Better Late Than Sorry

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) announcing and advertising the call for the 2nd 江苏省 (Jiāngsū) Online National Fitness Games. The when and where are secondary details that can safely be left to exercise practitioners.

Into the Sky with Diamonds

Drones perform over the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre during a light show in Athens, Greece. Photo: Costas Baltas/Reuters.

Yeah, Edna, it’s incredible how many governments are concerned and think selflessly about their people’s physical and spiritual health

Artwork © Belén dlm (@bedelamo)

One Hour To Midnight

Chinese government issued new stringent measures banning under-18s from playing online video games during the school week. Under the new rules, they are only allowed to play for one hour a day (from 8 P.M. to 9 P.M.) on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays as well as on public holidays. Illustration courtesy of Trashcancomic.

Once Upon a Life

Take me, take me. Leave me, leave me. Wild beasts, men, shadows, suns, flowers, seas. Take me. Leave me. Miguel Hernández English translation by Michael Smith

Cinderella’s shoe is being transformed into the Holy Graal. Photo © Natasha Pszenicki.

Hot Pink

American rapper Doja Cat attends a Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda Show in Venice, Italy. Photo: Ciao Pix/Rex/Shutterstock.

Phlegethon

Well, Edna, now they know that their ephemeral existences are blessed and that yes, you are white and that you are black too

Artwork © Lesley Green (@orenbegins)

Words of Wisdom

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) did not attend the countdown ceremony for the 20th Sports Games of 江苏省 (Jiāngsū) — scheduled to take place next year in 泰州 (Tàizhōu) — which was being held in the 800 square meter studio of 泰州 (Tàizhōu) Radio and Television station as well as in outdoor venues all around the city on the evening of Saturday, August 28, 2021, but she delivered her blessing through a video message broadcast to an audience stunned into mystical contemplation. Photos: 凤城泰州网 (Fèngchéng Tàizhōu Network).

After all, Edna, meeting halfway is mostly a commonplace with some notable exceptions

Artwork © iusaura-art (@iusaura)

π

The 4th Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX (a.k.a. Fischerandom chess), scheduled in Saint Louis from September 7–10, 2021, announces itself as one of the strongest chess960 tournaments ever held due to its impressive ensemble casting — in alphabetical order: Levon Grigori Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Leinier Domínguez Pérez, Garry Kimovich Kasparov (13th World Champion), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Hikaru Nakamura, Samuel L. Shankland, Wesley So (1st Fischerandom World Champion), Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The format is a 9-round round-robin with time control 20 minutes plus 5 seconds per move. No spectator will be allowed due to local COVID-19 restrictions, but live coverage will be broadcasted on Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube Channel. For further details, click here.

March Onto Land

One of the Lake Titicaca frogs that has gone on display at the attraction as part of efforts to save the species from extinction at Chester Zoo in Upton by Chester, Chesire, England. Photo: Chester Zoo/PA.

Yeah, Edna, nonformal communication can take on in almost infinite forms

Artwork © S̳a̳n̳t̳a̳n̳a̳ A̳r̳t̳ (@santana.loveart)

Pizza Connection

Oxford alumnus and ex-Afghan Communication Minister Syed Ahmad Sadat sits with his gear as he works for the food delivery service Lieferando in Leipzig, Germany. Photo: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters.

Of course, Edna, the whole world is eagerly waiting to be moulded and shaped by your providence and grace

Artwork © haberdASHery (@haberdasherybyash)

Half a World Away

On Thursday, August 26, 2021, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) appeared as a guest in the educational talk show of CETV (China Education Television) Channel 1, and when asked she did not spare her advice on a variety of issues: “Play a ‘Chinese good move’ on the chessboard of the world”.

Saturday Evening

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) will be one of the honoured guests on the countdown ceremony for the 20th Sports Games of 江苏省 (Jiāngsū) — scheduled to take place next year in 泰州 (Tàizhōu) — which is to be held in hybrid form — both online and offline — in the 800 square meter studio of 泰州 (Tàizhōu) Radio and Television station as well as in outdoor venues all around the city on the evening of Saturday, August 28, 2021. The evening ceremony will be preceded by a press conference to be held at 10.30 A.M. of the same day at 泰州国际金陵大酒店 (Tàizhōu International Jīnlíng Hotel).

Yeah, Edna, there is still a hope that a llama will challenge humans and save them from themselves

Artwork © Beatzy | Custom wood art (@beaatzy)

Blazing the Trail

A llama called Winter, whose antibodies were used in the hunt for a treatment for COVID-19, enjoys rest and leisure in a private art and animal park in Genk, Belgium. Photo: Johanna Geron/Reuters.

