Category Archives: Chess Engines

A new book brings to mind two quotations from great minds, one a chess Grandmaster, the other one of the greatest of satirists.

AronNimzowitsch once wrote:Ridicule can do much, for instance embitter the existence of young talents; but one thing is not given to it, to put a stop permanently to the incursion of new and powerful ideas. Nimzowitsch, it will be recalled, formed the inspiration for much of Marcel Duchamps love of chess.

Meanwhile, the following (probably apocryphal) quotation is attributed to the philosophe and wit Voltaire (pictured above): I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

The book, written jointly by the English International Master MichaelBasmanand the Dutch expert, Gerard Welling, isU Cannot Be Serious! AvantGardestrategy in Chess,published by Thinkers Publishing. It amounts to an anthology ofBasmansbest games, featuring the extraordinary flankstrategies whichhe has developed. His illustrious victims include Grandmasters John Nunn, Jon Speelman, Tony Miles, Dragoljub Velimirovic, Vladimir Savon, UlfAndersson, Alban Planinc, Henrique Mecking, Jonathan Tisdalland James Plaskett.

I say that I recall the two quotes, since on the one hand I doubt the ultimate soundness of Basmansmore extreme concepts, yet, on the other, I absolutely defend his right both to deploy and explain his outr ideas.

Indeed, amongst much contumely heaped uponBasmanseccentricities, I am mentioned in despatches in the book as a lone voice crying in the wilderness, lauding his adventurous spirit. (See my article Basmaniaat the Benedictine in the journalModern Chess Theory, 1982.) Co-author Welling refers to this article but sadly no link is available since I wrote it in the Cretaceous period of chess evolution.

Here is how Welling describes the intervention of iconoclasm into the theory of chess openings:

Modern chess is getting to be more and more a young man s game. Over the last decades, with the growth of internet and the development of chess engines, high quality chess material has become readily available. And the young generation knows how to put these opportunities into effect, the result being a much larger pool of strong players than the aged authors have ever witnessed in their respective primes. Openings are researched and tested with the strongest computer programs; this has led to a revival of concrete evaluation of positions and the good old intuition being pushed towards the background. Contemporary chess is lively and we see experimental approaches, but in general backed up with accurate calculation.

When a player has the impertinence to open a game with 1. h3 and follows up 1 e5 2. a3, howls of protest descend from the internet forums. The least practised players especially backed up with their Stockfish engines are quick to abuse the player who had the impudence to sin against their feeling of what correct chess is supposed to be. It is easy enough to attack a skilful player of an experimental inclination, shielding oneself behind the back of the champions (and their supposed opinions on chess matters) or the negative balance in fractions of pawns (!) that an engine indicates. But is it fair to attack a player who plays a couple of unusual moves when the critic does not understand what is happening on the board? It is easy to demonise a move, but it is the underlying idea that should be understood, before it can be contradicted.

Michael Basman has been an avant-garde strategist on the chessboard from his early days as a tournament player and has collected his share of ridicule and scorn throughout the years. But he has also been fairly successful, so we can ask ourselves: who has been right, the master or his critics? Former world champion Mikhail Botvinnik saw through the facade of experimental play and named Basman a creative and talented player.

But on the British player s home turf, there was often sharp rejection of his way of playing chess. Interesting wins were more than once described as lucky, and losses as the natural consequence of sins against chess. Even in the late 1970s, when Mike Basman was a household name in British chess, British Chess Magazine was still writing he was handicapping himself by his unfortunate opening choices. An interesting exception to this trend was Grandmaster Raymond Keene, who back in 1982 wrote an extensive article on Basman s games from the Benedictine Masters in Manchester. He praised the strategical ideas but criticised the implementation. And he finished his article with an example of how these ideas could have found a place in one s own strategic arsenal.

Of course, as a kind of counterweight, avant-garde chess has a cult-following of players that catch the spark of inspiration, study the examples and often copy the ideas. Co-author Gerard Welling was an example of a player that borrowed some ideas from Michael Basman, and even went so far as to play 1. Nf3 h6 in a decisive match in the semi-finals of the Dutch Championship 36 years ago (he won, and qualified). The study of experimental players can widen your horizons and give you new ideas. Even a celebrated chess trainer like Mark Dvoretsky has given this advice. So be critical, but keep an open mind!

Basmanis, indeed, one of the most original thinkers on the current chess scene. He specialises in almost mystical pawn sacrifices and edge-of-the-board strategies, which can confuse the strongest of opponents.

This week I give some spectacular tactical wins byBasmanarising from hiscunning flank encroachments.The first game was played inBasmans debut appearance in the Hastings Premier, where he completely outplayed the Red Czar of Soviet Chess, the great Mikhail Botvinnik. Botvinnik was extremely lucky to escape with a draw.

The most impressive game has Basman playing Black against Grandmaster Henrique Mecking. The Brazilian Mecking was the outstanding prodigy of the day, who went on to become a world championship Candidate. It is enthralling to see howBasmanencroaches from both flanks and then strikes downMeckingsking.

For anyone who mistakenly believes that all chessstrategies have been discovered,Basmans and Wellings book is a blast of fresh oxygen. We might well say, with Hamlet, that there aremore things in heaven and earththan are dreamt of in your philosophy. The most amazing development is that even the reigning world champion, Magnus Carlsen, and other leading grandmasters are now resorting to openings which would have had Capablanca, Alekhine and Botvinnik revolving in their sarcophagi. It must now be apparent, even to one afflicted by the most egregiously struthonian ultracrepidarianism , that there is something in the Zeitgeist which is justifying even the wilder shores of Basmaniac iconoclasm.

Basmans draw v BotvinnikBasmans win v Mecking Basmans win v John Nunn Basmans win v Speelman Carlsen s win against Maghsoodloo

Raymond Keene s latest book Fifty Shades of Ray: Chess in the year of the Coronavirus , containing some of his best pieces from TheArticle, is now available from Blackwell s .

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Was Basman right? Iconoclasm, ridicule and chess - TheArticle

F1 racing returns to North America this week for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. During yesterday's qualifying races, Max Verstappen secured his dominance by finishing over half a second faster than his competitors. The Red Bull driver will start today's round of the 2022 F1 World Championship from pole position.

Verstappen sits comfortably atop the Drivers' Championship standings after winning last week's race in Azerbaijan. His teammate Sergio Perez is right behind him in second place. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari faced engine trouble and did not finish last week's race, which dropped him down to third in the standings. Meanwhile, Mercedes megastar Lewis Hamilton has yet to win a race in 2022 and is currently stuck in sixth.

The Canadian Grand Prix will air on Sunday, June 19 at 1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) on ABC, with postrace coverage appearing on ESPN 3.

Will Leclerc put his engine troubles behind him and continue his assault on Verstappen and Red Bull? Will Hamilton manage to claw his way back into contention?

Those looking to follow all the drama will need access to ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPNews in order to catch every second of the action all season long. The entire race weekend, including practice sessions and qualifying, will be shown in the US on ESPN's family of television networks.

No single provider has exclusive rights to the network, so there are plenty of ways to get ESPN and watch the races without cable. We've broken down everything you need to know in order to stream F1 races this season.

Max Verstappen looks to solidify his lead in the Drivers' Championship on Sunday in the Canadian Grand Prix.

What is F1 and how is it different from IndyCar?

Both IndyCar and F1 are open-wheeled, single-seater racing formats. This means that the cars can only fit one person and have uncovered wheels that protrude from the body of the vehicle. Despite their basic similarities, F1 and IndyCar offer very different experiences.

In F1, there are only 10 teams, with two drivers apiece for a total of 20 drivers. Most races must go for 305 km, which is about 190 miles. Each driver needs to use two different tires in the race, so a pit stop is mandatory, though cars are not allowed to refuel. Races average around two hours in length and are held at venues all over the world.

Teams spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year developing their cars. All cars must have certain elements -- for example, gearboxes must have eight gears plus a reverse and last for six consecutive races -- but teams have leeway to tweak and change some parts of their car, including their engines, in the pursuit of speed.

In contrast, the cars featured in IndyCar are more standardized. They all have the same aerodynamic kit and chassis and can only be powered by one of two engines -- either a Honda or a Chevrolet. That said, teams are allowed to develop some of their own parts, like dampers and some of their suspensions.

IndyCar races occur on a wide range of tracks, from fast ovals to road and street courses. The length of the races also varies, with some, like the Indianapolis 500, lasting 500 laps and taking over three hours to complete. Not surprisingly, refueling during pit stops is a big part of the strategy during IndyCar races. Teams can field more than two cars, meaning that the amount of drivers on the grid fluctuates from race to race.

IndyCar is mostly considered an American sport and does not have the same level of money and glamour associated with it compared to the globe-hopping F1 circuit.

Why should I care about F1?

F1 races might best be described as a sort of action-packed chess match that takes place while drivers are throttling around a track at close to 200 mph. Teams need both strategy and skill to compete against some of the best minds in motorsports.

