PUBLISHED: 11:26 20 May 2020 | UPDATED: 11:26 20 May 2020

Jacob Savill

The COVID Chess Challenge is open to all ages and abilities. Picture: Stevenage Rotary Grange

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The COVID Chess Challenge will be launching later this month, and anyone is free to join, of all ages and abilities.

Club President Ian Begg said: Chess offers a great contribution to mental wellbeing. It enables people, young and old, to maintain and forge new friendships during the lockdown. Undertaken safely online, chess has no boundaries of age, race, or ability.

The challenge takes place on a website called Lichess. It is free, and requires only a quick sign up before joining the Stevenage Grange Chess Club.

The clubs first tournament will be called The Bob Fowler challenge, in memory of the former mayor and renowned chess player who sadly passed away with COVID-19 last month.

If you would like to join, go to the clubs private Facebook group Grange Chess Club, or contact Rotarian James Corrigan at james@sgrc.org.uk.

If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the Comet. Click the link in the yellow box below for details.

More:

How do I join the Stevenage COVID Chess Challenge? - The Comet

There's more news about GMHikaru Nakamura this week, as the American grandmaster won the May 12 edition ofTitled Tuesdaywith 9.5/10, finishing ahead of the Iranian prodigy Alireza Firouzjaand 1,083 other participants.

The next Titled Tuesday will be played on May 19 at 10 a.m. Pacific / 19:00 Central Europe.

Nakamura almost never skips Titled Tuesday. Besides, among many other participants, in recent months he invariably streams his play on his channel as well. The question of whether this streaming is affecting his chess is an old one and related to Nakamura's drop in Elohe is now the world number-18 at 2736 and 80 points below his all-time peak.

Yesterday @Hikaru showed that he's capable of playing online chess to his own high standards while commenting on it. He won the tournament alone with 9.5/10, the same score as the last time he won, on June 4, 2019. It was the 10th time he has won Titled Tuesday, which is a record.

He dropped half a point in the third round in a long game with Indian GM @VishnuPrasanna. He was winning out of the opening, then even more, but somehow Vishnu came back and was even briefly winning himself. In a completely level endgame, Nakamura tried for a bit, but the draw was inevitable.

But that was it. The night belonged to Nakamura as he won the next seven games in a row to reach 9.5/10, which nobody else managed. Here's his last-round game againstGM @Oleksandr_Bortnyk, a blitz specialist who won Titled Tuesday with a perfect 9/9 on October 4, 2016.

The fans were also thrilled about the participation of Firouzja, who had been absent for a while. The Iranian prodigy suffered an early loss in round three but was still playing for the marbles in the final round after six straight wins. His faced Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (@Azerichess), who blundered a full piece in an equal endgame:

Nakamura wonthe $750 first prize for finishing clear first with 9.5/10. He also got the Chess.com streamers' prize of $100 that was given as 20 gifted subs to his channel.

Firouzja shared the second place only with GM Le Quang Liem (@LiemLe); both earned $275. A group of 10 players got their $10 share of the $100 fourth prize.GM @KaterynaLagno won the $100 prize for the best female player.

May 12, 2020 Titled Tuesday | Final Standings (Players on 8.5 or more)

(Full final standings here.)

See also:

Original post:

Nakamura Streams, Wins Titled Tuesday Ahead Of Firouzja - Chess.com

IM-elect Carissa Yip, Photo Lennart Ootes

Carissa Yip

Carissa Yip (photo Ootes)

Podcast (ladies-knight):Apple Podcasts|Play in new window|Download|Subscribe by Email

Jennifer Shahade talks to 16-year-old International Master Carissa Yip on the newest episode of Ladies Knight. The popular two-time US Junior Girls Champ is a serial record breaker- the youngest female to defeat a GM at the age of ten, and the youngest American female in history to become an International Master.

Jennifer and Carissa talk about her recent streaming activity on twitch.tv/carissayip, where shes quickly amassed a strong following. They also talk about Yips charitable initiative, Chess for COVID-19 and her recent charity event for COVID-19 relief, that featured heavy hitters like Jeffery Xiong and Ray Robson, as well as eventual winner Josh Friedel.

Carissa gives tips for people of all ages looking to improve, from her favorite books to how to break through a tactical plateau. She also talks about her hobbies outside chess, from baking to TikTok. She reminisces about two of her most memorable victories, over Grandmasters Dariusz Swiercz and World Womens Champion Ju Wenjun.

