Der Hochzeitsmarsch

马多·弗林的主意
(Da un’idea di Mado Flynn)

The Year of the Sheep

Three-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (pictured above centre) attended as a guest of honour the annual New Year Reception for Chinese and Foreign Consular Personnel which took place at the 钓鱼台国宾馆 (Diàoyútái Guesthouse) in 北京 (Běijīng), China on February 27, 2015. Photo: mp.weixin.qq.com.

Deontological ethics

Baadur Jobava – Dmitry Vladimirovich Andreikin
FIDE Grand Prix; Tbilisi, February 27, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D15

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 a6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. a4 h6 7. Bxf6 exf6 8. e3

8. ... b5!? A surprising Exchange sacrifice! For 8. ... Bd6 9. Bxc4 0-0 see Moiseenko – Tomashevsky, 40th Chess Olympiad, Istanbul 2012. 9. axb5 cxb5 10. Nxb5 axb5 11. Rxa8 Bb7 12. Ra1 Bb4+ 13. Nd2 Qd6 14. f3 0-0 15. Kf2 f5 16. g3 Bxd2. A Pawn is cashed. 17. Qxd2 Bxf3 18. Kxf3. Now White could simply play 18. Rg1 or 18. Bg2, but – as usual – Baadur seeks complications. 18. ... Qd5+ 19. Kf2 Qxh1 20. Qa5 Nc6. The most rational course. After 20. ... Qd5 21. Bg2 Qd7 22. Qb6 White stands a little better. 21. Bg2 Qxg2+ 22. Kxg2 Nxa5 23. Rxa5 Rb8 24. Kf3 b4. The calmness after the storm. White is a Pawn down but he obviously has sufficient counterplay. 25. Ke2 g6 26. Kd2 Rc8 27. Rb5 c3+ 28. bxc3 bxc3+ 29. Kc2 Kf8 30. Rc5 Ra8 31. Kb3 Ra1 32. Rxc3 Rh1 33. Rc2 Re1 34. Kc4 Rxe3 35. Kc5 g5 36. d5 f4 37. gxf4 gxf4 38. Kd4 Ke7 39. Rf2 Rh3 40. Ke4 f3 41. Rxf3 Rxh2 42. d6+ Ke6 43. d7 Rd2 44. Rh3 ½ : ½.

Baadur Jobava
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova

Garofano di Lilliput

Handmade by Mado Flynn

Arachnophobia

马多·弗林的主意
(Da un’idea di Mado Flynn)

HeartGold and SoulSilver

16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen walking hand in hand with a fan in Lillehammer, 2013. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefs­rud.

Universitetet i Bergen (@UiB)

Castle Crashers

Daniele Vocaturo – Yair Parkhov
16th European Individual Championship; Jerusalem, February 24, 2015
Nimzo-Indian Defence E37

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 Ne4 7. Qc2 c5 8. dxc5 Nc6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. e3 Bf5 11. Bd3 Qa5+. It’s probably less committal 11. ... 0-0 12. Nf3 Qa5+ 13. Nd2 Nxd2 14. Bxd2 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Qxc5 with roughly even chances, Morozevich – Carlsen, 71st Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2009. 12. b4 Nxb4 13. axb4 Qxa1 14. Ne2 Bg6 15. 0-0 Nf6 16. Bb5+ Ke7? A very unfortunate novelty! The correct move was 16. ... Kf8, e.g. 17. Qb3 Qe5 18. Bb2 Qe7 19. Nd4 a6 20. Ra1 Kg8 21. c6 Rb8 22. Be2 h6 23. Bc3 Kh7 24. cxb7 Qxb7 25. Bxa6 Qc7 26. Nf3 Ra8 27. b5 Rhc8 28. Bxf6 gxf6 29. Rf1 Qc2 30. Qxc2 Rxc2 31. Nd4 Rc5 32. Rd1 Rb8 33. Kf1 Kg7 34. Ke2 Kf8 35. Rd2 Rb6 36. Ra2 Ke7 37. Kd2 Kd6 38. Nb3 Rc4 39. Na5 Rc7 40. Nb3 Bf5 41. Nd4 Ke5 ½ : ½ Kasimdzhanov – Durarbayli, Konya 2012. 17. Qb3 Qe5. Also after 17. ... Qb1 18. Bb2 Qe4 (18. ... Qf5 transposes to the game) 19. Nf4 White’s position is imposing. 18. Bb2 Qf5 19. c6! The demolition begins. 19. ... a6. Both 19. ... Qc2 20. Qa3! and 19. ... bxc6 20. Nd4 would be absolutely hopeless. 20. Nd4 Qc8 21. cxb7 Qxb7 22. Bc6 Qb6

