The Edge

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev

3rd Russia–China Junior Friendship Match; rapid match game 3; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, September 17, 2016

Réti Opening A07

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 g6 4. c4 c6 5. b3 Bg7 6. Bb2 0–0 7. 0–0 b6 8. d3. 9. d4 would transpose to a Grünfeld (D78).
8. ... Bb7 9. Nbd2 c5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Bxg7 Kxg7 12. Qc2 Nc6 13. Qb2+ f6

14. d4. No more promising is 14. Ng5 Nc7 15. b4 e5 (if 15. ... cxb4 then 16. Rac1 with obvious compensation) 16. b5 Na5= Pantsulaia – Láznička, 12th European Individual Chess Championship, Aix-les-Bains 2011.
14. ... cxd4 15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16. Qxd4 e5 17. Qb2 Qe7 18. Rfd1 Rad8 19. Nc4

19. ... b5 20. Na5 Ba8 21. a3 e4 22. e3 b4 23. Nc4 Kh6 24. Rd4 f5 25. h3 Rf7? This is a grave tactical mistake, as White immediately demonstrates. 25. ... bxa3 26. Rxa3 Nb4 was quite playable.
26. axb4 Nxb4

27. Rxa7! Qxa7 28. Rxd8 Rd7. “If 28. ... Nd3 29. Qh8 Bb7 30. Nd6 Rc7 31. Qf8+ Kg5 32. h4+ Kg4 33. Qxf5+!! gxf5 34. Rg8+ Kh5 35. Rg5+ Kh6 36. Nxf5#”, Francisco Hernanz Martos wrote in El Correo de Andalucía, September 21, 2016.
29. Rxd7 Qxd7 30. Qf6 Qc8 31. Nd6 1 : 0.

The pitiless woman caught her chivalrous opponent in a perfidious trap. Photo courtesy of Chess Federation of Russia.

Under the Umbrella

Beirut, Lebanon: Pink umbrellas decorate the facade of the Ministry of Public Health as part of a campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer prevention. Photo: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters.

Broadcast relay

In a photo portrait from 2008, Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) almost seems to want to remind us that she will appear in an interview talk show devoted to Rio Olympics golden stars on 上海 (Shànghăi) Media Group (SMG)’s Great Sports channel on October 1 at 20,00, on the occasion of the celebration of the 67th Anniversary of the 国庆节 (National Day of the People’s Republic of China).

Man in the Trap

Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

3rd Russia–China Junior Friendship Match; rapid match game 2; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, September 17, 2016

Queen’s Indian Defence E16

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 a5 6. Bg2 Bb7 7. 0-0 0-0 8. Bf4 Be7 9. Nc3 Na6 10. Rc1. A theoretically critical line is 10. d5 Bb4 11. Nb5 exd5 12. Nh4 c6 13. Nd6 Bxd6 14. Bxd6 Re8 15. cxd5 Ne4 16. dxc6 dxc6 17. Bf4 Qf6 18. Be3 c5 19. Qd7 Bc6 20. Qg4 Nb4 21. Rad1 Qe6 (after 21. ... Qxb2 22. Nf5 Qf6 it seems hard for White to show compensation for her Pawn deficit) 22. Nf5 g6 23. Nh6+ Kg7 24. Qh4 Nc2 25. Ng4 Nxe3 26. fxe3 h5 27. Bxe4 Qxe4 28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Qxf7+ Kh8 30. Qf6+ Kg8 31. Qf7+ Kh8 32. Qf6+ Kg8 33. Qf7+ ½ : ½ Nisipeanu – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 43rd Sparkassen Chess Meeting, Dortmund 2015.
10. ... Ne4 11. d5TN (11. a3 d6 12. Qd3 Nxc3 13. Rxc3 f5 14. Qe3 Qd7 15. Rd1 Rae8 16. Rcc1 Qc8 17. Qd2 Bf6 18. Be3 e5 19. b4 axb4 20. axb4 Bxf3 21. Bxf3 exd4 22. Bxd4 Bxd4 23. Qxd4 Nxb4 24. Ra1 Na6 25. Bc6 Rxe2 26. c5 Nxc5 27. Ra8 Qe6 28. Bd5 Rxa8 29. Bxe6+ Nxe6 30. Qd5 Ra5 31. Qc6 Raa2 32. Qe8+ Nf8 33. Qc6 Ne6 34. Qe8+ Nf8 35. Qc6 Ne6 ½ : ½ Vyzmanavin – Kholmov, 3rd GMA Baleares Open World Cup Tournament, Palma de Mallorca 1989)
11. ... Nxc3 12. Rxc3 Nc5 13. Rc2 d6 14. Be3 Bf6 15. Nd4 Bxd4 16. Bxd4 e5 17. Bxc5 bxc5 18. e4 Bc8 19. f4 Qf6 20. Qd3 Bd7 21. Rcf2 a4

