Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala has exploded into the spotlight in the 2020/21 Bundesliga season.

Since making a two-minute debut on the penultimate day of last season, 18-year-old Musiala has gone on to establish himself as a member of Bayern's first-team under Hansi Flick, making 29 appearances across all competitions and scoring four goals - including a first in the UEFA Champions League, making him the club's youngest ever scorer in the competition.

Having only turned 18 in February of 2021, Musiala has spent most of his first season in the senior squad at the Allianz Arena as a 17-year-old. He's also now been called up by Germany head coach Joachim Lw for the first time, but playing amongst older players is something the Stuttgart-born playmaker has long been used to.

"I always had to deal with bigger and stronger opponents," Musiala told FCBayernTV. "In order to succeed, I had to find other solutions and learn how to use my physique in the right way. At school in England, I also played chess. There you have to be very proactive, always looking at what your opponent might do. I liked that."

Musiala spent most of his childhood in England, in fact, after his mother undertook a semester abroad when he was just seven. There, he honed his love for football while playing in the academies of both Southampton and Chelsea.

Despite being set to make his international debut for Germany at the end of March, Musiala very much sees himself as both English and German and his dreams - literally - support that claim.

Jamal Musiala (l.) has established himself as part of the first-team at Bayern Munich alongside the likes of Thomas Mller (r.). - Markus Ulmer/Ulmer/Pool

"I was once asked in which language I think and dream. Somehow it's both: English and German," Musiala said. "Both belong to me. I always spoke German with my mother at home. At the same time, I felt very comfortable in England, I made friends there, and I'm still in touch with many of them every day. We send each other messages and play on the Playstation. They're also happy for me, with how far I've come."

Speaking both English and German has also helped Musiala transition into Bayern's international first-team squad, with the likes of Alphonso Davies and Joshua Zirkzee - currently on loan at Parma - becoming close friends due to both their age and language skills.

But nothing can prepare you for your first training session with the current defending Bundesliga, DFB Cup and Champions League winners as Musiala explained when recalling his first time being called up for training with the senior squad.

Watch: Musiala and the Bundesliga's next generation

"The night before, I checked my alarm clock six or seven times to make sure I wouldn't oversleep," Musiala said. "I didn't sleep much either. When I got to the dressing room, no one was there because there was a meeting. I didn't dare sit down anywhere, in someone else's seat. I just stood around and waited - until Joshua Zirkzee came and helped me.

"I train every day to be ready for just a moment like that, also mentally. When I'm on the pitch, I just enjoy it, I want to have the ball and play. That's when I have a clear head and don't feel any pressure."

Read this article:
Musiala on playing chess and dreaming in English and German - Bundesliga

Peter Svidler and Patrick Leonard will team up to play chess and poker against a rival team consisting of Alexander Grischuk and Isaac Haxton. Patrick and Isaac are as famous in the poker world as Peter and Sasha are in the chess world! We're also launching a Freeroll Series that you can play, each Sunday of March and April, on partypoker.

On Wednesday, March 10 at 8 pm CET, Peter Svidler will give a streamed chess lesson to his partner Patrick Leonard and will receive a poker lesson in exchange.

8-time Russian Chess Champion Peter Svidler started to play poker in 2010 and used to play a lot, but has done so less in the last couple of years. He describes himself as a "bad regular"... which is exactly what a humble "good regular" would say!

Patrick used to be World n1 on the PocketFives rating and is part ofTeam partypoker.

The day after, on Thursday, March 11 at 8 pm CET, it will be the turn of Alexander Grischuk and Isaac Haxton to train each other in order to get ready for the Battle.

You might remember from my articleGreat minds: 10 players who excel at both chess and pokerthat World n6 Alexander Grischuk made 8 cashes in the last World Series of Poker, including a 6th place for $30k!

As good in poker as Sasha might be, he will probably have a thing or two to learn from his partner, the great Isaac Haxton.

Also part of Team partypoker, Isaac is n16 on the All-Time Money List with $28 million in earnings! He is regarded as one of the best Heads-Up specialists in the world... and that's exactly what they are going to play.

The Battle will take place on Friday, March 12 at 8 pm CET.Team Peter and Patrick will face Team Alexander and Isaac.

Here's a quick summary of the format:

If you want to know the details:

As exciting as watching the world's best players can be, nothing compares with playing yourself!

That is why we are launching the Battle of the Minds Freeroll Series that starts this Sunday, March 7.

The whole competition is entirely free and while there are no cash prizes, you can still win some nice prizes.

One freeroll each Sunday of March and April at 8 pm CET/CEST.

All the freerolls are 6-max No-Limit Holdem Tournaments - only the speed changes, alternating between Turbo and Hyper.

In each Freeroll you can win:

At the end of April, after 8 tournaments, the top 4 on the leaderboard will play a knockout Heads-Up tournament and compete for these prizes:

4th place

3rd place

2nd place

1st place

Let's answer a few questions you might have:

Is it really free?Yes, absolutely. There are no fees and no deposit is required.

Where does the competition take place?On partypoker.com

Who can participate?All adults over 18 years old, who are living in a country where partypoker.com operates. This includes: Russia, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Canada, Holland, LATAM

How to participate?Go to partypoker.com and register if you don't already have an account. In the lobby, find the tourney named Battle of the Minds Freeroll Series #1. A password is needed: Chessparty

We will publish the leaderboard soon after the end of the tournament. Good luck!

