Robert James Fischer (L.) interviewed by Lars-Gunnar Björklund of Sveriges Radio after winning the 1962 Stockholm Interzonal by a 2½-point margin, going undefeated. Photo: Jan Collsiöö (1962).
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Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Sveriges Radio
The Queen of the Tearling
Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk is called Ukrainian chess Queen.
She was born and raised in Stryi, but in the heart she belongs to Lviv. In her 23 she is an International Grandmaster and the fifteenth Women’s World Chess Champion. Interviewed by Yuliya Sabadyshyna for Tvoemisto.tv, Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk spoke about who taught her to play chess, how many hours a day she devotes to chess, how to celebrate a victory and go through a defeat, and when a child should learn the moves. [Read more]. |
Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk on Tvoemisto.tv. Photos: Andrey Polikovsky.
Midnight Express
An Afghan girl sheds a tear upon her arrival after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey to the Greek Island of Lesbos. Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images.
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The Luck You Got
Emil Davidovich Sutovsky – Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov
16th Poikovsky Karpov Chess Tournament; Poikovsky, September 29, 2015
Sicilian Defence B90
16th Poikovsky Karpov Chess Tournament; Poikovsky, September 29, 2015
Sicilian Defence B90
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 a6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. h3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f4 Nbd7 9. f5 Bxb3 10. axb3 d5 11. exd5 Bb4 12. Bd2 0-0 13. Qe2 Bxc3. Aiming to improve on 13. ... Rc8 14. 0-0-0 Qa5 15. Kb1 Bxc3 16. bxc3
Qxd5 17. c4 Qc6 18. Qf3 Ne4 19. Bb4 Ndc5 20. Bd3 Qb6 21. Bxe4
Qxb4 22. f6 Nxe4 23. Qxe4 gxf6 24. Rd7 b5 25. Qg4+ Kh8 26. Qf3
Rxc4 27. Qxf6+ Kg8 28. Qg5+ Kh8 29. Qxe5+ Kg8 30. Qg5+ Kh8
31. Qf6+ Kg8 32. Rd5 Rfc8 33. Rhd1 1 : 0 Sutovsky – Das, 13rd Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, Catalan Bay 2015. 14. bxc3 e4 15. 0-0-0 a5 16. Be3 a4 17. b4 Nb6 18. Qb5. This seems rather committal, even if it turns out to be a... real stroke of luck! Objectively speaking, 18. Qf2 looks much stronger, e.g. 18. ... Nfxd5!? 19. c4 a3! 20. cxd5 a2 21. Kb2 Qxd5! 22. Bd4 a1=Q+ 23. Rxa1 Na4+ 24. Kc1! Rfd8 25. Be2! Qxd4 26. Qxd4 Rxd4 27. c4 and White stands better. 18. ... Nbxd5 19. Bc4. Now 19. c4?? is refuted by 19. ... a3! 20. cxd5 a2 21. Kb2 Nxd5! and wins. 19. ... Nxe3. Shirov sacrifices his Queen for White’s Rook and Bishop – nothing but a forced brilliancy. 20. Rxd8 Rfxd8 21. Ba2 a3 22. g4
22. ... Ned5? “In Sutovsky – Shirov, the line 22. ... Nfd5 23. Qxb7 Rdb8 24. Bxd5 Rxb7 25. Bxb7 Rd8! 26. Bxe4 Nd1!! is fantastic”, Grandmaster Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer said. 23. g5 Nxc3 24. Bxf7+. White turned the tables. It was a lucky day for the ACP President! 24. ... Kxf7 25. Qxb7+ Nd7 26. Qc6 a2 27. Kb2 Na4+ 28. Ka1 Kg8 29. f6 Ne5 30. Qxe4 Re8 31. Re1 Nc3 32. Qd4 Rac8 33. h4 g6 34. b5 1 : 0.
Emil Davidovich Sutovsky
Photo: ruchess.ru
Photo: ruchess.ru
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Подбрасывание монеты (Coin flipping)
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin – Pavel Eljanov
6th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 4 (Blitz 10+10); Baku, September 29, 2015
Queen’s Pawn Game A40
6th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 4 (Blitz 10+10); Baku, September 29, 2015
Queen’s Pawn Game A40
1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 f5. Peter Veniaminovich Svidler on Eljanov needing to win with Black: “I think mostly in the opening he should forget about the opening”
:)”. 7. g3 Nf6 8. Bg2 Qa5 9. Qb3 Nbd7 10. Nd2 Nb6 11. 0-0 Bd7 12. Re1 Qa4 13. Bf1 Ne4 14. e3 0-0-0 15. Bd3 Nxd2 16. Bxd2 e5 17. f4 e4 18. Be2 h6 19. Kf2 g5 20. h4 Rdg8 21. Rh1 gxf4 22. exf4 Rg7. As a result of a very poor opening strategy by Karjakin Black has got a splendid position. 23. h5 Rhg8 24. Rhg1 Qa6 25. a4 Be8 26. Be1 Nd7 27. Ke3 Nf6 28. Rh1 Qa5 29. Bf2 b6 30. Rh3 Kd8 31. Be1 Ke7 32. Bf2 Kf8 33. Be1 Re7
34. Rh1 Rgg7 35. Ra3 Kg8 36. Bf2 Kh8 37. Be1 Rg8 38. Bf2 Reg7 39. Rh3 Qa6 40. Qd1? An amazingly bad move for White to make in his very inconvenient position, losing two Pawns. It is hard, however, to suggest any good move; maybe 40. Be1, although after 40. ... Ng4+ 41. Kd2 Re7 Black stands much better. 40. ... Ng4+ 41. Bxg4 fxg4 42. Rh1 Qxc4 43. Qe2 Qxd5 44. Rd1 Qe6 45. c4 Rd7 46. Rd5 Bf7 47. Be1 Qe8 48. Rf5 Kh7 49. Bc3 Be6 50. Rf6 Rf7 51. Rg6. In desperation, White sacrifices a third Pawn! 51. ... Rxg6 52. hxg6+ Kxg6 53. Ra1 h5 54. Rd1 Rd7 55. Qh2. White offers a fourth Pawn! 55. ... Qd8 56. Ba1 d5. Why not 56. ... Bxc4? 57. cxd5 Rxd5 58. Qb2 Rd3+ 59. Ke2 Qd4 60. Qxd4 cxd4 61. Rxd3 Bc4 62. Bxd4 exd3+ 63. Ke3. Karjakin managed to slip out into an ending with Bishops of opposite colours – even if two Pawns down. Both objectively and psychologically, it will turn out to be his saving clause!
