Meister des Tegernseer Hochaltars

Alexander Anatolyevich Donchenko – Alexandr Fier
Tegernsee Masters 2020; Bad Wiessee, October 31, 2020
King’s Indian Defence E97

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 0-0 6. Be2 e5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. b4 Nh5 10. Re1 f5 11. a4 Nf4. A questionable variation. 12. Bf1 fxe4 13. Nxe4 h6!? A novelty, but no improvement on 13. ... Bg4 14. Ra3 a5 15. bxa5 Rxa5 16. h3 Bd7 17. c5 which quickly led to a strategic win for White: 17. ... Bf5 18. cxd6 cxd6 19. Bd2 Rxd5 20. Bc4 Kh8 21. Bxd5 Nfxd5 22. Bg5 Bxe4 23. Rxe4 Qc8 24. Rb3 Nf6 25. Bxf6 Rxf6 26. Reb4 Nc6 27. Rxb7 h6 28. Qd5 Kh7 29. a5 Nd4 30. Rb1 Nxf3+ 31. gxf3 h5 32. Kg2 Qf5 33. Qe4 Qg5+ 34. Kf1 Rf4 35. Qd5 Qf5 36. R7b4? (36. Ke2+−) 36. ... Qxh3+ 37. Ke2 Rf5? (37. ... e4! 38. R1b3 Rf5−+) 38. Rb7 e4 39. Rxg7+ Kxg7 40. Rb7+ Kh6 41. Qd2+ Rg5 42. Rf7 exf3+ 43. Rxf3 Qe6+ 44. Re3 Qc4+ 45. Rd3 Qe4+ 46. Re3 Qg4+ 47. Ke1 Qg1+ 48. Ke2 Qg4+ 49. Ke1 Qg1+ 50. Ke2 Qg4+ ½ : ½ P. H. Nielsen – Korobov, MrDodgy Invitational Blitz Knockout Blitz Chess Tournament, chess24.com, June 12, 2020, match game 1 (time control: 5 minutes without increment). 14. Ra3 g5. 14. ... a5 15. bxa5 Rxa5 16. Bd2 is also much better for White.

15. h4! gxh4 (15. ... g4 16. Nh2) 16. Nxh4 Nexd5 17. Ng6! Nxg6 18. Qxd5+ Kh8 19. c5! Of course, Black’s extra Pawn counts for nothing because of White’s overwhelming position (and Black’s shattered Kingside). 19. ... Ne7 20. Qd1 d5 21. Ng3 e4 22. Nh5 Nf5 23. Nxg7 Kxg7 24. Rh3 Be6 25. f3 Kh7 26. Qd2 Qf6 27. fxe4 dxe4 28. Rxe4. Now Black cannot even console himself with a Pawn. 28. ... Rad8 29. Bd3 (Δ Re4xe6) 29. ... Kg8 30. Bb2 Qg6 31. Qe2 Ng3

32. Rxg3! A final brilliancy, leaving the stage to White’s Bishop pair. 32. ... Qxg3 33. Re3 Qg4 34. Rxe6 Qxe2 35. Bxe2 Rd2 36. Bc3 Rc2 37. Rg6+ Kh7 38. Rg7+ Kh8 39. Rg3+ 1 : 0.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Italian writer Roberto Saviano will talk about why Italian people are rallying around everywhere in the country on Sunday, November 1, 2020 at L’Espresso online — offering a narrative diametrically opposed to the mainstream media’s accounts: “Just stop with the rhetoric of a working health system. Stop denying social injustice. Stop enforcing political consensus through anti-virus laws”. For further details and access to it please go to https://espresso.repubblica.it/.

Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893. Courtesy of National Gallery of Norway/National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo.

Talking Hands

French street artist Saype lays on his giant biodegradable land art painting representing two hands clasped together on a 80 metres long floating barge swiming on the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: Murad Sezer/Reuters.

Teddy Bear Tales

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) made her début in the qualifiers Round 7 match of the inaugural “机器人谷杯” (“Robot Valley Cup”) China City Chess League which was held online at 智赛网 (zhisai.net) Friday, October 30, 2020. Her team, 济南银丰 (Jǐnán Yínfēng), concluded at 2½ – 1½ against 海口 (Hǎikǒu) when she agreed to a draw with 孙心悦 (Sūn Xīnyuè). Screenshot courtesy of sohu.com.

