Through the Fire and Flames

FIDE President Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (Right) with the head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine and chairman of the organizing committee of the match Mariya Muzichuk vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) Borys Yevhenovych Lozhkin (Left). Photo: Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (@Ilyumzhinov).

The meeting of the organizing committee of the Women’s World Chess Championship match Mariya Muzichuk vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) chaired by the head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Borys Yevhenovych Lozhkin. Photo: Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (@Ilyumzhinov).

FIDE President Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (Right) with the Mayor of Kiev Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (Left), who confirmed his intention of introducing chess in schools at Kiev as an optional subject. It was then decided that in October 2016 the Ukrainian capital will host one of the stages of FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series 2016-2017. Photo: Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (@Ilyumzhinov).

Ashamed

Artwork: becsketch

AD PAULAM Moechus erat: poteras tamen hoc tu, Paula, negare.      Ecce vir est: numquid, Paula, negare potes? A PAOLA Era il tuo drudo, ma allora potevi dir, Paola, che no.      Ecco è il tuo sposo: Paola, dirai ancora che no? TO PAULA He was your lover; yet this, Paula, you once could deny.      Behold, he is your husband; can you deny it now? 给保拉 以前他是你的情夫，但是保拉你可以说他不是。      现在他是你的丈夫：保拉你能说他不是吗？

Martial, Epigrams, Book 1, LXXIV

Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini
English translation by Laura Van Abbema
Chinese translation by 孔子 (Confucius)

Selvatica Viola

“Selvatica Viola” ™ © Mado Flynn
Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”

Igloo

Belgrade, Serbia: A young girl wakes up inside a tent at a park. Many people, including women with babies and small children, sleep in this park in the Serbian capital while waiting for an opportunity to travel north to cross the border with Hungary. Photo: Santi Palacios/AP.

A Question of Priorities

Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov (@Ilyumzhinov)

TRANSLATION: Just arrived in Kiev to discuss various organisational issues of the match between Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). The schedule also includes a business lunch with the Mayor of Kiev Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko.

Man on the Moon

Tigran Levonovich Petrosian – Baadur Jobava
22nd International Chess Festival; Abu Dhabi, August 31, 2015
English Opening A24

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. 0-0 0-0 5. c4 d6 6. Nc3 e5 7. d3 c6 8. Bg5 Be6 9. Rb1 Nbd7 10. Nd2 a5! For 10. ... h6 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. b4 see Gouillart – Campagnola, 16th Venetian Chess Autumn, Venice 2010. 11. a3 h6 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 d5 15. Qc2 Qe7 16. Rfc1

19. ... h5! 17. b5 h4 18. bxc6 bxc6 19. Rb6 Rfc8 20. Rcb1 hxg3 21. hxg3 Ng4 22. e3 e4 23. dxe4? Decidedly bad play. Comparatively better is 23. d4, though after 23. ... Qf6 25. Nf1 Ra3 Black holds the initiative. 23. ... d4! Now for an attacking player such as Jobava it’s an easy way... 24. Nd1 dxe3 25. Nxe3 Nxe3 26. fxe3 Be5. Intending to add fuel to the fire by ... Kg8-g7 followed by ... Rc8-h8. 27. Nf1 Qc5 28. R6b4 Kg7 29. Qf2 Ra3 30. Rb7 Qxc4 31. R1b4 Qa2 32. Qf3 Ra7 33. g4 c5 34. R4b6 Rxb7 35. Rxb7 c4 36. g5 c3 37. Rb5 c2 0 : 1.

chess24.com (@chess24com)

Youth Gets a Break

Magnus Carlsen – Alexander Igorevich Grischuk
3rd Sinquefield Cup; Saint Louis, August 30, 2015
Sicilian Defence B92

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be3 Be6 9. Qd3 Nbd7 10. Nd5 0-0 11. 0-0 Bxd5 12. exd5 Rc8. More convincing than 12. ... Nc5 13. Nxc5 dxc5 14. Bf3 Qc7 15. c4 as occurred in the game Nakamura – Topalov, FIDE Grand Prix, Thessaloniki 2013. 13. c4 Ne8 14. Qd2 b6 15. Rac1 a5