63. ... Kf5 64. Bc3 a5 65. Be1 Ke6 66. Bc3 Kf5 67. Be1 Kf6 68. Bd2 Kg6 69. Bc3 Kf5. Here the drama of Eljanov: he fell into a threefold repetition that Karjakin claimed immediately! ½ : ½.
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin vs. Pavel Eljanov
chess24.com (@chess24com)
chess24.com (@chess24com)
Upside Down
Pavel Eljanov – Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin
6th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 3 (Blitz 10+10); Baku, September 29, 2015
Réti Opening A05
6th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 3 (Blitz 10+10); Baku, September 29, 2015
Réti Opening A05
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. 0-0 e5 5. e4 Be7 6. Nc3 d6 7. d3 0-0 8. a4 Nb4 9. h3. Departing from the first tie-break game when he played 9. Nd2. 9. ... Re8 10. Re1 Bd7 11. Nd2 Bc6 12. Nc4 Bf8 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Na5 Bd7 16. Nb5 Qd8 17. Nc4 Be6 18. c3 Nc6 19. Ne3 a6 20. Na3 Rb8 21. Nd5 Ne7 22. Nc4 b5 23. axb5 axb5 24. Nce3 Nxd5 25. Nxd5 g6 26. Ra7 Bxd5 27. exd5 Qb6 28. Qa1 c4 29. dxc4 bxc4 30. Re2 Rb7 31. Ra6 Qb3 32. g4. Peter Veniaminovich Svidler calls it “very, very brave”. 32. ... Rb6 33. Ra5 Rb7 34. Be4 Qb6 35. Ra6 Qd8 36. Qa4 Qb8 37. Kg2 Rd8 38. Qxc4 Rxb2 39. Rxb2 Qxb2 40. Ra7 Qb6 41. Rc7 Bg7
42. h4? Eljanov gets the wrong idea. He could have consolidated his manifest advantage by 42. Qc6. 42. ... Bf6! It’s cool to be clever! 43. h5?? And now Eljanov blunders away the game. There was still time for 43. Qc6. 43. ... Bh4! “Poor Elanjov just went red – he missed 43. ... Bh4!”, Grandmaster Daniel W. Gormally said. Game over. 44. Kh3 Qxf2 45. Qd3 gxh5 46. gxh5 Bg5 47. Qg3 Qf1+ 48. Qg2 Qf4 49. Qg4 Qe3+ 50. Kg2 Rb8 51. Rc8+ Rxc8 52. Qxc8+ Kg7 53. Qc4 Qd2+ 54. Kh3 Qd1 55. Qd3 Qxh5+ 56. Kg2 Qg4+ 57. Kh1 Bh4 58. Bf5 Qg5 59. Qf3 Be1 60. Bc2 Bd2 61. c4 Qh4+ 62. Kg2 Qxc4 63. Qf5 Qxd5+ 64. Be4 Qe6 65. Qh7+ Kf8 0 : 1.
Pavel Eljanov vs. Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin
Photo: chess24.com (@chess24com)
Photo: chess24.com (@chess24com)
Sum of squares
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin – Pavel Eljanov
6th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 2; Baku, September 29, 2015
English Opening A11
6th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 2; Baku, September 29, 2015
English Opening A11
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 c6 4. c4 e6 5. cxd5 Bxf3 6. Bxf3 cxd5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. d4 Nf6 9. Nc3 Be7 10. e3 0-0 11. Bd2 Rc8 12. Rc1 Nd7 13. Ne2. For 13. Qe2 a6 14. Bg2 Nb6 15. Rfd1 Qd7 16. Be1 Na7 17. b3 Nb5 see Efimenko – Solak, International Chess Festival, Baku 2013. 13. ... Nb6 14. Nf4 Nc4 15. Bc3 Bb4 16. b3 Nb6. Not 16. ... Bxc3? on account of 17. bxc4 Bb4 18. cxd5 exd5 19. Qb3 and Black loses material. 17. Bb2 Qe7 18. Nd3 Ba3 19. Bxa3 Qxa3 20. Nc5 Rc7 21. Nxb7 Rxb7 22. Rxc6 Qxa2 23. Qd3 Nd7 24. Rb1 a5 25. Bd1 Nf6 26. Bc2 g6 27. f3 Qa3 28. Qc3 Qb4 29. Qxb4 axb4 30. Ra1 h5 31. h4 Re8 32. Kf2 Ree7 33. Ke2 Rec7 34. Rxc7 Rxc7 35. Kd2 Rb7 36. Ra8+ Kg7 37. Bd3 Nd7. Eljanov is struggling to defend a most instructive endgame Rook and Knight vs. Rook and Bishop, “with possibly a nightmare structure f5, g6, h5 vs. f4, g3, h4 on K-side”, says International Master Malcom Pein. Karjakin afterwards suggested a possible improvement with 37. ... Ng8, eventually followed by ... Ng8-e7-c6. 38. e4 dxe4 39. Bxe4 Rb6 40. Ra4 e5 41. Ke3 Kf6 42. dxe5+ Kxe5 43. Ra5+ Kd6 44. Kd4 Rb8
45. Bd5! f6 46. Ra6+ Ke7 47. f4 Nb6 48. Ra7+ Kd6 49. Bf7 Rc8 50. Ra6 Kc6 51. Bxg6 Kb7 52. Ra5 Rc3 53. Be4+ Kb8 54. Rb5 Ka7 55. Rxh5 1 : 0.
