LABIRINTI E CASEMATTE: June 2015

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Jurassic World

Godzilla vs. Gertie
Jurassic Jahrmarkt Festival; before Ice Age

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

The Baron – Jonny
21st ICGA World Computer Chess Championship; Leiden, June 30, 2015
Queen’s Indian Defence E15

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qb3 Nc6 6. Nbd2 d5 7. Bg2 Qd7 8. Ne5? Possibly a novelty, but the usual 8. 0-0, 8. cxd5, and 8. Qa4 look much sounder. 8. ... Nxe5 9. dxe5 Ng4 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Bh3? If 11. Bxd5 then 11. ... 0-0-0! 12. Bxf7 Kb8 may give ample scope for Black’s initiative. But the text move is even worse. 11. ... h5! 12. f3 0-0-0! 13. fxg4 hxg4 14. Bf1. If 14. Bg2 might follow 24. ... Rh5 and Black keeps its firm grip on The Baron’s position. 14. ... Re8 15. e3 Bxf1 16. Nxf1 Rxe5. White is almost completely paralyzed. 17. Qd3. Quite a mysterious move. But also after 17. Rg1 d4 18. Rg2 (18. Qd3 Qd5 transposes to the text) 18. ... Rh6 Black dominates the board. 17. ... d4 18. Rg1 Qd5 19. a3 a5! 20. Qd2 Rh6! Jonny is playing in the style of Florentine Grandmaster Sergio Mariotti. 21. Qe2 Rhe6 22. Bd2. On 22. Qxg4 dxe3 Black easily wins. 22. ... Qb3 23. Rg2 Qxb2 24. Rd1 Bxa3 25. Kf2 Qb3 26. Kg1 Kb7 27. Bc1 Bxc1 28. Rxc1 dxe3 29. Rd1 f5 30. Rd3 Qc4 31. Rd7 Qc5 32. Rd1. After 32. Rxg7 Rd5 White is in a state of absolute Zugzwang.

32. ... g5! 33. h3 gxh3 34. Qf3+ Re4 35. Re2 g4 0 : 1.

Artwork: agsandrew

Charis

Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
43rd Sparkassen Chess Meeting; Dortmund, June 30, 2015
Queen’s Indian Defence E16

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 a5 6. Bg2 Bb7 7. 0-0 0-0 8. Bf4 Be7 9. Nc3 Na6 10. d5 Bb4 11. Nb5!? Quite an interesting Pawn sacrifice.
11. ... exd5 12. Nh4 c6 13. Nd6 Bxd6 14. Bxd6 Re8 15. cxd5 Ne4! Black returns the Pawn, in fact obtaining a comfortable equality.
16. dxc6 (17. Bxe4 Rxe4 18. f3 Re8=)
16. ... dxc6 17. Bf4 Qf6 18. Be3 c5 19. Qd7. Nisipeanu pushes a bit too hard, offering another Pawn, but under much more controversial circumstances than before.
19. ... Bc6 20. Qg4 Nb4 21. Rad1

21. ... Qe6. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is not confident enough to dare to cash in the Pawn by 21. ... Qxb2! 22. Nf5 Qf6 — at first glance White has no compensation at all.
22. Nf5 g6 23. Nh6+ Kg7 24. Qh4 Nc2 25. Ng4 Nxe3 26. fxe3 h5 27. Bxe4 Qxe4 28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Qxf7+ Kh8 30. Qf6+ Kg8 31. Qf7+ Kh8 32. Qf6+ Kg8 33. Qf7+ ½–½.

“It was an interesting game, in which I always played under the pressure of the clock. I was trying to keep my King safe”, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) finally said. Photo: Dagobert Kohlmeyer.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Donald Duck

Mickey Mouse

Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση (European Union)

http://www.repubblica.it/economia/2015/06/29/news/paul_krugman_una_mostruosa_follia_aver_spinto_tsipras_fino_a_questo_punto_-117943000/

Paul Robin Krugman, Paul Krugman: 'Una mostruosa follia aver spinto Tsipras fino a questo punto', R.it, 29 giugno 2015

Alexander C. Kaufman, Paul Krugman Urges Greeks To Vote ‘No’ On Bailout Referendum, The Huffington Post, June 29, 2015

Myles Udland, KRUGMAN: “I would vote no”, Yahoo! Finance, June 29, 2015

http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/mondo/pen-attacca-junker-vuoi-fine-politica-tsipras-1146336.html

Claudio Cartaldo, Le Pen attacca Junker: “Vuoi la fine politica di Tsipras”, il Giornale.it, 29 giugno 2015

