We're excited to announce that members can now use the Torch chess engine on our Analysis page. Torch is a new engine developed by the Chess.com team that has quickly risen to the top of the chess engine rankings. Developed in less than eight months, Torch has taken the number two spot from Leela, edging out wins in the CCC bullet and blitz championships, only losing in the CCC rapid event.

Torch has sparked a renewed interest in the competitive nature of computer chess. The engine's performance lit a fire under the heels of developers all over the globe who contribute to projects like Stockfish and Leela, which power most chess products today.

Below, you can see IM Levy Rozman's video about one of Torch's recent wins against Leela, Komodo, Ethereal, and Stockfish:

You can also enjoy a video of GM Hikaru Nakamura playing against Torch:

To use Torch, go to Analysis, click the cog icon at the top right of the chessboard, and then select Torch on the dropdown Chess Engine menu. You can choose between a lighter and much faster option that uses a miniature neural network or the more robust full version.

NOTE: Some versions of Torch use Neural Networks partially trained on data published by the Leela Chess Zero team, licensed under the Open Database License (ODbL), located on the Leela Chess Website.

Go to our Analysis page to give the new chess engine Torch a try, and let us know what you think in the comment section below!

Originally posted here:

Enlighten Your Analysis With Torch, The New Top Engine Now Available On Chess.com - Chess.com

The 2024 Chess Olympiad is set to be held in September this year in Budapest, Hungary. Gukesh Dommaraju will be leading the Indian contingent at the event alongside the talented Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu.

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The Olympiad will serve as a great rehearsal for Gukesh before he champions the FIDE World Champion, Ding Liren in November this year. Gukesh won the FIDE Candidates tournament earlier in April this year, earning himself a title shot against Chinas Liren.

Gukesh became the youngest player to win a Candidates tournament. The 18-year-old won the prestigious tournament in Toronto in April.

Apart from Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, Grand Masters Arjun Erigaisi, Vidith Gujrathi and Harikrishna Pentala will be representing the tri-colour in Budapest in the mens department.

When it comes to the womens department, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Harika Dronavalli and Tania Sachdev will be the Indian representatives at the 2024 Chess Olympiad.

The 2024 Chess Olympiad will start on Tuesday, September 10 in Budapest, Hungary. The tournament will last for a total of 14 days, up until Monday, September 23.

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Chess Olympiad 2024: Gukesh Dommaraju to spearhead Indian challenge - Sporting News

Playing chess helps combat social isolation and promotes brain health. Connect with AARP New York as we present Beyond the Basics of Chess, a 4-part virtual series with National Master, John Michael Silvederio.

AARP members and guests will be guided through the complex and exciting game of chess, with lessons designed to help participants build new chess skills in an easy-to-follow format.

Sign up to gain new skills to help level up your chess game!

*All virtual sessions are Mondays from 6 7 p.m.

Monday, August 5, 2024 | Part 1: Checkmate Patterns Register: https://events.aarp.org/chess1

Monday, August 12, 2024 | Part 2: Defending Against Mate Register: https://events.aarp.org/chess2

Monday, August 19, 2024 | Part 3: Tactics (1) Register: https://events.aarp.org/chess3

Monday, August 26, 2024 | Part 4: Tactics (2) Register: https://events.aarp.org/chess4

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Level Up! Go Beyond the Basics of Chess - AARP States

IM Aksel Bu Kvaloy is Norway's new national champion, copying the feat of GMs Simen Agdestein and Magnus Carlsen by winning the title at age 15.

The Norwegian Championship took place from June 28 to July 5 in the mountain resort of Gol, drawing 514 players across 17 sections. The Elite group had 18 players, of whom six were GMs, eight IMs, and four FMs.

In the spotlight was the 15-year-old seventh seed Kvaloy, who maintained his lead from the start, finishing on an undefeated 6.5/9. He drew his final four games, eventually edging out GM Frode Urkedal on tiebreak points. IM Tor Fredrik Kaasen took third place with 5.5 points.

2024 Norwegian Championship Final Standings

In 1982, Agdestein became the youngest-ever Norwegian Champion at 15 years and seven months, a record that still stands 42 years later. Carlsen was two months older when he took his first and only title in 2006 and hasn't played since. Kvaloy, who turns 16 next month, has now joined the greats to become the third player in history to achieve the title at 15.

"It hasn't quite sunk in yet. To be in the same category as them is really nice," he told Aftenposten. When asked about his motivation for the future, he said: "I just want to have fun and perform in something I enjoy."

I just want to have fun and perform in something I enjoy.

