2011 CCTV Sports Personality Awarding Ceremony

Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) was once again awarded the Best non-Olympic Athlete of the Year Award at the 2011 CCTV Sports Personality Awarding Ceremony held in 北京 (Běijīng), China on January 15, 2012. Photos: 全体育传媒 (OSports Photo Agency).

Lectio Divina

Chess Queen gives lecture at Peking University

ChinaDaily.com.cn, September 26, 2012

Besides being a freshman at the School of International Studies at Peking University, 18-year-old chess World Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) has also become an assistant teacher.
After being invited by 李晓鹏 (Lǐ Xiǎopéng), President of Peking University’s Chess Association, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) gave a one-hour lecture to about 80 students on Tuesday afternoon about the finer points of the board game.
The topic of her lecture was the analysis of famous chess matches and the development of chess at Peking University.
“I am very satisfied with her lecture. I thought it was too professional to fully understand, but it was excellent. I hope there will be another opportunity to have her address us here”, said 李晓鹏 (Lǐ Xiǎopéng). “People from our university want to come see her because of her talent in chess”.
Having been at school for two weeks, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) said she had found a balance between study and playing chess. She also stressed she received no special treatment at school.
“I don’t have any special privileges, except attendance at classes is flexible for chess games”, said 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán).

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s ex cathedra lecture. Photo: 俞东 (Yú Dōng).

One-hour chess class with 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photos: pku.edu.cn.

10th China Laurens Prize Ceremony

10^th China Laurens Prize Ceremony

Níngbō, 11 ottobre 2011
Hóu Yìfán was awarded “Non-olympic Athlete of the Year”.

Economy Class

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Viktor Láznička
7th Aeroflot Open; Moscow, February 15, 2008
Spanish Game C67

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 Ng6 11. Bg5+ Ke8 12. Rad1 Be6. Another way is 12. ... Bd7 13. Rd2 Be6 14. Rfd1 Be7 15. Bxe7 Kxe7 16. Ne4 Rad8 17. Nd4 Rd5 18. Nc3 Rd7 19. Na4 Rd5 20. Nc3 Rdd8 21. Ne4 Rd5 22. Nc3 ½ : ½ 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Howell, 800th Anniversary Summit Chess Match UK–China; Liverpool 2007.
13. a3!?TN h6 14. Be3 Be7 15. Nd4!? Nxe5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bd4 Nc4 18. Bxg7 Rh7 19. Bd4 e5 20. Be3 Nxb2 (20. ... Nxe3? 21. fxe3±)
21. Rb1 Bxa3 22. Ne4 Rf7 23. Bxh6 b5 24. f4 exf4 25. Bxf4 Nc4 26. g4 a5 27. g5 a4 28. Rbe1 Be7? (28. ... Kd7!)
29. h4 a3 30. g6 Rf5 31. Ng3 Rxf4?! (31. ... Rd5 32. h5 Kd7 33. h6)
32. Rxf4 a2 33. Rfe4? (33. g7! Kd7 34. h5 a1=Q 35. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 36. Kh2+−)
33. ... a1=Q

34. Rxe7+ Kd8 35. g7 Qd4+ 36. Kg2 Qd5+ 37. Kh3? (37. Kh2! Nd6 38. R1e6!+−)

37. ... Nd6? (37. ... Kc8! Δ 38. Re8+ Kb7 39. Rxa8 Qd7+)
38. R1e6!+− Qxe6+ 39. Rxe6 Kd7 40. Rg6 Rg8 41. h5 1 : 0.

Vintage picture frames

Da L. M. riceviamo e volentieri pubblichiamo due foto d’epoca di Clarice Benini:

Torneo Nazionale di Venezia (3-18 ottobre 1948)

Foto di gruppo (Clarice è seduta)

Venezia, 1948: Clarice Benini vs. Emilio Pontini

Primo giorno di scuola

Accompagnata dalla madre, la Campionessa del Mondo di scacchi Hóu Yìfán affronta il suo primo giorno di scuola all’Università di Pechino, nel campus dove risiederà per i prossimi mesi...

