I would Like 14 Games in World Chess Championship Match: Magnus Carlsen

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

World Chess Championship goes off to Silicon Valley and wows fans and audience. In this delightful interview with technology entrepreneur Peter Thiel, Carlsen spoke about not liking playing chess with computers, enjoying a 14-game World Chess Championship, the importance of reading chess books, fitness and how he analysed games in a group while training.

'Top of the pops' was: Chess I think will never be fully solved by computers. We have so called tablebases of up to six pieces... but I don’t think tablebases with seven pieces will happen in our lifetime. And to get to 32 pieces, that’s probably never going to happen. But, I think at some point, we will probably have to start playing more rapid and Fischerandom chess where starting position is determined only right before the game. For now I think classical chess is excellent chess.


Speakers:
Magnus Carlsen, World Chess Champion

Moderator:
Peter Thiel, Technology entrepreneur and investor; Partner, Founders Fund; Co-founder, Mithril Capital Management

Be inspired by Magnus as he is interviewed by entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel, former US-rated Chess Master with a lifelong passion for chess. Topics covered are Magnus' views on the game, his experience winning the championship, and the role he believes chess can play in advancing young people's critical thinking, social skills, and ability to achieve academically. 

Prior to the onstage program, Magnus played in a six-board simultaneous chess demonstration. Participants entered in a drawing benefiting First Move, a dynamic non-profit organization that brings chess to second and third graders across the country—and the winner became one of the six brave players.

Program Partners:
Silicon Valley Bank
First Move

Gold Sponsor:
Silicon Valley Bank

Silver Sponsors:
Innovation Norway

The Mendell Family Foundation
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$1,000,000 Chess Match Challenge: Steigman vs Thiel

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

Steigman

This chess news actually puts the sport in the big league - figuratively speaking! A.J. Steigman is the chief executive of Soletron, a social e-commerce platform. Peter Thiel is a legendary venture capitalist and co-founder of PayPal. Both are internationally ranked chess players.
In perhaps the oddest investment strategy ever seen, Steigman has challenged Thiel to a chess match.

“If I win, Peter would invest a million dollars at a pretty decent valuation,” Steigman told VentureBeat. “If I lose, I would give up a chunk of equity to Peter.”

Soletron’s social commerce platform is similar to Etsy — the company finds up-and-coming designers and artists and gives them a place in which to showcase and sell their products. The company already has angel investments from a number of prominent investors but is seeking a first round of venture capital.

Soletron’s curious investment strategy has its roots in the fact that both Steigman and Thiel have been chess masters for many years. Thiel is currently ranked 919 in the US; Steigman is 456, so perhaps he has an edge.

But win or lose, Steigman expects charity to be a big beneficiary.

“My goal is that the event will be sponsored, and that revenue will go to charity,” he said.

In addition, Steigman says he wants to show entrepreneurs that “unconventional tactics can work” when seeking funding for a company.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com