F1 is also full of strong personalities. The Netflix documentary series F1: Drive to Survivefollows many of the teams and drivers over the course of a year and has helped raise the profile of the sport in the US. Released in March, season four of the series chronicles last year's tight championship race between rivals Verstappen and Hamilton. It also focuses on the internal battles between drivers on the same team, while giving viewers a peek into the tense, pressurized world of elite racing.

Does F1 stream on ESPN Plus?

ESPN does not air any F1 coverage on its ESPN Plus streaming service. If you want to watch the practices or races you will need a television provider of some kind or to pay for F1's $80 per season TV Pro subscription.

Races are held on Sunday and are usually spaced two weeks apart. Here's the entire schedule, all times ET:

Race weekends normally start on Friday with multiple practice runs and continue on Saturday with qualifying. The races themselves take place Sunday. ESPN typically airs practices and qualifying on a mix of ESPN 2 and ESPNews, while the races tend to air on ESPN. F1 events in North America often land on ABC.

Here are some of the best ways to catch the entire race weekend without cable.

You can catch the entire race weekend with a subscription to YouTube TV. ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPNews are all included in the package, which means you'll have all the channels you need in order to watch every second of the action.

Read our YouTube TV review.

Hulu Plus Live TV is a little more expensive than YouTube TV, but it also offers all the channels you need to watch every second of race weekend. As an added bonus, Hulu Plus Live TV comes with the rest of the Disney Bundle, which includes a subscription to Disney Plus, as well as ESPN Plus. F1 races don't air on ESPN Plus, but the service offers a ton of other content for die-hard sports fans.

Read our Hulu Plus Live TV review.

Sling TV's $35 Orange plan might be a good choice for F1 fans who are primarily looking to just watch the races on Sundays. This plan is one of the cheapest ways to get access to ESPN and ESPN 2. Those looking for ESPNews will have to opt for the $11 Sports Extra ad-on. Sling TV lacks ABC, which could be a problem for fans hoping to catch the F1 races in North America.

Read our Sling TV review.

FuboTV costs $70 per month and includes ABC, ESPN and ESPN 2. The base package lacks ESPNews, but you can add it for an extra $8 a month with the Fubo Extra Package or pay for the $80-a-month Elite streaming tier that includes Fubo Extra. Check out whichlocal networks FuboTV offers here.

Read our FuboTV review.

DirecTV Stream is the most expensive live TV streaming service. Its cheapest, $70-a-month Plus package includes ESPN, ESPN 2 and ABC, but you'll need to move up to the $90-a-month Choice plan to get ESPNews. You can use itschannel lookup toolto see which local channels are available in your area.

Read our DirecTV Stream review.

For gearheads looking to get every angle on the action, F1 offers its own streaming service. F1 TV Pro costs $80 per season and gives fans access to all races from F1, F2, F3 and Porsche Supercup. You'll be able to livestream every track session from all F1 grand prix and have access to all driver onboard cameras and team radios. You'll also be able to watch full on-demand races, replays and highlights, along with F1's historic race archive.

F1 also offers a TV Access Plan for $27 per year, which only gives you on-demand access to races once they have been completed. Users will still be able to view all F1 onboard cameras, along with full replays of F1, F2, F3 and Porsche Supercup. It also includes the historic race archive.

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Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix Is Today: How to Watch the Race Live - CNET

This article is part ofDemystifying AI, a series of posts that (try to) disambiguate the jargon and myths surrounding AI.

The past week has seen a frenzy of articles, interviews, and other types of media coverage about Blake Lemoine, a Google engineer who told The Washington Post that LaMDA, a large language model created for conversations with users, is sentient.

After reading a dozen different takes on the topic, I have to say that the media has become (a bit) disillusioned with the hype surrounding current AI technology. A lot of the articles discussed why deep neural networks are not sentient or conscious. This is an improvement in comparison to a few years ago, when news outlets were creating sensational stories about AI systems inventing their own language, taking over every job, and accelerating toward artificial general intelligence.

But the fact that were discussing sentience and consciousness again underlines an important point: We are at a point where our AI systemsnamely large language modelsare becoming increasingly convincing while still suffering from fundamental flaws that have been pointed out by scientists on different occasions. And I know that AI fooling humans has been discussed since the ELIZA chatbot in the 1960s, but todays LLMs are really at another level. If you dont know how language models work, Blake Lemoines conversations with LaMDA seem almost look surrealeven if they had been cherry-picked and edited.

However, the point I want to make here is that sentience and consciousness is not the best discussion to have about LLMs and current AI technology. A more important discussion would be one about human compatibility and trust, especially since these technologies are being prepared to be integrated into everyday applications.

The workings of neural networks and large language models have been thoroughly discussed in the past week (I strongly recommend reading Melanie Mitchells interview with MSNBC for a balanced account of how LaMDA and other LLMs work). I would like to give a more zoomed-out view of the situation, starting with human language, with which LLMs are compared.

For humans, language is a means to communicate the complicated and multi-dimensional activations happening in our brains. For example, when two brothers are talking to each other and one of them says mom, the word is associated with a lot of activations in different parts of the brain, including memories of her voice, face, feelings, and different experiences from the distant past to (possibly) recent days. In fact, there might be a huge difference between the kind of representations that the brothers hold in their brains, depending on the experiences that each has had. The word mom, however, provides a compressed and well-represented approximation that helps them agree on the same concept.

When you use the word mom in a conversation with a stranger, the difference between the experiences and memories becomes even wider. But again, you manage to reach an agreement based on the shared concepts that you have in your minds.

Think of language as a compression algorithm that helps transfer the enormous information in the brain to another person. The evolution of language is tied directly to experiences weve had in the world, from physical interactions in our environment to social interactions with other fellow humans.

Language is built on top of our shared experiences in the world. Children know about gravity, dimension, physical consistency of objects, and human and social concepts such as pain, sadness, fear, family, and friendship even before uttering their first word. Without those experiences, language has no meaning. This is why language usually omits commonsense knowledge and information that interlocutors share. On the other hand, the level of shared experience and memory will determine the depth of conversation you can have with another person.

In contrast, large language models have no physical and social experience. They are trained on billions of words and learn to respond to prompts by predicting the next sequence of words. This is an approach that has yielded great results in the past few years, especially after the introduction of the transformer architecture.

How do transformers manage to make very convincing predictions? They turn text into tokens and embeddings, mathematical representations of words in a multi-dimensional space. They then process the embedding to add other dimensions such as the relations between the words in a sequence of text and their role in the sentence and paragraph. With enough examples, these embeddings can create good approximations of how words should appear in sequences. Transformers have become especially popular because they are scalable: Their accuracy improves as they become larger and are fed on more data, and they can be mostly trained through unsupervised learning.

But the fundamental difference remains. Neural networks process language by turning them into embeddings. For humans, language is the embedding of thoughts, feelings, memory, physical experience, and many other things that we have yet to discover about the brain.

This is why it is fair to say that despite their immense advances and impressive results, transformers, large language models, deep neural networks, etc. are still far from speaking our language.

A lot of the discussions today are about whether we should assign attributes such as sentience, consciousness, and personhood to AI. The problem with these discussions is that they are focused on concepts that are vaguely defined and mean different things to different people.

For example, functionalists might argue that neural networks and large language models are conscious because they manifest (at least in part) the same kind of behavior that you would expect from a human, even though they are built on a different substrate. Others might argue that organic substance is a requirement for consciousness and conclude that neural networks will never be conscious. You can throw in arguments about qualia, the Chinese room experiment, the Turing test, etc., and the discussion can go on forever.

However, a more practical question is, how compatible are current neural networks with the human mind, and how far can we trust them with critical applications? And this is an important discussion to have because large language models are mostly developed by companies that seek to turn them into commercial applications.

For example, with enough training, you might be able to train a chimpanzee to ride a car. But would you put it behind a steering wheel on a road that pedestrians will be crossing? You wouldnt, because you know that however smart they are, chimpanzees dont think in the same way as humans and cant be given responsibility for tasks where human safety is concerned.

Likewise, a parrot can be taught many phrases. But would you trust it to be your customer service agent? Probably not.

Even when it comes to humans, some cognitive impairments disqualify people from taking on certain jobs and tasks that require human interactions or regard human safety. In many cases, these people can read, write, speak fluently, and remain consistent and logical in lengthy conversations. We dont question their sentience or consciousness or personhood. But we know that their decisions can become inconsistent and unpredictable due to their illness (see the case of Phineas Gage, for example).

What matters is whether you can trust the person to think and decide as an average human would. In many cases, we trust people with tasks because we know that their sensory system, common-sense knowledge, feelings, goals, and rewards are mostly compatible with ours, even if they dont speak our language.

What do we know about LaMDA? Well, for one thing, it doesnt sense the world as we do. Its knowledge of language isnt built on the same kind of experiences as ours. Its commonsense knowledge is built on an unstable foundation because theres no guarantee that large amounts of text will cover all the things we omit in language.

