Ice swimming

沈阳 (Shěnyáng), China: A woman swims in a partially frozen lake at a park in 辽宁省 (Liáoníng province), in the north-east of the country. Photo: Sheng Li/Reuters.

努力

刘勃麟 (Liú Bólín), Hiding in the City – Balloon
Image courtesy of the artist and the Klein Sun Gallery

努力
Nǔlì
Striving

Protego Totalum

“It is gratifying to state the fact that eight of the contenders for the title of Ukrainian Chess Champion are Lviv residents, including: Yuri Krivoruchko, Alexander Areshchenko, Andrei Volokitin – a truly Ukrainian collection – Martyn Kravtsiv, Nataliya Buksa, Liza Soloviova, Myroslava Hrabinska and our pride, Women’s World Champion Mariya Muzychuk who, in preparing for the World Championship match, will compete with the strongest male players”, the tournament director Nazar Firman said. [Read more].

• Одразу два фінали чемпіонатів України з шахів відбудуться у Львові (Both Finals of the Ukrainian Chess Championship are about to start in Lviv), galinfo.com.ua, November 30, 2015

Mariya Muzychuk playing in the 5th Women’s World Chess Team Championship at 成都 (Chéngdū), China in April 2015. Photo: Badu.com.

Rolling blackout

Yalta, Ukraine: Men play chess by torchlight after the area lost power when pylons were destroyed. The Crimean authorities have declared a state of emergency and introduced restrictions on electricity use. Photo: TASS/Barcroft Media.

Once Upon a Time in America

Chess-News.ru (‏@Chess__News)

Whatever Gets You Thru the Night

• Nuno Silva, Ás do xadrez sovado por grupo na noite (Chess star assaulted by a gang last night), Jornal de Notícias, November 30, 2015

On Saturday evening, a few hours after winning the 9th International Festival in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, American Grandmaster Timur Gareev, 27, was assaulted and beaten up by a gang of unknown men at a central street in the district of the city’s nightlife. Despite his bruised face, he would have been discharged from the hospital within a few hours. The facts of the assault being investigated, but everything appears to have happened for petty reasons. [Read more].

Timur Gareev
Photo: Wikipedia

All the Way Up

The 84th Ukrainian Chess Championship will be held at Volter Hotel in Lviv from 2–14 December 2015. The playing list includes one woman and eleven men: Yuri Krivoruchko, Alexander Valentinovich Areshchenko, Andrei Aleksandrovich Volokitin, Zahar Aleksandrovich Efimenko, Sergey Anatoliyovych Fedorchuk, Yuriy Alexandrovich Kuzubov, Valeriy Nevyerov, Vitaly Sivuk, Alexander Vladimirovich Zubarev, Alexander Anatolyevich Kovchan, Martyn Romanovich Kravtsiv, and 15th Women’s World Chess Champion Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk. However, Muzychuk’s very aggressive managerial team imposed the secrecy order on all her games, which therefore won’t be broadcasted neither live nor later on. Apparently the purpose is to hide Muzychuk’s games from her World Championship challenger, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán).

Mariya Muzychuk smiling :) at 成都 (Chéngdū), China in the spring of 2015. Photo: Badu.com.

Ain’t No Sunshine

Danger! High Voltage

Since not everyone is well aware of the dangerous high voltage therein nested, we recommend to anyone interested in dealing with royal 太太 that the prudence principle was regarded as the key principle to comply with.

Secret File

Tahir Elçi was killed in Diyarbakir weeks after he said on television that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, was not a terrorist organisation A prominent lawyer and human rights defender, who faced a criminal charge for supporting Kurdish rebels, has been killed in an attack in south-east Turkey in which a police officer also died, officials said. Tahir Elçi was shot on Saturday while he and other lawyers were making a press statement. Two policemen and a journalist were also injured. [Read more].

“We are all Tahir, we are all Elçi”. Thousands of people take to the streets to protest after the killing of Tahir Elçi. Photo: Erhan Demirtas/Demotix/Corbis.