23. b5! The coup de grâce. 23. ... Ne4. If, instead, 23. ... Ra7 then 24. Qa3+ Kd8 25. Qd6+ Nd7 (25. ... Rd7 is met by 26. Ne6+!) 26. Bc3! winning easily, due to the deadly threat of Bc3-a5. 24. Qxd5 Rhd8 25. Qe5+ Kf8 26. Ne6+! 1 : 0. A beautiful attacking game.

紅尾蚺

12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov tells all in-depth interview, in four parts, conducted by Albert Silver of ChessBase. His matches with Viktor Lvovich Kortschnoi and Garry Kimovich Kasparov, his secret meetings with Robert James Fischer. Chess, love and life.

• Anatoly Karpov tells all (1/1)
• Anatoly Karpov tells all (2/2)
• Anatoly Karpov tells all (3/3)
• Anatoly Karpov tells all (4/4)

Here’s an abstract:

– What are your daughter’s interests? At 5 years old she was interested in the ballet. My wife had bought recordings of various productions from the Bolshoi Theatre. Our daughter watched it on her own and imitated the movements. She danced every day for two hours. Soon after, she announced, “Mom, I want to become a great ballerina like Maya Plisetskaya! If I have to eat porridge, I’ll do it!”. Maya Mikhaylovna Plisetskaya performs Dying Swan in 1959 with music by Charles Camille Saint-Saëns. Then she told Andrey Karaulov about her of Plisetskaya. He knew Maya well and asked, “Would you like to call her?”, Sonya’s eyes shone, “Is that possible?”. We called. Chedrin picked up the receiver. It turned out that Maya had broken her leg and had gone to bed early. When we got home, Sonja ran to her grandmother: “We called Plisetskaya! But she had broken her leg and gone to sleep. I was unable to speak to her...”.

Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov in his prime

An Officer and a Gentleman

Rustam M. Kasimdzhanov – Baadur Jobava
FIDE Grand Prix; Tbilisi, February 26, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D16

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 Bg4 6. Ne5 Bh5 7. f3 Nfd7 8. Nxc4 e5 9. g3 Bb4 10. dxe5 0-0 11. Bh3 Qe7 12. f4 f6. No better seems 12. ... f5 13. Nd6 Bxd6 14. Qxd6 Qxd6 15. exd6 Na6 16. e4 Nac5 17. e5 Nd3+ 18. Kf1 N7c5 19. Be3 Ne6 20. Nd1 Bxd1 21. Rxd1 Nxb2 22. Rb1 Nc4 23. Kf2 Nxe3 24. Kxe3 b6 25. Rhc1 Nc5 26. Bg2 Rfc8 27. Kd4 Kf7 28. Rxc5 bxc5+ 29. Kxc5 Rab8 30. d7 Rd8 31. Rxb8 Rxb8 32. Kd6 1 : 0 Kopylov – Gerber, Novosibirsk 2001. 13. e6 Nc5 14. f5 Nba6 15. 0-0 Rfd8 16. Qc2 Rd4 17. Rf4 Rad8 18. Be3 Rxf4 19. Bxf4 Bxc3 20. bxc3. White stands much better due to the extra Pawn and his powerful grip on the enemy position, but Jobava is always in the mood to play chess! 20. ... Nxe6! By far Black’s best practical chance. 21. fxe6 Qc5+ 22. Ne3 g5. The corollary. 23. Kf2 gxf4 24. gxf4 Nc7 25. Rg1+ Kh8. White has still his extra Pawn, but his weakened King’s position gives Baadur some vague hope of a counter-chance. 26. c4. Stronger seems 26. Qe4! (Ramírez Álvarez). 26. ... Rd4 27. Qf5 Qxf5 28. Nxf5 Rxc4? Relatively best was 28. ... Rxf4+ 29. Ke3 Nxe6 and if 30. Ng3 (or 30. Ng7) then 30. ... Ng5 gives Black some chances to survive.

