Latest news with #Norwegians
Observer
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Observer
Rouda Al Serkal wraps up maiden Norway Chess Open campaign with hat-trick of wins
Dubai: UAE's first Woman Grandmaster ends maiden campaign in Stavanger with 3 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses, showing resilience after early setbacks Stavanger, Norway, June 1 - UAE's rising chess star Rouda Al Serkal signed off her maiden appearance at the Norway Chess Open with a flourish, winning three consecutive games to close out the prestigious tournament's General Masters (GM) category on a high. The 15-year-old showed remarkable resilience over nine grueling rounds, bouncing back from early struggles to finish with a total of 4 points overall – a performance that not only demonstrated her talent but also her ability to adapt and learn against more experienced opponents. Fresh off a strong campaign at the Asian Individual Women's Championship in Al Ain two weeks before the tournament in Stavanger and a productive training block, Al Serkal came into the tournament with confidence. However, the opening round on May 26 against Swedish Grandmaster Platon Galperin – one of the tournament's highest-rated players in the open category who finished fourth overall – didn't go to plan. Playing white, Rouda fought valiantly for 56 moves but eventually had to concede. The loss hit her hard, especially as it came in the very first round of her maiden appearance in the GM category. 'It was tough to start like that and then mentally recover from there – I was disappointed,' Rouda admitted. 'I didn't feel like I was getting my game right, and it was demoralising to lose after such a long fight. But I knew I had to regroup quickly.' The next day, Rouda, who turns 16 next month, steadied herself with a hard-fought draw against American Luke Leon Robin Anatol before suffering another defeat in round three to Spain's Lucia Follana Albelda. 'That was even more crushing as I had her completely in my grasp after opening with Caro Kahn advanced variation but somehow I just failed to capitalise.' Two more challenging days followed with a draw against Mexico's Jan Enrique Zepeda Berlanga and losses to Norwegians Ask Amundsen (playing white) and Astor Moe Maurstad (playing black). But Al Serkal, the UAE's first Woman Grandmaster and a former world youth champion, refused to let the early setbacks define her debut in Stavanger. Her persistence began to pay off in round seven, when she notched her first win – a confident performance against Norway's Sigur H. Myny while playing white. 'Eventually I just found my footing,' she said. 'I stopped overthinking, focused on basics, and trusted my training. Once that happened, things began to click.' She carried that momentum forward, scoring her second consecutive win on May 30 against Italian Mauro Pivi, and capped her campaign on Sunday with a composed victory over France's Franck Gouanelle – her third straight win. With three wins, two draws and four losses, Al Serkal's overall performance was a promising show of potential. Competing in a field filled with seasoned international players, she not only held her own but ended with a strong closing statement although she would have liked to finish better overall. 'I was honestly hoping to gain around 100 rating points,' Rouda said. 'Most of the rounds I lost, I was either winning or had a clear advantage but lost my way in the end. That's what frustrated me the most.' Yet as the first Emirati woman to play in the Norway Chess Open's GM category, her participation alone marks a milestone for UAE chess. But her ability to rebound and finish strong added a powerful narrative of character and composure to her international journey. 'It was a learning experience more than anything else,' Al Serkal said. 'And I'm proud I stayed with it. Ending with three wins felt really special – I feel like I'm still leaving stronger than I arrived although I could have done much better.' Tournament founder Kjell Madland praised her spirited finish, saying: 'It is exactly this kind of story that reinforces Norway Chess as a truly global platform. To have young talents like Rouda travel all the way from the UAE to compete at this level adds richness and reach to what we're building here in Stavanger.' Meanwhile, in the elite Norway Chess super tournament being played at the SpareBank 1 SR-Bank in Stavanger, world number one Magnus Carlsen and reigning two-time Women's World Rapid Chess Champion Koneru Humpy remain in close pursuit of the lead in the men's and the women's sections respectively. Final rounds take place later this week.