16. Na1. “16. Na1 by Carlsen. I have to admit that is not the first move that came into my mind. Not that it matters!”, Tarjei J. Svensen said, but as argued by Grandmaster Nigel David Short, “It is a pretty standard idea”. 17. ... g6 17. b4!? “17.b4!? by Magnus Carlsen. That surprised me as it looks so antipositional. I try to learn from these great players”, Short said. 17. ... Ng7 18. bxa5 bxa5 19. Bd3 Nc5 20. Bc2. “I’d prefer Black here. Nice Knight on c5, ... f7-f5 coming with advance on Kingside. Black better?”, Svensen wondered. 20. ... a4. “If Magnus had been Black here, I would declare this game over!”, Grandmaster Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer said. 21. Rb1 e4. “Very peculiar decision by Grischuk. He needed his advanced e-Pawn as a battering ram to obtain counterplay”, Short said. 22. Bxc5 Rxc5 23. Bxa4 Rxc4 24. Bc6. “a2-a4-a5-a6-a7-a8=Q and Magnus is home and dry”, Short joked. 24. ... Nf5 25. Qe2 Rc3 26. Qxe4 Ra3 27. Qe2 Bf6 28. Nb3 Qe7! “I am guessing that Carlsen has overlooked that 28. ... Qe7! is a good response to 28. Nb3”, Short said. 30. Nd2 Rxa2 31. Nc4 Rd8 32. g4!? “Carlsen sees that Aronian is winning, then goes 32. g4!?. Brilliant, brave, foolish or just stupid?”, Svensen wondered. 32. ... Bd4 33. Rbd1? As a matter of fact, the text implies the loss of a Pawn. 33. ... Bc5 34. Rd2 Rxd2 35. Nxd2 Nxc6 36. dxc6 Rc8 37. Ne4 Rxc6 38. Rd1 h6 39. h4 Kf8 40. Kg2 Ke7. Time control is reached. “Carlsen is going to suffer for another two hours at least. Grischuk is going to take all his time to figure out this”, Svensen said. 41. Rc1 Rc8 42. Kf3 Ke6 43. Rc2 Rc7 44. h5. “44. h5 is a curious decision, but serves to remind Black, even here, that his h-Pawn is ‘the wrong colour’”, Grandmaster Jonathan Rowson said. 44. ... gxh5 45. gxh5 Bb6 46. Re2. “Magnus thought taking on c7 was lost – bad news for his defensive prospects. 46. ... Bd4 now, leaves no good discovered check”, Rowson said. 46. ... Bd4 47. Kg3 d5 48. Nd2+ Kf5 49. Kg2 Be5 50. Nf3 Bf6 51. Ra2 Rd7 52. Ne1 Rc7 53. Kf3 Bg5 54. Ra5 Ke5 55. Ke2 Ke4 56. Ra4+ d4 57. f3+ Kd5 58. Ra5+ Kc4 59. Nd3!? Re7+ 60. Re5 Re6? Here 60. ... Kc3! 61. Rxe7 Bxe7 is much more promising, although after 62. Nf2 f5 63. Nd3 Bf6 “it doesn’t seem that Black can break through here. White just maintains the status quo, shuttling his Knight to a safe square and then back to d3”, writes Dennis Monokroussos. It will require further investigation and analysis to prove if White survives. 61. f4! Bf6 62. Rxe6 fxe6 63. Nf2? After a long and difficult struggle, and with a draw finally in sight, White goes astray. The right way was 63. Kd2! (Deviatkin) and Black can’t break the blockade. 63. ... Be7! White will be soon forced into Zugzwang. 64. Ng4. Now it’s too late for 64. Kd2 Bd6 65. Nd3 Kd5 winning easily. 64. ... Kc3 65. f5. 65. Kd1 Bf8 was equally hopeless. 65. ... exf5 66. Nxh6 Kc2 0 : 1. “The way I lost it is really shameful... To lose so many games with the White pieces is ridiculous”, then Magnus said.

Magnus Carlsen
Photo: Lennart Ootes (@LennartOotes)

A Month by the Lake

Mariya Muzychuk – Emilio Milko Fućak
25th Chess Festival; Bled, February 26, 2008
French Defence C16