29. Nh6?? Rustam blunders, with only eight minutes on his clock. White now could easily win by 29. Ne7! Bg6 30. f5+- Rf4+ 31. Ke3 Rxa4 32. fxg6 as 32. ... Ra3+ 33. Ke4 Rxh3?? is buried by 34. g7 mate. 29. ... Rxf4+ 30. Ke1. As then Kasimdzhanov said, he had overlooked that 30. Ke3 would be simply met by 30. ... Nd5+. 30. ... Bg6 31. Nf7+ Kg7 32. Nd6 Rxa4. The tables turned! Black is clearly winning. 33. Kf2 ½ : ½. “It was a losing position at the end but Baadur decided it was not the time to win and offered a draw”, Kasimdzhanov said. The question is – to be a gentleman or to be a killer?

Rustam M. Kasimdzhanov vs. Baadur Jobava
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova

美夢成真 (What Dreams May Come)

美夢成真 許茹芸 我能感觉 我像只麋鹿奔驰思念的深夜 停在你心岸啜饮失眠的湖水 苦苦想你习惯不睡 为躲开寂寞的狩猎 我的感觉 像小说忽然写到结局那一页 我不愿承认缘份已肠思枯竭 逼迫自己时光倒回 要美梦永远远离心碎 我抱着你 我吻着你 我笑着流泪 我不懂回忆能如此真切 你又在我的眼眶决堤淹水 爱不是离别可以抹灭 我除了你 我除了疯 我没有后悔 我一哭全世界为我落泪 在冷得没有你的孤绝 我闭上双眼 用泪去感觉 你的包围 What Dreams May Come 許茹芸 (Xǔ Rúyún) I feel Like a galloping deer, longing for the dark hours of the night I stop at the shore of your heart and drink at the river of insomnia I think painfully of you, accustomed not to sleep For not being haunted by loneliness My feelings Are like the last page in the novel that suddely ended I don’t wanna believe in our love with no more gut passions And having to turn back And forever burying a broken heart in a dream I hold you I kiss you I smile through tears I couldn’t believe that memories were so vivid You are always in my eyes like a flood Love cannot be forgotten by absence I have lost you I lost madness I have no regrets As soon as I cry, all the world cries for me In the cold of desperate lonliness without you I close my eyes And in my tears I feel Your embrace

Wedding Mistery Tour

Barbie Vintage Collection
Wedding dress and bouquet: Mado Flynn

La fête de l’insignifiance

Robert James Fischer enjoying ping pong

MLV

Baadur Jobava – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
FIDE Grand Prix; Tbilisi, February 25, 2015
Sicilian Defence B23

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. a4 a6 5. Be2 g6 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. d3 e6 8. Nxd4 cxd4 9. Nb1 Ne7 10. Nd2 d5 11. b3 dxe4 12. Nxe4 f5 13. Nd2 Nd5 14. Nc4 0-0 15. 0-0 e5. Black’s Pawn phalanx in the centre and on the Kingside is overpowering, so Jobava has to make something up. 16. Bb2 Be6 17. Bf3 Qc7. After 17. ... b5 18. axb5 axb5 19. Rxa8 Qxa8 20. Nxe5 Bxe5 21. Qe1 Qb8 22. Bxd4 it looks like White will win back the piece. 18. Re1 Bf7 19. a5 Rad8 20. Qd2 Rfe8 21. g3 h6 22. Bg2 Kh7 23. Ra4 Re7 24. Re2 g5 25. Qe1. “Une tempête se lève, reste à savoir sur qui elle va s’abattre”, the Europe Échecs staff enthusiastically tweeted. 25. ... Be8 26. Ra1 Bh5 27. Bh3. If 27. f3 then 27. ... f4! tightening the grip. 27. ... Bg6 28. Bg2 Bh5 29. Bh3 Kg6 30. Rd2 Bf3 31. Qf1 Qc6 32. Bg2 Nc7 33. Bxf3 Qxf3 34. Re1 Nb5 35. Rde2 Rde8 36. Nd2 Qc6 37. Nc4 Qf3 38. Qg2. White has objectively nothing better than a repetition of moves by 38. Nd2 Qc6, but Jobava is a notorious fighter. 38. ... g4 39. Nd2 Qxg2+ 40. Kxg2 h5 41. f3 Bf6 42. h3 gxf3+ 43. Kxf3 h4 44. g4 e4+ 45. dxe4 fxg4+ 46. Kxg4 Rf7. Suddenly White’s King is in danger, faced with the threat of ... Re8-g8.