Foto: http://sports.qq.com/a/20120912/000505.htm

Chess Analyses by Jan van Reek

Jan van Reek, noto autore e compositore olandese di scacchi, ha dedicato sul suo sito una paginetta ai Tornei Internazionali di Capodanno a Reggio Emilia, già organizzati e promossi dal Grande Maestro Enrico Paoli (1908–2005). Interessanti i suoi commenti e le sue analisi a tre partite del dominatore del IV Torneo Internazionale di Capodanno (1961-’62), il Maestro Internazionale romano Alberto Giustolisi:

A. M. Giustolisi – O. Marthaler

Reggio Emilia, 30 dicembre 1961

Est-Indiana E94

1. d4 Cf6 2. c4 g6 3. Cc3 Ag7 4. e4 d6 5. Ae2 0-0 6. Cf3 e5 7. 0-0 Cbd7 8. Ae3 Te8 9. d5 Cc5 10. Cd2!? L’alternativa è 10. Dc2. 10. ... a5 11. a3 Rh8? È migliore il sacrificio posizionale 11. ... a4! 12. Axc5 dxc5 13. Cxa4 De7. 12. b4! axb4 13. axb4 Txa1 14. Dxa1 Ca6 15. Tb1 Cd7!? 16. Da3!? Ancor meglio è 16. c5! dxc5 17. Axa6 cxb4 18. Axb7 Axb7 19. Txb4. 16. ... f5 17. f3 f4 18. Af2 Tg8?! Offre maggior resistenza 18. ... Af8 19. Cb3 De7. 19. c5! dxc5 20. bxc5 Af8 21. Axa6! bxa6 22. Da5 g5 23. d6! g4 24. fxg4 Dg5 25. h3 cxd6 26. Cf3 Dg7 27. Dc7 Ae7 28. cxd6 h5 29. dxe7 hxg4 30. hxg4 Dxg4 31. Ch4 1 : 0. Giustolisi giocò il torneo della vita.

A. M. Giustolisi – H. Lehmann

Reggio Emilia, I gennaio 1962

Grünfeld D91

1. d4 Cf6 2. c4 g6 3. Cc3 d5 4. Cf3 Ag7 5. Ag5 Ce4 6. cxd5 Cxg5 7. Cxg5 e6 8. Cf3 exd5 9. e3 0-0 10. Ae2 c6 11. 0-0 Cd7!? 11. ... De7 pattò in [Em.] Lasker – Botvinnik, Nottingham 1936. 12. Tc1 Cf6 13. b4 Ce4 14. Cxe4 dxe4 15. Cd2 De7 16. b5 cxb5 17. Axb5 Af5 18. Da4 Tfc8 19. Db3 Af8 20. Ac4 Tc7?? Il tedesco butta via un Pedone. È corretta 20. ... Tc6.

21. Axf7+! Rg7. La pointe è 21. ... Dxf7 22. Txc7!. 22. Txc7 Dxc7 23. Ad5 Ad6 24. Axe4 Axh2+ 25. Rh1 Axe4 26. Cxe4 De7 27. Cg5 Ad6 28. Ce6+ Rh8 29. f4 Tc8 30. e4. Il Bianco controlla l’area centrale. 30. ... Ab4 31. Dd5 Ad2 32. g3 h6 33. f5! gxf5 34. De5+ Rg8 35. Dxf5 Tc1 36. Dg6+ Rh8 37. Txc1 Axc1 38. d5 b5 39. d6! Dd7 40. Df6+ Rg8 41. Df8+ Rh7 42. De7+ 1 : 0. Giustolisi aveva realizzato 5 su 6!

