The Siege

Before Halloween night-fall, Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) took part as a special guest in the debate “More movement, more choices” hosted by CCTV-5 Sports Channel today in 上海 (Shànghǎi), China to discuss strategies and sports television programming ideas. On occasion, 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) also learned tips and tricks by professional golfer 梁文冲 (Liáng Wénchōng) to improve her performances as well as for the sake of the audience. Of course, 張效誠 (Zhāng Xiàochéng)’s presence has not gone unnoticed and the camera did not miss his smiling joy. The siege has just begun! All photos: VisionChina Media.

Halloween Night

Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá), too, offers her account on her Halloween night, apparently oblivious to the fact that the horror-oriented unhappy ending represented by the pictures she posted on her 新浪微博 (Wēibó) account, might well lead her Prince Charming to delay marriage. Her caption reads, “Hello, Halloween... :'‑(!”. All photos: weibo.com/wuminxia.

Mountain Biking

New York, United States: People in Halloween costumes ride bicycles during Bike Kill 13 in Brooklyn. Bike Kill is an annual gathering of builders and riders of home-made bicycles that culminates in a tall bike jousting competition. Photo: Stephanie Keith/Reuters.

Radio clock

Let us all hope Arcovazzi did not succeed in ruining Sunday dinners to no one except for his wife! As they say, “Mal voluto non fu mai troppo”, that’s means (more or less) “You’ve made your bed, now lie in it”. We better not talk anymore about him – let’s just remember, however, to send him the bill! Well, today is Monday and it is not a public holiday even if it is Halloween Day! So I pray, when the evening falls, just leave him where he is (while preparing to disguise himself as Jack-o’-Lantern), and fly like a butterfly in the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s dance sky!

五年計劃 (Five-year plans)

The awarding ceremony for the “Five-good Civilized Household” (“五好文明家庭”) was announced today in 上海 (Shànghǎi) concurrently to the Forum “上海 (Shànghǎi)’s Most Influential Persons Talk About Family Tradition” （“海上名人谈家风”）, organised by the 上海 (Shànghǎi) Women’s Federation and the 上海 (Shànghǎi) Municipal Spiritual Civilization Office, to which Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) – whose family was awarded as a household model – was invited to talk about herself. Asked about her retirement issue, she answered that at present this is still a question mark, now as she’s being so focused on her existential rebalancing.

吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá)
Photo: shobserver.com

Tomorrow Together

Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá), in an interview given to 上海 (Shànghăi) Radio & TV Weekly and published today, chatted about her personal matters, which appear to depend upon her marriage to 張效誠 (Zhāng Xiàochéng), with whom she needs more and more to create and share their future. Of course, she didn’t say it, but yes, we can say what she did not say, that’s something like: you ought to expect to be married before you are dead. She talked about the severe injury she suffered four months before the Olympics at Rio, due to growing anxiety and fragility. After the first treatments, the doctors advised her not to participate at the Olympic Games as the risk of further damages were too high. But the miracle happened: she came, she saw, she won. It was made possible thanks to the support and advice of her own world around herself. As for her boyfriend 張效誠 (Zhāng Xiàochéng), suddenly unveiled to the world after years of underground romance, she confessed to have kept him hidden with her parents, too: “At first, I do not dare tell them about him, because my parents look upon me always as a child. Only later I told them, ‘He’s my friend’. They didn’t dare to ask me anything else, and I didn't tell them anything more”. She just worried a bit because of the long-distance relationship – 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) lives in 上海 (Shànghǎi), 張效誠 (Zhāng Xiàochéng) lives in 北京 (Běijīng). “I keep hoping to find a house in 上海 (Shànghǎi)”, she said. “It’s the only place where I can take care of my parents as well as of him. As he is willing to follow me to 上海 (Shànghǎi), my parents gradually began to accept him as my Prince Charming”. She vividly remembered their first date, which happened to be a 公安局 (Public Security Bureau)’s room. They should have gone to the cinema, instead they found themselves seated tightly together in a police station, watching the surveillance video from where 張效誠 (Zhāng Xiàochéng)’s wallet has been lost or stolen. Now 張效誠 (Zhāng Xiàochéng) graduated from the Communication University of China (CUC) and has to decide what he will do as a grown man. Whatever it is, she is waiting for him to marry her to create their future together. Whatever it takes.

吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá)
Photo: eastday.com

The Long SlutWalk

Protesters display placards reading “Don’t teach me how to dress, teach that man not to rape” during the fifth annual SlutWalk in 香港 (Hong Kong), China. Photo: Dale de la Rey/AFP/Getty Images.

Underground thunderstorm

Norcia, Italy: Firefighters and emergency workers carry a woman on a wheelchair after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake. Photo: Fabrizio Troccoli/AFP/Getty Images.

Twenty Years Ago

There are neither date nor place on the above picture of 11th World Chess Champion Robert James “Bobby” Fischer, but, most likely, it was taken during the summer days of his stay in Argentina in 1996 in order to launch worldwide his new Fischerandom chess. Photo: LG Deportiva.

Wanderings in Corsica

Anton Sergeyevich Korobov – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
20th Corsican Circuit; quarterfinal match game 1; Bastia, October 28, 2016
Nimzo-Indian Defence E59

Time control is 15 minutes plus 3 seconds increment per move. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 Qc7 10. Bb2 dxc4 11. Bxc4 e5 12. h3 Bf5 13. Qe2 Rad8 14. Bb5. Three years earlier, Korobov continued 14. Rad1, which yet brought him bad luck: 14. ... e4 15. Nd2 Bg6 16. Rc1 Ne7 17. f4? exf3 18. Rxf3?! (18. Qxf3 Rfe8⩱) 18. ... Nf5∓ Korobov – Topalov, 1st Sberbank Trophy, Kiev 2013 (time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds increment per move). 14. ... e4 15. Nd2 Bg6 16. Nb3. Another continuation is 16. Rfc1 Rd5 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. c4 Rg5 19. Kh1 Re8 20. dxc5 Bh5 21. Qf1 Nd7 22. Bd4 Nxc5 23. Bxc5 Rxc5 24. Nb3 Rg5 25. Nd4 h6 26. Rab1 c5 27. Ne2 Bxe2 28. Qxe2 Re6 29. Qb2 Rb6 30. Qc2 Rbg6 31. Qxe4 Rxg2 32. Qxg2 Rxg2 33. Kxg2 Qc6+ 34. Kg3 Qg6+ 35. Kh2 Qd6+ 36. Kg2 Qg6+ 37. Kh2 Qd6+ 38. Kg2 ½ : ½ Korobov – Sasikiran, 2nd AICF-AAI Cup, New Delhi 2012. 16. ... Bh5!?TN 17. g4. It sounds decidedly committal. 17. ... Bg6. 17. ... cxd4 18. exd4 (18. gxh5? Ne5−+) 18. ... Bg6 19. Nc5 h5 goes as in the game, but without sacrificing the c-Pawn. 18. Nxc5 h5 19. f4 exf3 20. Qxf3 hxg4 21. hxg4 Rd5 22. Qf4 Qe7 23. c4 Rdd8. Very interesting was 23. ... Nh5! 24. gxh5 Rg5+ 25. Kf2 Rf5 26. hxg4 Rxf4+ 27. exf4 Re8 playing for a dark-square initiative. 24. Rae1 Ne4 25. Nxe4 Bxe4 26. d5 a6

27. dxc6?? A blunder which cost the game. By 27. Ba4 White could still hope for an edge. 27. ... Rd2−+ 28. Bf6 Rg2+ 29. Kh1 gxf6 30. Rf3 Rf2 0 : 1.

Thinking Out of the Board

Andrey Deviatkin (@AndreyDeviatkin)

Andrey Deviatkin (@AndreyDeviatkin)

The Look of Things

Borgarfjörður, Iceland: Sheep pose for a group shot. Photo: Einar Örn/Rex/Shutterstock.

Here’s something to think about

Today is Saturday and there is no dance at Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”! Obviously you can come here in the afternoon and play Fischerandom chess, but I, myself, hope with all my heart that you have something better to do! On the contrary, if you were at risk of spending the day alone with Arcovazzi (and thus, at risk of dying of shame), well, you know you can rely upon us. Chess, too, is useful for something!

Marcel Duchamp’s White Knight From Buenos Aires chess set, Marcel Duchamp, 1919. King 10cm, Pawn 6.2cm. Private collection © Succession Marcel Duchamp/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2003.