Modern Times

Paulette Goddard and Charlie Chaplin filming Modern Times. The film was partly inspired by a conversation between Chaplin and Mahatma Gandhi in which they discussed modern technology. Photo: Roy Export Company Establishment.

Thy will be done, Edna, but yet you could regret that there is nothing to cover the seven dwarfs with

Artwork © Delanie Whibley (@_delanieillustrations_)

A Taste of The Invisible

Nael al-Barghouthi’s suit is still hanging in his bedroom in the village of Kobar, north of Ramallah in the West Bank. Al-Barghouthi’s wife, Iman Nafi, keeps all her husband’s clothing and belongings in the house. Al-Barghouthi was arrested after an anti-Israel operation in 1978. He was released in 2011, married Iman Nafi, but re-arrested in 2014 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He has spent more than 40 years in prison — the longest-serving Palestinian inmate in Israeli jails. Photo © Antonio Faccilongo.

No, Edna, it makes no sense to argue with people who order you to get off a train that hurtles at 100 miles per hour

Artwork © Ducktástiko (@ducktastiko)

Just a Few Lines

That’s just how Clarice Benini introduced herself on the stage of the Women’s World Chess Championship 1949–50:

In 1937 I participated in the Women’s World Championship in Stockholm. As it is well known, Vera Menchik triumphed. I took second place. Among the participants at Stockholm also were Karff, Herman and Larsen, who are now playing in Moscow. In my opinion, the World Championship in Moscow is stronger than that in Stockholm, with the sole exception of Vera Menchik. I live in Florence, I work as a nurse in a hospital. I must say that in Italy very few women play chess. In 1938 and 1939 Italy held its first national Women’s Championships. Very few players took part in the inaugural Championship, and two of them barely knew how to move chessmen. If I had to answer the question, which other Italian female players could participate in the Moscow World Championship, I guess I’d say I do not know one. The arrival in Moscow made a huge impression on me. The Tournament was organised wonderfully. As for Moscow, it is a wonderful city! (From Kurier Szachowy, No. 4, May 2014, Vol. 1, p. 42)

Despite being warned by municipal authorities that she would be fired if only she dared to set foot in the Soviet Union, Clarice Benini undertook, at her own expense, the fifteen-day train trip to Moscow, just in time not to miss her last appearance in a World Championship.

On Railways Far Away

The picture above on the left shows Mayor of Amsterdam Gijs van Hall making the first move in the inaugural game between Fenny Heemskerck (left) and Clarice Benini (right) to mark the opening of the 2nd “Danlon” Women’s International Tournament (Amsterdam, October 17–22, 1957). Photo: Erich Koch (from de Volkskrant of Friday, October 18, 1957, p. II). Courtesy of Delpher.

Letters to the Editor

• The Mail | The New Yorker, The New Yorker, August 23, 2021 (Published in the print edition of the August 30, 2021 issue)

QUEENS OF THE BOARD Louisa Thomas’s piece on the chess champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) highlights the unending comparison between female and male intelligence (“Queenside”, August 2nd). From my perspective as a therapist in training, it seems that the obstacles that female chess players confront have much to do with the weight of a psychological phenomenon called “stereotype threat” — a situational predicament in which people feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to negative stereotypes of their social group. Studies have shown that stereotype-threat conditions, such as a standardized test of one’s intellectual ability, can result in measurable deficits in performance. In the presence of the limiting notions — expressed by both female chess players and their male competitors — about women’s “physical endurance” and their “nature”, it is not surprising that female players may begin to feel doubt and anxiety, or that, as Thomas mentions, “many girls drop away from the more competitive tracks of the game when they reach high school”. I applaud women like 侯 (Hóu) who beat on against the current, but I also support the players who choose to explore other avenues for their talents. Gabriella Hiatt Warren, Conn.

Of course, Edna, rehearsals are kindly tailored to your whims, whether you are in a good mood or not

Photo © Dollicious 😋 (@dollicious_doll)

From East to West

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) will play third board for the Chinese team in the 2nd Online Chess Olympiad which is being held online at chess.com from August 20 to September 15, 2021, under the patronage and sponsorship of 深圳市龙岗区文化广电旅游体育局 (Shēnzhèn Lónggǎng District Culture Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau), 深圳北理莫斯科大学 (Shēnzhèn MSU-BIT University), 深圳棋院 (Shēnzhèn Chess Academy), 深圳鹏城国际象棋俱乐部 (Shēnzhèn Péngchéng Chess Club) and “SIMA-LAND”. More precisely, the acclaimed Queen is going to make her début either soon after or concurrently with the start of the Top Division — from September 8 onwards.