[Event "US Masters 2019"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.08.23"] [White "Swiercz, Darius"] [Black "Yip, Carissa"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E70"] [WhiteElo "2670"] [BlackElo "2300"] [Annotator "yip"] [PlyCount "178"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5. Bd3 d6 6. Nge2 c6 7. O-O e5 8. d5 Nbd7 9. Bc2 cxd5 10. cxd5 a6 11. a4 a5 12. Bg5 Nc5 13. h3 Bd7 14. Rb1 Qb6 15. Be3 Rfc8 16. Nc1 Qd8 17. Qd2 Qe8 18. Ra1 b5 19. axb5 Bxb5 20. N1e2 Bc4 21. Ra3 Qd8 22. Rfa1 Rab8 23. Rxa5 Rxb2 24. Bxc5 Rxc5 25. Rxc5 dxc5 26. Qc1 Rb4 27. Qe3 Bf8 28. Bd3 Bxd3 29. Qxd3 c4 30. Qe3 Nd7 31. Qa7 Nc5 32. Qa8 Rb8 33. Qa5 Qc8 34. Qa7 Nd3 35. Kh2 Bc5 36. Qa4 Nxf2 37. Qxc4 Rb4 38. Qa6 Qxa6 39. Rxa6 Nxe4 40. Rc6 Bf8 41. g4 Nxc3 42. Nxc3 Rd4 43. Rc8 Kg7 44. Rd8 Rd2+ 45. Kg1 Rd3 46. Ne4 Re3 47. Nf2 Bc5 48. Rc8 Rg3+ 49. Kf1 Bxf2 50. Kxf2 Rxh3 51. Ke2 e4 52. d6 Rd3 53. Rd8 Kf6 54. Rd7 h6 55. Kf2 Rf3+ 56. Kg2 Ke6 57. Re7+ Kxd6 58. Rxe4 Ra3 59. Re8 Ra5 60. Kg3 h5 61. gxh5 Rxh5 62. Kf4 Rf5+ 63. Kg4 Re5 64. Ra8 Ke7 65. Ra7+ Kf6 66. Ra6+ Re6 67. Ra4 Kg7 68. Kg5 Re5+ 69. Kf4 Rf5+ 70. Kg4 Rf1 71. Ra7 Kh6 72. Ra6 f5+ 73. Kh4 Rh1+ 74. Kg3 Kg5 75. Ra5 Rb1 76. Ra3 f4+ 77. Kf3 Rb5 78. Ra6 Rb3+ 79. Kf2 Kf5 80. Rc6 g5 81. Ra6 Rb2+ 82. Kf1 f3 83. Ra4 g4 84. Kg1 g3 85. Ra1 Kg4 86. Rf1 Rg2+ 87. Kh1 Rh2+ 88. Kg1 f2+ 89. Rxf2 Rxf2 0-1

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[Event "Cairns Cup"] [Date "2020.02.15"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Yip, Carissa"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C70"] [WhiteElo "2583"] [BlackElo "2412"] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 g6 5. d4 exd4 6. c3 Bg7 7. cxd4 b5 8. Bb3 Nge7 9. d5 Na5 10. Bd2 Nxb3 11. Qxb3 c5 12. Bc3 f6 13. a3 d6 14. h4 O-O 15. Nbd2 Qe8 16. O-O Bd7 17. Qc2 Rc8 18. b3 h6 19. a4 Ra8 20. axb5 axb5 21. Rxa8 Qxa8 22. Ra1 Qb7 23. Qa2 Nc8 24. Ne1 b4 25. Bb2 Bb5 26. Nc2 Bd3 27. Ne3 Qe7 28. Re1 Nb6 29. Qa1 Ra8 30. Qc1 h5 31. Nec4 Nxc4 32. Nxc4 Ra2 33. g3 Kh7 34. Nd2 Bh6 35. f4 Qa7 36. Nc4 Qd7 37. Re3 Bxc4 38. bxc4 Qg4 39. Kh1 Bxf4 40. gxf4 Qxh4+ 41. Kg1 Qg4+ 42. Kh1 Qxf4 43. Qb1 Rxb2 44. Qxb2 Qxe3 45. Qxf6 Qxe4+ 46. Kh2 b3 47. Qf7+ Kh6 48. Qf8+ Kg5 49. Qd8+ Kf5 50. Qd7+ Ke5 51. Qg7+ Kf4 52. Qf6+ Kg4 53. Qe6+ Qf5 54. Qxd6 Qf2+ 55. Kh1 Qf3+ 56. Kh2 Qh3+ 57. Kg1 Qg3+ 0-1

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Yip is also a content creator for chesskid.com and chess.com, and has written several articles for CLO, including a piece on earning the IM title.

