New Year’s Eve

Olga

Since “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”, no wonder that our beloved ballerina Olga Calamai has found so many friends and a new Hairstylist so far away from her daily road.

Life on Mars

Burkina Faso is a member of the African Union, Community of Sahel-Saharan States, Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Economic Community of West African States, and United Nations. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the country underwent many governmental changes. Blaise Compaoré was the most recent president and ruled the country from 1987 until he was ousted from power by the popular youth upheaval of 31 October 2014. This resulted in a semi-presidential republic which lasted from October 2014 to September 2015. On 17 September 2015 the provisional government was in turn toppled by an apparent military coup d’état carried out by the Regiment of Presidential Security. On 24 September 2015, after pressure from the African Union, ECOWAS, and the armed forces, the military junta agreed to step down, and Michel Kafando was reinstated as Acting President. Photos: Olga Calamai.

Une Seule Nuit

Here’s Olga Calamai, virtuoso dancer of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, who, from 4 to 22 December, served as a volunteer caregiver at the orphanage in Guilongou, a village situated in the capital of Oubritenga Province Ziniaré, Burkina Faso.

The New Dress

Paul Charles Morphy – Samuel Standidge Boden
London, 1858
Scotch Gambit C44

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. 0-0. A nuance slip. Correct is the immediate 5. c3! (5. ... Nf6 6. cxd4 Bb4+). 5. ... d6! 6. c3 Nf6. Best is 6. ... Bg4! and if 7. Qb3 then 7. ... Bxf3! 8. Bxf7+ Kf8 9. Bxg8? Rxg8 10. gxf3 g5!-+ 11. Qe6 (else 11. Qd1 Qd7 12. b4 Bb6 13. Bb2 d3! 14. Qxd3 Ne5 15. Qe2 Qh3 16. Nd2 g4! 0 : 1 Kolisch – Anderssen, Paris 1860) 11. ... Ne5 12. Qf5+ Kg7 13. Kh1 Kh8 14. Rg1 g4! 15. f4 Nf3! 16. Rxg4 Qh4!! 17. Rg2 Qxh2+! 18. Rxh2 Rg1 mate, Reiner – Steinitz, Vienna 1860. 7. cxd4 Bb6 8. Nc3 0-0 9. d5!? “The only way to forestall the counterblow 9. ... Nxe4!”, writes Grandmaster Valeri Beim in his book “Paul Morphy Una Prospettiva Moderna”, Roma, Prisma Editori, 2008, p. 95, but Géza Maróczy’s suggestion 9. Bb3 is worth considering. 9. ... Na5? Very bad judgment. After 9. ... Ne5 10. Nxe5 dxe5 11. Qd3 White stands slightly better. 10. Bd3. Threatening b2-b4. 10. ... c5 11. Bg5! h6 12. Bh4 Bg4. Not 12. ... g5? 13. Nxg5! hxg5 14. Bxg5 c4 15. e5! dxe5 16. Ne4 and wins (Maróczy’s analysis). 13. h3 Bh5. Not with happiness, but 13. ... Bxf3 14. Qxf3 c4 (Beim) is met by 15. e5! dxe5 16. Ne4 with devastating effect. 14. g4! Bg6 15. Qd2 Re8 16. Rae1! Bc7. Beim recommends 16. ... a6, but then 17. e5 looks quite unpleasant for Black. 17. Nb5! Kh7. “After 17. ... Bb8 18. b4! cxb4 19. Qxb4 a6 20. Nbd4 Ba7 21. Nf5 Bc5 22. Qb2 Black wouldn’t be happy either”, writes Beim (op. cit., p. 96). 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Nxc7! “Morphy exchanges first one terribly limited Black Bishop, then the other, he also repairs his opponent’s Pawn structure. Why does he do these things and why do I approve of his decision? Because, as a result of this operation, all of Black’s minor pieces disappear except for the Knight at a5, which can do nothing to hinder White’s expansion on the weakened Kingside”, writes Beim (op. cit., p. 96). 19. ... Qxc7 20. Qc3. Threatening both b2-b4 and Qc3xf6. 20. ... Qd8 21. Nh4 b6 22. f4 Kg7

23. Nxg6! A lot of people would have been contented of entombing the enemy Bishop by 23. f5 Bh7 24. Ng2, but not Morphy. 23. ... fxg6 24. e5! Rc8. Not 24. ... dxe5 25. fxe5 Qxd5 on account of 26. exf6+ Kf7 (or 26. ... Kf8 27. f7 Rxe1 28. Qh8+ Ke7 29. Rxe1+ soon mating) 27. Bxg6+! Kxg6 28. Qc2+ and White mates in short order. 25. Bb1 Kf7 26. e6+ Kg7 27. Qd3 f5. What else? 28. gxf5 Qf6. If 28. ... gxf5 then 29. Qxf5 Qf6 30. Qh7+ (Maróczy) 30. ... Kf8 31. e7+ Rxe7 32. Rxe7 Qxe7 33. Qh8+ finis. 29. fxg6 Qxb2. “29. ... Re7!? offered sterner resistance, but Black could not have held off all the threats as White would have played 30. f5 Rf8 31. b3 Nb7 32. a3 Nd8 33. b4 opening a second front on the Queenside”, writes Beim (op. cit., p. 97). 30. f5 Qf6. 30. ... c4 31. Qg3! Qf6 32. e7! is equally catastrophic. 31. e7! c4 32. Qg3 c3 33. Re6 Qd4+ 34. Qf2 Qxd5 35. f6+ 1 : 0. Because of 35. ... Kh8 36. g7+ Kg8 37. f7+ Kxg7 38. Qf6 mate.

