Young South Coast chess players have been capturing attention, and trophies, at State-wide competitions.

A group of twenty South Coast chess players spent the weekend at the Portland Expo Center to compete in the Chess for Success State Championships earlier this month.

Another group are set to compete at the Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation state championships this upcoming weekend. It will determine the high school individual, middle school individual, elementary school individual and the girl individual who will be nominated to participate in the USCF National events.

Local chess players already had success at the first competition in Portland.

Three of the South Coast players came home with trophies and medals and they all had fun and are even more motivated to work hard and advance their chess skills, said Dr. Nancy Keller after the Chess for Success State Championships.

Some of the South Coast elementary chess players having fun between rounds.

Keller played chess as a child and eventually became a class-3 chess player. She never lost her passion for chess. In her retirement, she enjoys teaching young South Coast community members how to play.

With chess for me it's my sneaky way of making them smarter, Keller said.

They are having fun and they don't know they are getting smarter at the same time. Chess is problem solving, pattern recognition and gracefulness because you have to be gracious whether winning or losing. There's team elements involved so you've also got collegiality and sportsmanship. She said.

The local chess teacher said chess clubs on the South Coast have been really taking off this year, and she has her hands full teaching local community members from preschool-aged to adult.

Members of the Bandon chess team.

Keller is getting ready to take twenty-seven South Coast chess players to Seaside for the Oregon Scholastic Chess Federation State Championships.

The young players must be supervised by their parents. While it is a fun and unique opportunity for up-and-coming chess players to travel and compete it is also an expense.

A Coquille family set up a go-fund me account to make the trip possible for 7-year-old chess player Miles Jennings.

"I'm hoping to raise enough money to cover our room and board, food, and gas so that our family and Miles may attend the state tournament," his father Joshua Jennings wrote on GoFundMe.

Miles has been working very hard for the last couple years and it's finally paying off for him, Joshua said.

Nancy Keller and the entire Coquille chess club have all been working very hard, he added.

Chess teacher Keller said she thinks its great that Miles family is supporting his passion for chess.

Miles is doing great and he loves the game. He has potential and we will see where it goes. No matter what, he is going to learn a lot of life lessons, Keller said.

Miles Jennings' family is raising money for him to compete in the upcoming state championship in Seaside Oregon.

Keller said she has several players who have real talent and could go far.

I love finding those hidden gems, she said.

More than anything, Keller said she enjoys giving local youth a chance to explore and find out what they are good at all while making great friends with each other.

Chess for Success State Championships local winners:

K-4: Noah Ish-Shalom (Winter Lake Elementary) won third place losing only one game to the first place winner. PMisha von Dassow (Lighthouse Coos Bay) won second place. 7th grade: Tyler LeBrun (Coquille Jr/Sr High ) won third place.

Visit link:

Photos: South Coast chess players making their best moves - Coos Bay World

To keep his racing mind in check, Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner sometimes turns to the chess board. Anything to unwind and not constantly dwell even obsess on stopping shots.

In an effort to escape a bit from their high-pressure jobs, goalies take different approaches. It could be picking up chess (Skinners move), reading a good book (a novel approach by Colorados Alexandar Georgiev ), binging a Netflix show (Carolinas Antti Raanta ) or just taking the dog for a walk (Seattles Philipp Grubauer).

The point is to find a way to slow things down to make sure their dreams arent haunted by high-speed shots flying at them from the likes of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon or David Pastrnak.

Because at this time of year, every save or non-save takes on greater importance. Replaying the goals in the mind can become an occupational hazard.

That balance between not being 24/7 hockey is really important for their mental health because they need to learn to manage the stress, explained Aimee Kimball, a mental training consultant whos spent 16 seasons working in the NHL and is currently the Washington Capitals director of organizational development. If all you ever did was eat, sleep and dream about hockey, then when your career ended, or maybe you had an injury, its harder to transition into that next phase of life. Having their hobbies, having other interests, is really important not just for now, their playing days, but when their playing days are done.

