Thursday, March 8, 2018

The Long and Wine Road

Here are the eight elected (in alphabetical order) who will play the impending Candidates Tournament in Berlin: Levon Grigori Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), Alexander Igorevich Grischuk, Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin, Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and Wesley So. Apparently, the international chess community regards Aronian as a “favourite”, but, luckily, as Siegbert Tarrasch said, “Before the endgame, the Gods have placed the middle game”. And Caïssa has decided nothing at all. Any prediction is very difficult, especially considering the immense talents of each of the players. Indeed, the only “dark horse” candidate is the Chinese 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), who’ll make his début, even on behalf of his motherland, as an aspiring pretender to Norwegian throne. His mission seems impossible, but in the end, as always, much will depend on Caïssa’s mood. If nothing else, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) will have many fans in Italy too, since he was born in 温州 (Wēnzhōu), the coastal city from where most immigrants traditionally came to make the Chinese community in Prato one of the largest in Italy and in Europe.

Pictured above, centre, is 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) at 10 years of age, being awarded for winning first place in the 李成智杯 (Lǐ Chéngzhì Cup) of his age category. Photo: sohu.com.

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