Love Is in the Air

An Algorithm for Peace

The Fall of the Masks

State and terror

Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, March 2, 2026

What is a state that, ignoring all legality, methodically murders or kidnaps the heads of states it arbitrarily declares enemies? Yet this is what is happening with the approval or embarrassed silence of European countries. This means that we live in a time when the state threw its legal masks off and is now acting according to its true nature, which is ultimately terror. It is probable, however, that this extreme situation is literally such that the shedding of the masks coincides with that end of the state form, without which a new politics will not be possible.

(English translation by I, Robot)

James Ensor, Death and the Masks, 1897. Courtesy of WikiArt.

Lose to Win

Body and Soul

You know, Edna, when you say Bibi, you’ve said Ben, and you’ve said it all

Artwork © RM (@beccaeyesee)

Icebreaker

Timestamp

С днем ​​рождения, Хоу Ифань!

Hey, Edna, all the world’s a birthday tiramisu cake, so take a piece but not too much!

Courtesy of Versa Printing, Inc. (@versaprinting)

The Way to the Spring

Passengers head for the exit of a railway station in 南京 (Nánjīng), 江苏省 (Jiāngsū province), China, as this year’s nine-day spring festival holiday comes to an end. Photo: China News Service/Getty Images.

You know, Edna, it is like a mantra or a prayer: the higher the tariffs the faster the decline

Artwork © marco tombart (@marco.visualart)

Afloat

Alar Puhm – Roberto Cosulich
International Team Tournament Mediolanum; Milan, February 12, 1974
French Defence C08

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. exd5 exd5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Qe2+ Be7 8. dxc5 0-0 9. Ne5?!

Technically a novelty, but also an incongruent one which throws away the first-move advantage, leaving Black with a symbolic initiative throughout the entire game. Best is the usual 9. Nb3 which Cosulich himself played and met with both colours: Cosulich – Paoli, 3rd International Tournament, Bari 1972, and Paoli – Cosulich, 35th Italian Chess Championship, Castelvecchio Pascoli 1974.
9. ... Re8 10. Nxd7 Nbxd7 11. 0-0 Bxc5 12. Qd1 a6 13. Bd3 Qc7 14. Nb3 Bd6 15. h3 Rad8 16. Nd4 Be5 17. Be3 Nc5 18. c3 Nxd3 19. Qxd3 Ne4 20. Nf3 Bd6 21. Rfe1 Qc6 22. Nd4 Qd7 23. f3 Nc5 24. Qd2 Bc7 25. g4 Ne6 26. Nxe6 fxe6 27. Bf4 Rf8 28. Bxc7 Qxc7 29. Kg2 Rf6 30. Rf1 Rdf8 31. Rae1 Qf7 32. Qd3 h6 ½–½.

It’s a Hard Life

Július Kozma – Roberto Cosulich
International Team Tournament Mediolanum; Milan, February 11, 1974
Nimzo-Indian Defence E43

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. Nf3 Ne4 7. 0-0 f5 8. Qc2 Bxc3 9. bxc3 0-0 10. Ne1. Or else: 10. Nd2 Qh4 11. f3 Nxd2 12. Bxd2 Nc6 13. Rab1 Ne7 14. c5 Bc6 15. cxb6 axb6 16. Rb2 Rf6 17. e4 fxe4 18. Bxe4 Bxe4 19. Qxe4 Qxe4 20. fxe4 Rxf1+ 21. Kxf1 ½–½ Trincardi – Cosulich, 13th New Year’s International Tournament, Reggio Emilia 1970/71.
10. ... c5 11. f3 Nd6 12. e4 fxe4 13. fxe4 Rxf1+ 14. Kxf1 Qh4?! A bit too compromising. 14. ... e5! 15. Nf3 Nf7 gave Black a more than comfortable game in Muir – King, 74th British Chess Championship, Swansea 1987.
15. Nf3 Qg4 16. h3 Qg3

17. Be3?! Here and on the next few moves White might have played something like 17. d5 Nf7 18. Kg1 and consolidated his space advantage. Instead his half measures enable Cosulich to save himself in a drawn endgame.
17. ... Na6 18. Kg1 Rf8 19. Rf1 cxd4 20. Bxd4 Qg6 21. Ne5 Rxf1+ 22. Kxf1 Qh5 23. Qe2 Qxe2+ 24. Kxe2 Nxe4 25. Nxd7 Nec5 26. Nxc5 Nxc5 27. g3 Bg2 28. h4