Given this incompatibility, how far can you trust LaMDA and other large language models, no matter how good they are at producing text output? A friendly and entertaining chatbot program might not be a bad idea as long as it doesnt steer the conversation into sensitive topics. Search engines are also a good application area for LLMs (Google has been using BERT in search for a few years). But can you trust them with more sensitive tasks, such as an open-ended customer service chatbot or a banking advisor (even if they have been trained or finetuned on a ton of relevant conversation transcripts)?

My thinking is that well need application-specific benchmarks to test the consistency of LLMs and their compatibility with human common sense in different areas. When it comes to real applications, there should always be clearly defined boundaries that determine where the conversation becomes off-limits for the LLM and should be handed to a human operator.

A while back, I wrote an essay on problem finders and problem solvers. Basically, what I said is that human intelligence is about finding the right problems and artificial intelligence (or the AI we have today) is about solving those problems in the most efficient manner.

We have seen time and again that computers are able to find shortcuts for solving complicated problems without acquiring the cognitive abilities of humans. Weve seen it with checkers, chess, Go, programming contests, protein folding, and other well-defined problems.

Natural language is in some ways different but also similar to all those other problems AI has solved. On the one hand, transformers and LLMs have shown that they can produce impressive results without going through the process of learning language like a normal human, which is to first explore the world and understand its basic rules and then acquire the language to interact with other people based on this common knowledge. On the other hand, they lack the human experience that comes with learning language. They can be useful for solving well-defined language-related problems. But we should not forget that their compatibility with human language processing is limited and thus we should be careful how far we trust them.

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Sentience is the wrong discussion to have on AI right now - TechTalks

You are listening to the Expresso News Update. Here is the latest news from The Indian Express.Let us begin with the top headline: The military leadership yesterday ruled out the rollback of the Agnipath scheme, even as thousands of aspirants continue to protest across the country, and many Opposition parties also lent their support to the protesters, asking the government to rethink or rollback the new policy.

As the protests didnt let up for the fifth day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met with the service chiefs for the second time in two days. Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Air Force Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari met Singh yesterday morning. The three chiefs had met Singh Saturday as well.Amid continuous protests happening across the country over the Agnipath Scheme, a senior Army official Lt General Anil Puri, Additl Secy, Dept of Military Affairs said that there is no place for indiscipline in the Armed Forces and all candidates will have to give a written pledge that they did not indulge in any arson or violence.

In other news: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the torch relay for the 44th Chess Olympiad at Indira Gandhi Stadium in Delhi. Addressing the event, the PM said, New Indias youth is excelling in every sport. Theyre making records. We won 7 medals in Tokyo Olympics and 19 in the Paralympics. We also won Thomas Cup after many decades

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said India is looking forward to working on new areas of cooperation with Bangladesh, which include artificial intelligence, cyber security, start-ups and fintech.

Jaishankar, who held a bilateral meeting with visiting Foreign minister of Bangladesh, A K Abdul Momen, said, We now look forward to working with you to take our ties to new domains Artificial Intelligence, cyber security, startups, fintech.

The seventh round of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) was held in New Delhi on Sunday.Moving on to some other national news: In seperate incidents, two SpiceJet aircraft returned to their airports of origin shortly after take-off yesterday with one suffering a bird hit in Patna and the other from Delhi facing a technical glitch that led to a cabin pressurisation issue. In a third incident, an IndiGo aircraft turned back to Guwahati a few minutes after takeoff due to a bird hit.

All the three incidents will be probed by the aviation safety regulator DGCA.

On Sunday afternoon, a Delhi-bound Boeing 737-800 operated by the Gurugram-based low-cost airline made an emergency landing in Patna, minutes after take-off from there, after one of its engines suffered a bird hit. The aircraft was carrying 185 passengers and six crew members.Meanwhile, a day after an Islamic State-claimed attack on one of the main gurdwaras in Kabul that killed two people and injured at least three, the Indian government granted visas to 111 Afghan Sikhs who wanted to come to the country.

Sources said the decision to grant the e-visas were taken within hours of the attack, which took place on Saturday when 25-30 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus had gathered at Gurdwara Dashmesh Pita Guru Gobind Singh Karte Parwan, the central gurdwara of the Afghan Sikh community in Kabul, for the Sukhmani Sahib or morning prayers. A group of gunmen, believed to be around four in number, stormed the gurdwara and opened fire.

In some political news: Polling for 46 municipalities in Haryana registered a 10 percentage point drop from last years voter turnout amid ongoing protests against the Agnipath scheme.

Election officials told The Indian Express that at 6 pm, the voter turnout was 70.4 per cent and was expected to touch 72 per cent as poll booths saw queues till late evening. According to an official, the voting in 42 of the 46 municipalities was nearly 80 per cent in 2016; voting in the remaining four municipalities started this year.

An official said the protests against the Agnipath scheme might be a reason behind the low turnout this time even though there were no major protests reported on Sunday.Lastly, amid continuing protests against the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, the Opposition raised pitch for its withdrawal, with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra appealing to the youth to recognise fake nationalists and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav asking if the RSS has a hidden agenda behind the scheme.

Speaking at the Congresss satyagraha against the scheme at Jantar Mantar, Priyanka said the Congress supports the struggle of the youth, who should fight to bring to power a government which represents true patriots.

She said: Follow democratic means, walk on the path of truth and non-violence and bring down this government. You should strive to bring a government which shows true patriotism.

You were listening to the Expresso News Update by The Indian Express. Ask your digital assistant device to play the latest news from the Indian Express tostay up to date with the most accurate and reliable updates.

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Headlines at 10:30 am on 20th June 2022 - The Indian Express

Every player with internet access now has a 3500-rated-plus assistant for analysis. Switch on "Infinite Analysis," go to the kitchen, make yourself a cup of coffee, return, and voila: decades of analysis at your fingertips.

Games of the not-so-distant past did not have this luxury, and even today your average reader might find mistakes in older chess books. Some games have even gone down in history as masterpieces, only to be shredded to pieces by today's engines.

Despite the "objective" merits of the following games, they still deserve the reputations they earned for their creativity and, at times, audacity. I recommend readers first click through the game "cold" without looking at the analysis. Then, take a look at my notes to see a more truthful picture.

The first example, Yakov Estrin vs. Hans Berliner 1965, has been exalted as the greatest correspondence chess game ever. Played in the Fifth World Correspondence Chess Championship, the second player ultimately won.

Google the game and you can find many claiming it to be one of or the best game ever. Indeed, it is the first game in GM Andy Soltis' book The 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century. Severalpoints are praised by NM Sam Copeland in this blog post, although he acknowledges that there were some very real mistakes. While portions of the game are astounding after White gave Black a winning position after 15.Be2??, they would not have been possible without cooperation by the first player. The same line does not score so well for Black now despite this success in the pre-computer era.

The following game between GM Efim Geller and former world champion Max Euwe is taken from one of the strongest and most famous tournaments in history, Zurich 1953, largely popularized by GM David Bronstein and GM Miguel Najdorf's books on the event. The game, which first seems like a defensive masterpiece, has some flaws, and the flashy move 22...Rh8? (you can find "!!" attached to it in online forums) could have thrown the win away.

The following example, with the unforgettable 18.Qxg6!!, looks flat-out awesome when you click through it for the first time (please do). However, besides the fact that the flashy 17.Ndc4?? doesn't even work, there has been speculation as to whether A.W. Fox existed or whether this game was ever genuinely played.

Readers should certainly expect a game by former world champion Mikhail Tal to make it into this article. While his play was not sound in the scientific sense, the greatest players in the world succumbed to his daring, challenging, and hyper-aggressive style of play.

The following game immediately became one of my favorites once I read it in his book about the Tal-Botvinnik 1960 World Championship Match that he won. Likely the most famous move of the match, 21...Nf4 in game six is nothing short of legendary.

Unlike some of the other examples in this article, nobodyincluding Talpretended that this move is an irrefutable sacrifice, but I include it to expose more readers to this great game and add notes that are not in Tal's book, written many, many decades ago.

With the best play, White should achieve a much-better-to-winning position, but keep in mind that he was playing a person with feelings and fears, not a 3700-rated silicon monster.

The second world champion Emanuel Lasker called this game against Harry Pillsbury "the best I ever played" after he was "able to ward off a furious attack and then succeed in carrying my own counterattack through" (quoted here). He admitted to making some mistakes due to tiredness and time pressure.

Brilliant games are not produced without mistakes by the other side (as I write this, I think of Kasparov's immortal 24.Rxd4!!?? against Topalov in 1999), but this attack certainly needed a bit of help from Caissa to work at all and ultimately survive in the great book of time.

The last example is special and is, in many ways, the antithesis of this article's topic. But I wanted to use this opportunity to set the record straight about a widespread misconception.