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin vs. Pavel Eljanov
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
Blitzkrieg
Pavel Eljanov – Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin
6th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 1; Baku, September 29, 2015
Réti Opening A05
6th Chess World Cup; tie-break game 1; Baku, September 29, 2015
Réti Opening A05
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. 0-0 e5 5. e4 Be7 6. Nc3 d6 7. d3 0-0 8. a4 Nb4 9. Nd2 h6 10. Nc4 Bg4 11. Qd2 Bd7 12. Nd1 Re8 13. Nde3 Bf8 14. c3 Nc6 15. f4 exf4 16. gxf4 Be6 17. Qf2 Bxc4 18. Nxc4 d5 19. exd5 Nxd5 20. Bd2 Nf6 21. Qf3 Na5 22. Ne5 Qb6 23. Rab1 Rad8 24. Kh1 Qb3 25. Be1! Eljanov offers a Pawn sacrifice for mounting a sudden Kingside attack. 25. ... Qxa4. It seems unwise to accept the gift. 26. Bh4! Rd6. Also after 26. ... Be7 27. Ra1 Qb5 28. Qg3 White’s attack appears to be overwhelming. 27. Ra1 Qb5 28. c4! Qa6
29. d4! A very pretty pointe. 29. ... Rxd4. Naturally, after 29. ... cxd4 White wins trivially with 30. b4. 30. Qc3! The Black Knight is doomed anyway. 30. ... Ne4. Black cannot save the Knight: if 31. ... b6 there follows 32. Bxf6 gxf6 33. Qg3+ Bg7 (on 33. ... Kh7 34. Rg1 forces mate) 34. Rg1! fxe5 35. Bd5 and mate in a few moves. 31. Qxa5 Qxa5 32. Rxa5 Nd2 33. Rd1 Bd6 34. Bf2 Bxe5 35. fxe5 Nxc4 36. Bxd4 Nxa5 37. Bc3 Nc4 38. e6 Rxe6 39. Rd8+ Kh7 40. Bd5! 1 : 0.
Pavel Eljanov vs. Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
H₂O
The brown splotchy areas in this shot of Mars’ Hale Crater are salt deposits formed by flowing liquid water, NASA scientists recently announced. That Day-Go blue stuff is pyroxene, a common mineral on Mars. Photo: Mars Reconnaissance orbiter/University of Arizona/JPL/NASA.
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70 years since the Allied Victory over nazi-fascism
U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama II extends his hand to Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters.
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Monday, September 28, 2015
The Longest Ride
The secondary schools of Lviv start running a program of chess training. Today, September 28, Women’s World Chess Champion Stryj-born Mariya Muzychuk opened a chess club in the secondary School No. 28.
The chess Queen remarked that the right time to start taking part in tournaments is when a child starts going to school. Now every school in town is planning to set free chess clubs. |
Mariya Muzychuk teaching chess
Photo: Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE)
Photo: Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE)
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade
A butterfly perches on a boy’s face at a Butterfly Exhibition in 昆明 (Kūnmíng), China. Photo: China Stringer Network/Reuters.
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Holding Back the Years
Peter Veniaminovich Svidler – Anish Giri
6th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Baku, September 28, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B18
6th Chess World Cup; match game 2; Baku, September 28, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B18
1. e4 c6. Something is very strange here. Giri has to win at all costs. Maybe we overlooked something? 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nh3 Nf6 7. Nf4 e5 8. dxe5 Qa5+ 9. c3 Qxe5+ 10. Qe2 Nbd7 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Bf4 Qxe2+ 13. Bxe2 Bc5. The position looks already very drawish now. The alternative was 13. ... 0-0-0 14. Rd1 Nd5 15. Bc1 N7f6
16. Bf3 Bd6 17. Ne2 Nb6 18. g3 Nc4 19. 0-0 Bc5 20. Bg2 Ng4
21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Bh3 f5 23. Kg2 Nxf2 24. Rxf2 Bxf2 25. Kxf2
Ne5 26. Be3 Nd3+ 27. Kf3 Ne1+ 28. Kf2 Nd3+ 29. Kf1 Rh8 30. Bg2
Nxb2 31. h4 Rd8 32. Bd4 c5 33. Bxg7 Rd2 34. Nf4 Nc4 35. Ke1
Rxa2 36. Bd5 b5 37. Nxg6 Rh2 38. Bxc4 bxc4 39. Ne5 Kc7
40. Nxc4 Kc6 41. Ne5+ Kd5 42. Kf1 f4 43. c4+ Ke4 44. Ng4 Rc2
45. gxf4 Kxf4 46. Ne5 Rh2 47. Ke1 Rg2 48. Bh8 Rh2 ½ : ½ Duda – Yuffa, 54th World Junior Chess Championship, Khanty-Mansiysk 2015.
14. Bf3. Or 14. 0-0 0-0 15. Rad1 Rfe8 16. Rfe1 a5 17. Kf1 Ne5 18. h3 Nd5 19. Bc1 f5 20. Bb5 Nb6 ½ : ½ Tiviakov – Popov, European Individual Chess Championship, Budva 2009. 14. ... 0-0-0 15. 0-0 Nd5 16. Bxd5. Peter Veniaminovich plays safe. 16. ... cxd5. “Svidler – Giri drifting towards a draw. Means Svidler qualifies for final & Candidates 2016. Giri too on rating, Kramnik out FIDE World Cup”, Grandmaster Lars Bo Hansen tweeted. 17. Rad1 Nf8 18. Rfe1 Ne6 19. Be3 b6 20. Rd3 Kb7 21. Red1 Kc6 22. Ne2 Rh4 23. Nd4+ Bxd4 24. Bxd4 b5 25. g3 Rh5 26. Bxa7 Ra8 27. Be3 Rxa2 28. R1d2 Re5 29. h4 Ra4 30. Kg2 f6 31. Bd4 Rh5 32. Re3 Kd7 33. Red3 Kd6 34. Be3 Kc6 35. Rd1 Ra2 36. R1d2 Ra8 37. Rd1 Ra4 38. R1d2 Ra2 39. Kf1 Ra1+ 40. Rd1 Ra2 41. R1d2 Re5 42. Bd4 Rh5 43. Be3 Ra8 44. Rd1 Ra4 45. R3d2 Ra2 46. b3 Rxd2. It is not hard to foresee that pretty soon Svidler will manage to claim a draw by insufficient (mating) material. 47. Rxd2 b4 48. cxb4 Kb5 49. Bc5 Nxc5 50. bxc5 Kxc5 51. Ke2 g5 ½ : ½. “In a normal game I would never in a million years go for this position, because I’d be bored”, Svidler finally said.
Peter Veniaminovich Svidler
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
Kinship
A quite rare photograph of Robert James Fischer walking together with his only sister Joan Fischer Targ. Photo: Jot Down Cultural Magazine.
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Bobby Fischer with his sister Joan and his niece Elisabeth in 1962. Photo: Carl Mydans/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.
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Brooklyn Boy
Robert James Fischer, then 14, in New York in 1957
Photo: Robert Walker/NYT
Photo: Robert Walker/NYT
[...] I went to school with him from the first through the eighth grades at the Brooklyn Community School, and he attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn.
