Just one innocent question for you, Edna... Why do you want to spoil his birthday?

The Unbearable Outlandishness of Being

• Leonard Barden, Chess: Magnus Carlsen set fair for a further reign as world champion, The Guardian, November 30, 2018

FIDE, the global chess body, will ignore the more outlandish suggestions to reduce draws such as introducing Chess960 random games, but the clamour for change is strong. Expect some tweaks to be made to the rules for Carlsen’s next title defence in 2020 such as a slightly faster time limit in classical games and fewer rest days. There is a balance to be struck, for while chess fans dislike draws they can also be turned off by classical games chock full of blunders. [Read more].

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

Saturday is coming and it is finally time for Fischerandom chess to take over the stage! First of all, take note that on Saturday, December 8, 2018 International Master Vangjel Buli will perform a simultaneous chess960 exhibition at Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, so save the date and make sure to be on time for tomorrow’s meeting as well, starting at 16,00 as usual.

Tijuana, Mexico: A migrant girl, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America trying to reach the United States, tries to avoid flooded ground by holding on to the door of a toilet after heavy rainfall in a temporary shelter. Photo: Hannah McKay/Reuters.

The Lost Weekend

Moechus es Aufidiae, qui vir, Scaevine, fuisti; rivalis fuerat qui tuus, ille vir est. Cur aliena placet tibi, quae tua non placet, uxor? Numquid securus non potes arrigere? Aufidia’s spouse before, you’re now her lover; Your former rival is the one she wed. Why want her not as your wife, but another’s? Does it take fear to make you rise in bed? Drudo d’Aufidia sei, Scevino, e ne fosti marito; quel che t’era rivale è il marito oggi. Perché moglie d’un altro ti piace, e, s’è tua, non la vuoi? Un’emozione ci vuole per eccitarti di più?

Martial, Epigrams, Book 3, LXX
English translation by Susan McLean
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

The restored Alexandra Palace Theatre in London, United Kingdom will reopen its doors to the public for the first time in more than 80 years. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images.

After betting on the wrong horse (who was incidentally her husband), and being then called to account by the other horses, she’s now threatening to fire the manager of the gambling house, who incidentally is her husband too

C’mon, Edna, I feel one day he’ll ask you for an advice on what to wear and what not to wear at his inauguration as professor of Shakespearean Literature at Cambridge

Artwork © Shira Sterling (@shiras.art)

Dancers With Wings

The Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” will participate in the fourth edition of the ballet festival “Le ali della danza”, which will be staged at the Teatro Aurora, Via San Bartolo in Tuto, 1, 50018 Scandicci, Florence, on Friday, January 25, 2019, starting at 20,45 as usual. The event is organised by Lions Club Fiesole under the patronage of the Comune di Scandicci. The proceeds will be donated to support a school of massotherapy for hypo-blind.

From Chaos to Centre

Dancers of the 上海芭蕾舞团 (Shànghǎi Ballet Company) perform on a staircase in the Bode Musee in Berlin, Germany. Photo: Britta Pedersen/AP.

禮儀 (Etiquette)

But life is not a checkerboard. Thus, pictured above, first from left, is four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (seated on the left row, wearing glasses) giving an etiquette lesson for newcomers at the Coming Up Dinner 2018 held at Rhodes House last November 16. Photo: Rhodes Trust.

On a way or another, she always thinks about her husband

Checkerboard

“In the late 70s, I noticed kids were colouring in their Vans with a checkerboard pattern, so we started making shoes like that”, Steve van Doren, son of Vans co-founder, Paul van Doren, said. Photo: Taschen.

