Here’s wishing you all a thoroughly restful International Workers’ Day tomorrow, hope to see you again at Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” on next Saturday’s chess960 class, starting at 16,00 as usual — and if yes, pray take with you a pair of clean sneakers to be used in the dance room only.
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A couple kiss at the Trocadéro overlooking the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Photo: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images.
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Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler (left) vs. Magnus Carlsen (right). Photo © Georgios Souleidis.
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A giant teddy bear measuring over 20 meters long and weighing 4 tons is measured for the Guinness World Records book in Xonacatlán, State of Mexico, Mexico.
Photo: Mario Vázquez/AFP/Getty Images.
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Pedro Sánchez, Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), will almost certainly continue as Spain’s Prime Minister after the PSOE won the most seats — but not a majority — in Sunday’s general election. That means that Sánchez will have to put together a governing coalition with the support of other parties. Photo: Pablo Blázquez Domínguez/Getty Images.
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Pictured above, from left, are 徐龙海 (Xú Lónghǎi), Deputy President of 和建国际工程有限公司 (Harcan Engineering Co., Ltd.), and Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov, President of the International Sugar Corporation (ISC) as well as former President of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), signing a memorandum for construction on April 25, 2019 in 北京 (Běijīng), China. The signing of the agreement formalised the Chinese investment in the pilot project of the “First Donskoy Sugar Factory” to be constructed in Tselina, Tselinsky District, Rostov Oblast, Russia. As Ilyumzhinov told Nezavisimaya Gazeta by phone immediately after the memorandum signing, construction works will start on next September. “The cost of the project is 16 billion and 200 million rubles (about $250 million dollar), of which approximately 30% will be Chinese investment”, Ilyumzhinov said. “The construction will be conducted by the Chinese company Harcan Engineering, which is involved in constructing nuclear power plants as well as other complex industrial facilities in 24 countries. The factory will start working in September 2021”. Photo © yugsn.ru.
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A woman talks on a phone on a balcony beside mannequins in Kiev on April 20, 2019 on the eve of the second round of the Ukrainian presidential election. Photo: AFP/Sergei Gapon.
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Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is heartily enjoying her studies at Oxford. Photos: 龚哲浩 (Gōng Zhéhào).
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Ethiopian legend Abele Bikila won the marathon at the 17th Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, on September 10, 1960 making the achievement even more impressive by running barefoot, and setting a world record time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 16 seconds. He was the first Sub-Saharan African to win an Olympic gold medal.
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Yeafersonth Manrique, whose nickname is B-Boy Chispa, practices breakdancing at the Teresa Carreño Theatre in Caracas, Venezuela. “When we’re out here dancing, we don’t think about the state of the country”, says 24-year-old Manrique. “In this world there is no crisis”. Photo: Iván Alvarado/Reuters.
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But, of course, the most important news today is that four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is among the MPPers who happily did with four exams, as she herself announced on her 新浪微博 (Sina Wēibó) microblogging account:
“TGIF Four consecutive days of examinations passed. Although the Trinity Term is about to commence, the mood is still the same as in the third picture from above. Next weekend — change of identity. Still chess and distant place”. It’s worth remembering that 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), undisputedly the world’s No. 1 woman player, is studying for a Master of Public Policy (MPP) at the University of Oxford, thanks to a Rhodes Scholarship. Photos: 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)/新浪微博 (Sina Wēibó). |
Speaking at the Ministry of Information on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 Ghana’s Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, warned single Ghanaian women not to marry men who have no toilet facilities in their homes because, as she said, “sanitation gives all of us dignity”.
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Public toilet designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas (OMA) & photographer Erwin Olaf, at Reitemakersrijge canal in Groningen, Netherlands. Photo: Gerardus/Wikimedia Commons.
