an open challenge to Fischer and it appeared that a conflict was inevitable," writes Taimanov. "But the unbelievable occurred! When Dr [Max] Euwethe team captainwent into Bobby's room, the latter was lying on a divan with his head buried in a pillow. And hardly had Euwe begun fulfilling his complicated diplomatic mission, when Bobby, not even turning to his respected colleague, barked out: 'I don't object...'"

Later it was concluded that Fischer, who hadn't played competitive chess for nearly two years, didn't feel fully ready yet to meet Spassky, and perhaps rightly so.He lost to Spassky later in the year at the Siegen Olympiad.

Characteristically, the Soviets prepared seriously for the event. They had taken up a training camp where leading trainers andtheoreticians such as GM Isaac Boleslavsky and GM Semyon Furman were present. As the board order of the World was known to them (apart from the late Fischer/Larsen switch), it was decided to adjust the order of their line-up to increase chances in the individual mini-matches.

The USSR ended up winning the match with the narrowest of margins: 20.5-19.5. This could well have been a tie if Portisch hadn't allowed a threefold repetition against Korchnoi on the last day in a promising position.

Another key game on the last day was the one between Smyslov and Olafsson (who substituted for Reshevsky). In what was the last game that was still going, Smyslov won. He later wrote:

"The final result depended completely on us. To make a draw would mean a draw in the match as a whole. Were I to win, we would win. Were Olafsson to win Imagine the situation?! (...)Thats why I at once told everyone that this victory remains for me one of the most memorable; in terms of its intensity, it can only be compared with the one that made me world champion."

It was a disappointing result for the mighty Soviets, especially when taken into account that they had clearly lost the battle on the top-four boards. Fischer won is mini-match with Petrosian with the highest individual score for the World (3-1), starting with two wins and then playing two draws.

(On the last day, Stein played for Spassky who was ill, while Olafsson played for Reshevsky for religious reasons.)

Naturally, the event produced a lot of excellent games. The most famous is the encounter between Larsen and Spassky from the second day of the match. Starting with 1.b3, the great Dane was wiped off the board in just 17 moves, with Black's h-pawn playing a major role.

Here's the game with annotations by Chess.com's @SamCopeland, who also recorded a video that can be found on his blog.

Here's Fischer's first of two wins against Petrosian. According to a report by Dragoslav Andric in "Chess Life & Review" (June 1970), the players played on achess table different from the rest.

"Made of white and green marble, it was Fidel Castro's gift (on the occasion of the Olympiad in Havana in 1966) to one of Belgrade's chess functionaries. The chess set, too, had to be special Fischer demanded that it not be too shiny."

Here's the game, with brief annotations from the players taken from the tournament bulletin.

As Larry Evans, Fischer's second at the event, wrote in "Sports Illustrated" (April 20, 1970), among the prizes were two cars:

Among the prizes were two automobilesa Fiat for the winner at the first board and a Russian-built Moskvich at the second. "All I need is another half point to win the Moskvich," Fischer said. I was acting as Fischer's second, and this comment told me that the days of hard trying were over; he was going to play it safe. And he did. The game was drawn. Since he does not like to drive he said he was going to sell the car. European chess masters told him not to do it and said it was a fine car, except that it could not always be depended upon to run uphill.

The prize for the best game was awarded to Geller for his win against Gligoric on the first day. Here it is, also with annotations from the tournament bulletin.

Part of this article was based on Douglas Griffin's recentblog post. Griffin (from Insch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland) was an active chess player in the 1980s, has a keen interest in the history and (especially Russsian-language) literature of the game.

Currently, Griffin isworking on a redesigned and extended version of the original tournament book in the English language in collaboration with Chess Informant. He kindly provided the following, decisive game, with the annotations as they will appear in the book.

Read more from the original source:
50 Years Ago Today, USSR-Rest Of The World Started - Chess.com

When the FIDE Candidates Tournament, a battle between eight premier chess players, began on March 16th, in Yekaterinburg, Russia, there was something macabre about it. Chess, one of the worlds oldest games, seemed determined to be its last. The event, put on by the Fdration Internationale des checs, would decide who would challenge the reigning world champion, Magnus Carlsen, in December, and it began in high style, with Bolshoi soloists and prima ballerinas at its opening ceremony. A picture of the audience, more than a thousand people, sitting arm to arm, circulated on social mediaan image from another era. Only a young womanHou Yifan, the best female chess player in the worldwho was wearing a mask in the front row, her knees tilted toward a lone empty seat, gave away that something was wrong.