Yip was also recently a special guest in the Girls Club Room, where she talked about an attack against the uncastled king.

Follow Carissa on twitch, twitter, Instagram and at http://www.carissayip.com/.

Finda full index of US Chess podcasts here.To support this podcast,subscribe andif you like it, ratefive stars on Apple Podcastsandreview.

Consider a donation to advance ourWomensPrograms athttps://new.uschess.org/give/donate-online-women/

Read the original here:

Ladies Knight with IM Carissa Yip [PODCAST] - uschess.org

THIS years winners of the Marie Curie Bridge Tournament hail from the Isle of Wight a first.

Alexis Dogilewski and Anne Grevatt, of Bembridge, beat off strong competition from more than 2,000 players nationwide to win the tournament.

Island bridge winner, Alexis Dogilewski.

The tournament is played annually throughout the winter months, starting in September and finishing in March.

The aim of the event which has run for more than 25 years is to raise funds for Marie Curie and has amassed more than 1million for the cancer charity.

Anne Grevatt, who won the annual Marie Curie Bridge Tournament.

The tournament, which offers rubber bridge and Chicago, sees players divided into groups of six couples, with each pair up against the other pairs in a round-robin group format, with all games played at home.

With such a healthy number of players on the Island, organisers encourage more to take part in the next one.

For more details and entry forms, telephone Diana Thompson on 01371-872246 or email dianathompson113@btinternet.com

Chess player, John Wrench, playing an online league match in lockdown.

The IW Chess Club has switched to an online format of the West Midlands Area League since the C-19 outbreak.

The Island team beat Worcester 2 by 3-1 to move to the top of Division 2.

A chess match online in progress for the Isle of Wight Chess Club.

See more here:

Isle of Wight bridge and chess success - Isle of Wight County Press

When Sultan Khan won the British Chess Championship in 1929, it was hailed as an extraordinary achievement for a man of colour. He repeated the feat in 1932 and 1933 and, during an international career spanning only five years, he defeated the predominantly white masters of the game including Rubinstein, Flohr, Capablanca and Tartakower.

Sultans achievements were so extraordinary that he was called a genius, the greatest natural player of modern times, a legend, Asias first grandmaster, and was on the prize list in every important tournament in which he took part. Over the years, Sultans story has been largely forgotten and reduced to unverified apocrypha.

Sultan Khan, our father and grandfather, was born in 1903 in Mitha Tiwana, Khushab, present-day Pakistan, to a Muslim Awan family of pirs and landlords. His father, Mian Nizam Din, taught him and his brothers how to play chess when they were very young. By his late teens, Sultan had started going to the city of Sargodha every day to play against landlords and chess aficionados there. As a gentleman of leisure and a younger son, he had few responsibilities at home. By the age of 21, he was considered the strongest player in Punjab.

In Sargodha, his proficiency as a chess player was noticed and remarked upon till it reached the ears of Sir Umar Tiwana, who owned the neighbouring estate of Kalra. Sir Umar Tiwana, whose property and political power had increased through British patronage, was keen to establish himself as a patron of the arts and sports. So impressed was he with Sultans skill that he made an offer to Sultan: in return for a stipend and board and lodging, Sultan Khan would establish a chess team at Sir Umars estate.

Sultan moved to Kalra for this purpose and competed in the All India Chess Championship in 1928. Sultan won the championship with a brilliant performance, dropping only half a point in nine games.

In a country obsessed with cricket, not many sports buffs know about a countryman who achieved exceptional laurels in the game of chess. His son and granddaughter recount his exploits

In the spring of 1929, Sir Umar Tiwana and Sultan proceeded to London, where Sultan became a member of the Imperial Chess Club. It must be noted that, at that time, chess was an expensive and exclusive game to play, with chess clubs and tournaments requiring a hefty fee for membership and participation.

