Vertigo

A woman walks through the rainbow-coloured Paseo Bandera in Santiago, Chile, empty of visitors amid the pandemic. Photo: Esteban Félix/AP.

Yeah, Edna, improvising dance sequences is a little like mixing colours

Artwork © Olivia B (@deart_6966)

A Castle in the Sky

5b1r/pp4pp/1n2k3/3pq3/3p4/3B4/PP1B2PP/3Q2KR b K - 0 1

The above diagram, showing a position with Black to move, was presented by Grandmaster Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov as an instructive example of how counterintuitive the rules of castling in Fischerandom chess (a.k.a. chess960) at times appear to be. “At this position can Black prevent short castle by playing ... Qe5-f6?”, he asks. The answer is no — 1. ... Qf6 doesn’t prevent White’s h-side castling (2. 0-0), which, in the specific case, is performed by “Rook-move-only”, i.e. by the Rook jumping over the King. Not incidentally, the answer is also the solution of the puzzle/quiz, for after 1. ... Qf6 2. 0-0 Black might well resign.

40th International Dance Day

That’s what remains of the historical Oriuolo Theatre, which has been demolished to make way for a “cultural-technological” park. In its prime the Oriuolo Theatre, at just a stone’s throw from Piazza del Duomo, was one of the most lively civic theatres in Florence after the Second World War, only to be left adrift during the last thirty years. Photo: Nove da Firenze.

Of course, Edna, only you are allowed to have a happy birthday twice in the same year and eat two cream cakes one after the other

Artwork © Nati Mii (@nati.mii)

Going Viral

• 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), Business is like chess, and this champion knows the winning moves, Secure Futures by Kapersky, April 28, 2021

I use this thinking in important life decisions, like whether to pursue a full-time chess career or continue my studies. Playing chess full time would give me energy for tournaments, but I wasn’t sure that energy alone would take me further — it’s a probability game. Then I thought about what I could gain from studies: They would show my brain a bigger world view. There was no right or wrong decision — I had to follow my heart. I went to the UK to study for a Master’s in Public Policy at University of Oxford. I was thrilled when my actions paid off. In 2020, I became a full-time professor at 深圳大学 (University of Shēnzhèn), China. [Read more].

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) celebrating her birthday at the 1st stage of FIDE Grand Prix 2017 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Photo courtesy of 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) via Secure Futures by Kapersky. Chess is in my heart. I began playing at age five and, at 14, became the youngest woman to qualify for the Grandmaster title. By 16, I was the youngest woman to win the Women’s World Chess Championship. A significant achievement, but it felt like just a stop on my journey. [Read more].

Of course, Edna, a sequel is always dependent on the original script and who is directing

Artwork © Fancy Drew (@MeloDtime)

A Day Like Today

Quod erat demonstrandum, any enmity and resistance to the will of the goddess can’t but prove vain and impious, and whoever dares to disobey her commands is doomed to eternal damnation. No one truly knows when she will appear again, so, in the meantime, join and enjoy four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s and Chinese-Dutch Grandmaster 彭肇勤 (Péng Zhàoqín)’s commentary in Chinese on the fourteenth and last round of the Candidates Tournament! Screenshot from the live stream.

Lost & Found

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi
Candidates Tournament 2020–21; Yekaterinburg, April 27, 2021
King’s Indian Defence E60