Originally posted here:
Battle of the Minds: 4 legends compete in chess and poker - chess24

THE First Andalucia Chess Tournament will be played live on the TuProfeDeAjedrez YouTube Channel on Saturday February 27.

Organised by Malaga City Council and the University of Malaga, in collaboration with the Malaga Chess Delegation Malaguea de Ajedrez, EVAD, Tuprofedeajedrez.com and the Luces Bookshop there will be three classes depending upon age and ability.

The classes are primary for boys and girls who have not yet graduated to secondary school, secondary for older school children and the third for university students of all ages.

Registration is free and there will be prizes for the first four players in each class and at the end of the tournament there will be a raffle of surprise gifts valued at more than 600 to be shared amongst the participants.

The General Tournament will start at 10am and will last 90 minutes with a knockout phase to decide the champion in each class.

All the information concerning this as well as registrations can be arranged by visiting the website http://www.tuprofedeajedrez.com.

Chess has become a very fashionable pastime following both the lockdown restrictions and the Netflix series The Queens Gambit which has proven so popular that a second series will be produced.

Thank you for taking the time to read this news article First Andalucia Chess Tournament to be played online.

See the original post here:
First Andalucia Chess Tournament to be played online - Euro Weekly News

Commentary YouTuber Kavos sat down with Dream for a dramatic interview following the mysterious content creators latest spat with John Swan.

The thirty-minute interview, which Kavos says is the first part of a two-part interview, addresses Dreams latest controversy with fellow content creator John Swan, wherein the former accused the latter of changing his Discord profile.

Although the two initially resolved the spat privately, when Dream brought the drama up in a subreddit, in which he alleged that Swan said sexual stuff and used the n-word while pretending to be him, John hit back and accused Dream of smearing him.

Swan has always maintained that his account was hacked by a child after he left his computer logged on, but Dream has remained sceptical. However, in his interview entitled Asking Dream VERY Tough Questions, Kavos interrogated the anonymous content creator over his belief that Swan mimicked him on Discord.

Claiming that Dreams belief it was Swan is ridiculous and crazy, and that his argument was based off bull**** points and grammar points, Kavos suggested that Dreams audience are naive and would believe anything the content creator said.

He also argues that people should wait to see what John Swan has to say about the drama before drawing any conclusions about the situation.

Dreams fans had a mixed response to Kavos pull-no-punches interview method. One Dream fan on YouTube praised the interview, saying:

Honestly, I respect Dream for being brave enough to go on interview with commentary channels, let alone Kavos of all channels. Kavos is a known Dream disbeliever so I respect the courage to come on and talk with him. And mad respect for Kavos for not pulling a single punch when asking his questions, he stuck to his opinion and didnt just sugar coat things when Dream would defend himself. Kavos was professional and was trying to truly get to the bottom of it all.

However, other fans were unimpressed by the interview, with one fan on YouTube accusing Kavos of attacking Dream at his weakest points.

Soon after the interview was uploaded, Dream fans uncovered a problematic Tweet Kavos made in 2016. Retweeting Kavos offensive Tweet, which uses the homophobic slur f****t, the fan said: Kavos is homophobic so dont support him!

In response to the allegations, Kavos accused Dream stans of making up a false narrative.I support everyone no matter what sexuality, he said in a Tweet. Ive never been homophobic and the use of one word five years ago doesnt make that true.

Claiming that fans only uncovered the Tweets because they were unhappy with his interview with Dream, Kavos said that he respects the Dream stans who arent throwing around false claims just because I got an interview with him.

Excerpt from:
How to watch PogChamps 3 Chess tournament with xQc, Pokimane, and more - Dexerto

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) As the city of Peorias primary election quickly approaches, WMBD is showcasing all of the candidates seeking a seat on the city council.

Aaron Chess, the youngest candidate in the race, is hoping to secure the spot representing District 1.

Ive grown up in the first district my whole life and Ive seen the good and Ive seen the bad, Chess said. I want to help bring change, help bring resources and help bring the jobs and opportunities that are needed in the community.

He said one of his focuses would be rebuilding the trust between the community and city hall.

I feel like the people have grown frustrated with the way things have been going thats why you see a lot of community members losing faith in local government and not wanting to vote in elections, Chess said.

Chess said his four main goals are investing in the youth, investing in infrastructure, public safety, and jobs and opportunity.

For our men and women who are unemployed at this time and have been unemployed for a very long time is my Buy the Block initiative, Chess said. This initiative is partnering with the trades union, is partnering with different businesses in the business community to help bring jobs and resources back to our community, revitalizing our vacant homes and vacant buildings and bringing that hope back to our community that we havent seen in a very long time.

He said he also wants to work on strengthening relationships with the community and public safety officials.

I spoke with members of the fire department, I spoke with a few police officers to bridge that gap between the community, Chess said. Making sure that were having those social events with the community where theyre able to know their officers instead of just knowing them on bad terms.

Link:
Aaron Chess, District 1 council candidate, wants to bring hope back to the district - CIProud.com