Yeah, Edna, while they put the rich people in the lifeboats instead of the poor ones, the orchestra kept playing on the sinking Titanic

Artwork © WandererRiha

Holographic Meditation

Wesley So – Dariusz Świercz
64th U.S. Open Chess Championship; Lichess, October 27, 2020
Grünfeld Defence D85

The 64th U.S. Chess Championship will be remembered as one of the most holographic in American chess history, as due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Saint Louis Chess Club had to host it online at Lichess with the time control of 25 minutes plus 5 minutes per move. Wesley So impressively dominated the field, scoring an almost Fischer-like 9/11. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Be3 c5 8. Rc1 0-0 9. Nf3 Qa5 10. Qd2 Bg4 11. d5 b5 12. Bd3!?TN (12. Be2 Nd7 13. 0-0 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 c4 15. Be2 Rfd8 16. f4 Nb6 17. Bf3 Qa3 18. h4 e6 19. h5 Na4 20. hxg6 hxg6 21. f5 exf5 22. exf5 Qd6 23. Bf4 Qb6+ 24. Kh1 gxf5 25. d6 Rab8 26. Bd5 Nc5 27. Bg3 Ne6 28. Rxf5 Rxd6 29. Bxd6 Qxd6 30. Qe3 Qb6 31. Qf3 Rf8 32. Rf1 Nd8 33. Rh5 Qc7 34. Qe4 1 : 0 Carlsen – Grischuk, 7th Norway Chess, Stavanger 2019) 12. ... Nd7 13. c4 b4 14. 0-0 Qc7? (14. ... e6!) 15. Ne1! Nb6? (15. ... f5!) 16. f4 Bd7 17. f5! Na4 18. Nf3 Nc3 19. Bh6 a5

20. e5! Bxe5 21. Nxe5 Qxe5 22. Rce1 Qd4+ 23. Be3 Qg7 24. Bh6 Qd4+ 25. Be3 Qg7 26. Bxc5 Rfc8 (26. ... Rfe8 27. Rf4!+−) 27. Bxe7 Qd4+ 28. Kh1 Bxf5

29. Rxf5! gxf5 30. Qg5+ Qg7 31. Qxf5. Now, White’s two united passed Pawns will prove too strong. 31. ... Re8 32. d6 Rad8 33. c5 a4 34. Re3 Ne2 35. Bxe2 1 : 0.

Two Half-Dozens Starving Pilgrims

A woman wearing a protective mask walks past a new mural by Italian street artist Tvboy, entitled Supper for Six, inspired by Leonardo’s The Last Supper in the Navigli neighbourhood of southern Milan, Italy. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP.

The King’s Gambit

The November–December 2020 issue of Peón de Rey No. 149 features an exclusive interview with four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán): “侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán): Dos dragones; una voluntad” [“侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán): Two dragons, a will”] conducted by Jorge I. Aguadero Casado. For further information and subscription details visit: https://www.peonderey.com/.

The Cyberiad

Ballet dancer Anoushka Zoe James dances in the water at the Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Pilar Olivares/Reuters.

Solaris

And finally washed clothes were laid out to dry on the wire lines like rafts on the water. Photo: Matilde Guerri.

Yeah, Edna, Rose was betrothed to Cal, but it was Jack who came to her rescue when the vessel sunk

Artwork © WandererRiha

Labyrinth

The Mona Lisa in a deserted Louvre Museum at Paris, France, as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps tourists away. Photo: Chesnot/Getty Images.

Studying Abroad

And that’s also how a student-tenant spends her “student life abroad” when she isn’t studying or attending online classes. Photo: Matilde Guerri.

Well, Edna, let’s hope mankind can save itself by descending to earth on your spider’s web

Artwork © sapphireluna

The Importance Of Not Being Immortal

Only time will tell if the ideological restrictions imposed on art, culture and sport to safeguard public health from COVID-19 will work, or if instead the good intentions of the political and scientific potentates will turn into a disaster of biblical proportions. Once again, the melodramatic rhetoric of the locked down ones, lined up like silhouetted scarecrows “through the Zooming-glass”, will smash against a mountain of ignorance. Whatever your hashtag is, the anti-virus world government simply does not care, because you exist only in a virtual world, while in the meantime the real world is being transformed into a global prison hospital where you can only live fearing death all the time. So don’t think you can get away with a passphrase such as “I live of dance”, especially if your life is now a non-autobiographical broadcast on Zoom. No one can live only of dance. You need music. You need friends. You need teachers. You need mirrors. You need barres. You need shoes. You need dressing rooms. You need theatres. You need stages. You need audiences. You need applause. You need physical and spiritual nourishment just as birds need to fly. And, of course, you need good health too! So don’t forget to turn off your cellphone when entering an auditorium, library, theatre, worship hall, or any other place where people get inspired for life.

