Latest news with #Yifan
Time of India
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Advice, practice games with Levon, Anish, Murzin came handy for Divya
1 2 Nagpur: Divya Deshmukh's 74-move win over World Women's No. 1 Hou Yifan has once again brought the Nagpur girl into the limelight. During the seven-day World Rapid and Blitz Team Championship in London, the 19-year-old International Master (IM), representing Hexamind Chess Club, secured as many as three medals — two bronze and a silver. Speaking exclusively to TOI, Divya shared her experience of playing alongside the world's best players, including Levon Aronian, Murzin Volodar, Anish Giri, and Vidit Gujrathi. Divya said, "The best moments were definitely the blitz knockouts and also the entire team spirit. Everyone was really friendly, and everyone got along really well, so it took away the pressure to perform. Levon, Anish, and Murzin helped me with advice, practice games etc, which was super nice of them. And, of course, the banter." Despite suffering a defeat against Yifan in the first leg of the round-robin semifinal, Divya remained positive and came back stronger to prevail over her experienced opponent. In the second leg of the semifinal, Divya utilised her opening advantage with the white pieces well and made her moves faster to take control of the clock for her first-ever victory over Yifan. Explaining her strategy for getting the better of Yifan, Divya said, "I knew I had to go all out. I would have been automatically scared if the thought of playing against the World Champion had crept into my mind. So, it did not matter whom I was playing against; I focused on the game, and I only knew that I had to win the game." On her future plans, Divya said that she is preparing for the forthcoming World Cup. She added, "I am focused, and my preparations are going well. I will give my best and will try to bring medals in future tournaments."
Nikkei Asia
a day ago
- Automotive
- Nikkei Asia
Tesla chases robotaxi rivals and China goes local for auto chips
Hello from Yifan in California, your #techasia host this week. I've been thinking a lot about the future of my job ever since Google's I/O event in May, where the U.S. tech giant laid out an ambitious plan to define what search will look like in the future. Some users in the U.S. may have already seen the roll-out of AI mode, a new segment on the search page that directs them to a ChatGPT-like interface where an AI assistant provides the answers they were looking for. Google is actively nudging users to try out this new mode of search, and it's not hard to imagine that it will eventually replace the current Google search box altogether. While Google and other AI companies often reference the original sources of information in AI-generated answers as footnotes with a link, I doubt many users click on them. The reporting I and my fellow journalists do everyday is used and will continue to be used in AI search results, but with fewer and fewer readers reading the original article. Newsrooms will suffer greatly -- if not completely disappear -- due to this new age of search. But it's not only a problem for newsrooms. How, for example, can we make sure that AI-generated answers are not misinterpreting the results of nuanced, carefully thought-out investigative reporting? Will misinformation and bias become even more prevalent? Some might say this way of thinking is too alarmist, and the future of AI dictating what information we get is still far away from us today. Well, it's not. AI, in many ways, will be a story similar to robotaxis. There were highs and there were lows for the self-driving industry, when over-optimistic projections led to utter disappointment. But now, robotaxis are becoming a reality, with Waymo, and many Chinese companies already rolling out fare-charging driverless taxi services in some of the biggest cities in the world. In fact, I am writing this newsletter from the backseat of a Waymo car in San Francisco, where I'll be meeting a robotics startup founder who believes robotaxis are only the start of the "physical AI" revolution that will eventually replace most human workers. I took my first robotaxi test-ride seven years ago and since then have witnessed how the industry improved itself, one small step at a time, to the point that a futuristic fantasy is now on the cusp of becoming a new reality for transportation. The incremental changes that AI brings to society will eventually accumulate in a similar way, culminating in a fundamental transformation. Your move, Tesla As Tesla prepares for its long-awaited robotaxi debut in Austin,Texas, this week, all eyes are on the U.S. EV giant to see if Elon Musk can deliver on the vision he promised last year. But the U.S. EV giant might already be falling behind its U.S. and Chinese peers in the driverless taxi race. Waymo's rollout in San Francisco has been so successful that its orders have surpassed Lyft as the second-most popular ride-hailing service in the city. In China, meanwhile, several companies already have cars on the road. Baidu operates a fleet of around 1,000 Apollo Go robotaxis, which provided more than 1.4 million rides in the first quarter. has a fleet of over 300 robotaxis and aims to expand it to 1,000 vehicles by the end of this year and 2,000-3,000 by the end of 2026. WeRide's fleet numbers around 400, Nikkei Asia's Cissy Zhou and Yifan Yu report. While the focus now for both the U.S. and Chinese players is to ramp up their service in their home markets, they will soon go head-to-head in overseas markets like Europe and the Middle East, as many have already started laying out the groundwork for expansion through local partnerships. Not so fast A $35 billion merger between U.S. semiconductor giants Synopsys and Ansys is facing delays from China's antitrust regulator, write the Financial Times' Zijing Wu and Cheng Leng. The deal, already approved in the U.S. and Europe, was expected to close this month. but Beijing's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has postponed its decision. This hold-up comes as U.S.