Chess Gym HQ

🇺🇸 Fabiano Caruana on 🇫🇷 Alireza Firouzja’s withdrawal and playing him in a hotel room: “It was a very, very weird experience, of course. To actually play in the hotel room, at the start it didn’t feel like we were playing. I thought we were playing some casual chess. It had kind of vibes of a World Championship match, except my opponent was on the bed, in a cast. It’s just very bad luck for him. He just fell and messed his ankle up, and he decided to play on for a few games. I feel sorry for Alireza that he can’t continue the tournament. It’s just unfortunate.”

♟️ World Chess Champions: 1948: ☭ Mikhail Botvinnik 1951: ☭ Mikhail Botvinnik 1957: ☭ Vasily Smyslov 1958: ☭ Mikhail Botvinnik 1960: ☭ Mikhail Botvinnik 1961: ☭ Mikhail Botvinnik 1963: ☭ Tigran Petrosian 1966: ☭ Tigran Petrosian 1969: ☭ Boris Spassky 1972: 🇺🇸 Bobby Fischer 1975: ☭ Anatoly Karpov 1978: ☭ Anatoly Karpov 1981: ☭ Anatoly Karpov 1984: ☭ Anatoly Karpov 1985: ☭ Garry Kasparov 1986: ☭ Garry Kasparov 1987: ☭ Garry Kasparov 1990: ☭ Garry Kasparov 1993: 🇷🇺 Anatoly Karpov 1996: 🇷🇺 Anatoly Karpov 1998: 🇷🇺 Anatoly Karpov 1999: 🇷🇺 Alexander Khalifman 2000: 🇮🇳 Viswanathan Anand 2002: 🇺🇦 Ruslan Ponomariov 2004: 🇺🇿 Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2005: 🇧🇬 Vaselin Topalov 2006: 🇷🇺 Vladimir Kramnik 2007: 🇮🇳 Viswanathan Anand 2008: 🇮🇳 Viswanathan Anand 2010: 🇮🇳 Viswanathan Anand 2012: 🇮🇳 Viswanathan Anand 2013: 🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen 2014: 🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen 2016: 🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen 2018: 🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen 2021: 🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen 2023: 🇨🇳 Ding Liren 2024: 🇮🇳 Gukesh Dommaraju Note: FIDE World Championships

Burhan Wani, son of a high school teacher, became a terrorist after an altercation with security forces in Kashmir Samay Raina, along with his parents, was forced to flee his homeland in Kashmir, but he went on to become a stand-up comedian There is no excuse for terrorism, only motives

One day, we will be out there, among the stars

We're not going to travel beyond the solar system, according to Leonard Susskind. And neither are aliens, coming to visit us. We may not be alone, but we are stuck here for, essentially forever. 1. The nearest star is 4.24 light years away. The fastest spacecraft ever built would require 6,600 years to get there. 2. Surely we can just build faster spacecraft. The problem is to get to anywhere close to the speed of light, we need exponentially more energy. 3. Chemical rockets will just not work. Even fusion rockets won't work. Even 10% of the speed of light is not achievable. The Tsiolkovsky Rocket Equation prevents it. 4. Interstellar dust becomes hand grenades when traveling anywhere close to the speed of light. Ships break. 5. Space radiation will kill us over the time need to travel interstellar distances. Impossible to protect without massive shields, which require massive energy to accelerate and de-accelerate.

Hit me with the harshest reality truth.

🗞️ | They asked Ben Affleck, who was standing next to Matt Damon, what he considered his friend’s best film. Ben replied: “I’m really looking forward to The Odyssey.” Matt interrupted: “I’ve made over 100 films and you pick one that hasn’t even come out yet?” Without missing a beat, Ben shot back: “I’m trying to promote your movie—and that’s how you respond?”