Ponytail

Isabella Ceccatelli ties up her hair in a ponytail.

While the Shark is Sleeping

Letizia Rogai is almost about to fall asleep while watching her dancemates rehearsals.

Dancers usually tie up long hair even when rehearsing

Ester Marra picking up her hair.

The American Bride

Isabella Ceccatelli rehearsing for the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s final dance showdown to be held on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina, starting at 20,45 as usual.

Born in Celico

Garry Kimovich Kasparov (@Kasparov63)

The Alternate Summit

Washington, D.C., United States: U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian West discuss prison reform at the White House. Photo: The White House.

Ticket to Ride

Arianna Settembrini rehearsing for the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s final dance showdown to be held on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina, starting at 20,45 as usual.

Only One Woman

A protester is removed from a statue near the Japanese Consulate General in Busan, South Korea. The sculpture, which represents Korean labourers who were forcibly mobilised by Japan during its 1910-1945 colonial rule, has been moved to another location in the city. Photo: EPA.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Curitiba, Brazil: American actor Danny Glover joins “Free Lula” campaigners at a camp near the federal police headquarters, where former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is imprisoned. Photo: Rodolfo Buhrer/Reuters.

The Sixteenth of June

Sofia Nutini, ballerina of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, performing Doppio Gioco (Choreography by Alessandra Innocenti) in the 20th International Dance Festival “Vetrina Scuole di Danza AICS” at the Teatro Verdi in Florence on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Photo: Alessandro Botticelli. And so save the date! The Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s final dance showdown will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina, starting at 20,45 as usual.

Knockouts Championship

Flowers lay under a picture of Russian journalist and war correspondent Arkady Arkadyevich Babchenko on the memorial wall of Moscow’s Central House of Journalists, before it was discovered that Babchenko faked his own death under the direction and supervision of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), for reasons worth investigating. Photo: AFP/Vasily Maximov.

Morphy’s Planet

Magnus Carlsen – Levon Grigori Aronian
6th Altibox Norway Chess; Stavanger, May 30, 2018
Spanish Game C67

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 0-0 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Nf5 11. d5 Re8 12. Rxe8+. The most recent reference game is 12. Bd3 Rxe1+ 13. Qxe1 Qe7 14. Qxe7 Nxe7 15. d6 cxd6 16. Na3 d5 17. Nb5 d6 18. Nxd6 Nc6 19. Bf4 Be6 20. Nxb7 Nb4 21. Nc5 Bxb2 22. Rb1 Nxd3 23. cxd3 Bd4 24. Be3 Bxc5 25. Bxc5 d4 26. Bxa7 Bxa2 27. Rb8+ Rxb8 28. Bxb8 Bb1 29. Ba7 Ba2 30. Bb8 Bb1 31. Ba7 Ba2 32. Bb8 ½ : ½ Caruana – Aronian, 5th GRENKE Chess Classic, Baden-Baden 2018. 12. ... Qxe8 13. Qd3!? Carlsen’s novelty involves more than a nuance with respect to 13. Nd2 d6 ½ : ½ Palac – P. H. Nielsen, 6th European Individual Chess Championship, Warsaw 2005. Si duo faciunt idem non est idem. 13. ... d6 14. Nd2 Bg5? The exchange of dark-squared Bishops is obviously not in Black’s best interest, and may be regarded as a gross strategic error by Aronian. Better would seem to be 14. ... c6 in order to answer 15. Ne4 by 15. ... Be5 with a much sounder basis to get balance. 15. Nf3 Bxc1 16. Rxc1 Bd7 17. Re1 Qd8 18. Qc4! g6 19. h3! Ng7 20. Re3! a5 21. a4 Ne8 22. Qd4. White has a dominating position, with space advantage and the initiative. No wonder Aronian is swept away like dust before the wind. 22. ... Ng7 23. g4 c6 24. c4 Ne8

25. Qf4 Kg7. If 25. ... cxd5 then 26. Ng5 with a vehement attack anyway. 26. Rb3 Rb8 27. Ng5 Nf6. This loses even brilliantly, but neither 27. ... f6 28. Rf3! nor 27. ... Qf6 28. Qd2! h6 29. Ne4 Qd8 30. Rf3 could have changed the outcome. 28. Rf3 h6 29. Ne4 Nxe4 30. Qxf7+ Kh8 31. Qxg6 1 : 0.

