Artwork © Hollie (@glittergeek87)
Monday, February 28, 2022
Cryptography in the Database
For one who regards that “competing with top males is talent and opportunity”, her preferential participation in not for women only tournaments is both a challenge and a display of self-confidence. Reasons are not lacking: her career was both brilliant and precocious. She gave much, and she can give much more if she wants to continue devoting her innate talent to a game that, as it is to this day, designates her as one of the lines of a magic staff, and one in which she shares a sublime music with Vera Frantsevna Menchik, Nona Terentevna Gaprindashvili, Maia Grigorievna Chiburdanidze and Judit Polgár, as 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) has already become, and by far, one of the five best female players in the history of the noble game. [Read more]. |
A star in the database: 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: ChessBase.com.
The Parting of the Sea
But as they say, what goes around comes around. And so all those Ukrainians who jump the queue of different coloured people, get through the Shehyni–Medyka border crossing, and take at least one day and one night to get Calais on their way to Albion,
are being denied entry to UK as an indirect consequence of new visa policies aimed at reducing as much as possible an Ukrainian diaspora to Britain. Welcome in the old Europe. |
Willy Stöwer, Titanic Sinking, 1912. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The War of the Poor
Not only Indian students, but also Africans and Asians are facing racial discrimination in Ukraine, as they are prevented from exiting the country through the border with Poland by Ukrainian police and paramilitary groups, who continually send differently coloured people off to the back of the queue to the shout of “Ukrainians first”. Welcome to the new Europe. |
Ivan Alekseevich Vladimirov, In the queue for bread. First World War, before 1947. Courtesy of WikiArt. |
Sunday, February 27, 2022
Lockdowns on Trial
Indian physician and International Master of chess Anwesh Upadhyaya shared with the The Indian Express his fears and apprehensions at being stuck in his apartment alone in Kyiv (Kiev), Ukraine, where he is doing his apprenticeship as a gastroenterologist at one of the city hospitals. With the city under siege — and with a curfew being called until Monday — it is almost inevitable to fall prey to bad thoughts, although for now he still has enough to eat. “The Indian Embassy has asked people to stay indoors and not go out”, Upadhyaya said, in the hope that sooner or later they may “ensure a safe evacuation”, by a flight which he and many his compatriots are anxiously wishing. As for power and potable water supply, “so far everything is working fine by God’s grace”, he said. Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters. |
The Italian School of Journalism
A pestilential virus is haunting Europe — the virus of Italian journalism.
Out of Joint
The “Commissione Du.Pre (Dubbio e Precauzione)” (“Doubt and Precaution Commission”) will hold a conference Sunday, March 6, 2022 at the International University College of Turin, with two topics on the agenda: For a generational criticism of surveillance in the morning and To dissent necesse est in the afternoon. Among the conférenciers listed in the programme are Professors Giorgio Agamben, Mariano Bizzarri, Massimo Cacciari and Ugo Mattei. The conference will be broadcasted live on the Studenti Contro il Green Pass YouTube Channel. For further details and program, click here. |
Fernand Léger, Liberté, j’écris ton nom, 1953. Courtesy of WikiArt.
