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Of the very, very few sporting events to take place anywhere in the last week, perhaps the most consequential is the ongoing FIDE Candidates Tournament. Eight chess grandmasters are facing off in Yekaterinburg, Russia for the right to play world champion Magnus Carlsen later this year.

FIDE and its promotional partner World Chess have been at pains to insist that it is doing all it can to ensure the safety of its players, with coronavirus tests, twice-daily health checks and abundant quantities of hand sanitiser. Curiously, in a sport that can so easily be played remotely, the competitors are sitting across the board inpersonbut some creative measures have been taken to encourage social distancing.

The most remarkable of these involved commissioning a collection of five-inch-tall Ken and Barbie-like models in each players image to be arranged for handshakes and other currently impossible protocols in official photographs. But as the Wall Street Journal has noted, there is one specific safety measure the proponents have not quite managed under intense concentration.

Of coursewe touch our faces, said world number sixMaximeVachier-Lagraveof France.That much is clear.

The sports industry is adapting to a period with pretty much no live sport. Staying a relevant, consistent, or even an uplifting part of peoples everyday lives through the social distancing and isolation needed to stave off the coronavirus pandemic is taking some creative thinking already.

For the most part, this has meant turning to two types of content: the archives, and shared digital events. Formula One andNascarhave launched enthusiastically into esports series involving current and former drivers as well as celebrities, with Formula Two driverGuanyuZhou winning the Bahrain Virtual Grand Prix on Sunday and theeNascariRacingPro Invitational Series has secured a linear TV deal with Fox Sports. Meanwhile organisations like world soccersFifahave opened up all manner of historic coverage for those who prefer their sport to be from the real world, albeit also from the past.

At this point, as can only be expected, these initiatives are fairly close to the minimum viable product phase and a high degree of improvisation. Still, there are a couple of questions that it will be worth asking as they continue.

First of all, who are they for and who will actually end up enjoying this content? Will esports output, for example, appeal to existing sports audiences hungry for something to follow, or existing esports communities hungry for something new? Do retro matches fill the gap for everyone, or just a specific niche? What can this tell us about the value of these types of offerings in the long term?

Secondly, what are rights holders aiming to accomplish? Retaining a measure of visibility and viability will be essential, to be sure, and there isa need to preserve a commercial link just as there is for thosepay-TVbroadcasters without live events to keepviewersonside withsubscription freezes. Yetasgovernment responses in country after country makeitlikelythat playing sport will take longer to return as a leisure activity than watching it on television, it will be just as important to thinkhard onhow toprotect some of those deeper connections, too.

Another event standing out across a barren sporting landscape is Major League Fishing in the US. 500,000 unique visitors watched a combined 19 million minutes of competition on the leagues in-house live stream,MLFNOW!,during the third round of the Bass Pro Tour in Lake Fork, Texasfrom 13thto 18thMarch, whenever that was.

Viewing numbers were up 20 per cent on events in February, which were themselves up 89 per cent on similar events year-on-year, while stage three also saw a 72 per cent rise insocial media impressions on the earlier contests.MLF says its sport is tailor-made for social distancing and took additional stepsto meet changing public health guidelines last week, including cancelling joint weigh-ins of each catch and altering accommodation arrangements. Round four of the Bass Pro Tour, ifyouneed things to put in your diary, runs from 3rdto 8thApril.

At a time when the current hiatus threatens financial insecurity for almost everyone, freelancers will be feeling that uncertainty more than most.

Credit is due, then, to the Professional Triathletes Organisation, which has instituted a series of radical measures to protect those men and women ranked 21 to 100 in its global rankings. Its Year-End Annual Bonus Programme will pay out immediately based on the current standings, rather than later in the season. The overall pot has grown from US$2 million to US$2.5 million, with the extra US$500,000 spread between those in those lower ranking brackets based on their position as of 1stJanuary or 15thMarch, whichever is higher.

Meanwhile, thetop ten triathletes in each list have committed to spending some of their downtime during the suspension of races making commercial appearances online to bring in additional funds for their fellow competitors.

On the subject of emergency pay responses, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is to forego his salary indefinitely in the wake of golfs flurry of cancellations and postponements, according to ESPN and Golfweek. Monahans gesturecomeswith a number of Tour executivestaking pay cuts of 25 per cent and all other staff facing salary freezes to 2019 levels.

Probably the closest any sports story has come to pulling attention away from any coronavirus-related updates was the news that Tom Bradys marathon, multiple Super Bowl-winning stint at the New England Patriots is at an end.

The Californian, who will be 43 by the time the new NFL season is scheduled to begin, has gone south to Florida and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and has made an immediate impact on the merchandising market. Fanatics has revealed that the top three bestselling jerseys across NFLShop.com and the Buccaneers online store have been mens and womens Tom Brady jerseys, with his day-over-day jersey sales rising 900 per cent.