To forget about facing slapshots, Avalanche goaltender Pavel Francouz took up flying the friendly skies. He earned his pilots license during his playing days in the Czech Republic and it became his ticket to tranquility.

You realize when youre that high up how small things are, Francouz said. It gives you a different view on things.

His license, though, has lapsed since moving to Colorado. These days, family time with his young daughter keeps him grounded.

If you show up at home, she doesnt care if youve just won or lost. She just loves you the same and wants to play, Francouz said. Thats the best way for me now to just not think about hockey.

Skinner, too, has a young one at home and his son, Beau, provides a welcome distraction from the game. Skinner also began learning chess about a year ago when he was playing in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors. He saw some of the boys with a board and wanted to take part so he could find a little bit of calmness.

I always thought (chess) looked too complicated, Skinner said. Now Im just having a blast with it.

Skinners not looking to be the next Bobby Fischer, just for some mind relief. Its been a game changer.

A little reset, Skinner said. Anything besides hockey, just to get your mind off either that save you made or save that you didnt make. Little things like that.

Kimball had a tip for turning it off.

I usually tell them, whenever they change their shoes or their skates, in this situation, change their focus, she said. If youre either on the ice or off the ice, when you take your shoes off, youre home now. Thats a quick, easy way people can transition from one aspect of their life to the other.

Georgiev grabs a novel to get away from hockey. His goal is to read or listen to 24 books this year. Hes already finished five.

Ive always read so much. But it usually was either newspapers or just wasting time on Reddit or Instagram or listening to a lot of podcasts, Georgiev said. Then I decided, OK, I really want to have a goal and try to finish a few books. Its like a game. You set a goal for yourself and track your progress. It keeps you accountable and competitive.

Fittingly, he recently was reading a book about the benefits of sleep and how it sparks creativity.

I feel like reading helps to relax and get your mind off of everything, Georgiev said. So you dont think about hockey.

Vegas goaltender Laurent Brossoit relaxes in the comfort of his backyard. He also likes to cook and watch shows such as Formula 1: Drive to Survive.

Anything to decompress, he said, and step away from the game. He pays close attention to mental health.

Ive kind of gone too far on the one end of the spectrum, he said of maintaining a healthy balance. I thought, work hard, and do as many reps as you can. Be as diligent as you can at the gym, and on the ice and at home, with stretching and what-not and ended up not having a lot of downtime.

Raanta is a fan of movies and shows. Plays some Xbox, too, if the kids arent running around.

For Grubauer, something like taking the dog for a stroll can help put in proper perspective what he does for a living.

Obviously, its important and its business and its our job, Grubauer said. But in the end, its just a hockey game.

___

AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard, Tim Booth and Mark Anderson contributed to this report.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

See the rest here:

Chess, books, Netflix: Hockey goalies try anything to unplug - The Associated Press

Alan Cowan started playing chess when he was in middle school.

The rising chess player says often times people get overwhelmed at the thought of playing the game because of the level of critical thinking that they think is involved.

Cowan further explained that its a mind over matter.

Its definitely a matter of being confident, said Cowan on Fridays edition of Closer Look.

Cowan, a student at Morehouse College and the CEO and co-founder of The Black Odyssey Society, was accompanied on the program by Maurice Ashley, the first African-American Grandmaster.

They discussed key strategies for winning a chess match and the first-ever HBCU Chess Classic.

The inaugural event is being held at Morris Brown College on Saturday. Students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities from across the country are expected to compete in the one-day Swiss-style chess tournament.

Its going to be a serious chess party for the HBCUs, said Ashley.

Read the original here:

Local college students organize the first-ever HBCU Chess Classic ... - WABE 90.1 FM

Throughout the Resident Evil 2 Remake, Leon and Claire find themselves in some of the most oddly-designed locations ever. This is because these places are filled with unusual puzzles that no real architect would ever implement.