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Infinite loop
Ninna nanna della guerra Ninna nanna, nanna ninna, er pupetto vò la zinna: dormi, dormi, cocco bello, sennò chiamo Farfarello Farfarello e Gujermone che se mette a pecorone, Gujermone e Ceccopeppe che se regge co le zeppe, co le zeppe d’un impero mezzo giallo e mezzo nero. Ninna nanna, pija sonno ché se dormi nun vedrai tante infamie e tanti guai che succedeno ner monno fra le spade e li fucili de li popoli civili Ninna nanna, tu nun senti li sospiri e li lamenti de la gente che se scanna per un matto che commanna; che se scanna e che s’ammazza a vantaggio de la razza o a vantaggio d’una fede per un Dio che nun se vede, ma che serve da riparo ar Sovrano macellaro. Ché quer covo d’assassini che c’insanguina la terra sa benone che la guerra è un gran giro de quatrini che prepara le risorse pe li ladri de le Borse. Fa la ninna, cocco bello, finché dura sto macello: fa la ninna, ché domani rivedremo li sovrani che se scambieno la stima boni amichi come prima. So cuggini e fra parenti nun se fanno comprimenti: torneranno più cordiali li rapporti personali. E riuniti fra de loro senza l’ombra d’un rimorso, ce faranno un ber discorso su la Pace e sul Lavoro pe quer popolo cojone risparmiato dar cannone! Lullaby of War Lullaby, lullaby, the baby wants titty: just be quiet, get to sleep, otherwise I call Farfarello Farfarello and Gujermone who is only another sheep in the herd, Gujermone and Ceccopeppe who does hold on to the wedges, the wedges of an empire half yellow and half black. Lullaby, close your eyes because if you sleep you will not see all the disgraces and troubles which befall in the world amongst swords and rifles of civilised peoples Lullaby, do not listen to the sighs and moans of people who slaughter each other in the name of a madman commander; people who kill and die for the sake of race or for the sake of a faith for an invisible god that serves as a shelter for the butcher king. Because that den of killers which causes our land to bleed knows all too well that the war is a great deal of money that prepares the resources for the thieves of the Bourses. Just be quiet, get to sleep, as long as this slaughter lasts: get to sleep, ’cause tomorrow we will see them kings again exchanging esteem and deference just as good friends as before. They are cousins and amongst relatives there’s no need for compliments: their personal relationships will come back more cordial than ever. And when they all will gather back together without the shadow of remorse, they will give us a beautiful speech about Peace and Work for all dumb people spared by the cannon! Trilussa, 1914 |
Between Scylla and Charybdis
War and Peace
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, February 23, 2021
We should take seriously the thesis, all too often repeated by governments, according to which humanity and nations are currently in a state of war. Needless to say, such a thesis serves to legitimise the state of exception with its drastic limitations on the freedom of movement and its absurd terminologies such as “curfew”, which are hard to justify otherwise. The bond that binds governmental powers to war is, however, more intimate and consubstantial. The fact is that war is something which they cannot in any way durably do without. In his novel Tolstoy opposes peace, where mankind more or less freely follows its desires, feelings and thoughts and which appears to him as the only reality, to the abstraction and mystification of war, where all seems to be dragged by an inexorable necessity. And in his fresco in the Palazzo Pubblico at Siena, Lorenzetti depicts a city at peace whose inhabitants move freely according their occupations and enjoyments, while in the foreground girls dance holding each other’s hands. Although the fresco is usually entitled Good Government, such a condition, woven as it is by small daily events of the common life and by the desires of each, is actually ungovernable for power in the long run. However much it may be subjected to limits and controls of any sorts, it in fact tends by its nature to escape calculations, plannings and rules — or, at least, this is what power secretly fears. This can also be expressed by saying that history, without which power is not ultimately conceivable, is strictly supportive with war, whereas life in peace is by definition without history. By entitling her novel La Storia (History), in which the story of some simple creatures is opposed to the wars and catastrophes that mark the pubic vicissitudes of the twentieth century, Elsa Morante had something like this in mind.
This is why powers that want to rule the world must sooner or later resort to war, no matter whether it be real or artfully simulated. And since in the state of peace human life tends to depart from any historical dimension, no wonder that governments tirelessly remind us that the war to the virus marks the beginning of a new historical epoch, in which nothing will be as before. And many among those who blindfold themselves not to see the situation of unfreedom where they have fallen, they just accept it because they are convinced, not without a touch of pride, that they are entering — after almost seventy years of peaceful life, i.e. without history — in a new era.
Although, as is all too obvious, it will be an epoch of servitude and sacrifices, in which all that makes life worth living will have to suffer mortifications and restrictions, they willingly submit to it, because they stolidly believe that in this way they found that meaning of life which they inadvertently lost in peace.
It is possible, however, that the war to the virus, which appeared to be an ideal device, far more adaptable to the needs of any governments and far more easy to manage than a true war, may get out of their hands, like any war. And, perhaps, at that point, if it is not too late, mankind will once again seek that ungovernable peace which it has so unwisely abandoned.