28. ... Bf1+! 29. Kxf1 Nxd3 30. Ke2 Nc5 31. Ke3. White dares not exchange his Bishop for the Knight, as after 31. Bxc5? bxc5 32. g4 (32. Kf3 h5!) 32. ... h5! the Pawn ending would be lost for him.
31. ... Kf7 32. Be5 Nd7 33. Kd4 Nxe5 34. Kxe5 Ke7 35. g4 g6 36. g5 Kd7 37. c5! Nevertheless, White could also play 37. Kf6 Kd6 38. Kg7 e5 39. Kxh7 e4 40. h5! gxh5! 41. g6 e3 42. g7 e2 43. g8=Q e1=Q 44. Qd8+ Kc6 45. Qc8+ with a draw by perpetual check.
37. ... bxc5 38. c4! The fortress is now unbreakable.
38. ... Ke7 39. Kf4 Kd6 40. Ke4 ½–½.

The Time It Takes

The Lagoons of Venice

Jan Hendrik Timman – Roberto Cosulich
11th International Tournament; Venice, November 1974
Nimzo-Indian Defence E45

“Cosulich was the best of the Italian masters in this tournament, although many contestants were of the opinion that his youth led him to extremes. For example, look at his draw against Mariotti: 1. P-KR4 P-QR4 2. P-QR4 P-KR4, draw?! And against Timman he played clownishly and lost in six moves by overlooking a piece”, Grandmaster Pál Charles Benkö wrote in Chess Life & Review, Vol. XXX, No. 2, February 1975, p. 81.
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Ne2 Ba6 6. Ng3

6. ... d5?? It’s quite paradoxical that three years before, a game Gligorić – Cosulich, 10th International Tournament, Venice 1971, continued 6. ... Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 d5 8. Ba3 dxc4 9. e4 Qd7 10. Be2 Nc6 11. 0-0 0-0-0 12. Qc2 h5 13. Rfd1 Nb8!? 14. Bc1! h4 15. Nf1 Qc6 16. Bf3 Bb7 17. Bg5 Rdg8 18. d5 Qd6 19. Nd2 Qe5! 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Nxc4 Qf4 with satisfactory play for Black.
7. Qa4+ 1–0. “It is a safe bet that this has happened before. Cosulich missed the international master norm at this tournament by half a point” — Kevin John O’Connell, The Batsfod Chess Yearbook, B. T. Batsford Limited, London, 1975, p. 79.

Sung Tales

From Rags to Stars

Professor Mauro Berni (Genoa, Italy) shared some pages from an article by Valdo Eynard, “Božo Filipović”, published in Informazione Scacchi, Year VII, No. 2, March/April 1997, pp. 73–76. Among the many illustrious victims of Filipović was International Master Alberto Mario Giustolisi who, as Berni notes, “did very badly at the 7th Italian Team Chess Championship in Monticelli Terme (2 out of 7), but a few months later he won the 27th Italian Chess Championship in Rovigo”.
Here is the game, with my light notes.

Alberto Mario Giustolisi – Božidar Filipović
7th Italian Team Chess Championship; Monticelli Terme, April 1966
King’s Indian Defence E97

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 0-0 6. Nf3 e5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. Be3 Ng4 9. Bg5 f6 10. Bc1 Nh6 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Be3 Qxd1 13. Raxd1. If 13. Rfxd1 then 13. ... Be6 14. Nd5 Rf7 15. h3 Bf8 16. g4 g5 17. Rac1 Kg7 18. c5 Nd8 19. Nh2 c6 20. Nc3 Ng8 21. Nf1 Rd7 22. Ng3 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 Kf7 24. Nf5 Ke8 25. b3 Nf7 26. Na4 Rd8 27. Rxd8+ Kxd8 28. Nb2 Be7 29. Bc4 ½–½ Wl. Schmidt – Pokojowczyk, 35th Polish Chess Championship, Kraków 1978.
13. ... Be6 14. Nd5 Rac8?! Proper seems 14. ... Rf7 15. b4 Nd8 followed by ... c7-c6.
15. b4! Bxd5 16. cxd5 Nxb4

17. Bc5?! White misses here a consequential opportunity to make his opponent’s defence much more difficult with 17. Rd2! threatening both Be3-c5 and a2-a3.
17. ... Nxa2 18. Rd3. After 18. Bxf8 Nc3 19. Bxg7 Nxe2+ 20. Kh1 Kxg7 Black, with two Pawns for the Exchange and two passed Pawns on the Queenside, should manage to hold his own.
18. ... b6 19. Bxf8 Bxf8 20. Ra1 Nb4 21. Rc3 a5 22. Bb5 Bd6 23. Bd7 Rd8 24. Be6+ Kf8 25. Nd2 Na6 26. Nc4 Bb4 27. Rf3 Kg7 28. g4 Nc5 29. g5 fxg5 30. Nxe5 Nxe6 31. dxe6 Re8 32. Rc1 Bd6

33. Nd3? A sloppy mistake by an out of form Giustolisi, which throws away the game. The critical line was 33. Nd7! Rxe6 34. e5! Rxe5! 35. Nxe5 Bxe5∞ when Black has two Echanges down but four Pawns up.
33. ... Ng4 34. Rf7+ Kg8 35. e5 Nxe5 36. Nxe5 Bxe5 37. Rc6 Bd6 38. Rd7 Rxe6 39. Rdxc7 Re1+ 40. Kg2 Bxc7 41. Rxc7 Re4 0–1.