Aksel Bu Kvaloy

Admittedly, this year's Norwegian Championship wasn't the strongest, with the country's top-three ranked players all missing. Norway's new number-two GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen and two-time champion GM Aryan Tari both prioritized events abroad. In addition, fifth-ranked Agdestein, who won his ninth title last year, was unable to defend his title as he has been competing in 'Mesternes Mester,' an immensely popular Norwegian reality show for former sports stars.

Kvaloy's four wins, all in the first five rounds, secured him a one-point lead. His win in round two was particularly crushing, as he gradually built up a strong attack on the kingside until White was defenseless against the threats.

Kvaloy needed only a draw with White against GM Lars Oskar Hauge in the final round to secure his second GM norm and at least shared first place, but he played aggressively from the opening and achieved an excellent position before offering a draw anyway.

Urkedal, thanks to a win against IM Semen Mitusov, caught up with Kvaloy and also finished on 6.5 points. The first and second tiebreak criteria were equal, but Kvaloy edged ahead on the third tiebreak criterion, the Buchholz score, thanks to a win by 14-year-old FM Havard Haug over GM Torbjorn Hansen.

Kvaloy hails from Norway's West coast city Stavanger and doesn't come from a chess family. His father is Ola Kvaloy, a well-known Norwegian professor in economics, and a vocalist in the local rock band Lano Places. He learned the rules at the age of four thanks to a chess set he found at his grandfather's place, and by watching YouTube videos of NRK's regular chess commentator IM Torstein Bae on his iPad.

He made headlines as a seven-year-old when he became the youngest-ever Under 11 champion in 2016. The following year he became the youngest Norwegian to defeat a titled player.

He completed his IM title before his 15th birthday last year and, with two GM norms and just 15 points shy of the 2500 rating requirement, is a hot candidate to become Norway's 19th grandmaster. Norway's other hot prospect is 19-year-old GM Elham Amar, who completed his title last year.

In an interview with local newspaper Stavanger Aftenblad, Kvaloy said he plans to focus on his chess career for the next few years: "I want to put some effort in to see how strong I can become. A decision on a profession and future career is currently a plan B."

I want to put some effort in to see how strong I can become. A decision on a profession and future career, is currently a plan B.

Kvaloy will get a chance to secure his final norm at the Paleochora Open in Greece, starting July 20.

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15-year-old Follows In Footsteps Of Carlsen, Agdestein To Win Norwegian Title - Chess.com

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International Chess Day makes its move at the Richmond Public Library - Richmond Standard

Junior chess is becoming more pronounced in Guyana with the hosting of a fair number of tournaments recently. Last week Moo Milk sponsored the qualifiers for the National Junior Championship and Queens College student Kyle Couchman won.

Nine players qualified to compete in the National Junior Championship, which will begin shortly. The players will be joined by the 2023 National Junior Champion Keron Sandiford making the figure a round ten.

It will be interesting to observe whether Couchman can take down Sandiford, the likes of Sachin Pitamber, Ricardo Narine, Aditi Joshi, Alexander Zhang, and others and win the championship.

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Interesting moves in junior chess - Stabroek News

FM Faustino Oro, dubbed the 'Messi of Chess,' has created a media frenzy in his native Argentina by setting a prestigious new world record. This week he followed up by beating none other than GM Hikaru Nakamura twice.

Oro achieved his final norm and completed all requirements for the international master (IM) title in Barcelona last week, becoming the youngest in chess history to do so at 10 years, eight months, and 16 days. The extraordinary achievement was met with celebrations and praise, yet Oro remained remarkably composed, taking selfies with fans, signing autographs, and playing blitz games.

In an interview with Chess.com, the 10-year-old shared his excitement: "I feel very happy because it doesn't happen every day. In addition, I broke the world record held by Mishra, so I'm very happy to surpass it and have the title."

He admitted feeling nervous during the final round against IM Fernando Valenzuela Gomez, when he needed a draw to secure the title: "Yes, I suffered, I suffered, but I managed to hold on in a difficult position and win the title."

Asked about the significance of having such a record, he said: "Yes, I wanted to achieve it. It's not that records are so important, but it's nice to have one. I can always say that I'm the youngest."

It's not that records are so important, but it's nice to have one. I can always say that I'm the youngest.

Faustino Oro

This week the IM-elect returned to Chess.com, as he beat world number-two Nakamura in blitz. Twice. "The #1 prodigy in the world right now," IM Levy Rozman/GothamChess noted, while sharing this clip from Oro's stream. The celebration at the end is a must-watch.

The full-time streamer and content-creator went through some of their games in this video.

Back home in Argentina, the 'Messi of Chess' has clearly captured the attention of the people, with mainstream newspapers extensively covering his journey. The 10-year-old has been featured in some of the nation's biggest newspapers, side-by-side with the national heroes currently fighting for a title in the Copa America.

The recognition reached another peak when Argentina's president Javier Milei praised Oro to his three million X/Twitter followers, calling him 'a pride for all Argentinians."

Former President Mauricio Macri said "You are a boss who fills us with pride," while Daniel Scioli, Argentina's Minister of Tourism and Sports, emphasized the broader significance of Oro's success:

"Chess is a symbol of discipline, strategy, enduring pressure, planning, and managing time, thinking about the next moves. As someone passionate about this discipline and being the Secretary in charge of Tourism and Sports, I know it is a source of pride for our country."

Carlos Ilardo, a journalist from one of Argentina's biggest papers InfoBae, is likely the journalist who has followed Oro most closely over the last two years.

"Since Faustino achieved his second norm at the Continental in Colombia, they havent stopped asking me for articles about him. According to my bosses, the boy has a huge following. People want to know more about him," he told Chess.com.

He noted that while chess lags behind football and tennis in terms of popularity, Argentina has a rich chess culture dating back to Jose Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine's World Championship match in 1927, Chess Olympiads in Buenos Aires in 1939 and 1978, and the Argentina vs. USSR match in 1954.

"Since the news broke on Sunday morning, it had more space, and various newspapers even mentioned it or featured a photo on the front page."

Ilardo doesn't remember any chess-related news with such significance in the country since Garry Kasparov's first visit to the country to play the Argentine Olympiad team in 1992. "It's perhaps similar to the Kasparov vs. Deep Blue rematch in 1997."

He added: "There was a general buzz and excitement within the Argentine chess community. Personally, even friends who don't know how to play chess called or sent me messages congratulating me or asking about the importance of Faustinos achievement."

Even friends who don't know how to play chess called or sent me messages congratulating me or asking about the importance of Faustinos achievement.

Carlos Ilardo, Argentinian journalist

He noted that the parents have taken a cautious approach in terms of media exposure, similar to how GM Magnus Carlsen's parents dealt with the attention at the time.

"I understand Faustinos parents position; they are very concerned about the childs media exposure, but perhaps if they had allowed some interviews on channels, radio, blogs, or newspapers here, the impact would have been even greater," Ilardo said.

Spanish journalist Federico Marin Bellon writes for El Mundo and runs the chess news website Damas y Reyes, where he noted that 'Faustimania is unleashed' in a recent story. He has covered Oro extensively, for Chess.com as well, and expained the young prodigy's growing popularity in his new home country Spain.

"Faustino Oro has what it takes to be an idol. I have been to several tournaments with him, three of them in Spain, and I have seen his charisma grow at the same pace as his level of play. He gets more and more requests for photos and autographs and is always attentive to the fans," he told Chess.com.

Faustino Oro has what it takes to be an idol.

Federico Marin, Spanish journalist

"He's not thrilled with all the attention, but he's very professional about it. His mother tells him to look up to GM Pepe Cuenca, who is one of his idols, and he is very disciplined."

Marin also noted that Oro's surprising personality has contributed to his popularity: "Faustino has nothing to do with the cliche of the shy, introverted child. He can even be very funny. In Madrid, he won everyone over by playing quick games and even practising trash-talking before the awards ceremony. He is also very cheerful and assertive in interviews, not just saying platitudes to make a good impression."

In the interview with Chess.com, 'Fausti' mentioned his recent milestone of becoming the youngest to surpass 3000 in blitz. "Playing improves your game. What doesn't help you improve is the speed. I mean, it's too fast. Sometimes you have to play quickly; it doesnt matter so much the position, sometimes if you have ten seconds you have to play, sometimes with the mouse too."

Oro now has a total of five coaches, thanks to an anonymous group of Argentinian businessmen covering all expenses for training, travel and accommodation. His aspirations are as high as they come, targetting the biggest title in chess. "I would like to become world champion. I always say it, but its very long-term. But I would like it."

I would like to become world champion.

Faustino Oro

Meanwhile, Faustino's father, Alejandro Oro, offered a grounded perspective on his son's talent: Fausti is a bright child, but he doesnt stand out in everything he does; hes not gifted. For example, he has a hard time learning English. He doesnt read much, not even chess books. He simply has a prodigious ability to play chess," he told InfoBae.