Aung San Suu Kyi

ABSTRACT FLOWERS CHRISTMAS EXHIBIT

ONE HUNDRED FLOWERS

by

Mado Flynn

EXHIBIT OF ONE HUNDRED ARTIFACTS WITH ORIGINAL DESIGNS

“Aung San Suu Kyi” ™ © Mado Flynn

Sunday, December 13, 2015 10,00 – 12,00 15,30 – 18,30

c/o
Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”
Viale Edmondo de Amicis, 99/A
50137 Florence, Italy

See further details at http://madoflynn.blogspot.com

Clash of Clans

王玥 (Wáng Yuè) – 卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì)
1st China Chess Kings; match game 2; 台州 (Tāizhōu), November 25, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D44

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Be7 11. exf6 Bxf6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. g3 Na6 14. a4. The alternative was 14. Bg2 Bb7 15. Nxb5 0-0-0 16. Qa4 cxb5 17. Bxb7+ Kxb7 18. Qxb5+ Ka8 19. Qc6+ Kb8 20. Qb5+ Ka8 21. Qc6+ Kb8 22. Qb5+ Ka8 ½ : ½ Svidler – 卢尚磊 (Lú Shànglěi), China – Russia Match, 宁波 (Níngbō) 2015. 14. ... Nb4! More enterprising than 14. ... Bb7 15. Bg2 b4 16. Ne4 Qe7 17. Qe2 0-0-0 18. Qxc4 e5 19. dxe5 Qxe5 20. 0-0 Rd4 21. Qc2 c5 22. Rfe1 Kb8 23. h4 Qd5 24. Bf3 Qf5 25. Re3 Rhd8 26. Rae1 c4 27. Qc1 Nc5 ½ : ½ Ribli – Fahnenschmidt, Schachbundesliga 1985/1986, West Germany 1986. 15. axb5 cxb5 16. Nxb5 Kf8! 17. Qd2? A safer looking try is 17. Bxc4 Bb7 18. f3, e.g. 18. ... Bxf3 19. 0-0 Qh6 20. Rxf3 Qxh2+ 21. Kf1 Qxb2 22. Kg1 Qh2+ 23. Kf1 Qb2 drawing by repetition. 17. ... a5 18. Bxc4. If 18. Rxa5 then 18. ... Nc2+ 19. Kd1 Rxa5 20. Qxa5 Bb7! gives Black a very powerful initiative. 18. ... Bb7 19. f3. It is not pleasant, but 19. 0-0?? tragically runs into 19. ... Rxh2! 20. Kxh2 Qh8+ and mate in two moves. 19. ... Rc8! Despite being two Pawns down, Black has has an overwhelming position. 20. Qc3

20. ... Rxc4! 21. Qxc4 Qxf3 22. Kd2 Rh5! 23. Rhe1 Rxh2+ 24. Re2 Bd5 25. Qc8+ Kg7 26. Rxh2 Qd3+ 27. Ke1. Else 27. Kc1 Qe3+ 28. Rd2 Bb3 leads to mate in short order. 27. ... Qxg3+ 28. Rf2 Nd3+ 29. Ke2 Nxf2 30. Qc3 Qg2 31. Ke1 Ne4 0 : 1.

卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì)
Photo: qipai.org.cn

A Most Wanted Man

“When the famous ‘Coca-Cola’ company offered him a firm contract, Fischer rejected it, saying that there is no money which could persuade him to give publicity to a drink that is harmful to people’s health... I like such a man who does not measure his accomplishments against the size of other people’s pockets...”, Grandmaster Lajos Portisch said. Quoted in Svetozar Gligorić, “Shall We Play Fischerandom Chess?”, London, Batsford, 2002, p. 35.

Rare AP Archive footage from 1971 Candidates final between Robert James Fischer and Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian. The clip shows the audience of the Teatro San Martín in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 26, 1971, giving Fischer a standing ovation when Petrosian resigned the 9th game.