Local Norway
20 hours ago
- Automotive
- Local Norway
Tesla bucks trend in Norway with rising sales
Norwegians have flocked back to the US brand as it offered zero-interest loans and a new Model Y, the best-selling car in the country for three months running. Norway is the country with the highest proportion of election vehicles (EV), making up 93.9 percent of new car registrations in May, according to the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV). EVs made up 92.7 percent of new car registrations in the first five months of the year. Tesla regained the title of leading car brand in the Scandinavian country in May, tripling its sales and accounting for 18.2 percent of new cars sold. For the first five months of the year, Tesla sales increased by 8.3 percent -- lower than the overall new car market which grew by 30.6 percent. Advertisement Over that period, Tesla had a market share of 12.9 percent, second to German auto giant Volkswagen. Tesla sales fell by half in the European Union in April, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). The company's EU market share dropped to 1.1 percent amid growing competition from Chinese rivals and consumers protesting Musk's politics and ties to US President Donald Trump. "Looking at Tesla sales in Norway in May and for the year so far, we stand out from the rest of Europe, where sales of this brand have seen a noticeable decline," OFV director Øyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement. Jonathan Parr, an analyst at used-car dealer Rebil, told broadcaster TV2 that "ultimately, it's the price that Norwegian motorists care about most." "Norwegians don't like Musk but feel no shame owning a Tesla," Parr explained. In recent months, Norwegian media have nonetheless reported several stories of Tesla owners deciding to part ways with their cars or refrain from buying another Tesla. Norway, the largest oil producer in Western Europe, has adopted a goal that this year all new cars should be zero-emission vehicles.
France 24
a day ago
- Automotive
- France 24
As Tesla stalls across Europe, sales rise in Norway
Norwegians have flocked back to the US brand as it offered zero-interest loans and a new Model Y, the best-selling car in the country for three months running. Norway is the country with the highest proportion of election vehicles (EV), making up 93.9 percent of new car registrations in May, according to the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV). EVs made up 92.7 percent of new car registrations in the first five months of the year. Tesla regained the title of leading car brand in the Scandinavian country in May, tripling its sales and accounting for 18.2 percent of new cars sold. For the first five months of the year, Tesla sales increased by 8.3 percent -- lower than the overall new car market which grew by 30.6 percent. Over that period, Tesla had a market share of 12.9 percent, second to German auto giant Volkswagen. Tesla sales fell by half in the European Union in April, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). The company's EU market share dropped to 1.1 percent amid growing competition from Chinese rivals and consumers protesting Musk's politics and ties to US President Donald Trump. "Looking at Tesla sales in Norway in May and for the year so far, we stand out from the rest of Europe, where sales of this brand have seen a noticeable decline," OFV director Oyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement. Jonathan Parr, an analyst at used-car dealer Rebil, told broadcaster TV2 that "ultimately, it's the price that Norwegian motorists care about most." "Norwegians don't like Musk but feel no shame owning a Tesla," Parr explained. In recent months, Norwegian media have nonetheless reported several stories of Tesla owners deciding to part ways with their cars or refrain from buying another Tesla. Norway, the largest oil producer in Western Europe, has adopted a goal that this year all new cars should be zero-emission vehicles.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Young Charvi's life in a chess bubble
Stavanger, Norway: The Norway Chess Open tournament — held at walking distance from the hotel that hosts the starry GMs — is a beehive of norm-chasing chess players, ranging from age 6 to 60, and local Norwegians to Indian expats. Unlike the main acts who are escorted for official post-game interviews and soon into the car, they all have things to do once their games are done: grab a snack, look for their chaperones, dial their parents for pickup. Charvi A had something else in mind. Right after coming out of the hall, the 11-year-old left the water bottle with her mother, searched for her opponent and stood talking with the older man for an extended time. Why? To analyse the game. Such post-game analysis chats can go from five minutes to thirty, said her mother, Akhila. And almost always, it is Charvi initiating them, if her opponent is willing and speaks English. For this 11-year-old, chess is not a chore, it is compulsive. And she is quite promising at it. A Woman FIDE Master (WFM) with a 1961 Elo rating, Charvi won the U-8 girls World Championship in 2022, a feat that made Viswanathan Anand post on X: 'Rise of a new star.' Charvi has picked up more accolades at the national and Asian level — she was conferred the 2024 Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, India's highest civilian honour for children, for which her parents had applied — thinking about the game in overdrive. 