RELATED: Every Weapon In Resident Evil 2, Ranked

For example, while down in the sewers, you find a locked door that can only be opened by placing chess-piece-inspired plugs into six separate panels. And you can't just put them in randomly. Each plug has to go in a specific panel. So, it's a typical wacky Resident Evil puzzle. In fact, it's one of the more head-scratching ones in the game. As such, this is everything you need to know to complete it.

When you first reach the room with the chess puzzle, you won't have all the plugs required to complete it.

You need to continue on with your adventure to get them.

To reach the missing plugs, you need the T-Bar valve, which is sitting next to the cable car.

Both the King and Queen plugs are in the Supplies Storage Room. To get there, you must go through the Bottom Waterway, which you gain access to with the T-Bar Valve.

The Supplies Storage room is one big puzzle in its own right.

To start, go down the stairs, turn left, head through the opening, and turn left again to find the Queen Plug.

Once you do, the gate you entered will close. So, head the only way you can go.

You will find another panel close by, and you must insert the Queen Plug into it. This will open another gate.

Walk through it and go up the stairs where you will find the King Plug. Grab it and then drop down to the area below using the opening nearby.

When you're down there, run through the gate already opened by the Queen and look for another panel on the left.

Put the King Plug in it to gain access to a new weapon.

Then go back the way you came and pick up both the King and Queen Plugs on the way.

Return to where you originally acquired the Queen Plug and put it back there.

Then go through the gate it opens, and put the King Plug in the panel near the stairs where you originally entered.

Head through the gate opened by the King to go back around and grab the Queen. Following that, go back and get the King before heading back up the stairs to leave.

Thankfully, the Rook Plug is much easier to reach than the King and Queen ones. You simply need to reach the Workroom Lift with the help of the T-Bar Valve.

The lift will take you to the Workroom. Go through that room to find the Rook on the other side of it, plugged into a panel.

RELATED: Resident Evil 2 Remake: All Costumes Ranked And How To Get Them

The solution to this puzzle is different depending on whether you're on your first or second run. Here's how to solve them both:

If you can't tell which plug is which from looks alone, examine them in your inventory to find out their names.

The clue found on the notice board on the first run says:

"Pretty Sure The Rook And Knight Are On The Same Wall And The Bishop And Queen Aren't Next To Each Other. The Queen And Rook Were Opposite Each Other, Too."

The answer is:

The clue found on the notice board on the second run says:

"The Rook's Next To The Kinght, But Not Facing The Queen. The King Ain't Next To The Queen, But Facing The Knight, Right At The End, And The Knight Ain't Where The Case Marking Says."

The answer is:

NEXT: Resident Evil 2: Every Safe Room In The Game

Read more from the original source:

Resident Evil 2 Remake: How To Solve The Chess Puzzle - TheGamer

The interview was published on World ChessYouTube channel. Find below transcripts of three fragments, followed bythe embedded video.

On his reasons for retirement:

After playing the Candidates Tournament in 2018, where I really gave a lot on the chessboard and played a lot of exciting games, it was quite a performance. Actually, that was a turning point. After this tournament, I felt I had nothing left to give to chess. I dont know how to explain it, its a kind of feeling, that I felt empty after that. So I played a few more tournaments, and the feeling was still there and growing. [...] I stopped feeling that it was an important part of my life.

Master Class Vol.11: Vladimir Kramnik

This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors (Pelletier, Marin, Mller and Reeh) how to successfully organise your games strategically, consequently how to keep y

On playing against Kasparov, Anand and Carlsen:

Im very happy that I was part of Kasparovs generation, I played with Kasparov a lot. [...] And also, of course, Viswanathan Anand, who is also absolutely great maybe a little bit underestimated, but I consider from the pure talent [point of view], the most talented player in the last fifty years. And, then, also such a great player like Magnus Carlsen, who is also completely unique.

[...] Im not trying to be polite, but I dont consider myself of the same level. Im good, of course, very good, but Im not Kasparov, not Carlsen, and also by talent not Vishy Anand.