Top Ten

As previously reported, 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá)’s family had been declared a “Five-good Civilized Household” (“五好文明家庭”) and was officially announced yesterday on the list of the 10 model families admitted to the social program carried out by the 上海 (Shànghǎi) Women’s Federation and the 上海 (Shànghǎi) Municipal Spiritual Civilization Office.

Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) sitting (and thumbing up) amid her parents. Photo: laonanren.com.

Mister Noon

天坛 (Temple of Heaven)

Fashion photographer 吕海强 (Lǚ Hǎiqiáng) took a (very inspired) photoshoot to Olympic Goddess 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) in the most suggestive location that one can imagine.

“She stood on the springboard, wearing the aura of a Queen. The venue of photoshoot was the 天坛 (Temple of Heaven) Diving Hall. First, we regulated ventilation, humidity and temperature. Since we were only shooting one day, 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) and I discussed together the timing of her flight from the springboard. I told her what aesthetical effect I wished, the body line compositions. First, she jumped up and off for three times, in order I’d got an idea about the best effect. Then she repeated the process several times, until we finally succeeded in doing a good work”. 吕海强 (Lǚ Hǎiqiáng)

All photos by 吕海强 (Lǚ Hǎiqiáng)/fashion.sohu.com

• 吕海强 (Lǚ Hǎiqiáng), 一人·一张｜NO.118 吴敏霞, fashion.sohu.com, October 27, 2016

Jumping the shark

Ross Sea, Antarctica: An Adélie penguin jumping on to ice. The world’s largest marine reserve aimed at protecting the pristine wilderness of Antarctica will be created after Russia dropped its long-held opposition. Photo: John Weller/AFP/Getty Images.

Written in the Stars

Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) does not appear too regretful for losing her (friendly) golf match play against the gallant Cavalry 华天 (Alex Huá Tiān). “Fate brings people together no matter how far apart they may be. We also have the same constellations!”, she joked on her 新浪微博 (Wēibó) account. Photo: sports.qq.com.

Tell the Driver

Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk – Evgenija Viktorovna Ovod
66th Russian Women’s Chess Championship; Novosibirsk, October 26, 2016
French Defence C16

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 b6 7. Qg4 Ng6 8. h4 h5 9. Qd1 Ba6 10. Bg5 Qd7 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. Ne2 Qa4 13. 0-0 Ne7 14. Ng3 g6 15. Bf6 Rg8 16. Re1 Kd7 17. Qd2 Nc6 18. Re3 Na5 19. Rf3 Nc4 20. Qc1 Kc8 21. Bg5 Rg7 22. Ne2 Kb7 23. Nf4 Rc8 24. Nh3 c5 25. Qb1 Rc7 26. Qb3 Qe8 27. a4 Na5 28. Qb5 Qc8 29. Bh6 Rh7 30. Bd2 Ka8 31. Be1 Nb8 32. Ng5 Rg7 33. Rf6 Qb7 34. Bd2 Nc4 35. Bf4 cxd4 36. cxd4 Nc6 37. Rd1 a6 38. Qb3 Rg8 39. Bc1 Rd8 40. Rd3 Ka7 41. c3 Rdd7 42. Rdf3 Nd8 43. Nh7 Rc8 44. Qd1 b5 45. Ng5 Rcc7 46. Kh2 Qc6 47. a5 Rb7 48. Nh7 Qc7 49. Bh6 b4 50. cxb4 Rxb4 51. Bf8 Rb5 52. Qc1 Qxa5 53. Ng5 Rbb7 54. Qf4 Qe1 55. Bc5+ Ka8 56. Rd3 Qe2 57. Rc3 a5 58. Rc1 Qb2 59. Ne4!? When you are in trouble you can’t be too picky!