T. Ghitescu – A. M. Giustolisi

Reggio Emilia, 5 gennaio 1962

Spagnola C67

1. e4 e5 2. Cf3 Cc6 3. Ab5 a6 4. Aa4 Cf6 5. Axc6 dxc6 6. d3 Cd7 7. Cbd2 Ae7 8. 0-0 0-0 9. b3 f6 10. Ab2 c5!? È nota 10. ... Cc5. 11. Ch4 g6?! 11. ... Cb6!? 12. a4 Ae6 sviluppa i pezzi neri. 12. Dg4 Tf7 13. Cf5! Af8 14. Ce3 Ah6 15. De2?! Il Bianco arretra. 15. ... Cf8 16. g3 Ah3 17. Tfd1 Dd7 18. f3 Ae6 19. Tf1 Ah3 20. Tfd1 Ae6 21. Df2 b6 22. a4 a5 23. Cdc4 Td8 24. Rh1 Dc8 25. Tg1 Axc4 26. Cxc4 Ce6 27. Dg2 Af8 28. Tgf1 Ah6 29. Dh3 Ag7 30. Tae1 Te8 31. Tf2 Dd8 32. Ac3 Cd4 33. Axd4 Dxd4 34. Tfe2 f5? Si assume un impegno non necessario. 35. exf5 Txf5 36. f4 Dd5+ 37. Dg2 Df7 38. Cxe5. Ghitescu guadagna un Pedone. 38. ... Axe5 39. Txe5 Texe5 40. Txe5 Txe5 41. fxe5 De6? 41. ... Df5! 42. Dd5+ Rg7 43. Rg2 Dg5! lotta per la patta. 42. De4! Rf7 43. Rg2 h5 44. Df4+ Re7 45. Rf2 Dc6 46. Re3 De6 47. h4 Dc6 48. Dh6 Rf7 49. Dh7+ Rf8 50. Dh8+ Rf7 51. Dd8 Rg7 52. De7+ Rg8 53. e6 Dd5 54. Df7+ Rh8 55. Df6+ Rh7 56. e7 Dh1 57. Df7+ Rh6 58. e8=D De1+ 59. Rf3 Dh1+ 60. Re2 1 : 0. Nonostante questa sconfitta, Giustolisi mantenne il comando. La classifica finale divenne: Giustolisi 8/11; Lehmann 7½; Ghitescu e Padevski 7; Gragger 6½; Pirc e Haag 6; Sanz e Canal 4½; Contedini, Romani e Marthaler 3.

A Fork in the Trail

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Almira Fyodorovna Skripchenko
40th Women’s Chess Olympiad; Istanbul, September 6, 2012
Sicilian Defence B30

Comments in quotation marks by International Master Yochanan Afek, “Экстремальная шахматная тактика” (“Extreme Chess Tactics”), Chess Federation of Russia, Moscow, 2022, p. 11 and p. 15.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Nc3 Nge7 5. 0-0 a6 6. Bxc6 Nxc6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qc7 9. Re1 d6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Qg4 h5 12. Qe2 h4!? Probably sounder is 12. ... Be7 13. b3 e5 14. Na4 Bg4 15. f3 Be6 16. c4 0-0 17. Be3 f5 18. exf5 Rxf5 19. Rad1 Raf8⇄ Cherniaev – Pridorozhni, 55th Russian Chess Championship, Krasnodar 2002
13. h3 e5 14. f4 exf4 15. Bxf4 Be7 16. Kh1 0-0 17. Rad1 a5?! (17. ... Be6 18. Nd5! cxd5 19. exd5 Bxd5 20. Rxd5 Rfe8 21. b3⩲)
18. b3 Be6 19. Nd5! Bxd5 20. exd5 Rfe8 21. dxc6 Qxc6 22. Qd3 a4

23. Re4. It is just the case to note that 23. b4! seems much stronger, as after 23. ... Bf6 24. b5 White’s passed Pawn would nail down Black’s weaknesses.
23. ... axb3 24. axb3 Bf6 25. Rxe8+ Rxe8 26. Bxd6 Re4 27. Bc5! Be5 28. Bf2 Bc7 29. c4 Qe6 30. Qd5 Qg6 31. Qd7 Bg3 32. Qd2 Qe6 33. Bg1 Re2 34. Qd3 Rb2? 34. ... f5! 35. b4 Qe4! 36. Qxe4 fxe4 37. b5 Rb2 would have given Black very strong drawing chances.
35. Qf3 Bc7 36. Ra1 Qe5 37. Ra8+ Kh7

38. Qd3+? (38. Rf8!+−)
38. ... f5 39. Qf3 g6 40. Qd3 Kh6 41. Rc8. White’s advantage has now vanished, and the most she can hope for is a draw after 41. ... Ra2! (Δ ... Ra2-a1) 42. Rxc7! (sooner or later forced) 42. ... Qxc7 43. Qd4 Qe7 44. c5. But, luckily for her, Black has other ideas:
41. ... Kh5?
“Black’s pieces appear to be reliably protecting each other. Is that so?”.