Magnus Carlsen. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Altibox Norway Chess.

Outdoor cinema

Norwegian Grandmaster Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer, who will have to eventually qualify for the 3rd Chess.com’s Speed Chess Championship through two qualifiers, told Chess.com’s journalist Mike Klein that he would like “to play 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – it’s one of the easier matchups, and we always have interesting, fighting games”. The schedule is still in progress, but coverage is already ensured, as all matches will be broadcast live on Chess.com/TV and Twitch.tv/Chess.

Toys in the Attic

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A female panda cub keeps an eye on her stuffed toy companion as she makes her public debut. Photo: 新华社 (Xīnhuá News Agency)/Rex/Shutterstock.

To Be Continued...

Ester Marra’s adventure with a vintage suitcase.

Footnotes

Sofia’s valuable footnotes.

Sit-up

Arianna Settembrini and Letizia Rogai take a break without missing any of the choreography.

Maturity Diploma

Arianna Settembrini, too, will achieve her maturity diploma within a few weeks.

😘

Arianna Settembrini and Olga Calamai smile, but not at the camera.

A Smile and a Laugh

Olga Calamai and Viola Rocchini laughingly smile.

Limbo

Giuditta Sottili and Sofia Nutini enjoy the Limbo of Dante’s Divine Comedy.

Friends and memories

Ester Marra and Isabella Ceccatelli looked in a particularly good mood.

Queen’s Counsel

Silvia Bertini wanted to give me her first self-portrait of a lawyer on stage.

Maturity Diploma

Serena Vinci, thanks to her passion beyond the senses, has already succeeded in overcoming deafness through dance, and there is no doubt she will achieve her maturity diploma within a few weeks.

A Time to Dance

Pointe shoes, bottles of half liter of water, and sleeping smartphones.

Tattooed

Letizia Rogai takes notes on the choreography and shows off her tattoo which reminded me of a Banksy’s graffiti. But no, it is only the reproduction of a long time ago picture of her and her sister.

Night Into Day

This evening I spent a hour or so taking pictures of our dancers while they were rehearsing for the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s final dance showdown, which, as Alessandra wrote by hand on a sheet of paper, will take place on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina, starting at 20,45 as usual.

Between Stage and Screen

Although former FIDE World Chess Champion (2002–2004) Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov used Twitter to announce his upcoming rapid and blitz match with four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), he kindly remarks that he is looking for a qualified audience for his own Twitch channel:

Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov (@Ponomariov)

Wedding March

A model walks the runway during the Louis Vuitton 2019 Cruise Collection at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. Photo: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images.

A diva doesn’t leave anything to chance, even when the odds overwhelmingly favour her

Rascal, quite unarguably the most breathtaking Chinese crested dog of the world, never misses any details about anything, to the very smallest ones. Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images.

Ad libitum

Ad libitum | Artwork © johnnyluckyrabbit

London Red Bus

Magnus Carlsen – Fabiano Caruana
6th Altibox Norway Chess; Stavanger, May 28, 2018
Bishop’s Opening C24

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Nbxd2 a5. If 7. ... dxe4 then 8. Nxe5 0-0 9. dxe4 Nxe4 10. Ndf3 with an edge for White, B. Larsen – Nunn, Greater London Council (GLC) Chess Challenge, London 1986. 8. c3 Nbd7 9. exd5 cxd5 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Re1 Re8 12. Nf1 b5!? A novelty. The reference game was 12. ... Qc7 13. Ne3 Nb6 14. a4 Bg4 15. Nxg4 Nxg4 16. h3 Nf6 17. Rc1 Rad8 18. Rc2 Nbd7 19. Rce2 e4 20. Nd4 Nc5 21. Bc2 g6 22. Re3 Kg7 23. Qa1 Qd6 24. Qd1 h5 25. R1e2 h4 26. Re1 Qf4 27. b3 Qg5 28. b4 exd3 29. Rxe8 dxc2 30. Nxc2 Rxe8 31. Rxe8 Nxe8 32. bxc5 Nc7 33. Nd4 Qe5 34. Qd2 Ne6 35. c6 bxc6 36. Nxc6 Qe4 37. Nxa5 Qxa4 38. Qxd5 Qa1+ 39. Kh2 Qxc3 40. Nc4 Qc2 41. Nd2 ½ : ½ Pirs – Akdag, 9th European Team Championship, Semifinal 1, by correspondence, 2011. 13. a4 b4 14. cxb4 axb4 15. Ne3 Bb7 16. d4! Carlsen goes for a very interesting positional Pawn sacrifice, which puts Black in a somewhat uncomfortable position – at least temporarily. 16. ... e4 17. Ne5 Nxe5. The Exchange sacrifice by 17. ... Rxe5!? 18. dxe5 Nxe5 looks a bit speculative, but it might have been more inspiring from a psychological standpoint. 18. dxe5 Rxe5 19. Qd4 Re7 20. Rac1 Rd7 21. Red1 h6 22. Rc5 Ra5 23. Rxa5 Qxa5 24. h3 Kh7 25. Rc1