No, Edna, the two trillion or so gamblers who had bet on the Armageddon didn’t know that he had an appointment with you at six o’clock to take you dancing after the Othello première

Artwork © ORMOART (@ormoart)

They both have passed the exam and should have to repeat the same semester

The Last Day of School

Magnus Carlsen – Fabiano Caruana

World Chess Championship match; tie-break game 3 (25+10); London, November 28, 2018

Sicilian Defence B44

Just for the chronicle, here is the third and last game of the tie-break. Carlsen could obviously play for two results, whereas all Caruana had to do was to push hard for a win, just to go through a fourth game. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bc5 6. Nc2 Nf6 7. Nc3 0-0 8. Be3 b6 9. Be2 Bb7 10. 0-0. 10. f3 may transpose into 10. ... Qe7 11. Qd2 Rfd8 12. Rd1 Rac8 13. 0-0 d5 with fine play for Black, Kozma – Fichtl, 17th Czechoslovak Chess Championship, Prague 1955. 10. ... Qe7 11. Qd2 Rfd8 12. Rfd1 Ne5 13. Bxc5 bxc5 14. f4 Ng6 15. Qe3 d6 16. Rd2 a6 17. Rad1 Qc7 18. b3 h6 19. g3 Rd7 20. Bf3 Re8 21. Qf2 Ne7 22. h3 Red8 23. Bg2 Nc6 24. g4 Qa5 25. Na4 Qc7 26. e5 dxe5 27. Nxc5 Rxd2 28. Rxd2 Rxd2 29. Qxd2 Ba8. If 29. ... exf4 then 30. Nxb7 Qxb7 31. Qd6 with a rock-solid position. 30. fxe5 Qxe5 31. Nd7 Qb2

32. Qd6! Lots of perpetual checks are haunting the board. 32. ... Nxd7 33. Qxd7 Qxc2 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Qxa8 Qd1+ 36. Kh2 Qd6+ 37. Kh1 Nd4 38. Qe4+ f5 39. gxf5 exf5 40. Qe3 Ne6 41. b4 Ng5? After all, one cannot blame Caruana for throwing away a draw. The text carries in itself the seed of defeat, but at least it puts a fantasy threat: ... f5-f4-f3. 42. c5 Qf6 43. c6 Ne6? 44. a4 Nc7 45. Qf4 Ne6 46. Qd6! Qa1+ 47. Kh2 Nd4 48. c7 Qc3. 48. ... Ne2 (Δ Qa1-g1 mate) is also met by 49. Qc5 and finis. 49. Qc5 Qe3 50. c8=Q f4 51. Qg4 1 : 0. Both Carlsen and Caruana have good reasons for being content with their match outcome.

Fabiano Caruana (left) and Magnus Carlsen (right). Photo: Terje Bendiksby/NTB scanpix.

Earth King

Magnus Carlsen – Fabiano Caruana

World Chess Championship match; tie-break game 1 (25+10); London, November 28, 2018

English Opening A22

16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen dominated the tie-break, winning three games in a row out of the four scheduled. 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bb4 4. e4 0-0 5. Nge2 c6 6. Bg2 a6 7. 0-0 b5 8. d4 d6 9. a3!? It implies a very interesting Pawn sacrifice. A not-too-recent game continued: 9. cxb5 axb5 10. h3 Re8 11. Be3 exd4 12. Bxd4 Bxc3 13. Nxc3 b4 14. Bxf6? (White ought to have played 14. Na4 eventually followed by a2-a3) 14. ... Qxf6 15. Nb5 Rd8 16. Nd4 Ra7 17. f4 c5 18. Nb3 Nc6 19. Rf2 c4 20. Nd2 c3 with Black clearly on top, Zubarev – Vysochin, 70th Ukrainian Chess Championship, Ordzhonikidze 2001. 9. ... Bxc3 10. Nxc3 bxc4 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Na4 Be6 13. Qxd8 Rxd8 14. Be3 Nbd7 15. f3 Rab8 16. Rac1 Rb3 17. Rfe1. White obviously got more than enough positional compensation for the Pawn. 17. ... Ne8 18. Bf1 Nd6 19. Rcd1 Nb5? Caruana seeks for new spaces and new landscapes. Yet Black had probably nothing better than 19. ... Nb7 followed by ... Kg8-f8-e8 struggling and striving for a draw at most. 20. Nc5 Rxb2 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bxc4. Clearly not 22. Bg5?? because of 22. ... Nd4! 23. Rxd4 (23. Bxd8?? Nxf3+ 24. Kh1 Rxh2 mate) 23. ... exd4 24. Bxd8 Ne5 and it is Black who wins. 22. ... Nd4 23. Bxd4 exd4

