LABIRINTI E CASEMATTE: June 2017

Friday, June 30, 2017

Rook Star

Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov – Jan Hendrik Timman

5th International Chess Festival “Vila de Platja d’Aro”; Tornament “Legends of World Chess”; Platja d’Aro, June 30, 2017

Nimzo-Indian Defence E36

The time control is 25 minutes, with a 10-second increment per move. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 0-0 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Bg5 dxc4 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Nf3 Ba6 10. Qa4 c5 11. Rd1 Qd7 12. Qc2 Qc6!? 12. ... cxd4 is generally played here; for instance: 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Rxd4 Qc6 15. Rg4+ Kh8 16. Qxc6 Nxc6 17. e3 Bb7 18. Bd3 f5 19. Rg3 Ne7 20. Ke2 Ng6 21. Rc1 Rac8 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Kd2 Rd8 24. Kc3 Kg7 25. Nd4 Kf6 26. f4 Rc8+ 27. Kd2 Rd8 28. Kc3 Rc8+ 29. Kd2 Rd8 ½ : ½ Khenkin – Bacrot, 27th Christmas Open, Geneva 2010. 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Qd2 Qe4? Timman’s Pawn sacrifice looks interesting, but it will turn out to be unsound – at least against Karpov. Deserving consideration was 14. ... Nd7 to which White would probably have objected 15. h4 eventually followed by h4-h5 and Rh1-h4. 15. dxc5 Nc6 16. Qc3. Clearly not 16. cxb6? on account of 16. ... Rfd8 with huge compensation. 16. ... Rfd8 17. Rc1 Kg7 18. Nd2 Qg6

19. h4! Rac8 20. Rh3! If once in a lifetime – even though by mistake – you’ve seen the game Karpov – Hort, 2nd Alekhine Memorial, Moscow 1971, you must also know that Anatoly Yevgenyevich moves the Rooks like a magician. 20. ... Kf8 21. h5 Qh6 22. Qe3! Karpov plays the whole game with his usual technical virtuosismo, without giving his opponent a single chance to save himself. 22. ... Qxe3 23. Rxe3 Nd4 24. Rec3 Nb5 25. Rc4! Nd4 26. Ra4 Bb5 27. Rxa7 bxc5. 27. ... Rxc5 28. Rxc5 bxc5 29. Ra5 is hardly better. 28. Rb7 Ba4 29. e3! Nc2+ 30. Ke2 c4 31. Ra7 Bb5 32. Rxc2 c3+ 33. Kd1 Bxf1 34. Rxc3 Rxc3 35. bxc3 Bxg2 36. Ke2. After all, Black is only a Pawn down, but has no chance to save the endgame, due to White’s passed Pawns on a3 and c3. 36. ... h6 37. c4 e5 38. f3 f5 39. a4 e4 40. Ra5 Bh3 41. Rd5 Rb8 42. a5 Rb2 43. c5 f4 44. exf4 exf3+ 45. Kxf3 Be6 46. Rd6 Rc2 47. Ne4 Ke7 48. Rb6! Karpov finishes off with a display of technique well worth his place in chess history. 48. ... Bd5 49. Ke3 Bxe4 50. Kxe4 Rxc5 51. a6 Rxh5 52. f5 Rh1 53. Kd5 Ra1 54. f6+ Kd7 55. Rb7+ Kc8 56. Rxf7 Rxa6 57. Ke5 Kd8 58. Re7 h5 59. Kf5 h4 60. Rh7 Ra3 61. Rh8+ Kd7 62. f7 Rf3+ 63. Kg6 Rg3+ 64. Kh5 1 : 0.

Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov and Jan Hendrik Timman playing each other at 21st IBM international Chess Tournament in Amsterdam, Netherlands on May 27, 1981. Photo: Rob Bogaerts/Anefo/Nationaal Archief.