Cencio dice mal di straccio

• Stefan Löffler, Macht der Schach-Chef Geschäfte mit Assad? (Did the commander-in-chief of the World Chess Federation go into business with Assad?), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, November 28, 2015

There were American sanctions during the Ukraine crisis even against the Russian billionaire and chess sponsor Gennady Nikolayevich Timchenko and the governor of the Krasnodar Krai, Alexander Nikolayevich Tkachyov, who headed the organizing committee for the last World Chess Championship. But the two don’t have any function in the FIDE anymore. If 53-year-old Russian Ilyumzhinov gives up his mandate and there will be new elections, his opponent Garry Kimovich Kasparov would incidentally not entitled to stand as a candidate: against former World Chess Champion, in fact, the FIDE Ethics Commission has imposed a two-year ban for corruption. [Read more].

Business ethics

[Turkish presidential spokesman, İbrahim Kalın,] quoted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as saying to France 24 news channel on Thursday that “had we known it was a Russian plane, we may have acted differently”. “But this does not change the fact that as a NATO member, Turkey has the right to defend its land and airspace against any violations. Turkish airspace is also NATO airspace”, Kalin wrote. Erdoğan’s spokesman also touched on claims that Turkey supports Daesh and buys oil from the extremist group, calling the accusations “part of a smear campaign that has no foundation”. “Those who have made such claims have yet to produce a single piece of concrete evidence. Instead, they narrate anecdotal stories with references to unnamed persons and unspecified locations”. “But what we know for sure is the fact that both the U.S. and the EU have sanctioned key people for buying oil from Daesh on behalf of the [Bashar] Assad regime”. “They include Syrian businessman George Haswani, Mudalal Khuri, a Syrian banker, and Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, a wealthy Russian businessman and the president of the World Chess Federation”, he said.

• Hale Türkeş, Erdoğan spokesman says Turkey-Russia ties will survive, Anadolu Agency, November 28, 2015

“Checkmate”
Photo © Matthias-Haker

Black & White

Tereza Přibáňová (@TerezaPribanova)

Felis attica

Cats teach dance instruction and are especially talented in the hula, the hambo and the hornpipe. Illustration: Emma Block.

• Emma Block and Anne Michael, Why cats are better than dogs – in pictures, The Guardian, November 28, 2015

Dangerous Liaisons

From left: President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević, 11th World Chess Champion Robert James “Bobby” Fischer, and “Gazda Jezda” Jezdimir Vasiljević informally met at Belgrade on October 6, 1992. Photo: Vreme.

Fading Beauty

沈阳 (Shěn Yáng) – 丁亦昕 (Dīng Yìxīn)
1st China Chess Queen; match game 2; 台州 (Tāizhōu), November 25, 2015
Grünfeld Defence D85

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qb3 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Ba3 b6 8. e3 0-0 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. Be2 Na5 11. Qc2. Also after 11. Qb4 c5! 12. Qb2 Be6 13. Nd2 Qc7 we’d subjectively prefer Black, Mah – Hawkins, 4NCL 2012/2013, Staverton 2013. 11. ... c5 12. dxc5? 沈阳 (Shěn Yáng) must win at any cost, and doesn’t hesitate to unbalance the position. Objectively, her move is very dubious. On the other hand, 12. 0-0 Qc7 was dead equal. 12. ... Bf5! 13. Qb2 bxc5 14. 0-0. By taking the Pawn, 沈阳 (Shěn Yáng) would have subjected herself to a very powerful initiative: 14. Bxc5? Qc7 15. Bb4 Nc4! would leave White in a very unpleasant position. 14. ... Rb8 15. Qc1 Qc7 16. Nd2 Qe5 17. Bb2 Rfd8 18. Rd1

18. ... Bd3! Black gained a strong advantage. 19. Bf3 c4 20. h3 h5 21. Nf1 Nb7 22. Rd2. A bad move in a bad position. Now White will be soon overwhelmed by Black’s huge preponderance. 22. ... Nc5 23. Qd1 Qc7 24. Rc1 Qa5. Even simpler was 24. ... Bxf1 25. Kxf1 Rxd2 26. Qxd2 Nd3 and White could well resign. 25. Ba1 Na4 26. Qe1 Rd6 27. Ng3 Rdb6 28. Ne2 Rb1 29. Rdd1 Rxc1 30. Rxc1 e5 ½ : ½. White is substantially helpless, but 丁亦昕 (Dīng Yìxīn) needed just a half point to qualify for the next round.