No matter what year it is, the pluri-awarded Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) continues to be a pillar of the Chinese national team.

Yes, Edna, it does feel like making a subscription contract to watch the same horror movie over and over again

Artwork © Alice Kim (@alice_seoyoung_kim)

Miss Good Evening

重返大海 (Back to the Sea)

范冰冰 (Fàn Bīngbīng) for The New York Times Travel Magazine China August 2021 issue. Coming home to her birth city of 青岛 (Qīngdǎo), 山东省 (Shāndōng province), China. Photos: 姜南 (Jiāng Nán).

That’s very strange, Edna — they claim to be men of science, but yet they can’t believe a cure is even possible

Artwork © ❀ᴀᴇʀʏ❀ (@aery.kawaii)

Hippocrates: The Return

• Richard Adams, UK regulator approves “first of its kind” Covid antibody treatment, The Guardian, August 20, 2021

The treatment — produced by Regeneron and the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche — uses artificial monoclonal antibodies that mimic natural antibodies produced by bodies to ward off infections. [Read more].

The Long, Hot Summer

Banksy’s crabs on the East Prom on Cromer Beach, Norfolk, England. From A Great British Spraycation (summer 2021). Courtesy of the artist.

Yes, Edna, just another proof of the truthfulness of Alda Merini’s words, “It’s not the mad but the sane who do harm”

Artwork © TonyX | Artist (@tonyx_draw)

NOF4

The madhouse of Volterra is a former psychiatric hospital in the city of Volterra, Tuscany, Italy. Founded in 1887, the hospital was renowned for its harsh treatment of inmates, and finally shut down in 1979 after the coming into effect of the Basaglia Law. Today it is known as a spontaneous museum, featuring in its pavilions the artworks, both literary and pictorial, of its over 6,000 mental patients. The cycle of hieroglyphs scratched into the 180-metre-long courtyard walls by former patient Fernando Nannetti (a.k.a. NOF4) is today universally regarded as a masterpiece of outsider art. Photo: Patrick Faugeras.

Yes, Edna, one must live as if life is eternal and, in case it does not work, does rely upon afterlife in paradise as a B plan

Artwork © AMIGURUMIS | Crochê (@reliquiasdocroche)

Long Way Back

After last year’s online-only celebration, the 4th Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX (a.k.a. Fischerandom chess) is back in Saint Louis, where a 10-player round-robin, featuring the world’s top Grandmasters including 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov, will be held from September 7–10, 2021. The time control is 20 minutes plus 5 seconds per move, and the prize fund is $150,000. No spectator will be allowed due to local COVID-19 restrictions, but live coverage will be broadcasted on Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube Channel. For further details, click here.

Pink Paper

On August 6, 2021, the 江苏省体育局 (Jiāngsū Provincial Sports Bureau) sent a congratulatory letter to the 泰州市人民政府 (Tàizhōu Municipal People’s Government) to express felicitations and thanks to the illustrious fellow citizen, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), who won the gold medal in the Women’s Individual Chess Championship at the 14th National Games of the People’s Republic of China which took place in 合肥 (Héféi), 安徽省 (Ānhuī province), China from July 21–29, 2021.

After Darwin

Well, you know, Edna, mankind always needed wars to solve issues of unemployment and social injustice, and finally, now there is the Eternal Enemy, the soulless entity which hides itself in the Greek alphabet — the virus. But be trustful — even though life has become a dystopia of inhuman oppression, everything’s gonna be alright in the end and democracy will triumph

Artwork © El #Arte 🎨de una #Piscis ♓ (@el.arte.deuna.piscis)

Attacking the King

A few days after being crowned cover girl of The New Yorker, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is also one of the cover stories of Italy’s Vanity Fair Issue Vol. 34-35 (September 1, 2021) with the headline and subheadline: “ATTACK TO THE KING / The story of 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), the true Chess Queen, a prodigy in a man’s world”. The 10-page article by Louisa Thomas, entitled “Living as a chess queen” (pp. 36-46 of the print edition), is an adapted translation of her original article published in the print edition of The New Yorker issue of August 2, 2021.

• Louisa Thomas, Vivere da regina degli scacchi, Vanity Fair Italia, August 23, 2021

Up and Down

A decorated concrete bomb shelter in the southern town of Sderot, Israel. Photo: Ariel Schalit/AP.