47. Rf2 Rg8 48. Rf5 Nd6. Forcing the White Rook in a very bad position. 49. Rh5 Be5 50. Rf1 Rxf1 51. Nxf1 Nf7 52. Bc1. Obviously if 52. Kxh4 then 52. ... Bf6+ 53. Kg4 Ne5+ winning easily for Black. 52. ... Rc8 53. c4 dxc3. A powerful passer. 54. Ne3 Re8. Houdini preferred 54 ... Bf4, Ivan Sokolov 54 ... Bg3. “De gustibus non est disputandum”. 55. Ng2 Bg3 56. Nf4+ Bxf4 57. Bxf4 Rxe4 58. Rc5 Rb4 59. Kf3 Rxb3 60. Ke4 Rb4+ 61. Kf3 Rb5 62. Rxc3 Rxa5 63. Rc7 Rb5 64. Bd2 a5 65. Bc3 a4 66. Kg4 a3 67. Re7 Nh6+ 68. Kf4 a2 69. Rg7+ Kh5 70. Rg2 Rf5+ 71. Ke4 Ra5. A graceful and elegant style! 72. Rg1 Ra4+ 73. Kd5 Nf7 74. Ke6 Ng5+ 75. Kf5 Rf4+ 0 : 1.

Baadur Jobava vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova

Violetta la Timida

Handmade by Mado Flynn

The Unsinkable Titanic

最长的一码

日語書寫系統

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Notes by Grandmaster Lubomir Kavalek

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Hikaru Nakamura – Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin
4th Zürich Chess Challenge; Zürich, February 16, 2015
English Opening A33

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. g3 Qb6. Although this attack along the diagonal a7-g1 was played in 1950, it was a big surprise for Donald Byrne during his game against [Efim Petrovich] Geller, played in the match USA–USSR in Moscow in 1955. Byrne took 75 minutes on his next move! 7. Ndb5 Ne5. Now it was Geller’s turn to think and he spent 30 minutes on his Knight move, threatening not only ... Ne5xc4 but also ... Qb6-c6. It had such a big influence on the opening theory that the variation has not been tried by White in two decades and only appeared in serious tournaments in 1989. 8. Bf4 Nfg4 9. Qa4!? It was only in 2008 when the Armenian players came up with this daring move, ignoring the threat to the Pawn on f2. 9. ... g5. This deflection became the main line. Other moves are risky. 9. ... Qxf2+ 10. Kd2 threatening Nb5-c7+ and h2-h3. 9. ... Bc5 10. 0-0-0 f6 11. b4±. 10. Bxe5 Qxf2+ 11. Kd1 Nxe5 12. Nc7+ Kd8 13. Nxa8 Qd4+ 14. Kc2 Nxc4. After some forced moves, we have reached a critical stage. At this point the game Magnus Carlsen – Leinier Domínguez Pérez, Linares 2009, was quickly drawn after 15. Kb3 Nd2+ 16. Kc2 Nc4 17. Kb3 Nd2+ 18. Kc2. 15. e4!? Karjakin didn’t expect this move and it confused him. Black is already a Rook down, but has to sacrifice the Knight to equalize. Computers can deal with that but Karjakin falters. 15. ... Ne3+? Black had to play 15. ... Qd2+ 16. Kb3 Qxb2+! 17. Kxc4 and now Black has two ways to continue: 17. ... Bg7! {17. ... d5+ [Nakamura expected this move] 18. Kd3! [Hikaru’s plan. 18. exd5?! Bg7 19. Qb3 exd5+ 20. Kc5 Qf2+ 21. Kb4 Bd7 22. Be2? (A blunder. 22. Bb5 a5+ 23. Ka4 Qd4+ 24. Ka3 Bf8+ 25. Kb2 Qd2+ 26. Qc2 Ba3+ 27. Kxa3 – 27. Kb3 a4+; 27. Kb1 Bf5! – 27. ... Qxc2 28. Rac1+/=) 22. ... Bf8+ 23. Ka5 Qc5+ 24. Nb5 b6+ 25. Ka4 (25. Ka6 Qc8+ 26. Kxa7 Bc6 wins) 25. ... Qd4+ 0 : 1 Ponkratov – Zablotsky, Voronezh 2009] 18. ... Bg7 19. Ne2! Qxa1 20. Bg2 Qe5 21. Qxa7 dxe4+ 22. Ke3 with White’s edge} 18. Qa5+ (18. Qb4 d5+ 19. exd5 b5+ 20. Kxb5 Bd7+ 21. Kc4 exd5+ 22. Nxd5 Qd4+ 23. Kb3 Qxd5+ 24. Bc4 Qf3+ 25. Kc2 Bf5+-+) 18. ... b6 19. Qxg5+ f6 20. Qb5 Ba6 21. Qxa6 f5 22. Qxa7 Qxc3+ 23. Kb5 Qc6+ leads to a draw by perpetual check. 16. Kb3 Qd2 17. a3! And just like that Black’s attack is over. The White King can nest on the square a2. 17. ... Qc2+ 18. Ka2 Qxa4 19. Nxa4 Nxf1 20. Rhxf1 b5