World Champion Bobby Fischer's infamous 29...Bxh2!? against then-reigning World Champion Boris Spassky in game one of the 1972 World Championship Match was nota blunder. Although many people still reference this game when teaching beginners about piece-traps, or casually reference similar moves as "pulling a Bobby Fischer," the move in itself is not losing and could have led to a draw with the best play.

The real mistake occurred on 39...f5??, a detail that has been overlooked and not talked about as much, and I hope our dear readers may better appreciate the creativity behind Fischer's piece sacrifice after reading my notes.

I hope this article helps shed greater insight into some of the most exciting chess games out there. I also hope that the mistakes annotated above do not take away from the brilliance of these players and games because chess is played between two people on a board with a clock, and not in a laboratory.

Happy reading and please share any examples that are relevant to the topic in the comments below.

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5 Chess Brilliancies That Stockfish Hates - Chess.com

World Champion Magnus Carlsen on Monday picked up another one of those victories he has become famous for, squeezing blood from stones vs. GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Carlsen now leads the 2022 Norway Chess in Stavanger alone after six rounds and got his live rating up to 2870, 19 points from his highest ever.

GMs Viswanathan Anand and Wesley So won armageddon games in their respective match-ups and are now in second and third place. Round seven will begin on Tuesday, June 7, at 8 a.m. PT / 17:00 Central Europe.

With the top games being decided in armageddon games, the results in games in round six only meant minor changes at the top of the tournament standings. The biggest movements happened among the lower-ranked where two wins in the classical games shifted things a bit around. More about those games below.

One of the indisputable strengths of Carlsen is the ability to pull himself together and carry on toward his goals after momentary or temporary setbacks. In round five of the tournament he got completely outplayed by Anand in the classical game but somehow managed to hang on to hold the draw. Then in the armageddon game, he held advantages of various sizes, yet he went on to lose in a painful fashion to the Indian "re-tigered" former teen prodigy and five-time world champion.

In round six, Carlsen had to play Mamedyarov against whom he had a memorable game back in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee earlier this year. This was the game that Mamedyarov at the closing ceremony said that it gave him hope for humanity's fight against the engines due to Carlsen's amazing precision and ingenuity.

In that game, as well as his two classical wins in this event, Carlsen had played the Catalan and therefore, for obvious reasons, Mamedyarov saw no point in walking into that kind of killing zone willingly. Instead, he chose a set-up that transposed into the super-solid symmetrical line of the Fianchetto Grunfeld.

Carlsen reacted by sacrificing a pawn and when Mamedyarov expertly navigated the complications and returned the pawn, Carlsen sacrificed another pawn. Yet Mamedyarov continued playing the defense incredibly accurately.

Despite the material gradually being reduced, the Norwegian kept pushing, shoving, and creating micro-problems for the Azeri grandmaster. Shortly after the time control when the commentators seemed ready to call the game as drawn and prepare for yet another armageddon game, Mamedyarov, who was down to playing on the increments, missed a draw and then ended up in a nasty pin.

While it was not lost, you don't want to play such a position against Carlsen with 30 seconds on the clock. Mamedyarov collapsed with a blunder on move 46, allowing Carlsen a simple combination to win a pawn and that sufficed to force resignation a mere 10 moves later.

A disappointing loss for Mamedyarov, but also an example of why Carlsen is so ridiculously difficult to deal with at the board: you play almost perfect chess for more than 40 moves and then you commit one mistake and the game is lost.

Perhaps inspired by Anand's comments in connection with his game against So earlier in the tournament about not having analyzed a certain line in the past five to six years, GM Anish Giri opted for the English Opening against the Indian veteran, but rather than repeating his play from the game against So, Anand went for 3...d5. This seemed to be a solid and reasonable choice as White never really had much of an advantage.

After having made some attempts at breaking through on the queenside, Giri invited to a repetition of moves which was dutifully accepted by Black.

In the armageddon game, Giri tried Danish GM Bent Larsen's 1.b3. Anand responded with a relatively rare line involving 3...a6 which stops White's ideas of playing Bb5(+). Giri played inaccurately, allowing Black to play ...d5-d4. Already after 10 moves, it was clear that White's opening had been a failure.

Things got gradually worse as Black was allowed to set up a bind on the dark squares on the queenside. Forced to avoid exchanges, Giri had to make several poor choices, and ultimately, Black was completely winning. But only needing a draw due to the draw odds in the armageddon, Anand steadfastly refused to make an attempt at winning the game, and instead demonstrated that White had zero chances of winning.

Another round, another worrisome effort from the participant in the upcoming Candidates tournament in Madrid. GM Teimour Radjabov earned his spot by qualifyingin the previous cycle through winning the 2019 World Cup and then not showing up for the 2020 Candidates tournament in Yekaterinburg, Russia due to his concerns about Covid-19. The other players showed up but then had to travel home amid the global chaos of canceled flights and many other complications and then return to Yekaterinburg nearly a year later to complete the event.

Since then, Radjabov has only participated in online events and while that kind of thing can be sufficient for some, it clearly has not been for Radjabov who has been struggling throughout the entire event, with some momentary reminders of what an amazing chess player he can be when things work out for him.

Former FIDE World Champion GM Veselin Topalov has also struggled a bit, but as a mostly self-imposed semi-retiree, that has been entirely understandable.

Their classical game had for unfamiliar eyes the appearance of an interesting battle where the players thought long and hard about the complications on the board that arose from a 4.Qc2 Nimzo-Indian, but for those of us in the know, it resembled a charade. Even I, who does not play this line with either color, knew that all of it had been played before. In fact, it had been played twice in Yu-Ding, FIDE World Cup (Khanty-Mansiysk 2019) and Yilmaz-Berkes, FIDE Grand Swiss (Isle of Man) 2019. All of it.

In the armageddon game, things somehow got even worse. Radjabov played a line he was unfamiliar with, the Anti-Moscow Gambit, where his knowledge seemed outdated by at least a decade. He did not respond accurately to Topalov's 10...Nh5, which is considered risky for Black. But after 12 moves, White was essentially a pawn down without compensation.

In the final position, where Topalov gave a perpetual check, as it would guarantee the armageddon bonus, Radjabov was down four pawns entirely without compensation.

One of the pleasant surprises of this year's Norway Chess has been the performance of last-minute replacement GM Aryan Tari, who has scored an impressive 50 percent in the classical games. His round-six opponent So has proven himself in excellent form this spring and demonstrated that he is near the peak of his powers at the moment.

In an Italian Game, Tari carefully defended against So's attempts at breaking through and afforded the American no serious chances of an advantage, in fact, at one point, Black even seemed to be marginally better.

It was not the most interesting game, but undoubtedly a very satisfactory for the young Norwegian player who celebrated his 23rd birthday a couple of days ago.

So has proven a bit of a beast in the armageddon games, and therefore it was not a surprise that Tari would attempt to rattle the American. The fact that he succeeded in that was surprising, the sad thing is that he let it slip out of his hands again.

After several mistakes, from inaccuracies to outright game-losing blunders by both players, Tari made the last crucial mistake and thus lost the game. A crazy game but once more, Tari demonstrated his potential.

The first game of the round to finish was the classical game in this match-up. GM Wang Hao allowed GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave his first Najdorf Sicilian of the tournament. White opted for GM Bobby Fischer's 6.h3 which has been extremely popular for the last several years, but when encountered with a very rare idea, 8...b5, White went for an unambitious option that allowed Black to get a good game.

Shortly after, apparently satisfied with a draw, Vachier-Lagrave opened the door for a repetition of moves, and Wang jumped on that option faster than you could blink your eyes.

20 minutes later, the players got themselves going with the armageddon game. Here, Wang altered his approach, instead choosing the London System rather than allowing the Frenchman to play his Grunfeld Indian.

It quickly became clear that the Chinese player was not particularly familiar with the nuances of the London. Even after a missed opportunity by Vachier-Lagrave, White started to flounder, and even when given additional opportunities as a result of Black's aggressive game plan, he did not step up to the challenge. After a couple of mistakes by White, Vachier-Lagrave was allowed to deliver the killing 32...Re2!, forcing instant resignation.

Round 6 Standings

All Games Round 6

The 2022 Norway Chess runs May 31-June 10, 2022. The event consists of a 10-player single round-robin in a classical time control of 120 minutes for the game with a 10-second increment after move 40. The scoring system is three points for a win instead of the usual one. If the game is drawn, competitors play an armageddon game with the winner scoring 1.5 points and the loser 1 point. The prize fund is 2.5 million Norwegian kroner (NOK).

Previous coverage:

Originally posted here:

Carlsen Wins, Leads, Hits A 2870 Live Rating - Chess.com

When it comes to summer in San Diego, there are some obvious things to do with your kids.

The beaches are filled with sand castle creations. Summer sports leagues require practice and competition. Padres games are packed with glove-wearing kids, hoping to catch a foul ball.