On Magnus Carlsen:

I fully understand what a great player, if we are talking about Magnus, is here. Maybe after fifty years or a hundred years he will be a god, you know, a god of chess, like now Morphy. When you live in this era, when you see him every day, then maybe you dont measure it. But I understand that this is a player whichis born once in a century. [...] He just changed chess. Chess is him in the last ten to fifteenyears. Chess is Magnus Carlsen.

The rest is here:

Kramnik on life after chess, young talents and Magnus Carlsen - ChessBase

Sports Reporter

SANSKAR Gaigore, with eight points, emerged champion of the All India Open Below 1600 FIDE Rating Chess Tournament which concluded at 7 Vacchan Hall in Wardhaman Nagar. The tournament was organised by Jai Sai Welfare Foundation.In the ninth and final round, 17th seed Gaigore drew with city-mate Sumedh Ramteke who was seeded 14th in the tournament. Nagpurs Mradul Yadav ended with eight points after he drew with Chhattisgarhs Yashsva Kanholkar, to take the second spot. Another Nagpurian second seed Nilay Kulkarni defeated Tamil Nadus NS Bhaskar to finish third. Gaigore won a glittering trophy and a cash purse of Rs 50,000 while Yadav collected Rs 35,000. Kulkarni got richer by Rs 21,000. Sushant Jumde was the tournament director while IA Bansod Swapnil was the chief arbiter and IA Chavan Deepak was his deputy. Prizes to the winners and top finishers were distributed by Pratik Parekh, Sushant Jumde, Nilesh Channwar, IA Swapnil Bansod and IA Deepak Chavhan.

Results Round 9: Sanskar Gaigore(8) drew with Sumedh Ramteke (7), Yashsva Anil Kanholkar (7) drew with Mradul Yadav ((7), Nilay Kulkarni 7 bt Bhaskar NS (6), Pavan C (7) drew with Kush Agarwal (7), Prateek Chandwani (7) bt Ayush Ramteke (6), Saket Atul Kumar (7) drew with Atharv Sadawarte (7), Suravarapu Jayanth (6) lost to Sagar G Shenoy (7), Aradhya Tikam (7) drew with Aryan Deogade (6), Gurudutt Goswami (7) bt Saikat Nath (6), Bhavik Chaudhary (6) lost to Devanshi Gawande (7). TOP TEN: Sanskar Gaigore, Mradul Yadav, Nilay Kulkarni, Yashsva Kanholkar, Sumedh Ramteke, Prateek Chandwani, Sagar Shenoy, Abhishek Mishra, Tikam Aradhya, Aahana Pachchigar.

View post:

Citys Gaigore wins all India chess crown - The Hitavada

1,251 players from 35 states competed in Round Rock, Texas near Austin to determine the nations top middle school chess players

ROUND ROCK, TEXAS: The 501(c)3 US Chess Federations 2023 National Middle School (K-8) Championship took place from April 21-April 23, 2023 at the Kalahari Resort in Round Rock, Texas. A total of 1,251 players from 35 states competed. This tournament was formerly known as the National Junior High School (K-9) Championship until becoming the National Middle School Championship in 2022.

The individual K-8 Co-Champion is:

Eric Liu at the start of the final round. Photo: Randy Anderson

Eric Liu with his championship medal.

In the team championships, the K-8 Champions are:

Image Caption

Millburn Middle School with their championship award. Photo by Randy Anderson

Many other winners in multiple sections below the championship section were also determined. These winners are properly identified as, Winner of the section at the National Middle School Championship. For a full list of winners, please see here: http://www.uschess.org/results/2023/ms/.

US Chess Executive Director Carol Meyer also notes, This year we were delighted to have Hamilton Chess from Novato, California attend as part of our Title I School Grant initiative. This program reflects US Chess goals and delivers on our mission toempower people, enrich lives, and enhance communities through chessas we bringchess to students who might not be able to access the game without this support. Our donors generosity underscores the chess communitys commitment to meeting the needs of students who come from underserved communities.