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 e6 4. e4 c5 5. d5 d6 6. Bd3. Veni, vidi, but no vici: 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Nge2 exd5 8. cxd5 a6 9. a4 0-0 10. Ng3 Nbd7 11. Be2 Ne8 12. Bf4 Rb8 13. 0-0 c4 14. Bxc4 Qb6+ 15. Rf2 Bd4 16. Qd2 Ne5 17. Bf1 Bxf2+ 18. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 19. Kxf2 Bd7 20. Be3 f5 21. exf5 gxf5 22. Bd4 Nf6 23. Kg1 Rbc8 24. Ra3 Nc4 25. Rb3 b5 26. axb5 Nd2 27. Rb4 Nxf1 28. bxa6 Nxg3 29. hxg3 Rb8 30. Rxb8 Rxb8 31. Bxf6 Ra8 32. Nd1 ½ : ½ Carlsen – Nepomniachtchi, 81st Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2019. 6. ... Bg7 7. Ne2 exd5 8. cxd5 Nbd7 9. Nec3!? This is somewhat of a novelty. The more orthodox 9. Nbc3 0-0 10. Be3 Ne5 by inversion of moves transposes into the Sämisch Variation of the King’s Indian Defence: 11. 0-0 Nxd3 12. Qxd3 Nd7 13. Qd2 Ne5 14. b3 Re8 15. h3 f5 16. Rad1 Nf7 17. exf5 Bxf5 18. Ng3 Qa5 19. Nce4 Qxd2 20. Bxd2 Bxe4 21. Nxe4 b5 22. Rfe1 b4 23. Bf4 Rad8 24. Kf1 Be5 25. Bg5 Nxg5 26. Nxg5 a5 27. Ne4 a4 28. Re2 Ra8 29. Nd2 Bg3 30. Rxe8+ Rxe8 31. Ne4 Be5 32. Ke2 Ra8 33. Kd3 h6 34. h4 Rf8 35. Rf1 Kf7 36. f4 Ke7 37. bxa4 Bh8 38. Kc4 Kd7 39. Nd2 Re8 40. Kd3 Bf6 41. g3 Ra8 42. Nc4 Bd8 43. Re1 Rxa4 44. Re6 1 : 0 Vyzmanavin – Kuzmin, 64th Moscow City Chess Championship, Moscow 1986. 9. ... a6 10. a4 Nh5 11. 0-0 Bd4+ 12. Kh1 Ne5 13. Ne2 Qh4

14. Nxd4 Nxd3? Nepomniachtchi is charmed (and caught) by a Fata Morgana. Much better was 14. ... cxd4! 15. Kg1 g5! with good play for Black. 15. Qxd3 Ng3+ 16. Kg1 Nxf1

17. Nc2! Black must have overlooked this move, when he played 14. ... Nxd3. 17. ... Nxh2. Alas for Nepomniachtchi, the “revenge of matter” ensuing from 17. ... Qxh2+? 18. Kxf1 Qh1+ 19. Kf2 Qxc1?? is refuted by 20. Qc3 0-0 21. Nd2 trapping the Queen. 18. Qe3 0-0?! Allowing White to simplify into a won ending. If, however, 18. ... g5!? (hoping for 19. Qxg5?? Nxf3+! 20. gxf3 Qxg5+ 21. Bxg5 Rg8 with material gain) then White would play 19. e5! still strongly maintaining the upper hand.

19. Qg5! Nxf3+ 20. gxf3 Qh3 21. Bf4! Qxf3 22. Nd2 f6. Reluctantly, but the Queen had no good squares. 23. Qxg6+ hxg6 24. Nxf3 Bg4 25. Nd2. White dominates the board, and what follows is quite predictable, as well as 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)’s clockwork technique.

25. ... Be2. 25. ... Rad8 26. Ne3 makes little difference, since Black has hardly anything better than 26. ... Be2 whereupon would follow 27. Kf2 Bd3 28. Rg1 Kf7 29. Nec4 with overwhelming advantage for White. 26. Kf2 Bd3 27. Ne1 c4 28. Bxd6 Rfe8 29. Nxd3 cxd3 30. Bc7! Kf7 31. Ra3 Rac8 32. d6 Ke6 33. Rxd3 Kd7 34. Nc4 Rxc7 35. Nb6+! 1 : 0.

Against most odds, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), if only in extremis, showed up to play at his best. Photo © Lennart Ootes.

Yes, Edna, it happens rather often that, when a teacher is brilliant, to say it euphemistically, students forget that they’re hearing an extraterrestrial language

Artwork © Sarah Scott

蝴蝶效應 (Butterfly effect)

They said, they said, they say. But only the holy vision of the goddess, who is over all, can enlighten your eyes and guide you into the truth. So don’t miss four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s and Chinese-Dutch Grandmaster 彭肇勤 (Péng Zhàoqín)’s commentary in Chinese on the thiteenth round of the Candidates Tournament! Screenshot from the live stream.