From left: Howard Staunton, Samuel Standidge Boden, and Johann Jacob Löwenthal. Image courtesy of edochess.ca.

Segal’s law

暗號 周杰伦 (Jay Chou) 我想要的 想做的 你比誰都了 你想說的 想給的 我全都知道 未接來電 沒留言 一定是你孤單的想念 任何人都 猜不到 這是我們的暗號 他們猜 隨便猜 不重要 連上彼此的訊號 才有個依靠 有太多人太多事 夾在我們之間咆哮 雜訊太多訊號弱 就連風吹都要干擾 想吹風 想自由 想要一起手牽手 去看海 繞世界流浪 我害怕你心碎沒人幫你擦眼淚 別管那是非 只要我們感覺對 我害怕你心碎沒人幫你擦眼淚 別離開身邊 擁有你我的世界才能完美 你說你想逃開鬆手 愛太累愛得不自由 因為我給不起最簡單的承諾 你停止收訊號 我開始搜尋不到 到底有誰知道 是幾點鐘方向 你才會收到暗號 Segnale Segreto Jay Chou (周杰伦) Le cose che voglio Le cose che voglio fare Tu le conosci meglio di chiunque altro Le cose che vuoi dire Le cose che vuoi dare Le conosco tutte Non accetto la chiamata Nessun messaggio Dovevi esser tu, pensandomi solo Nessuno può Indovinarlo È il nostro segnale segreto Gli altri congetturano Lasciamoli congetturare Non è importante Avremo qualcosa da cui dipendere Solo se incrociamo i nostri messaggi Ci sono troppe persone, troppe cose Piantate fra noi a far rumore Fra troppi segnali confusi, il messaggio s’affievolisce Anche il vento finisce per interferire Ma tu non vuoi più camminare in un buio sottopasso Vuoi un brivido Vuoi essere libera Vuoi essere insieme a me mano nella mano Mentre guardiamo l’oceano Mentre giriamo il mondo Ti temo con il cuore infranto senza nessuno che ti asciughi le lacrime Non curarti dei pettegolezzi Fintanto che il nostro sentimento è giusto Ti temo con il cuore infranto senza nessuno che ti asciughi le lacrime Non abbandonarmi Il mio mondo sarà compiuto solo con te Dici che vuoi fuggire, ti stacchi dalla mia mano Sei stanca di un amore che è come una prigione Perché non posso esaudire la più semplice promessa Respingi i messaggi Anch’io quasi non aspetto più i tuoi Alla fine chissà In quale direzione punterà l’orologio Prima che tu riceva il segnale segreto

Dress Like a Parisian

In referring to the partie sans façon Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) played with Russian tycoon Oleg Vyacheslavovich Skvortsov on January 31, 2014 as a sideline event of the 3rd Zürich Chess Challenge, the Russian Chess Federation web site’s editor-in-chief finally published something about it:

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Oleg Vyacheslavovich Skvortsov
Zürich, January 31, 2014
1r3r2/3b1pbk/3p1q1p/2pBpPPQ/p3P3/P2P3R/7P/n1B4K w - - 0 24

“The beautiful win was 24. ... Qg6! 25. fxg6+ fxg6 26. Qd1 Bxh3 or 25. Qd1 Rb1! 26. fxg6+ fxg6. Unfortunately, I didn’t find this unexpected resource, played 24. ... Rb1? and lost”, Skvortsov told Vladimir Leonidovich Barsky. Indeed, after 24. ... Rb1? 25. gxf6! Rxc1+ 26. Kg2 Rc2+ 27. Kg3 Black cannot escape mate; for instance: 27. ... Rc3 28. fxg7! Rxd3+ 29. Kf2 Rxh3 30. gxf8=Q Rxh5 31. Qxf7+ Kh8 32. Qg8#.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and Oleg Vyacheslavovich Skvortsov exchanging gifts and moves. Photos: Vladimir Leonidovich Barsky/Russian Chess Federation.

Lenore

Mumbai, India: A worker is silhouetted against the sky as he repairs power lines. Photo: Divyakant Solanki/EPA.

人力仲介 (Employment agency)

青岛 (Qīngdǎo), China: Candidates attend an audition for prospective flight attendants. Photo: 新华通讯社 (Xīnhuá News Agency)/Corbis.

The Best Day

Magnus Carlsen
Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova

Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen)

The Last Round-Up

李荻 (Lǐ Dí) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 29, 2015
Queen’s Indian Defence A50

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. Nf3 Bb7 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. d5 Qe8!? 8. Nc3 e5 9. e4 d6 10. h3 a5 11. Be3 Na6 12. b3 Nh5 13. Nh4 Bc8 14. Nb5 Bd7 15. Bf3 Nf6 16. g4 h6 17. Nc3 Qe7 18. Ng2 Nh7 19. h4 Nc5 20. Qd2 f5! Black got the upper hand, thanks to his opponent’s irresolute opening strategy. 21. gxf5 gxf5 22. Bxc5. Not 22. Bxh6? on account of 22. ... f4! 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 followed by ... Rf8-g8 and ... Kg7-h8, which would give Black a very powerful attack. 22. ... bxc5 23. exf5 Bxf5 24. Be4 Bg4 25. Rae1 Nf6 26. f3 Bh3 27. Kh2 Bd7 28. Bg6 Kh8 29. Ne4 Ng8 30. Ng3 Bf6 31. Re4 Bg7 32. Re2 a4. Black is keeping her opponent under pressure on both wings. Now she must find a way to penetrate the walls. 33. Bb1