“White may refute such an assumption with...”.
42. Rxc7! “Deflecting the Queen and leaving the Rook unprotected”.
42. ... Qxc7 43. Qd1+ 1 : 0. “For there follows 43. ... Kh6 44. Qc1+ with a fork”.

Deep Purple

Adam C. Hunt – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
10th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 25, 2012
Sicilian Defence B81

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. g4. The Keres Attack. 6. ... Nc6 7. g5 Nd7 8. Be3 Be7 9. h4 a6 10. Qe2!? Qc7 11. Bh3!? A new move. The theoretical milestone matrix was 11. 0-0-0 b5 12. Nxc6! Qxc6 13. Bd4! b4 14. Nd5 exd5 15. Bxg7 Rg8 16. exd5 Qc7 17. Bf6! Ne5 18. Bxe5 dxe5 19. f4! Bf5 20. Bh3 (20. fxe5 Rc8 21. Rh2!?±) 20. ... Bxh3 21. Rxh3 Rc8 22. fxe5 Qc4! 23. Rdd3 Qf4+ 24. Kb1 Rc4! 25. d6 Re4 26. Rhe3 Rxe3 27. Rxe3 Qxh4 28. Qf3! Qxg5! 29. Re1!? (29. Qc6+ Kf8 30. dxe7+ Qxe7 31. Qh6+ Rg7⩲) 29. ... Qg2 (29. ... Qg4 30. Qd3∞) 30. Qf5 Rg6 31. Rf1 Qd5 32. dxe7 Kxe7 33. Qf4 a5 34. Qh4+ Ke8 35. Qxh7 Qf3 36. Qh8+ Ke7 (36. ... Kd7 37. e6+!) 37. Qh4+ Ke8 38. Qc4! Qb7 39. b3!+− Re6 40. Rg1 Rxe5 41. Rg8+ Ke7 42. Qh4+ Kd7 43. Qf6! Re7 44. Qf5+ Kd6 45. Qxa5 Re5 46. Qd8+ Ke6 47. Kb2! f6 48. Rf8 Qg7 49. Qc8+ Kd5 50. Qc4+ 1 : 0 Karpov – Dorfman, 44th USSR Chess Championship, Moscow 1976. 11. ... Nc5 12. 0-0-0 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 0-0 14. Rdg1. 14. f4 b5 15. a3 is a suggestion by International Master Sam Collins. 14. ... b5 15. Bf5!? What a courage in the face of Caïssa! 15. ... exf5 16. Nd5 Qb7 17. Qh5? This is a one case in which the threat (Nd5-f6+) is not stronger than the execution! Better was 17. Nf6+ Bxf6 (17. ... Kh8? 18. Nxh7! Kxh7 19. Qh5+ Kg8 20. Bxg7! Kxg7 21. Qh6+ Kg8 22. g6+−) 18. gxf6 g6∞ with unclear play. 17. ... Ne6 (17. ... Nxe4?? 18. Nf6+!+−) 18. Nf6+ Bxf6 19. gxf6 g6? 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s blind spot. Black had to play 19. ... Qxe4! as 20. Rxg7+ Nxg7 21. Rg1 was met by 21. ... Qe1+!−+ winning immediately. 20. f3 Kh8. Not 20. ... Nxd4? on account of 21. Qh6 Ne6 22. h5!+− with the threat of 23. Qxh7+!! Kxh7 24. hxg6++ Kg8 25. g7 and mate next move. 21. Qh6 Rg8

22. h5? Hunt misses his once-in-a-lifetime chance with 22. Rg5!! and Black cannot do anything against h4-h5xg6; for instance: 22. ... Nxd4 23. h5! Ne6 24. Qxh7+! Kxh7 25. hxg6#; on other replies, there would follow 23. h5! Nxg5 24. hxg6 Rxg6 25. Qxg6! fxg6 26. f7#. 22. ... g5 23. Be3 f4 24. Bxf4 Nxf4 25. Rxg5 Rxg5 26. Qxg5 Ne6 27. Qg2 Bd7 28. Rg1 Qb6 0 : 1.

Gibraltar Mayor watching 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s game.

Cover Girl: 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo detail: ChinaDaily.com.

Think tank

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Artwork by Mike Magnan.