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, February 23, 2021
We should take seriously the thesis, all too often repeated by governments, according to which humanity and nations are currently in a state of war. Needless to say, such a thesis serves to legitimise the state of exception with its drastic limitations on the freedom of movement and its absurd terminologies such as “curfew”, which are hard to justify otherwise. The bond that binds governmental powers to war is, however, more intimate and consubstantial. The fact is that war is something which they cannot in any way durably do without. In his novel Tolstoy opposes peace, where mankind more or less freely follows its desires, feelings and thoughts and which appears to him as the only reality, to the abstraction and mystification of war, where all seems to be dragged by an inexorable necessity. And in his fresco in the Palazzo Pubblico at Siena, Lorenzetti depicts a city at peace whose inhabitants move freely according their occupations and enjoyments, while in the foreground girls dance holding each other’s hands. Although the fresco is usually entitled Good Government, such a condition, woven as it is by small daily events of the common life and by the desires of each, is actually ungovernable for power in the long run. However much it may be subjected to limits and controls of any sorts, it in fact tends by its nature to escape calculations, plannings and rules — or, at least, this is what power secretly fears. This can also be expressed by saying that history, without which power is not ultimately conceivable, is strictly supportive with war, whereas life in peace is by definition without history. By entitling her novel La Storia (History), in which the story of some simple creatures is opposed to the wars and catastrophes that mark the pubic vicissitudes of the twentieth century, Elsa Morante had something like this in mind.
This is why powers that want to rule the world must sooner or later resort to war, no matter whether it be real or artfully simulated. And since in the state of peace human life tends to depart from any historical dimension, no wonder that governments tirelessly remind us that the war to the virus marks the beginning of a new historical epoch, in which nothing will be as before. And many among those who blindfold themselves not to see the situation of unfreedom where they have fallen, they just accept it because they are convinced, not without a touch of pride, that they are entering — after almost seventy years of peaceful life, i.e. without history — in a new era.
Although, as is all too obvious, it will be an epoch of servitude and sacrifices, in which all that makes life worth living will have to suffer mortifications and restrictions, they willingly submit to it, because they stolidly believe that in this way they found that meaning of life which they inadvertently lost in peace.
It is possible, however, that the war to the virus, which appeared to be an ideal device, far more adaptable to the needs of any governments and far more easy to manage than a true war, may get out of their hands, like any war. And, perhaps, at that point, if it is not too late, mankind will once again seek that ungovernable peace which it has so unwisely abandoned.
(English translation by Nobody’s Perfect)
Detail from Allegory of Good Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, 1338–40. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. |
Friday, February 25, 2022
Teleportation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy’s face can be seen on a TV as it broadcasts CNN from a top room inside the White House in Washington, D.C., United States. Photo: Leah Millis/Reuters. |
The New Freedom to the New Normal
No one is more a slave than he who considers himself free without being so. |
The fairy tale cartoon-like “Teleport Art” of Thai artist Kantapon “Gongkan” Metheekul has recently gained momentum at home and abroad. Courtesy of the artist. |
Thursday, February 24, 2022
Hate Love
SAD WARS Sad wars if love is not the aim. Sad, sad. Sad weapons if they are not words. Sad, sad. Sad men if they did not die for love. Sad, sad. Miguel Hernández English translation by Ted Genoways |
Man Ray, A l’heure de l’observatoire, les amoureux (Observatory Time: The Lovers), 1934. Courtesy of Centre Pompidou, Paris. |