Well, Edna, maybe that’s why they pray you to bestow your blessing on their lives before they all get sick

Artwork © asherkearney

Threads That Bind

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 黃茜 (Huáng Qiàn)

14th National Games of the People’s Republic of China; Women’s Individual Chess Championship Final; time control: 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; 合肥 (Héféi), July 29, 2021

Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e6 7. g4 d5 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Bg2 Bb4 10. Ne2 Nxc3 11. Qxd8+ Kxd8 12. Nxc3 Kc7 13. Bd2 Nc6!? In a not-too-recent game, Black continued instead 13. ... Bd7 14. 0-0-0 Bc6 15. Bf4+ Kc8 16. Bxc6 Nxc6 17. Na4 Ba5 18. Be3 b5 19. Nc5 Rd8 20. Ne4 Rd7 21. Rxd7 Kxd7 22. Rd1+ Ke8 23. c4 bxc4 24. Nd6+ Kf8 25. Nxc4 Bc7 26. Bc5+ Ke8 27. Nd6+ Bxd6 28. Rxd6 Rc8 29. Kb1 Ne5 30. Bb4 Rc6 31. Rd1 f6 32. b3 Ng6 with a comfortable equality, 李超 (Lǐ Chāo) – 修德顺 (Xiū Déshùn), Asian Zone 3.5 Chess Championship, 北京 (Běijīng) 2009. But it’s likely that White could play better somewhere. 14. 0-0-0 Bd6? (⌓ 14. ... Rd8 15. a3 Bd6) 15. Be3 Be5 16. Na4! b5 17. Nc5 Bd6. Black wasted too many tempos with her Bishop and now has to jump through hoops to hold on a while longer.

18. Rxd6!? Very tempting, especially with such a time control, but, objectively speaking, the doubling of Rooks on the d-file was here much stronger. 18. ... Kxd6 19. Rd1+ Kc7 20. Bf4+ e5. And not 20. ... Kb6?? on account of 21. Rd6 Kxc5 22. Rxc6+ Kb4 (or 22. ... Kd4 23. Kd2 b4 24. c3+ followed by mate) 23. a3+ Ka5 24. Bc7+ Ka4 25. Rc4+! bxc4 26. Bc6#. 21. Bxe5+ Nxe5 22. Bxa8. At the end, White came out a Pawn ahead, but its weight in the resulting endgame is very small, if not negligible. 22. ... h5 23. f3 hxg4 24. hxg4 Rh3 25. Rf1 Rh2 26. Be4 a5 27. a3 g6 28. b4 axb4 29. axb4 Nc4 30. Bd3 Ne3 (⌓ 30. ... Nd2! 31. Re1 Nxf3 32. Re7+ Kd6 33. Rxf7 Bxg4 34. Rf4 Ne5 35. Bxb5 Bf5 36. Ba4⩲) 31. Re1 Nd5 32. Re4 Rf2 33. Rd4 Ne7 34. Bxb5 Rxf3 35. Bd7 Nc6 36. Bxc6 Kxc6 37. Nd3 Kc7 38. Kd2 f6

39. c4 (⌓ 39. Nf4!) 39. ... Rg3 40. Nf2 f5 41. gxf5 Bxf5 42. c5 Kc6 43. Nd1 Rg2+ 44. Ke3 Rc2 45. Rd6+ Kb5 46. Rb6+ Kc4? The losing move, undoubtedly due to time trouble. ⌓ 46. ... Ka4! was the right play, with a strong probability of a draw. 47. Kf4+− Rf2+?? 48. Nxf2 1–0.

Yes, Edna, it’s paradoxical that the ones who thought the Titanic was unsinkable were the ones to be called to the lifeboats first at the expense of the poor people who traveled third class

Artwork © Sebra (@sebra_drawing)

The Vaccinator Strikes Back

One of Banksy’s new murals, featuring a rodent sipping a cocktail in a deckchair, has been vandalised just hours after it appeared on a wall at North Beach, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England. A spokeswoman for the East Suffolk Council said: “We are naturally appalled that someone has chosen to damage one of the pieces of Banksy artwork in Lowestoft in such a selfish and mindless way. We are, however, hopeful that this particular work can be restored, and are engaging with specialists”. Photo above courtesy of Faye Luoise Stone. Photo below courtesy of Julian Tallis/Getty Images.

Royal Portrait in Hollywood

Louisa Thomas, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and the Wait for Chess’s First Woman World Champion, The New Yorker, July 26, 2021 (Published in the print edition of the August 2, 2021 issue with the headline “Queenside”, pp. 28-33). Photo © 李文嘉（Amiko Lǐ）for The New Yorker.