Ideally, our local little ones are still taking a break from screen time and playing outside wherever and whenever they can. But some days and weekends call for a little extra inspiration to keep San Diegos youngest population entertained, informed and inspired.

Here are some ideas for things to do with kids in June of 2022.

Moonlight Amphitheatre in an outdoor venue for musical theater and live music and, throughout June, it will be showing the San Diego regional premiere production of Rodgers and Hammersteins Cinderella. You may have seen the movie version starring Whitney Houston and Brandy Norwood. Now you can see a production right here in San Diego County.

8 p.m. June 10 to June 25. Moonlight Amphitheatre, 1250 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista. Tickets range from $13 to $61. moonlightstage.com

Bring your friend or family member with autism to the Aqua Pros Swim School for a monthly family pool and pizza party on June 11 and again on July 9. All ages and all abilities are invited to swim in a heated indoor pool with free pizza and drinks. Lifeguards will be on site and anyone with dietary restrictions is welcomed to bring their own food.

2 p.m. to 4 p.m. June 11. Free admission with suggested $5 donation. autismsocietysandiego.org.

Siblings Max (left), 6, and Alexa, 7, Charalambous enjoy a display at the Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

(Eduardo Contreras/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Fleet Science Centers Sunday Science Club is open for students in grades 5-8 on June 12 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and then again on July 12 and Aug. 14 at the same times. The workshop offers hands-on activities and challenges from a range of fields including chemistry, robotics, environmental science and more. Register online to participate. This summer, Fleet Science Center also has an exhibit called Snow where kids can learn about climate adaptation and walk through a snowstorm.

1 p.m. to 2 p.m. June 12. Fleet Science Center, 1875 El Prado, Balboa Park. $13 for members; $15 for non-members.

The Baby Shark Dance video by Pinkfong has been viewed more than 10 billion times since hitting YouTube in 2016. Now, the Pinkfong and Baby Shark costumed-characters are visiting the San Diego Civic Theatre stage for one night in June. Baby Shark Live! is described as a one-of-a-kind immersive experience for fans of all ages with dancing in the aisles, hit songs and exploration of shapes, colors, numbers and more.

6 p.m. June 17. San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., San Diego. Tickets start at $33; free for children 2 and under. sandiegotheaters.org.

Common Ground Theatre and Community Actors Theatre are joining together to host a Juneteenth festival open to families and kids of all ages. There will be a puppet show, multiple musical performances, food trucks, a lesson on Juneteenth history and other family activities.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 18. Jacobs Center, 404 Euclid Ave., San Diego. Free. communityactorstheatre.com.

Amrynn Wade, 7, enjoys time with family and friends at Memorial Park at the Cooper Family Juneteenth Celebration, in this U-T file photo.

(Nancee E. Lewis/ 2021 Nancee Lewis / Nancee Le)

The Cooper Family Foundations Juneteenth event is a family and community tradition going back decades in San Diego. Organizers describe it as a community healing festival with a motto: Know the past, shape the future. This years gathering features a new event where kids can bring their bicycles and participate in a free bike rodeo with a bike raffle and helmet giveaway. The Juneteenth festival also includes a fun zone with performances and educational speakers, jumpers, story time, a history wall and other activities.

11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. June 18. Memorial Park, 2975 Oceanview Blvd., San Diego. Free. cfjuneteenth.com.

An interactive show at the Maritime Museum of San Diego returns this summer, bringing families up close and personal with a cast of pirates. Boarded! A New Pirate Adventure is a 90-minute show stages aboard the ship San Salvador that includes introductions to navigation, sword fighting and other pirate skills.

10 a.m. or 12:45 p.m. June 18. Maritime Museum of San Diego, 1492 North Harbor Drive, San Diego. $60 for adults; $25 for children 12 and under.

The Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum will host engine and tractor shows on back to back weekends in June. See vintage construction equipment, antique gas and steam engines, looms and spinning wheels, antique clocks and watches and more. There will also be demonstrations on blacksmithing, corn and wheat processing, milling, woodworking, and weaving.

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 18-19 and June 25-26. Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum, 2040 N. Santa Fe Ave., Vista. $8 for adults; $7 for seniors; $5 for kids ages 6-12; free for ages 6 and under and active duty military. agsem.com

The La Mesa Juneteenth and Friends celebration will bring local educators, writers, churches, city leaders and performers from the La Mesa and surrounding areas. It will include a performance by the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Choir, bounce houses, crafts and other family fun. Kids can participate in a scavenger hunt and work on Juneteenth-inspired crafts.

Noon until 4 p.m. June 19. MacArthur Park, 4975 Memorial Drive, La Mesa. lamesajuneteenthandfriends.com

Kids are invited to attend a free event with authors Pam Fong, Marcie Colleen and Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard. Children of all abilities are invited for a book reading and a unique themed craft. Each child will receive one free book while supplies last.

10 a.m. to noon June 25. San Diego Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., San Diego. Free. Register by searching Ready 3x3" on eventbrite.com.

Swifty Swine Racing Pigs at the San Diego County Fair.at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar in this U-T file photo.

(San Diego Union-Tribune)

The colorful sights, sweet sounds and fun foods of the San Diego County Fair are all back in full force this summer after a scaled-down version in 2021 and complete cancellation in 2020 due to COVID-19. There will, of course, be rides and games for families to enjoy, but make sure to check out the daily calendar of events to find out when kids can see exhibits and other activities. The list includes pig races, a cow milking demonstration, livestock showmanship and Godfrey The Magician. The fair will also have a kids market place where they can learn about agricultural commodities grown in California.

11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays, Wednesday and Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Closed Monday and Tuesdays except July 4. Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar. Ticket prices vary by day from free to 20. sdfair.com.

Each Sunday in June (and two in July) you can find family fun activities during Summer Sundays events at Village Walk at EastLake at 5 p.m. Take the whole family to see live music and car exhibits, participate in weekly crafts and enjoy free face painting and free balloon sculptures. Did we mention its all free?

5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Every Sunday in June. Village Walk at EastLake. 884 Eastlake, Chula Vista. Free.

An egret sits on grass at Santee Lakes.

(Karen Pearlman / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

On a regular day at Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve, you can go camping, boating, enjoy a playground, look for birds and grab lunch at Tin Fish. In June, there are a few unique events. On June 18, take your beach chairs and blankets for a free concert at the campground at 7 p.m. Special night fishing hours are available on June 23 for $4. Then, on June 25, the Santee Firefighters Fishing Derby will take place for kids ages 3 to 17 from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. with free permits, worms, raffles, hot dogs and door prizes. Register online at santeefirefighters.com or join in the day of the event.

Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve, 9310 Fanita Parkway, Santee. santeelakes.com

The New Childrens Museum hosted imaginative storytelling workshops at community centers around San Diego in April, May and June and will celebrate the end of the series with Mass Creativity. The 10th annual event includes free admission to the museum, live music, food and family-friendly activities in the museum park. Families will also be able to see art from the different community centers woven together.

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 25. The New Childrens Museum, 200 W. Island Ave., San Diego. Free museum admission during the event. thinkplaycreate.org.

Independence parades arent just the Fourth of July. Celebrate early with the 26th annual Oceanside Independence Parade. This years theme is honoring our hometown heroes and will include floats, bands, cool cars and other classic parade moments. The parade is expected to last about two hours. Bring your own folding chairs to watch.

10 a.m. June 25. Starting at the 101 Cafe, 631 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. Parade route goes along Coast Highway from Wisconsin Avenue to Civic Center Drive. mainstreetoceanside.com/watch-the-parade.

An Oct. 6, 2020, file photo of Petco Park in San Diego.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Petco Park offers several different tours that are led by a guide. The tours offer behind-the-scenes views of the ball park and information on the history of the facility and the San Diego Padres. Daily tours include stops at the field warning track and press box while pre-game tours include a viewing of batting practice for certain games.

Dates and times vary. Petco Park. Tours start at Western Metal Building ticket windows on Seventh Avenue/Tony Gwynn Boulevard at K. Street. $28 to $75. mlb.com/padres/ballpark/tours.

As part of a nationwide program providing access to bowling for kids during the summer time, Aztec Lanes will be offering free bowling for kids ages 12 and under. Each child can play two free games each day of the summer up until Aug. 21. Just sign up through the Kids Bowl Free website or app to participate.

Available every day of the week. Times vary. Aztec Lanes, Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union, 6075 Aztec Circle Drive, San Diego. Free azteclanes.sdsu.edu/kidsbowlfree.

Christine Lee (left) gets ready with her son Elijah, 13, to watch the movie Trolls at the South Bay Drive-In Theaters.

(Eduardo Contreras/Eduardo Contreras/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Pile the family into a car and visit one of San Diego Countys drive-in movie theaters. The Santee Drive-In Theatre and South Bay Drive-In Theatres are both open seven nights a week, just check their showtimes for family-friendly films. Both venues offer snack bars and allow guests to watch from their vehicles or bring chairs to set up outside.

