秀贵甘蔗 (Saccharum officinarum)

Grigoriy Alekseyevich Oparin – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
13th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 31, 2015
Nimzo-Indian Defence E46

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Ne2 d5 6. a3 Be7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. g3 Nbd7 9. Bg2 Nb6 10. 0-0 a5 11. b3. Another continuation is 11. a4 Re8 12. f3 c5 13. g4! h6 14. b3 Bd7 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16. Qd3 Rc8 17. Bd2 Bc6 18. Nd4 Nbd7 19. Rad1 Ba7 20. Nce2! Ne5 21. Qb1 Ng6 22. Nf5! Qc7 23. Qb2 Kh7 24. Kh1 Bb8 25. Neg3 Ne5? (25. ... Ne7!) 26. f4! Nd3 (26. ... Nexg4 27. h3!) 27. Qd4 Nb4 28. g5!+− Spassky – Gurgenidze, 24th Soviet Chess Championship, Moscow 1957. 11. ... Re8 12. Qd3 Bf8 13. Bd2 g6 14. f3 c5 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16. Nd4 Nbd7 17. Na4 b6 18. Nxc5 bxc5 19. Nb5 Ba6 20. a4 Qb6 21. Rfc1 Ne5 22. Qc3 Bxb5 23. axb5 Qxb5 24. Re1. The safer course 24. Qxc5 Qxb3 25. Qd4 Re6 would keep the game equal; for example: 26. Bc3 Rc8 27. Rab1 Qa3 28. Ra1 Qb3 with a draw by repetition. 24. ... a4 25. bxa4 Rxa4 26. Rxa4 Qxa4 27. g4 h6 28. h3

28. ... Qc4. The exchange of Queens appears to dissipate Black’s light-square bind. A much stronger move would seem 28. ... Qa6! with a clear advantage to Black; it should be noted that White cannot free himself by 29. Bf1?? because of 29. ... Nxf3+! 30. Kg2 Qd6! 31. Kxf3 Ne4 with an irresistible attack. 29. f4 Nd3 30. Qxc4 dxc4 31. Rb1 Kf8 32. Bc6 Re6 33. Rb8+ Ke7 34. Bb5 Rd6 35. Bc3 g5 36. Rb7+ Nd7 37. fxg5 hxg5 38. Bxc4 f6 39. Kg2 Ne5 40. Bxe5 fxe5 41. Kf3 Rb6 42. Ra7 Rb4 43. Bd3 Kd6 44. Bf5 e4+ 45. Kg3 Ne5 46. Ra6+ Nc6 47. h4 gxh4+ 48. Kxh4 Kd5 49. g5 Ne7 50. Be6+ Ke5 51. Bg4 Nf5+ 52. Bxf5 Kxf5 53. Rc6 Rb3 54. Rxc5+ Kg6 55. Rc6+ Kg7 56. Rc7+ ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Sophie Triay.

哈米吉多頓

Artwork: Bhomas Trown

豆漿

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Babu M.R. Lalith
Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 30, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B19

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. 0-0-0 Be7 13. Kb1 0-0 14. Ne4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Nf6 16. Qe2 Qd5 17. Be3. For 17. Ne5 Rfd8 18. Rhe1 c5 19. c4 Qd6 20. g4 cxd4 [better 20. ... Nd7 21. Ba5 b6 22. Qf3 Bf6! with equality, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Gunina, 3th SportAccord World Mind Games; Women’s Rapid Event; 北京 (Beijīng) 2013] 21. g5 hxg5 22. Bxg5 Nd7 23. Nxf7! Kxf7 24. Rxd4! Qb6 25. Bxe7 Kxe7 26. Qg4 Rg8 27. Rde4 e5 28. Rxe5+! see 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Gunina, 3th SportAccord World Mind Games; Women’s Blitz Event; 北京 (Beijīng) 2013. 17. ... Rad8. For 17. ... Ng4 18. Bc1 Rfd8 19. Ne5 see Negi – Lalith, 48th Indian Chess Championship, New Delhi 2010. 18. Ne5 Nd7 19. Nd3 Qb5 20. f4. The alternative was 20. Bc1 Bf6 21. Qg4 Kh8 22. Nf4 Rfe8 ½ : ½ So – Bruzón Batista, Montreal 2012. 20. ... c5. A novelty, one may suspect. For 20. ... Nb6 21. c3 c5 22. dxc5 Na4 see Nasuta – Powierski, Iași 2014. 21. g4 Nb6. A strong rejoinder. 22. dxc5 Na4