Alberto Mario Giustolisi

The Irish Chess Union published, in memoriam of Serbian Grandmaster Svetozar Gligorić (Belgrade, February 2, 1923 – Belgrade, August 14, 2012), a set of pictures from the 1957 Dublin Zonal Tournament, in which took part — not as a background player — Italian International Master Alberto Mario Giustolisi (Rome, March 17, 1928 – Genzano, February 27, 1990):

Giustolisi (left) vs. Jaimie Llado (right).

Rest day. Seated from left to right: Pál Charles Benkő, Maureen Forde, Svetozar Gligorić, Ake Stenborg, Muriel Murphy. Standing from right: Denise Catozzi, Giustolisi, Arthur Dunkelblum, Jaimie Llado, and Henry Catozzi.

All photos by Joe Keenan/Irish Chess Union.

Giustolisi, the sad-eyed Italian, who had three fiancées in Rome and wanted one in Ireland. Mlle. Pour-quoi Pas (Beth Cassidy)

香蕉船 (Banana split)

Lilit Maratovna Mkrtchian – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2011–12; 5th stage; Jermuk, July 18, 2012
Nimzo-Indian Defence E56

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. h3 Qe7. Only a month earlier, she had preferred 10. ... a6 11. b3 Re8 12. Bb2 Ne4 13. Ne2 Bd6 14. Rc1 Bf5 15. Bb1 Qd7 16. Nf4 Bxf4 17. exf4 Rad8 18. Nh4 Nd6 19. Nxf5 Nxf5 20. Qg4 Nce7 21. Rfe1 d4 22. Rcd1 g6 23. Re5 f6 24. Re4 Nc6 25. Qf3 Nh4 26. Qg3 Nf5 27. Qf3 Nh4 28. Qe2 Nf5 29. Qf3 ½ : ½ Koneru – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2011–12, 4th stage, Kazan 2012.
11. b3 Rd8 12. Bb2 Ne4 13. Ne2 Nb4 14. Bb1 Bf5 15. Ned4 Bg6 16. a3 Nc6

17. b4 Bb6 18. Ba2 a5 19. b5 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Bc5 21. Bb3 Rac8 22. Qe2 Bd6 23. Rfc1 Rxc1+ 24. Rxc1. White prefers to sacrifice a Pawn rather than allow 24. Bxc1 a4! with the upper hand for Black.
24. ... Bxa3 25. Bxa3 Qxa3

26. Rc7 h6. A hole for the King.
27. Qa2 Qb4 28. Bxd5 Qe1+ 29. Kh2 Nd2! Maybe Mkrtchian was expecting 29. ... Nxf2 30. Bxf7+ Kh8 31. Bxg6 Ng4+! 32. hxg4 Qh4+ with a draw by perpetual check.

30. Bxf7+? Short of time, White misses her chance for salvation: 30. Nf3! Nf1+ 31. Kg1 Qd1 32. Bxf7+ Kh8 33. Bb3 Ng3+ 34. Bxd1 Rxd1+ 35. Kh2 Nf1+ with a draw by perpetual check.
30. ... Kh8 (30. ... Kh7?? 31. Bxg6+ Kxg6 32. Qf7+ Kg5 33. Qxg7+ Kh5 34. Qg4#)
31. Bxg6? Consistent and wrong. After 31. Kg3 Bb1 32. Qb2 Nf1+ 33. Kf3 Qd1+ 34. Qe2 Nd2+ 35. Kg3 (35. Kf4?? Rxd4+−+) 35. ... Rxd4 36. Qxd1 Ne4+ 37. Kh2 Rxd1 38. Rxb7 Rd8 Black’s advantage is not yet imposing.
31. ... Nf1+ 32. Kg1 Nxe3+ 33. Kh2 Nf1+ 34. Kg1 Nd2+ 35. Kh2 Qe5+ 36. g3 Qxc7 37. Ne6 (37. Qxd2 Qb6−+)
37. ... Qb6 38. Nxd8 Qxf2+ 39. Kh1 Qf1+ 0 : 1. Mate follows after 40. Kh2 Nf3#.

A banana a day keeps the doctor away. Photo: FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2011–12.