Hand In Hand

French artist Guillaume Legros, a.k.a. Saype, walks on his giant biodegradable land art painting representing two hands clasped together on a 80 metres long floating barge swiming on the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo: Ozan Köse/AFP via Getty Images.

A for Andromeda

Like an alphabet, clothes and towels are hung out to dry on windowsills and balcony ledges. Photo: Matilde Guerri.

Come on, Edna, primum vivere, deinde philosophari

Artwork © Pluffy couple (@pluffycouplecomics)

The Greatest Wealth Is Health

No convincing explanation was given so far about the criteria which government used in deciding what to allow and what to block in its national war on COVID-19. Whatever they may say, it’s a fact that artistic, cultural, social and recreational organisations were sacrificed at the altar of professional soccer, in fact dooming the great majority of non-profit institutions to financial failure. Of course, government ministers promised financial help to compensate damage caused by their daily and nightly decrees, but, as a matter of fact, they will provide financial support only to their fellow club members. As usual, as always. And it’s not a peculiarity of one rather than another — it’s a national custom, and it’s much more contagious than any virus. In such hard times, even innocent gatherings such an outdoor sports festival organised by a city council can transform itself into a street market run by loyal salesmen of the city councillors’ after-work leisure life. I discussed such a case a few days ago with an official in charge of the supervision, and I found no consolation in the fact that my interlocutor told me he never heard of the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”. It is not a question of pride, of course, but only wonder, as the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” contributed for over ten years — always for free — to the sports festival of Florence’s Quarter 2. Yet it is not a drama, for, as they say, in everyone’s memory, and no one’s memory.

She Came In Through the Bathroom Window

Of course, the meaning of life cannot be merely to keep windows open and doors closed. Photo: Matilde Guerri.

Naw, Edna, it’s not forbidden to dance alone in your studio flat

Artwork © finnist3rre

The Things of Life

Italy’s Department for Sport published on its web site a handbook with some clarifications on the DPCM of October 24, 2020, leaving no room for interpretative doubts concerning the possibility of keeping dance schools open:

“If not classifiable as gyms, dance studios are to be regarded as cultural or recreational centres, and therefore falling within the order for closure referred to in Article 1 paragraph 9 lett. f) of the DPCM of October 24. Hence, ballet classes are also suspended”.

Off-Screen

Matilde, a bright dancer of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, squeezes clothes into the bathtub of her own rented house in Bologna, Italy. As a student of anthropology, quite understandably, she just can’t imagine herself sitting in a laundromat for hours in her locked down time off. Photo: Matilde Guerri.

Little Red Cap

While all cultural life in Florence — as well as in the whole country — is frozen for a month or so as a result of a politically imposed lockdown, you have no other choice than to keep your immune system vital by being smarter than your jailers. Thus, Olga, a bright dancer of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”, took a walk like Little Red Riding Hood, with a cape on her shoulders and a basket in her hand, to finally console herself with a very abundant harvest of chestnuts. Photo courtesy of her herself.

Yeah, Edna, you better climb on top of the tree and take a look at the situation below

Artwork © Cynthya Mejía Rojas (@latyntha)

Scientific Technical Committee

Le Roi a fait battre tambour

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Alexey Vasilyevich Sarana

1st Trophée CapÉchecs Online; quarterfinal game 1; europe-echecs.com, October 25, 2020