23. c4. Luckily enough, the text move is both near-forced and good. 23. ... Qxc4 24. Qc2 Qxc2+ 25. Kxc2 Nxc5 26. Nxc5 Bxc5 27. Bxc5 Rc8 28. b4 b6 29. Rd7 a6 30. a4 bxc5 31. b5 axb5 32. axb5 Rb8 33. Rb1 f5 34. gxf5 Rxf5 35. Kc3 Rxf4 36. Rg1 Rxb5 37. Rgxg7+ Kf8 38. Rh7 Kg8 39. Rxh6 Rbb4 40. Rg6+ Kh8 41. Rh6+ Kg8 ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Babu M.R. Lalith
Photo: Sophie Triay

镜像

A model wears the wedding gown for Zuhair Murad’s Spring-Summer 2015 Haute Couture fashion collection presented in Paris, France, Thursday, January 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon).

Game of Thrones

居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) – Richárd Rapport
13th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 29, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D07

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6. The Chigorin Defence. 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Bf4 Bxf3 5. gxf3 e6 6. e3 Nge7 7. Nc3 a6 8. Qb3. For 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bg3 Be7 see Denoth – Fioramonti, Zürich 1987. 8. ... Ra7. A weird-looking move. 8. ... dxc4 9. Bxc4 Na5 looks much sounder. 9. Rc1 g6 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Bg3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bd6. “Richárd Rapport has gone almost a dozen moves without pushing his h-Pawn up the board. Is he feeling unwell?”, Grandmaster Nigel David Short joked. 13. c4 Qg5 14. Bg2 Qa5+. Alas, no good is 14. ... Nxd4? because of 15. Qc3. 15. Ke2 h5 16. f4 0-0 17. Bh4. Here also 17. c5 Be7 18. f5 was worth considering. 17. ... Qf5 18. h3 Be7 19. Bg3 h4 20. Bh2 Qa5 21. Rhd1 Bd6 22. d5. Breaking up the centre by energetic means. 22. ... exd5 23. cxd5 Nb8 24. e4 Re8. A pointless move, but also after 24. ... Qb5+ 25. Qxb5 axb5 26. e5 Rxa2+ 27. Kf1 Bb4 28. Rxc7 b6 29. d6 Bc5 30. Bg1 Na6 31. Bb7 Black is busted. 25. e5 b6 26. Kf1 Bc5 27. Kg1 Qb5 28. Qc2 Nd7 29. Re1 Bb4 30. Re3 Bc5 31. Re4 Bf8 32. Rc4 Nc5 33. f5. The End.

33. ... Bg7 34. fxg6 c6 35. dxc6 Bxe5 36. gxf7+ Rxf7 37. Bd5 Bxh2+ 38. Kxh2 Ne6 39. Qg6+ Kf8 40. Qh6+ 1 : 0. “I love iconoclasts like Richárd Rapport. Let’s hope he doesn’t share the recent fate of his fellow kindred spirit Baadur Jobava”, Short tweeted.

From the left: 郭琦 (Guō Qí), 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) and 韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: John Saunders

Rock am Ring

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Mohamad Naser Al Sayed
Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 29, 2015
Sicilian Defence B91

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg2 0-0 9. 0-0 b5 10. a4 b4 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. Qxd5 Ra7 13. Be3 Be6 14. Qd3 Rb7 15. f4. The alternative was 15. Rfc1 Qc7 16. c3 Bc4 17. Qc2 Be6 18. Qd1 Qd8 19. Bf1 bxc3 20. Rxc3 Bg5 21. Bxg5 Qxg5 22. Bc4 Bxc4 23. Rxc4 Nd7 24. Rac1 Qd8 25. Rc6 Qb8 26. Rxd6 Rxb3 27. Rxd7 Rxb2 28. Qd5 Rb1 29. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 30. Kg2 Qa1 31. a5 h6 32. Rd6 Rc8 33. Rxa6 Rc1 34. Ra8+ Kh7 35. Qxf7 1 : 0 Ponomariov – Safarli, 40th Chess Olympiad, Istanbul 2012. 15. ... Qc8 16. Na5 Rc7 17. f5 Bc4 18. Nxc4 Rxc4 19. Rfc1