24. Bxe6+? Stockfish spotted 24. Rxd4 Kf7 25. Kh1!! (neutralising Black’s saving resource ... Nd7-e5) which would have left Black completely paralysed and harmless. After the text, instead, the ending is anything but won for White, due to the unhappy position of his King. 24. ... Kf8 25. Rxd4 Ke7 26. Rxd7+ Rxd7 27. Bxd7 Kxd7 28. Rd1+ Ke6 29. f4 c5 30. Rd5 Rc2 31. h4 c4 32. f5+ Kf6 33. Rc5 h5 34. Kf1 Rc3 35. Kg2 Rxa3 36. Rxc4 Ke5 37. Rc7 Kxe4? Oops, Caruana forgot something. After the intermediate Rook check move 37. ... Ra2+! 38. Kh3 Kxe4 39. Rxg7 Ra1! 40. Rg5 Kf3! the draw was on the board. 38. Re7+! Instead Carlsen does not forgive and does not forget. 38. Rxg7?? Ra2+! 39. Kh3 Ra1! would have simply transposed into the aforementioned line. 38. ... Kxf5 39. Rxg7 Kf6 40. Rg5 a5 41. Rxh5 a4 42. Ra5 Ra1 43. Kf3 a3 44. Ra6+ Kg7 45. Kg2 Ra2+ 46. Kh3 Ra1 47. h5 Kh7 48. g4 Kg7 49. Kh4 a2 50. Kg5 Kf7 51. h6 Rb1 52. Ra7+ Kg8 53. Rxa2 Rb5+ 54. Kg6 Rb6+ 55. Kh5 1 : 0.

Fabiano Caruana – Magnus Carlsen

World Chess Championship match; tie-break game 2 (25+10); London, November 28, 2018

Sicilian Defence B33

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 Ne7 9. c4 Ng6 10. Qa4 Bd7 11. Qb4 Qb8. Deviating from 11. ... Bf5, as in the 12th game. 12. h4 h5 13. Be3 a6 14. Nc3 a5 15. Qb3 a4 16. Qd1 Be7 17. g3 Qc8 18. Be2 Bg4 19. Rc1 Bxe2 20. Qxe2 Qf5

21. c5!? In a nearly win-win situation, Caruana goes into the wild. 21. Nb5 was much quieter and probably better suited for claiming a slight edge. 21. ... 0-0! Of course, 21. ... dxc5 22. Bxc5 Bxc5 23. Qb5+ would only justify White’s gamble. 22. c6 bxc6 23. dxc6 Rfc8 24. Qc4 Bd8! 25. Nd5 e4! 26. c7? This is tantamount to surrender, but by now White had exhausted his tricks. 26. Bg5? Ne5! 27. Bxd8 Kh7! would also end somewhat similarly, while after 26. Bd4 (probably best) 26. ... Ra5! 27. Ne3 Qf3! 28. 0-0 Bxh4! Black would mount a very violent attack. 26. ... Bxc7! 27. Nxc7 Ne5 28. Nd5 Kh7! 0 : 1. “Carlsen’s consistent level of play in rapid chess is phenomenal. We all play worse as we play faster and faster, but his ratio may be the smallest ever, perhaps only a 15% drop off. Huge advantage in this format”, 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov tweeted.

Magnus Carlsen remains the World Champion after a compelling tie-break win over Fabiano Caruana on Wednesday. Photo: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA.

吃苦

Artwork © Jon Madrazo (@jonassaenz)

Asceticism

Numquam se cenasse domi Philo iurat, et hoc est: non cenat, quotiens nemo vocavit eum. That he ne’er sups at home, proud Philo swears: When uninvited, he to sup forbears. Giura Filone che mai in casa ha cenato; ed è vero. Se nessuno lo invita, egli salta la cena.