沈阳 (Shěn Yáng) (R.) vs. 丁亦昕 (Dīng Yìxīn) (L.)
Photo: General Administration of Sport in China

Mean Mr. Mustard

Charlemagne

He has always been interested in the history of chess and has had the chance to play both Karpov and Kasparov, two legends of the game. But if he could play anyone in history who would it be? “I think the top ones would be Fischer and Capablanca, maybe Mikhail Tal, but I think I would beat Tal pretty easily. Fischer would be more difficult, but I think I could beat him too”. [Read more].

• Nigel Farndale, Football-mad, mobbed by girls and easily bored: Meet Magnus Carlsen, the world’s greatest chess player, The Telegraph, November 27, 2015

“I lie in bed until slightly before lunchtime”. Photo credit: Andrea Gjestvang/Panos Pictures.

Life Is Beautiful

Il presidente francese alla cerimonia in omaggio alle vittime degli attentati del 13 novembre: di fronte ai terroristi, “moltiplicheremo le canzoni, i concerti, gli spettacoli, continueremo ad andare negli stadi”. La gran parte delle vittime erano trentenni: “Questa generazione è il volto della Francia”. [Read more].

• Parigi, Hollande: “Orda di assassini ha ucciso in nome di un Dio tradito”, la Repubblica.it, 27 novembre 2015

In the days after the Paris attacks, the terrace outside of La Belle Équipe became a shrine, blanketed with flowers, candles, photos of the victims and handwritten messages. Photo credit: Tyler Hicks/The New York Times.

On Top of the World

Jakarta, Indonesia: A frog enjoys life in the slow lane as he hitches a ride on a snail. Photo: Andri Priyadi/Barcroft Media.

Law of non-contradiction

Any appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, the Women’s World Chess Championship match will start in Lviv, Ukraine on March 1, 2016.

Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet
Photo © Olga Zasyadvovk

Potocki Palace, Lviv
Photo © root-at-roman

Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

ABSTRACT FLOWERS CHRISTMAS EXHIBIT

ONE HUNDRED FLOWERS

by

Mado Flynn

EXHIBIT OF ONE HUNDRED ARTIFACTS WITH ORIGINAL DESIGNS

“Fuoco Fatuo” ™ © Mado Flynn

Sunday, December 13, 2015 10,00 – 12,00 15,30 – 18,30

c/o
Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”
Viale Edmondo de Amicis, 99/A
50137 Florence, Italy

See further details at http://madoflynn.blogspot.com

The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed

Moonwalk

Alexīs Tsipras (@tsipras_eu)

Greece and the Palestinian Authority are to form a joint ministerial committee aimed at strengthening their relationship, it was announced Thursday. The head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmūd Abbās, revealed the initiative after talks with Prime Minister Alexīs Tsipras in Ramallah. It was also announced that Abbās will visit Athens on December 21 and 22. [Read more].

• Abbās due to visit Athens next month, ekathimerini.com, November 26, 2015

Etiquette

It’s confirmed: according to the U.S. Treasury, FIDE President Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov was blacklisted for “materially assisting and acting for or on behalf of” the Syrian government and the Central Bank of Syria.
Speaking by phone from Rome, Ilyumzhinov said he has no business operating in Syria and that he’s “surprised” by the decision to blacklist him. He also confirmed he’s planning to visit the U.S. next week for discussing about a possibile World Chess Championship match in the United States next year.
Most likely Mr. Ilyumzhinov is in Rome to attend the 1st FIDE World Online Women’s Blitz Championship that is to be held today at the Circolo Canottieri Aniene. If so, it’s worth reading the PremiumChess Italia’s disclaimer:

Screen grab from Scacchierando.it. That’s a translation: “Organizers recommend for anyone wishing to attend the Final of [today]: firstly, the staff must be informed beforehand via electronic mail (press@premiumchess.net), and, more importantly, suitable mandatory dress code is required”.