After a ferocious struggle Ovod got concrete winning chances, and now she could exploit it by 59. ... Rb3! 60. Nd6 Ne3!!−+, but it was not so easy to renounce to the more naturally founded advance of the a-Pawn... 59. ... a4? 60. Nd6 a3 61. Rxc4! Now or never! 61. ... dxc4 62. Nxc4 Qb3? On the wrong foot. Correct was 62. ... Rd5! 63. Qg3 (White evidently cannot yet take the Pawn) 63. ... Qb3! 64. Nxa3 Qxg3+ 65. fxg3 Nc6 with a rough equality. 63. Nxa3 Nc6 64. Qc1! Qa4? Ovod dramatically loses the thread of her own affairs, and with it the game, too. 64. ... Nxd4 65. Bd6 Rd8 was still quite unclear. 65. Nc4 Nxd4 66. Nb6+ Rxb6 67. Bxb6+− Nc6 68. Rf4 Qb5 69. Bc5 Nxe5 70. Qa1+ Kb7 71. Qxe5 Kc6 72. Qc3 Qxc5 73. Rc4 Qxc4 74. Qxc4+ Kd6 75. Qb4+ Ke5 76. Qb2+ Kf5 77. f3 e5 78. Qc1 Rd6 79. g4+ hxg4 80. Qg5+ Ke6 81. fxg4 Ra6 82. h5 Ra2+ 83. Kg1 Ra1+ 84. Kf2 Ra2+ 85. Ke1 Rh2 86. hxg6 fxg6 87. Qxg6+ Kd5 88. Qd3+ Ke6 89. Qf5+ Kd5 90. g5 Kd4 91. Qg4+ Kd5 1 : 0. “Previously I only won one Russian championship, in 2005. For some reason I was strongly motivated by the special prize, the Renault car, while the same could not be said about the money. When I found out that the champions will receive this car, I recalled that I don’t have the Russian driver’s license. Hopefully after this tournament I will fix the formalities, otherwise my husband will have to drive me around”, Kosteniuk finally said.

Kosteniuk vs. Ovod. Photo: ruchess.ru,

“I am very pleased of winning again the Russian Women’s Championship, eleven years after my first time!”, Kosteniuk said. Photo: A. Zieler.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Arcovazzi claims to have bought both a kitchen and a washing machine at the cost of a coffee cup, and I should not think that he might have stolen it from the house of someone of us. As a gentleman would say: O Captain! My Captain! The port was near, but the bells you did not hear... I feel it is better to speak of dance, do you? So let’s not waste other time, he better does not move from home: someone could steal something valuable. But all others are welcome to join the afternoon and evening dance classes of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”!

Sugar Land

Erbil, Iraq: A man prepares sweet pastries in a shop. As the offensive by Iraqi and Kurdish forces to drive Isis out of Mosul continues and despite a recent Isis attack on nearby Kirkuk, life in Erbil, the de facto capital of Iraq’s northern Kurdish region, has carried on peacefully. Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images.

It’s like being in the autumn on the trees the leaves

Visso, Italy: A view of the inside of the Church of Saint Anthony after a 5.9-magnitute earthquake destroyed parts of the town. Photo: Alessandra Tarantino/AP.

靈魂餐廳 (Soul Kitchen)

And today in the early afternoon, the tireless 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá), together with her diving teammates 何姿 (Hé Zī) and 秦凯 (Qín Kǎi), took part in the JD.com/Midea’s forum devoted specifically to the 京东 (Jīngdōng) intelligent smart kitchen, sharing with the audience their own views and experiences. All photos: news.xfrb.com.cn

Seagrass

So Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) lost the friendly golf match play against equestrian sportsman 华天 (Huá Tiān). “Did you guess it?”, she writes on her 新浪微博 (Wēibó) account, “My HSBC Champions challenger was the handsome Cavalry 华天 (Alex Huá Tiān)! Thanks to coach 吴阿顺 (Wú Āshùn) for his patient guidance. My first experience with golf wasn’t actually so bad. Did we learn something? Just take a look at the video and you’ll see”.

Think Pink

“Think Pink” ™ © Mado Flynn

Handmade in Italy by Mado Flynn

Caffeine Blues

Birthday Cake

Organizers of the 12th golf supertournament WGC-HSBC Champions’s opening ceremony, held at 上海喜玛拉雅美术馆 (Shànghăi Himalayas Art Museum) in 上海 (Shànghăi) on October 25, 2016, China, did not forget to celebrate a very special birthday: 华天 (Huá Tiān)’s birthday! And his one-time teammate, Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá), brought him a specially decorated birthday cake.