33. ... h5!? Black’s idea is to sacrifice a Pawn for bringing her King’s Bishop more effectively into play. 34. Qd3. A little better seems 34. Qg5, though even then 34. ... Bh6 35. Qxh5 axb3 36. axb3 Ra3 should give Black a good initiative for the Pawn. 34. ... Bh6 35. Nxh5. This was imprudent, but 李荻 (Lǐ Dí) probably underestimated Black’s strong rejoinder. 35. ... Bf5 36. Qd1. It’s probably not the best idea, but after 36. Qc3 axb3 37. axb3 Bxb1 38. Rxb1 Rf5! 39. Ng3 Bf4! Black also has a very strong attack. 36. ... axb3 37. Qxb3. Very comical – in all its dramaticity – is 37. axb3?? Ra1 38. Rb2 Bxb1 39. Rxb1 Ra2 with an irresistible attack. 37. ... Rab8 38. Qxb8 Rxb8 39. Bxf5 Qf7 40. Bg4 Rb4. White has some material compensation for the Queen, but his scattered and uncoordinated forces make the pendulum of opinion swing decisively in Black’s favour. 41.Re4 Rb2 42. a4 Qe8 43. a5 Qa4 44. Be6 Ne7 45. Rg4 Qxa5 46. Nf6 Qa2 47. Kh3 Rf2 48. Rxf2 Qxf2 49. f4 exf4 50. h5 Qf3+ 51. Kh2 Qe2 52. Kh3 Qd3+ 53. Kh4 Qf1 0 : 1. Thus 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) won the best women’s prize of $8,000 dollars.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Photo: Katerina Savina

The Great Gatsby

余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī) – Magnus Carlsen
2nd Qatar Masters Open; playoff tie-break game 2 (5+3); Doha, December 29, 2015
Nimzo-Indian Defence E43

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Bd3 0-0 7. 0-0 c5 8. Na4 cxd4 9. exd4 Re8 10. a3 Bf8 11. Bf4 Bxf3!? If there’s no improvisation it’s not chess. For 11. ... d6 12. Re1 Nbd7 13. Rc1 e5 see Carlsen – Karjakin, 5th Kings Tournament, Mediaș 2011. 12. Qxf3 Nc6 13. d5!? A bold advance which is probably a bit premature. 13. Qh3 deserves consideration. 13. ... exd5 14. cxd5 Ne5

15. Qd1?? 余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī) doesn’t hold the tension and committs a colossal blunder. Or maybe the Qatari Emir would not have appreciated any loss of innocence. Whatever it is, now Black wins a clear piece. 15. ... Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Re4 0 : 1.

Qatar Masters Open (@Qatar_Masters)

Flowers for Algernon (European Variation)

“Flowers for Algernon (European Variation)” is a handmade artwork by Mado Flynn.

A Woman in the Middle East

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 卢尚磊 (Lú Shànglěi)
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 28, 2015
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nbd2 d6 6. c3 0-0 7. h3 Bb6 8. Bb3 Ne7 9. Nf1 Ng6 10. Ng3 h6 11. 0-0 Re8. If 11. ... Nh7 then 12. d4 c6 13. Be3 Ng5 14. Kh1 Qf6 15. Nh2 Re8 16. Ng4 Qd8 17. f4 exf4 18. Bxf4 d5 19. e5 Nxf4 20. Rxf4 c5 21. Qf1 cxd4 22. cxd4 Be6 23. Bc2 Rc8 24. Ne3 Qd7 25. Bd3 a6 26. Nh5 Rc6 27. Nf5 Bxf5 28. Bxf5 Qe7 29. h4 Nh7 30. Nxg7 Kxg7 31. Bxh7 Bxd4 32. Rxd4 Kxh7 33. Qf5+ Kh8 34. Rf1 Qxe5 35. Qxf7 Rce6 36. Rdf4 Qxb2 37. Qh5 Qg7 38. Qxd5 Re1 39. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 40. Kh2 Qc7 41. Qd4+ Kg8 42. g3 Re2+ 43. Kh3 Re7 44. Qd5+ Kh7 45. Qf5+ Kh8 46. Qf8+ Kh7 47. Qf5+ Kh8 48. Qg6 Qc8+ 49. Kg2 Re6 50. Qd3 Qc6+ 51. Kh2 Qe8 52. Qc3+ Kh7 53. Qc2+ Kh8 54. Qb2+ Kh7 55. Qxb7+ Kh8 56. Qb2+ Kh7 57. Qc2+ Kh8 58. Qc3+ Kh7 59. Qd3+ Kh8 60. Rf2 h5 61. Qf3 Kh7 62. Qf5+ Kh8 63. Kh3 Re1 64. Qf6+ Kh7 65. Qf5+ Kh8 66. Qd5 Re5 67. Rf8+ Qxf8 68. Qxe5+ Kg8 69. Qg5+ Kh7 70. Qxh5+ Kg7 71. Qe5+ Kh7 72. Kg4 Qg8+ 73. Kf5 Qxa2 74. Qe7+ Kh8 75. Qf6+ Kh7 76. Qg6+ Kh8 77. Qh6+ Kg8 78. Qe6+ 1 : 0 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Stefanova, Women’s Grand Prix 2009–2011, 1st stage, Instanbul 2009. 12. Re1 Be6 13. a4 a5 14. d4 Bxb3 15. Qxb3 d5 16. exd5 exd4 17. Rxe8+ Qxe8. International Master Georgios Souleidis also considers 17. ... Nxe8 18. c4 Nd6 (18. ... Nf6 19. Nf5⩲) 19. Qc2 Qf6 20. Nh5 Qf5 21. Qxf5 Nxf5 22. Kf1⩲ with a slightly favourable endgame.