Love in the Time of Cholera

Politics in the time of impossibility of politics

Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, February 18, 2026

In the Seventh Letter Plato links his decision to consecrate himself to philosophy to the wretched political conditions of the city in which he lived. After trying every way to participate in public life — he writes — he finally realised that all cities were politically corrupt (kakos politeuontai), and he felt, therefore, compelled to abandon politics and devote himself to philosophy.
Philosophy presents itself, from this perspective, as a substitute for politics. We must engage with philosophy, because — now no less than then — engaging in politics has become impossible. One must not forget this particular nexus between politics and philosophy, which makes philosophising a substitute for political action, a supply and a compensation, certainly not fully satisfying, for something we can no longer practise. What value should we then set upon this substitute, which we would not have chosen had political life been still possible? Philosophy shows here its true meaning, which is not to work out theories and opinions to propose to those who believe they can still engage in politics. Philosophy is a form of life, that allows us to live in politically unlivable conditions. Thus — just because it enables us to inhabit the uninhabitable and impolitic city — philosophical life proves to be the only possible politics in the time of impossibility of politics.

(English translation by I, Robot)

Edvard Munch, Kiss, 1897. Courtesy of WikiArt.

Words of Wisdom

As a Young Global Leader (YGL) of the World Economic Forum and a Mastercard Fellow, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Peking University lecturer 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) was a featured speaker at the 56th World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, January 21, 2026, with a conference entitled What Chess Teaches Humans When Machines Play Better. Photo via The Forum of Young Global Leaders.

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The fall of the West

Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, February 16, 2026

The word “Occidente” (“West”), with which we define our culture, derives etymologically from the verb cadere (to fall) and literally means: “that which is falling, that which never ceases to fall”. Also connected to this verb are the terms caso (case, chance) and casuale (chance, random). That which never ceases to fall and set (occasus is the Latin for sunset) is for this reason also prey to chance, to an unceasing randomness. It is therefore not surprising that the government of men and things takes today the form of intervention protocols, independent of certain outcomes, in a world conceived as available and calculable just because of its being random. The West exists and rules itself only in the time of its end and its constant fall and, like its God, is uninterruptedly in act of dying. But just herein lies its strength: an incessant death is properly endless; an infinite transience or randomness is meant to be just unarrestable.
A strategy that seeks to confront this perpetual decline must find in it an interstice or an interruption where the West loses its continuity and falls down once and for all. This abysmal caesura is memory. The West, as it is random and fleeting, has no memory of itself, knows no way or form where something like a memory may for a moment burst forth and grow up. It can certainly construct, as it does, archives and registers in which to chronologically arrange the events — the cases — of its history, but it lacks the capacity to truly carry out a past, to open itself to something that breaks the uniform thread of its representations. Anamnesis, memory, instead, takes the form of an interstice where the decline — chance — is halted for an instant and lets a heterogeneous and unrepresentable past appear as if it had never been. “Oh, past, thou abyss of thought!” (Schelling): only the thought that resolutely descends into this abyss can lead the West once and for all to its end.

(English translation by I, Robot)

As Tennessee Williams said, “In memory everything seems to happen to music”. Photo © 陈漫 (Chén Màn).

Oh yes, Edna, they all, and each of them, are like the hours of a clock counting and recounting the infinite time you have ahead of you

Artwork © AGtheOG123

Queen Kong

For the fourth year in a row, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is going to grace the WR superteam — sponsored and owned by the German tycoon Wadim Alexandrowitsch Rosenstein — with her favours in the 4th FIDE World Rapid Team Championship and 3rd FIDE World Blitz Team Championship, scheduled to take place in 香港 (Hong Kong), China, June 17–21, 2026.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) at last year’s World Rapid & Blitz Team Championships in London. Photo via Sina Sports.

Schachnovelle

Displaced Palestinians play chess outside their displacement tent at Nusairat, Gaza Strip. Photo: Moiz Salhi/APAImages/Shutterstock.

Long Story Short