Daily GK: 23rd - 24th November 2014

1.    World Chess Championship: Carlsen retains title against Anand

i. Magnus Carlsen asserted his supremacy over Viswanathan Anand for the second year in running as the Norwegian retained his World Championship title after defeating the Indian Challenger in the 11th game, in Sochi, Russia on Sunday.

ii. The Norwegian world champion closed the 12-game match with a 6.5-4.5 scoreline, courtesy his win in the penultimate game.

iii. In the 11th game too, Anand made fewer mistakes than Calrsen and some even opined that the Indian had better chance. As it happened in the game, Anand came up with an exchange sacrifice when according to Grandmaster Peter Svidler, 'he felt he ought to be doing something'.  iv. As things became clear, the exchange sacrifice was probably not the best of solutions for Anand in a seemingly equal situation and this was what eventually plotted the downfall for the Indian, Anand however regretted his decision to sacrifice a rook for a minor piece. 
v. "It was a bad gamble, and I got punished," he said. 

2.    Deepak Gupta appointed as Chairman of UPSC

i. Deepak Gupta was appointed as chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). He was appointed as Chairperson of UPSC by the President Pranab Mukherjee in accordance with the Article 316 (1) of the Constitution.

ii. He replaced Rajni Razdan, who completed her term on 22 November 2014.

iii. He is the first non-UPSC member to be appointed as UPSC chairman.

3.    18th SAARC Summit begins from 26^th Nov

i. The eighteenth SAARC summit will be held in Kathmandu, the capital of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal on 26–27 November 2014.

ii. This time the summit is taking place after an interval of three years as the last summit was held in 2011 in Maldives.

Note: i. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation has eight members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

ii. Nepal has formed a high-level preparatory committee and several other panels to make the event a success, officials said.

iii. This is the third time Nepal will host the SAARC Summit after 1997 and 2002.

4.    Senior Congress leader Murli Deora passes away

i. Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Murli Deora passed away here this morning after prolonged illness.

ii. He was 77 and is survived by his wife and two sons, including former MP Milind Deora.

iii. Murli bhai, as he was known as, died at around 3.25 a.m. He had been unwell and admitted to hospital. He was brought home two days ago, family sources said.

5.    Adani Power to buy Avantha’s Korba plant

i. Crompton Greaves has said Avantha Power & Infrastructure Ltd (APIL), in which it holds an equity investment of about 23.14 per cent, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Adani Power for 100 per cent sale of APIL's Korba West Power Company Ltd (KWPCL).

ii. KWPCL, a special purpose vehicle of APIL, is commissioning a coal-based thermal power plant of 600 MW.

iii. In a communication to the stock exchange, Crompton said KWPCL is valued at over Rs. 4,200 crore.

6.    Senior Marathi actor-director Raghuvir Nevrekar died

i. Senior Marathi actor-director Raghuvir Nevrekar died in Mumbai on 23 November 2014 following a brief illness. He was 85.

7.    Switzerland defeated France to win 1st-ever Davis Cup of Tennis

i. Switzerland have won their first ever Davis Cup Tennis title. In the best of five Tie, at Lille, yesterday, they beat Hosts France by securing an unbeatable three - one lead.

ii. Roger Federer won the first revers singles by defeating Richard Gasquet in straight sets. The second reverse singles was canceled.

Note: Switzerland is the fourteenth nation to win the Davis Cup. The victory is one of the greatest sporting achievements for Switzerland.

8.    Sarjubala, Saweety settle for silver at World Championships

i. Indian pugilists S Sarjubala (48kg) and Saweety (81kg) faltered at the final hurdle to settle for silver medals, rounding off a decent campaign for the country in the 8th World Women’s Boxing Championships, in Jeju on Monday.

ii. Sarjubala lost to world No 3 Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan, who also happened to be a bronze-medallist from the previous World Championships.

iii. Saweety, on the other hand, lost to Yang Xiaoli of China, to also settle for a silver medal. India thus managed to improve its performance from a bronze in the previous edition to a couple of silvers this time.

9.    Australia beat S Africa, get top ODI ranking

i. Australia beat South Africa by two wickets in Sydney to win the one day international series 4-1 and return to the top of the world ODI rankings. In the International Cricket Council's new rankings table, Australia are only 0.2 ranking points ahead of India, with South Africa third.

10.  Lewis Hamilton wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix & Formula One title

i. Lewis Hamilton has won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as well as the Formula 1 racing championship title of the year. Felipe Massa came second in the race. It is Hamilton’s eleventh win of the season, and he takes the crown by 67 points from Nico Rosberg. 
ii. At Yas Marina circuit today, Hamilton jumped into the lead in the very beginning of the race and never looked behind. He was followed by his Mercedes team mate Nico Roseberg in the initial laps but Roseberg’s engine broke down in the middle of the race. The World number one, Lewis Hamilton has now become the first British double world champion since Jackie Stewart in 1971.