18. Bd2. The most promising is probably Souleidis’ suggestion: 18. c4! Qd8 19. Nf5 c6 20. d6 (20. Bxh6!? gxh6 21. Nxh6+ Kg7 22. Nxf7 Kxf7 23. Ng5+ Kg8 24. Ne6 Qe7 25. Qxb6 cxd5 26. Nc7 Rf8 27. Nxd5=) 20. ... Nd7 21. g4! Nc5 22. Qc2 Ne6 23. h4 Bc5 24. h5 Ngf4 25. Bxf4 Nxf4 26. Ne7+ Kh8 27. Ne5 Nh3+ 28. Kg2 Ng5 29. Qf5 Bxd6 30. Qxg5 Qxe7 (or 30. ... Qe8 31. Qf4 Bxe7 32. Qxf7⩲) 31. Qxe7 Bxe7 32. Nxf7+ Kh7 33. Ne5⩲ with a little better ending for White. 18. ... dxc3 19. Bxc3 Ne4 20. Nxe4 Qxe4 21. Re1 Qf4 22. Bd2 Qd6 23. Qb5 Kh7 24. b4 axb4 25. Bxb4 c5 26. dxc6 Qxc6 27. Qxc6 bxc6 28. a5 Bc7 29. Kf1 Nf4 30. Ra1 Ra6 31. Bd2 Kg6 32. Nd4 c5 33. Nb5 Be5 34. Ra4 Ne6 35. Ke2 Kf6 36. Kd3 Ke7 37. g3 Kd7 38. f4 Kc6 39. Kc4 Bf6 40. Ra3 Nd8 41. Nc3 Nb7 42. Ne4 Bd8 43. f5 Nxa5+ ½ : ½.

The Wall

Magnus Carlsen – Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 29, 2015
Spanish C67

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6. Kramnik’s deadlock. 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 0-0 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. Bf4 d5 14. Bd3 g6 15. Nd2 Ng7 16. Nf3 Bf5 17. Bxf5 Nxf5 18. Qe2 c6 19. Re1 Ng7 20. Be5 Bxe5. Kramnik’s personal touch, departing from 20. ... Ne6 21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22. Ne5 Re8 23. Ng4 Qd8 24. Qe5 Ng7 25. Qxe8+ Nxe8 26. Rxe8+ Qxe8 27. Nf6+ Kf8 28. Nxe8 Kxe8 29. f4 f5 30. Kf2 b5 31. b4 Kf7 32. h3 (or 32. g3 Kf6 33. Kf3 Ke6 34. Ke3 Kf6 35. Kf3 Ke6 ½ : ½ Carlsen – Anand, 3rd Zürich Chess Challenge, Zürich 2014) 32. ... h6 33. h4 h5 ½ : ½ Carlsen – Anand, World Chess Championship, Chennai 2013, match game 8. 21. Nxe5 Qd6 22. Qf3 f6 23. Nd3 Re8. The position is dead equal.

24. Rxe8+ Nxe8 25. Qe3 Ng7 26. h3 Kf7 27. Qh6 Kg8 28. Qe3 Kf7 29. Qh6 Kg8 30. Qe3 Kf7 ½ : ½. “Unlike in a match a draw for Kramnik isn’t nothing – it’ll probably be 2nd or 3rd”, then Carlsen said.

Photo © adrianismyname

Many-worlds interpretation

• Stuart Heritage, What 2015’s movie posters would look like if they told the truth – in pictures, The Guardian, December 28, 2015

Revival

Luca Moroni – Johan-Sebastian Christiansen
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 26, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Accepted D20

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 e5 4. Bxc4 exd4 5. exd4 Nf6 6. Nf3 Bd6. “The correct move; in subsequent games, however, M’Donnell almost invariably committed the error of playing the Bishop to e7”, writes Paul Charles Morphy in his commentary to de la Bourdonnais – McDonnell, London 1834, match game 12. 7. Qe2+ Qe7 8. Qxe7+ Bxe7 9. 0-0 Nbd7 10. Re1 Nb6 11. Bb3 Nfd5 12. Nc3 c6 13. h3 a5 14. Re2 Be6 15. Bg5 Bb4 16. Bd2 0-0 17. Ng5 Bd7 18. a3 Nxc3 19. bxc3 Bd6 20. a4! Luca energetically exploits his initiative. 20. ... c5 21. Rb1 Ra6? Not 21. ... Nxa4? because of 22. Nxf7 Rxf7 23. Bxf7+ Kxf7 24. Rxb7 and wins. It deserved consideration, however, 21. ... Bxa4 since after 22. Bxf7+ Rxf7 23. Nxf7 Kxf7 24. Rxb6 Bc6 25. d5! Bc7 26. dxc6 Bxb6 27. cxb7 Rb8 28. Be3 Rxb7 29. Rb2 White stands better, but not enough to be sure of winning the game. 22. Bc2! Bxa4. If 22. ... Nxa4? then 23. Rxb7 Bc6 24. Rxf7 Rxf7 25. Bb3 Ra7 26. Nxf7 Rxf7 27. Re6 c4 (what else?) 28. Bxc4 Nb6 29. Ba2 Nc8 30. Bf4! with a huge advantage. 23. Bxh7+ Kh8 24. dxc5 Bxc5 25. Bd3 Ra7 26. Re4! Threatening Re4-h4+. 26. ... Bc6 27. Rh4+ Kg8 28. Bh7+ Kh8 29. Re1! a4 30. Re5 a3. It looks like Black just won the lottery, but Luca has everything under his control. 31. Ne4! Moroni plays to win. After 31. Rxc5 a2 32. Bb1+ Kg8 33. Bxa2 Rxa2 Black should be able to hold his own despite the Pawn disadvantage. 31. ... a2? This allows a forced mate. Black could have prolonged the game with 31. ... Be7! 32. Rxe7 Nd5, although after 33. Re5 a2 34. Reh5 a1=Q+ 35. Kh2 Qd1 36. Bg6+! Qxh5 37. Rxh5+ Kg8 38. Bh7+ Kh8 39. c4! eventually followed by Bd2-b4 White would have conserved excellent winning chances.