Through the Never

78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament (‏@tatasteelchess)

Сто двадцять один (One hundred twenty-one)

• Перший Львівський шаховий клуб відзначає свою 121 річницю (First Lviv chess club celebrates its 121st anniversary), galinfo.com.ua, November 25, 2015

Today, 25 November marks 121 years since the founding of the first Lviv chess club It started off like a game, for the sake of parties sans façon in the reading room of the university library or in a coffee shop. But the fever raised and on November 25, 1894 in the hall of the “Grand Hotel” was founded the Lviv chess club. Soon after, in the spring of the same year, the club held the City Championship, eventually won by Ignatz von Popiel, who at that time was justly regarded as the strongest player of Galicia. Since then, chess has not lost any popularity. Nowadays, Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk runs a professional chess school in town, and since last September in more than one hundred Lviv secondary schools there exist chess clubs, where children can freely learn the moves and play. Furthermore, many renowned Grandmasters belong to the Lviv community. It’s almost needless to remind our readers that on March 1, 2016 will start in Lviv the Women’s World Chess Championship match between Maria Muzychuk from Ukraine and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) from China.

A Chinese checkers board has 121 holes.

Cold War (Холодная война)

• Andrey Fyodorovich Kartashov, Илюмжинов связал санкции со стороны США со своей активной международной политикой (Ilyumzhinov associates U.S. sanctions with his active foreign policy strategy), TASS, November 25, 2015

Ilyumzhinov associates U.S. sanctions with his active foreign policy strategy The U.S. Department of the Treasury stated earlier that sanctions would have been imposed because of his assistance with the chairman of the Central Bank of Syria MOSCOW, November 25. / Correspondent: Andrey Fyodorovich Kartashov / TASS. The U.S. Department of the Treasury could impose sanctions against the President of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov because of his active foreign policy strategy, Ilyumzhinov told TASS. Earlier it was reported that the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against Ilyumzhinov because of his alleged assistance with the chairman of the Central Bank of Syria. “The news came as a surprise to me. I associate sanctions with my very active foreign policy strategy. In particular, I’ve been in North Korea, Syria, met Bashar Hafez al-Assad several times”, he said. “I can say that I’ll fly to the United States Sunday, where I’ll be discussing issues related to the World Championship match in 2017. I’m also planning to visit Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City. If the U.S. Department of the Treasury has any questions for me, I’m ready to meet. The Ministry of Finance of Syria might also impose sanctions against me as I also associate with representatives of the United States and fly to controversial negotiations”. He added that he’ll keep cooperating with the Syrian authorities, despite the fact that the U.S. Department of the Treasury has put him on the sanctions blacklist. “Yes, I won’t refuse to help. We’ve sent thousands of chess sets, translated books into Arabic, sponsored a chess tournament. So we’ll keep helping”, Ilyumzhinov said to the TV channel “Russia-24”. Ilyumzhinov was elected President of FIDE on November 24, 1995. Since then, he was re-elected six times. For over 90 years of history of the Federation, he’s the sixth President.

The Other Side of the Moon

丁亦昕 (Dīng Yìxīn) – 沈阳 (Shěn Yáng)
1st China Chess Queen; match game 1; 台州 (Tāizhōu), November 24, 2015
Four Knights Game C48

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bd6!? A very strange move, but – I must confess – very often I don’t understand chess as it is played today. 5. d3 h6 6. a3 a6 7. Ba4 b5 8. Bb3 Bb7 9. Be3. For 9. Ne2 Bc5 10. Ng3 d6 11. Be3 0-0 12. 0-0 Nd4 13. Bxd4 Bxd4 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. Nf5 see Naiditsch – B. Tóth, 5th International Chess Festival, Basel 2015. 9. ... 0-0 10. Ne2 Re8 11. Ng3 Bf8 12. 0-0 d5 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Nf5 Re6 15. Nd2 Rf6 16. Ng3 Nd4 17. Ba2 c5 18. Nde4 Rg6 19. Qd2 Qh4 20. f4? A very imprudent decision. She should have first played 20. Bxd5 Bxd5 and only then 21. f4. 20. ... Nxe3 21. Qxe3 Nxc2 22. Qf2 Bxe4? Not 22. ... Nxa1? on account of 23. fxe5 Kh7 (what else?) 24. Qxf7 Be7 25. Rf4 and wins. However, here 22. ... exf4 23. Qxc2 c4 looks much stronger. 23. Qxc2 Bc6 24. fxe5 Qd4+ 25. Kh1 Ra7 26. Rae1 Qd8