'Sometimes, she thinks about the moves in her dreams also,' said Akhila. It is not, however, thrust upon her. This year so far, she has played in around seven tournaments, in India, Austria, France, Uzbekistan, Budapest and Norway. Even in the few break days she gets in between, the kid is eager to do stuff around chess and puzzles. 'She has decided that she wants to only do this. We have asked her many times, but she likes the sport,' Akhila said. 'Instead of us parents forcing her to do something, we wanted to support her in what she was interested in. We realised she is really interested in chess.' And realised her ability and promise after she won the U-8 world title. Having picked up the game in her day care at age 5, chess got Charvi mesmerised, and her parents were left scrambling for YouTube videos that she demanded they watch and play with her. After finishing runner-up in a U-6 state competition, she began training with IM Shivananda BS in Bengaluru. As she progressed, Charvi was coached by GM Swayams Mishra, WGM Aarthie Ramaswamy, and even briefly by her husband RB Ramesh, R Praggnanandhaa's coach. She is now training with a 'few new coaches', names of which her mother said she could not reveal. Partly sponsored, Charvi's father has continued his IT job while Akhila, a professional in the same sector for over a decade, quit her work a couple of years ago to travel with her. Her school lessons are sent online, which Akhila oversees amid all the travel. 'I have to do this because she is very young, and may not understand what she is going through,' she said. The mother does not understand the game, nor does she discuss it with Charvi. Results are never asked until, if at all, told. The kid was a centre of attention when she met PM Narendra Modi for the award, and yet wasn't frazzled. 'She doesn't get too excited. Even after she won the world championships, she was very normal. She can handle winning, losing or the attention,' Akhila said. 'She is playing just out of passion.'
India Today
3 days ago
- India Today
Indian couple stranded on hike in Norway shares how volunteers came to their rescue
What began as a scenic hike to one of Norway's most iconic viewpoints turned into a chilling emergency for Indian content creator Akash Banerjee and his wife, Nidhi, until a group of strangers stepped in like something out of a to Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock, is on many travel bucket lists. But for Akash Banerjee and his wife, it became a reminder that nature does not always go as their descent, roughly four kilometres from the nearest civilisation, Nidhi slipped and badly injured her ankle. The incident left the couple stranded in biting winds with rain closing in. With no immediate help in sight, fellow hikers urged Banerjee to call 113, Norway's emergency number. He hesitated, unsure of what help would actually arrive in such a remote area. But what happened next left him stunned."Still shaking my head in disbelief," Banerjee wrote in a post on Instagram, adding, "Within minutes, they used my phone to track us and assured help was coming." True to their word, a rescue team reached the couple within the hour, equipped with a vacuum splint and a shock didn't end there. The team wasn't uniformed professionals, but ordinary Norwegians, from a land surveyor to a petroleum worker, volunteering their time through the Norwegian People's Aid, an NGO giving rescue support free of stabilised Nidhi's leg and safely brought her down to base a look at Akash's post here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Akash Banerjee (@ media users poured in with appreciation in the comments section of the post. 'It's called sense of community and civic sense. Civic sense isn't just picking up garbage, it's having the compassion to be kind to everyone,' a user said, while another added, 'Beautiful country. Lovely, helpful people. So glad you got all the assistance you needed and more.'Akash Banerjee, still moved by the experience, called Norway one of the happiest nations for a reason. 'They didn't just rescue us, they restored faith in what it means to care for strangers,' he said.