The Bucs, unsurprisingly, are the strongest-performing team in the league in merchandise sales, selling twice as much inventory on Friday as the rest of the Fanatics network had in the previous two weeks. In Europe, ten times as many Brady jerseys were sold on Fridayas those for any other player.

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The Tip-Off | Chess players proving they are and aren't model citizens in a health crisis - SportsPro Media

We are facing an economic and political drama against the backdrop of a viral pandemic that played in unison in an unexpected way on March 8, 2020. The imbalance of the world oil market in March has already led to a drop in oil prices below the crisis levels seen in 2009 and 2015. The world media is enjoying asserting various conspiracy explanations, entertaining the reader, but barely hiding the pleasure that the actors themselves are bleeding amid financial hits and losses to their image.

A model of the situation exists in ancient Chinese chess, in which three of the players must make their moves with stone faces (that is, without the media!). Only one player wins in Chinese chess, and along the way every player constantly has to make moves in a coalition with either the partner on the right or the left.

The fundamental difference between the oil market and Chinese chess at the moment is that absolutely everyone is losing. But we have two trios of players. The first one is the US private shale industry; the Russian group of oil companies; and ARAMCO, the state-owned mono-company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The first group came out of a mature industry and, seeking profitability, began to export. It does not need a drop in oil prices, since it was the threat of lower prices from competition that forced OPEC+ to gradually give the market to it. If prices fall for a long time, investors will suffer losses, which the Russian government absolutely does not need in the year of elections and pandemics. Russian companies are in a specific position: they will survive in the price war, but they cannot manipulate production (wells are difficult to bring to life after they are closed). Big losses will be borne by the budget, which usually removes most of the oil rent (through export duties). This is not desirable for our Ministry of Finance, especially given low growth rates and costs to combat the threat of an epidemic! Saudi Arabias oil producers are generally the easiest of all Russia has 50 times as many wells, and it is much easier for the Saudis to increase/reduce production. But the country does not need its own high expenses or a long depressed state of the market. A previous attempt to bring down prices and slow down the development of the shale industry yielded the opposite results the cost of shale oil production decreased and production volumes increased. There were many financial losses, but the rigs survived and changed hands (most probably at a lower price).

The triangle of companies corresponds to the triangle of the respective governments with their political interests. While the chess players are making statements that are more likely to indicate the willingness of the parties to wait and see what happens, the global recession from the pandemic is gaining momentum and you can wait for the April IMF Report, which everyone will believe and adjust forecasts of the dynamics of national economies, energy demand, prices for them and the income of companies and ministries.

The Wall Street Journal cited White House officials as saying the Trump administration is considering new sanctions against Russia in connection with its withdrawal from the OPEC deal. Of course, Russia, which has its own complex array of interests, certainly did not push its partners to pursue a collapse in prices. It is unlikely that during a pandemic it makes sense to impose any sanctions based on far-fetched pretexts, all the more so, as this will in no way lead the market out of its current impasse on the oil chessboard. There is a large volume of excess oil; according to the IEA, in the 1st quarter it amounted to about 4 mbd (approximately 4% of world production). These volumes can be partially poured into reserves (the US government is already buying oil 77 million barrels). But China is still experiencing a severe recession, while the EU is quarantining itself country by country.

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Triangular Chinese Chess and the Oil Market - Valdai Discussion Club

3/24/2020 IM Dagne Ciuksyte has represented Lithuania and England in Chess Olympiads. Her peak FIDE rating was 2450. Now she coaches chess, in the shadow of COVID-19. Inspired by a ChessBase article, she is adding chess writing to her career. WIM ALEXEY ROOT interviews Dagne Ciuksyte.

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IM (and WGM) Dagne Ciuksyte emailed me after ChessBase published"So you want to be a (chess) writer?"a couple of weeks ago. Since COVID-19 (aka the Coronavirus disease) has curtailed her in-person chess coaching, Dagne wants to add chess writing to her chess-playing and chess-coaching careers. I interviewed her via email to learn more.

AR: How are you as a coach adjusting to COVID-19?

DC: It is hard to believe how quickly everything we are used to has ended! One after another, my chess workshops, events, and private lessons have stopped. At the time of this writing, the schools in the UK are still open, so I have my lunchtime and after-school chess clubs running. Not to despair, Ive moved my chess coaching services to online chess websites; the websites are ready and have everything in place. I use my prepared material in ChessBase files with my students.

Are any of your family members chess players and, if so, in what ways do they participate in your chess business?

Unavoidably, my three children are chess players and have a few deep insights into chess up their sleeves. Its all down to their mum always willing to share something new about chess.

From time to time, I run junior chess coaching events. At those events, my 12, 10, and even 7-year old children teach others, including some 6-year-olds. I call it the 'Kids to Kids' project.