Behind the Scenes

Kirill Alexeyevich Alekseenko – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
Candidates Tournament 2020–21; Yekaterinburg, April 26, 2021
Giuoco Piano C54

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. 0-0 0-0 7. h3 h6 8. Re1 a5 9. b3!? Bb6 10. Nbd2 Be6 (10. ... Re8 11. Bb5 Bd7 12. Bb2 Ne7= Sethuraman – Cheparinov, 15th Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, Catalan Bay 2017) 11. Nf1 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Qc2 Qf6 14. Ng3 Qg6 15. Kh2 Rad8 16. Ba3 Rfe8 17. Nxe5 Nxe5 18. Rxe5 c6 19. Bxd5 Rxd5 20. Rxd5 Bxd5 21. c4 Be6 22. Re1 Rd8 23. Ne4 Bc7+ 24. Kh1 Qh5 25. Re3 Qe5 26. Ng3 Qa1+ 27. Kh2 Qf6!? 27. ... Be5 was a good, if not a better move, but they both do have a deeply personal reason not to snub a performance show in which there may be nothing at stake but the honour. 28. Bb2 Qg6 29. Kh1 Bb6 30. Rf3 Bc7 31. Bc3 b5 32. Qe2 bxc4 33. bxc4 a4 34. Qe3 Qg5 35. Qe1 Qg6 36. Qe3 Qg5 37. Qe1 Qg6 38. Qe2 a3 39. Bb4 Rb8 40. Qe1 Rd8 41. Qc3 h5 42. Bxa3 h4 43. Ne2 Bf5 44. Nd4

44. ... Be4? This is apparently a miscalculation. The same idea could be carried out with 44. ... Rb8! Δ 45. Rxf5 (not 45. Nxf5? on account of 45. ... Rb1+ 46. Bc1 Qg5 winning back the piece with interest) 45. ... c5! 46. Rxc5 Rb1+ 47. Bc1 Qxd3! 48. Qe1 Qe4! forcing a likely drawn Rook ending. 45. dxe4 Qxe4 46. Rd3 Be5

47. Bc5?? Completely overlooking Black’s reply and the attached threat of back-rank mate. Very strong was 47. Bb2! without fearing 47. ... c5 because of 48. Nf3! winning material. 47. ... Rb8!−+ 48. Bb4 (48. Rd1 Rb1 49. Qd2 Bf4−+) 48. ... Rxb4! 49. Qxb4 Qxd3 50. Nf3 Qf1+ 51. Ng1 Bd4! Just so. Instead, 51. ... Qxf2? 52. Qe7! was not clear at all. 52. Qb8+ Kh7 53. Qf4 Bxf2! The curtain falls as Black’s king escapes from checks on the Queenside. 54. Qf5+ Kh6 55. Qf4+ Kg6 56. Qg4+ Kf6 57. Qf4+ Ke6 58. Qe4+ Kd6 59. Qf4+ Kc5 60. Qe5+ Kxc4 61. Qe4+ Kb5 0 : 1.

One could well guess that, given the circumstances, the most interesting game of the day would be played backstage. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili/Russian Chess Federation.

A Journey Back to Now

In the end, realpolitik triumphed. Anish Giri fell apart against Alexander Igorevich Grischuk, while Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi, by virtue of a draw with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, entitled himself — with a round to spare — as Magnus Carlsen’s challenger for the World Championship match. And then all they have to do is to live happily ever after, especially because just today FIDE President Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich announced that PJSC Gazprom will fund the most of the world’s mass events for the triennium 2021-2023. And so good luck to the newly challenger! Photo © Lennart Ootes.

Yeah, Edna, the more they get nervous, the more they quote each other and themselves

Artwork © Kai (@inkcross)

One Day

As a consequence of COVID-19 pandemic, also this year most Liberation Day celebrations in Italy were moved online. Offline people, however, taking advantage of the quasi-yellow Sunday, did not forget to lay flowers at monuments and tombstones in memory of the women and men who fought to free the country from fascism.