Santee Drive-In Theatre, 10990 N. Woodside Ave., Santee. $12 for adults; $5 for juniors; free for children 4 and under. santeedriveintheatre.comSouth Bay Drive-In Theatres, 2170 Coronado Ave., San Diego. $10 for adults; $1 for children 5-9. southbaydrivein.com

From Imperial Beach and San Ysidro to Oceanside and almost everywhere in between, you can find family-friendly movies being shown at local parks throughout the summer. Better yet? All these events are free for the public. Bring your own chairs and blankets and pack a picnic to enjoy your favorite foods and snacks. Some locations have food available.

For locations, movies and showtimes, go to summermoviesinthepark.com.

On almost any given day, somewhere in San Diego County, a library is hosting a family-friendly event and most of them are free. Thats especially true during the summer. Through Aug. 31, readers of all ages can join the San Diego Public Librarys summer reading program at sandiego.gov/summerreading and win prizes for meeting certain reading goals. The San Diego County Library system also has a summer learning challenge going through Aug. 31, which you can sign up for at sdcl.readsquared.com. For the rest of the summer, all kinds of events are taking place at local libraries including LEGO-building, pasta art, guitar lessons, pajama story time, chess clubs, comedy shows, gardening, video games and yoga for children.

To check out events at libraries in the San Diego Public Library system, go to sandiego.librarymarket.com.For San Diego County Library events, go to sdcl.org and click events.

The San Diego Botanic Garden offers a SAPLinGS (Science, Art and PLay in Garden Spaces) program for kids. They can help in the garden, learn about science, play in a treehouse and stream, make music and art and more. There are also model trains and plenty of ways to play and explore outside.

10 a.m. to noon. Wednesdays through Fridays. San Diego Botanic Garden. Quail Gardens Drive and Ecke Ranch Road, Encinitas. sdbgarden.org

See the article here:

21 things to do with kids in San Diego County in June - The San Diego Union-Tribune

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.

Consumers are increasingly looking for all-electric vehicles, fueling the explosive growth of companies like Tesla Inc. TSLA and Rivian Automotive Inc. RIVN.

Beyond the automotive industry, the electronification of daily life reportedly continues to grow as well. Mobile phones are now in 97% of pockets in the U.S., and an ever-expanding stable of devices is making our homes smart. These consumer electronics are more capable and faster than ever before. In fact, Apple Inc. APPL iPhones are over 100 times faster than Deep Blue, the IBMs IBM supercomputer that beat the reigning world chess champion Gary Kasparov. The computer weighed 1.4 tons.

This increased performance, however, can come at a cost. Electronics produce heat. The faster and more powerful, sometimes the hotter the item can become. Whether consumer electronics, high-performance electric engines, energy storage solutions or aerospace applications, how electric systems deal with the heat they produce can make or break a product.

Manufacturers across industries reportedly have a great need for innovative solutions to cool their electronics. KULR Technology Group KULR says it may have some of the most cutting-edge solutions around. The company has worked with the likes of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

KULRs solution is the lightest weight battery heat sink option NASA has evaluated to date, Dr. Eric Darcy, Ph.D, battery systems lead at NASA, said of KULRs systems. NASA has not found a design solution with as much promise for preventing lithium-ion battery TRP (thermal runaway propagation).

The company reports that it has cooling applications across many other industries as well. In todays world, surprisingly few products do not have a need for cooling solutions. KULR says it is working to help mitigate heat issues in 5G infrastructure, defense applications, battery safety and the exciting new frontier of the metaverse.

This emerging industry is expected by some to reach dizzying heights. A recent report by Citi Group Inc. C projects the total addressable market will be over $8 trillion by 2030. The immersive experience of the metaverse relies on layers of hardware infrastructure - a market KULR is helping to address.

The company recently inked a deal with a major conglomerate of manufacturers to provide a carbon-fiber solution that facilitates biosensing, allowing users to navigate the metaverse using nerve signals.

If youd like to know more about the exciting work KULR is doing, check out https://www.kulrtechnology.com/.

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be investing advice.

Photo by Xavier Balderas Cejudo on Unsplash

Continued here:

Is This Cooling Technology Company Ready To Heat Up? - Benzinga - Benzinga

Whats Going On is a listing of activities taking place throughout the Downriver community. To submit an event, send an email to downriverlife@thenewsherald.com. List the time, date, location, cost and contact information. Submit announcements at least two weeks prior to the event. For a complete listing, visit http://www.thenewsherald.com/things-to-do/

Bridgewater Community-Wide Garage Sales: Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Brownstowns Bridgewater community. Enter off Inkster between Van Horn and West, off Van Horn west of Arsenal or off Arsenal between Van Horn and West. Over 55 homes will be selling a variety of items.

Adult Crafts To Go: At Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte, June 20-July 30. Adult Craft Bags will be available in the main library on an end cap. Crafts will be changed out periodically so check back often. For more information, call 734-246-8357 or visit baconlibrary.org.

Kids Make & Take: Available every Monday starting June 20 at the Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte. Pre-school-4th Grade, June 20: Life Under The Sea: Elementary: Create a Cartesian diver (sinking straw creatures). Preschool: paint with water sea creature art. June 27: Oil Spill Conservation Week: Elementary: Floating cork octopus. Preschool: Sea otter from a paper bag. July 11: Pirates and Sailors: Create a ship that floats and a pirate hat. July 18: Lighthouse Keeper: Create a lighted lighthouse and learn how to read Morse code. July 25: Beach Day: Create a sand art necklace and cheerio starfish. For more information, call 734-246-8357 or visit baconlibrary.org.

Bead It at Bacon: At Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte, Wednesdays, June 22, July 27, & Aug. 24 from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Stop in to make a perler bead creation or Pony Bead necklace or bracelet. Must have an adult present to use perler beads. For more information, call 734-246-8357 or visit baconlibrary.org.

VIP Support Group (Visually Impaired Persons): Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 22, from 12 1 p.m. In Person, Virtual, or Call-in. VIP Support is a monthly support group for people experiencing vision loss and their caregivers. Each month, we meet to discuss important topics and connect over shared concerns. Call 712-775-7031, Access Code: 965803 or join virtually by visiting bit.ly/TCLbtbcall. For more information, call 734-287-4840. Masks are required.

Tween Make & Take is Available every Thursday at the Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte starting June 23. 5th Grade-8th Grade June 23: Create light up underwater creations with LEDs and copper tape. Create your craft at the library or take it home. June 30: Create an edible water container. July 14: Create a monkey fist sailing knot. July 21: Create a personalized aquarium. July 28: Create a seashell treasure box. For more information, call 734-246-8357 or visit baconlibrary.org.

Surprise Summer Reads: Every Saturday at the Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte starting June 25. Highschool/ Adult. June 25: By The Sea. July 2: Apocalyptic Fiction. July 16: Pirates, Mermaids, Sailors Oh My! July 23: Fictional Lighthouses. July 30: Beach Reads. For more information, call 734-246-8357 or visit baconlibrary.org.

Books & Bites Book Club: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 27, from 6-7:30 p.m. Books & Bites is a monthly book club that reads and discusses Young Adult books. Anyone who is a fan of this genre can attend. If you cant make it in person, and for general bookish talk, send us a request to join our Facebook group. This months book is Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith. For more information, call 734-287-4840. Masks required.

Family Fun Day at Heritage Park: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 9, from 4-6 p.m. This event is presented by both Taylor Community Library and The Guidance Center. We will have a tent set up behind the library as our starting point to pick up your scavenger hunt sheet. The outdoor scavenger hunt will take place in Heritage Park. When you finish, we will also have a free craft (while supplies last). Limited snacks and drinks will be provided, plus a free bag of books and goodies you can take home (while supplies last). Sign up is not required, but if you choose to sign up via EventBrite at bit.ly/ffhp you will receive an event reminder. For more information, call the library at 734-287-4840, or The Guidance Center at 734-272-2745.

Computer Class: Computer Basics: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 9, from 1-2 p.m. This class is designed for those with little or no experience with computers. You will learn the parts of the computer, how to use a mouse, basic navigation with Windows, how to get to the internet, how to open a program, how to save a file, and how to print. Class size is limited to 8 participants on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information, call 734-287-4840. Masks required.

Friends of the Library BOOK SALE: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 11, from 10 a.m. 3 p.m. Friends of the Taylor Community Library is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization that supports special projects around the library. The Friends hold occasional large-scale book sales, such as this, in addition to stocking a permanent used book sale area inside the library. For more information, call 734-287-4840. Masks required.

Raffle fundraiser for Ukraine: St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 2441 Nichols Dr., Trenton, will be having a Pancake Brunch and Raffle fundraiser for Ukraine from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 12 in the guild hall. All proceeds will be donated to ERD (Episcopal Relief and Development). Brunch includes a variety of pancake choices, sausages, beverages, etc. In lieu of a set charge, there will be a basket for free-will donations. In addition, there will be a bucket raffle with lots of prizes such as baskets, yard decorations, jewelry, quilts and home-made goodies. Raffle tickets will be pulled at 12:30 p.m. For more information, call 734-676-3122 or email stthomastrenton@gmail.com.