27. e6!? To light the Dragon’s fire. 27. ... fxe6? 沈阳 (Shěn Yáng) panics and opens up lines for White’s Bishop as well as her Rook. Correct was 27. ... Bd5 28. exf7+ Rxf7 29. Rxf7 Kxf7 30. b4 Rc6 when Black should hold her own. 28. Rxe6 Rxe6 29. Bxe6+ Kh8 30. d4! The decisive break-up of the Black’s castled position, even if it’s far (very far!) from His Majesty’s position! 30. ... c4. Clearly bad, but after 30. ... Bd6 31. Nf5 Qf6 32. d5 Black is helpless anyway. 31. Qg6. With the threat of Be6-f5. 31. ... Bd7 32. Bd5 Be7 33. Nh5 Bf6. Else 33. ... Bf8 34. Be4 mates in a few moves. 34. Nxf6 1-0.

沈阳 (Shěn Yáng)
Photo: qipai.org.cn

Yankee Candle

• Кирсан Илюмжинов внесён в санкционный список США (U.S. sanctions Kirsan Ilyumzhinov), Chess-News.ru, November 25, 2015

• U.S. Sanctions Former President of Russia’s Kalmyk Republic, sputniknews.com, November 25, 2015

FIDE President Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov is suddenly ended up on the U.S. sanctions blacklist. “Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was designated today for materially assisting and acting for or on behalf of the government of Syria, Central Bank of Syria, Adib Mayaleh and Batoul Rida”, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a press release on Wednesday. Curiously enough, Mr. Ilyumzhinov was planning to visit United States in the next few days, in order to formalize to hold the next World Chess Championship in New York City in November next year.

Ολοκαύτωμα (The Holocaust)

Greek Prime Minister Alexīs Tsipras is visiting Jerusalem and Ramallah as tensions flare after the Turkish downing of a Russian fighter jet over its border with Syria, and both Israel and Greece have troublesome grievances with the EU, of which Greece is a member state. [Read more].

• Noga Tarnopolsky, Greek Prime Minister Visits Jerusalem and Ramallah while Regional Tensions Flare, The Media Line, November 25, 2015

Alexīs Tsipras remembering the victims of the Holocaust at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel. Photo: Alexīs Tsipras (@tsipras_eu).

Mountaineering

Window cleaners work on a high-rise building next to a digital advertisement screen in the business district of Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Narong Sangnak/EPA.