Sultans first international achievement was winning the British Chess Championship at Ramsgate in 1929. At that time, the championship almost had the status of a global championship, given the range of the British Empire. Winning the championship established Sultan as a force to be reckoned with and soon he started receiving many invitations to matches across England and the continent. This was a remarkable feat also because, prior to visiting England, Sultan had primarily played the South Asian form of chess, and European rules differed considerably. However, he was quick to learn, and distinguished himself against his opponents. He went back to the Subcontinent in November 1929, before returning to Europe in May 1930.

In 1930, Sultan played, among others, in the Scarborough Tournament, the Hamburg Olympiad and the Liege Tournament. One of his most elegant victories this year was over Soultanbieff in Liege. The year 1930-31 was also the time of perhaps his most memorable victories, including a win over Jose Raul Capablanca, the Cuban genius who was considered to be unbeatable, at Hastings.

Capablanca was the world chess champion from 1921 to 1927 and widely considered to be one of the greatest chess players of all time. So strong was Sultans prowess in the game that it is still seen as a masterpiece of chess strategy and tactics. In the same year, Sultan defeated Savielly Tartakower, the European giant, again considered to be invincible. This contest was a 12-game match which Sultan won 6.5 to 5.5.

Also in 1931, he participated in the Prague International Team Tournament, where he defeated the Czech player Salo Flohr and the Polish Akiba Rubinstein, considered among the foremost players of the time, and drew against Alexander Alekhine, the reigning world champion.

The years 1932 and 1933 brought further laurels to Sultan, as he won the British Chess Championship in both years. He also distinguished himself in various other tournaments in these years, including the Cambridge Tournament (1932), the Berne Tournament (1932) and the Folkestone Olympiad (1933).

In terms of playing strategy, Sultan was considered highly proficient in the middle game and a master of the end-game. At the chess table, he was described as inscrutable, and never betrayed the slightest degree of emotion over his game. His playing style was also dubbed the Wrath of Khan for, despite his impassionate exterior, his chess game was bold and masterful. This is most emphatically seen in his victory over Capablanca, which has gained the status of a classic in the chess world.

In 1933, with the end of the Round Table conferences which Sir Tiwana had been attending, he and Sultan returned to the Subcontinent. Sir Tiwana ceased his European voyages and Sultan did not have the resources to fund the travels and match fees himself. So he spent the remainder of his life cultivating his ancestral farmlands in what is now Tehsil Bhalwal and the nearby city of Sargodha.

He married a lady from the Gujjar clan, and together they had five sons and six daughters. Sultan passed away in Sargodha in 1966 and is buried on his estate in Bhalwal. His children, and most of his grandchildren, play chess informally but are mostly employed as doctors, civil servants and engineers in Pakistan and abroad.

Apart from domestic and international travel to play in chess tournaments, Sultan spent the entirety of his life in what constitute the Sargodha and Khushab districts in Pakistan today. Formally speaking, he was a British subject from 1903-1947 and then a proud Pakistani citizen till his demise in 1966. As such, he is a Pakistani asset and deserves an honourable mention in the sporting history of the country.

Unfortunately, while many of the players he defeated (including Rubinstein), were posthumously given the title of Grandmaster (a practice that began in 1950), Sultan himself was, rather unfairly, never awarded the title.

Ather Sultan, a retired Inspector General of Police from the Police Service of Pakistan, is Sultan Khans eldest son.

Atiyab Sultan, Sultan Khans granddaughter, holds a doctorate from the University of Cambridge and is an officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service. Email: atiyab.sultan@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, May 17th, 2020

See the article here:

CHESS: THE WRATH OF KHAN - DAWN.com

In February it came as quite a shock to many that Jordan Peterson was going through detox at a clinic in Russia after developing a dependency on benzodiazepine. At the time, Petersons daughter Mikhaila said he had nearly died several times but she suggested he was finally on the road to recovery.Theres some indication that he is indeed back at work now. Last week his website put out a call for new illustrations for the sequel to his bestselling book 12 Rules for Life.

I am currently in the process of writing my next book, and am searching for an illustrator to produce 12 images. Each chapter of my previous book, 12 Rules for Life: The Antidote to Chaos, was preceded by one line drawing, which was placed on its own page

I am planning something similar with the book I am working on now. The new illustrations must be line drawings, in black and white (because the book will not be printed in color). They will occupy a page at the beginning of each chapterjust as indicated, above. They also do not have to precisely duplicate the style of the previous illustrations, although they should bear some relationship to them, as the two books are companion volumes.