-China trade tensions escalate, with recent U.S. restrictions on chip design software sales to China. While some sources link the delay to these geopolitical factors, others suggest the deal's complexity is the primary cause. An approval could still come through if Synopsys addresses SAMR's concerns. The merger has a "drop dead clause" that specifies the deal must be completed by Jan. 15, 2026. Homegrown hardware Chinese automakers including SAIC Motor, Changan, Great Wall Motor, BYD, Li Auto and Geely, are preparing to launch models equipped with 100% homemade chips, with at least two brands aiming to start mass production as early as 2026, Nikkei Asia's Cissy Zhou, Cheng Ting-Fang and Lauly Li report. These efforts are part of Beijing's ambitious vision for increasing the country's self-reliance in chips amid intensifying tensions with the U.S. The project to transition to 100% Chinese auto chips is shepherded by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which regularly calls on automakers, particularly the state-owned ones, to conduct self-assessments of their domestic chip adoption rates. The latest policy target is to use 100% self-developed and made automotive chips by 2027, which is a significant acceleration of the government's previous target of having domestic automakers using 25% homemade chips this year. Nuclear heats up With the rising energy demand driven by AI and data centers, nuclear energy is increasingly becoming a topic of interest for both the public and private sector. Nikkei's Tomohiro Ebuchi, Ryuto Imao and Seishi Minowa report that Japan and the U.K. will collaborate on nuclear fusion, a technology that promises to be safer and release more energy than the current technology used in nuclear reactors. Hiroshi Masuko, a senior official in Japan's science ministry, and Kerry McCarthy, parliamentary undersecretary of state at the U.K.'s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, are set to sign a memorandum of cooperation in London on Thursday. The partnership will combine the U.K.'s remote-controlled robot technology and Japan's manufacturing capabilities in a bid to achieve a viable demonstration by the 2030s. The two countries will collaborate on research and development, shared use of facilities, human resource development, and establishment of safety regulations. Industry groups from both countries are also hammering out a memorandum on cooperation. Welcome to the Tech Latest podcast. Hosted by our tech coverage veterans, Katey Creel and Akito Tanaka, every Tuesday we deliver the hottest trends and news from the sector. In this episode, Katey speaks with Mai Nguyen in Hanoi about the latest developments in Vietnam's AI ambitions and how it plans to leverage its status as an emerging tech hub to move up global economic rankings in the coming years. Suggested reads 1. (Nikkei Asia) 2. Nintendo switches up the rules of console gaming (FT) 3. Tourist-crowded Japan turns to apps to combat guide shortages (Nikkei Asia) 4. Donald Trump plans to delay TikTok ban for a third time (FT) 5. 'Asian minds' should seek coexistence with superhuman AI: scholar (Nikkei Asia) 6. Chinese brands extend global reach (FT) 7. TikTok to launch shopping feature in Japan, taking on Amazon, Rakuten (Nikkei Asia) 8. Chinese carmaker Xpeng develops advanced chips for VW cars (FT) 9. (Nikkei Asia) 10. Olympic product placement: 'I can't just give out 17,000 phones. It needs to return value' (FT)
Time of India
2 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Divya Deshmukh stuns chess world No. 1 Hou Yifan at World Team Blitz Championship
NAGPUR: World Junior No. 1, Divya Deshmukh, stunned world No. 1 Hou Yifan of China on Monday to fiish the World Team Rapid, Blitz Championship on a high with three medals. Yifan faced Nagpur girl Divya in the second leg of the semifinal round in the World Blitz Team Chess Championship, which concluded in London. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This clash in the shortest format of chess had similarities to the classical game played recently between World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and world champion D Gukesh. While Yifan was representing WR Chess Team, Divya was playing for Hexamind Chess Club. Yifan had defeated Divya in the first leg of the round-robin semifinal, but the Indian came back stronger in the following leg. Divya utilised her opening advantage with the white pieces well and made her moves faster to take control of the clock.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Nagpur's Divya Stuns China's World Women No.1 Hou Yifan