Wetland Wander: Sponsored by the Grosse Ile Nature & Land Conservancy at the Airport Natural Area. 28820 East River Rd, Grosse Ile, 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, June 12. Focus: wetland plants and animals. Explore the natural area to discover what makes wetlands so great! Well learn about the different plants and animals that live in the area and their importance for humans too. For more information, email GINLC.education@gmail.com. All GINLC programs are free to the public, but donations make them possible. Visit http://www.ginlc.org.

25 Year Old Time Capsule Opening: At Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte is Monday, June 13 at 1 p.m. The Bacon Library Time Capsule has been sealed since 1997. What is in it? What happened in 1997? Be part of the grand time capsule opening. For more information, call 734-246-8357 or visit baconlibrary.org.

Library Board Meeting: At the Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte, June 13 at 3 p.m., July 11 & Aug. 8 at 3:30 p.m. For more information, call 734-246-8357 or visit baconlibrary.org.

Lego Club: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 13, 20, 27, from 6-7 p.m. Do you love Legos? Join our Lego Club. Every Monday we will challenge you to make something relating to that weeks theme. We will display your creation for one week and will tear them apart at the next event. This event is open to kids, tweens, teens, and parents. No registration is required, just stop in and build. For more information, call 734-287-4840. Masks required.

Hooks & Needles: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 13, 20, 27, from 11 a.m. 1 p.m. Come and join other yarn enthusiasts in our community who love to knit and crochet. This is a weekly event to share ideas, projects, and do a little yarning. Bring your own projects to work on. For more information, call 734-287-4840. Masks required.

The Creative Art Society Meeting: On Tuesday June 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Southgate Veterans Memorial library, 14680 Dix-Toledo Hwy, Southgate. Our June meeting will have a special guest artist Janet Clark, an award-winning artist and a longtime member of the Downriver community. The meeting is open to the public. There will be a short business meeting before our special guest will speak. At the June meeting we will also be honoring our scholarship winners. In addition, we offer opportunities to exhibit our work, we have workshops that are low cost and educational. Memberships are $25. For more information, visit creativeartsociety.org or contact Mauree Keast at 734-777-6109 or mkeast1@aol.com or Jackie Walock at 313-570-6919 or walock@sbcglobal.net.

Baby Buddies Storytime (Ages 0-1): Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 14, 21, 28, from 3-3:30 p.m. Weekly story time is aimed toward parents with infants (ages 0-1), older siblings are welcome. We will have lap time and read several books together. At the end, there will be time for creative play and parent conversation. For more information, call 734-287-4840. Masks are required for ages 5 and up.

Textile Lab: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 14, 21, 28, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Textile Lab is a weekly lab for textile crafters to come together and work on their projects. If you love to quilt, sew, knit, crochet, embroider, needlepoint, or any other textile crafting, this is the place for you! An instructor will be available to teach you how to quilt, or to guide you on your projects. This is a weekly lab that is open on Tuesdays from 5:30 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 734-287-4840. Masks required.

Adult Book Discussion: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 15, from 6-7 p.m. Join us as we read fiction from all walks of life and perspectives. This month well be reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Registration in advance is required for this event. You can pick up a copy of this months book from our front desk. For more information, call 734-287-4840. Masks required.

Evening Storytime (Ages 0-8): Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 15, 22, 29, from 6-6:30 p.m. Join us for Evening Storytime to help kids get their final wiggles out before bedtime! All ages are welcome, but this storytime is aimed towards ages 3-8. Parents must attend Storytime with their children. No children may be left unattended during Storytime. For more information, call 734-287-4840. Masks required for ages 5 and over.

Computer Class: Internet Basics: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 16, from 1-2 p.m. This class is designed for those with little or no experience with the Internet. You will learn how to navigate the Internet, perform basic searches, use websites, search engines, and what various domains mean. Class size is limited to 8 participants on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information, call 734-287-4840. Masks required.

MI Notable Author Visit: Hosted by the Ecorse Public Library at 6 p.m. on June 16 at Ecorse City Hall Council Chambers (and also available virtually). Paula Yoo, From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: the killing of Vincent Chin and the trial that galvanized the Asian American movement. For more information, email staff@ecorse.lib.mi.us.

MI Notable Author Visit: Paula Yoo: Author of From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: the killing of Vincent Chin and the trial that galvanized the Asian American movement at 6 p.m. on June 16 at Ecorse City Hall Council Chambers (and also available virtually). Sponsored by the Ecorse Public Library, 4184 W. Jefferson Ave. For more information, email staff@ecorse.lib.mi.us.

Summer Blast Car Show: St. Paul Lutheran Church, 19109 Craig St. (corner of Ellis Rd. (one block off Sibley Rd.), New Boston, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., on June 18. Door prizes, 50/50 raffle, food, drinks, games, face painting, magician, waterslide, Huron Twp. Fire Department, fun for all ages. Free. Car show information, call Jerry at 313-460-1011.

Summer Reading 2022: All ages. At the Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte. Register for the summer reading Programs. Paper logs will be available Monday, June 20. All Logging begins June 20 and ends July 30. For every 7 days of reading, earn a Reading Dollar to shop at our Bacon Reads Store. You can earn up to 6 dollars and you will be able to shop for really cool prizes. Register at baconlibrary.readsquared.com. For more information, call 734-246-8357.

Story Times: At Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte. Babytime/Toddler, Tuesdays, June 21, June 28, July 12, 19, 26 at 10 a.m. Join Ms. Lynne for stories, music, dance, and bubbles. This program is geared for babies and young toddlers. Family Storytime, Tuesdays, June 21, June 28, July 12, 19, 26 at 10:30 a.m. Join Ms. Lynne for stories, music, dance and more. This program is geared to families with children of multiple ages. We are sorry for the inconvenience but you will need to register each week. Register in person, online at baconlibrary.org, or by phone at 734-246-8357.

Science Alive: At Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte, June 22 at 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. The animals are taking over the library. This is your opportunity to get up close to some amazing creatures while learning about their characteristics and habitats. Registration required. You may only register for one time. For more information, call 734-246-8357 or visit baconlibrary.org.

Teen & Adult Cosplay Contest: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. June 22, from 6-7 p.m. Are you a cosplayer who thinks you have a cool enough character to win? You must register in advance to be in our Cosplay Contest. To enter the contest, you must be 13 years old or older. Three contestants have the chance to win a prize. Winners will be determined by most in-person votes at the end of the event so invite your family and friends to attend. Register at https://taylor.lib.mi.us/event/teen-adult-cosplay-contest/. Masks required.

Dino Day in Dingell Park: Hosted by the Ecorse Public Library in partnership with the Ethel B. Stevenson Senior Center and Recreation Center) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 25 at Dingell Park. For more information, email staff@ecorse.lib.mi.us.

Watercolors by the Water: Hosted by the Ecorse Public Library July 9 at Dingell Park. Time to be determined. For more information, email staff@ecorse.lib.mi.us.

Hike in Airport Natural Area: Sponsored by the Grosse Ile Nature & Land Conservancy, enter at 28820 East River Rd, Grosse Ile, from 1-4 p.m. Event runs through Sunday, Oct. 30. GINLC hosts will be available to open the trails of the Airport Natural Area every Sunday from May to October. Spend a few hours enjoying the trails, ponds, bays, lookouts, and woods of this hidden gem. For more information, email GINLC.education@gmail.com. All GINLC programs are free to the public, but donations make them possible. Visit http://www.ginlc.org.

Storywalk for June/July: Taylor Community Library, Fletcher Park, Taylor, located between Pardee and Racho Rd., and Northline and Eureka. Permanent exhibit. June/July featured book is Once Upon a Jungle by Laura Knowles. Community members can follow the path throughout the park to read a book in its entirety presented on 16 individual panels. Each panel hosts a set of pages which include activities and questions to help your little ones engage with the story in meaningful ways. For more information, call 734-287-4840.

Summer Reading Challenge: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. Until Aug. 31. Join us for our Oceans of Possibilities Summer Reading Program. Each summer our reading program is designed to help the community keep up with their reading skills and stay motivated to learn. In addition, there will be activity packs for even more fun. Prizes will be available, while supplies last, to those who complete the challenge. For more information, call 734-287-4840 or visit https://taylor.lib.mi.us/summer.

Al Turner Drop In Chess: Every Thursday 5:30 p.m. at the Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte. Kids and adults of all ages can meet challenging new players every Thursday @ 5:30 pm. For more information, call 734-246-8357.

Job Assistance: The SEMCA Michigan Works! in Southgate, 15100 Northline Rd, Room 103, is offering help with job searching. Free services may include career assessment and guidance; GED preparation, basic skills assessment & enhancement; resume and interview assistance; and job search assistance. Stop in to register and ask about the next orientation session. Connect with a Career Coach and return to work faster. Reasonable accommodations will be made upon request. For more information, call 734-362-3448 or visit SEMCA.org.