19. ... d5!? Black’s enterprising Pawn sacrifice leads to a hand-to-hand struggle for the initiative and eventually a somewhat precarious position. 20. exd5 e4 21. Qb3 Bc5 22. f6! Blow for blow! 22. ... gxf6 23. Kh1! Bxe3 24. Qxe3 Re8 25. Re1 Kg7 26. Rad1 Rxc2 27. Rf1 Qg4 28. Rde1 Nd7. Al Sayed was terribly short of time at this stage. 29. Rf4 Qh5 30. h3 Kh8 31. Rxe4 Rxe4 32. Qxe4 Qe5 33. Qxb4. To be objective, it is not the best move for White to play, but sure it is the sharpest one. 33. ... Qxg3 34. Rg1 Qc7?? A fatal error in desperate time-trouble. After the cool 34. ... Kg7! Black is still well and, if not well, alive. 35. Qe7! Kg7. And Black resigned without awaiting White’s coup 36. Bf3+ which mates in four moves. 1 : 0.

. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Mohamad Naser Al Sayed
Photo: John Saunders

洛奇

Vladimir Prosviriakov – 韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 27, 2015
Sicilian Defence B31

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. 0-0 Bg7 5. Re1 Nf6 6. e5 Nd5 7. Nc3 Nc7 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. Ne4 b6 10. Nf6+ Kf8 11. Ne4 Bg4! “White must pay a price for Ne4–f6–e4. Black uses the tempo to win the e5 Pawn”, International Master Malcom Pein writes. 12. d3. “12. Ng3 Ne6 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Qd5 15. Qxd5 cxd5 16. c3 c4! and a Knight comes to d3”, Pein writes. 12. ... Bxe5 13. h3. The critical alternative is 13. Nxe5 Bxd1 14. Bh6+ Kg8 15. Nxc6 Bxc2 16. Nc3 (Igor Štohl recommends 16. Nxd8 Rxd8 17. Nxc5! bxc5 18. Rxe7 Nd5 19. Rxa7 Nf6 20. h3 with a decisive advantage) 16. ... e6 17. Nxd8 Rxd8 18. Bg5 Kg7 19. Bxd8 Rxd8 20. Rac1 Bxd3 21. Red1 e5 22. Re1 Re8 23. b3 Nb5 ½ : ½ Timman – Kramnik, Riga 1995. 13. ... Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Bg7 15. Ng5 Qd5 16. Re4

16. ... e5! 17. c4 Qd7 18. Qe2 f6 19. Nf3 Rd8 20. g4 h6 21. b4 Qxd3 22. bxc5 bxc5 23. Kg2 f5 24. gxf5 gxf5 25. Qxd3 Rxd3 26. Re3 Rxe3 27. Bxe3 e4 28. Bxc5+ Kf7 29. Nd4 Ne6 30. Nxe6 Bxa1 31. Nf4 Be5 0 : 1.

韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: Sophie Triay

中點

马多·弗林的主意
(Da un’idea di Mado Flynn)

奥林匹斯山

Natalia Andreevna Pogonina (@Pogonina)

The Purloined Letter

Rock or Bust

Arghyadip Das – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
13th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 28, 2015
Sicilian Defence B83