25. ... Rc7? A bad judgment error. Caruana returns the Pawn in the worst manner, conceding White two united passers which are not counterbalanced by anything valuable. Best was 25. ... Qa6! in order to met 26. Qxb4? by 26. ... d4 with a dynamic counterattack by Black. 26. Rxc7 Qxc7 27. Qxb4 Qc1+ 28. Bd1 Ba6 29. Qd4 Be2 30. Kh2. The great Norwegian talent has no difficulty in winning the ending, despite an extremely stubborn resistance by Caruana. 30. ... Bxd1 31. Nxd1 Qc7+ 32. Kg1 Qc1 33. b4 e3 34. fxe3 Ne4 35. Qxd5 Nd2 36. Qf5+ Kh8 37. Qg4 f5 38. Qe2 Ne4 39. Qe1 Qa1 40. a5 Nd6 41. Qd2 Nc4 42. Qd4 Qc1 43. Kf1 Nxe3+ 44. Qxe3 Qxd1+ 45. Kf2 Qc2+ 46. Kg3 g5 47. Qe5+ Kh7 48. Kh2 f4 49. Qd5 Qa4 50. Qf7+ Kh8 51. Qg6 Qxb4 52. Qxh6+ Kg8 53. Qxg5+ Kh7 54. Qh5+ Kg7 55. Qg5+ Kh7 56. h4 Qd6 57. Qh5+ Kg7 58. Qg5+ Kh7 59. h5 f3+ 60. g3 f2 61. Qg6+ Kh8 62. Qxd6 f1=Q 63. Qh6+ Kg8 64. Qe6+ Kh8 65. Qe3 Qb5 66. Qc3+ Kh7 67. g4 Qd5 68. Qc7+ Kg8 69. Kg3 Qe6 70. Qd8+ Kh7 71. Qd3+ Kh8 72. a6 Qe5+ 73. Kh3 Qa1 74. Qd8+ Kh7 75. Qe7+ Kh6 76. Qe3+ Kh7 77. a7 1 : 0..

Magnus Carlsen (left) vs. Fabiano Caruana (right). Photo: Lennart Ootes/Altibox Norway Chess.

Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen)

Lose to Win

Olivia Campbell on reconciling the size of her talent and the size of her body, and how “giving up can be an act of self-preservation”. [Read more].

• Olivia Campbell, “She’s good, but she’s big”: my years as a “fat” ballerina, The Guardian, May 28, 2018

“It’s hard to love an art form that everyone is telling you doesn’t love you back”. Photo: Natalia Ganelin/Getty Images.

Edna, new scientific studies warn that smartphones kept close to the body in the shirt or pants pocket can produce two to six times more microwave radiation than the average safety level

Artwork © WandererRiha

Ghost Stories

Brussels, Belgium: Jean Rey Square, next to the Europa building, is filled with 4,500 empty pairs of shoes to remember every person killed over the last decade in Gaza. Photo: Stephanie Lecocq/EPA.

How to Wear White Denim

Footage of four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s twenty-board simultaneous exhibition at BayAreaChess in San Jose, California, United States in the evening of Friday, May 25, 2018. Video by BayAreaChess.

Dress rehearsals

The 6th Altibox Norway Chess – a super-closed super-tournament for super-tops only – starts on Monday, May 28, 2018 16,30 at Clarion Hotel Energy in Stavanger, Norway. An issue of interest is, among other things, that 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and his challenger Fabiano Caruana once again will play each other in the first round already. After today’s game, they could possibly no longer meet each other until their upcoming World Chess Championship match scheduled for next fall in London, United Kingdom. Paradoxically speaking, today’s game result has mostly an advertising significance and must not be taken too seriously, even if, of course, it’s not even the case to take it as a joke. For further details, visit http://norwaychess.no/.