Alone But Not Lonely

It is not clear why Diving Queen 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá), who was in Stockholm, Sweden together with her husband-to-be participating in the reality show 极速前进4 (The Amazing Race China 4), after some days of blackout, suddenly reappeared alone at 上海浦东国际机场 (Shànghǎi Pǔdōng International Airport) on the evening of Wednesday, June 28, 2017. Reporters showed themselves quite worried about 张效诚 (Zhāng Xiàochéng)’s absence, but they should know far better than me that Chinese men don’t divorce – even though it can hardly be called a luck. So c’mon, 吴敏霞 (Wú Mǐnxiá), it’s forever and ever, amen. All photos: photo.sina.com.cn.

Do not throw pearls before swine

Artwork © Vampira86

Silvia, Alessandra says you must give back that which is not yours

From left: Silvia Bertini and Viola Rocchini performing their duo variation 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 17, 2017. Photo: Stefano Guerri.

Romance in Durango

In the morning of yesterday (June 29), four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) fulfilled the main — and most institutional — purpose of her journey to Mexico visiting the facilities of the Comisión Nacional de Cultura Física y Deporte (CONADE) in Villas Tlalpan, Mexico City. She was, as usual, accompanied by the President of Mexican Chess Federation Mr. Mario Ramírez Barajas and was warmly welcomed by the Director of CONADE Mr. Alfredo Castillo Cervantes, with whom she played a partie sans-façon and discussed about how to encourage chess among the young people in the country. And then, she finally held an interactive chess class especially designed for those young players who are to participate in the 28th Pan-American Youth Chess Championships Open and Girls in San José, Costa Rica from June 30 to July 7. All photos: Alfredo Castillo Cervantes (@ACC_Castillo).

Napoleon in rags

Tom McCarthy and Oliver Laughland, Travel ban 2.0 goes into effect despite courts saying security issues unfounded, The Guardian, June 30, 2017

Trump’s racial ban was for citizens of Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Yemen, Syria and Libya. Photo: Alba Vigaray/EPA.

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Luckily enough, the mirror echoed back exactly what she thought herself

Sofia performing in the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s end-of-year show at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Photo: Stefano Guerri.

Grand Jetè

Sofia performing her ballet solo variation in the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s end-of-year show at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina on Saturday, June 17, 2017. Photo: Stefano Guerri.

No one takes over a post office because he’s short of a few stamps, Missus Edna Mode

Artwork © Innerd

But unfortunately, she kept sacrificing everyone to the same wrong men who sold the world for the sake of her husband

La Laguna de las Ilusiones

And finally, today in the afternoon (June 29), four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) paid her not-so-long planned visit in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico, chivalrously escorted by a plethora of bodyguards: Mexican International Master Guil Russek Libni, Cuban-Mexican International Master Ramón Huertas Sorís, Argentine International Master Pablo Della Morte and his wife Cuban Woman International Master Zenia Corrales Jiménez and, more solito, the President of Mexican Chess Federation Mr. Mario Ramírez Barajas, who officiated the presentation ceremony. As reported by Arturo Xicoténcatl for Excelsior, June 29, 2017, p. 4, the 13th Women’s World Chess Champion played a 25-board simultaneous exhibition, then gave a mastery lecture about her win against Francisco Vallejo Pons in the 71st Corus Chess Tournament (B-Group) at Wijk aan Zee 2009, and finally signed autographs for her die-hard fans.

Shortly Thereafter

Uroš Petakov – Sergio Mariotti
16th European Senior Team Chess Championship; Novi Sad, June 25, 2017
Queen’s Pawn Game D02

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 Bd6 5. Bd3 Bxf4 6. exf4 Qd6 7. Qd2 c5 8. dxc5 Qxc5 9. 0-0 0-0. An older try is 9. ... Nc6 10. c3 (Emanuel Lasker recommended instead 10. Nc3 followed by the deployment of the Rooks) 10. ... 0-0 11. b4 Qb6 12. a4 a6 13. a5 Qc7 14. Re1 Rb8 15. Ne5 b6 16. axb6 Rxb6 17. Qe2 d4 18. b5 axb5 19. Bxb5 Nxe5 20. fxe5 Nd5 21. cxd4? (it could have been a fatal step. As Lasker pointed out, after 21. c4 the Black d-Pawn would have been doomed anyway, sooner or later, with no risk for White) 21. ... Nf4 22. Qe4 Nh3+ 23. gxh3 Rxb5 24. Na3 Rb3 25. Rac1 (Tartakower – Spielmann, Saint Petersburg 1909) and now, according to analysis by Erich Cohn and Spielmann himself, 25. ... Qe7 should have won for Black. 10. Rc1 Nc6 11. a3 Rd8 12. Nc3

12. ... Ne4? In spite of time passed, Mariotti keeps playing gamble, like in his youth blitz games, which very often took him all night long. The text offers a Pawn sacrifice for nothing but trouble, but, from a psychological viewpoint, it will work perfectly. Objectively speaking, Black should have played soundly something like 12. ... Bd7, followed by ... Ra8-c8 and eventually ... Bd7-e8. 13. Qe3? There’s no reason why White refuses to accept the Pawn, except for ghosts. So now Black cannot but equalise with the certainty of an inevitable draw in sight. 13. ... Qxe3 14. fxe3 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Na5 16. Nd2 b6 17. Nb3 Nxb3 18. cxb3 Bb7 19. Kf2 Kf8 20. Ke2 g6 21. g4 ½ : ½.

Storydance

Chiara Angelini performing her neoclassical/contemporary solo variation 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 17, 2017. Photo: Stefano Guerri.

Diana of the Tower

Matilde (who, incidentally, is the daughter of the photographer), performing archery dance 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 17, 2017. Photo: Stefano Guerri.

But unfortunately, she persistently and vainly kept pushing to sell everyone her wrong man’s sour wine like it were gold

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?

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 17, 2017. Photo: Stefano Guerri.

Midnight Thoughts

Here are only some of the sweet-cakes out of the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s dancers’s bags: Costanza Cioni’s chocolate salami, Viola Rocchini’s berries cheesecake, Francesca Lidia Ortenzi’s fruit tart, and Emma’s Pavesini with Nutella & coconut.

Telephone desk

The Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s virtuso dancer Arianna Settembrini was yesterday too absorbed in matters belonging to her heart for being bothered by common platitudes.

Back to the Future

Francesca Lidia Ortenzi is splitting her time between university studies and work as a dog sitter, but yesterday she officially promised to put an end to the “cult of money” and come back full time to the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s carpet-dance!

And Then There Were None

Here are Emma and Matilde, young dancers of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, who, this year, also showed their archery skills for both survival and entertainment.

May you be blessed

As always it was time for greeting old stars and making new ones at yesterday’s Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” end-of-year dinner party! Pictured above is Chiara Ciocia Vida who next year will have to spend some time in the United States for study purposes. I think she could not have made a worst choice, so maybe she will come back home as soon as she finish studying there.

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Portrait of a Diva

A Chinese crested dog named Rascal. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Ruta de Vino (Wine Route)

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) paid a visit to Tequisquiapan, a tourist town on Querétaro’s Ruta de Vino (Wine Route), where as usual she talked with fans and signed autographs. Photo: Francisco González/Diario de Querétaro.

Salt & Stone

A courier transporting a bust of Hồ Chí Minh to a customer in downtown Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: Hoàng Đình Nam/AFP/Getty Images.

But unfortunately, she kept wanting everyone to submit themselves to those wrong men she had done all that wrong work for

A Time for Searching

The Passion of Rome, 1986. Photo: Sheila Metzner/Courtesy Staley-Wise Gallery.

Under the Volcano

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) under the Koryaksky volcano, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka Krai, Russian Far East, where, from September 17–19, 2016, she starred as a guest of honour on the 3rd China–Russia Junior Match of Friendship. Posing with her are, from top to bottom, Grandmaster Ernesto Kazbekovich Inarkiev, Grandmaster Sergei Yuryevich Shipov, and her mother 王茜 (Wáng Qiàn). Photos: Anastasiya Baradacheva.