I will refrain from talking about him on a personal level since he had no friends in school and he chose to withdraw from any personal contacts with any of his classmates. [Read more]. |
By default
Serafino Dubois – Joseph Henry Blackburne
International Chess Congress; Grand Tournament; London, June 30, 1862
Owen Defence B00
International Chess Congress; Grand Tournament; London, June 30, 1862
Owen Defence B00
Notes by Johann Jacob Löwenthal, “The Chess Congress of 1862”, London, Henry G. Bohn, 1864, pages 60-61.
1. e4 e6 2. d4 b6 3. Nf3 Bb7. Bringing out the Bishop to g7 and b7, in close games, has recently been in vogue. This double “Fianchetto” may perhaps be safely adopted, but it has not received much attention at the hands of analysts, and it would therefore be difficult to pronounce definitely on its merits. 4. Bd3 c5 5. c3 cxd4 6. cxd4 d6 7. 0-0 g6 8. Nc3 Bg7 9. Re1 Ne7 10. Bf4 a6. Necessary to prevent White from playing Nc3-b5. 11. Qb3 0-0 12. Rad1 Nbc6 13. e5 d5 14. Na4 Nc8 15. Rc1 Na5 16. Qc3
1. e4 e6 2. d4 b6 3. Nf3 Bb7. Bringing out the Bishop to g7 and b7, in close games, has recently been in vogue. This double “Fianchetto” may perhaps be safely adopted, but it has not received much attention at the hands of analysts, and it would therefore be difficult to pronounce definitely on its merits. 4. Bd3 c5 5. c3 cxd4 6. cxd4 d6 7. 0-0 g6 8. Nc3 Bg7 9. Re1 Ne7 10. Bf4 a6. Necessary to prevent White from playing Nc3-b5. 11. Qb3 0-0 12. Rad1 Nbc6 13. e5 d5 14. Na4 Nc8 15. Rc1 Na5 16. Qc3
16. ... Bc6. Black had a very cramped game, the move in the text was perhaps his best. 17. Qb4 Bxa4 18. Qxa4 b5 19. Qb4 Ne7 20. Bg5 Nec6. This part of the game is played by Mr. Blackburne with uncommon skill. 21. Qc5 Qd7 22. b3 Rfc8 23. Qa3 Ra7 24. Bd2 Bf8 25. Qb2 Rac7 26. Bxa5 Nxa5 27. Rxc7 Qxc7 28. Qd2 Qc3 29. Qxc3 Rxc3 30. Rd1 Ba3 31. Kf1 Nc6 32. Ke2 Rc1 33. Rxc1 Bxc1 34. Bb1 Bb2 35. Ke3 h6 36. a4 bxa4 37. bxa4 Kf8 38. Bd3 Nb4 39. Ne1 Ke7 40. Nc2 Nxd3 41. Kxd3 ½ : ½. Drawn by mutual consent.
Timothy David Harding wrote in his book “Joseph Henry Blackburne A Chess Biography”, Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland & Company, 2015, page 36:
Timothy David Harding wrote in his book “Joseph Henry Blackburne A Chess Biography”, Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland & Company, 2015, page 36:
This rather uneventful against the Italian champion, whose arrival in London had been delayed, was played on the first day of the public sessions in the St. James’s Hall. It should have been replayed next day, when Steinitz beat Barnes and some other games were also played, but only the 5 July article in the Illustrated News of the World says what happened: “Mr. Blackburne was announced to play against Signor Dubois but the latter gentleman was to unwell to attend”. The article was written by Löwenthal, the tournament manager, who evidently was satisfied with the excuse provided by Dubois, but presumably this postponement was not properly communicated to Blackburne or the press. Boden wrote in The Field of 26 July that “Mr. Blackburne scored one by default of Mr. Dubois”, but ultimately the committee disagreed with that view. Boden had already complained on 12 July that regulations had not been strictly followed in some cases and made recommendations for more strict observance in future tournaments. Then on 9 August, after the committee had made its decisions, Boden (while admitting that they had acted “with perfect impartiality”) stated more explicitly that the tournament manager had perhaps mislaid Blackburne’s claim document:
In first place, Mr. Dubois is allowed to score a game by default of Mr. Blackburne, although Mr. Blackburne had the prior, and therefore the only claim to that game, he having, as we understood from himself, handed in its printed form at the expiration of the time of the first appointmemt to play, indicating that he claimed the game by default. |
Joseph Henry Blackburne
Image courtesy of Westminster Papers, April 1876
Image courtesy of Westminster Papers, April 1876
Sunday, September 27, 2015
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Pietro Ingrao, one of the most influential leaders of Italy’s communist party, died on Sunday, Italian media reported. He was 100.
Ingrao joined the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in the midst of World War Two, becoming an anti-fascist partisan. After the war, when the PCI grew into the biggest communist party in Western Europe, Ingrao championed the bloc’s Marxist left. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who is in New York to attend meetings at the United Nations, called Ingrao “one of the most uncomfortable and lucid witnesses of the 20th century, of the left, and of our country”, Corriere della Sera daily said on its Web site. [Read more]. |
Pietro Ingrao visiting Vietnam in 1980
Photo: pietroingrao.it
Photo: pietroingrao.it
月饼 (Mooncake)
A SuperMoon is seen last year over north-east England. Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA.
On Sunday, millions of people around the world will enjoy the shining of a “Blood Moon”, as a lunar eclipse combined with a “SuperMoon” combines to make our natural satellite appear red in colour. |
Imponderabilia
Artwork: monokowalla
主动是不用别人讲就做对的事。
Zhǔdòng shì bùyòng biérén jiǎng jiù zuò duì de shì.
Initiative is doing the right thing without being told.
主动是不用别人讲就做对的事。
Zhǔdòng shì bùyòng biérén jiǎng jiù zuò duì de shì.
Initiative is doing the right thing without being told.