Yeah, Edna, guess they’re getting nervous, waiting for you to show the public why they can’t live without you

Artwork © My WIP account! 💞💞💞 (@angels_bizarre_wips_)

Star Wars

The only light on the board is one polka dot among million of stars in the universe, so don’t miss four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s and Chinese-Dutch Grandmaster 彭肇勤 (Péng Zhàoqín)’s commentary in Chinese on the twelfth round of the Candidates Tournament! Screenshot from the live stream.

Times Two

Fabiano Caruana – Anish Giri
Candidates Tournament 2020–21; Yekaterinburg, April 24, 2021
4q1k1/Q4pp1/3p4/3P2p1/r4n2/P4B2/6PP/5R1K w - - 1 36

Position after 35. ... Rc4-a4

Caruana, who today could neither afford to lose nor to draw, showed little or nothing against Giri’s Sicilian Defence, and, after 35 moves, he felt like it was time that he let the Champ know who is and who isn’t challenging the throne. 36. Qf2? Just one word, like “no”. Otherwise, White would have played, somehow for something, 36. Qc7! Rxa3 37. h4! (in which case 37. ... Ng6 38. hxg5 Ra4 is okay for Black). 36. ... Rxa3 37. h4 Qe5! Of course, with the White Queen on c7, this move would not be so strong because of Qc7-d8+ followed by Qd8xg5. 38. hxg5 Qxg5 39. Re1 Ra8 40. Be4

40. ... Ra2. 40. ... f5! transposes to the game. 41. Rb1 (41. Bb1 Qh5+ 42. Kg1 Ne2+−+) 41. ... Ra8 42. Re1 f5! 43. Bb1 Kf7 44. Re3 Rh8+ 45. Kg1 Nxg2! 0 : 1.

“Given that he was in a must-win situation, it was a big letdown for him. It’s hard when you play a position where you have to defend and you are in a must-win. You don’t have any enthusiasm whatsoever”, Giri eventually said. Photo © Lennart Ootes.

Between Two Trees

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Kirill Alexeyevich Alekseenko
Candidates Tournament 2020–21; Yekaterinburg, April 24, 2021
Caro-Kann Defence B12

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3. The Fantasy Variation. 3. ... dxe4 4. fxe4 e5 5. Nf3 Bg4 (5. ... exd4 6. Bc4→) 6. c3! A finesse which was raised to theoretical dignity by four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). White postpones Bf1-c4 for one move in order to first defend the d4-Pawn, waiting for Black’s reply before making a decision about whether c4 or d3 is the better square for the Bishop. 6. ... Nf6. If, instead, 6. ... Nd7 then 7. Bd3! Bd6 8. 0-0 Ngf6 9. h3 Bh5 10. Nbd2 0-0 11. Nc4 Qc7 12. Qc2 Bg6 13. Bg5⩲ Rfe8 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Nh4 Kh8 16. Kh1 Rg8 (16. ... exd4!? 17. cxd4 Rad8) 17. Ne3 Rae8 18. Ng4 exd4 19. cxd4 c5? (19. ... Bf4 20. Rf3±) 20. Nxg6+! fxg6 (20. ... hxg6 21. e5+−) 21. Bb5!+− Rgf8 22. dxc5 Be7 23. b4 a6 24. Ba4 b5 25. Bb3 Ne5 26. Ne3 Nc6 27. Nd5 Qe5 28. a4 Bd8 29. axb5 axb5 30. Qd3 Qxe4 31. Qxb5 Nd4 32. Qc4 Re5 33. Rae1 Qxe1 34. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 35. Kh2 Re4 36. Qd3 f5 37. Qc3 Bh4 38. Bc2 Be1 39. Qa1 Rh4 40. Qxe1 1 : 0 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Danielian, FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2011–12, 1st stage, Rostov-on-Don 2011. 7. Bc4. Threat: Bc4xf7+.