22. f5 Qh6 23. h4 g6 24. Bh3 f6 25. Rh2 g5 26. Qe3 Rab8 27. Rff2 Rb4 28. Bf1 Kg7 29. Qf3 Be8 30. Rh3 Kh8 31. Rfh2?? A disastrous blunder which costs at least a Rook. Correct was 31. Qe3 Kg7 with approximate equality.

31. ... g4! The deadly blow, delivered with all the effect of a Pawn fork, for if now 32. Qxg4?? then 32. ... Bh5 trapping the Queen.
32. Qc3 gxh3 33. Bxh3 Rg8 34. Kf2 Bh5 35. Bf1 Qg7 36. Bh3. Preventing ... Qg7-g4, but...

36. ... Rxb2+! 37. Qxb2 Qxg3+ 0 : 1.

Friday Two Ways

Nothing is important but life. So don’t bury yourself under the dead leaves and join the eversunny dance classes of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”!

Here is 林丽丽 (Lín Lìlì) performing as the Black Swan 在 (at) Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” on Saturday, July 16, 2016.

The Tailor from Aleppo

Jo Du had a malfunction with her dress, but Ibrahim Halil Dudu, a master tailor from Aleppo, had just moved in next door Hours before her wedding ceremony, Jo Du suffered a wardrobe malfunction – the zip on her wedding dress broke and none of her bridesmaids knew how to fix it or where to find a tailor on a Sunday. The wedding photographer, Lindsay Coulter, noticed that the man next door to the house they had rented in Guelph, Ontario, for the wedding had his garage door open and suggested that a bridesmaid run over to ask for a pair of pliers. In a serendipitous turn of events, it emerged that the neighbour, David Hobson, had been hosting a family of Syrian refugees for the past four days and that the father, Ibrahim Halil Dudu, had worked as a tailor in Aleppo for 28 years. [Read more].

• Nadia Khomami, Syrian refugee comes to the rescue of Canadian bride’s wedding dress, The Guardian, September 29, 2016

Ibrahim Halil Dudu fixing the zip on Jo Du’s wedding dress. The Syrian tailor and his family were being hosted by neighbour David Hobson and had only moved in four days previously. Photo: Lindsay Coulter Photography.

白葡萄酒 (White wine)

We drank Antinori’s white wine – a gift of friends of ours – this evening at the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” just to wish good things for ourselves, starting from Chiara, who tomorrow in the early morning must sustain an university examination. Not surprisingly, we spent more time opening the wine bottle than in drinking it!

One Golden Summer

吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) winning gold in women’s 3 metre springboard at 30th Summer Olympic Games in London, United Kingdom on August 5, 2012.

On the Shoulders of Giants

“Envy is the religion of the mediocre. It comforts them, it responds to the worries that gnaw at them and finally it rots their souls, allowing them to justify their meanness and their greed until they believe these to be virtues. Such people are convinced that the doors of heaven will be opened only to poor wretches like themselves who go through life without leaving any trace but their threadbare attempts to belittle others and to exclude – and destroy if possible – those who, by the simple fact of their existence, show up their own poorness of spirit, mind and guts. Blessed be the one at whom the fools bark, because his soul will never belong to them”. “L’invidia è la religione dei mediocri. Li consola, risponde alle inquietudini che li divorano e, in ultima istanza, imputridisce le loro anime e consente di giustificare la loro grettezza e la loro avidità fino a credere che siano virtù e che le porte del cielo si spalancheranno solo per gli infelici come loro, che attraversano la vita senza lasciare altra traccia se non i loro sleali tentativi di sminuire gli altri e di escludere, e se possibile distruggere, chi, per il semplice fatto di esistere e di essere ciò che è, mette in risalto la loro povertà di spirito, di mente e di fegato. Fortunato colui al quale latrano i cretini, perché la sua anima non apparterrà mai a loro”. Carlos Ruiz Zafón, “Il Gioco dell’Angelo”, 2008, Mondadori, Milano, pp. 24-25

Artwork © Tai-Shou-Tsubasa

Bid–ask matrix

London, England: The new sculpture on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth, “Really Good” by David Shrigley, has been unveiled. Photo: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images.