32. Bg8+! Kxg8 33. Nf6+! gxf6 34. Rg4+ Kh7 35. Rh5 mate.

Luca Moroni (right) vs. Johan-Sebastian Christiansen (left). Photo © David Llada (@lladini).

Under the Mountain

A boy expresses a yawning shock while playing 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov during a simultaneous exhibition against 18 young players in Zagreb, Croatia, on Sunday, December 27, 2015. Photo: Xue Qun/新华通讯社 (Xīnhuá News Agency)/Corbis.

Road roller

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Magnus Carlsen
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 28, 2015
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s specialty. 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6. “6. Bxf6 loses the Bishop pair and the game, a wise man said after watching [Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer]’s play”, then Magnus joked. 6. ... Qxf6 7. e3 0-0 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. 0-0 cxd4 11. Ne4 Qe7 12. exd4 Rd8 13. Qe2 Nc6 14. Rfd1 Ba5 15. Ng3. For 15. Nc3 Bd7 16. Bd3 Be8 17. Qe4 f5 18. Qe3 Bh5 see Vachier-Lagrave – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 47th International Chess Festival, Biel/Bienne 2014, while for 15. Bb5 (probably best) 15. ... Bd7 16. Nc5 Be8 17. d5 Rxd5 18. Rxd5 exd5 19. Qxe7 Nxe7 20. Nxb7 Bb6 21. Nd6 Bxb5 22. Nxb5 Nf5 23. Kf1 h5 24. Rd1 Rd8 25. Nc3 Ne7 26. Ne5 see Ruck – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 18th Corsican Circuit, Bastia 2014. 15. ... Bb6 16. Qe4 Bd7 17. h4!? Mamedyarov’s sharp novelty. Also 17. Nh5 Be8 18. Qg4 g6 19. Ng3 Rac8 leads nowhere for White, Shimanov – Matlakov, 10th Ugra Governor’s Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk 2014. 17. ... Be8. Magnus defends his position Steinitz-like. 18. a3 Rd6! 19. Qg4? Very unsound. Mamedyarov probably got a little depressed when he realized that the immediate 19. d5 would have given him nothing but a slightly worse position (after 19. ... exd5). 19. ... Rad8 20. d5. Consistently consistent.

20. ... Qf8! The pointe. 21. Qe4 Ne7! 22. Bd3 f5 23. Qe5 Nxd5. Cashing in! 24. Bxf5? Mamedyarov eventually self-destructs, but after 24. Bc4 Bf7 White has no compensation at all for the Pawn minus. 24. ... exf5 25. Nxf5 Rc6! 0 : 1. The triumph of defence.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (R.) vs. Magnus Carlsen (L.)
Photo: Katerina Savina

Qatar Masters Open (@Qatar_Masters)

Mawlaw’īyya

Aleppo, Syria: A whirling dervish performs a traditional Sufi dance. Photo: Ammar Abdullah/Reuters.

Lost in the Weekend

Paul Charles Morphy – James Freeman
Eight-board blindfolded simultaneous exhibition; Birmingham, August 27, 1858
Bishop’s Opening C23

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. b4!? Bb6 4. Nf3 d6 5. d4!? Wilhelm Steinitz regards 5. c3 followed by d2-d3 as a sounder contnuation. 5. ... exd4 6. Nxd4 Nf6 7. Nc3 0-0 8. 0-0. Steinitz recommends 8. f3, but, in that case, 8. ... d5! would be very strong. 8. ... Nxe4. This bold move has been criticized, but it’s perfectly playable. 9. Nxe4 d5 10. Bg5 Qe8? Here’s Black’s real mistake. Both 10. ... Qd7 (Steinitz) and 10. ... f6 (Max Lange) would have given Black a satisfactory play. 11. ... c6 12. Re1 Qd7 13. Nf6+! Beautifully played. 13. ... gxf6 14. Bxf6 Qd6. If 14. ... Qxd5 then 15. Re5 wins. And if 14. ... cxd5 then 15. Re5 h6 16. Rg5+! Kh7 (16. ... hxg5 17. Qh5 and mate in two moves) 17. Rg7+ Kh8 18. Qh5 and mate in two moves.