We will have a full round report posted tomorrow.

See the article here:

FLASH REPORT: Eric Liu of Frisco, Texas is the 2023 National ... - uschess.org

Charis Stuart of Eagles Academy put in an outstanding performance last week to become the Under 10 National Open Chess Champion when he finished first, winning all his six games.

In only his second event, Charis showed great determination and never wavered as he always kept his foot on the gas during the event. Taking the sole lead from the field by the end of the first day with three points, on day two Charis racked up consecutive victories against Nathan Cullpepper, Jaeda Herbert and Darren Toppin to ensure an emphatic victory.

Finishing in second on tie-break was Darren Toppin, third was Jacob Ratteray and fourth was Jerimiah Farley. All the players finished on a respectable four points from six.

Also finishing on four points was Jaeda Herbert. This allowed her to be crowned the Under 10 girls champion as the females had to play with the boys as they were undersubscribed. Second in the girls Under 10 was Amelia Mottley.

Sameera Jaikaran was the Under 8 girls champion on 2 points ahead of Daisha Rose Parris and Nia Snow Clarke in second and third respectively. (PR/KD)

Read our ePaper. Fast. Factual. Free.

Sign up and stay up to date with Barbados' FREE latest news.

The rest is here:

Stuart and Herbert are new Under 10 Chess Champions - Barbados Today

Gnosis Builders, developer of blockchain network Gnosis Chain, has announced a $5 million project to increase the number and diversity of validators through incentive mechanisms. The new project is called Gnosis VIP, according to an April 18 announcement from the company.

As part of the new project, Gnosis is launching a Geographic Diversity Program that seeks to increase the number of countries Gnosis Chain validators are located within.

The network currently has over 100,000 validators spread across 60 countries, and the programs goal is to increase the number of countries to 180 by years end, the announcement said.

According to the programs official webpage, for each of the 90 countries listed, the first ten validators that start operating within them will receive 388 meta Gnosis (worth $1,368.18 at April 12 prices) over the course of six months. Meta Gnosis (mGNO) is the wrapped and staked version of the networks native coin, Gnosis (GNO). Each mGNO can be redeemed for 1/32 GNO.

The first payment of 38 mGNO ($134) will be disbursed after the first 30 days the node operates. The size of the payment will increase each month, and the last payment at the end of the six months will be for 98 mGNO ($345.57).

Related: 1Inch network expands to Gnosis Chain and Avalanche

In an email statement to Cointelegraph, Gnosis CEO Martin Kppelmann expressed hope that the new program will help to improve both the security and performance of Gnosis Chain:

Debates often rage in the crypto community over which networks are the most decentralized, with many experts claiming that a network cannot be scalable, secure, and decentralized at the same time. This conflict in design philosophy is often called the blockchain trilemma.

In his email statement,Kppelmann emphasized that geographical diversity is only one aspect of decentralization, and others are also important to ensure resilience and security.

Read the original:

Gnosis Chain spends $5M on validator incentive program for decentralization - Cointelegraph

Decentralized trials (DCTs) are not a novel concept, but the disruption of nearly68 percent of clinical trials during the height of the pandemic led to more widespread interest in and adoption of hybrid and virtual trial models.Studies have shown that DCTs can lead to shorter development cycle times, lower clinical trial screen failure rates, and fewer protocol amendments. With wider DCT adoption, however, comes an increase in data sources (particularly external data sources), leading to a surge in data volume. Good data management is crucial to control this. From acquisition and analysis to data cleaning and statistical processes, data managers are the stewards responsible for guiding a modern data strategy amid the perfect storm of growing data complexity, digitization initiatives, and ever-increasing pressure to accelerate timelines.

In the past, data management was often siloed, focused on cleaning and querying listings of electronic data capture (EDC) data. However, non-EDC and external data sources now contribute significantly to overall data volume. The percentage of data coming from outside EDC continues to rise, while a rise in outsourced models has prompted the data management role to become more oversight focused.