My children are familiar with my teaching style. We look for a twist in explaining the basics of chess. For example, we started using sparkly 'jewels' as roadblocks as in Jaan Ehlvests brilliant book Chess Gymnasium.

Its so wonderful to run my chess business with my children! Usually, my chess events' leaflets have drawings by my children and their cousins. Or my businesss Facebook page may have a post by my 10-year-old. It is our familys day out to run a fun and social chess event locally with my children playing in the tournament and selling the light refreshments in between the games!

How has being a woman helped or hindered you in your chess-playing and chess-coaching careers?

Being a female chess player is nice in some ways. Win a female prize or a game against a grandmaster, and your performance is already a success. However, as a female player, you may not be taken seriously. I have had a few grins and puffs from grandmasters in the past when trying to convert the material into a win. Regarding my chess-coaching career, over the last few years, Ive been leading the advanced group of girls for a registered UK charity Cambridge Girls Chess Initiative (CGCI). We aim to promote chess among the girls, providing them with a welcoming, pressure-free space. It is a joy to be a role model for the girls!

What will be your next career moves?

Listening to Natasha Regans and Matthew Sadlers insights on AlphaZero play (as in the YouTube video Exactly How to Attack DeepMind's AlphaZero vs. Stockfish), I started wondering what if we are delaying our students progress in chess by teaching our infamous point system for the chess pieces?! Only after rigorous training of valuing material by that point system, a chess coach usually switches to teaching the relative values of the pieces. But perhaps that later switch is too late. Maybe, instead of teaching the point values, we should concentrate on analysing various positions with regard to the pieces activity and mobility in the battle. Those twists and turns of chess will be discussed if I create chess videos.

In the immediate future, I look forward to a few days with my children setting up our 600 chess pieces into different scenarios for a photo shoot session. I'll need these photos for my standard chess and for my variants of chess events, once we are allowed out again!

Strike first with the Scandinavian

The Scandinavian is a rarely employed opening on the hightest level und guides your opponent on much less familiar terrain than for example the Sicilian, French or any 1.e4 e5 system. After 1.e4 d5 Black fights for the initiative from move one.

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Chess coaching during the COVID-19 pandemic - Chessbase News

While the entire nation is in lockdown, sensible minds staying locked up at home, feeling depressed particularly when the number of coronavirus patients is increasing. So far, 27 people are dead in India. Anxiety is no surprise in current situation. However, actrtess Rukmini Maitra is keeping herself calm sharing some food for thoughts almost every day. Rukmini who will soon be seen in Switzerland opposite Abir Chatterjee, in her latest post showed her love for playing chess and she is spending some quality time on this game during the self-quarantine days. She has also revealed her passion for collecting chessboard and its clear from this photograph of a chessboard she uploaded. Going down her childhood memory lane when she used to play chess with her grandfather, Rukmini also said since in quarantine you cant step outside, chess can be a perfect mental workout. During this Quarantine maybe one cant move around physically, but mentally one must keep moving. Mental workout keeps a check on ones physical well being, wrote the actress. Not just playing chess, this recent tweet of hers will surely make go ROFL. How often have we heard about our grandfathers fighting for our Independence? But now, we have a chance to save the world from coronavirus just staying at home. The more we stay at home, the safer we are. Sharing the hilarious post, the Password actress added a witty caption too, People post 2020..Come on! I just had to!SO! COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS, STAY HOME AND DO YOUR BIT!!! .

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Rukmini reconnects with her love for chess in self-isolation - Times of India

3/30/2020 The ten best players of the Soviet Union play against the ten best players from the "Rest of the World". On board one Bent Larsen will play against World Champion Boris Spassky, on board two Bobby Fischer, who has only played one single serious tournament game in the last 18 months, will face former World Champion Tigran Petrosian. Live transmission of the games starts at 16.00 pm CEST (10.00 EDT, 14.00 UTC).

Master Class Vol.1: Bobby Fischer

No other World Champion was more infamous both inside and outside the chess world than Bobby Fischer. On this DVD, a team of experts shows you the winning techniques and strategies employed by the 11th World Champion.

Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco delves into Fischers openings, and retraces the development of his repertoire. What variations did Fischer play, and what sources did he use to arm himself against the best Soviet players? Mihail Marin explains Fischers particular style and his special strategic talent in annotated games against Spassky, Taimanov and other greats. Karsten Mller is not just a leading international endgame expert, but also a true Fischer connoisseur.

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The "Match of the Century" is played on ten boards. The ten best players from the Soviet Union including former World Champions Mikhail Botvinnik, Vassily Smyslo, Mihail Tal and Tigran Petrosian and current World Champion Boris Spassky play against the ten best players from the "Rest of the World".

The venue is the Dom Sindikat in Belgrade. Four rounds will be played. Rounds always start at 16:00 local time.

Fischer will play!

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USSR vs. Rest of the World - Live - Chessbase News