The Queen's Gambit Glow-up

Thursday, Feb 13th, 2025

Your Five Current Events Questions

1. What island country with a “free association agreement” with New Zealand has struck a “strategic partnership” with Beijing, setting off a diplomatic dispute over China’s ever expanding quest for influence in the South Pacific?

2. In a surprise to no one, what president of Belarus claimed a landslide victory and was re-elected to a seventh term with an alleged 87% of the vote?

3. What country is building a spaceport in Somalia in its attempt to reach the moon?

4. We had FAANG, we had MANAMANA, and now we have BATMMAAN. Of the eight tech giants represented by the acronym BATMMAAN, what company does the "B" stand for?

5. Five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen has launched a new chess competition to bring more glamor and attention to the game. The competition will forego traditional chess in favor of what style of chess, in which starting positions of the non-pawn pieces are randomized?