Leonardo Coen, Crisi Grecia, la doppia faccia di Pechino e Mosca che tendono la mano a Tsipras, IlFattoQuotidiano.it, 28 giugno 2015

The Importance of Being Earnest

Barack Hussein Obama jubilates
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

Obamacare passes hurdle. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday June 25, 2015 ruled 6-3 that the federal subsidies that help nearly 6.4 million people pay for their Obamacare health plans are legal under the Affordable Care Act.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Double Eclipse

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik
43rd Sparkassen Chess Meeting; Dortmund, June 28, 2015
Spanish Game C65

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Qe2 Bc5 5. c3 0-0 6. d3 h6!? 7. Nbd2 d6 8. 0-0 Ne7 9. d4 a6!? A subtle Pawn sacrifice. 10. dxc5?! White grabs it, though to the detriment of her own development. 10. Bd3 exd4 11.cxd4 Ba7∞ was probably the best policy. 10. ... axb5 11. cxd6 Qxd6 12. Qxb5 Ng6 13. Re1. Also 13. Nc4 Qd3 14. Qc5 (14. Re1 Bg4) 14. ... b6 15. Qxc7 Ba6 would leave Black with a very comfortable game. 13. ... b6 14. Nc4?! Oblivious to the danger. 14. Qf1! and if 14. ... Ba6 then 15. c4 eventually followed by b2-b3. 14. ... Qe6 15. Ne3?! (15. Qb3 Bb7⩱/∓) 15. ... Nxe4 16. Qd5

16. ... Nc5! An astonishing refutation. 17. b4. The Rook is taboo, for if 17. Qxa8 Bb7 18. Qa3 then 18. ... Bxf3! 19. gxf3 Nh4! 20. Kh1 Nd3! finis. 17. ... Bb7 18. Qxe6 Nxe6 19. Nf5 Rfd8! Kramnik finishes energetically. 20. a4 Rd3 21. Be3 Rxc3 22. a5 Rb3 23. axb6 cxb6 24. Rxa8+ Bxa8 25. Bxb6 Bxf3 26. gxf3

27. ... Ng5! 27. Kh1 Nxf3 28. Re4 Nf4 0 : 1.

Grandmaster Vlastimil Hort made the first move for 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Dagobert Kohlmeyer.

Young Hearts Run Free

Garry Kimovich Kasparov @Kasparov63)

Hirundo fasciata

Ettore Livini, Grecia, il Parlamento dà il via libera al referendum. Tsipras: “Votate no”, R.it, 28 giugno 2015

Photo © Laurent Chéhère

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Half Moon Run

Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi – Fabiano Caruana
43rd Sparkassen Chess Meeting; Dortmund, June 27, 2015
Grünfeld Defence D78

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 c6 5. 0-0 Nf6 6. b3 0-0 7. Bb2 Ne4 8. Nbd2 Bf5 9. c4 Nd7 10. Rc1 a5 11. Nh4 Nxd2 12. Qxd2 Be6 13. cxd5. For the vintage 13. e4 dxe4 14. Bxe4 a4 see Smejkal – Donner, 34th Hoogovens Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 1972. 13. ... cxd5 14. Nf3 Nf6 15. Ne5 Ne4 16. Qe3 a4 17. Nd3 axb3 18. axb3 Qb6 19. Nc5 Ra2 20. Bxe4 dxe4 21. Bc3 Qb5 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Rfe1 Qd5 24. Red1 Ra3 25. Qd2 Qxb3. “After 25. ... Qxb3 Fabiano has a dream position and would be surprised to see him not convert this advantage”, International Master Lawrence Adam Trent said.

26. Qg5 Ra2 27. Rd2 Bf6. “27. ... Bf6 was inaccurate allowing Ian to drum up enough counterplay. Instead 27. ... Rxd2 would have led to immense suffering for White”, Trent said. 28. Qc5 Rxd2 29. Bxd2 Qd5 30. Be3 Rd8 31. Rb1 Rd7 32. Rb5 Kf7 33. Qb4 Qc6 34. Rb6 Qd5 35. Rb5 Qc6 36. Rb6 Qc2 37. Rxb7 Rxb7 38. Qxb7 Bxd4 39. Bxd4 Qd1+ 40. Kg2 Qxd4 41. e3 Qd5 42. Qb2 Qf5 43. Qh8 Qf3+ 44. Kg1 Qd1+ 45. Kg2 Qf3+ 46. Kg1 ½ : ½.

Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi vs. Fabiano Caruana
Photo: Sparkassen CM (‏@SparkassenChess)

Romanian-born German Grandmaster

Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu – Wesley So
43rd Sparkassen Chess Meeting; Dortmund, June 27, 2015
Sicilian Defence B23

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Bxd7+ Qxd7 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. d3 e6 9. f5 Nge7. Usually Black plays first 9. ... exf5. 10. fxe6 fxe6 11. Ng5 Ne5? More cautious was 11. ... Nd8 in order to answer 12. Be3 by 12. ... h6 13. Nf3 0-0.

12. Nb5! A dream position came true! 12. ... Qxb5. This looks much the more suspicious. If 12. ... 0-0-0 there follows 13. d4! Qxb5 14. dxe5 Bxe5 15. Nf7 and White comes out the Exchange to the good. 13. Nxe6 Kd7 14. Nxg7 h5 15. a4 Qb6 16. a5 Qb5 17. c4 Qc6 18. b4! With this energetic push White opens up lines of attack against Black’s King. 18. ... Rh7 19. bxc5 Rxg7 20. Rf6 Nc8. Equally after 20. ... Qxc5+ 21. d4 White wins. 21. d4 Ng4 22. Rf3 Qxe4 23. h3 dxc5 24. dxc5+ Ke8 25. hxg4 Ne7 26. Qf1 Rg8 27. Bb2 hxg4 28. Re1 1 : 0. A chess masterpiece by Romanian-born German Grandmaster Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu!

Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu vs. Wesley So
Photo: Sparkassen CM ‏@SparkassenChess

Teimour Radjabov (@rajachess)

Sparta and Athens
Artwork: fuuying

Леді-яструб (Ladyhawke)

http://www.gazeta.lviv.ua/sport/2015/06/26/44736

President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov visited Lviv. The purpose of his visit was to negotiate a framework agreement for the next Women’s World Chess Championship match between Марія Музичук (Mariya Muzychuk) and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). [Read more].

Президент ФІДЕ Кірсан Ілюмжинов проінспектував Львів (FIDE President Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov inspected Lviv), gazeta.lviv.ua, June 26, 2015

Peter Kolodiy, Mariya Muzychuk, Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov, Anna Muzychuk, and Nataliya Muzychuk. Photo: komentator.net.

Forth and Back to His Roots

Fabiano Caruana (@FabianoCaruana)

Breaking news: Fabiano Caruana is thrilled to be representing officially the United States again.

Photo finish

http://www.repubblica.it/economia/2015/06/26/news/grecia_cronaca-117740684/?refresh_ce

Domani l’Eurogruppo decisivo. L’ex Troika chiede ad Atene di accettare il prolungamento degli aiuti fino a novembre in cambio di nuove riforme. Varoufakis: “Dico no a un accordo insostenibile”. E Tsipras respinge l’offerta “straordinariamente generosa” avanzata dalla Merkel. Renzi è ottimista, i mercati aspettano, ma il 30 giugno devono essere rimborsati al Fmi 1,6 miliardi. [Read more].

Giuliano Balestrieri, Grecia, rottura tra Atene e la Germania. Tsipras: “Non accettiamo ricatti e ultimatum”, R.it, 26 giugno 2015

Friday, June 26, 2015

Das Begreifen der Welt

Viswanathan Anand – Jon Ludvig Hammer
3rd Norway Chess; Stavanger, June 24, 2015
English Opening A22

1. c4. “You have to play the English with Jon. I didn’t want to be the only one not to do it. More to the point, it is the opening where he has shown his guts”, then Anand said. 1. ... e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nc3 Nb6 6. d3 Be7 7. Be3 0-0 8. Rc1 f5 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. 0-0 Be6 11. b4 a6 12. a3 Kh8 13. Na4 Nxa4 14. Qxa4 Bd5 15. Bc5 Bd6 16. Qc2 Qf6 17. e4 Be6 18. exf5 Bxf5 19. Be3 a5 20. b5 Ne7 21. Bg5 Qf7 22. Qc3 h6 23. Bxe7 Qxe7 24. Nh4 Bxa3 25. Bxb7!? Vishy might also have played 25. Nxf5 Rxf5 26. Bxb7, but he inverted the move order just “to pose him some practical problems”. 25. ... Bxc1? Hammer descends into the dark! After 25. ... Rab8 26. Nxf5 Rxf5 27. Be4 Rf6 Black should be able to hold his own despite White’s slight edge. 26. Nxf5 Rxf5 27. Bxa8 Ba3 28. Qxa5 Bc5 29. Be4 Rf8 30. Kg2. “I evaluate this as very close to winning. There are many ways for the Rook to join”, Anand said. 30. ... Qd6 31. h4 h5. “Very close to a blunder”, Anand said. 32. Qd2 Qf6 33. Qe2 g6? “He was down to three minutes here. It’s not a nice position to be in with three minutes”, Anand said.