As DCTs become more widely adopted and as the volume of disparate data continues to grow, data management processes will become even more complex. An Industry Standard Researchsurvey in 2019 revealed that 38 percent of pharma and contract research organizations anticipated DCTs to make up a large portion of their portfolios, and 48 percent expected trials to operate with the majority of activities taking place from the participants homes. When revisiting the same questions only one year later, all of the respondents anticipated decentralized trials would make up a significant portion of their research profiles.

Although remote participation is pleasing for patients, it results in even greater data source volume and variety, which is difficult for clinical trial teams to manage.Research from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development in 2019 found 75 percent of life sciences organizations still using SAS and Excel to integrate and analyze data. Over 80 percent of respondents reported data management activities as time consuming and labor intensive.

The same study also found that over two-thirds of clinical trial sponsors were using or piloting at least four types of data. The number of sources has nearly doubled since then and will continue to rise as DCT models are widely operationalized. A 40 percent increase in last patient, last visit (LPLV) to database lock cycle times for companies with five or more data sources was reported; the study concluded that contending with disparate data sources was contributing to longer database lock cycle times. In our services organization, trials frequently average eight or more data sources but many include over 15!

The trends that contributed to the Tufts study findings have only accelerated since the onset of the pandemic, which means one thing: data chaos. If the industry doesnt adopt new approaches, data management will only get more challenging.

Identifying and creating a data strategy roadmap in the midst of these growing pains can present a challenge, but it is essential, if you want your organization to be ready to face the future. The increased adoption of virtual and DCT approaches to clinical trials necessitates a balance between the use of advanced solutions that connect trials with a greater number of patients, and maintaining efficient, high-quality data review and analysis. Improving the overall patient experience is a motivating factor for DCTs, as is easing the burden of traveling to and from sponsor sites. The problem is that many organizations lack the infrastructure to accommodate the shift.

Operational leaders plagued by oversight and monitoring challenges in DCTs need methods to streamline and standardize data from increasingly non-traditional sources. However, there are now a number of data solutions available in the industry that can help. Below are just two examples of how companies are using data management platforms to help manage more external data streams.

With an increasing volume of external data streams, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) sought out a data management platform that would integrate with and support its current EDC platform, while also supporting data curation and aggregation. Implementing the platform streamlined clinical data flow, providing quicker access to clean data, streamlined data acquisition, and mapping and standardization all of which resulted in faster access to data by downstream teams. The platform alleviated pain points experienced with BMS previous infrastructure by compiling all data into a unified source, giving the company the ability to create cross-study analytics reports for deeper insights.

A second example:Karyopharm Therapeutics worked on randomized clinical trials with hospital patients suffering from severe COVID-19 it was the first study of an XP01 inhibitor in patients with viral infections. To support rapid data collection, cleaning, and review for this program, Karyopharm partnered with a data management platform, working closely to build a fully validated database to collect data from physicians and patients in just 15 days. This accelerated timeline enabled Karyopharm to meet the first patient milestone in its critical research initiative.

Cloud-based centralized data management platforms allow clinical trial teams to manage their data more efficiently, mitigate costs, minimize timeline delays, and improve cycle timelines. Put simply, cloud-based platforms modernize data infrastructure by compiling data sources into a unified source of truth. By implementing a cloud-based platform with expert data configuration, management, and statistical analysis, some companies have seen up to a50 percent decrease in cycle time was experienced from LPLV to database lock in 2021.

In short, the right data management tools facilitate data transformation, delivering consistent real-time updates and allowing researchers to analyze data faster and uncover insights needed for critical decision making. Moreover, identifying areas and opportunities to pivot earlier in the trial process can help prevent avoidable delays. To keep up with the evolving clinical trial landscape, companies must employ a modern strategy, which requires three core elements: an interoperable approach to DCTs and other non-traditional trial models, investment in resources to ease the data management burden, and the ability to generate meaningful insights from a good data platform.

Original post:

Pharma Clinical Trials: Decentralization and Digital Trends - The Medicine Maker