Martial, Epigrams, Book 5, XLVII
English translation by James Elphinston
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

Two pairs of spinner dolphins mating in the Red Sea. Photo: Andrey Nekrasov/Barcroft Images.

King Kong

Tourists pose for pictures lying down on the new glass deck of the King Power MahaNakhon (คิง เพาเวอร์ มหานคร) skycraper in Bangkok, Thailand. The MahaNakhon building, currently Thailand’s tallest at 314 meters (1,030 feet) tall with 78 floors, has a 360-degree view of Bangkok. Photo: AP/Sakchai Lalit.

Fashion Seasons

But life doesn’t end with chess, and new meanings may always be created as the fashion seasons come and go. Thus, pictured above, first from left, is four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) featuring her new fall/winter collection on the runway of the Coming Up Dinner 2018 held at Rhodes House last November 16. Photo: Rhodes Trust.

How can you be so cynical, Edna?

Artwork © 米可 (@paint_mico)

Contemporary Art

• Cam Reddin, “T20 Chess”: New form of chess threatens to send tradition packing, Macquarie Sports Radio, November 2, 2018

Chess might be one of the oldest board games in existence, but its current form is being threatened by the rise in popularity of a more “challenging” set of rules. It’s called “Chess 960” — an alternative format of the game designed by American champion Bobby Fischer, that is threatening to usurp traditional gameplay by making the game less predictable. Concerns from officials at the World Chess Federation that technology has led to the human thought process being outsourced to computers has made them more willing to accept this new form of the game, where pieces are shuffled randomly before being placed on the board. Pawns remain in the same position as they usually would to start, while all other pieces are moved around prior to the beginning of the match. Chess 960, also known as “Fischer Random Chess” in honour of its creator, is named after the number of potential starting positions. [Read more].

Magnus Carlsen being awarded after winning his “unofficial” 16-game World Fischerandom Chess Championship match against Hikaru Nakamura in Høvikodden, Norway on February 2018. Photo © Lennart Ootes.

The Soul of the Croupier

Fabiano Caruana – Magnus Carlsen
World Chess Championship match game 12; London, November 26, 2018
Sicilian Defence B33

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 Ne7!? Both in the eighth and tenth games Carlsen continued with 8. ... Nb8. 9. c4 Ng6. 9. ... a6?? 10. Qa4+− is an old trap. 10. Qa4 Bd7 11. Qb4 Bf5 12. h4 h5!? A recent game continued: 13. ... a6 13. h5 Nf4 14. Nc3 Be7 15. Be3 Nd3+ 16. Bxd3 Bxd3 17. h6 0-0 18. Rd1 a5 19. Qb5 e4 20. hxg7 Re8 21. Rxd3! exd3 22. c5! Bg5 23. Qxd3 h6 24. Ne4 dxc5 25. Kf1 Rxe4 26. Qxe4 Bxe3 27. fxe3 Ra6 28. Rh5 Rg6 29. Kg1 Kxg7 30. Rf5 b5 31. Qe5+ Kg8 32. e4 c4 33. Qf4 Qd7 34. a3 Qa7+ 35. Kh2 b4 36. e5 Qd7 37. e6 fxe6 38. Rf8+ Kg7 39. Ra8 Kh7 40. Qd4 Qd6+ 41. Kh1 e5 42. Qxc4 bxa3 43. bxa3 Qxa3?? (Kramnik himself then showed his opponent how Black could have saved the game: 43. ... Qb6! in order to reply 44. Qc8 with 44. ... Qf6 or 44. Re8 with 44. ... Qb1+ 45. Kh2 Rxg2+! 46. Kxg2 Qg6+) 44. Qc7+ Rg7 45. Qc2+ Rg6 1 : 0 Kramnik – Roganović, 43rd Chess Olympiad, Batumi 2018. 13. Qa4 Bd7 14. Qb4 Bf5 15. Be3 a6 16. Nc3 Qc7 17. g3 Be7 18. f3