Peterson writes that he is specifically looking for an illustration for a chapter titled Do Not Carelessly Denigrate Social Institutions or Creative Achievement which should be based on this tarot image of the fool:

In addition to this blog post there have been several recent updates to Petersons Instagram account. This one links to the call for an illustrator and includes a photo of Peterson working on the book, which will apparently be titled Beyond Order.

I also noticed this one from last week which includes a video of Peterson playing with a remote controlled car, apparently at home. His daughter wrote, Spotted@jordan.b.peterson actually enjoying himself. Hope you guys are finding time to do the same.

My initial reaction when I learned of Petersons drug dependency and near-death experience was that his career in public was over. After all, many in the media have been eager to see him fail for the past couple of years and it seemed like he had in fact failed in some sense. I was expecting most of the media to take a see, we told you so approach.

That may still turn out to be true, but I have to say Petersons timing may also turn out to be excellent. The next book is reportedly about chaos in the way the former book was about order. Its not hard to imagine that Petersons own experience of chaos in his personal life might become part of telling that story. If nothing else, he suddenly has a very new story to tell and one that is relevant to millions of people in the U.S. alone where deaths from drug addiction in recent years have far outpaced deaths from the coronavirus thus far.

The chaotic state of the world right now might also provide a perfect moment to say something about chaos more broadly. After all, there are no shortage of progressives suggesting now is the moment to capitalize on this crisis to build a new world. Even if you dont like their socialist solutions, its a timely idea.

I hope Peterson is able to recapture his footing and once again go toe to toe with his critics. He was a helpful corrective to a lot of progressive nonsense on the world state. It would be nice to have him back.

Read more:

Jordan Peterson is back at work on his next book

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It doesn't take much to tick off Michael Jordan.

As we saw repeatedly in "The Last Dance," His Airness could hold a grudge against anyone he'd even create fictitious slights by opposing players and use that bitterness to fuel his competitive drive.

MORE: The greatest Michael Jordan game you definitely don't remember

It turns out that drive goes back to well before his days as a professional. As a senior in high school, Jordan had caught the attention of big schools all over the country, with the most interest coming from Atlantic Coast Conference programs.

Everyone knows that Jordan chose to play for Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith at North Carolina, where he helped lead the Tar Heels to the 1982 national championship as a freshman by knocking down the go-aheadshot from the left wing with 18 seconds remaining in regulation. But what if he had chosen differently?

As it turns out, Jordan had interest in another ACC school: Maryland.

The Terrapins, also coached by a Hall of Famer in Lefty Driesell, were national contenders at the time as well. They'd finished first in the 1979-80ACC regular season and were runner-up to UNC in the 1981 ACC Tournament, losing a one-point thriller in the final.

'LAST DANCE': We wanted to see more aboutthese seven topics

Maryland was also interested in recruiting Jordan, though not as much as the young shooting guard might have liked. According to Buzz Peterson, Jordan's roommate at North Carolina, Driesell dangled his last scholarship spot in front of three recruits: Jordan, Petersonand Jeff Adkins.

"(Driesell) says, I've got one scholarship left, and the first one who takes it gets it,'"Peterson told Washington City Paper.

That apparentlydidn't sit right with Jordan (shocker, right?). To pile on, Peterson and Adkins were namedParade MagazineAll-Americans in 1981while Jordan was left off. Adkins ended up taking that scholarship offer from Driesell, and Jordan and Peterson went to UNC.

As if that wasn't enough motivation for Jordan, he got a little more incentive to hate the Terps at the 1981 McDonald's All-AmericanGame. Jordan put together a 30-point performance on 13-of-19 shooting from the field and4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line to go with six steals and four assists. He also made the game-winning free throws with 11 seconds remaining to help the East All-Stars beat the West96-95.

But the co-MVP honors went to Maryland commit Adrian Branch (24 points for the East) and Aubrey Sherrod (19 points for the West), who went on to play for Wichita State.

With all that in mind, it's pretty easy to figure out which team was on Jordan's mind when he looked at UNC's schedule and saw the Terrapins twice every year.

"He was interested in Maryland," Peterson said. "Maryland was the one that he would talk about."

Jordan used that anger as fuel, posting a 5-1 record against the Terrapins in his three years of college.