The Last Tycoon
Pavel Eljanov – Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin
6th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Baku, September 27, 2015
Queen’s Indian Defence E15
6th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Baku, September 27, 2015
Queen’s Indian Defence E15
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7
7. Bg2 c6 8. Bc3 d5 9. Ne5 Nfd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. Nd2 0-0
12. 0-0 Rc8 13. Re1 c5 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Rc1 cxd4 16. Bxd4 Nc5
17. Bb2 d4? This is a surprising slip by Karjakin. 18. Nf3! d3!? Mater artium necessitas. 19. exd3 Nxd3 20. Rxc8 Qxc8 21. Rxe7. “I have fond memories of 13. Re1, beat GM Sax for my 1st GM norm with it in 1989. Eljanov on course to win with it too”, Grandmaster Lars Bo Hansen tweeted. 21. ... Nxb2
22. Qd7? Pavel is possibly relying too much on his virtuoso technique. After 22. Qd2! Nd3 23. h4! White’s position looks already imposing. 22. ... Qc1+! Of course Karjakin seizes his best practical chance! 23. Re1 Qc8 24. Qxc8. Again 24. Qd2 Nd3 25. Re7 is still comparatively best, giving White the somewhat better position. 24. ... Rxc8 25. Bh3 Rd8
26. Ne5 g6 27. Bf1 Bxf1 28. Kxf1 a5 29. Re3 f6 30. Ng4 Kf7
31. Rc3 h5 32. Ne3 Nd3. The Knight finally comes back into play. 33. Rc7+ Ke6 34. Rb7 Nc1 35. Rxb6+. Pavel has finally won a Pawn, though whether it is enough to win is not clear. 35. ... Kf7
36. Rb7+ Ke6 37. Rb6+ Kf7 38. a4 Rd3 39. b4 axb4 40. Rxb4 Ra3
41. Nc4 Ra1 42. Kg2 Nd3 43. Rb7+ Ke6 44. Rb6+ Ke7 45. a5 Ra4
46. Rc6 Ne1+ 47. Kf1 Nf3. The game is most likely a draw. 48. Rc7+ Ke6 49. Ke2!? Pavel does not surrender to the inevitable and makes one last-ditch attempt to win. 49. ... Nxh2 50. Kd3. “Eljanov’s outside passed Pawn doesn’t look to be going anywhere fast”, says the editor-in-chief of chess24.com. 50. ... Nf3
51. Rc6+ Kf5 52. Kc3 g5! 53. Rc5+. If, instead, 53. Kb3 then 53. ... Rxa5 54. Nxa5 Nd4+ 55. Kc3 Nxc6 56. Nxc6 h4 57. Nd4+ Kg4 58. gxh4 gxh4 59. Kd2 h3 60. Ne2 h2 61. Ng3 Kf3 62. Nh1 Kg2 63. Ke1 Kxh1 64. Kf1 f5 65. f4 stalemate – a pretty variation! 53. ... Ke6 54. Kb3 Ra1 55. Kb2 Ra4
56. Kb3 Ra1 57. Kb2 Ra4 58. Nb6! Rb4+! 59. Ka3 Rb1 60. Ka2 Rb4
61. Rc6+ Kf5! 62. a6 Ne5 63. Rxf6+ Kxf6 64. Nd5+. After 64. a7 Rxb6 65. a8=Q White promotes his Pawn to a Queen, but it’s not enough because Black is able to build up an unassailable fortress. 64. ... Ke6 65. Nxb4
Nd7 66. Nd3 Kd6 67. a7 Nb6 68. Kb3 Kc7 69. Kc3 Kb7 70. Kd4
Kxa7 71. Ke4 Nc4 72. Ne5 Nb2 73. Nf7 h4. Black’s defensive task is now very easy: sacrifice his Knight for the last enemy Pawn! 74. Nxg5 hxg3 75. fxg3
Kb7 76. g4 Kc8 77. Kf5 Nd1! ½ : ½.
Pavel Eljanov (R.) vs. Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin (L.)
Photo Eteri Kublashvili
Photo Eteri Kublashvili
Old East Slavic
Anish Giri – Peter Veniaminovich Svidler
6th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Baku, September 27, 2015
Spanish C92
6th Chess World Cup; match game 1; Baku, September 27, 2015
Spanish C92
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 exd4 12. cxd4 Nd7 13. Nf1 Na5 14. Bc2 Bf6 15. Rb1. Curiously enough, 15. N1h2 occurred in a game where Svidler played White: 15. ... c5 16. Ng4 cxd4
17. Nxd4 Bxd4 18. Qxd4 Rc8 19. Qd1 h5 20. Nh2 Qc7 21. Bb1 Nf6
22. Bg5 Nxe4 23. Bxe4 Bxe4 24. Qxh5 Bg6 25. Qh4 Qc4 26. Ng4 f5
27. b3 Qf7 28. Ne3 Re4 29. Bf4 d5 30. f3 Ree8 31. Rad1 Rcd8
32. Rc1 d4 33. Nf1 Rd7 34. Bd2 Nb7 35. Rxe8+ Qxe8 36. Rc6 a5
37. Qg5 Rd6 38. Rxd6 Nxd6 39. Bxa5 Qe6 40. Qd8+ Be8 41. Bb4
Nf7 42. Qxd4 Qe5 43. Qd2 f4 44. Bc3 Qc5+ 45. Bd4 Qf5 46. Qc3
Qg6 47. Nd2 Bc6 48. Kh1 Nh6 49. Bf2 Nf5 50. Qe5 Ng3+ 51. Kh2
Nh5 52. Ne4 Qe8 53. Qxe8+ Bxe8 54. Nc5 Nf6 55. a4 bxa4
56. bxa4 Kf7 57. a5 Nd5 58. h4 Bb5 59. a6 Kg6 60. a7 Bc6
61. Bd4 Kh5 62. Bxg7 Kxh4 63. Ne6 1 : 0 Svidler – Kjartansson, 13th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, Catalan Bay 2015. Instead, after 15. Bf4 Svidler usually answers 15. ... Nf8 16. Ng3 g6 (or 16. ... Ne6
17. Bd2 Nc4 18. Bc3 c5 19. e5 dxe5 20. dxe5 Be7 21. b3 b4
22. bxc4 Qxd1 23. Raxd1 Bxf3 24. gxf3 bxc3 25. Ne2 Rab8
26. Nxc3 Nd4 27. Be4 Rb4 28. Bd5 Rb2 29. Rb1 Rc2 30. Rbc1 Rb2
31. Rb1 Rc2 32. Rbc1 Rb2 ½ : ½ Motylev – Svidler, 68th Russian Chess Championship, Chita 2015) 17. Rb1 c5 18. d5 Nc4 19. Qc1 Nd7 20. Nf1 Rc8 21. N1h2 Nce5
22. Nxe5 Nxe5 23. Ng4 Nxg4 24. hxg4 c4 25. g5 Bg7 26. Bd2 a5
27. Bc3 b4 28. Bxg7 Kxg7 29. Qe3 Qe7 30. f4 Qc7 31. Qd4+ Kg8
32. Re3 Qc5 33. Qxc5 Rxc5 34. Kf2 Bc8 35. Ba4 Re7 36. Rh1 Rec7
37. Bc6 Bb7 38. Bxb7 Rxb7 39. Reh3 h5 40. gxh6 c3 41. Rb1 cxb2
42. Rxb2 Rc4 43. Re2 Re7 44. Kf3 Rc3+ 45. Re3 f5 46. Rxc3 bxc3
47. exf5 gxf5 48. Rh1 c2 49. Rc1 Rc7 50. Ke3 Rc5 51. Kd3 Rxd5+
