For millions of chess nerds like myself, who can push the pieces around the board and maybe occasionally see a sexy combination of moves - and yes they are sexy! - this is a massive week.
The FIDE World Chess Championship match is about to kick off in Singapore. This is as exciting as it is historic, being the first in 138 years to feature two contestants from Asia. Reigning World Champion Ding Liren from China and 18-year-old challenger Dommaraju Gukesh from India will face off for the ultimate honour in chess and a prize fund of US$2.5 million.
Maybe you’re wondering, “Hey what about that Norwegian guy … Magnus someone … isn’t he the best chess player in the world?” Ah, you’re thinking of Magnus Carlsen who - after a decade at the top and five successful defences of his title - retired unbeaten in World Championship matches because he was over the stress and strain of the months of preparation needed for this epic battle of the minds.
For those wanting details on how the games will be played, the match will be the best of 14 “classical” games. Each player will have 120 minutes for their first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds added to their clock for every move from move 41. If the score after 14 games is equal, tie-breaks will be played.
Who will win? Can Ding who shocked the world in 2022 find his form again after a shocking run of recent play? Or will Gukesh become the second-ever Indian world champ at the tender age of just 18 years? This would be four years younger than any previous world champion. Can he handle the immense pressure?
On 25 November at 5pm Singapore time (2pm AEDT), we will start to find out! Learn more here
I will be back next week with an update from the world of AI and tech - trust me, there have been some incredible drops of late.
Answer to last week's Knights and Knaves brainbuster
Thanks to everyone who had a crack at last week’s Knights and Knaves logic brainbuster! Congratulations to Timothy Jones and Kate Chappell who each won a copy of my Big Book of Numbers. Kate - I hope Benji LOVES his Christmas present.
For those who are wondering if they got the answer right, see below:
There are three possible combinations of islanders that the traveler meets - two knights, two knaves, or one of each.
The traveler asks, “Is either of you a knight?”
If they meet two knights - either knight would tell the truth and answer YES
If they meet two knaves - either knave would lie and answer YES
If they meet a knight and a knave - if they ask the knight, they will answer YES, but if they ask a knave they will answer NO.
So if the traveler hears the answer “Yes” there is no way to know who sits before them. It could be any of the three possibilities.
But if the answer they receive is “No”, they must have asked a Knave, who is sitting next to a Knight.
How cool is that!!!
That’s all from me for now. If you'd like more geeky fun, please check out my other newsletters below, or connect with me on LinkedIn and/or X.
Yours in nerdiness,
Adam
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