Equestrian sportsman 华天 (Huá Tiān)’s born on October 25, 1989 in London, England to a Chinese father and a British mother. He renounced his British citizenship and joined Chinese nationality to compete for China in 2006. Photo: sports.le.com.

Seabed

It’s Thursday. I won’t say R.I.P. Schiaparelli just because he still lives inside me. How about you? Did you sleep well? Or when you woke up did you find out that Arcovazzi ate your breakfast too? Well, don’t think about it too much. It’s sad when the day is doomed before it even starts, so you should look for a compensation at evening, such as, for instance, flying on the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s dance seabed!

“Sweet Mambo”, choreographed and directed by Pina Bausch, was first performed in Wuppertal, Germany in 2008, one year before her death. Photo: Murdo Macleod.

On Broadway

Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer – Johan Salomon
54th Nordic Chess Championship; Sastamala, October 24, 2016
Nimzo-Indian Defence E53

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nf3 d5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. 0-0 Bg4 10. b3 Nc6 11. Bb2 Qe7 12. h3 Bh5? A very questionable Pawn sacrifice – to put it euphemistically. The accepted continuation is 12. ... Bxf3 13. Qxf3 d4 as, for instance, in Ivanchuk – M. Adams, 1st FIDE Grand Prix, London 2012. 13. g4! Of course Hammer doesn’t say no! 13. ... Bg6 14. Bxg6 hxg6 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5 Ba3 17. Bxa3 Qxa3 18. Qd7 Rab8. Stockfish prefers 18. ... Qa6 and maybe it is right, but I doubt that after something like 19. Kg2, followed by the deployment of heavy calibers, Black can be content to hope that White’s extra Pawn won’t be enough to win. 19. Rfd1 Qb2 20. Kg2 Rfe8 21. Qc7 Nb4 22. Rac1 Nxa2. Salomon finally regained his Pawn, but meanwhile Hammer accumulated energy to a disruptive level. 23. Rc4! b5 24. Rcd4 Ra8 25. Qb7! Qxb3

26. Qxa8! Elegant as usual. 26. ... Rxa8 27. Rd8+ Kh7 28. Rxa8 f6. Now, after 29. Rdd8 g5 Black could delay The End for a few moves (scenes), but Hammer doesn’t miss the point: 29. Ng5+! 1 : 0. For after 29. ... fxg5 30. Rdd8 mate is unavoidable.

Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer vs. Johan Salomon
Photo © Suomen Shakkiliitto

Portable stove

Tomorrow in the early afternoon (14,30), diving stars 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá), 何姿 (Hé Zī), and 秦凯 (Qín Kǎi) will participate in the JD.com/Midea’s live forum devoted specifically to the 京东 (Jīngdōng) intelligent smart kitchen, sharing with the audience their own views and experiences. As it is known (but not by everyone), the 京东 (Jīngdōng) Microunion platform is voted on creating cross-brand, cross-category, cross-protocol intelligent home solutions.

Coco Pops

Lalitpur, Nepal: A farmer harvests rice under blue skies. Photo: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters.

Private Lessons

Professional golfer 吴阿顺 (Wú Āshùn) posted the above pictures on his 新浪微博 (Wēibó) account today, portraying himself as the golf teacher of two very special students, Diving Empress 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) and equestrian sportsman 华天 (Huá Tiān). His caption reads, “Do you want to know how they play golf? Well, let’s wait for tomorrow’s HSBC Champions challenge! Excitement guaranteed!”. All photos: weibo.com/wuashun.

Razzle Dazzle

Ekaterina Ubiennykh – Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk
66th Russian Women’s Chess Championship; Novosibirsk, October 25, 2016
Nimzo-Indian Defence E46