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be2 Be7 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. Be3 0-0 9. a4 Bd7 10. f4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Bc6 12. Bf3 (12. b4 e5 13. Qd3 exf4 14. Rxf4 Nd7 15. Bd4 Ne5 16. Qg3 Bg5 17. Rf5 Bh4 18. Qe3 Bd7 19. Rff1 Nc6 20. Nd5 Nxd4 21. Qxd4 Be6 22. Kh1 Rc8 23. c4 a5 24. bxa5 Bxd5 25. Qxd5 Bf6 26. Ra3 Qe7 27. Rb3 Rc5 28. Qxb7 Qxb7 29. Rxb7 Rxa5 30. Bd1 Bd4 31. g3 g6 32. Rb5 Rfa8 33. Rb7 Rf8 34. Bb3 Ra7 35. Rxa7 Bxa7 36. c5 dxc5 37. Rf6 Kg7 38. Ra6 Rb8 39. Bd5 Rb1+ 40. Kg2 Bb8 41. a5 Ra1 42. Ra8 Bc7 43. a6 Bb6 44. Kf3 Ra4 45. Bc6 Ra3+ 46. Ke2 c4 47. Bb5 Ra2+ 48. Kd1 c3 49. Rc8 Rd2+ 50. Kc1 Rb2 51. Ba4 Be3+ 52. Kd1 Ra2 53. Bc2 Bg1 54. h3 Rxa6 55. Rxc3 Rf6 56. Ke1 Bb6 57. Rb3 h5 58. Bd1 Bc7 59. Rf3 Rxf3 60. Bxf3 Bxg3+ 61. Kf1 Kf6 62. Bd1 ½ : ½ Houska – Smeets, 5th Staunton Memorial, London 2007)
12. ... Nd7 (12. ... d5 13. e5 Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Qxd8 Rfxd8 16. Be2 f5 17. b3 h6 18. Rfd1 g5 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. g3 gxf4 21. gxf4 a6 22. Kf2 Bh4+ 23. Kf1 Be7 24. Rd1 Rxd1+ 25. Bxd1 Bb4 26. Ke2 Be8 27. Kf2 Bc3 28. Be2 b5 ½ : ½ H. H. Stefánsson – Murey, 34th Canadian Open, Winnipeg 1997)
13. Qd2 b6 14. b4 a6 15. Ne2 Bb7 16. c4 a5 17. b5 Rc8 18. Rac1 Rc7 19. Nd4 Qc8 20. Rfd1 Rd8 21. Qc2 g6 22. Nb3 Qa8 23. Qf2 Rdc8 24. Nd2 Nc5 25. Bxc5 Rxc5 26. Qe3 Bf8 27. Kh1 d5 28. exd5 exd5 29. Nb3 Rxc4 30. Qxb6 Bb4 31. Rxc4 Rxc4 32. Qf6 Qc8 33. h3 Qc7

34. b6 (34. Bxd5 Rxf4 35. b6 Rxf6 36. bxc7 Bc8 37. Nd4 Rd6 38. Nb5 Rd7 39. Kh2 Kf8 40. Bb7 Rxd1 41. Bxc8 Rc1 42. Bxa6 Rxc7 43. Nxc7 Bd6+=)
34. ... Qd7 35. Nd4 Bf8 36. Nb5 Rxa4 37. Nc7 Bg7 38. Qg5 h6

39. Qg3? 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) has kept up the pressure until her opponent — who was terribly short of time — slipped fatally. 39. Qg4 was called for.
39. ... Rd4! 40. Re1 Rb4 41. f5 Qxf5 42. Ne8 Bc3! 43. Qb8 Kh7 44. Nd6

44. ... Qd7. Black played the text move very quickly, apparently oblivious to the fact that 44. ... Rb1! 45. Nxf5 (or 45. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 46. Kh2 Be5+ 47. g3 Qc2+−+) 45. ... Rxe1+ 46. Kh2 Be5+ 47. Qxe5 Rxe5 48. Nd6 Re7 would have won much more rapidly.
45. Rc1 Rxb6 46. Nxf7 Qe7. The silly 46. ... Rb3?? would be refuted by 47. Rxc3! turning the tables.
47. Qf4 Bg7 48. Rc7 Qe1+ 49. Kh2 Qb4 50. Qg3 Rc6 51. Rd7 Bc8 52. Rxd5 Be6 53. Nd8 Bxd5 54. Nxc6 Qc5 55. Bxd5 Qxd5 56. Qxg6+ Kxg6 57. Ne7+ Kf6 58. Nxd5+ Ke5 59. Nb6 Ke4 60. Kg3 Bd4 61. Na4 Kd3. The Knight is doomed.
62. Kf3 Kc2 63. Ke4 Bf2 64. Kf3 Ba7 65. g4 Kb3 66. h4 Kxa4 67. Ke4 Bf2 0 : 1.

Play like a man, win like a woman. Photo © Sophie Triay.

萬歲衝鋒

Richárd Rapport – Aryan Tari
13th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 28, 2015
Torre Attack D03

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. e3 Nbd7 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 e6 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. Bd3 0-0 8. a4 b6 9. Qb1 Bb7 10. h4!? h6 11. Bf4 Ng4 12. Ng5!? Ngf6 13. Rh3 Qc8 14. Ndf3 hxg5? A very bad idea. Black might have tried 14. ... cxd4 15. exd4 Bd8 (Saunders’ analysis). 15. hxg5 Ne4 16. Bxe4 dxe4. If 16. ... f5 then 17. Bc2! (Saunders).

17. Kd2! “An unusual winning move courtesy of Richard Rapport!”, the guys of chess24.com joked. 17. ... g6 18. Qh1 f6 19. Rh7! 1 : 0. “Terrifyingly straightforward play by Rapport though, must be said. Very unpleasant”, Grandmaster Jonathan Tisdall sadly said.

Jonathan Tisdall (@GMjtis)

Richárd Rapport vs. Aryan Tari
Photo: John Saunders

民事結合

Il giuramento di Antōnīs Samaras e quello di Alexīs Tsipras a confronto. Tsipras ha giurato solo davanti alle autorità civili per la prima volta nella storia della Grecia, mentre nel 2012 Samaras ha giurato di fronte alle autorità religiose del paese. [Read more].

L’ingresso di Alexīs Tsipras nel palazzo presidenziale di Atene

• Redazione online, Prima mossa di Tsipras: stop a privatizzazioni di porti ed energia, Corriere della Sera, 28 gennaio 2015
• Il primo giuramento solo civile della storia della Grecia, Internazionale, 26 gennaio 2015
• Tonia Mastrobuoni, Lo sgarbo di Samaras a Tsipras: nel palazzo del governo neanche più il sapone, La Stampa, 27 gennaio 2015

文丘里效应 (Venturi effect)

Take a Walk on the Left Side

Salil Tripathi (@saliltripathi)

Steinitziana

Jovana Vojinović-Rapport – Hikaru Nakamura
13th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 27, 2015
Dutch Defence A80

1. d4 f5 2. Bg5 c6 3. e3 Qb6 4. Nd2 Qxb2 5. Rb1 Qc3 6. g4. Jovana plays a sharp and risky move. 6. Bd3 d5 7. Ne2 Qa5 8. Nf4 is a “vintage recommendation” by Yasser Seirawan. 6. ... Qa5 7. gxf5 Qxf5 8. h4

8. ... Qa5. Six Queen moves in a row! “Nakamura has managed to get every chess teacher in the world rooting for his opponent after 8 moves”, Grandmaster Jonathan Tisdall writes. 9. Nh3 g6. “Breaking news: @GMHikaru moved a piece other than his Queen! 9. ... g6!”, Martin Bennedik tweeted. 10. Bd3 d6. “(Nakamura’s position) is only solid because he hasn’t got any pieces out! Amusing bit of Zen wisdom from @stuthefox”, Tisdall writes. 11. Qf3 Nd7 12. h5 Ndf6. “I like the ‘Nakamuraesque’ style by WGM Vojinović – against Nakamura! A pawn down, but with compensation”, Tarjei J. Svensen tweeted. 13. hxg6 hxg6 14. Bxg6+ Kd8 15. Bf4 Kc7 16. Ng5 Rxh1+ 17. Qxh1 Bh6 18. Qh4 Bd7 19. Bd3. “Black assumes the initiative after this. Instead, 19. c4 maintains some sort of momentum against the Black King. For example, if 19. ... Qxa2 20. c5 and the d6–Pawn is under further pressure”, John Saunders writes. 19. ... Nd5 20. Ne6+ Bxe6 21. Bxh6 Nc3 22. Ra1 Qb4 23. Kf1 Nxa2 24. Rd1 Nc3 25. Re1 Nxh6 26. Qxh6 Bd7 27. f3 a5 28. Kf2 a4 29. Qg5 Rh8 30. Qg3 Nd5 31. Rd1 c5 32. Bc4 Nc3 33. Re1 b5 0 : 1. “The irony of Nakamura forcing resignation by advancing his b-Pawn, his King safe as houses on the Q-side, was not lost on me”, Tisdall writes.

