8+ mon, 2+ week ago (780+ words) Thursday, 13 Mar 2025 PARIS (Reuters) - Chess is getting ready to make its foray into Esports with teams recruiting top players ahead of this summer's Esports World Cup, hoping to attract new audiences as the game continues to grow in spectacular fashion. Sixteen players will compete for a $1.5 million prize pot in Riyadh from July 31-August 4 with world number one Magnus Carlsen and top streamer Hikaru Nakamura expected to be among the contenders. French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the 2021 blitz world champion, signed a one-year deal with European powerhouse Team Vitality, one of 10 Esports teams to feature at least a chess player in their roster. "I still prefer playing over-the-board chess as I've started playing like this although I quickly started playing online," Vachier-Lagrave told Reuters. "Online chess has started to grow around 2005, 2006 with chess.com and the lockdown also played a part…...

5+ mon, 3+ week ago (678+ words) Osterreicher says AI can provide data on aspects of football that humans cannot, such as acceleration, passing lanes, heat maps and zones of control. " Reuters PARIS: Sport has been unable to resist the surge of artificial intelligence and the biggest one of them all, football, is benefitting from data that AI can supply and the human eye cannot. Warsaw-based Re.Spo Vision, which says it is unique in gathering data by using AI, has two immediate goals "women's football and re-igniting Generation Z's interest in watching sports, their co-founder Pawel Osterreicher told AFP. The company "which numbers the South American football body CONMEBOL and their Central American counterparts CONCACAF among their clients"are able to capture data from matches from just a single camera angle. This makes gathering data much cheaper, as players do not need to wear any technology,…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago (558+ words) The rebuff delivered in a one-sentence decision by the Supreme Court means Google will soon have to start an overhaul of its Play Store for the apps running on the Android software that powers most smartphones that compete against Apple's iPhone in the US. " AP In a filing last month, Google told the US Supreme Court that Donato's order would expose the Play Store's more than 100 million US users to "enormous security and safety risks by enabling stores that stock malicious, deceptive, or pirated content to proliferate." Google also said it faced an Oct 22 deadline to begin complying with the judge's order if the Supreme Court didn't grant its request for a stay. The Mountain View, California, company was seeking the protection while pursuing a last-ditch attempt to overturn the'December 2023 jury verdict'that condemned the Play Store as an abusive monopoly....

1+ mon, 2+ week ago (409+ words) PARIS (Reuters) -The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has approved a new global competition set up by Norway Chess that will crown a "World Combined Champion" across three time formats " Fast Classic, Rapid and Blitz, organisers said on Wednesday. The tournament series, called the Total Chess World Championship Tour, will feature four events a year in cities around the world, with the overall winner taking the FIDE title. A one-off pilot event is scheduled for late 2026 before the full championship season begins in 2027. "We are looking for the total chess player " a versatile, tactically intelligent and technically skilled athlete who adapts to multiple time controls," Norway Chess CEO Kjell Madland said. "It will be a game-changer, both for the players and the fans." GAMES SHORTENED TO 45 MINUTES The Fast Classicformat shortens traditional games to 45 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move…...

6+ mon, 22+ hour ago (736+ words) Friday, 30 May 2025 Tournament participants battle it out at the Penang Skills Development Centre in Bayan Lepas. DRAWING the Q, X or Z tiles in a game of Scrabble is a blessing, if you are a maestro at it. These rare tiles can help you form words that rake in high scores in this generations-old game first created in 1938. To help you score seven-letter bingos, use special websites and apps to make your mind adept at playing with anagrams. These and many more tips came from Scrabble buffs at the Penang Open Scrabble Tournament here. Out of 465 participants, 200 made it into the grand finals in the primary and secondary school categories and the open category. "Of the rare tiles, my favourite is Z. It is a more versatile letter and you can make more words with it compared with others like Q…...

7+ mon, 1+ week ago (263+ words) WASHINGTON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge ruled Thursday that Google violated antitrust law by monopolizing the open-web digital advertising markets, marking another major setback for the tech giant in its antitrust litigation. Read full story Friday, 18 Apr 2025 WASHINGTON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge ruled Thursday that Google violated antitrust law by monopolizing the open-web digital advertising markets, marking another major setback for the tech giant in its antitrust litigation. According to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the company "harmed Google's publishing customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web." "This is a landmark victory in the ongoing fight to stop Google from monopolizing the digital public square," U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division said that Google's unlawful dominance…...

9+ mon, 1+ week ago (504+ words) KUALA LUMPUR: Three new companies have been appointed to provide motor vehicle inspection services following an open selection process, says Anthony Loke. The Transport Minister said that the appointments were made transparently to ensure the integrity of these companies. Addressing concerns about the experience of new entrants, Loke clarified that one of the selected companies, despite being newly established for this application, has a solid financial foundation. "Yes, this company is only eight months old, but it was specifically set up as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for this application. What's important is that it has RM20mill in paid-up capital and is backed by an existing business. "This is not a RM2 shell company; it has the necessary financial resources. Furthermore, this company is fully Bumiputera-owned, with all three directors being Bumiputera entrepreneurs capable of running a vehicle inspection operation," he explained....

5+ mon, 2+ week ago (570+ words) MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's antitrust watchdog is set to rule by next week on whether Google built an illegal monopoly in digital advertising in the country, a decision that could fine the tech giant 8% of its annual Mexican revenue, public documents show. Although Google does not release detailed revenue results by country, the potential fine could be among the largest ever imposed by Mexico's Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece). Cofece and Google declined to comment. The watchdog expects to make a decision by June 17, according to its own published timeline. Under Mexican law, 8% of annual revenue is the maximum fine for monopolistic practices. Cofece accuses the company of establishing an effective monopoly in the Mexican digital advertising market. It began its investigation into Google Mexico in 2020 and issued a summons in 2023, beginning the trial phase of the procedure. Google then…...

2+ mon, 3+ week ago (407+ words) Wednesday, 03 Sep 2025 (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google must share data with rivals to open up competition in online search, a judge in Washington ruled on Tuesday, while rejecting prosecutors' bid to make the internet giant sell off its popular Chrome browser and Android operating system. Google CEO Sundar Pichai expressed concerns at trial in the case in April that the data-sharing measures sought by the U.S. Department of Justice could enable Google's rivals to reverse-engineer its technology. Google has said previously that it plans to file an appeal, which means it could take years before the company is required to act on the ruling. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta also barred Google from entering into exclusive agreements that would prohibit device makers from preinstalling rival products on new devices. Google had argued that loosening its agreements with device makers, browser developers and mobile network…...

7+ mon, 2+ week ago (316+ words) PARIS (Reuters) -World number one Magnus Carlsen underlined his status as one of chess' most versatile and dominant figures, clinching victory at the inaugural Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam. Read full story Tuesday, 15 Apr 2025 Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen reacts ahead of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour in Paris, France, April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS (Reuters) -World number one Magnus Carlsen underlined his status as one of chess' most versatile and dominant figures, clinching victory at the inaugural Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam. The Norwegian Grandmaster once again demonstrated his adaptability by mastering yet another format in the evolving landscape of the game. The Freestyle Grand Slam format, which blends elements of classical, rapid, and Chess960 into a single tournament, has quickly gained traction among top players and fans for its unpredictability and creative demands. Carlsen, 34, embraced the challenge with characteristic…...