Nagpur: World Junior No.1, Divya Deshmukh, stunned the World Women's No.1 Hou Yifan of China, on Monday, and finished the World Team Rapid, Blitz Championship on a high with three medals. In the second leg of the semifinal round in the World Blitz Team Chess Championship, which concluded in London, the best women chess player Yifan faced off with her junior counterpart Divya, of Nagpur. The face-off between Yifan and Divya in the shortest format of chess had similarities to the classical game played recently between World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and the youngest world champion D Gukesh. While Yifan was representing WR Chess Team, Divya was playing for Hexamind Chess Club in the shorter version of the World Team Championships, played in both the rapid and blitz formats. Though Yifan had defeated Divya in the first leg of the round-robin semifinal, Nagpur's chess queen came back stronger in the following leg. Divya utilised her opening advantage with the white pieces well and made her moves faster to take control of the clock. In the dying stage of the rook vs bishop endgame 74-move thriller, Yifan made a blunder with her king and was left with no option but to resign. Realising her mistake, Yifan offered the handshake, and Divya became a bit emotional — reacting as if in disbelief, happily surprised to register her first victory over the world's best women chess player. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Though there was no drama as such, considering the recent 'Oh My God' moment of Magnus Carlsen, when the world no. 1 was surprised by world chess champion D Gukesh, the game between Yifan and Divya saw an emotional reaction from the Nagpur girl. Without much drama, Yifan laughed at her mistake and left the arena. Divya closed her eyes for a moment, made small chat with the arbiters, looked at the other results of her teammates, and went to prepare for the next round. Of the eight games that the 2343 Elo Divya played in the blitz event, she registered victories in six rounds, drew a board, and lost just one game while performing at a rating as high as 2606. Divya's heroics in the fastest format helped her register second rank. Later, in the third-place playoff, Divya won both the rounds as Hexamind Chess Club defeated the squad of Uzbekistan in both matches with 3.5:2.5 to clinch the bronze medal. Earlier, in the rapid format of the world championship, Divya played a pivotal role and helped Team Hexamind to clinch the silver medal. Of the 12 games she played in the rapid format, the 2386 Elo Divya won five games, drew six rounds, and lost just one game to score eight points with a performance rating of 2420. She also won the individual bronze medal for her play on board 6. With the three medals that she won, Divya posted, "Finally, what seemed like an eternity is over, world rapid and blitz team championships! Team finished second in rapid and third in blitz. Had an amazing experience with the team."
The Star
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Revenge fuels Pearly-Thinaah's fire ahead of clash with Chinese pair
Confident display: Pearly Tan returning a shot as M. Thinaah looks on during their quarter-final match with Indonesia's Febriana Dwipuji-Amallia Cahaya. KUALA LUMPUR: Women's doubles shuttlers Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah are in confident mood ahead of a mouthwatering showdown against China's Jia Yifan-Zhang Shuxian in the Malaysian Masters semi-finals today. Thailand Open champions Pearly-Thinaah continued their fine form by sweeping aside Indonesia's world No. 9 Febriana Dwipuji-Amallia Cahaya 21-14, 21-14 in 34 minutes at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil yesterday. The world No. 4 pair though will face a tougher test against Paris Olympics champion Yifan and her new partner Zhang Shuxian. Pearly-Thinaah are brimming with confidence and are out to pull off a big win and make it into back-to-back finals. 'We are motivated and excited for the semi-finals as we are playing on home ground,' said Pearly. 'We want to stay firm on our game play, discuss more on court and be more confident. 'The Thailand Open win is already in the past and we are starting from zero again in this tournament, so we hope to keep getting better.' Pearly-Thinaah are keen to gain revenge over Yifan-Shuxian after losing to the duo in the Orleans Masters quarter-finals in March. Yifan and Shuxian have also been a thorn in the Malaysian pair's flesh with their previous partners. Yifan and her Olympic gold medal winning partner Chen Qingchen have beaten Pearly-Thinaah eight times in nine meetings while Shuxian and Zheng Yu have come out on top over the Malaysians in all five of their past encounters. With the backing of the passionate home fans, Pearly-Thinaah have vowed to raise their game this time and find a way past Yifan-Shuxian. Thinaah said: 'No player wants to lose. We want to leave our past defeat behind us. 'For now, we need to get good rest and prepare well for the match tomorrow (today). We hope to maintain our positive form.' Pearly-Thinaah have made it into the final in the tourney once in the 2023 edition where they came second to South Korea's Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee. The pair reached back-to-back finals once before when they finished runners-up in the Korean Open and captured the Hong Kong Open title.