21. N4b6! Stronger than 21. Nc3 Bb7. 21. ... axb6 22. Nxb6 Bb7 23. Rxf7 Bc6 24. Rd1 Be7 (24. ... Ke8 25. Rfxd7+-) 25. Rf3! The Rook helps to hunt down the Pawn on d7. 25. ... Kc7. 25. ... Ke8 26. Rc3 Rf8 27. Nxd7 Bxd7 28. Rc7 and the light Bishop is trapped. 26. Nxd7! Rd8 (26. ... Bxd7 27. Rc3+ Bc6 28. Rdc1+-) 27. Rc3! The final nail. 27. ... Rxd7 28. Rdc1 Rd6 29. e5 wins. 1 : 0. (Lubomir Kavalek, The Huffington Post, February 23, 2015).

Sarafan

Silvia Bertini
Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”

DANCE SCHOOL
舞蹈学校
CLASSICAL AND FISCHERANDOM CHESS
国际象棋和菲舍尔氏象棋

攻殼機動隊 (Ghost in the Shell)

Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”

SCUOLA DI DANZA
舞蹈学校
SCACCHI CLASSICI E SCACCHI DI FISCHER
国际象棋和菲舍尔氏象棋

宙斯 (Zeus)

 

Robert James Fischer and Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian enjoying blitz at the Moscow Central Chess Club in June 1958.

早在苏联

Ghosts

马多·弗林的主意
(Da un’idea di Mado Flynn)

序列

Artwork: Mike Flanagan

For the Beauty of the Heart

Peter Veniaminovich Svidler – Baadur Jobava
FIDE Grand Prix; Tbilisi, February 23, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. 0-0 f6!? 7. c4 fxe5 8. dxe5 Bc5 9. Nc3 a6. For 9. ... Ne7 10. Na4 0-0 see V. Popov – Kukhmazov, Saint Petersburg 2013. 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Be3!? “Cementing White’s hold over d4 at the cost of a long term weakness on e3 and e5”, Grandmaster Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez writes. 11. ... Bxe3 12. fxe3 Ne7 13. Qb3 Qb8 14. Qa3 Nxe5 15. Nd4 N5c6 16. Nxf5. 16. g4 Nxd4 17. exd4 Bg6 18. Na4 would have possibly offered White better prospects to compensate the sacrificed Pawn. 16. ... exf5 17. Bf3 Qe5 18. Qc5 0-0-0 19. Rfd1 Kb8. Good news for Svidler: White has absolutely nothing for the sacrificed Pawn. 20. b4 Rd6! 21. b5

21. ... Rc8! A killer! After both 22. bxc6 Rcxc6 and 22. bxa6 Nd8! (protecting b7) White’s game is past any redemption. 22. Rac1 Na7 23. Qa3 axb5 24. Ne2 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Nac6 26. Qc5 g5! The genial Jobava launches the final assault against White’s King. 27. h3 b4 28. a3 Re6 29. Kf2 d4! 30. exd4 Qxc5 31. dxc5 Ne5 0 : 1.