52. Kxc2 Rc5+ 53. Kd2 Rxc1 54. Kxc1 Kh7 55. Kc2 Kxh6 56. Kb3
d5 57. Kc3 Kh5 58. Kd4 Kg4 59. Kxd5 Kxf4 60. a4 Kg3 61. Ke5
Kxg2 62. Kxf5 ½ : ½ 余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī) – Svidler, China – Russia Match, 宁波市 (Níngbō) 2015. 15. ... c5 16. d5 Nc4 17. b3 Nce5 18. N3h2 Ng6 19. Ng3. Giri managed to find a new move. For 19. Bd2 Bg5 20. Ne3 Nf6 21. Nf5 Bxd2 22. Qxd2 Nh5 23. g3 Bc8 24. Kg2 Ra7 see Bauer – Svetushkin, Spanish Team Chess Championship, León 2012. 19. ... Bc8 20. Rf1. “It’s funny to witness that Giri is following my own preparation for the first game against Svidler so far
:)”, Grandmaster Teimour Radjabov said. 20. ... Nb6 21. Ng4 Bxg4 22. hxg4 h6 23. Nf5 Ne7 24. Ne3 b4 25. g3. Intending Kg1-g2 followed by Rf1-h1, as well as Ne3-g2-f4-h5. 25. ... a5 26. Kg2. Svidler afterwards suggested 26. a4 (26. ... bxa3 27. Bxa3), but Giri prefers not to lose time. 26. ... a4 27. bxa4 Qd7
28. Qd3. Giri starts to go astray. After 28. a3! Nxa4 29. Rb3 Reb8 30. f4 White could still hope for a certain initiative. 28. ... Ng6 29. Nf5. A sounder continuation appears to be 29. a3 as 29. ... c4 30. Nxc4 Nxc4 31. Qxc4 Qxg4 32. Bd1 Nh4+ 33. Kh2 (but not 33. Kg1? because of 33. ... Qh3! 34. gxh4 Be5 with an overwhelming attack) 33. ... Nf3+ leads to a draw by perpetual check. 29. ... Nxa4 30. Bxa4? Here Giri offered a draw that Svidler understandably refused. It is not easy to suggest a way to add fuel to White’s attack, but (of course) the text cannot be good. 30. ... Rxa4 31. Rh1. “Giri goes ‘all-in’ with 31. Rh1”, says Grandmaster Evgenij Miroshnichenko. 31. ... Ne7! 32. g5? To make things worse, Giri keeps attacking. 32. ... hxg5 33. Ne3 Rxa2 34. Bd2 Ng6 35. Nf5 Ne5 36. Qe2 g6 37. Nh6+ Kg7 38. Nf5+. Giri tried a last-ditch bluff. 38. ... Kg8. Just to gain time on the clock. 39. Nh6+ Kg7 40. Nf5+ gxf5. Time control is reached and White can resign without regret. 41. Qh5 Ng6 0 : 1. “Looks like Anish Giri is having his off day and getting punished. More reason it would be insane to consider this as a World Championship”, Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura said.
Anish Giri vs. Peter Veniaminovich Svidler
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
Saturday, September 26, 2015
The Black Pearl
FIDE President Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov and President of the Russian Chess Federation Andrey Vasilievich Filatov deliver a chess set as a gift to Pelé on the occasion of the exhibition “Pelé: Art, Life, Football” at the Halcyon Gallery in London.
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ù_ù
Artwork: NikolasBrummer
权利不是别人给你的，而是没有人可以从你身上拿走的东西。
Quánlì bùshì biérén gěi nǐ de, ér shì méiyǒu rén kěyǐ cóng nǐ shēnshang ná zǒu de dōngxī.
A right is not what someone gives you, it’s what no one can take away from you.
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The Queen Alone
Interview with 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
WORLD CHAMPION 侯逸凡 (HÓU YÌFÁN) — Interview with GM Adrian Bohdanovych Mikhalchishin in Kazan, Russia
Sunday, September 23, 2012
The youngest World Champion is soft spoken, smiling, curious, beautiful young lady. Russian players call her Fania. As she says herself, she is a child of the city. So, exit to the nature, like in Kazan makes her terribly happy. She is surprised to see red berries in the forest, and asks — Is it possible to eat red colour berries? My answer is that it is wild strawberry, here people use to eat them and to drink tea from its leaves.
The great biologist Carl Linnaeus used them to cure his podagra, which also World Champion Mikhail Tal suffered from. Generally, all red berries in Russian forests are eatable, especially wild berries and cranberries. In China there is nothing like that. What about mushrooms — here in restaurant? We also ate some yellow ones. At school our teachers warned, that there are too much terribly poisonous mushrooms, she asks.
I answer, that this mushrooms are called here FOXIES, and are very tasty. But in Russia peoples know how to differ poisonous mushrooms. And some other questions about nature are endless. She likes to collect different chess sets from the stone and in Kazan made trip to few shops, looking for them.
But let us return to chess.
— What is your opinion about the Anand – Gelfand match?
— Some games were interesting, some boring. Like players were without energy; especially strange was short loss by Gelfand. I played during this game some rapid chess and after I finished, I wanted to see how the game goes, but friends told me that it is over!
— What is the difference between Women’s and Men’s World Champion in your opinion?