Jonathan Tisdall (@GMjtis)

Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru)

Rock Around the Clock

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Hans-Jörg Cordes
13th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival; Catalan Bay, January 27, 2015
French Defence C11

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. Be2. Another way is 9. 0-0-0 a6 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. Qf2 Nd7 12. Nd4 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 b5 14. Bd3 b4 15. Ne2 Qc7 16. Kb1 a5 17. Ng3 Bc5 18. Bxc5 Qxc5 19. Qe2 a4 20. Ne4 Qc7 21. Nf6+ Nxf6 22. exf6 g6 23. Qe5 Qxe5 24. fxe5 Ba6 25. h4 Bxd3 26. Rxd3 h6 27. Rf1 Ra5 28. Rd4 Rb8 29. Rf3 Rc5 30. a3 Rbc8 31. Rxb4 Rxc2 32. Rc3 R8xc3 33. bxc3 Rxc3 34. Rxa4 Re3 35. Ra8+ Kh7 36. Rf8 Rxe5 37. Rxf7+ Kg8 38. Rg7+ Kf8 39. Rxg6 Kf7 40. Rxh6 Re1+ 41. Kc2 Re2+ 42. Kb3 Rxg2 43. a4 Rg1 44. a5 Ra1 45. Kb4 e5 46. h5 e4 47. Rg6 e3 48. Rg2 d4 49. Kc4 Rxa5 50. Kxd4 Rxh5 51. Kxe3 Kxf6 ½ : ½ T. A. Kosintseva – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 4th North Urals Cup, Krasnoturinsk 2006. 9. ... b6. Much more usual is 9. ... a6, e.g. 10. a3 b5 11. Nd1 f6 12. c3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. cxd4 fxe5 15. fxe5 Nb6 16. b3 Bd7 17. Bd3 a5 18. Qc2 h6 19. Qe2 Bg5 20. Bf2 Qe8 21. h4 Bd8 22. Be3 a4 23. Bb1 b4 24. axb4 Be7 25. Bd2 Bb5 26. Bd3 Bxd3 27. Qxd3 Qh5 28. Qh3 Kh8 29. Nf2 axb3 30. Rxa8 Rxa8 31. O-O Nc4 32. Bc3 Bxh4 33. g3 b2 34. Qxh4 Qe2 35. Bxb2 Nxb2 36. b5 Rf8 37. Qg4 Qe3 38. Kg2 Nc4 39. Nd1 Rxf1 40. Kxf1 Nd2+ 41. Kg2 Qe1 42. Qf4 Qxd1 43. b6 Nc4 44. b7 Qc2+ 45. Qf2 Ne3+ 46. Kf3 Qe4+ 0 : 1 Nepomniachtchi – Yemelin, 25th European Chess Club Cup, Ohrid 2009. 10. 0-0 f5 11. exf6 Nxf6 12. Kh1 Ne4 13. Qe1 Bb7 14. dxc5 Nxc3 15. Qxc3 bxc5 16. Bxc5 Rxf4 17. Nd4 Rxf1+ 18. Rxf1 Bxc5 19. Qxc5 Nxd4 20. Qxd4 Qd6 21. Bg4 e5 22. Qf2 Qe7 23. c3 Bc6 24. h3 Rd8 25. Re1 Re8 26. Bd1 g6 27. a4 Rf8 28. Qe3 Kg7 29. b4 Re8 30. b5 Ba8 31. a5 Qd7 32. Qc5 d4!? Bold play. 32. ... Qe7 33. Qf2 Qf7 would perhaps have been less committal. 33. Bg4 Qf7 34. Kg1. Just in time to prevent the Queen’s irruption into her own camp, viz. 34. cxd4 h5 35. Bd1 Qf2. 34. ... Qf4 35. cxd4 h5 36. Qxa7+ Kh6 37. dxe5. Three Pawns are abstractedly worth a Bishop, so Black – now faced with two connected passed Pawns on the Queenside – has every reason to worry. Attempting to maintain the Bishop with 37. Bf3 would only mean more trouble after 37. ... Qg3 38. Rf1 e4. 37. ... hxg4 38. Qe3

38. ... Kg5?? Definitely a blunder, but after 38. ... Qxe3+ 39. Rxe3 Black would have to suffer much anyway to save the endgame. We append the following variation, by the staff of Chess-News.ru, showing empirically that Black could have saved the game: 39. ... Rb8 (or 39. ... gxh3 40. a6 Rb8 41. Rxh3+ Kg5 42. Rb3 Rb6) 40. b6 Bb7 (less accurate is 40. ... gxh3?! on account of 41. e6) 41. hxg4 Re8. 39. h4+ 1 : 0. On 39. ... Kf5 40. Rf1 puts an end to the game.

Beauty and the Best. Photo © John Saunders.