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Chinese movie star 范冰冰 (Fàn Bīngbīng)’s recent public reappearance at the IQIYI Ninth Anniversary Gala in 北京 (Běijīng), China last Monday raised some unanswered questions about her tax disputes with the Chinese tax authorities, which after fining her $129 million dollar and sentencing her to nearly one year in wilderness, might still not be satisfied. Luckily for her, bargaining agreements, however unofficial they may be, prohibit payment in kind, even in China. Photos: afinance.cn.
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Since Arcovazzi is a constant threat to humanity, you must stand up against him every day of your life, especially on Saturday afternoon when he uses to claim his marital rights! Ghandian resistance is the only safe strategy to avoid the worst, so, come on, don’t miss your class of chess960 at Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” tomorrow, Saturday, April 27, starting at 16,00 as usual — and pray take with you a pair of clean sneakers to be used in the dance room only!
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Marcel Duchamp, Study for “Portrait of Chess Players”, 1911. © 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris/Succession Marcel Duchamp. Courtesy of The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
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Italy’s northern city of Reggio Emilia declared its intention to follow the footsteps of Germany, where the unisex public toilets are already at work since long time. Reggio Emilia’s Mayor, Democratic Party (PD) member Luca Vecchi, called the newly approved protocol — the first in its genre all over the country — a step forward on the way of granting “full rights and equal dignity for all people” regardless of their gender in public institutions such as city halls, schools, universities, and hospitals.
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The sign used to mark gender-neutral toilets at Åbo Akademi University (ÅAU) in Turku, Finland. Credit: Åbo Akademi University.
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Rhodes Trust CEO Dr. Elizabeth Kiss (first row, centre), Rhodes China Programme Director 汤玫捷 (Tāng Méijié) (half-head behind Dr. Kiss, centre), Director of Strategy and Development Alasdair Maclay (second row, third from right), four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (three heads above Dr. Kiss, centre) as well as other Rhodes Scholars meet with the heads of 上海科技大学 (ShànghǎiTech University), including President 江绵恒 (Jiāng Miánhéng) (first row, third from left), Provost and Vice President 印杰 (Yìn Jié) (first row, second from left), Vice President 鲁雄刚 (Lǔ Xiónggāng), Vice Provost 江舸 (Jiāng Gě) and other deans on March 21, 2019 in 上海 (Shànghǎi), China. For an “official” account of the diplomatic visit by the Rhodes Trust delegation to China (17–22 March) visit: https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/. Photo: 上海科技大学 (ShànghǎiTech University).
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The Design Museum in Kensington, London, United Kingdom will host from April 26 to September 15, 2019 Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition, celebrating and exploring the work of one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century, and featuring about 700 objects, films, interviews, letters and photographs. Pictured above are
Stanley Kubrick and George Campbell Scott playing chess in the War Room, in a break during filming of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, directed by Kubrick (1963–1964; Great Britain/United States). Production photo. © Sony/Columbia Pictures.
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Chinese movie star 范冰冰 (Fàn Bīngbīng)
finally appeared in public again after having being in hiding for almost a year, which was allegedly due to her tax evasion scandal. She herself shared on her Instagram handle a couple of pictures of her posing on a red carpet at the IQIYI Ninth Anniversary Gala in 北京 (Běijīng), China on April 22, 2019. Photo: 范冰冰 (Fàn Bīngbīng).
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The Marlene Kuntz (feat. Skin) present, in preview on la Repubblica web site, an unedited version of Italian Resistance song “Bella ciao” with a videoclip filmed in Riace, the small town in Calabria that thanks to its Mayor Domenico Lucano and citizens gained worldwide attention through its innovative approach to dealing with refugees.
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From left: Malcom Pein, Richard A. Conn Jr., four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), and Frederic Friedel attending the gala opening ceremony for the World Chess Championship at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) on November 8, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. Photo courtesy of Richard A. Conn Jr. |
Magnus Carlsen (left) and Fabiano Caruana (right) starring in the remake of their 2018 hit show. Photo © Georgios Souleidis.