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
A Day in The Life of a Ghost
On Tuesday, February 8, 2022, philosophy’s Professor Davide Tutino marched into the Faculty of Engineering of the “Tor Vergata” University of Rome accompanied by a group of students without deliberately showing the so-called “green pass” as an act of peaceful civil disobedience. |
Before After
It took only three days for 卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì) to win the four days’ 2022 深圳 (Shēnzhèn) Grandmaster Chess Match against four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), who graciously agreed with the organisers and sponsors not to play tomorrow, thus sparing herself the obligation of staging a last gladiatorial game. But in spite of defeat, good can still be achieved. It was indeed the first classical chess performance of 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) in nearly two years, which means that she, at the modest price of 8.2 Elo points, conserved and confirmed the first place in the women’s world ranking list, about 40 points ahead of Russian Grandmaster Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina. It is no small thing for an University Professor who now devotes most of her time to teaching and/or to preparation for teaching. As for the match, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) expressed her regret of having made big mistakes in the last throes of the first two games, which otherwise should have been drawable. But as the clock ticked everything happened in a flash. On the other hand, “卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì)’s endgame technique is, grossly speaking, better than mine”, she said. |
Priority inversion
卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
2022 深圳 (Shēnzhèn) Grandmaster Chess Match game 3; 深圳 (Shēnzhèn), February 23, 2022
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 0-0 7. Qc2 Bd6 8. c5. The more reserved 8. h3 has also its merits: 8. ... dxc4 9. Bxc4 e5 10. 0-0 a6 11. a3 Bd7 12. Rd1 h6 13. b4 Qe7 14. d5!⩲ with a space advantage for White, Mamedyarov – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2016. 8. ... Be7 9. Bb5. Forget it not: 9. a3 a5 10. Bb5 Nb8 (10. ... Bd7 11. Rb1 b6 transposes into the Kurajica – Vl. Kovačević game mentioned below) 11. 0-0 b6 12. c6 Ba6 13. Bd2 Ne8 14. a4 Nd6 15. Ne5 Qe8 16. Rac1 Ra7 17. Rfe1 f6 18. Nd3 Bc8 19. Qb3 with a powerful bind, 王玥 (Wáng Yuè) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 7th 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament “人民网 (People’s Daily Online) Cup”, 儋州 (Dānzhōu) 2016. 9. ... Bd7 10. a3 a5 11. Rb1 Qe8!? A novelty by 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Vintage theory reads 11. ... b6 12. b4 axb4 13. axb4 bxc5 14. bxc5 Rb8 15. 0-0 Ng4? (⌓ 15. ... Na5) 16. h3 Nh6 16. e4! with great advantage to White. Kurajica – Vl. Kovačević, Zonal Tournament 1.2b, Zagreb 1993. 12. Bd3. 12. b4? Nxb4! was the point behind Black’s previous move. 12. ... a4!? 13. 0-0. If 13. Nxa4?! then 13. ... Nxd4! regaining the Pawn with interest. 13. ... b6 14. cxb6 cxb6 15. Ne5. White is perhaps too hasty. Also considering the position of Black’s Queen, probably it would have been better to play 15. Re1 aiming for e3–e4. 15. ... Nxe5 16. dxe5
16. ... Ne4! Black sacrifices a Pawn to stretch her piece play and two Bishops to its maximum potential. 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Bxe4 Rc8 19. Qd1. Of course taking the Pawn would cost the Bishop. 19. ... Bc6 20. Qf3 Bxe4 21. Qxe4 Qb5 22. Bd2 Qb3 23. Bc3
23. ... Bxa3. The beginning of a semi-forced liquidation to a virtually drawn Rook ending. 24. bxa3 Qxc3 25. Qxa4 Ra8 26. Qd4 Qxd4 27. exd4 Rfd8 28. Rfd1 Rxa3 29. Rxb6 Ra5 30. f4
30. ... g5! 31. fxg5 Rxe5 32. Rb8 Rxb8 33. dxe5 Rb4 ½ : ½.
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
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So in a way it may be a good omen that the Studenti Contro il Green Pass collective has begun featuring chess in its campaign publicity, which in the above picture is ostensibly inspired by Martin’s big words: “It is not the violence of the few that scares me. It is the silence of the many”. Photo: Studenti Contro il Green Pass (@StudControilGP). |
And Yet...