婚前協議書

马多·弗林的主意
(Da un’idea di Mado Flynn)

直布羅陀巨巖

2015 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival
Catalan Bay, 26 January – 5 February 2015

Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival: Miss Gibraltar, Shyanne Azzopardi, and Miss (Chess) World, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: John Saunders.

菲舍尔氏象棋

Levon Grigori Aronian – Hikaru Nakamura
Chess960 Ultimate Showdown; match game 3; Saint Louis, September 9, 2014
bbrkqrnn/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/BBRKQRNN w KQkq - 0 1

SP896 BBRKQRNN

“The most interesting feature of the position must be the two Bishops aimed at the unprotected g- and h-Pawns. Note that the players can castle 0-0-0 already on the first move”, Mark Weeks writes.

1. b3. Threat: Ba1xg7 winning a Pawn and the Exchange! 1. ... f6. In match game 4, Aronian as Black preferred 1. ... Nf6 and after 2. e4 c5 3. e5 Ng4 4. f3 Nh6 5. c4 Ng6 6. Ng3 f6 7. exf6 exf6 8. Qxe8+ Kxe8 9. Nh3 White got a slight edge, Nakamura – Aronian, Chess960 Ultimate Showdown, Saint Louis, September 9, 2014, match game 4. 2. f4 b6 3. Nf3 c5 4. e3 Ng6 5. Ng3 e5 6. fxe5 Nxe5 7. c4 g6 8. 0-0-0 0-0-0 9. d4. “White seems to have the upper hand, although Black went on to win [the game]”, Weeks writes. 9. ... Nxf3 10. gxf3 cxd4 11. Bxd4 Ne7 12. c5 Nc6 13. cxb6 Nxd4 14. Rxd4 axb6 15. f4 Bc6 16. Qe2 Ba7 17. Kb2 b5 18. Rd3 Kb8 19. Rc1 Qe7 20. a3 Rfe8 21. Nf1 b4 22. Qd2 Bc5 23. Rd5. This Exchange sacrifice is very dubious, to put it euphemistically. However, after 23. a4 Bb7 24. e4 d5! 25. exd5 f5 White stands badly anyway. 23. ... Bb6 24. axb4 Bxd5 25. Qxd5 Rc8 26. Rxc8+ Kxc8 27. Bd3 Qe6 28. Qb5 Kd8 29. f5 Qe5+ 30. Qxe5 Rxe5 31. fxg6 hxg6 32. Bxg6 Bxe3 33. h4 Bf4 34. Kc3 Re1 35. Bd3 d5 36. h5 Kc7 37. b5 Kd6 38. b4 Ra1 39. Kb2 Rd1 40. Kc2 Rc1+ 41. Kb2 Re1 42. Kc2 Kc7 43. Nd2 Rh1 44. Nb3 Rh2+ 45. Kd1 Rxh5 46. Nc5 Be3 47. b6+ Kxb6 48. Nd7+ Kc6 49. Nxf6 Rh3 50. Be2 Bg5 51. Ng4 Rh1+ 52. Kc2 Kd6 53. b5 Bf4 54. Nf6 Kc5 55. Nxd5 Rc1+ 0 : 1. (Time control: 15’ + 2”).

Saint Louis Chess Club (@CCSCSL)

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (@Vachier_Lagrave)

The Wanderer King

11th World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer publicly presenting his new Fischerandom chess on June 19, 1996 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo © 2013 Jorge Quiroga.

宣誓

Alexīs Tsipras e Károlos Papoúlias: il giuramento

• Grecia, giuramento casual per Tsipras: il leader di SYRIZA senza cravatta, R.it, 26 gennaio 2015

口譯 (Interpretariato)

Wijk aan Zee, January 25, 2015. 16th World Chess Champion Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen, the winner of the 77th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament is awarded by the Tata Steel chief.

Chinese Grandmaster 韦奕 (Wéi Yì), the winner of the Tata Steel Challengers, is awarded by Mayor of Wijk aan Zee. Women’s World Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – in the background – served as an interpreter from English to Chinese, and vice versa.