Read the rest here:

The one ACC team Michael Jordan wanted to beat most while at North Carolina - Sporting News

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If there's one thing that was further cemented during ESPN's acclaimed docuseries "The Last Dance", it's the fact that Michael Jordan's competitive drive and will to win is unmatched. And used every ounce of motivation, bulletin board material or whatever you want to call it to get there along the way.

Jordan's enemies on the court was fuel to his fire, as the 10-episode documentary showed. Whether it was the night George Karl walked past his table at a restaurant or Karl Malone's NBA MVP award during the 1997 season, when Jordan felt slighted, he was often at his best.

According to Washington City Paper, there was one school Jordan wanted to beat more than any other during his playing days at the University of North Carolina. Former ACC rival Maryland, a fellow basketball blueblood, was led by star Adrian Branch during Jordan's tenure in Chapel Hill and the two went after it every time they met.

"At North Carolina Jordan maintained an intense interest to play against Maryland more than any other team in the ACC, (Buzz) Peterson claims," writes Dave Ungrady. "It originated from what Jordan considered a slight against him at the 1981 McDonalds All-American game in Wichita, Kansas. In the game, Jordan scored 30 points, including game-winning free throws with 11 seconds remaining to help the East All-Stars beat the West All-Stars, 96-95.

"Jordan converted 13-of-19 field goals, made all four of his free throws and recorded six steals and four assists. But Maryland commit Adrian Branch, who grew up in Seat Pleasant and attended DeMatha Catholic High School, was voted a co-MVP of the game in Wichita along with Aubrey Sherrod. Jordan used the incident as a consistent motivational force against the Terps."

Before choosing to play for Dean Smith and the Tar Heels, Jordan considered an offer from Maryland legend Lefty Driesell. But the future NCAA champion and six-time NBA Finals MVP didn't appreciate how it was presented to him along with Peterson and Jeff Adkins.

He says, Ive got one scholarship left, and the first one who takes it gets it, Peterson, Jordan's roommate at North Carolina told Washington City Paper. "He was interested in Maryland. Maryland was one that he would talk about."

Jordan would end up going 5-1 against the Terps during his career at North Carolina.

You cant knock his success, God bless him and his family. But all that super-suit, Jordan stuff dont fly over here. We wanted them as badly as they wanted us. Wed shake their hands win or lose. It was a healthy competitive respect. But no love lost," Branch said. "When he came to town, we were ready with one foot down, and another foot up. We werent no passive dudes.

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Michael Jordan wanted to beat one ACC team more than any other - 247Sports

Cornerback Patrick Peterson has had some mixed feelings at times about being a part of the Cardinals in recent years, but theres no chatter about trades or anything else this offseason.

Peterson counts himself among those who think the team has made strong moves over the last couple of months. They signed defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, traded for wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and drafted versatile linebacker Isaiah Simmons in the first round to headline those maneuvers.

Thats left Peterson feeling like this years team sets up to be better than any of the others hes played on since coming to Arizona in 2011.

This is probably the best football team Ive been a part of on paper. . . . What weve been able to add to the team this year, what the front office has been able to accomplish this offseason (without) being able to see guys and not being able to be around, its been second to none, Peterson said. I mean, unbelievable. Peterson said on The Hyperice Lab podcast, via the Cardinals website.

Peterson has been on a couple of playoff teams in Arizona, including one that made it to the NFC Championship Game, and added that success wont happen by putting a bunch of pieces together. He said that he and other veterans have to manage the locker room, manage the egos and make sure everybody is on the same page if theyre going to go from looking good on paper to looking good in the standings.

Patrick Peterson: This is probably best team Ive been part of on paper originally appeared on Pro Football Talk

The rest is here:

Patrick Peterson: This is probably best team Ive been part of on paper - Yahoo Sports

Keiko Furukura describes the Hiiromachi Station Smile Mart shes worked at for 18 years as though it were her boyfriend. She tells of how the whirring of the freezers and the beeping of the coffee machine ceaselessly caress my eardrums. And when alone at night in her small, pokey flat, she dreams so much of the brightly lit and bustling store that she begins to shape herself to please it: I silently stroke my right hand, its nails neatly trimmed in order to better work the buttons on the cash register.