15. Ne6!! “The beauty of Mr. Morphy’s play throughout the entire conduct of the attack now culminating, is beyond all praise. And when we consider the circumstances under which the game was played, all we can say is, that such efforts and such successes are more inconceivable to us than to the merest tyro among our Readers”, writes Charles Henry Stantley in his book “Morphy’s Match Games: Being a Full and Accurate Account of His Most Astounding Successes Abroad, Defeating, in Almost Every Istance, the Chess Celebrities of Europe, 1859, Robert M. De Witt Publisher, New York, pp. 89-90. It should be noted, however, that also 15. Be6!! (Steinitz) would have led to the same result: 15. ... Bxe6 (or 15. ... fxe6 16. Qg4+ Kf7 17. Qg7+ Ke8 18. Nxe6 Bxe6 19. Rad1 and wins) 16. Qd2 Bf5 17. Qf5+ Bg6 18. Nf5 and wins. 15. ... Bxe6. Not 15. ... fxe6 on account of 16. Qg4+ Kf7 17. Bxe6+! Bxe6 (or 17. ... Kxf6 18. Bxc8 winning easily) 18. Qg7+ Ke8 19. Rad1 and wins. 16. Qh5? Géza Maróczy rightly commends 16. Qd2! which would have prevented Black’s ... Qd6-f4; for instance: 16. ... Bxf2+ 17. Kh1 Bh4!? 18. Qh6 Bxf6 19. Be4 Rd8 20. Bxh7+ Kh8 21. Bg6+ Kg8 22. Rxe6! Qxe6 23. Bh7+ Kh8 24. Bf5+ and wins. 16. ... Bxf2+? Luckily for Morphy, Dr. Freeman misses his great chance: 16. ... Qf4! 17. Rxe6 Nd7 would have left White without resource. 17. Kh1. Not 17. Kxf2? because of 17. ... Qxd5! 18. Re5 Qd4+ 19. Kg3 Qc3+ with perpetual check. 17. ... Qf4 18. Rxe6! “The Old Guard dies but never surrenders!”. 18. ... Nd7. On 18. ... cxd5 19. g3 wins. 19. Bb2!? Threatening 20. Rg6+ hxg6 21. Qxg6 mate. More energetic was, however, 19. Bg5 Qd4 20. Rd1 (Maróczy) 20. ... Qg7 21. Bh6 Nf6 22. Qf3 with a huge advantage. 19. ... Bd4? The last mistake. After 19. ... fxe6 20. Bxe6+ Rf7 White should have contented himself with 21. Rd1 Nf8 22. Bxf7+ Qxf7 23. Qxf7+ Kxf7 24. Rf1 regaining the piece a Pawn ahead. 20. g3. 20. Re4 is even simpler. 20. ... Nf6. Both 24. ... Qf2 and 24. ... Qd2 are met by 25. Qg4+. 21. gxf4 Nxh5 22. Bxd4. What follows is an impressive display of technique. 22. ... Nxf4 23. Rg1+ Ng6 24. Rexg6+ hxg6 25. Rxg6+ Kh7 26. Rg7+ Kh6 27. Be4 f5 28. Bd3 b6 29. Rg3 Rf7 30. Be5 Re8 31. Bf4+ Kh7 32. Rg5 Re1+ 33. Kg2 Rg7 34. Bxf5+ Kh8 35. h4 Rxg5+ 36. Bxg5 Re8 37. Kf3 1 : 0.

Paul Charles Morphy

Fading Like a Flower

北京 (Běijīng), December 20, 2015. 刘勃麟 (Liú Bólín)’s latest work, titled “冬季” (“Dōngjì”) (“Winter Solstice”), draws much-needed attention to the issue of air pollution by using the thick smog to create stunning visuals, with human bodies fading into spindly trees and drab gray skies in the background. Photo: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters.

Sanfermines

July 6, 2015: Revellers enjoy the opening day of the San Fermín fiesta in Pamplona, Spain. Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images.

It may not be good, but it’s not so bad

Sanan Vyacheslavovich Sjugirov – Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 27, 2015
Réti Opening A07

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 c6 4. 0-0 e6 5. h3 Bh5 6. d3 Nd7 7. e4 Bd6 8. exd5 cxd5 9. c4 Ne7 10. Nc3 0-0 11. cxd5 exd5 12. g4 Bg6 13. Nh4 Nb6? This is probably not a good choice. For 13. ... d4 14. Nb5 Bc5 15. b4 Bxb4 16. Rb1 Bc5 17. Bf4 Nc6 see Kovalev – Moroz, 72nd Ukrainian Chess Championship, Simferopol 2003, while for 13. ... Nc5 14. d4 Ne6 see U. Andersson – G. Flear, Interzonal Tournament, Szirak 1987. 14. Bg5 Qd7 15. a4! Rae8? Black could have tried 15. ... d4 16. Nb5 Bb4 – it may not be good, but it’s not so bad. 16. a5 Na8 17. Nxg6 Nxg6 18. Qa4! Qe6

19. Bd2! Qe5? This leads to disaster. Anyway, after 19. ... Nc7 20. Rae1 White stands much better. 20. f4 Bc5+ 21. Kh1 Qb8 22. Nxd5 Bd6. No better is 22. ... Re2 23. Qc2 followed by Bg2-f3. 23. Qd4. White’s attack will soon become overwhelming. 23. ... Rd8 24. Bc3 f6 25. g5 Ne7 26. gxf6 Nf5 27. Qc4 Rf7 28. fxg7 Rc8 29. Nf6+ Kxg7 30. Nd7+ Kg8 31. Nxb8 Rxc4 32. dxc4 Ng3+ 33. Kg1 Ne2+ 34. Kh2 Nxf4 35. Kh1 1 : 0. Jakovenko literally disintegrated.

