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Totally agree about Jovanka, she's terrific and yes, Tania is so quick - when Abasov went Qf6 instead of Qg7, she was able to spot and explain the blunder in 2 seconds - great stuff:-)

Geeker,

You seem very familiar with the names of all those involved in the Pogchamps 5, I think you might like it a bit more than you let on - are you sure you don't want to reconsider my suggestion of becoming a YouTuber yourself - then you compete 😂

I pulling your leg, of course, Geeker:-)

Brendan,

The Pogchamps is oddly fun to watch in spots. Not the super-weak players, who get eliminated pretty fast. The matches between the (relatively) better ones, with the clock ticking, can be dramatic. There are of course ridiculous blunders, but as absurd as they look, it's not guaranteed I'd do much better under pressure with the clock ticking. And many of the players prepare tricky blitz opening lines which can be unpleasant to play into.

I think only noted "streamers" get invited, and video games (which I've never played in any form) appear to be a major component. The oldest dude who ever participated, iirc Rainn Wilson, is a famous TV actor. None of that stuff is going to happen for yours truly. Multiple flying pig emojis would be called for, but I don't know where to find them. 🤣

You're telling me you don't know Dwight Schrute and his famous Beet farm he runs with his brother Jeb - when he's not selling paper in Scranton, of course 😂

Early Pogchamps included occasional interesting personalities.

Legendary poker champion Daniel Negreanu competed in one. It was fascinating to see his strategy, which not surprisingly included risky (bluff?) opening gambits. In the interviews, he came across as super nice, and was extremely gracious to his opponents, particularly after he was KOd by a youngster. Rainn Wilson was also fun to watch.

Later ones have been more targeted at the (presumably younger) Twitch audience, whatever that is. The personalities don't interest me, but events like that swindle make it worthwhile.

The Latvian Gambit!
No, not in chess but athletics.

19 year old runner goes out at insane pace in Worlds 5000m heat, hangs on to qualify for the Final.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY22hSBXAJ8

The Latvian athlete did not run in the Final due to injury.

Meanwhile, a high-profile transfer:

https://en.chessbase.com/post/nikita-vitiugov-transfers-english-chess-federation

The Latvian link is not available to view in the UK for some reason.

Brendan, the video was NBC Sports (US network), maybe that's why.

There's a brief text writeup at
https://world-track.org/2023/08/sifan-hassan-faith-kipyegon-5000m-world-championships/?expand_article=1

In chess, Carlsen had a surprisingly easy time against Firouzja today.

I do enjoy it when a front runner succeeds at beating the more experienced athletes.

Did you Femke Bol's last leg in the women's 4x400m relay - she was was miles behind in the home straight but made up such a great distance to win - reminded me of Dave Wottle!