7. ... Qc7?! Of course 7. ... Nxe4? 8. Bxf7+! plays into White’s dreams, while 7. ... Nbd7?! loses a Pawn to 8. Qb3! Bh5 9. Ng5 Qe7 10. Qxb7± Vega Gutiérrez – Tjølsen, 39th Women’s Chess Olympiad, Khanty-Mansiysk 2010. Comparatively best may be, as suggested by Grandmaster Nick de Firmian (Mechanics Institute Chess Club Newsletter #964, April 17, 2021), 7 ... Bh5 8. 0-0 Bd6 9. Bg5 Nbd7 10. Nbd2⩲ “with a small edge to White”. 8. dxe5 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Qxe5 10. Bf4± Qh5. The gain of the Pawn is not to be recommended, as after 10. ... Qxe4+? 11. Qxe4+ Nxe4 12. Nd2! White comes out with two powerful Bishops and an almost overwhelming development advantage. 11. Nd2 Nbd7 12. 0-0-0 Nb6 13. Bb3 Be7 14. Rhg1 Qxf3 15. gxf3 g6 16. Nc4 Nxc4 17. Bxc4 b5 18. Bb3

18. ... Nd7?! Black decides to sacrifice a Pawn in order to get rid of White’s Bishop pair. As such, it may have its points — the long-term consequences, however, shall not be encouraging to Black. 19. Bxf7+ Kxf7 20. Rxd7 Ke6 21. Rc7 Rhc8 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Be3 a5 24. Kd2 a4 25. f4 Rd8+ 26. Ke2 Rf8 27. Kf3 Rd8 28. Rc1 c5 29. c4 b4 30. Ke2

30. ... Rd7? Allowing the exchange of Rooks is a huge mistake, since in the resulting same coloured Bishop endgame White’s extra Pawn will obviously tell. 31. Rd1 Rxd1. There is no reasonable way to avoid the exchange, since 31. ... Rb7 32. Rd5 leaves White dominating the board. 32. Kxd1. The transmission of the moves was temporarily interrupted due to a “blackout”, with any suspense, however, with regard to the result, as the winning technique is relatively simple. Reportedly, the game ended as follows: 32. ... Bf8 33. Kc2 Be7 34. b3 a3 35. Kd3 Bf8 36. Bf2 Be7 37. Ke3 Bd8 38. Kf3 Be7 39. Kg4 h5+ 40. Kf3 Bf8 41. Kh4 Bd6 42. e5 Bc7 43. Ke4 Ba5 44. Bg5 Bb6 45. Bh6 1 : 0.

One thing is sure: Vachier-Lagrave will leave no stone unturned in his quest for challenge. Photo © Lennart Ootes.

Well, Edna, I won’t be so naïve to tell you who will be the first ever designer to showcase her collections on the Mars runway

Artwork © kawaii._.psycho (@kawaii._.psycho)

Lullaby

It is quite natural for you to take a nap when everyone else is up and about. Photo: Matilde Guerri.

The Mystical Presence

Even though half asleep, a true goddess will never deny to those who blindly believe in her the gift of her presence. So don’t miss four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s and Chinese-Dutch Grandmaster 彭肇勤 (Péng Zhàoqín)’s commentary in Chinese on the eleventh round of the Candidates Tournament! Screenshot from the live stream.

Among the Hidden

Anish Giri – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
Candidates Tournament 2020–21; Yekaterinburg, April 23, 2021
Spanish Game C85

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. d3 Bd6 8. Nbd2 Be6 9. Nb3 Qe7!? Here 9. ... a5 9. Qe1 a4 10. Na5 Qb8 seems quite good for Black, although he then went astray and ended up badly: 11. b4 Bg4 12. Nh4 0-0 13. Nc4 Be6 14. Nxd6 cxd6 15. f4 exf4 16. Bxf4 Re8 17. a3 Nh5 18. Bd2 d5 19. Qe2 Nf6 20. Rxf6 gxf6 21. Rf1 dxe4 22. Bc3 Qd6 23. Bxf6 h6 24. Qh5 Kh7 25. Nf5 Qf8 26. dxe4 Rad8 27. Rf4 Rd2 28. Rg4 Rd1+ 29. Kf2 Rd2+ 30. Ke1 Rxc2 31. Bg7 1 : 0 Domínguez Pérez – Aronian, 5th Grand Chess Tour, 4th stage, Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, Saint Louis 2019 (time control: 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move). 10. Na5 0-0-0 11. Qe2 Bg4 12. c3 c5 13. a3 c6 14. b4 Bc7 15. Nb3 Nd7 16. h3 Bh5 17. Be3