Family Welfare

Natalia Muzychuk: “Mariya Olehivna has an innate fighting instinct. The worst position on the chessboard only fueling her desire to fight” Olena Sadovnyk, Vysokyy Zamok online, November 20, 2015 Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk’s mom and manager describes the triumphant progress of the Women’s World Chess Champion Chess Queen Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk prepares to defend the title. The match with her challenger, three-time World Champion (2010, 2011, and 2013) 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) from China will start in Lviv on March 1, 2016. A match of 12 games will decide who of the two girls (Mariya Olehivna was only 23, and her opponent two years younger) will wear the Crown of Women’s Chess Champion all year long. Early in last April, at the World Championship in Krasnaya Polyana, Stryj-born Mariya Olehivna surprised a large, chess-competent audience with her sharp and uncompromising games. Natalia Muzychuk, Mariya Olehivna’s mom and manager, was not at all surprised by her youngest daughter’s triumph. In an interview for Vysokyy Zamok she remembered all the vicissitudes of Krasnaya Polyana race. She told how imagination can compensate for inexperience. And she also found that Mariya Olehivna has some traits in common with Hungarian chess legend Judit Polgár. — Every match of the World Championship staged its own drama — recalls Natalia Muzychuk — difficulties and problems already begun before the Championship. Two days before the flight to Sochi [Ed. Note: On the way to Krasnaya Polyana] Mariya Olehivna fell ill. Just returned home from training camps, her temperature was raised at 39°. She was lying, and we struggled to pull her out of bed. When the Championship started, she felt herself terribly weakened. She still had not fully recovered. In round one Mariya Olehivna faced Canadian of Chinese origin 袁元凌 (Yuán Yuánlíng). My daughter dominated the whole game — everything seemed to proceed in the best possible way. But on 39th move, while she was thinking, calculating all variations, she threw a quick look at the clock — till to reduce herself to the last second. Puzzled, she moved the Queen — it was a blunder! And a winning position that she had patiently built up for three and a half hours, suddenly turned into defeat. According to regulations if the two classic games can’t designate a winner, the match has to be decided on tie-breaks. But, before the potential tie-break, Mariya Olehivna desperately needed to win the second game. I was not particularly worried, because my daughter was a higher class than her rival, and her defeat was only due to a single, unfortunate mistake. She defeated her Canadian opponent in 20 moves and then confidently won on tie-break. In round two Mariya Olehivna played against Poland’s number one Monika Soćko. The two classic games ended in a draw. But on the tie-break the Polish player had no chance: 2 : 0 — and Mariya Olehivna jumped to the next round, where she was waiting for the former World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova from Bulgaria. My daughter was able to defeat her in the first game. That was sufficient to draw the second game. — In round four sat on opposite side of the chessboard the top seed of the Championship Humpy Koneru from India... — ... She is a very experienced and successful player who once enjoyed winning such a knockout contest and played the World Chess Championship match against 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) from China. The first was a very tense game and Koneru committed a mistake. Mariya Olehivna, without hesitation, won the game by a shocking tactical blow — 1 : 0. Now it seemed that the job was half done: she needed only a draw. Of course it is not easy to draw with Black against such an antagonist. That was an incredible fight: time trouble... and defeat — 1 : 1. In the first tie-break game the girls eventually agreed to a draw. In the second Koneru quickly achieved a winning position. It seemed like the end: there’s still a few moves, and Humpy will jump to the next round. Then Mariya Olehivna played for wild complications trying to upset her about making methodical progress. It worked out: Humpy went all completely wrong and Mariya Olehivna promptly turned the tables in her favour. — Where does Mariya Olehivna give her best — rapid or classic chess? — According to the rating, she feels most confident in classical games. And as for tie-breaks, particularly at this competition level, such as the World Championship, one of the key aspects is the ability to focus and tune into the fight. Mariya Olehivna is a fighter. In such moments, it doesn’t matter who is her adversary. He might even be the Men’s World Champion. There is only one goal — to win. All her energies converge uniquely on winning. In the semifinals Mariya Olehivna faced India’s numer two Dronavalli Harika. The two girls used to play each other since childhood. In Krasnaya Polyana, the first two games ended in a draw, and the fate of victory was to be decided on tie-breaks. Mariya Olehivna easily won the first tie-break game. I started calling everyone I knew to tell them the good news. While accepting congratulations, I threw a look at the computer: in a winning position, just one step away from success, weird things start happening on the chessboard. Mariya Olehivna moves, hoping to keep the upper hand, then moves again. it starts paying duty. In a matter of seconds, an advantageous position turns into a nowhere land. Another move — and defeat (1 : 1). In the following ten-minute game my daughter was so disappointed by the previous failure, which could not find consolation. The position on the board was not in her favour. The chances of saving it were anything but good for being two Pawns down in the endgame. But then a miracle happens: her opponent