Tarjei J. Svensen (@TarjeiJS)

Almost Like They Wanted It

Magnus Carlsen – Anish Giri
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 27, 2015
Sicilian Defence B92

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg5. It is worth remembering the following, exemplary game: 8. 0-0 0-0 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nd5 Nd7 12. Qd3 Rc8 13. c3 Bg5 14. Rad1 Kh8 15. Bf3 g6 16. Ne3 Rc6 17. Rfe1 Nf6 18. Qe2 b5 19. Ra1 Qb6 20. Nd2 a5 21. Ndf1 Rfc8 22. a3 b4 23. cxb4 axb4 24. a4 Qa7 25. Red1 Ra6 26. Rd3 b3 27. a5 Rcc6 28. Qd1 Qc7 29. Nd5 Bxd5 30. exd5 Rc5 31. Rxb3 Raxa5 32. Rxa5 Rxa5 33. Rc3 Qb6 34. Rb3 Qa7 35. Rb4 Kg7 36. h4 Bh6 37. b3 Ra2 38. Qe1 Qa5 39. Qb1 Ra1 40. Rb5 Qc3 0 : 1 Averbakh – T. V. Petrossiàn, 26th USSR Chess Championship, Tbilisi 1959. 8. ... Be6 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Qd3 Be7 11. Nd5 Nd7 12. Rd1 Bxd5 13. Qxd5 Qc7 14. Nd2. Theoretical novelty. The Knight starts one of the typical Karpovian routes to d5. For 14. Qc4 Qxc4 15. Bxc4 Nf6 see Vachier-Lagrave – Wojtaszek, 47th International Chess Festival, Biel/Bienne 2014. 14. ... 0-0. After 14. ... Qxc2 15. Nc4 White stands better. 15. 0-0 b5 16. c3 g6 17. a3 Rab8 18. Rfe1. Intending Nd2-f1-e3. 18. ... Rfd8 19. Qa2. It prevents ... Nd7-f6 followed by ... d6-d5. 19. ... Nc5 20. Bf1 Bg5 21. Nb3 Qc6 24. Rd5 Nd7. If, instead, 22. ... Nxe4 then 23. Na5 Qc7 24. Rxe4 Qxa5 25. a4 with the prospect of a volatile initiative. 25. Rd3 Nc5 26. Rf3. Magnus is obviously not interested in a draw. 26. ... Rd7 27. Na5 Qa8 28. Qd5. “After this move, very interesting endgame appears on the board. Black will have a massive Pawn centre after ... f7-f5, on the other hand White will have a wonderful c6-square for the Knight and Pawn majority on the Queenside after b2-b4 and c3-c4”, Grandmaster Petar G. Arnaudov said. 28. ... Qxd5 29. exd5 e4 30. Rh3 f5 31. Nc6 Rb6 32. b4 Na4 33. c4 Rc7 34. Rb3 Bd2 35. Rd1 Bg5 36. g3 Bf6. “Now Rd1-d2-c2 looks like a good idea”, suggests Arnaudov. Instead... 37. Rc1

37. ... Rbxc6! 38. dxc6 Rxc6. Black’s extra Pawn and initiative more than compensate for the sacrificed Exchange. 39. Rbb1 Bg5 40. Rc2 d5 41. c5 d4 42. Rd1 Bf6. Not 42. ... d3? on account of 43. Bxd3! exd3 44. Rxd3 with advantage to White. 42. ... Bf6 43. Rcd2. Carlsen decides to give back the Exchange just for saving the day. 43. ... Nc3 44. Rxd4 Nxd1 45. Rxd1 Bb2 46. Rd8+ Kf7 47. Ra8 Bxa3 48. Bxb5 Rc7 49. Rxa6 Bxb4 50. c6 Ke7 51. Rb6 Bd6 52. Rb7 ½ : ½. Well, it’s not so easy to play like Karpov.

Magnus Carlsen
Photo: Francesco Guidicini/The Sunday Times

圣诞礼物

Ursula Gauthier, from L’Obs magazine, was attacked in state media for article criticising Běijīng government’s approach to Muslim minority in Xīnjiāng China is expelling a French journalist who questioned its treatment of its Muslim Uighur minority in the north-western region of Xīnjiāng, her employer, the weekly L’Obs news magazine, has said. Ursula Gauthier, the magazine’s Běijīng correspondent, needs to leave China by 31 December after authorities refused to renew her visa. Shortly after publishing a story that suggested China was using the Paris Attacks to justify crackdowns on Uighur people, Gauthier was the subject of editorials in state-controlled media and even death threats, L’Obs said. [Read more].

• Reuters in Paris, China expels French journalist who questioned treatment of Uighurs, The Guardian, December 26, 2015
• Tom Phillips in Běijīng, French journalist accuses China of intimidating foreign press, The Guardian, December 26, 2015

Ursula Gauthier holds a statement criticising her from the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/AP.