17. ... f5! A brilliant Pawn sacrifice to open files on the Kingside. 18. Bxc5 Qf7 19. Rab1 g5 20. exf5 g4? It’s not always rough ways to make smooth. Probably best was 20. ... Qxf5 21. Qe4 Qf7! Δ 22. Nxg5 Qf6 with excellent compensation for the two Pawn minus. 21. Ng5! Qxf5 22. h4! b6?! Of course White also stands much better after 22. ... Rhe8 23. Ne4, but at least it would have avoided indulging in further self-defeating moves.

23. Ne4! The Bishop immolates itself with cathartic effect. 23. ... bxc5 24. bxc5 Nf6 25. Nd6+! White’s attack triumphs. 25. ... Bxd6 26. cxd6 Rxd6 27. d4! c5 28. Nxc5 Re8 29. Qc4! 1 : 0.

Once again Giri showed every sign of being in excellent shape. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili/Russian Chess Federation.

One Last Time

Alexander Igorevich Grischuk – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Candidates Tournament 2020–21; Yekaterinburg, April 23, 2021
3r1bk1/1p3p2/3q1P2/p3p1PR/P7/1P6/KBP1Q3/3r4 b - - 0 31

Position after 31. Rh1xh5

After surviving the vehement attack of Grischuk, who as usual handled his clock time very unprudently, Vachier-Lagrave must have felt, for the first time in the game, like nothing bad could happen anymore: 31. ... Rd4! 32. Rh1 (32. Bxd4 Qa3+ 33. Kb1 Rxd4=) 32. ... Rxa4+ 33. Kb1 Qd5. The mighty engines make it the same through a pyrotechnic variation: 33. ... Rh4! 34. Rxh4 Qd1+ 35. Qxd1 Rxd1+ 36. Ka2 Rd2 with a likely draw by repetition. 34. Qh5 Qxh1+ 35. Qxh1 Rg4 36. Bxe5

36. ... Rxg5? A grave oversight, probably due to nervous tension. Correct was 36. ... Re8! 37. Bc7 (or 37. Bc3 b6) 36. ... Bc5 with a perfectly playable game. 37. Qxb7! Rd2. Black suddenly realises that the Bishop is taboo, for if 37. ... Rxe5?? then 38. Qg2+ Kh7 39. Qh2+ winning the Rook. 38. Bc3 Re2 39. Qc8 Rg1+ 40. Kb2 Rgg2 41. Bxa5 Rxc2+ 42. Qxc2 Rxc2+. No better is 42. ... Ba3+ 43. Kb1 Rxc2 44. Kxc2 with a tablebase win, as Black’s King isn’t able to reach the b7-square; for instance: 44. ... Kf8 45. Kc3 Ke8 46. Bb4 Bc1 47. Kc4 Kd7 48. Kb5 Kc7 49. Ka6 and finis. 43. Kxc2 Kh7 44. Kd3 Kg6 45. Bc3 Kf5 46. Kc4 Ke6 47. b4 Bd6 48. b5 1 : 0.

After today’s setback Vachier-Lagrave will have to play all out in the next three games. Photo © Lennart Ootes.