wants to exchange Queens, to liquidate into a won ending, but she does it all wrong and the endgame results in a draw. There has been a dip in Harika’s hands of tears. Mariya Olehivna grows wings: she easily overcame her opponent and jumped to the final, where she defeated Natalia Andreevna Pogonina from Russia in four classic games with a score of 2½ : 1½ thus becoming the new Women’s World Champion. — Is it more difficult to be a mother-coach than a mother, or a coach? — I not only understand each move and realize its potential influence on the result of the game. I also know all the psychological backgrounds for each victory and defeat, I feel all the emotions of my daughter. All chess players learn the ability to control their own mental state and tune into fight. Mariya Olehivna has an innate fighting instinct. If needed, she will give all of herself without any reserve. She knows how to step over her own weakness, her strength of will can overcome the impossible. Thus she became World Champion. Her elder sister Anna Olehivna is more vulnerable. She is a passionate workaholic, who enjoys working hard. Anna Olehivna is a very strong player, her knowledge surprised even adults. Since 2008 she belongs to the chess élite, never falling below the eighth rank. Anna Olehivna is one of the world’s four women’s players in chess history, who at least once during their careers have been into the shadow of Judit Polgár’s peak rating (2735). So far, three — 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), Humpy Koneru and Anna Olehivna - scored one hundred points lower. That’s high value. Anna Olehivna never feels at ease in tournament formats where one game can not solve the ultimate fate of victory. When she has to play under pressure, burdened by responsibility, excitement overshadows her flowering side. — In such kind of competition, is given Anna Olehivna and Mariya Olehivna any psycological support? — Usually national federations provide individual athletic trainer, personal physician and also masseurs and psychologists. As for us, we are coach, manager, organizer, dad and mom. We cannot afford a psychologist. So we must be content with our own. During the World Cup [Ed. Note: In Baku], my husband and my daughter tried to support Mariya Olehivna remotely — via Skype and SMS messages: “Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be alright. We’re on your side”. Both Mariya Olehivna and Anna Olehivna know we are proud of them anyway, regardless of their results. — After some shining games in the Championship, someone compared Mariya Olehivna with Judith Polgar... — So they said. I cannot deny one thing: Mariya Olehivna perfectly calculates all variations beforehand and never avoided a fight. The whole world witnessed the final game when she had only to draw. Mariya Olehivna played sharply, absolutistically. Everyone was clutching their heads: “What is she doing? Why taking such a risk?”. In that moment my daughter saw the game and played it responding to the spirit of the particular position without thinking about side effects. In Krasnaya Polyana, the whole strategy, all tactical miscalculations did not disappoint her. — In the new touch of Mariya Olehivna’s games, someone saw the influence of Alexander Beliavsky, who helped to prepare your girls to Championship... — It’s unlikely that even the coolest coach could put a new style in a player. It’s been already 20 years since Mariya Olehivna is involved in chess. Mariya Olehivna’s style rather reflects her temperament and chess attitude. Her sister, who for several years consulted Alexander Beliavsky, used to play quite differently. Into the wildest storm Mariya Olehivna feels like “a fish in water”. In a stressful situation she perfectly sees all scenarios. And the worst position on the chessboard only fueling her desire to fight. Mariya Olehivna won’t never open her games like a dogmatic theoretician, who develops quietly and soundly, patiently waiting for his opponent to make a mistake. My youngest daughter used to depart from theory and is always looking for something personal. Anna Olehivna too has a basic knowledge, she knows better both match strategy and pattern games. She has more experience of chess élite such as the Grand Prix series. Anna Olehivna repeatedly played with the men’s top. Mariya Olehivna never had such experiences. And she compensates with dedication and persistence. When fate gives her a chance, she tries to exploit it to the maximum. Why did we ask for Beliavsky’s help? Besides his professional highlights (he played a match for the World Chess Championship in Candidates cycle and witnessed all that happened in the past chess decades), Lviv Grandmaster is an old friend of ours as a fair and sensitive person as well. Born to teach, he is able to unveil the secrets of chess. He gave the girls some chess insights. During the World Championship Alexander Genrikhovich advised girls online. But Mariya Olehivna’s first assistant was her elder sister, who had been eliminated earlier. Anna Olehivna served her as a coach, manager, psychologist and even a masseuse. Despite the fact that in tournament the girls are rivals, there is no envy, or hatred between them. First of all they are sisters, always ready to help each other.

(Free translation by Nobody’s Perfect)

It’s Only a Game

It’s Only a Game. Photo: firstVIEW.

Вечерний Ургант (Evening Urgant)

Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk (@Kosteniuk)

Here is the selfie of 13th Women’s World Chess Champion Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk – and a magnificent bouquet of roses in her hand – surrounded by “renowned Grandmasters” :). Form left: Ian Aleksandrovich Nepomniachtchi, Ivan Andreevich Urgant (host of Evening Urgant), Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler, and Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin.