Hilfestellungen » Hooper has said if he gets to Brazil with the he

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The defending world champion is a 25-year-old Norwegian whos been named one of the worlds sexiest men.Magnus Carlsen is tops in an endurance sport that doesnt require him to move from his chair.Its called chess.Carlsen, the highest-rated player in chess history, again aims to win the World Chess Championship, the most eagerly awaited match in a generation, starting Friday in New York.Trying to wrest the title from Carlsen is the 26-year-old Ukrainian-born Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin.The prize purse of $1.1 million will be divided 60-40 between the men, who are treated like rock stars in their countries.Carlsen and Karjakin will play in a renovated building on the historic Manhattan waterfront, near Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge.The championship has returned to the United States for the first time in 21 years; the last one was in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.In the U.S., organizers face a challenge: how to popularize a sedentary sport with little visible action in a society where most fans favor dynamic sports like football, boxing, basketball and baseball.Still, chess has its fervent American fans, including Jay Z, Jude Law, Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Barack Obama.The International Olympic Committee recognizes the World Chess Federation, which governs championship-linked matches, as a sports entity. It requires not only brain acrobatics but also the physical stamina to sit as long as six hours at a time for three weeks.The board battle pits figures of medieval warriors, kings, queens, bishops and knights against each other in ever-changing plots as dramatic as the Game of Thrones.About 1 billion downloads have been tracked to apps offering electronic versions of the game, says Ilya Merenzon, the Moscow-based chief executive officer of Agon Ltd., which owns the marketing and commercial rights to the World Chess brand for the championships and the qualifying games leading up to it.There are an estimated 600 million players worldwide, Merenzon says.By contrast with the glitzy, high-tech championship, chess enthusiasts can be found playing in hundreds of New York outdoor public spaces, such as Central Park. Some of these urban street players are homeless.Karjakin was 12 when he became the youngest grandmaster, and Carlsen was a grandmaster at 13.When I was young, I was used to winning games in a very aggressive style, and I would attack all the time and I was used to my opponents cracking, Carlsen said. But when I got to the highest level, then people defended better, so now Im more pragmatic. Whatever risks I take, I try to control the game.Carlsen has cashed in through sponsorships, his own chess app and modeling for ads. He appeared in G-Star Raws Spring/Summer fashion ad campaign along with actress and model Lily Cole.He also was selected by Cosmopolitan magazine as one of the sexiest men of 2013. Since then, hes also been the worlds No. 1 player.All 600 seats for Fridays inaugural game were sold out, starting at $75 apiece. Two games are played on consecutive days, followed by a one-day break, for a total of 12 games.Tens of millions of fans are expected to follow live online, free of charge through the worldchess.com website and affiliate partners. In addition, $15 via Pay-Per-View buys the game in virtual reality, allowing fans to experience the game as if they were there by wearing special goggles.For years, chess seemed to be played in a bubble, far from mainstream media.But it never grew out of style in Carlsens Norway, where TV programs are pre-empted for important games.This week, New York will host the first championship with two grandmasters of the smartphone generation -- a battle of two of the finest minds on the planet, Merenzon says. Our goal is to make chess a pop culture event.---This story has been corrected to show the companys name is Agon, not Agony, and the company does not control the games, just the commercial rights to the brand name.Tim Locastro Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Arizona Diamondbacks Gear . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. https://www.cheapdiamondbacksjerseys.us/588l-matt-andriese-jersey-diamondbacks.html . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Luke Weaver Jersey . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. Chad Moeller Jersey . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year.DAKAR, Senegal -- Former British police officer Ben Hooper hopes to make history by swimming every mile of the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to South America. After more than three years of preparation, he set off on Sunday.The 38-year-old walked down a beach in Dakar and into the Atlantic Ocean, launching a swim for 1,635 nautical miles, or nearly 2,000 land miles (3,200 kilometers), from Senegal to Brazil.This is for my daughter, said Hooper, who filled a water bottle with sand to keep for the 8-year-old who he said inspired the swim. Its been a long time coming.Flanked by two boats and a crew of less than a dozen, Hooper aims to be the first person to swim every mile of the Atlantic Ocean from continent to continent, stepping on land again in March.He says he trained three years as he gathered a crew for the Big Blue, the main boat on which he will eat and sleep when he is not swimming for about eight hours each day through waters infested with sharks and jellyfish.Water has loomed large in his life.I nearly drowned when I was 5 in a swimming pool in Belgium, Hooper told The Associated Press. Ever since ... Ive had this affinity with water. It was the calmest Ive ever felt.Hooper said he had a bout of depression about 3 1/2 years ago and decided to turn his life around for his daughter. So he looked to water.Nobody had swum a full ocean. More people have landed on the moon than have tried this, so at that point I thought maybe this is my calling, said Hooper. If I can inspire myself, other people and raise mooney for charity, why not do it?Inspired by British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Hooper said he hopes to motivate others, especially children, to swim.ddddddddddddFunding for the expedition has taken time, and the launch was set back several times as various crew members dropped out and the boats faced mechanical issues.This will be a major achievement overall, said Nigel Taylor-Schofield, the captain of Big Blue. If anybody can accomplish this, it would be Ben. He is very determined.The crew, including a paramedic, will track the miles, and Hooper has said if he gets to Brazil with the help of currents, he will swim until he fulfills the full Atlantic mileage.The challenges, be it marine life, dehydration, and more, will be vast, but Hooper says his biggest fear is letting the team and his daughter down. Hell listen to a playlist on customized earphones that he said will include eurotrash music, Eminem and The Scripts Hall of Fame. Hooper will also wear various gear that helps camouflage him from sharks, and a tracking device so supporters can follow his nearly five-month swim online.Around 10:30 a.m. on the beach outside the Monaco Plage hotel in Dakar, Hooper and the crew were ready.See you in Brazil, he said, before eventually swimming off into the sunlit waters toward his goal.---http://www.swimthebigblue.com/--Follow Carley Petesch on Twitter at www.twitter.com/carleypetesch ' ' '