Unnumbered Champions

Mohamad Naser Al Sayed – Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 26, 2015
Queen’s Pawn Game A40

1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. e4 Bb4 5. Qd3 Qh4 6. e5!? For 6. d5 Nf6 7. e5 Qe4+ see Ovod – Nabaty, Albena 2012. 6. ... f6!? 7. a3!? Qe4+ 8. Qxe4 Bxc3+. Ruslan Olegovich succeeded in spoiling White’s Pawn formation, even at the cost of sacrificing a Pawn. 9. bxc3 Bxe4 10. Bf4 Nc6 11. exf6 Nxf6 12. Bxc7 Rc8. White’s weaknesses more than compensate Black for his Pawn minus. 13. Be5 Na5 14. f3 Bg6 15. h4 Ke7. Black decides to ignore the c4-Pawn and keeps developing his forces effectively. 16. g4 d6 17. Bxf6+ gxf6 18. Nh3 e5 19. c5 bxc5 20. dxe5 dxe5 21. f4 h5 22. fxe5. The alternative 22. g5 e4 probably would have been more balanced. 22. ... hxg4 23. Nf4 Be4 24. Rh2? Miraculously, White can stay on his feet after 24. exf6+ Kxf6 25. Bg2 Ke5 26. 0-0! (it’s never too late to do the right thing!). Ponomariov now takes the initiative.

24. ... fxe5! 25. Re2 Bf3! 26. Rxe5+ Kf6 27. Rh5? The losing move. Comparatively best was 27. Re3, though after 27. ... Nb3 28. Ra2 Kf5! 29. Ng2 Rce8 Black still stands better. 27. ... g3 28. Rxh8 Rxh8 29. Bg2 Kf5 30. Bxf3 Kxf4 31. Bg2 Nc4 32. Kf1 Ne3+ 33. Kg1 Rxh4 34. a4 Rh2 35. Bc6 a5 0 : 1. A beautiful positional game by “unnumbered” World Chess Champion Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov.

Mohamad Naser Al Sayed vs. Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov
Photo: Alla Oborina

Morphy-style

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – Stefan Bromberger
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 26, 2015
Russian Defence C42

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 0-0 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. 0-0-0 c6 10. c4 Nc5. This novelty is nothing special theoretically speaking, but it doesn’t look so bad. For 10. ... Re8 11. h4 Nf6 12. Bd3 see Hamdouchi – Neiman, French Team Chess Championship Top 12, Saint-Quentin 2014. 11. Bxc5 dxc5 12. Qf4 Qa5 13. Bd3 Bf6 14. a3 Be6 15. Ng5 Bxg5 16. Qxg5 Rad8 17. Rhe1 Rfe8 18. f4 h6 19. Qh5 f6? This implies a fatal weakening of the light squares. A better move would have been 19. ... Bc8 when White would have probably played 20. Re5! eventually doubling the Rooks, quite in Morphy’s style. 20. Bg6 Rxd1+ 21. Qxd1 Rd8

22. Rxe6!! A fantastic positional Queen sacrifice! 22. ... Rxd1+ 23. Kxd1. Black is absolutely tied down to defend against the impending threat of Re6-e8 mate. 23. ... Qd8+ 24. Ke2. The plan is amazingly simple: White will bring his King to h5, in order then to advance the Kingside Pawns, finally forcing either a won King and Pawn ending or a Zugzwang position. 24. ... Kf8 25. Kf3 Qd7 26. Re1 Qd8 27. Kg4 Qd7+ 28. Kh5 Qd8 29. a4 a5 30. g4 Qd7 31. h4 Qd8 32. Re8+ Qxe8 33. Bxe8 Kxe8 34. Kg6 Kf8 35. Kh7 Kf7 36. g5 1 : 0. 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) went on to win a game of Morphy-like simplicity and elegance.

韦奕 (Wéi Yì)
Photo: sports.sina.com.cn

Spassky-style

Wesley So – Magnus Carlsen
2nd Qatar Masters Open; Doha, December 26, 2015
Spanish C97

1. e4 e5. Carlsen decides on the Ruy Lopez (as Black), just to confirm the universalization of his chess style. 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 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Bd7 13. Nf1 Nc4 14. b3 Nb6 15. Ne3 c4 16. Ba3 Rfe8 17. Qd2 Bf8 18. bxc4 Nxc4 19. Nxc4 bxc4 20. Rab1 Rab8! Far more convincing than 20. ... Bc6 21. Qe3 exd4 22. Qxd4 Qa5 23. Qxc4 Qxa3 24. Qxc6 Rac8 25. Qb7 Qxc3 26. Bb3 Rc7 27. Qxa6 Rxe4 28. Bxf7+ Rxf7 29. Rec1 Rb4 30. Rxc3 Rxb1+ 31. Kh2 Rb2 32. Rc8 h6 33. Qxd6 1 : 0 Timofeev – Krylov, 17th Russian Team Chess Championship, Dagomys 2010. 21. Rxb8 Rxb8 22. Bb4 h6 23. Rd1 a5 24. Ba3 Bc6. The position seems fairly equal. 25. Qe2 exd4 26. Qxc4 dxc3 27. Qxc3 Rc8 28. Qd4 Bd5. Carlsen elegantly repositions his Bishop. 29. Bb1 Be6 30. Qe3 Rb8 31. Nd4 Bd7 32. Rc1 Qb6 33. Qd2 Re8 34. Re1 a4 35. Bc2 Qb7 36. Qd3 Qc7 37. Qd2 Qb7 38. Qd3 Qc7 39. Qd2 ½ : ½.

Wesley So vs. Magnus Carlsen
Photo: Katerina Savina

The Unknown Woman

• ТОП-10 найбільших здобутків українських спортсменів за 2015 (Top Ten Greatest Ukrainian Sporting Achievements of 2015), 5.ua, December 25, 2015

The Top Ten Greatest Ukrainian Sporting Achievements of 2015 list cannot but include Women’s World Chess Champion Mariya Muzychuk (above centre), the Ukrainian girl who went to Russia to win the World Chess Crown. Photo: 5.ua.