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Ne2 d5 6. a3 Be7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Nf4 c6 9. Bd3 Na6 10. 0-0 Nc7 11. Bc2. Another (wild) try is 11. f3 b6 12. Bd2 c5 13. Be1 Bb7 14. Qd2 c4 15. Bc2 b5 16. e4 a5 17. e5 Nd7 18. Nce2 f6 19. e6 Nb6 20. Bf5 g6 21. Nxg6 hxg6 22. Qh6 gxf5 23. Qg6+ Kh8 24. f4 Qe8 25. Qh6+ Kg8 26. Rf3 Nxe6 27. Rg3+ Ng5 28. fxg5 fxg5 29. Bd2 Qc6 30. Qh5 g4 31. Rf1 Qe8 32. Qh6 Rf6 33. Rxg4+ fxg4 34. Rxf6 Bxf6 35. Qxf6 Qxe2 36. Qg6+ Kh8 37. Qh6+ Kg8 38. Qg6+ Kh8 ½ : ½ Leitão – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 6th Chess World Cup, Baku 2015, tie-break game 2. 11. ... b6 12. f3 c5 13. Rf2 Bd6 14. Nce2 Re8 15. Bd2 Bb7 16. b4 c4 17. g4 Nd7 18. Rg2 Ne6 19. Qe1?? A grotesque blunder which loses on the spot. 19. Nxe6 was obvious, and good enough to keep a symbolic edge. 19. ... Bxf4! 20. exf4 Nxd4 21. Nxd4 Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1. Now White has anything to hope from 22. ... Qf6!, but Kosteniuk, maybe too relaxed, carelessly plays: 22. ... c3? 23. Bxc3 Qc7. Not 23. ... Rc8 on account of 24. Rge2! Rxc3? 25. Re8+ Qxe8 26. Rxe8+ Nf8 27. Bxh7+ Kxh7 28. Rxf8 and White enters the endgame a Pawn up (Bachar Kouatly’s analysis). 24. Bb2 Nf8 25. f5 Bc8 26. Re8 Bb7 27. Re3 Rc8 28. Bd3 Qf4 29. Rge2 h5 30. gxh5 Nh7 31. Re7 Ng5? Kosteniuk was in serious time trouble. 32. Rxb7? Far stronger was 32. f6! which after 32. ... gxf6 33. h6 Bc6 34. b5 would cost Black a piece. 32. ... Nh3+ 33. Kg2 Qh4

34. Ne6! fxe6? Upset by her opponent’s clever and tricky Knight jump, Kosteniuk puts her foot wrong. 34. ... d4 was mandatory and unclear. 35. Rxg7+ Kf8 36. Rg4? Due to time trouble, Ubiennykh misses her great chance, viz. 36. fxe6! Nf4+ 37. Kh1! Nxe2 38. e7+ regaining the Queen with decisive interest. 36. ... Nf4+ 37. Rxf4 Qxf4 38. fxe6 Ke7 39. Be5 Qg5+ 40. Bg3 Rc3. The time control is reached and Black is winning. 41. Bg6 d4 42. f4 Qg4 43. Rf2 d3 44. f5 Rc2 45. f6+ Kxe6 46. Bxd3 Rxf2+ 47. Kxf2 Qxh5 48. Ke3 Qh6+ 49. Kd4 Qxf6+ 50. Kc4 Qb2 51. Be1? The last mistake, but with no regret as Black’s game was lost anyway. 51. ... b5+! 52. Kxb5 Qe5+ 53. Ka6 Qxe1 54. Bc4+ Kd6 55. Ka5 Qc3 0 : 1.

Ekaterina Ubiennykh vs. Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk
Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Izmir, Turkey: Syrian refugee Firas el Jasmin, 25, struggled to find work in Turkey because of his disability, so took to the streets with his son to collect recyclable material which he sells on to support his family. Photo: Andrew McConnell/UNHCR.

Escape to Life

It’s Wednesday, let’s do breakfast! Scientists and engineers don’t have the courage it takes to stand before Earth and admit Schiaparelli preferred to vanish in landing than to live enslaved by Arcovazzi! Luckily you don’t need to take such extreme measures, so don’t push the luck too far. When the evening falls, just leave him where he is and fly on the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s dance floor!

Pina Bausch’s “Nelken (Carnations)” at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London in 2005. Photo: Tristram Kenton.

Broadcast delay

上海 (Shànghǎi), China, Sunday, October 23, 2016. Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá) is back “home” just in time to start her sixth Long March towards immortality. (Tencent Video).

Highlander

According to the first scientific hypothesis, the cause of last week’s crash of the Schiaparelli lander might have been due to a potential computing glitch.

This comparison of before-and-after images shows two spots that likely appeared in connection with the October 19, 2016, Mars arrival of the European Space Agency’s Schiaparelli test lander. The images are from the Context Camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.