Artwork: niGHTpiSces
Monday, March 31, 2014
Sinfonia （交響曲）
Theodore Lichtenhein – Paul Charles Morphy
New York, 22 ottobre 1857
Due Cavalli C55
New York, 22 ottobre 1857
Due Cavalli C55
Il virgolettato è di Daniel Willard Fiske, “The Book of the First American Chess Congress”, Londra, Sampson Low, Son, 1859, p. 223.
1. e4 e5 2. Cf3 Cc6 3. Ac4 Cf6. “Non una difesa molto comune, ma perfettamente sicura”. 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 d5 6. Ab5 Ce4 7. Cxd4 Ad7. L’alternativa è 7. ... Ac5 Δ 8. Cxc6? Axf2+ 9. Rf1 Dh4! 10. Cd4+ c6 11. Cf3 Cg3+ 12. Rxf2 Ce4+!! 13. Re2 Df2+ 14. Rd3 Af5
1. e4 e5 2. Cf3 Cc6 3. Ac4 Cf6. “Non una difesa molto comune, ma perfettamente sicura”. 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 d5 6. Ab5 Ce4 7. Cxd4 Ad7. L’alternativa è 7. ... Ac5 Δ 8. Cxc6? Axf2+ 9. Rf1 Dh4! 10. Cd4+ c6 11. Cf3 Cg3+ 12. Rxf2 Ce4+!! 13. Re2 Df2+ 14. Rd3 Af5
-+. 8. Cxc6?! Di prammatica è 8. Axc6 bxc6 9. 0-0 Ac5 10. f3 Cg5 11. Ae3 0-0 12. f4 Ce4 13. Cd2 f6 14. Cxe4
dxe4 15. De2 Ag4 16. Df2 Dd5? (16. ... De8) 17. Cxc6!± Sveshnikov –
Keres, 41° Campionato Sovietico, Mosca 1973. 8. ... bxc6 9. Ad3 Ac5! Come sempre uno sviluppo in sinfonia! 10. Axe4 Dh4! 11. De2 dxe4 12. Ae3?! “Avrebbe dovuto arroccare subito”. 12. ... Ag4!
13. Dc4? “Se 13. Dd2 naturalmente il Nero giocherebbe 13. ... Td8”. Più pervicace – sebbene comunque vantaggiosa per il Nero – era 13. g3 Dh5.
13. ... Axe3! 14. g3. “Se 14. Dxc6+ Rf8 15. Dxa8+ [Fiske non si avvede di 15. 0-0! – N.d.R.] 15. ... Re7 e il Nero deve vincere”. In verità, 14. Dxc6+ è confutata da 14. ... Ad7! 15. Dxa8+ Re7 16. g3 Dg4 (oppure 16. ... Axf2+! 17. Rxf2 e3+ 18. Re1 Db4+ 19. c3 Dxb2 20. Dxh8 Ag4 e matto in due) 17. Dxh8 Axf2+ 18. Rxf2 Df3+ 19. Rg1 Ah3 matto in due. Se invece 14. 0-0 allora 14. ... Ab6 15. Dxc6+ Re7
-+. 14. ... Dd8! 15. fxe3 Dd1+ 16. Rf2 Df3+! 17. Rg1 Ah3!
18. Dxc6+ Rf8! 19. Dxa8+ Re7 0-1. “Il Bianco non può procrastinare il matto per più di tre mosse. Tempo: 45 minuti”.
兩性共享 (Unisex)
兴化 (Xīnghuà), March 22, 2014. The 49th Chinese Chess Championship awarding ceremony. Who is 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)? Photo: js.xinhuanet.com.
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Sunday, March 30, 2014
Amaurosis scacchistica
Amaurosis scacchistica (Latin for chess blindness) is the failure of a chess player, during a chess game, to make a normally obvious good move or see a normally obvious danger. The term was coined by Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch. Similar to chess blindness is the Kotov syndrome, in which a player, after a long period of calculation, suddenly makes a move they have not analyzed at all.
[Wikipedia] |
Sergio Mariotti – N. N.
Simultaneous chess exhibition; Rome, June 29, 1980
Sicilian Defence B94
Simultaneous chess exhibition; Rome, June 29, 1980
Sicilian Defence B94
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6. The sharp Najdorf Variation. 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bc4 e6. “[...] the more common continuation, so what need to play first 6. ... Nbd7?”, wonders International Master Stefano Tatai in his book “Tatai insegna la Najdorf”, Rome, Caissa Italia editore,
2008, p. 20. 8. 0-0 b5? If 8. ... h6?! then 9. Bxf6! Nxf6 10. Bb3 b6
11. f4 Bb7 12. Qd3 Be7 13. Nxe6!± Stean – Browne, 21st Chess Olympiad, Nice 1974. More convincing, however, is 8. ... Qa5(!) 9. Qd2 Be7 10. Rad1 h6 11. Bh4 Ne5 12. Be2! g5 13.
Bg3 (Kaplan – Mater, Jerusalem 1967) 13. ... Bd7 14. f4 gxf4 15. Rxf4
0-0-0∞ (R. Marić’s analysis). 9. Bxe6! fxe6 10. Nxe6 Qb6 11. Nd5 Nxd5
12. exd5?? Strange things can happen everywhere! 12. Qxd5 was easy and deadly, for if 12. ... Bb7 then 13.
Nc7+! Qxc7 14. Qe6+ and mate next move. 12. ... Ne5 13. Be3 Qb7 14. f4
Nc4 15. Bd4 Bxe6 16. dxe6 0-0-0 17. b3 Nb6 18. f5 Rg8 19. a4 b4 20. Qe2 Be7 21.
Rad1 Nd5 22. Kh1 Kb8 23. Bg1?? The “Italian Fury” is going crazy! After 23. Qd2 Nf6 Black stands better, but the game is not yet over. 23. ... Nc3
-+ 24. Qf2 Nxd1 25. Rxd1 Rc8 26. Rd4 Rc7 27.
Rg4 d5 28. Qg3 Bf6 29. Qd6 Ka8 30. Rxb4 Qc6 31. Qg3 Qc3 32. Qd6 Qc6 ½ : ½. A gallant agreement between the two sides, being Black content of saving the day... his own and that of Grandmaster Mariotti too! Source: Due Alfieri, July-August 1980, p. 157.She Walks In Beauty
Artwork: CorryRox
She Walks In Beauty
She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!
Lord Byron
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Saturday, March 29, 2014
诺亚方舟 (Noah’s Ark)
侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and her mother 王茜 (Wáng Qiàn) standing under the rain in Genoa, Italy on February 5, 2014. |
看不见的人 (Invisible Man)
The New York Chess Club Testimonial, May 25, 1859
Paul Morphy’s speech – Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: Twelve months have elapsed since bidding adieu to my Western home. I sought beyond the blue waters the foreign skies of another hemisphere; and again I have returned to the land of my birth and affections. Another year has glided by and once more I find myself by the friends whose good wishes and approbation cheered my wandering course. I thank them – I most sincerely thank them for the more then cordial which has greeted my return to the Empire City. Well may they say that they have made their City the verdant spot in my sandy path - the green and ever-blooming oasis of repose where, like the way-worn traveler, I forget the fatigue and exposure of the journey, and gather renewed life and energy for its completion. Not satisfied, however, with showering innumerable attentions upon me, they this night cap the climax of their favors by presenting me, in conjunction with a large number of the citizens of New York, this beautiful piece of workmanship and a superb testimonial of their regard and sympathy. How thankfully received – how dearly prized – mere words can not portray. I shall proudly take it to my Southern home and preserve it as a precious memento of my friends in New York. I fear, ladies and gentlemen, that lengthy comments upon the game of chess might prove uninteresting to a large portion of the highly intellectual audience before me. Of my European tour I will only say it has been pleasant in almost every respect. Of the adversaries encountered in the peaceful jousts of the checkered field, I retain a lively and agreeable recollection. I found them gallant, chivalrous and gentlemanly, as well as true votaries of the kingly pastime. A word now on the game itself. Chess has never been and never can be aught but a recreation. It should not be indulged it to the detriment of other and more serious avocations – should not absorb the mind or engross the thoughts of those who worship at its shrine; but should be kept in the background and restrained within its proper province. As a mere game, a relaxation from the severer pursuits of life, it is deserving of high commendation. It is not only the most delightful and scientific, but the most moral of amusements. Unlike other games in which lucre is the end and the aim of the contestants, it recommends itself to the wise by the fact that its mimic battles are fought for no prize but honor. It is eminently and emphatically the philosopher's game. Let the chessboard supercede the card table, and a great improvement will be visible in the morals of the community. But, ladies and gentlemen, I need not expiate on the field so ably traversed by the eloquent gentleman who has just addressed you. I thank you from my heart for the very flattering manner in which you have been pleased to receive his too complimentary remarks, and for the numerous attentions received at your hands. I shall leave New York with melancholy sorrow, for I part from friends than whom none truer can be found. Let them rest assured that along with the memory of the chessboard I possess the memory of the heart. And now, with a renewal of my sincere thanks for the splendid token of your regard with which you have presented me tonight, and the assurance that I shall cherish in unfading memory the remembrance of my sojourn here, I bid you, ladies and gentlemen, a farewell, which I fondly hope will not prove the last. |
内核错误 (Kernel panic)
Paul Charles Morphy – Johann Jacob Löwenthal
10ª del match; Londra, 6 agosto 1858
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5. Sic et simpliciter. A Morphy basta il vantaggio del tratto! 3. ... exd5 4. Cf3 Cf6 5. Ad3 Ad6 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Cc3 c6 8. Ag5 h6. “Migliore è l’immediata 8. ... Ag4”. 9. Ah4 Ag4 10. h3 Axf3 11. Dxf3 Cbd7 12. Af5 Dc7 13. Tae1 Tae8 14. Te3 Af4 15. Te2
Txe2 16. Cxe2 Ad6 17. Axd7 Cxd7 18. Cg3 Te8. L’Alfiere è tabù: 18.