Keiko is the emotionally detached star of Sayaka Muratas Convenience Store Woman, which in 2016 became the first of her 10 Japanese novels to be translated into English. Prior to getting hired at the Smile Mart aged 18, Keiko was a societal outcast who lived life in such utilitarian terms that she often horrified those around her. When as a kid she found a pretty bird dead in the school playground, her first instinct was to grill it for dinner. As a teacher struggled to break up a fight between two students, Keiko whacked one of them over the head with a spade, so hard there was blood. She gets older and fantasises about silencing her sisters wailing baby with the small knife they just used for slicing birthday cake. If it was just a matter of making him quiet, it would be easy enough.

It is only in the transparent glass box of the convenience store that she finds acceptance and purpose. On her first day, Keiko receives a uniform and a manual that prescribes her behaviour right down to the scripted interactions she must have with customers. Certainly. Right away, sir! she chimes. Thank you for your custom! She finds fulfilment in the easy rhythmic chugging of daily tasks. Stacking fizzy drink cans high. Pushing the sale of mango-chocolate buns because they are on offer. Making more croquettes than usual because people prefer them when theyve gone cold. The whoosh and thump of the fridge doors slamming under her fingertips. The glint of the light on the floor shes shined. She believes she can hear the stores voice telling me what it wanted, how it wanted to be. I understood it perfectly.

Through her work, Keiko is able to ape the actions of a normal person and thus assimilate into a society she had hitherto been pushed out of. I felt reassured by the expression on Mrs Izumi and Sugawaras faces, she says after mirroring their anger at another employees failure to restock shelves properly. Good, I pulled off being a person. Id felt similarly reassured any number of times here in the convenience store.

She is so good at her job, devoting herself so wholly to its demands, that any self that exists outside of work begins to slip away into nothing. Keiko becomes like an electronic arm on a machine, picking up and putting down when its buttons are pressed. I automatically read the customers minutest movements and gaze, and my body acts reflexively in response, Keiko thinks, as she predicts from the motion of a shoppers hand that he will pay on card.

While initially Keiko goes to the Smile Mart in order to fit in, as she reaches 36, her family worry about her lack of prospects. Staying there starts to seem like an act of defiance. Worried about the fate of her work, Keiko takes useless shop worker Shiraha home with her, hoping that having a fake boyfriend might get everyone to leave her alone. Hes a greasy, lazy slob who says things that wouldnt sound out of place on an incel Reddit thread. The youngest, prettiest girls in the village go to the strongest hunters, he says, reeling off another Jordan Peterson For Dummies-style theory. They leave strong genes, while the rest of us just have to console ourselves with whats left. Feeding off her finances like a tapeworm, Shiraha eventually convinces Keiko to quit her job for a better paid one and its a breakup which leaves her devastated.

Convenience Store Woman is a gothic love story for our times, not with a vampire, a ghost or a zombie, but with those temples of consumption that glow on the edges of street corners, promising short queues and reliable products. Its capitalism kink and it makes readers anxious. How easily we are charmed by the allure of efficiency. The smooth running of the machine. Productivity distilled to its most concrete essence. But its not a manifesto, so Furukura withholds judgement and gives us permission to enjoy the love story from the bottom of its Plasticine pink heart. At least thats something you cant buy.

Heres what some of our readers thought...

May, 34, Leeds

So much of the time, in life, we are taught to want more, but in seeking it often you only get less. I work in marketing, which is supposed to be a good job, but often I miss the calm regularity of my days working in the supermarket. The coronavirus has highlighted our reliance on key workers such as shop staff. When I worked there, I didnt have any anxiety that what I was doing was useless. I feel useless often in my office job. Keiko knows the importance of what she does.

Emily, 22, London

Keiko is meant to be the weird one but as the novel progresses, you realise it is more everyone around her who is odd. Why are they so obsessed that she get a better job when she is happy? Why does she need a boyfriend or a baby? The only thing I think is a bit disappointing is that this critique of society is channelled through a character whose inability to relate to others ordinarily would be read as autistic. You dont have to have a developmental disorder to think that our fixation on career, marriage, childbirth is strange. I do too!

Matt, 45, Newcastle

Often when we work, we become not human. People dont see you when youre in a uniform. You speak in a way thats more like a robot than a person. Sometimes its relaxing it takes you out of the anxieties of wanting more, that you should make a podcast, get a new outfit. But another kind of work is possible, one where Keiko could gain pleasure not because shes erased but because shes allowed to become more herself.

Our next Indy Book Club pick will be voted for by you. Send your thoughts to annie.lord@independent.co.uk

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The Indy Book Club: Convenience Store Woman is a gothic love story with a sickly capitalist kink - The Independent