The Pink Carpet

Chiara Ciocia Vida performing in the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s final dance showdown at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Photo: Stefano Marmino.

Yellow Line

Isabella Ceccatelli performing in the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s final dance showdown at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Photo: Stefano Marmino.

Thursday’s dawn

By now, everyone should have understood the importance of not being Arcovazzi, and should instead feel the joy of living in an open world! So don’t mix yourself up in unpleasant things and join the wild dance classes of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”!

Sofia Nutini performing in the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s final dance showdown at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Photo: Stefano Marmino.

Nine Offspring of the Dragon

Teenagers’ idols X玖少年团 (X Nine Youth Group) officially debuted in 北京 (Běijīng), China on September 28, 2016. After 9 years of hard learning music, dance, and other performing arts, they joined into a group. They are nine in number, and the group’s name also has a meaning, where “X” represents an infinite number of unknown possibilities, and “Nine” evokes the 明朝 (Míng dynasty)’s mythological text “Nine Offspring of the Dragon”. Photos: jiangsu.china.com.cn.

But the big surprise was the unexpected presence of Olympic Goddess 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) who came to the fan tracks! “I would never have believed that 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) would have came to support us! I feel too excited!”, one of Nine said afterwards. Photo: weibo.com/夏之光X_Light.

The wonder of ubiquity

Here is Chiara Angelini, virtuoso ballerina and dance teacher of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, performing her solo variation in the school’s end-of-the-year summer show at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Much was said of Chiara’s prowesses, but yet not enough, and that’s why life is dear! Photo: Stefano Marmino.

She Is a Dancer

Here is Sofia Nutini, virtuoso ballerina of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, performing her solo dance in the SuperMoon’s final dance showdown at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina on Saturday, June 18, 2016. Meanwhile, Sofia graduated from the University of Florence (Faculty of Economics and Management) and began to work. Also this year, however, she’s gonna keep dancing on our stage! Photo: Stefano Marmino.

Shall We Play Fischerandom Chess?

We remind that weekly classes of classical and Fischerandom chess will be held at the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” from the first Saturday of October until the last Saturday of May, starting at 16,00 and ending at 17,30.

Well — if you can’t find us, you know what you have to do: just call “Il Delta della Luna” in the special navigator of Chiara (above pictured) and let it take you straight to us! Photo courtesy of Chiara Angelini.

Zoosadism

• Damian Carrington, Pangolins thrown a lifeline at global wildlife summit with total trade ban, The Guardian, September 28, 2016

More than 1 million wild pangolins have been killed in the last decade. Photo: Paul Hilton/WCS.

The Channel Tunnel

In celebration of the 67th Anniversary of the 国庆节 (National Day of the People’s Republic of China) on October 1, 2016, 上海 (Shànghăi) Media Group (SMG) will broadcast, through its network of channels, a non-stop flow of patriotic films, documentaries and reports. Olympic Goddess 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) will appear on October 1 at 20,00 on Great Sports channel in an interview talk show devoted to Rio Olympics golden youth. Photo: sh.bendibao.com.

Look who’s talking!

Antonio Albanese playing the role of Cetto La Qualunque, a corrupt, perverted Calabrian with organized crime connections, right-wing Senator, running as candidate with a platform based mainly on “abundance of attractive women” (cchiù pilu pi tutti, which is also the title of a book released by Albanese using the character’s name). The character was featured first on Albanese’s own TV show Non c’è problema (There’s no problem), aired on Rai 3 in 2003, but achieved more success when proposed at Mai dire domenica on Italia 1. It is currently staged by Albanese on a weekly basis on the program Che tempo che fa aired on Rai 3. In 2011 was released Qualunquemente, a feature length movie about him, and in 2012, the sequel movie, Tutto tutto niente niente. [From Wikipedia].