— Men are much better prepared in the openings and generally — much deeper. But in Moscow it was strange, that nothing spectacular was showed, practically all their preparation was off the stage. Pity! Koneru prepared very well in the openings for World Championship match and applied many novelties against me in Tirana. Anand and Gelfand played, like they wanted to avoid opponent’s preparation, nothing more. And form of both was not the highest. It was very difficult psychological fight, as most of fights, which aim was to avoid opponent’s preparation, was very difficult to see for public.
— I saw, that you had openings problems in the match against Koneru. Was it difficult to play, as you are always following opponent’s preparation?
— For me not, except the fact, that I had to think more and I was spending more time on the start of every game, than my opponent, generally. Some players are strong in the opening, but have problems later. But I am a player, who can play better in the middle game.
Computer helps many players to be stronger in the opening and it makes chess less interesting. But chess game is not only opening.
— Here I see, that you have openings problems either. How can you play Maróczy with Black? It is not your style — it’s like suicide! Lagno pressed you terribly.
— I prepared well for match with Koneru in the openings, but after I played too many games and my openings are out. I just finished terribly strong tournament of top Chinese players and had no time for rest.
— How do you work with your trainers? Do they help you during this tournament and before? Russian players are contacting their trainers on Skype using modern technology.
— I have two trainers, but they are terribly busy last time. 叶 (Yè) is caring about National team, plus he is politician. Another just got a baby. We don’t use Internet options for training. So, usually I am accompanied by my mother.
— Tell me your impressions after playing J. Polgár. Do you have ambitions to be better than she was in her top times?
— Not now, maybe on the long run. She did not played women’s tournaments, maybe, she believed that women are too weak for her. Everybody can have different opinions. I don’t have the direct plan to become 2700 player. I just play tournament after tournament, recently I lost many Elo points. So, it will be necessary to get them back to go forward.
— What are your plans for the year?
— I’ll play Chinese League, then another, last FIDE Grand Prix, Olympiad and at the end of the year, the World Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk. In September I’ll start my studies in Peking University — international relations. I don’t know exactly yet, which direction I will study later. Our Universities are huge, more than 100.000 students! The best are in 香港 (Hong Kong), but I must study in Chinese mainland.
— Does Chinese Federation plan tournament for you or you can chose Yourself?
— I get invitations, but Federation always has to give permission. We have Federation of Mind sports now. There are Chess, Go, Bridge, Chinese chess and recently were added checkers. [Interviewer’s Note: Alisa Galliamova told, that in past times Chinese players had to give up to their federation half of the prizes, they got, playing abroad].
— How did you start to play?
— I was born in city of province, which is close to 上海 (Shànghǎi). I had chess teacher, who was training beginners, we had no strong teachers and they were quite few. Even nowadays we have not enough trainers, even if some former top players became trainers. We had just few books in Chinese, old ones. Something like Chess Encyclopedia of Openings. Even now we don’t have many books in Chinese. It was one good book, selection of the best games of World Champion 谢军 (Xiè Jūn). She was a big star and example in China. Now she is politician, and works as Vice Principal in Central Sports College. Of course, she was my big example to work hard.
— When I worked with former Chinese top player (now Dutch Champion) 彭肇勤 (Péng Zhàoqín), she told me how Chinese players worked. All best are constantly living in Central sport school in 北京 (Běijīng). They eat here, played football for physical preparation, studied few hours in school and had 5–6 hours chess training. They got xeroxed Chess Informants, nothing more. Trainers did not work individually — everybody had to work with Informants alone. They stayed there till they were 25–30. Main problem was, that girls did not study there how to cook! How does it look nowadays?
— Now it is different, there are many tournaments, all top players are married and they are not frequently in central sports school. Just the youth team is there constantly. There are some English books plus computers nowadays.
— Do you play blitz there, as did the Polgár sisters every day after training or training tournaments, as Soviet players did?
— No, we don’t play blitz, just sometimes we play friendly. Younger players played sometimes training tournaments. Just few times we had preparation for Olympiad in some other sport center in the mountains.
Now an Academy has been built for the Minds Sports Federation and we’ll train there. We have some good new players now, few very talented girls, as 赵雪 (Zhào Xuě) and 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn). Plus of course, three times China Champion 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), he has to show himself on International level soon.
— Does it exist Chinese chess school, as it was Soviet Chess School?
No, I don’t think so. China is big, there are different centers, but they don’t form the single Chinese School.
In every big city are different trainers and they teach differently. Just sometimes openings are the same from certain cities.
— How do you evaluate your play here?
— I started badly, as I was terribly tired after men’s super tournament in China. I played, like I was not myself.
Later I started to return back my usual play and free day helped me seriously. I relaxed very well during excursion.
— As I saw that you are participating in every excursion during the tournaments. Some experts, like Botvinnik did not recommend to do it during the tournaments.
— Everybody has her/his own style in life and during tournaments. I want to relax and to see new places and people. Here we saw beautiful old Kazan Kremlin and I even touched the wall of sacred tower, which brings luck.
Maybe, it worked — Laughs.
WORLD CHAMPION 侯逸凡 (HÓU YÌFÁN) — Interview with GM Adrian Bohdanovych Mikhalchishin in Kazan, Russia
Sunday, September 23, 2012
The youngest World Champion is soft spoken, smiling, curious, beautiful young lady. Russian players call her Fania. As she says herself, she is a child of the city. So, exit to the nature, like in Kazan makes her terribly happy. She is surprised to see red berries in the forest, and asks — Is it possible to eat red colour berries? My answer is that it is wild strawberry, here people use to eat them and to drink tea from its leaves.
The great biologist Carl Linnaeus used them to cure his podagra, which also World Champion Mikhail Tal suffered from. Generally, all red berries in Russian forests are eatable, especially wild berries and cranberries. In China there is nothing like that. What about mushrooms — here in restaurant? We also ate some yellow ones. At school our teachers warned, that there are too much terribly poisonous mushrooms, she asks.
I answer, that this mushrooms are called here FOXIES, and are very tasty. But in Russia peoples know how to differ poisonous mushrooms. And some other questions about nature are endless. She likes to collect different chess sets from the stone and in Kazan made trip to few shops, looking for them.
But let us return to chess.
— What is your opinion about the Anand – Gelfand match?
— Some games were interesting, some boring. Like players were without energy; especially strange was short loss by Gelfand. I played during this game some rapid chess and after I finished, I wanted to see how the game goes, but friends told me that it is over!
— What is the difference between Women’s and Men’s World Champion in your opinion?