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 b6 5. Qg4 Bf8 6. Bg5 Qd7 7. Bb5 c6 8. Be2 Ba6 9. Nf3 h6. For 9. ... Ne7 10. a4 Nf5 11. 0-0 Bxe2 12. Nxe2 c5 13. c3 Nc6 see Tseshkovsky – Erendzhenov, 48th Russian Chess Championship, Elista 1995. 10. Bd2 Ne7 11. a4 Nf5 12. 0-0 Be7 13. Qh3 Bb4 14. Bxa6 Nxa6 15. Ne2 Bxd2 16. Nxd2 c5 17. Nf3 Nb4 18. c3 Nc6 19. g4 Nfe7 20. Nd2 0-0-0 21. a5 cxd4 22. axb6 axb6 23. cxd4 Kb7 24. Ra3 Ra8 25. Rfa1 Rhb8 26. b4. A bit of tactics to try to get something out of little. 26. ... Qe8. The Pawn is obviously immune since after 26. .. Nxb4?? 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28. Rxa8 Kxa8 29. Qa3+ White wins the Knight. 27. b5 Na5 28. Nc3 Rc8 29. Qd3 g6 30. Na4 Nc4 31. Nxc4 dxc4 32. Qf3+ Nd5 33. Nc3 Rxa3 34. Rxa3 Qd7 35. Ne4 Kb8 36. Qd1 Rc7 37. Nd6 c3. White will soon be forced by Black’s dangerous passed c-Pawn to sacrifice the Exchange. 38. Qc2 Ra7 39. Rxc3 Nxc3 40. Qxc3. The extra Pawn and a crystal-clear superiority of position certainly compensate for the Exchange, but probably nothing more. 40. ... Ra4 41. Qe3 g5 42. h4 Qa7? Fućak fatally pursues the mirage of an attack. The right way was 42. ... gxh4 43. Qxh6 Rxd4 44. Qf8+ Kc7 45. Ne8+ Kb7 46. Nd6+ and White has nothing more than perpetual check. 43. hxg5 Qa8? The consistency of an announced catastrophe. The lesser evil would have been 43. ... hxg5, although after 44. Qxg5 Qd7 45. Qf4 Ra7 46. Kg2 White picks up a second Pawn and she’s the only one that can win. 44. Kh2 Ra1. No better is 44. ... Ra3 because of 45. Qc1! Qf3 46. Qc8+ Ka7 47. Qd7+ Kb8 48. Qe8+ Ka7 49. Qxf7+ Qxf7 50. Nxf7 hxg5 51. Nxg5 and Black’s ending is hopeless.

45. d5!! A delightful pointe. 1 : 0. For if 45. ... Qxd5 then 46. Qxb6+ Kb8 47. Qc6+ Qxc6 48. bxc6 finis.

Mariya Muzychuk
Photo: karpidis

Onstage and backstage

A ballet dancer from the National Cuban Ballet prepares for a performance. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP.

The Arrangement

Baadur Jobava – Péter Prohászka
22nd International Chess Festival; Abu Dhabi, August 30, 2015
Spanish C77

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5. Please, just tell us what’s happening? Is Baadur really going mad? 3. ... a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. 0-0 0-0 9. Nbd2 h6 10. Re1 Be6 11. h3 Re8 12. Bc2 Bb6 13. b3 b4 14. Bb2 bxc3 15. Bxc3 d5. A Pawn sacrifice that vaguely resembles the Marshall Counter-Gambit. 16. a3 a5 17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Bxe5 Nxe5 19. Rxe5 f6 20. Re1 Nc3 21. Qc1

27. ... Bxh3! A very tricky resource: Prohászka challenges Baadur on tactics. 22. gxh3 Ne2+ 23. Rxe2 Rxe2 24. d4. Also 24. Ne4 f5 25. Bd1 fxe4 26. Bxe2 exf3 27. Bxf3 Rb8 leads to rough equality as Black will soon recover his Pawn. 24. ... Bxd4 25. Be4 Rxe4 26. Nxe4 Bxa1 27. Qxa1 Qd3 28. Ned2 a4 29. b4 Rd8 30. Qc1 c6 31. Kg2 Qg6+ 32. Kh2 Qd3 33. Kg2 Qg6+ 34. Kh2 Qd3 35. h4 Kh8 36. Kg2 Qg6+ 37. Kh2 Qd3 38. Kg2 Qg6+ 39. Kh1 Qd3 40. Kh2 Kh7 41. Kg2 Qg6+ 42. Kh2 Qd3 ½ : ½.

Baadur Jobava
Photo: Amruta Mokal (‏@amrutamokal)

Waiting room

A Syrian couple waits for the train in Gevgelija with other refugees and migrants to continue their way to Europe. Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP.