The players themselves werent at the ceremonyone of the many precautions meant to protect them from the coronavirus crisis, FIDE claimed. They would be playing their matches without live audiences, too. Meals were served to them in their hotel rooms; they were tested for COVID-19 before the start of the tournament, and were to be tested again after ten days. There were twice-daily medical checks, and hand sanitizer was dispensed liberally; handshakes between competitors were replaced by mildly embarrassed elbow taps. Ding Liren, a grandmaster from China, who had been on lockdown in his home city of Wenzhou, was quarantined for fourteen days before the tournament began. There were frequent reassurances that the outbreak had not reached that part of Siberia. No one could say why, or whether that was really sothe Russian government is not known for its transparency. And there was a worrying sense that FIDE saw an opportunity. This is a big event not just for the chess world but, possibly, for the whole sporting community, the FIDE president, Arkady Dvorkovich, said, since almost all international competitions have been canceled due to the spread of the coronavirus."

Not everyone was so rosy about it. One of the competitors, Teimour Radjabov, withdrew from the event before it began, questioning the decision to hold the tournament as planned. The moral force of his argument was somewhat undercut by his focus on the Chinese playershe expressed concern that only Ding had been quarantined, while another Chinese player, Wang Hao, who had come to Yekaterinburg from Tokyo, had notat a time when the virus had very much gone global. But it was hard to fault his decision. He was replaced by a French player, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, who had been set to provide commentary for the site Chess24, also pulled out in protest, only to be replaced by Carlsen himself, whose company Play Magnus AS bought the site last year. Some called for the tournament to be played online, but that was a non-starter: the classical chess community is traditionalist, and the in-person encounter is considered an integral part of the game. Besides, an online tournament, with its need for referees and arbiters, presented major logistical challenges. Officials clung to the idea that the Russian Urals was the safest place to be.

But the world began to close in. On March 17th, when the first round was held, the first case of COVID-19 in the area was confirmed. Players spoke of the anxiety that they felt while playing as news of the pandemic grew worse. After a win against Kirill Alekseenko, the tournaments wild card, the American player Fabiano Caruana, who won the previous Candidates Tournament, talked of the stress he was under. Today I showed a temperature of 98.7 degrees, he said. This provoked a panic. Everyones extremely paranoid. Theyre not great conditions to play under, but I have no choice.

Eventually, neither did FIDE. On Thursday, after seven roundswith Vachier-Lagrave, the replacement player, in the lead, tied with Ian Nepomniachtchithe tournament was suddenly suspended. Russia had announced that, as of March 27th, no international flights, commercial or charter, would be allowed in the countrys airspace. It took Dvorkovich only a few seconds of thinking, he told Chess24, before he decided to call off the event, to be resumed when the situation was safer. Players, their support teams, and media members were told to pack their bags immediately. Some headed to Moscow, to catch the last flights out of the country; a charter from Yekaterinburg was being arranged for others. It wasnt clear when, or whether, all the players would be able to make it home. For his part, Radjabov told Chess.coms Danny Rensch and Robert Hess that he was considering a legal appeal to be given a spot in the tournament again.

It was a surreal interruption to a surreal tournament. No place is safe from the viruss reach, not even Siberiathat becomes more obvious every day. For the players whose attention was on chess for the past several weeks, that sense of surreality is just beginning. The Candidates is over for now, Caruana tweeted. The hard part still remains: getting home. I expect to re-enter a world Ill hardly recognize.

Read more:
The Chess World Finally Pauses for the Coronavirus - The New Yorker

Chess.com is thrilled to bring chess fans around the world more options to watch their favorite players live. To grow the chess streaming ecosystem, Chess.com is offering a number of benefits to chess streamers of all skill levels who want to get involved on Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, and other streaming platforms!

First, create a streaming account on Twitch, YouTube, or any other streaming platform.

Next, you'll need to download streaming software. There are many great programs which allow you to share your computer's screen, along with your microphone and webcam. Some popular programs include OBS, Streamlabs OBS, and XSplit. We recommend OBS! This is the software we use for big events such as the PRO Chess League and the Speed Chess Championship.

Chess.com's producer, @aranhawaii, has produced a quick and concise tutorial playlist to help you get started.

Once you have a channel set up, and you understand your streaming software, there's nothing stopping you from streaming at any timeplaying games, solving puzzles, or doing anything you'd like on Chess.com! What the Streamers program does is help promote you, making it easier for interested viewers to find your channel. Here are some benefits:

Still have more questions? Check out our FAQ below.

Fill out the form below. Once Chess.com staff have verified the information you provided, we will add you to the Streamers page and send you an introductory email with useful resources and further instructions to complete your setup as a Chess.com streamer.

Please note that we will only respond to serious inquiries.

I have a great personality, and it sounds fun, but is there really an audience for this stuff?Yes, there is! Live streaming and E-sports are taking over the internet. Twitchhas an average of two million people streaming a multitude of games every day! Other services like Mixer and YouTube are also actively hosting web events across the globe every minute. Chess.com/Streamers already lists many of the world's most famous "chess streaming" personalities, and there's room for you!

What software should I use for my shows? Is there an easy way to understand the differences between them? Chess.com recommends OBS for its helpful tools and easy to understand user interface, but here are some quick links to tutorials on your options:

Do you have any recommendations on sound and equipment? We do! Surely there are many great microphones and webcams, but we've done our research and have lots of experience. Most of Chess.com's paid streamers and video authors use the following:

Will Chess.com help my streams look good? Yes, we will.

