{"id":1593,"date":"2021-03-09T13:11:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T13:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pmgcorporate.chessable.net\/?p=1593"},"modified":"2022-06-17T13:32:14","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T12:32:14","slug":"\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/world-chess-champion-magnus-carlsen-partners-with-breakthrough-initiatives-and-breakthrough-junior-challenge","status":"\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/publish","type":"\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/post","link":"\/world-chess-champion-magnus-carlsen-partners-with-breakthrough-initiatives-and-breakthrough-junior-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen Partners with Breakthrough Initiatives and Breakthrough Junior Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/

Magnus Carlsen has partnered with the Breakthrough Initiatives and Breakthrough Junior Challenge for his upcoming tournament, the \u2018Magnus Carlsen Invitational.\u2019 The partnership seeks to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first human flight to space.<\/p>____

One year ago, Magnus Carlsen created the \u2018Magnus Carlsen Invitational<\/strong>\u2019 tournament which brought professional chess online for the first time. The tournament helped spark an online chess renaissance and became the first event of a series of online tournaments now known as the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Repeating its success, this year\u2019s Magnus Carlsen Invitational tournament in March partners with the philanthropic Breakthrough Initiatives and Breakthrough Junior Challenge.<\/p>____

Breakthrough Initiatives is a suite of space science programs investigating the big questions of life in the Universe, such as whether primitive cellular life exists on nearby planets, whether there are other intelligent life-forms beyond Earth, and how far human civilization can voyage into space. The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global science video competition primarily for high-school students. Both projects were founded by tech and science investor and philanthropist Yuri Milner and his wife Julia and funded by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation.<\/p>____

The partnership is testament to the renewed popularity of chess, attracting interest from some of the biggest names in the tech industry.<\/p>____

Innovation and technology have made chess more accessible, and its popularity has skyrocketed in the last year due to a combination of Magnus Carlsen and other top chess players competing regularly online in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour; increased cultural interest stemming from the Netflix series \u2018The Queen\u2019s Gambit\u2019; and chess booming in popularity with Twitch streamers.<\/p>____

\u201cThe Breakthrough Prize Foundation is simply a great non-profit. I’ve been involved with the Breakthrough Initiatives from the start and am always curious and fascinated by their efforts in exploring life in the universe. With this partnership, I hope the best chess players in the world can come together and bring more awareness to the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, which inspires students from around the world to explore their favorite scientific theories,\u201d says World Champion Magnus Carlsen. <\/p>____

\u201cThis partnership is a step change for chess and will help bring the sport to a larger audience. The chess world, the tech industry, and space exploration have a long history of intersecting with each other, and for us to now get the opportunity to partner with some of the greatest minds in the tech industry, using the game we love to promote space science is the culmination of many years of shared history,\u201d says Andreas Thome, CEO of Play Magnus Group.<\/p>____

\u201cMagnus, with his incredible mind and accomplishments, is an inspiration not only to chess players but to millions of young people with curiosity about deep ideas,\u201d said Julia Milner. \u201cWe hope that his support for the Breakthrough Junior Challenge will also inspire them to take part this year.\u201d<\/p>____

Magnus Carlsen and the Milners have known each other for years, and Carlsen has been inspired by their interest in space. Five years ago, Carlsen was one of the co-signers of Breakthrough\u2019s space initiative\u2019s open letter, urging an investigation of intelligence in space. Drawing parallels between space and chess, Carlsen says:<\/p>____

\u201cJust like space, chess is infinite. In fact, there are more potential moves in chess than atoms in the universe\u201d.<\/p>____

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