A Hatful of Rain

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov
3rd Sinquefield Cup; Saint Louis, August 29, 2015
Spanish 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. h3 h6 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. Nc3 Ne7 12. Nd4 Ng6 13. f4 Bc5 14. Be3 h5 15. Ne4 Bxd4 16. Rxd4 h4 17. Rad1 Bf5

18. e6! Nihil sub sole novum, but very unpleasant for Black. 18. ... Bxe6. “18. ... fxe6 19. Ng5 Bxc2 20. R1d2 Bf5 21. Rd7 Ne7 22. Bc5 Nd5 23. R2xd5 cxd5 24. Rxc7 is an amusing line. White is down a Rook for a Knight and Pawn, but Black’s King is being hunted and he’ll lose many Pawns”, Grandmaster Robert Lee Hess said. 19. Nc5 Rh5. 19. ... b6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Rd7 Ne7 22. Rxc7 is no better at all: 22. ... Rf8 23. c4 e5 24. fxe5 Rf5 25. Bf2 g5 26. e6 Re5 27. Re1 Ra5 28. Bd4 Rc8 29. Rd7 Rf5 30. Rxa7 c5 31. Bc3 Rc6 32. a4 Ng6 33. e7 Rc8 1 : 0 Šarić – Šulava, 11th Croatian Chess Championship, Marija Bistrica 2011. 20. Nxb7 Rd5 21. b3 Rb8 22. Rxd5 cxd5 23. Nc5. “Black’s pawn structure seems fixed, but the a7 Pawn is vulnerable. White has no weaknesses, while Black is likely to lose a Pawn at any moment”, Hess said. 23. ... c6 24. Rd4 Bc8 25. Ra4 Ra8 26. c4 dxc4 27. Rxc4 Bf5 28. Nb7 Kd7 29. Rd4+ Kc7 30. Nd6. White’s finally cashing in! 30. ... Bb1 31. Nxf7 Re8 32. Kf2 Bxa2 33. f5 Nf8 34. Ra4 Bxb3 35. Rxa7+. 35. Bf4+! wins on the spot, but even this does not give Black any hope. 35. ... Kb8 36. Nd6 Rd8 37. Rxg7 1 : 0.

Nigel David Short (@nigelshortchess)

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Garry Kimovich Kasparov (@Kasparov63)

Trebuchet

Wesley So – Hikaru Nakamura
3rd Sinquefield Cup; Saint Louis, August 29, 2015
King’s Indian Defence E99

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 0-0 6. Be2 e5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 10. f3 f5 11. Be3 f4 12. Bf2 g5 13. Nd3 Ng6 14. c5 Nf6 15. Rc1 Rf7 16. Kh1 h5 17. cxd6. For 17. Nb5 g4 18. cxd6 cxd6 19. Qc2 g3 20. Nc7 Rxc7 21. Qxc7 Qxc7 22. Rxc7 gxf2 23. Rfc1 see Shirov – Bacrot, 30th European Club Cup, Bilbao 2014. 17. ... cxd6 18. Nb5 a6! We guess Nakamura deeply studied the aforementioned game. 19. Na3 b5 20. Rc6 g4 21. Qc2 Qf8 22. Rc1 Bd7 23. Rc7. This is quite pointless. Both the positional Exchange sacrifice by 23. Nb4 and 23. Rb6 were much more to the point. 23. ... Bh6 24. Be1. “Such antipositional play from Wesley, he will get punished”, Grandmaster Levon Grigori Aronian said.

24. ... h4! “Never mind about the engines, I have this gut feeling that Nakamura is going to deliver checkmate, come what may”, Grandmaster Nigel David Short said. 25. fxg4. This is very unwise. 25. ... f3!! 26. gxf3 Nxe4! A terrific blow! 27. Rd1. After 30 minutes’s thought. White, however, has no good move! If 27. fxe4 then 27. ... Rf1+ 28. Kg2 Be3! with an irresistible attack, the threat being 29. ... Rg1+ 30. Kh3 Qf1+! 31. Bxf1 Bxg4 mate. If, instead, 27. Rxd7 there follows 27. ... Rxf3 28. Bxf3 Qxf3+ 29. Qg2 Qxd3 30. Rd1 Bd2!! – a move which appears to have been overlooked by So which forces the win in all variations. 27. ... Rxf3 28. Rxd7 Rf1+ 29. Kg2 Be3. Here Short gives an extremely elegant variation: 29. ... h3+ 30. Kxh3 Rf2!! (indeed the more human 30. ... Rxe1 produces the same result) 31. Bxf2 Qxf2!! 32. Nxf2 Nf4+ 33. Kh4 Bg5 mate. “If Hikaru picks that winning 30. ... Rf2, this may be the game of the year”, Grandmaster Robin van Kampen said. 30. Bg3. Or 30. Bxf1 h3+ 31. Kxh3 Qf3+ 32. Bg3 Ng5 mate 30. ... hxg3 31. Rxf1 Nh4+ 32. Kh3 Qh6 33. g5 Nxg5+ 34. Kg4 Nhf3 35. Nf2. If 35.Bxf3 then 35. ... Qh3 mate. 35. ... Qh4+ 36. Kf5 Rf8+ 37. Kg6 Rf6+ 38. Kxf6 Ne4+ 39. Kg6 Qg5 mate. Delightful game by Nakamura! “Congrats to Nakamura on his victory today. The King’s Indian requires the courage of your convictions & courage to ignore machine opinions!”, thirteenth World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov said.

chess24.com (@chess24com)

Hikaru’s throne
Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club

싱크로나이즈드 스위밍 (Synchronized swimming)

Pyongyang, North Korea: Synchronised swimmers. Photo: Alexander F. Yuan/AP.

United Colours

“Pendenti di Luna Lovegood” ™ © Mado Flynn
Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”

Space exploration

New Horizons may be millions of miles past Pluto by now, but that doesn’t mean the party’s over. Data is being received and analyzed every day as the probe continues to transmit – and meanwhile, it’s getting close to its next destination, which NASA has just decided on. First, though, watch this amazing animation of the flyby from the perspective of New Horizons, made by NASA’s Stuart Robbins from real-life imagery mapped onto a 3-D simulation of the Pluto system. [Read more].

• Devin Coldewey, NASA Shows Pluto Flyby Video and Picks Next Destination for New Horizons, NBC News, August 28, 2015

Only a Hobo

Refugees sleep in a park near the main bus and train station in Belgrade, Serbia. Photo: Marko Djurica/Reuters.

Timeless

Magnus Carlsen – Wesley So
3rd Sinquefield Cup; Saint Louis, August 27, 2015
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 Nbd7 9. Qd2 b5 10. 0-0-0 Be7 11. g4 b4 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 Nb6 14. Na5 Nbxd5. “Wesley So is playing an old line where I won a memorable game against Svidler with Black, back in 2007”, Grandmaster Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin said. 15. Nc4. The aforementioned game ran as follows: 15. Nc6 Qc7 16. Nxb4 Nxb4 17. Qxb4 0-0 18. g5 Rfc8 19. Qa4 Rab8 20. Bd3 Nd7 21. Qe4 g6 22. Bxa6 Rb4 23. Qd3 Rcb8 24. b3 Nc5 25. Bxc5 Qxc5 26. Qd5 Qa7 27. Bc4 Bxg5+ 28. Kb2 Ra4 29. a3 Ra5 30. Qe4 Be3 31. c3 Rxa3 32. Ra1 Ra8 0 : 1 Svidler – Karjakin, 69th Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2007. 15. ... Nxe3 16. Nxe3 0-0 17. Bc4. White gets light-square play to compensate for the minus Pawn. 17. ... Nd7 18. h4 a5 19. g5 Rc8 20. Bd5 Nb6 21. Kb1 Qc7 22. Rhf1 Nxd5 23. Nxd5 Qb7 24. f4 f5 25. Qe3 e4 26. h5! The advance h2-h4-h5-h6 turns out to be the key to White’s successful strategy. 26. ... Rc5 27. h6 g6 28. Qb3 Rf7 29. a4 Bd8 30. Rd4 Kf8 31. Rfd1 Rc6 32. Ne3 Bb6

33. Nc4? Magnus afterwards described himself as “extremely lucky” for having missed the win here without consequences. The right way was 33. Rxd6 Rxd6 34. Rxd6 Bc7 35. Re6! Bxf4 36. Nd5 Bxg5 37. Rb6! Qa8 (else 37. ... Qc8 38. Qg3! and wins) 38. Qc4 and White’s attack soon becomes overwhelming. 33. ... Bxd4? Correct was 33. ... Rxc4 — “I missed that one”, then Carlsen admitted — 34. Qxc4 (not 34. Rxc4? Rd7! and Black, thanks to the threat of ... d6-d5, wins back the Exchange with interest) 34. ... Bxd4 35. Qxd4 Qc7 36. Qxd6+ Qxd6 37. Rxd6 Ra7 and Black should survive. 34. Nxa5 Qb6 35. Nxc6 Bc5 36. Qd5 e3 37. a5 Qb5. Bad moves appear in bad positions, but 37. ... Qc7 38. c3! b3 39. a7 is also hopeless for Black. 38. Nd8! Ra7 39. Ne6+ Ke8 40. Nd4. “Come on Magnus. Was ready to do my video praising a model game ending with 40. Nxc5. Need a new storyline now :(”, Jan Gustafsson said. 40. ... Qxa5 41. Qg8+ Kd7 42. Qxh7+ Kc8 43. Qg8+ Kb7 44. c3! “Now I think this is game over”, Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer said. 44. ... bxc3 45. Qb3+ Qb6 46. Qxb6+ Kxb6 47. bxc3 Bxd4 48. Rxd4 Kc6 49. Kc2 Ra2+ 50. Kd1 Rf2 51. Ke1 Kd7 52. Ra4 Ke6 53. Ra8 Rh2 54. c4 Kf7 55. Rb8 Ke6 56. Rg8 1 : 0. Black is in zugzwang. Carlsen’s masterly conduct of the endgame bears comparison with Rubinstein’s finest technical efforts.

Carlsen vs. So. Photo: chess24.com (@chess24com).

A World Within World

A child injured in one of the air raids which continue on the Damascus suburb of Douma, Syria. Photo: AFP/Abd Doumany.

The Lucky One

A migrant child gets assistance to remove her life jacket after arriving in Kos, Greece, on August 13, 2015. Photo: AFP/Angelos Tzortzinis.

Mission: Impossible II

Alexīs Tsipras (@tsipras_eu)

Alexīs Tsipras
Photo: THETOC (TIMES OF CHANGE)

Πριμαντόνα (Primadonna)

La presidente della Corte suprema greca, Vassiliki Thanou, è stata nominata capo del governo provvisorio incaricato di portare il paese alle elezioni anticipate. Lo annuncia una nota dell’ufficio del presidente della Repubblica Prokopis Pavlopoulos, precisando che Thanou, prima donna capo di un governo in Grecia, giurerà stasera e il suo esecutivo domani. Il nuovo governo dovrà traghettare il Paese alle elezioni anticipate del 20 settembre. [Read more].

• Grecia, Vassiliki Thanou premier ad interim: prima donna a capo del governo, Il Sole 24 ORE, 27 agosto 2015

Top Supreme Court judge Vassiliki Thanou, 65, becomes the first female Prime Minister to be sworn in, to head a caretaker government until snap elections to be held on September 20. Photo: THETOC (TIMES OF CHANGE).

Centrifuge

Edinburgh, Scotland: Zürich Ballet performs during Edinburgh festival. Photo: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian.

Coming Soon

Today in the afternoon we met Giovanni Lucci — Terza Cultura’s accountant — in the University of Florence open spaces. We talked about an upcoming secret surprise.

Wind tunnel model by Terza Cultura.

Saccharum officinarum

Somewhere in Cuba, 1964. Ernesto Che Guevara — his mythical 1959 Chevrolet in the background — enjoys playing chess with his comrades of sugar cane harvestershis. Photo: Ramiro A. Fernández.

The Razor’s Edge

Migrants find gaps in razor-wire border between Hungary and Serbia. Photo: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty Images.

From the Terrace

A dress rehearsal: Joburg Ballet dancers perform the Don Quixote in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo: Mujahid Safodien/AFP.

Knock on Wood

Hikaru Nakamaura – Anish Giri
3rd Sinquefield Cup; Saint Louis, August 27, 2015
Sicilian Defence B48

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 Nf6 8. 0-0-0 Be7 9. f4 b5 10. e5 b4 11. Ncb5 axb5 12. Nxb5 Qb8. The alternative was 12. ... Qa5 13. exf6 gxf6 14. Nd6+ Bxd6 15. Qxd6 Qxa2 16. Rd3 Qa1+ 17. Kd2 Ra2 18. Rb3 Rxb2 19. Bb5 Qa2 20. Rxb2 Qxb2 21. Bc5 Qc3+ 22. Kd1 Ba6 23. Bxa6 Qa1+ 24. Kd2 Qxa6 25. Bd4 Rg8 26. g3 Qb7 27. Bc5 Qb8 28. Qxb8+ Nxb8 29. Ra1 Nc6 30. Ra8+ Nd8 31. f5 exf5 32. Bxb4 f4 33. gxf4 ½ : ½ 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – Stukopin, 52nd World Junior Chess Championship, Kocaeli 2013. 13. exf6 gxf6 14. Kb1 d5 15. Qf2. Strangely enough, this natural move could be a theoretical novelty. The old try was 15. c4 bxc3 16. Qxc3 Bd7 17. Bc5 0-0 18. Qg3+ Kh8 19. Qh4 Bxc5 20. Qxf6+ Kg8 21. Qg5+ Kh8 22. Qf6+ Kg8 23. Qg5+ Kh8 24. Qf6+ Kg8 25. Qg5+ Kh8 ½ : ½ 余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī) – Cori, 52nd World Junior Chess Championship, Kocaeli 2013. 15. ... Ba6 16. Bb6 Bxb5 17. Bxb5 Qb7 18. Rhe1 Rb8 19. Bxc6+ Qxc6 20. Bd4 Ra8 21. b3 Kd7. Without fear of keeping His Majesty in the centre! 22. a4. A committal, over-sophisticated move. 22. ... bxa3 23. Rd3. “I’m confused. Why did Nakamura enter this position at blitz speed?”, Grandmaster Jan Gustafsson wondered. “I very conveniently forgot what I prepared before the game”, then Nakamura answered. 23. ... Rhc8 24. Re2

24. ... Qb5. The threat is 25. ... a2+ 26. Ka1 Qxd3! 27. cxd3 Rc1+ 28. Kb2 a1=Q mate. 25. Qf3 Ra6 26. f5. White’s only chance. 26. ... Rac6 27. fxe6+ fxe6 28. Rdd2 a2+ 29. Ka1 f5 30. Qe3 Rg8 31. c4. 31. Qh6 Qxb3 leads to a pretty draw: 32. cxb3 Rc1+ 33. Kxa2 Ra8+ 34. Kb2 Ba3+ 35. Ka2 Bf8+ 36. Kb2 Ba3+ with perpetual check. 31. ... dxc4 32. Bc5+ Ke8 33. Bxe7 Kxe7 34. Qh6 Qb6. “I thought I was completely winning and then Anish found the very nice 34. ... Qb6 – that was the move I missed”, then Nakamura said. 35. Qxh7+ Kf8 36. Qh4. Threat: Rd2-d8+. 36. ... Ke8. The only move, since 36. ... Rc8?? loses to 37. Qf6+ Ke8 38. Rxe6+. 37. Qh5+ Kf8 38. Qh4 Ke8 39. Qh5+ ½ : ½.

Anish Giri
Photo: Lennart Ootes (‏@LennartOotes)

The Moon of the Caribbees

Somewhere in Cuba, 1964. After a hard day’s work as a volunteer, Ernesto Che Guevara enjoys playing chess with some of his comrades. Photo: Rogelio Andrés Torres.

Alba Greca

“Alba Greca” ™ © Mado Flynn
Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”

Stairs to the Roof

New York, United States: American and Chinese dancers perform during the media preview of Pearl, which celebrates the life of Pearl Sydenstricker Buck, the first woman to win both the Nobel and the Pulitzer Prize, at the Lincoln Center. Photo: 王磊 (Wáng Lěi)/新华通讯社 (Xīnhuá News Agency)/Corbis.

A Question of Honour

• 10 фактів, про які ми дізналися з інтерв’ю міністра молоді та спорту (Ten things we learned from the interview with the Minister of Youth and Sports), ua.korrespondent.net, August 26, 2015

The Minister of Youth and Sports Ihor Oleksandrovych Zhdanov about the Women’s World Chess Championship match with the participation of Ukrainian Mariya Muzychuk For me it’s also a question of honour. I sincerely want the match take place here, because I know that this will benefit Ukraine. When we discussed applying for the Women’s World Chess Championship match, the parents of Mariya Muzychuk asked me to assist her. She needed a personal chess coach to study and play with. I talked with one of the deputies, a non-poor person who is also a fan of our sport. He promised to help me financing her individual preparation. Now it’s true that chess is a sport – in each tournament you can lose 5–7 kg – but a sports training is not sufficient: a chess training is also needed.

Fifteenth Women’s World Chess Champion Mariya Muzychuk
Photo: reporter-ua.com