Toiletry Pantry: Rockwood First Congregational Church, 22600 Mather Street Rockwood, hosts toiletry pantry, which provides personal hygiene items, cleaning products, gently used clothing and some food products. The pantry will open from 1- 3 p.m. on the last Monday of each month. If that Monday is a holiday, the pantry will be open the previous Monday. For more information, call 734-379-3711 or fccrockwood.org

Local Wyandotte History: Looking for an obituary? Need information on your home or any other burning Wyandotte history questions? The Bacon Memorial Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte, can help. Visit, http://www.baconlibrary.org/local-history-request

Teen Advisory Group: Taylor Community Library, Taylor. Online Virtual Event. Wednesdays, from 4-5 p.m. Teen Advisory volunteers help plan, implement, and promote ways to improve services offered at Taylor Community Library. Joining our group builds your resume, earns you volunteer hours and recommendations for jobs or college, and gives you a chance to be heard! To join, apply to become a volunteer today! For more information, call 734-287-4840.

1000 Books Before Kindergarten: Sponsored by the Bacon Memorial District Library, 45 Vinewood, Wyandotte. This free program encourages you to read 1,000 books with your child before he or she enters school a goal experts say helps children learn to read. Yes, it really is possible. Read one book to your child every day and before you know it, you will have read over 1,000 books in three years! Reading together helps develop important pre-reading skills that provide a solid foundation to school and learning success. Plus, sharing stories together is fun. For more information, call 734-246-8357 or visit http://www.baconlibrary.org/1000books

Seamstresses Needed: Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care is seeking volunteer seamstresses to help with the making of memory bears. Memory Bears are made from the clothing that once belonged to a loved one and can bring comfort and peace for grieving family members. All materials are provided. Seamstresses work in the comfort of their own homes using a simple four-piece pattern. For more information, contact volunteer coordinator Mary Biber at 800-370-8592. For more information about Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care, visit http://www.seasons.org.

Palliative Care Volunteers Needed: Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care is seeking compassionate people to provide volunteer support to terminally ill patients and their families. We provide virtual, yet comprehensive, training that fits easily into busy schedules. Opportunities are exible, based on your availability and comfort level and always close to home. Activities may include: offering companionship or friendly visits to homebound patients, reading and letter writing, providing relief for caregivers, participating in activities with dementia patients, veteran to veteran companionship, and sewing Memory Bears. For more information, contact volunteer coordinator Mary Biber at 800-370-8592. Visit http://www.seasons.org

Taylor Garden Club: Meets the 3rd Thursday of the month September through June. Meetings are held at Taylor Senior Activity Center. Hospitality at 6 p.m., meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Guests are welcome to attend once for free. Membership fee is $15 per year. You do not have to live in Taylor to join the group. For more information, contact Nancy Smith at 734-287-6851 or by email at smithnan88@yahoo.com.

The Ecorse Community Events Committee: Meetings are held every 3rd Thursday of the month excluding holidays and/or inclement weather. The ECEC meets from 6-7 p.m. at the Albert B. Buday Civic Center, 3869 W. Jefferson Ave., Ecorse 48229 on the 2nd floor in Conference Room B. For more information, call 313-407-6332 or visit website https://www.ecorseevents.com or email ecorseevents@gmail.com or visit the Ecorse Community Events Committee Facebook page. All are welcome to attend, volunteer and participate in community event planning.

AAUW scholarships: The AAUW Wyandotte-Downriver Branch offers several scholarships annually to female undergraduate students at Baker College, Henry Ford College, Lawrence Technological University and Wayne County Community College District. Interested students can pick up an AAUW application at their schools counseling office. Candidates must have earned a minimum of 12 credits, be a United States citizen and a resident of the Downriver area. An essay is required. For more information, contact rjhart720@yahoo.com or visit downriver-mi.aauw.net.

The Ecorse Historical Society: Meetings are held every 3rd Saturday of the month excluding holidays and/or inclement weather. The EHS meets from 1-2 p.m. at the Albert B. Buday Civic Center, 3869 W. Jefferson Ave., Ecorse on the 2nd floor in Conference Room B. All are welcome to attend, volunteer and participate in EHS meetings and planning. Ecorse residents are invited to bring their family histories to add to the collections and archives which will be exhibited at the Ecorse Public Library. Exhibit dates and times to be announced. For more information, call 313-386-2520 Ext. 4 or visit /www.ecorsehistorical.org Email ecorsehistoricalsociety@gmail.com or visit the Ecorse Historical Societys Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ecorsehistoricalsociety/

Brownstown Historical Museum Hours of Operation: The Brownstown Historical Museum, 23451 King Road, Brownstown is open for tours every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month from 1-4 p.m. Summer business hours are every Tuesday from noon-3 p.m.. Stop in to join the Brownstown Historical Society or renew your membership, volunteer or get information on the Brownstown Community Brick Paver fundraiser. For more information, call 248-318-5297.

Lincoln Park Preservation Alliance: The group is looking for new members to promote Lincoln Parks historic sites through education and advocacy; for information on meetings and events, call Leslie Lynch-Wilson at 313-598-3137.

Knit and Crochet Club: From 1-3 p.m., Tuesdays. Meet, mingle and trade inspiration with local knitters and crocheters. Bring your own projects and have fun with a like-minded group. This is not an instructing class; however, you are welcome to ask others to share their knowledge and help. Cost: $3 donation to the DCA. Downriver Council for the Arts, 81 Chestnut, Wyandotte. (734) 720-0671 or visit http://www.downriverarts.org

Huron River Fishing Association: Holds general membership meetings at 6:30 p.m. the first Monday of each month at the Flat Rock Community Center, 1 McGuire St., Flat Rock. The group holds fly tying classes at 6:30 p.m. on the 3rd Monday of the month at the FRCC. For more information, visit huronriverfishing.com or email FISH@huronriverfishing.com.

The Ecorse Historical Society: Meets the third Saturday of each month at:City of Ecorse, Albert B. Buday Civic, 3869 W Jefferson Ave., Ecorse. Meeting is held in Conference Room B from noon to 1 p.m. Call 313-386-2520 Ext. 4.

Heart to Heart Hospice Volunteers needed: Heart to Heart Hospice is looking for downriver community members to join the groups team of volunteers, who will visit with patients on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to help increase their quality of life during their finals days. Visits can provide friendship, compassion and distraction from their prognosis. Activities that clients might enjoy are being read to, watching television together, talking about who and where theyve been, their families, hearing about your day, playing cards, and so much more. Most importantly, we are looking for volunteers to provide their time, talent, and to have compassion and empathy. Heart to Heart serves Allen Park, Canton, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Southgate, Taylor, Westland, Ypsilanti and beyond. Volunteers should contact volunteer coordinator Randi Williams, at 734-282-0209.

Great Lakes Steel Salaried Retirees Club: Meets every third Monday at Crystal Gardens, 16703 Fort St. Southgate. Doors open at noon. Lunch promptly at 1 p.m. Cost $12 for members, $13 non-members. Door prizes and 50/50 raffles. Open to any salaried retiree of Great Lakes Steel. For more information, contact Desta Pulter at 313-842-0385.

Bingo: 6:15 p.m. Thursdays; VFW Post No. 9283, 16200 Dix-Toledo Road, Southgate; doors open at 4 p.m.; $500 jackpot; all proceeds go to the VFW Ladies Auxiliary general fund.

Hospice of Michigan: Seeking volunteers to visit with patients in the Downriver area; to learn more, call 248-303-6818 or email aknoppow@hom.org.

Read more from the original source:

Calendar of events and activities throughout Downriver - Southgate News Herald

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Tilting Point and Polygon Studios announced a multi-year partnership on Web3 games. Tilting Point will publish its games it has 10 games in the works using the Polygon Network to integrate Web3 features.

Out of the 10 games that grow from the partnership, three are existing titles. These include Astrokings, from Tilting Points recently acquired developer AN Games, The Walking Dead: Casino Slots, and Chess Universe.

Polygons Ryan Wyatt said in a statement, Tilting Point is set to bring a new level of quality to Web3 gaming, accumulated from a decade of building and publishing mobile games. This partnership will help solidify Web3s place in the gaming industry, and were excited to start developing games that champion user ownership and immersive gameplay.

According to Tilting Point CEO Samir Agili, the partnership will make Tilting Point the ideal developer for both native Web3 developers and those looking to bridge their games from Web2. As he told GamesBeat in an interview, Tilting Points strength has been in having fantastic developers over the years, working with some of the best independent developers on the market, bringing fantastic, big IPs Spongebob, Walking Dead, Star Trek to existing engines and making them better.

In addition to Polygon, Tilting Point also partnered with Stardust, a platform that helps developers integrate NFTs into their titles. It announced this partnership earlier this year.

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Tilting Point partners with Polygon on Web3 games - VentureBeat