18. ... Nf8! 19. Ne4 Nd7 20. Bd3 0-0 21. Rh2. Most commentators have criticised both White’s 18th and 21st moves as too artificial. 21. ... Rac8 22. 0-0-0 Bg6 23. Rc2 f5 24. Nf2 Nc5. Black got a comfortable game already, but his next move (... a6-a5 instead of ... b7-b5) also indicates quite clearly that his duty is imposed on him by one or more sponsors. And thus the match will be decided by a tiebreaker of rapid or even blitz games. 25. f4 a5 26. Qd2 e4 27. Be2 Be8 28. Kb1 Bf6 29. Re1 a4. If else, 29. ... Ba4 30. Rcc1 b5! 31. cxb5 Qb6 would have certainly made the game more intense. 30. Qb4 g6 31. Rd1 Ra8 ½ : ½. “In light of this shocking draw offer from Magnus in a superior position with more time, I reconsider my evaluation of him being the favorite in rapids. Tiebreaks require tremendous nerves and he seems to be losing his”, 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov tweeted.

Magnus Carlsen (right) and Fabiano Caruana (left) agreed to a draw in the twelfth and last classical game of their World Chess Championship match in London, United Kingdom. Photo: Matt Dunham/AP.

The Last Emperor

Bernardo Bertolucci †
(Parma, March 16, 1941 – Rome, November 26, 2018)

Venice Biennale

And here are Ester and her friend just wandering through the installations and exhibits of the Venice Biennale. Photos courtesy of Ester Marra.

Set in Venice

Ester Marra (pictured above, right), ballerina of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, spent last weekend together with a friend in Venice, Italy so as to enjoy the last days of the Biennale. Needless to say, as always, she took upon herself the duty to share her pictorial reportage of the city highlights. Photos courtesy of her herself.

The Brevity and Uncertainty of Life

Disticha qui scribit, puto, vult brevitate piacere. Quid prodest brevitas, dic mihi, si liber est? He who writes distichs wishes, I imagine, to please by brevity. What is the use of brevity, tell me, if it constitute a book? Chi scrive distici, io penso che per brevità vuol piacere. Ma che giova esser breve, se poi ne fai un volume?

Martial, Epigrams, Book 8, XXIX
English translation by Walter C. A. Ker
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

A picture taken on November 20, 2018 shows newborn giraffe Ella and her mother Amalka at their enclosure at Berlin’s Tierpark Zoo. Photo: AFP/Paul Zinken.

Yes, Edna, I think he meant that he’s able to keep in touch with you even if you’re not there to experience it directly

Artwork © Justyna Butkiewicz (@justynart)

G minor

On the eve of the last classical game of the World Chess Championship match, the discussion focused on the issue of how many hours a day Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana have been spending on chess training prior their “High Noon” in London, United Kingdom. It’s not a mystery that Caruana uses to spend hours at the board. “We work all day. All in all, I’d say from eight to ten hours daily”, Grandmaster Ioan-Cristian Chirila — one of Fabiano’s seconds — told NRK. On the contrary Magnus Carlsen appears to devote very little time, physically speaking, to his chess study — reportedly not more than two three hours a day, provided he is in the mood, for otherwise he does not study at all. What is his secret? El País correspondent Leontxo García dares to venture an explanation: “Magnus studies in his own way. Whether he is running, swimming, skiing, or playing soccer, he is able to analyse positions, no matter if without chessmen and board. Magnus Carlsen always thinks about chess”, he told NRK. Of course, a memory like Morphy’s can do anything, and doesn’t need matter to come into being. But Caruana, as an aspiring filmmaker, must have read Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin’s poetic drama “Mozart and Salieri”, and justly refuses to act as Wolfgang Amadeus’ Italian rival. He just thinks the story of Carlsen’s superpowers is fiction. Does Magnus never study? “I do not believe it”, Caruana told NRK. He, too, wants to play Mozart’s immortal symphony.

Magnus Carlsen (right) and Fabiano Caruana (left) attending the press conference following the eleventh game of their World Chess Championship match in London. Grandmaster Daniel John King, the host and moderator, is seated amid them. Photo: World Chess.