Her Majesty 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) reloaded

Olympic Champion 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá), with her black swimming suits, shows her athletic beauty at GQ magazine. 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) and her partner 何姿 (Hé Zī) asserted supremacy in 3m springboard synchro at London Olympics on Sunday, taking for China the third straight Olympic title in the event. Photos: Sina Sports.

吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá)

Olympic Champion 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá), with her black swimming suits, shows her athletic beauty at GQ magazine. 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) and her partner 何姿 (Hé Zī) asserted supremacy in 3m springboard synchro at London Olympics on Sunday, taking for China the third straight Olympic title in the event. Photos: Sina Sports.

我选择薄熙来!

Chóngqìng, China, August 2012

Lectio magistralis

40ª Olimpiade degli scacchi in Turchia. Genere: femminile. Incontro Cina – Ucraina. Lectio magistralis di Hóu Yìfán:

Hóu Yìfán – K. Lagno

Istanbul, 30 agosto 2012

Siciliana B47

1. e4 c5 2. Cf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Cxd4 Cc6 5. Cc3 Dc7 6. g3. Commentò illo tempore Bobby Fischer: “Una continuazione del tutto giocabile, definita da Botvinnik ‘un’idea nascosta e ben mascherata’. Per il momento non vi sono tranelli; la combinazione ha origine grazie alla mossa sbagliata di Tal”. Cfr. Bobby Fischer, “60 partite da ricordare”, Milano, U. Mursia & C., 1972, p. 186. 6. ... a6. Kateryna non è però una sprovveduta: se 6. ... Cf6? allora 7. Cdb5!± R. J. Fischer – Tal, Bled 1961. 7. Ag2 Cf6 8. 0-0 Cxd4 9. Dxd4 Ac5 10. Dd3. Xiăo Hóu evita la più teorizzata – e probabilmente più contundente – intermedia 10. Af4 d6 11. Dd2 – cfr. R. J. Fischer – Tajmanov, Vancouver, 25 maggio 1971, 4ª del match. 10. ... d6 11. Ca4!? 0-0?! Deleteria rinuncia alla coppia degli Alfieri. 11. ... Ad7!? è una datata (1967) e criptica dritta di Borislav Milic, mentre Alejandro Ramirez preferisce la più convincente 11. ... Aa7 Δ 12. Td1? Ad7! 13. Cc3 Cg4! con l’iniziativa. 12. Cxc5. La remota referenza dello Sahovski Informator jugoslavo (n. 4/442, 1967) è 12. c4 Aa7 13. b3 (con preferenza per il Bianco) 13. ... Cg4?! (13. ... Td8!? 14. Ab2 Ad7!?) 14. Aa3 Ac5 (14. ... Td8 15. Tad1) 15. Cxc5 dxc5 16. Tad1± b6 17. Dd6 Da7 18. b4 cxb4 19. Axb4 Te8 20. Ac3 e5 (20. ... Ab7 21. Df4! Ch6 22. Axg7!+-) 21. h3 Ch6?? (21. ... Cf6 22. Axe5 Te6 23. Dd4 Ce8 24. f4!) 22. Dxe5! 1 : 0 N. Ivanov – Litzberger, Harrachov 1967. Analisi e punteggiatura sono del solito Milic. La decisione di Yìfán è più naturale. 12. ... dxc5 13. Td1 e5 14. Ae3 Cg4 15. Ad2 Ae6 16. De2 Cf6 17. a4 Tad8 18. f3. Il Bianco ha un circoscritto ma distinto vantaggio. Yìfán – con alekhiniana universalità – neutralizza prima ogni anelito avversario sull’ala di Donna e poi... avanti tutta sull’ala di Re! 18. ... Cd7 19. Ae3 Cb8?! La Lahno confida di trasferire il Cavallo al centro (Cb8-c6-d4), ma la latente debolezza del Pc5 vanifica il progetto. 20. De1 a5. Se 20. ... b6 allora 21. a5! (Ramirez) – la pointe di 20. De1. 21. f4 f6 22. f5 Af7 23. g4 b6 24. Dh4. Alejandro Ramirez preferisce con ragione l’immediata 24. g5. L’apertura della colonna ‘h’, infatti, non si dimostrerà pericolosa abbastanza. 24. ... Txd1+ 25. Txd1 Td8 26. Te1. Come da dogma, Yìfán evita semplificazioni. 26. ... h6 27. Df2. Minaccia h2-h4 e g4-g5. 27. ... Rf8 28. h4 Re7. Kateryna confida nella sua improvvisata “Autodifesa del Re”, ma Sua Maestà è ormai nel mirino della Principessa Rossa. 29. g5 hxg5 30. hxg5 Th8 31. Td1 Td8 32. Tc1!! Xiăo Hóu penetra la posizione con fischeriana profondità! La “misteriosa” mossa di Torre sottende infatti una disgregante minaccia posizionale: c2-c3 e b2-b4. 32. ... Cc6 33. c3 Td6 34. Dh4 Dd8. Il dominio del Nero sulla colonna aperta è meramente simbolico. 35. Dh7 Td1+? Uno scacco compromettente! Dopo 35. ... Dg8 il Nero sopravvive: se 36. g6 allora 36. ... Ab3. 36. Rh2! Txc1 37. Axc1. L’interessantissima alternativa era 37. Dxg7!; per esempio: 37. ... Te1 38. Dxf6+ Re8 39. Dxc6+ Dd7 40. Da8+ Dd8 41. Dxd8+ Rxd8 42. Af2 Te2 43. Ag3 con preponderanza probabilmente decisiva. Tuttavia, Yìfán non dev’esser stata convinta... al di là di ogni ragionevole dubbio dalle conseguenze di 37. ... Tc2! 38. Dxf6+ Rf8 39. Dxc6 Dd3 40. Dh6+ Re8 41. g6 Txg2+ 42. Rxg2 Dxe4+ 43. Rh2 Ad5∞ (Ramirez). 37. ... Dd1? Il Nero era ancora a tempo per ravvedersi con 37. ... Dg8 (38. g6 Ab3). 38. Dxg7! E non 38. Ae3? Dh5+ (Ramirez). 38. ... Dxc1 39. Dxf6+ Rf8 40. Dh8+ Re7. Con sintomatica rassegnazione, ma anche dopo 40. ... Ag8 41. Dh6+ Re7 42. f6+ (42. Dxc6?? Df4+=) 42. ... Re8 43. f7+! Axf7 (43. ... Rxf7?? 44. g6++-) 44. Dxc6+ Rf8 45. Dd6+ Rg8 46. Db8+ Rh7 47. Dxe5 il Bianco detta legge. 41. Df6+ Rf8 42. Dh8+! Primum vivere, deinde philosophari. Se 42. Dxc6? allora 42. ... Df4+ 43. Rh3 De3+ 44. Rh2 Df4+ e scacco perpetuo. Se invece 42. g6 allora 42. ... Df4+ 43. Rg1 De3+ 44. Rf1 Dd3+ 45. Rf2 Cd8 (Ramirez) e non tutto ancora è perduto. 42. ... Re7