Street art in Stavanger: Matryoshka-like graffiti mural by Hush. Photo: Henrik Haven.

学术计时法 (Academic quarter)

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) lecturing on her life and career at the Mechanics’ Institute Library & Chess Room – the oldest continuously running chess club in the United States – in San Francisco, California in the evening of May 22, 2018. Photo: Tejas Dharamsi (@DharamsiTejas).

The Ice Age Challenge

Santosh Gujrathi Vidit – Viorel Antonovich Bologan
19th Karpov International Chess Tournament; Poikovsky, May 27, 2018
Queen’s Indian Defence E17

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Re1 Na6 8. Nc3 Ne4 9. Bf4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Nb8 11. e4 d6 12. e5! Stronger than 12. h4 (which was played in a previous game Loiseau – Bailet, 14th Festival International d’Échecs de Meurthe-et-Moselle, Nancy 2016). 12. ... dxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 Bd6 15. Qf3 Nd7 16. Rad1. After the immediate 16. Nc6 Qf6 17. Re4 Black can reply with 17. ... Nb8. 16. ... Qe7. Of course, there would have been good reasons for exchanging the dominating White Knight by 16. ... Bxe5, but after 17. dxe5 Black’s game would have been quite uncomfortable all the same. 17. Nc6 Qf6 18. Re4 Kh8. Now, if 18. ... Nb8 there would follow 19. Ne5 with much more effect. 19. Qe2 Qg6 20. Bc1! Nf6? 20. ... h6(!) seems to offer better opportunities for defence. 21. Rh4 Qf5. Here 21. ... Nd7 might have been a little better, but after 22. Ne5 Nxe5 23. dxe5 Bc5 24. Rd7 White enjoys a great advantage anyway. Whatever it is, after the text White concludes with a crushing squeeze: 22. Rd3! g5. I don’t see anything better than this. 23. Rf3! Qg6 24. Ne5 Qg7

25. Rxf6! gxh4. If 25. ... Qxf6 then 26. Rh5 followed by the capture on g5. 26. Qf3 Bxe5 27. dxe5 hxg3 28. Bh6! Qg8 29. hxg3 Rad8 30. Qf4! 1 : 0. Black is helpless against the threat of Qf4-h4 followed by Rf6-f4. No doubt a remarkable game worth deeper analysis.

Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (right) vs. Viorel Antonovich Bologan (left). Photo: Vasily Viktorovich Papin/ruchess.ru.

Tunneling protocol

A hologram struts its stuff during the VivaTech trade fair (Viva Technology) in Paris, France. Photo: AFP/Alain Jocard.

No, Edna, it is not so late; your watch goes too fast, I think

Artwork © WandererRiha

One Hour

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s guest appearance at the Mechanics’ Institute Library & Chess Room in San Francisco, California, United States on May 22, 2018. The caption of the picture above is by renejr11: “Honoured to have met the current #1 ranked woman chess player in the world, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). She’s a [4]x Women’s World Champion. She won her first Championship in 2010 at age 16. I loved being in a room filled with chess enthusiasts, at the oldest running chess club in the United States, to hear her speak for a hour. (I lost my autographed flyer on my way to the station but at least I took a picture of it 😅)”. Photo: renejr11.

Summer Evening

From left: Isabella Ceccatelli, Arianna Settembrini, Letizia Rogai, Giuditta Sottili, Serena Vinci, and Ester Marra, ballerinas of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, posing in the backstage of the 20th International Dance Festival “Vetrina Scuole di Danza AICS” at the Teatro Verdi in Florence on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Photo courtesy of Arianna. Save the date! The Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s final dance showdown will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the Teatro SMS of the People’s House in Grassina, starting at 20,45 as usual.

From left: Olga Calamai, Silvia Bertini, Viola Rocchini, Sofia Nutini, and Letizia Rogai, ballerinas of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, posing in the backstage of the 20th International Dance Festival “Vetrina Scuole di Danza AICS” at the Teatro Verdi in Florence on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Photo courtesy of Viola.

The Marriage Plot

Dan (@AntonSquaredMe)

Hey Edna, there are already a lot of questions concerning Elastigirl!