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From left: five-time Kazakh Chess Champion Darmen Kanatovich Sadvakasov, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), and two-time French Chess Champion Joël Lautier attending the gala opening ceremony for the World Chess Championship at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) on November 8, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. Photo courtesy of Darmen Kanatovich Sadvakasov.
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A group picture taken backstage after or before the awarding ceremony. The first from right is Marina Brunello, the third from left is Olga Anatolyevna Zimina (40th with 6½), and, finally, next to her is Maria Palma (116th with 3½). Photo: Turkish Chess Federation.
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A dancer poses for her own photographer in front of pink cherry tree blossoms during a sunny spring morning at the Parc de Sceaux in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. Photo: Reuters/Christian Hartmann.
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Moscow, April 21. Oleg Bogatov, RIA Novosti. President of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich, told RIA Novosti that the decision to hold the first Word Fischerandom Chess Championship is due to the growing popularity of Fischer’s chess, and that Magnus Carlsen from Norway, the current World Champion of classical chess, will be one of the main favourites in the new Championship.
Fischerandom is a variant of chess advocated by 11th World Chess Champion Robert James “Bobby” Fischer from United States, in which the starting position of the pieces on the home rank is randomised (so as to feature 960 unique possible starting positions). The “Regulations for the 2019 FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship” have been published on the FIDE web site last Saturday. The Championship will begin on April 28, the Semifinals and Finals will be held from October 27 to November 2 in Bærum, Norway. The winner of the World Championship will receive $125,000 USD. “FIDE decided to hold the World Fischerandom Chess Championship, given the growing popularity of Fischer’s chess”, Dvorkovich said. “It is called with various names, including chess960 (deriving from the number of starting arrays). Magnus Carlsen is obviously the favourite. He’s already World Champion of classical, rapid, and blitz chess, and he also won the unofficial World Fischerandom Chess Championship last year. No doubt he will be the favourite. But, nevertheless, it won’t be an easy race, as Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler and Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi from Russia and Hikaru Nakamura from United States are all very strong, great contenders”. “For now it’s a pilot project”, FIDE President said. “It’s official, but also experimental. On one hand, there is an online process of selection, open to everyone, regardless of rating and titles, and we’ll have to carefully monitor how servers, software and anti-cheating software will work — which may make our task technically quite difficult. Then, and only then, we will make a decision for the future. On the other hand, there are professionals playing for the title of World Champion, who are spasmodically followed by crowds of chess fans all over the world”. |
Today Saturday April 20 2019 can be remembered as a historic day and an important milestone in chess history, as the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) finally recognised that Fischerandom chess (idem to say Fischer Random chess and chess960) is chess. In announcing the inauguration of the first ever “official” World Fischerandom Chess Championship cycle, 7th FIDE President Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich also made some declarations about the historical opening-process: “It is an unprecedented move that the International Chess Federation recognizes a new variety of chess, so this was a decision that required to be carefully thought out”, he said. “But we believe that Fischer Random is a positive innovation: it injects new energies and enthusiasm into our game, but at the same time it doesn’t mean a rupture with our classical chess and its tradition. It is probably for this reason that Fischer Random chess has won the favor of the chess community, including the top players and the world champion himself. FIDE couldn’t be oblivious to that: it was time to embrace and incorporate this modality of chess”.
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Inna Grigoryevna Gaponenko-Yanovska (right) vs. Alina Anatolyevna Kashlinskaya (left). Photo: Turkish Chess Federation.
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Protesters on the fifth day of demonstrations for climate change hold their hands glued together at Oxford Circus in London, United Kingdom. Photo: Frank Augstein/AP.
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A staff member wearing a mock space suit poses in the 戈壁 (Gobi Desert) near the C-Space Project Mars Simulation Base outside 金昌 (Jīnchāng), 甘肃省 (Gānsù province), China. Photo: Thomas Peter/Reuters.
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