Baadur Jobava
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova

我的父亲母亲

Motorola Ming8 with GPS in China
© Ogilvy & Mather 北京市 (Běijīng)

Women’s World Chess Championship 2015
Krasnaya Polyana (Sochi, Russia), 16 March – 7 April 2015
Regulations
Qualifiers and Player’s Contract
VISA Support Information
Schedule (PDF)

Honour before reason

• J. R. Shridharan, Koneru Humpy gearing up for Sochi, The Hindu, February 22, 2015

World No. 3 women’s chess player and Grandmaster Koneru Humpy (2581) is all set to take a shot at the world championships for the sixth time, featuring top Grandmasters at Sochi (Russia) from March 15. The news that defending champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (2672) of China might skip the event owing to prior commitments (playing a tourney in Hawaii) must be music to Humpy’s ears. However, she is aware that there are other gifted players in the fray. [Read more].

On February 4, 2015, during her Master Class at 13th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, 13th Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (right) told her interviewer Stuart Conquest (left) that probably she will not play in the upcoming Women’s World Championship Tournament. Her given reason was that she’s committed to playing a tournament in Hawaii, but she didn’t sound excited about the knockout format anyway.

Lilium di Sumatra

Handmade by Mado Flynn

Easy as it seems

Baadur Jobava – Leinier Domínguez Pérez
FIDE Grand Prix; Tbilisi, February 22, 2015
Inverted Hanham Opening C44

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Be2 Nf6 4. d3 d5 5. Nbd2 Bc5 6. c3 a5 7. a4 0-0 8. 0-0 Re8 9. h3 h6 10. Re1. Another brick in the wall: 10. Qc2 b6 11. Re1 Bb7 12. Nf1 Bd6 13. Ng3 Ne7 14. Nh4 c5 15. Bg4 c4 16. dxc4 Nxe4 17. Rxe4 dxe4 18. Bxh6 Bc5 19. Rd1 Qc7 20. Qc1 e3 21. Bxe3 Bxe3 22. Qxe3 Qxc4 23. Nh5 Qe4 24. Qg5 Ng6 25. Kh2 Bc8 26. f3 Qc2 27. Rd6 Bxg4 28. hxg4 Kh7 29. Nxg6 fxg6 30. Nf6+ gxf6 31. Rd7+ Kg8 32. Qxf6 1 : 0 Jobava – Bok, 76th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2014. 10. ... Be6 11. Nh2. For 11. Qc2 Nd7 see Dimitrijevic – Malaniuk, Tseshkovsky Memorial, Sochi 2014. 11. ... Ne7 12. Bf1 Ng6 13. Nhf3 dxe4. In the press conference Domínguez Pérez said that, before surrounding the centre, 13. ... c6 was better since he could have replied 14. Qc2 by 14. ... Qb6. 14. dxe4 c6 15. Qc2 Qc7. Now, after 15. ... Qb6 then simply follows 16. Nc4 (Pawn no longer on d5). 16. Nc4 Red8 17. Be3 Bxe3 18. Nxe3 Rdb8 19. Rad1 Rd8 20. g3 Qb6 21. Nd2 Qc7 22. Kg2 Nf8 23. Nf3 N8d7 24. b4 axb4 25. cxb4 Qb6 26. Rb1 Qa7 27. Ra1 Qb6 28. Reb1 Qc7 29. a5 Rdc8 30. Bc4 Qd6 31. Nd2 b6 32. Bxe6 Qxe6 33. Nb3 Rcb8 34. Nc4 bxa5 35. bxa5 Rb5 36. a6 Ne8 37. Rd1 Nc5 38. Nxc5 Rxc5 39. Ra4