... g5? 19. Cf5 gxh4?? 20. Dg4+ e matto alla prossima. 19. Cf5 Cf8 20. Ag3
Axg3 21. fxg3!? Te4. Karsten Müller considera anche 21. ... Ce6 22. Dg4 Rh7 23. Dh5 Rg8 24. Dg4 Rh7=. 22. c3 Ch7. “Il Cavallo mira a f6. A Löwenthal sfugge che il suo piano sarà confutato da 25. Cxg7. Era corretta 22. ... Ce6”. 23. h4 h5. “Ciò indebolisce solamente l’ala di Re. 23. ... Te6, seguita da ... Ch7-f6, è la logica continuazione. Anche 23. ... b5 è degna di considerazione”. 24. c4. “Benissimo! Il Bianco previene il trasferimento della Torre nera in g4”. 24. ... Cf6? Crash! Il solito Müller propugna 24. ... Dd8 25. cxd5 Dxd5 26. Dxh5 De6 27. Df3 Cf6 con equilibrio dinamico, nonché 24. ... Db6!?. 25. Cxg7! Cg4 26. Cxh5 Txd4 27. Cf6+. “Il Bianco persegue l’attacco con forza fino alla 31ª mossa”. 27. .... Cxf6 28. Dxf6 Txc4? (28.
... Tg4 29. Tf5 Tg6 30. Tg5 Txg5 31. Dxg5+±) 29. Tf5 Tg4 30. Te5 Dc8
31.
Te7. Max Lange preferisce con ragione 31. Th5! Tg7 (31. ... Rf8 32. Th8+
Tg8 33. Dd6+ Rg7 34. Dh6 matto) 32. Dh6 Rf8 33. Tg5
+-. 31. ...
Df8 (31. ... Tg7 32. h5+-) 32. De5 Dg7? “Con 32. ... Te4 il Nero poteva sostenere la posizione per un po’, dal momento che il Bianco si sarebbe aggiudicato successivamente la vittoria (dopo 33. Dg5+ Rh8 34. Txe4 dxe4 35. De5+ Rg8 36. Dxe4) solo grazie alla postazione più vantaggiosa dei Pedoni. Il tratto del testo perde subito”. 33. Te8+
Rh7 34. Dh5+ 1 : 0. Perché se 34. ... Dh6 allora 35.
Dxg4+-.
Paul Charles Morphy contro una misteriosa avversaria...
穿靴子的猫 (Il gatto con gli stivali)
Nel commentare il giuoco del Bianco, in questa partita, il Dr. E. Lasker disse che, analizzando profondamente il giuoco del Bianco, ci si rende conto che non esiste un modo per renderlo migliore.
Questo tipo di partita, apparentemente semplice, è spesso di natura difficilissima. In taluni casi è molto più difficile raggiungere la perfezione di quanto non lo sia nelle partite così dette di giuoco brillante, con attacco diretto contro il Re, che implicano sacrifici di pezzi.
José Raúl Capablanca, “I Fondamenti degli Scacchi”, Firenze, Aldo Martello, 1971, p. 79.
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Friday, March 28, 2014
指紋 (Impronta digitale)
It’s This Way
I stand in the advancing light, my hands hungry, the world beautiful. My eyes can’t get enough of the trees— they’re so hopeful, so green. A sunny road runs through the mulberries, I’m at the window of the prison infirmary. I can’t smell the medicines— carnations must be blooming nearby. It’s this way: being captured is beside the point, the point is not to surrender.
Nâzım Hikmet
English translation by Randy Blasing and Mutlu Konuk |
Tara-Lee Thompson (Quinata), Confined Heart, 2014. Courtesy of DeviantArt.