Almost Wednesday

I won’t say that tomorrow we will be clearly better in every sense than we are today, because I know too many people who speak thus, and I don't like them. So it’s a good reason to jump in the fray on Wednesday, too, joining the wild dance classes of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”!

This crazy Komodo definitely isn’t camera shy as it shows off its dance skills for a lucky photographer. Although the limber Rumbaing lizard was busy hunting insects, it still had time to stop and perform a quick dance before dashing off into the bushes in search of its next meal. Photo and caption: ABC News Internet Ventures.

The Self Behind the Self

Olympic Goddess 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) keeps receiving confirmation that maybe she is still too beloved by her fans to retire from competitive diving. She posted the above pictures on her 新浪微博 (Wēibó) account today, and her caption reads, “I still very much enjoy the satisfaction of being someone else after makeup ;‑). Professional is not the same ^ω^. And thanks also to the hotel management and staff for their gift of a gold medal cake. :-))”. Photos: weibo.com/wuminxia.

On and Off the Stage

Sydney, Australia: Members of the Australian Ballet perform during a media preview for the 2017 season at the Capitol Theatre. Photo: Mick Tsikas/EPA.

Metamorphosis

Arcovazzi is saying to everyone he is a Marvel kinda superhero who has all the sorts of superpowers! According to him, when the night falls, monster rise (but perhaps the same could be said for the day, too), and he transforms himself into “Mr. Muscle”. Well, if bathroom drain is clogged, you know what you have to do: just call the toll-free telephone number; he will be happy to fix a date!

The Metamorphosis: Arcovazzi Day ’n’ Night

What Not to Wear to Save the World

• Nick Davies and Oliver Holmes, Revealed: how senior Laos officials cut deals with animal traffickers, The Guardian, September 27, 2016

The scales of the pangolin anteater are used in traditional Chinese medicine, despite having no proven medicinal effect. Photo: Alamy.

Back To The Blanket

Washington, D.C., United States: President Barack Obama receives a traditional blanket and hat during the 8th White House Tribal Nations Conference. Photo: ddp USA/Shutterstock.

Sonata for Two Violins

Liverpool, United Kingdom: The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is given a violin lesson by 10-year-old Jessica Kelly during a visit to Faith Primary School. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA.

A Thousand Tales

As we learn from the FIDE web site, the Women’s World Chess Championship 2017 is planned to be held at Tehran, Iran, on next February. So far, no other detail was provided.

On a rainy day, a black and a white horse greet visitors at the gate of the chess park at Ajoodaniyeh, Tehran, Iran. Photo: fouman.com.

Stairway to Heaven

An abandoned toilet on the banks of the Mekong river in Laos. The degradation of the water, vital as an economic lifeline for 60 million people, is a great concern for the six Asian nations it flows through. Photo: Barbara Walton/EPA.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

A dance competition at Sanda Kyarimi Park in Maiduguri, Nigeria, as people enjoy the first Eid al-Adha with no curfew. Photo: Fati Abubakar.

Fortress Europe

Thanks to all those who joined us yesterday! We need you today, too! So even if Tuesday is not your favourite day of the week, just make it a happier day by joining the wild dance classes of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”!

Two great-crested grebes perform a “weed dance” in Lake Geneva (le lac de Genève), Switzerland. Photo: The Telegraph.

Analysing the Impossible

Mark Izrailovich Dvoretsky †
Moscow, December 9, 1947 – Moscow, September 26, 2016
Photo: ruchess.ru

The Russian Chess Federation announced today the death of International Master Mark Izrailovich Dvoretsky, Honoured Coach of the Soviet Union, Russia and Georgia, inestimable analyst and researcher, and the author of many best-selling books.

One Day at the Supermarket

Olympic Goddess 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) attended as a special guest the celebrations of 16th anniversary of the 合家福 (JOYMART) Chain Supermarket in 蜀山区 (Shǔshān District), 合肥 (Héféi), 安徽省 (Ānhuī province) on September 17, 2016. All photos by 郑成功 (Zhèng Chénggōng).