39. ... Nc7? A mistake in grave time trouble. Correct was 39. ... Nd6! 40. Qb3 Nxc4 41. a7 (the tempting 41. Qb7? is refuted by 41. ... Ne3+!) 41. ... Rb5 42. Qxc4 Qxc4 43. Rxc4 Rxa7 44. Rxc6 Rb4 with a drawish-looking position. 40. a7! Nb5 41. Qd3! Rxa7 42. Rxa7 Rxc4. If 42. ... Nxa7 then 43. Qd8+ Kh7 44. Ne3 with overwhelming threats. 43. Qd8+ Kh7 44. Re7 Qf6 45. Qd7 Rd4 46. Rxd4 Nxd4 47. Rxf7 Qg6 48. f3 c5 49. h4 h5 50. Kh3 Qh6 51. g4 hxg4+ 52. Qxg4 Kg8 53. Rc7 Ne6 54. Rc8+ Kf7 55. Qf5+ Ke7 56. Qxe5 Kd7 57. Ra8 Nf4+ 58. Kg4 Qxh4+ 59. Kxh4 Ng6+ 60. Kg3 Nxe5 61. Kf4 Kd6 62. Rd8+ Nd7 63. Rg8 c4 64. Rxg7 Ne5 65. Ke3 c3 66. f4 1 : 0.

Baadur Jobava
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova

The Answer Lies Within

Maybe they are betting on where I’ll take a coffee on Sundays and who with me?

Need a new approach

Too many sellers and too many exploiters around me. They have nothing to sell, but they absolutely want me to buy it! How to get away? They are friends and enemies each other at once. Anyone pretends to be at the top and all together are trying hard to push me at the bottom. I don’t know why. I ask it myself any day. It is like to play a mask without knowing. Not so funny.

紧急报警系统

马多·弗林的主意
(Da un’idea di Mado Flynn)

散步场地

秘密地方，2015年2月22日
Photo: Isadora Duncan

Mare nostrum

秘密地方，2015年2月22日
Photo: Isadora Duncan

What will happen to the girl

羊年

Artwork: border-collie

Red Lights

• Tsipras: 'Cancellati gli impegni sull’austerity', R.it, 21 febbraio 2015

Alexīs Tsipras

微分方程

Artwork: Shades-Of-Lethe

失去你，而找到了我自己。
Shīqù nǐ, ér zhǎodàole wǒ zìjǐ.
Lost you. Found myself.

乒乓球 (Table tennis)

Robert James Fischer

Michail Nechem’evič Tal’ & Tigran Vartanovič Petrossiàn

Zsuzsa, Zsófia and Judit Polgár

Magnus Carlsen

Photos: Zsuzsa Polgár (@SusanPolgar)

Amor patriae nostra lex

Confucius Institute at the University of Florence

反證法

Baadur Jobava – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
FIDE Grand Prix; Tbilisi, February 20, 2015
Larsen’s Opening A01

1. b3 Nf6 2. Bb2 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 c5 5. e3 cxd4 6. exd4 d5 7. Qd2 Nc6 8. 0-0-0. For the immediate 8. f3 h5 see Jobava – Carlsen, 77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2015. 8. ... Qa5 9. f3 h5 10. Kb1 Bf5 11. Bd3 Nxd4 12. Nge2 Nxe2 13. Qxe2 Bd7 14. Rhe1 e6

15. Bxg6!?? A typically Jobava idea. 15. ... fxg6 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Bxg7 Rg8 18. Qe5 Rxg7? 18. ... Qc7! (possibly followed by ... 0-0-0) would have seriously questioned Jobava’s Bishop sacrifice. 19. Rxd5! Maybe Mamedyarov was expecting only 19. Qxg7? Nc3+ 20. Kb2 Nxd1+ 21. Rxd1 0-0-0 with advantage to Black. 19. ... Qb4 20. Rd6 Kf8 21. Red1 Bc6? From bad to worse. 22. R1d4? Simply incredible! Baadur misses an easy win: 22. Rd8+ Rxd8 23. Rxd8+ Kf7 24. a3! Qe7 25. Qf4+ Qf6 26. Rf8+! and Black can resign. 22. ... Qb5 23. Rd8+ Rxd8 24. Rxd8+ Ke7 25. Qd6+ Kf6 26. Qd4+. Also after 26. Rf8+ Rf7 27. Qd8+ Kg7 28. Rg8+ Kh7 29. Rh8+ Kg7 White has no more than than a draw by perpetual check. 26. ... Kf7?? A tragicomic blunder! The obvious 26. ... Ke7 27. Qd6+ Kf6 leaves nothing but a draw. 27. Qf4+ 1 : 0. Just one move before checkmate: 27. ... Ke7 28. Qf8 mate.

Baadur Jobava
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova

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