— Men are much better prepared in the openings and generally — much deeper. But in Moscow it was strange, that nothing spectacular was showed, practically all their preparation was off the stage. Pity! Koneru prepared very well in the openings for World Championship match and applied many novelties against me in Tirana. Anand and Gelfand played, like they wanted to avoid opponent’s preparation, nothing more. And form of both was not the highest. It was very difficult psychological fight, as most of fights, which aim was to avoid opponent’s preparation, was very difficult to see for public.
— I saw, that you had openings problems in the match against Koneru. Was it difficult to play, as you are always following opponent’s preparation?
— For me not, except the fact, that I had to think more and I was spending more time on the start of every game, than my opponent, generally. Some players are strong in the opening, but have problems later. But I am a player, who can play better in the middle game.
Computer helps many players to be stronger in the opening and it makes chess less interesting. But chess game is not only opening.
— Here I see, that you have openings problems either. How can you play Maróczy with Black? It is not your style — it’s like suicide! Lagno pressed you terribly.
— I prepared well for match with Koneru in the openings, but after I played too many games and my openings are out. I just finished terribly strong tournament of top Chinese players and had no time for rest.
— How do you work with your trainers? Do they help you during this tournament and before? Russian players are contacting their trainers on Skype using modern technology.
— I have two trainers, but they are terribly busy last time. 叶 (Yè) is caring about National team, plus he is politician. Another just got a baby. We don’t use Internet options for training. So, usually I am accompanied by my mother.
— Tell me your impressions after playing J. Polgár. Do you have ambitions to be better than she was in her top times?
— Not now, maybe on the long run. She did not played women’s tournaments, maybe, she believed that women are too weak for her. Everybody can have different opinions. I don’t have the direct plan to become 2700 player. I just play tournament after tournament, recently I lost many Elo points. So, it will be necessary to get them back to go forward.
— What are your plans for the year?
— I’ll play Chinese League, then another, last FIDE Grand Prix, Olympiad and at the end of the year, the World Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk. In September I’ll start my studies in Peking University — international relations. I don’t know exactly yet, which direction I will study later. Our Universities are huge, more than 100.000 students! The best are in 香港 (Hong Kong), but I must study in Chinese mainland.
— Does Chinese Federation plan tournament for you or you can chose Yourself?
— I get invitations, but Federation always has to give permission. We have Federation of Mind sports now. There are Chess, Go, Bridge, Chinese chess and recently were added checkers. [Interviewer’s Note: Alisa Galliamova told, that in past times Chinese players had to give up to their federation half of the prizes, they got, playing abroad].
— How did you start to play?
— I was born in city of province, which is close to 上海 (Shànghǎi). I had chess teacher, who was training beginners, we had no strong teachers and they were quite few. Even nowadays we have not enough trainers, even if some former top players became trainers. We had just few books in Chinese, old ones. Something like Chess Encyclopedia of Openings. Even now we don’t have many books in Chinese. It was one good book, selection of the best games of World Champion 谢军 (Xiè Jūn). She was a big star and example in China. Now she is politician, and works as Vice Principal in Central Sports College. Of course, she was my big example to work hard.
— When I worked with former Chinese top player (now Dutch Champion) 彭肇勤 (Péng Zhàoqín), she told me how Chinese players worked. All best are constantly living in Central sport school in 北京 (Běijīng). They eat here, played football for physical preparation, studied few hours in school and had 5–6 hours chess training. They got xeroxed Chess Informants, nothing more. Trainers did not work individually — everybody had to work with Informants alone. They stayed there till they were 25–30. Main problem was, that girls did not study there how to cook! How does it look nowadays?
— Now it is different, there are many tournaments, all top players are married and they are not frequently in central sports school. Just the youth team is there constantly. There are some English books plus computers nowadays.
— Do you play blitz there, as did the Polgár sisters every day after training or training tournaments, as Soviet players did?
— No, we don’t play blitz, just sometimes we play friendly. Younger players played sometimes training tournaments. Just few times we had preparation for Olympiad in some other sport center in the mountains.
Now an Academy has been built for the Minds Sports Federation and we’ll train there. We have some good new players now, few very talented girls, as 赵雪 (Zhào Xuě) and 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn). Plus of course, three times China Champion 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), he has to show himself on International level soon.
— Does it exist Chinese chess school, as it was Soviet Chess School?
No, I don’t think so. China is big, there are different centers, but they don’t form the single Chinese School.
In every big city are different trainers and they teach differently. Just sometimes openings are the same from certain cities.
— How do you evaluate your play here?
— I started badly, as I was terribly tired after men’s super tournament in China. I played, like I was not myself.
Later I started to return back my usual play and free day helped me seriously. I relaxed very well during excursion.
— As I saw that you are participating in every excursion during the tournaments. Some experts, like Botvinnik did not recommend to do it during the tournaments.
— Everybody has her/his own style in life and during tournaments. I want to relax and to see new places and people. Here we saw beautiful old Kazan Kremlin and I even touched the wall of sacred tower, which brings luck.
Maybe, it worked — Laughs.
侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) touching the leaning walls of the the Söyembikä Tower. Photo: Anastasiya Valeryevna Karlovich. |
— You always come with a pot of some liquid for the game. Is it your secret weapon?
— Laughing. Yes, it is. It is special Chinese fruit tea for refreshing and concentration. At the end I eat some berries from it.
— Last question — Are you following the social and economic life of your country?
— Yes, very much. Especially important for me are changes in family politics of the government. It’s pity, that I don’t have a brother or sister. Soon it will be possible for families to have two children. At the moment pregnant women faces two choices — to pay for second child, what is possible just for rich people or to make an abortion. Last dramatical case, when a woman had to make abortion just ten days before the birth of child was very painful for me.
— Laughing. Yes, it is. It is special Chinese fruit tea for refreshing and concentration. At the end I eat some berries from it.
— Last question — Are you following the social and economic life of your country?
— Yes, very much. Especially important for me are changes in family politics of the government. It’s pity, that I don’t have a brother or sister. Soon it will be possible for families to have two children. At the moment pregnant women faces two choices — to pay for second child, what is possible just for rich people or to make an abortion. Last dramatical case, when a woman had to make abortion just ten days before the birth of child was very painful for me.
Τρίπτυχο (Triptych)
Dancers perform during a preview of the Sydney Dance Company production Triptych, in Sydney, Australia. Photo: William West/AFP/Getty Images.
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