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Thursday, March 27, 2014
Walk the Walk
侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and Simone De Filomeno playing the first game of their Youth Friendly Match at Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” in Florence, Italy on Saturday, February 8, 2014. Photo: Gianna Cheli. |
普珥節 (Purim)
Hebron (لخليل), Cisgiordania (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)
文扬小姐的心血结晶
(Da un’idea della signorina Wényáng)
文扬小姐的心血结晶
(Da un’idea della signorina Wényáng)
Il grado di libertà di un uomo si misura dall’intensità dei suoi sogni.
Alda Merini
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吹在风中 (Blowin’ in the Wind)
| Blowin’ in the Wind Bob Dylan how many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man yes ’n how many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand yes and how many times must the cannonballs fly before the’re forever banned the answer my friend is blowing in the wind the answer is blowing in the wind yes and how many years can a mountain exist before it is washed to the sea yes and how many years can some people exist before the’re allowed to be free yes and how many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see the answer my friend is blowing in the wind the answer is blowing in the wind yes and how many times must a man look up before he can see the sky yes and how many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry yes and how many deaths will it take before he knows that too many people have died the answer my friend is blowing in the wind the answer is blowing in the wind 吹在风中 鲍勃·迪伦 (Bob Dylan) 一个人走多少路， 在他成为一个真正的人之前 一只白鸽要飞过多少海洋， 在它睡在沙滩上之前 一个炮弹要飞多长时间， 在它永远消失之前 答案吹在风中 一座山能存在多少年， 在它被冲入大海之前 有些人能活多久 在他们自由之前 一个人能回多少次头 在他假装没看见之前 答案吹在风中 一个人能抬头多少次 在他仰望天空之前 一个人要有多少只只耳朵 在他能听到别人的哭声之前 这儿有多少人死去， 在他知道他们有很多人死去 答案吹在风中 |
Traduzione di 唐利仿 (Táng Lìfǎng)
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Niente per caso
Marmaduke Wyvill vs. Serafino Dubois
Rome, November 26, 1845
The Chess Monthly, Volume 3, August 1859, pp. 252-253.
Rome, November 26, 1845
The Chess Monthly, Volume 3, August 1859, pp. 252-253.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Once in a Lifetime
Venice, Italy, February 3, 2014: 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) &c. (China, Italy and Spain). Photo: 王茜 (Wáng Qiàn).
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Little Miss Strange
The queen of chess, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), began her holiday with a diplomatic visit to the Associazione Culturale Linguistica Italo-Cinese (ACLIC ARCI) in Prato, Italy, on Sunday, February 2, 2014.
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Lapsus memoriae
Hikaru Nakamura – Fabiano Caruana
vi FIDE Grand Prix; Élancourt, 29 settembre 2013
Grünfeld D70
vi FIDE Grand Prix; Élancourt, 29 settembre 2013
Grünfeld D70
1. d4 Cf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 d5 4. cxd5 Cxd5 5. e4 Cb6 6. Cc3 Ag7 7. Ae3 0-0 8. Dd2 Cc6 9. 0-0-0 Dd6 10. h4 Td8 11. Cb5 Dd7 12. h5 a6 13. Cc3
Cxd4 14. hxg6
Posizione dopo la 14ª mossa del Bianco (14. hxg6). A quanto pare tutto ciò è stato già giocato(!)... ed è considerato almeno pari per il Nero! La domanda è: come deve riprendere il Nero in g6?
Il Nero muove e perde!
(Non una delle migliori prove di Caruana)
(Non una delle migliori prove di Caruana)
Qui è corretta 14. ... fxg6! con un gioco perfettamente adeguato. Per esempio: 15. g4 e5 16. Dh2 h6 17. Axh6 Axh6+ 18. Dxh6 Dg7!= come in Postny – Givon, Campionato Israeliano, Acre 2013. Tuttavia, Caruana era sulle nuvole e forse ha dimenticato la teoria, o semplicemente la sua mano ha mosso il pezzo sbagliato: 14. ... hxg6?? Ciò perde almeno un pezzo per niente. Dopo 15. Axd4! Dxd4!? (15. ... Axd4 16. Dh6! Dd6 17. Txd4 Dxd4 18. Dh7+ Rf8 19. Dh8+ Dxh8 20. Txh8+ Rg7 21. Txd8 ecc.) 16. De1 Dxd1+ 17. Cxd1 il Nero può abbandonare con la coscienza a posto. 17. ... Ca4 18. b3 Cc5 19. e5 Af5 20. f4 a5 21. Cf3 a4 22. b4 Cb3+ 23. axb3 a3 24. Dc3 e6 25. Ce3 a2 26. Da1 Af8 27. Cxf5 gxf5 28. b5 c6 29. bxc6 Tdc8 30. Ac4 Txc6 31. Cd4 Tcc8 32. Rc2 Ab4 33. g4 fxg4 34. f5 1 : 0.