Let It Be

Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi – Fabiano Caruana
Candidates Tournament 2020–21; Yekaterinburg, April 23, 2021
Four Knights Game C47

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3. Nepomniachtchi immediately makes it clear to his opponent that he would be satisfied with a draw. 3. ... Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 0-0 9. 0-0 Bg4!? Nevertheless, the “tabiya” 9. ... cxd5 10. Bg5 c6 provides a high percentage of draws. 10. f3 Bh5 11. Bg5. Another way is 11. dxc6 Qd4+ 12. Kh1 Bxc3 13. bxc3 Qxc3 14. Bf4 Qxc6 15. Qd2 Bg6 16. Rac1 Rfd8 17. Rfe1 a5 18. Be5 Nd5 19. a3 Qa4 20. Bxg6 hxg6 21. Qd3 Rd7 22. h3 Rad8 23. Qb3 Qxb3 24. cxb3 Rb8 25. Rc5 Rxb3 26. Rxa5 f6 27. Bg3 Ne3 28. Bf4 Nc2 29. Rc1 Rxa3 30. Rxa3 Nxa3 31. Rxc7 ½ : ½ 余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī) – Aronian, 7th Norway Chess, Stavanger 2019. 11. ... Qd6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. dxc6!? Expectedly, Nepomniachtchi shows no interest in challenging Caruana’s mythical theoretical preparation, and keeps things as simple as possible. Known to theory was 13. Ne4 Qxb2 14. dxc6 Bg6 15. Kh1 Qd4 16. Qe2 Rfe8 17. Rad1 Qe5 18. Bc4 Rad8? (⌓ 18. ... Kh8 Δ ... f7-f5) 19. Rd7! Rxd7 20. cxd7 Rd8 21. Rd1 Kf8 22. c3 Ba3 23. Rd5 Qe7 24. Bb5 Bd6 25. c4! a6 26. Ba4 Bxe4 27. Qxe4 Qxe4 28. fxe4 f6 29. Ra5 Rb8 30. g3 1 : 0 余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī) – Mamedyarov, 7th Norway Chess, Stavanger 2019. 13. ... Bxc3 14. bxc3 Qxc3

15. Be4 Bg6 16. Qd7 Rad8 17. Qxc7 Qc5+ 18. Kh1 Bxe4 19. fxe4 Rc8 20. Qd7 Qxc6 21. Qxa7 Qxe4 22. Rfe1 Qxc2 23. a4 Qc5 24. Qxc5 Rxc5. Eventually an ending was reached which makes no exception at all to the old adage that “all Rook endgames are drawn”.

25. a5 Ra8 26. a6 h5 27. Reb1 Kh7 28. Rb6 Ra7 29. Kg1 Rc2 30. h3 f6 31. Ra3 Kg6 32. Kh2 h4 33. Ra1 Rc4 34. Kg1 Rc2 35. Ra4 Rd2 36. Rg4+ Kf7 37. Rxh4 Ra2 38. Rb7+ Rxb7 39. axb7 Rb2 40. Ra4 Rxb7 41. Kh2 ½ : ½.

Caruana and Nepomniachtchi, oblivious to the expectations of the public, eager for thrills and excitement, decided to let things as they were. Photo © Lennart Ootes.

Just a little patience, Edna, and you will finally know whether Martians have green or pink skin and whether they are immune to human viruses

Artwork © Rafunflaiz (@rafunflaiz)

Take to the Sky

Today, April 22 (Sol 18), NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter took to the Martian skies for the second time, just a few days after its first flight, which was made on April 19, and which was also the first ever powered, controlled flight on another world. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS.

Earth Day

Today was Earth Day and everywhere there were solemn speeches about the urgency to protect the environment. Hence, the best thing is to hope that tomorrow will be another day. Photo: Matilde Guerri.

Oh , yes, you should take a bit of time for yourself, Edna

Artwork © tailsthefoxlover715

龙井茶 (Dragon Well tea)

Despite her early rising and long hours of streaming, in the morning of Wednesday, April 21, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) appeared, fresh like a rose, to attend the inauguration of a new Training Base for Chinese Chess National Team in 杭州 (Hángzhōu), the capital of 浙江 (Zhèjiāng) that next year will host the 19th Asian Games. The inauguration, held at the 天元大厦 (Tiānyuán Building), was attended by a most influential circle of chess and non-chess personalities, including the incumbent Women’s World Champion 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn). Photos: Chinese Chess Association.