Photos: Evgeny Surov

牙線

马多·弗林的主意
(Da un’idea di Mado Flynn)

大希腊

Alexīs Tsipras

Il Sole 24 ORE, 26 gennaio 2015

RedChinaCn.net, 26 gennaio 2015

[棋牌]世界冠军侯逸凡再获体坛风云人物提名

北京时间1月15日，21岁的世界冠军侯逸凡再获体坛风云人物提名。

2015年01月15日 | 来源：央视网

赫拉克勒斯

Alexīs Tsipras, il leader di SYRIZA
(AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

看上去很美

马多·弗林的心血结晶
(Da un’idea di Mado Flynn)

Entremêt doux

Fabiano Caruana – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 25, 2015
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nde2 h5 8. g3 Be6 9. Bg2 Nbd7 10. a4 Be7. For 10. ... Rc8 11. Be3 Nb6 12. Bg5 Be7 13. b3 h4 see J. Polgár – Vachier-Lagrave, 15th Unive (Crown Group), Hoogeveen 2011. 11. 0-0 Rc8 12. Be3. For 12. a5 h4 see Motylev – Wojtaszek, Schachbundesliga 2014/2015, Solingen 2014. 12. ... Nb6. Vachier-Lagrave prepares a very interesting Pawn sacrifice. 13. b3 d5 14. Bxb6 Qxb6 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 Bd7 17. c4 Qd6. “Really impressed with MVL’s concept against Caruana, especially that calm move 17. ... Qd6. The Black K-side Pawns are coming!”, Grandmaster Matthew Sadler tweeted. 18. a5 f5 19. Qd3. “I guess Caruana’s 19.Qd3 (covering c4) is looking to break open the Q-side with b3-b4, ... Qd6xb4, Rf1-b1 hitting b7”, Sadler writes. 19. ... h4 20. g4 0-0 21. Nc3. “This is going to go wrong for Caruana. Too difficult to play this with White in a practical game”, Sadler writes. 21. ... e4 22. Qe3 Bd8! With the deadly threat of ... Bd8-c7. 23. Bxe4. Feeling on the edge of disaster, White tries a speculative sacrifice. 23. ... fxe4. 23. ... Bc7 24. f4 fxe4 25. Nxe4 Rce8 was the top recommendation of all chess engines. Vachier-Lagrave doesn’t need it. 24. Nxe4 Qf4 25. Qxf4 Rxf4 26. f3 Be7 27. Kf2. At the moment, White has three Pawns for the sacrificed Bishop, but also several weaknesses and – most importantly – only 6 minutes on the clock against opponent’s 43. 27. ... Rcf8 28. Ke3 Be8 29. c5 Bb5! White is busted. 30. b4 Also 30. Rf2 Rxe4+ 31. Kxe4 Bxc5 draws White’s King into a mating net.

30. ... Rxe4+! 31. Kxe4 Re8! 32. Kf4 g5+! 33. Kf5 Kf7! 34. Rfe1. This loses outright, but neither 34. Rad1 Bd7+ 35. Ke4 Bxc5+ could save the day. 34. ... Bd3+! 35. Re4 Bf6! 0 : 1. Black mates next move. Maxime conducted the whole attack in magnificent style. “I chose the right moment to start winning in a last round, and in good fashion! Fairly happy with my play and result!”, then Vachier-Lagrave said.

Kaja Marie Snare (@kajasnare)

Jonathan Rowson (@Jonathan_Rowson)

Fabiano Caruana vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Photo: Alina l’Ami

老近卫军

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 25, 2015
Giuoco Piano C50

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Bc5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. 0-0 d6 6. c3 a6 7. Bb3 Ba7 8. Re1 0-0 9. h3 Be6 10. Nbd2. For 10. Bc2 d5 see Fedorov – Ivanchuk, 13th European Team Chess Championship, León 2001. 10. ... Bxb3 11. axb3 d5 12. Qe2 Qd7 13. Nf1 d4 14. b4 Rad8 15. Rd1 Ne8 16. Ng3 f6 17. Qe1 Kh8 18. c4. The threat is b4-b5.

18. ... Bb8. “That Bb8 in Ivanchuk’s game! Like it came late to the board and just jumped on to the first free square it could find!”, Grandmaster Matthew Sadler tweeted. 19. h4 Nd6 20. h5 Rde8 21. c5 Nc8 22. Nh4 N8e7 23. Bd2 Qg4 24. Nhf5 Nxf5 25. exf5 Ne7 26. Qe4 Qxe4 27. Nxe4 c6 28. g4 Nd5 29. Kf1 h6 30. Ke2 Kg8 ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk
Photo: Evgeny Surov

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) vs. Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk
Photo: Alina l’Ami