Many logos and standard streaming assets are already available on our brand resources page. Additionally, Chess.com will:

Why do I see some streamers get their shows embedded at Chess.com/TV and mine aren't? Streamers on Chess.com/TV have "Partner Status" with Chess.com and are considered amongst our best, most entertaining streamers. They receive this perk of reaching thousands more viewers via the Chess.com/TV embed for the quality of their shows and service to the community.

N.B. Partner with Chess.com is NOT equivalent to Twitch Partner. We use this as an internal designation only.

How do I earn "Partner Status"?The first thing you should do is take note of what current partner streams excel at and try to emulate that experience. We are always on the lookout for entertaining new streamers!

Secondly, Partner status requires that:

If you meet these requirements, please fill out the form embedded in this article, and we will be in touch with you if we feel you would be a good fit for our program!

Read the original:
How Do I Start Streaming On Chess.com? - Chess.com

Weve been focused on the loss of professional sports worldwide because of the coronavirus, but competitions of all kinds are being postponed and canceled. On Wednesday, the N.H.L. became the latest North American league to announce a round of schedule changes, postponing its scouting combine, annual awards ceremony and draft, all of which had been set to take place in June. There was also deflating news about the Scripps National Spelling Bee and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.

They may not be the Summer Olympics, but their enthusiasts are lamenting the same sudden voids in their lives as sports fans.

The National Spelling Bee scheduled for this week was postponed indefinitely. The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, scheduled for last weekend, has been moved to September. And perish the thought, the Eurovision Song Contest was canceled outright. How will the next Abba or Celine Dion, competitors in their unknown days, emerge on the music scene?

The World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, which starts its preliminary events in late May, is still on for now. Casinos on the Strip are closed for now, with many scheduled to reopen after March 31. People from all over the world converging in one place and passing cards around. What could go wrong?

One event proceeding as scheduled is the chess Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg, Russia. One of the most important events on the calendar, its winner will challenge the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, for his title.

Its a rare gathering of human beings in this time of social distancing, but precautions are being taken. There are no spectators, and news media members have limited contact with the players and must wear masks. There are no pre- or postmatch handshakes, with elbow bumps the favored replacement. Players and officials are being checked by doctors twice a day.

Still, the decision to press on certainly drew some critics. One of the eight qualified players, Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan, pulled out because of virus fears and was replaced by an alternate.

When the tournament started on March 17, things were unclear, said Milan Dinic, the press officer for the event. In Russia, they do not have many cases.

Theyre playing in complete isolation, Dinic said. If someone feels unwell, they will stop the event.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France and Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia were the early leaders in the event, which is to run through April 4. The lone American is Fabiano Caruana, who was the last challenger to Carlsen, losing in a tiebreaker after 12 consecutive draws in 2018. He is in third, within striking distance for another shot at the title.

Fabi is a perfectionist, said Mehreen Malik, his co-manager. I think hes been relaxed and very positive. There is all still to play for.

Chess tournaments are tough during the best of times and certainly much tougher now, Caruana said. Hopefully it gets peoples minds off of the epidemic.

The tournament is streaming online, and Chess.com and other sites report strong viewership numbers from quarantined folks desperate to watch some competition, any competition.

Top athletes need to train. But in all likelihood they are currently cooped up inside, perhaps with children underfoot. So theyre getting creative in using what they have.

Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City did leg lifts, with his children providing the weight. Curiously, while one wore a De Bruyne jersey, the other opted for Raheem Sterling.

The boxer Tyson Furys live-streamed workout with his wife, Paris, was repeatedly crashed by twirling, jumping and dancing children. Hey, thats cardio.

For the runner Ben Bruce, training was a treadmill session while shooting arcade basketball with his son feeding him. He reported going at a sub-10-minute pace while scoring 36. Listen to the man, and dont try that at home.

The Chicago Bulls player Zach LaVine, on the other hand, found his dog Grizzy was a good defensive player in quarantine. LaVine, however, got the shot to fall: 2-0. AirBud, youre up next.

As usual, there were more cancellations. The Kontinental Hockey League, based mostly in Russia, had stopped play in the middle of the playoffs. Now they have called the season off entirely. Well, Russian fans, theres always chess.

Horse racing is one of the last sports still trotting along, with races scheduled in Florida, Ireland and South Africa in coming days. But not in Victoria or New South Wales, Australia, where racing was shut down after a jockey flew on a plane with a confirmed coronavirus case among its passengers.

But Belarusian soccer plays on. Round 2 of its Premier League season begins Friday.

There may be light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel. Japans J-League, the top soccer competition, has set a date of May 9 to resume play. (And if youre even more desperate, the second division is to start May 2.)

It may not happen, of course, but well gratefully take the hopeful signs when they come. And maybe someday soon we will crowd out the cancellation news with a slew of sports relaunch stories.

Original post:
On the Schedule: Chess, Horse Racing and Children Lifting - The New York Times