Catalan Opening E01

In her quarterfinal two-game match against Sarana, Goryachkina was beaten 2–0, thus showing again that online chess is not her vocation. Everything happened in the first game, where she managed to lose a perfectly drawable ending. Time control is, as usual, 10 minutes plus 3 seconds per move. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Nd2 d5 5. Bg2 0-0 6. Ngf3 dxc4 7. a3 Bxd2+ 8. Bxd2 Bd7 (8. ... Nc6 9. e3 Rb8 10. 0-0 b5 11. b3 Ba6 12. Qc2 Qd7 13. bxc4 bxc4 14. Rfc1 Rb6 15. Bc3 Rfb8 16. Nd2 h6 17. Qa4 Bb5 18. Qd1 Nd5 19. a4 Ba6 20. a5 Nxc3 21. Rxc3 Rb4 22. Ne4 Ne7 23. Nc5 Qb5 24. Bf1 Nf5 25. e4 Nd6 26. Qc1 Bb7 27. Qe3 Rb1 28. Rxb1 Qxb1 29. f3 Bc6 30. g4 Qa1 31. Rc1 Rb1 32. Rxb1 Qxb1 33. Qc3 Qd1 34. Kf2 Nb5 35. Qxc4 Nxd4 36. Be2 Qd2 37. Nb3 Nxb3 38. Qxb3 Qxa5 39. Qb8+ Kh7 40. Qf8 Qd2 0 : 1 Goryachkina – Bartel, 19th European Individual Chess Championship, Batumi 2018) 9. Rc1 Bb5 10. Ne5 Nc6 11. Nxc6 Bxc6 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Bb4 Qd5 14. 0-0 Rfd8 15. Be7 Rdb8 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Rc2 Rb3 18. e3 Rab8 19. Qe2 R8b6 20. Rfc1 Qf5 21. e4 Qf3 22. Qxf3 Rxf3 23. Rxc4 Rxb2 24. R1c2 Rxc2 25. Rxc2 Rxa3 26. Rxc6 Ra4 27. Rxc7 Rxd4 28. Rxa7 Rxe4. As a result, a very drawish Rook endgame with four Pawns against three on the same side has arisen. 29. Kg2 Kg7 30. Kf3 Rb4 31. h4 f5 32. Rc7 Ra4 33. Rb7 Kg6 34. Rc7 h5 35. Rb7 Rg4 36. Rb5 f6 37. Rb8 e5 38. Rg8+ Kh7 39. Rf8 Kg7 40. Ra8 f4

41. Rb8. Perhaps simpler was 41. gxf4 Rxf4+ (or 41. ... exf4 42. Ke4 Kxh4 43. f3=) 42. Kg3 Rg4+ 43. Kh3 e4 (otherwise there follows f2-f3) 44. Ra3 with a draw in hand. 41. ... fxg3 42. fxg3 Ra4 43. Rc8 Ra3+ 44. Kf2 Kg6 45. Rh8 Rb3 46. Ra8 Kf5 47. Rh8 Rb2+ 48. Ke3 Kg6 49. Kf3 Rb3+ 50. Kf2 Ra3 51. Rb8 Ra7 52. Kf3 Rc7 53. Ra8 Rc3+ 54. Kf2 Rc2+ 55. Kf3 Kf5

56. Rh8?? A losing blunder under the stress of time pressure. White had to play 56. Rg8 defending the g-Pawn and preventing the Black King from penetrating via g4. 56. ... e4+ 57. Ke3 Rc3+ 58. Kf2 Kg4−+ 59. Rg8+ Kh3 60. Rg6 Rf3+ 61. Ke2 f5 62. Rg5 Kg2 63. Rxh5 Kxg3 64. Rh8 Kf4 65. h5 Rh3 66. h6 Rh2+ 67. Kd1 Ke3 68. h7 f4 69. Ra8 Rh1+ 70. Kc2 Rxh7 71. Ra3+ Kf2 72. Ra4 Kf3 0 : 1.

Culture isn’t contagious — ignorance is

Finally, on Sunday, after days of hysteria and a further surge of COVID-19 cases, it was time for the government of Italy to show itself in all its splendour by introducing the most vexatious public health restrictions since the end of the first nationwide lockdown. And thus gyms, swimming pools, cinemas, theatres, and any other social, cultural and recreational institutions are compelled to close for at least a month, while all professional and semi-professional soccer games will continue to be allowed, even though with no public in attendance. Photo: Eleonora Costi.

Hours to Nothing

If nothing else, a dancer may console herself with the thought that wearing a pair of mismatched shoes during her non-dancing hours is the least of her worries. Photo: Matilde Guerri.

Don’t worry, Edna, once locked down in your house you can move around the house as you please — you just have to enter a password to log out from the kitchen and then another password to login to the bedroom

Artwork © Nicolas Rinear (@nikrinear)

Capturing the Moment

Whatever they say, freedom is not being locked up twenty-two hours a day waiting to die. Photo: Matilde Guerri.