43. f6+! Inizia il regicidio... 43. ... Rd7. A malincuore, ma 43. ... Rd6 44. Df8+ è un massacro. 44. Ah3+ Ae6 45. Dg7+ Rd6 46. Df8+ Rc7. Oppure 46. ... Rd7 47. Df7+!+-. 47. Axe6 Df4+ 48. Rh3 Df3+ 49. Rh4. Il Re bianco è pronto a dirigersi in g7. 49. ... Dh1+ (49. ... Dxe4+ 50. Rh5!) 50. Rg4 Dxe4+ 51. Rh5 Dh7+ 52. Dh6. Il Nero ha ormai esaurito gli scacchi. 52. ... De4 53. Dg7+ Rb8 54. Df8+ Ra7 55. Df7+ Rb8 56. De8+ Ra7 57. Dd7+ Rb8 58. Ad5 1 : 0. Yìfán ha degnamente emulato il suo eroe Robert James Fischer!

Hóu Yìfán

Foto: http://photo.chessolympiadistanbul.com/Caissa-Award/

我们爱中国！

HK (香港), 29 agosto 2012

Chess Art

HK (香港) Cultural Centre

Chess in 云南 (Yúnnán)

People crowd around a game of 象棋 (Xiàngqí) in 昆明 (Kūnmíng), 云南省 (Yúnnán province), China, August 2012. Photo: Mado Flynn.

Il lato in fiore

Chóngqìng, agosto 2012
Foto: Isadora Duncan