In September, Oro will start school in Badalona, Spain, where he has moved with his parents. He doesn't turn 11 until October.

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How the 'Messi of Chess' Is Creating 'Faustimania' In Argentina - Chess.com

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Chess.com announced today that it is partnering with CrunchLabs on the CrunchLabs Masters tour, the next leg of its Champions Chess Tour (CCT), which will run from July 17-24. As part of the CrunchLabs Masters, chess pros will compete for a $300,000 prize pool, with winners also having a chance to compete in the CCT finals. Some of the competitors include Magnus Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja, Wesley So and Maxime Vachier Lagrave.

As part of the event, CrunchLabs and Chess.com are also unveiling a bot based on the formers head nerd, YouTuber Mark Rober. The RoberBot is designed to help burgeoning chess players improve their game, according to CrunchLabs. Fans can play against RoberBot while also receiving personalized quotes from Rober. CrunchLabs is also offering a limited-time discount to Chess.com fans who sign up for its subscription boxes.

Rober said in a statement, Its been awesome working with Erik and the Chess.com team and seeing how these Chess Masters dominate the game. The CrunchLabs formula is meant to get people stoked about science while having tons of fun. Similarly, Chess.com brings even more engagement and excitement to the game of chess and allows people to have a good time while learning more about the intricate sport. We cant wait to see who comes out on top at The CrunchLabs Masters.

Erik Allebest, CEO of Chess.com, said of the collaboration, Im a huge fan of both Mark Rober and CrunchLabs, my son and I have spent many years assembling science projects in a box and it has been incredibly bonding. Ive been to the CrunchLabs offices and seen the passion driving their team and the ingenuity they bring to their projects, which we then get to enjoy at home. Were thrilled to be collaborating with the CrunchLabs team.

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Chess.com partners with CrunchLabs on Masters tour and Mark Rober Bot - VentureBeat

Be Someone works around the country to help kids in underserved communities get and stay on the right path, away from a life of violence and crime.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Life is kind of like a game of chess.

The lesson is make good moves," Orrin Checkmate Hudson, a former state trooper and Air Force veteran, said. "If you make good moves you make good results.

Hudson is the Founder and CEO of Be Someone, a nonprofit based out of Stone Mountain, Georgia. Be Someone works around the country to help kids in underserved communities get and stay on the right path, away from a life of violence and crime.

You can make one move in life and not recover. You pull a gun on someone, you cant recover from that, Hudson said. So, you have to think things through. Is this true? Is this honest or is this the best move I can make?

He is doing it all with a board game, building confidence, self-esteem, problem-solving skills and discipline.

Hudson's passion to help comes from the setbacks he has personally experienced. With the right support and a board game of chess, he learned to make every move matter.

Its about what can I do to change a mindset, the skillset, the toolset, Hudson said. Giving kids the tools they need so they can outthink the competition and finish on top.

Hudson knows firsthand the power of having the right support and mentors around.

I didnt know any better. I was a gang member in my teens, following the followers. My teacher said Im going to teach you how to think for yourself, Hudson said. Im going to teach you how to make good decisions.

Hudson is spreading his method, as CMPD is working to combat a crime trend in Charlotte following aseries of deadly shootingsin a span of 48 hours. The agency is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Its a trend Hudson said he wants to see turn around.

For Hudson, its about meeting kids where they are and connecting them with the resources they need and building them up.

I tell them, 'Im you. I was just like you and making bad choices. I was doing things that were crazy,' Hudson said. And a teacher taught me how to think for myself and make sure what I do is a product of my own conclusion."

Hudson said it's important to help young people find a purpose so they can use their most powerful weapons, their minds, and grow to be positive members of society.

The key is involvement, Hudson said. Coming up with positive programs and teaching children that there is a better way.

To curb this rise in gun violence, he said communities need all hands on deck: the parents, the kids, the police, businesses, and essentially the community as a whole working together. Young people need support, love and someone to pour into them, setting them up for a checkmate in life.

Hudson will be in Charlotte through the weekend at thePower Networking Conference at the Charlotte Convention Center.

WCNC Charlotte is committed to reporting on the many issues facing the communities we serve. We tell the stories of people working to solve persistent social problems. We examine how problems can be solved or addressed to improve the quality of life and make a positive difference. WCNC Charlotte is seeking solutions for you. Send your tips or questions to newstips@wcnc.com.

Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.

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Nonprofit working to combat crime like a game of chess and set kids up for a checkmate in life - WCNC.com

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This camp at Mississippi Children's Museum teaches kids the strategies of a classic game - Clarion Ledger