Two-up

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Nihal Sarin
1st Trophée CapÉchecs Online; europe-echecs.com, October 24, 2020
Catalan Opening E06

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 0-0 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Ne5 Nc6 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. Nxc6 Qe8 10. Nxe7+ Qxe7 11. Qa4 c5 12. dxc5 Qxc5 13. Be3 Qc7 14. f3 Bb7 15. 0-0!? Goryachkina just trusts in the typical Catalan opposite-coloured Bishop middle game with a slight advantage to White. Her last move may be a novelty, as a recent game continued instead: 15. Rd1 Nd5 16. Nxd5 exd5 17. Bd4 Rfe8 18. Kf2 Re6 19. Qb4 Rae8 20. Rde1 f6 21. Qd2 a6 22. g4 Qf7 23. Rhg1 R8e7 24. h4 Qg6 25. Rg2 Bc6 26. g5 f5 27. Qf4 Qh5 28. e3 Bd7 29. Rh1 Re8 30. Rc1 R6e7 31. b3 Be6 32. g6 h6 33. Rg3 Rb7 34. Kg2 a5 35. Rc2 Rc8 36. bxc4 dxc4 37. Rb2 Rxb2+ 38. Bxb2 Bd5 39. Qe5 Bxf3+ 40. Kf2 1 : 0 L. van Foreest – Elgersma, 57th International Open, Groningen 2019. 15. ... Nd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 (16. ... exd5 17. Bd4⩲) 17. Qa3 Qe5 18. Qc3 Qxc3 19. bxc3 Rfb8 20. Rab1 f6 21. Rfd1 a6 22. Bf4 Rb5 23. Bd6 Bc6. 23. ... Ra7 was also worth considering, in order to double Rooks by ... Ra7-b7. 24. Kf2 Rd8 25. Bc7 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 Rd5 27. Rxd5. The opposite-coloured Bishop endgame should not produce anything more than a draw, but 27. Rb1 e5 28. Rb6 Bb5 leads nowhere as well. 27. ... Bxd5 28. Ke3 e5 29. f4 exf4+ 30. gxf4 Bc6 31. Kd4 Bb5 32. e4 Kf7 33. Kd5 Ke7 34. Bd6+ Kd7 35. e5 fxe5 36. fxe5 g6?! Much better was 36. ... Bc6+ 37. Kxc4 g5 38. Kc5 Bf3= with a drawn ending. 37. e6+ Ke8 38. h4

38. ... h5? A grave error which crucially weakens the Kingside. The continuation of the game seems hard to crack, provided the Pawn is still on h7. 39. Kc5 Kd8 40. Kb4 Ke8 41. Kc5 Kd8 42. Kd4 Ke8 43. Bf4 Ke7 44. Kd5 Kf8 45. Bg5 Ke8 46. Kc5 Kf8 47. Kb4 Ke8 48. a4 Bc6 49. Kxc4? With such a time control (10 minutes plus 3 seconds per move), no wonder the rush. 49. a5! Bb5 50. Kc5 was obviously the way to keep squeezing Black.

49. ... Bxa4?? A tragic mistake likely due to time’s tick. 49. ... a5!= 50. Kb3 (otherwise there follows ... Bc6xa4) 50. ... Bd5+ is a trivial draw. 50. Kb4+− Bd1 51. c4 Bg4 52. e7 Kd7 53. Ka5 Be6 54. c5 Bf7 55. Kb6 a5 56. c6+ Kc8 57. Kxa5 Kc7 58. Kb5 Kd6 59. Kb6 Be8 60. c7 1 : 0.

Yeah, Edna, they are like a soap opera with no audio and no subtitles, but by your imagination you can transcend their emptiness and uselessness

Artwork © dgcuadrado (@dgcuadrado)

Crowded In An Empty Room

Romain Édouard – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina
1st Trophée CapÉchecs Online; europe-echecs.com, October 23, 2020
Slav Defence D10

The 18th anniversary of the Rencontres Nationales et Internationales d’Échecs will be remembered as much for its virtualisation, as there are no more queens and kings in the Salle Molière, but only their holograms through the glass screen. Time control is 10 minutes plus 3 seconds per move. 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 Bf5 4. c4 c6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Qb3 Qc8 7. Rc1 dxc4 (7. ... Be7 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bg3 0-0 10. Nf3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 c5 12. Be2 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nd7 14. Nxf5 exf5 15. Bf3 Nc5 16. Qb1 Rd8 17. 0-0 ½ : ½ A. J. Miles – L. Portisch, 10th Interpolis Chess Tournament Tilburg 1986) 8. Bxc4 Be7 9. Nf3 0-0 10. 0-0 Nbd7 11. Rfe1 Bg4 12. Ne5!?TN (12. Nd2 Nb6 13. Bd3⩲ Vasilev – Zakharova, 41st International Chess Open, Albena 2017) 12. ... Bh5? (12. ... Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Bh5) 13. e4? (13. Bxe6!) 13. ... Nxe5 14. Bxe5 Nd7 15. Bg3 Nb6 16. Bf1 Bg5 17. f4 Bf6 18. Bf2 Qd7 19. Qb4 Rad8 20. h3 h6 21. g4 Bg6 22. Rcd1 Kh8 23. a4 Be7 24. Qb3 f5 25. a5 Nc8 26. d5. Here 26. gxf5 exf5 27. e5 gave White a big advantage, and not to say that 26. Bc4 was also very strong. 26. ... exd5 27. exf5 Bf7 28. Qc2 Bd6

29. Re5! A very strong Exchange sacrifice, especially given the time control. 29. ... Qc7 30. Bd4 Qxa5 31. f6! gxf6? Much better was 31. ... Bxe5 32. fxe5 c5 33. Be3 (Δ Be3xh6) 33. ... Qc7! apparently holding everything up.

32. Rf5? (32. Qf5! fxe5 33. Bd3+−) 32. ... Bg6 33. b4? A dramatic error in calculation that costs the game. Correct was 33. Rxf6 Bxc2 and now both 34. Rf7+ and 34. Rg6+ do not give more than a draw by perpetual check. 33. ... Qxb4−+ 34. Rxf6. Now too late. 34. ... Bxc2 35. Rxf8+ Kh7 36. Rxd8 Bc5 37. Rd7+ Kg8 38. Nxd5 Bxd4+ 39. Kh2 cxd5 40. Bg2 Bxd1 41. Bxd5+ Kf8 42. Rd8+ Ke7 43. Rxc8 Qd2+ 44. Bg2 Bf3 0 : 1.

Day

Indeed it may take a poet to translate a poète maudit, but Arthur Rimbaud does not: “Divin café, dont le goût reste toute la journée dans la bouche”. Photo: Matilde Guerri.

Yes, Edna, modern social science suggests that dancing boosts your immune system

Artwork © HavenLadroma (@deavormode)

Clair de Lune

Yeah, Edna, it’s like Patti taking to the streets of New York for a singalong of “People Have The Power”

Artwork © Stephanie Alberola (@atlanticdrawing)

Once Upon a Time

Yeah, Edna, as Bob Marley says, “Money is numbers and numbers never end. If it takes money to be happy, your search for happiness will never end”

Artwork © PopADhalla

Penny Lane

A teacher holds her lesson on public steps to help social distance her students in Naples, Italy, after the region of Campania closed schools due to pandemic concerns. A writing on the wall (right, bottom) says: “Autism isn’t contagious — ignorance is”. Photo: Ciro de Luca/Reuters.

Yeah, Edna, they need you to fear anyone and anything so you won’t react when they enact ordinances that strip you of your basic liberties and incomes as they relentlessly work from home for a 13-month salary a year and 365 meal vouchers, just to give you more and more reasons to be afraid and no reasons to live

Screenshot courtesy of Disney-Planet.Fr

Dance of the Dresses

Herbert List, Dance of the Dresses View from Max Scheler’s apartment, Rome, Italy, 1953. Photo: Herbert List/Magnum Photos.

Hey, Edna, it looks like she’s not in the same theatre as you and just not sitting by you

Artwork © Gabriel Francisco Martins (@gabriel_draw_art)

Postdramatic Theatre

The long-awaited première of the Russian version of the musical Chess («Шахматы») took place Saturday, October 17, 2020 at the MDM Theatre in Moscow, Russia, in the presence of many celebrities like 12th Women’s World Chess Champion Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk (pictured above) and 16-time World Chess Champion Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (pictured below next to his wife and daughter wearing orange bow tie). Photos: MDM Theatre Press Service and Eteri Kublashvili.

Yeah, Edna, European education will help you drive your rickshaw with humanity, and not like a pack mule

Credit: auctions.yahoo.co.jp

Rap Star

Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen)

On October 10, during the day off from the 8th Norway Chess, 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen showed both his skill and endurance at a blindfold simultaneous exhibition.

Yes, Edna, many unnecessary things are indeed necessary for happiness

Artwork © Mrs T (@planettimson)