Seasonally speaking, it is still winter, yet there are spring blossoms already. Photo: Mado Flynn. |
Day After Night
侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – 卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì)
2022 深圳 (Shēnzhèn) Grandmaster Chess Match game 2; 深圳 (Shēnzhèn), February 22, 2022
Giuoco Piano C54
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. 0-0 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 h6 7. Re1 0-0 8. h3 a5. The alternative is 8. ... a6 9. a4 Ba7 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. Nf1 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Nxe3 d5 15. Qc2 Qd7 16. Rad1 Rd8= M. O. Muzychuk – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), Lviv 2016, Women’s World Chess Championship match game 1. 9. a4 Be6 10. Bxe6. It’s not the easiest decision to make, but perhaps 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) still had bad memories about 10. Na3 Bxa3 11. Bxe6 Bxb2 12. Bxf7+ Rxf7 13. Bxb2 Qd7 14. c4 Raf8 15. Nh4 Kh7 16. f4!? exf4 17. d4 Re8 18. Qb1 Kg8 19. Nf3 Rfe7 20. d5 Ne5 21. Bxe5 Rxe5! 22. Nxe5 Rxe5 23. Qxb7 f3! 24. Qb3 fxg2 25. Qf3 Qe8 26. Ra2 Nxe4 27. Rae2 Ng5 28. Qg4? (28. Qxg2 Nxh3+ 29. Kh2 Ng5∞) 28. ... Rxe2! 29. Rxe2 Qxe2! 30. Qxe2 Nxh3+ 31. Kh2 g1=Q+ 32. Kxh3 Kh7 33. Qd2 h5 34. Qxa5 Qh1+ 35. Kg3 h4+ 36. Kf4 Qh2+ 37. Kf5 Qe5+ 38. Kg4 Qg3+ 39. Kf5 h3 0 : 1 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Caruana, 3rd Isle of Man International Chess Tournament, Douglas 2016. 10. ... fxe6 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Rxe3 Qe8 13. Nbd2 b6!? A safe novelty, by means of which Black thinks to elude the theoretical preparation of his opponent. After 13. ... Nh5 14. g3 Qf7 15. Qe2 Rad8 16. Nh4 d5 17. Rf1 Nf6 18. Qd1 d4 19. cxd4 exd4 20. Ree1 g5 21. Ng2 Qh5 22. Qxh5 Nxh5 forces are formally balanced but Black has the easier game, Praggnanandhaa – So, 31st Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez Ciudad de León, León 2018, Semifinal match game 4 (time control: 20 minutes plus 10 seconds per move). 14. d4 exd4 15. cxd4 Nb4 16. Rc1 Rc8 17. Qb3 Kh8 18. Rce1 Qf7 19. Nc4 Nd7 20. R1e2 Qh5. 20. ... e5!? 21. dxe5 Nc5 is also interesting. 21. Qd1 Rf4 22. Ne1 d5 23. exd5 Qxd5
24. Ne5 Nxe5. 24. ... Rxd4 was also possible, whereupon there might follow 25. Qb1 Nxe5 26. Rxe5 Rd1 27. Qg6 Qd3 28. Qxe6 Rf8= with equality. But Black apparently aims at more than that. 25. Rxe5 Qxd4 26. Qxd4 Rxd4 27. Rxe6 Na6 28. Nf3! A brilliant way of keeping control over her situation. White gives up a Pawn on the Queenside to mount an attack on the Kingside, which proves to be enough for equality. 28. ... Rxa4 29. Rg6 Kh7 30. Rg3 Rg8 31. Re7 Ra1+ 32. Kh2 Rf1
33. Nd4 Rxf2 34. Ne6 Kh8. 34. ... Nb4 35. Rxc7 Kh8 36. Nxg7 Nd5 merely transposes to the game. 35. Nxg7 Nb4 36. Rxc7 Nd5 37. Rd7! Nf4. Not 37. ... Rxb2? because of 38. Nh5! winning the Knight, since otherwise White plays 39. Rh7+! Kxh7 40. Nf6+ followed by mate. 38. b3 Rb2
39. Rf7? 39. Kh1!! was White’s very last chance of saving the game, for now if 39. ... Nxg2 there follows 40. Nh5 Rf2 (40. ... Rxg3?? 41. Nf6!! mates by force) 41. Rxg8+ Kxg8 42. Rg7+ Kf8 43. Rxg2 Rf5! 44. Ng3 Rf3 with a draw being very likely. 39. ... Nxg2!−+ 40. Kh1. Of course the Pawn ending would be lost, while in case of 40. Kg1 Black replies with 40. ... Nh4−+ anyway. 40. ... Nh4 41. Rg4 Rxb3 42. Rb7 (42. Rxh4 Rxg7−+) 42. ... Rxh3+ 43. Kg1 h5 0 : 1.
侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) has (very undeservedly) lost the first two games in her first physical classical match over two years, thus confirming what Anderssen said after his match with Morphy, that excellence, even the highest excellence, cannot be conserved in a glass casket, like a jewel, to be worn when desired, but on the contrary it can be cultivated only by a constant practice. On the other hand Morphy in a solemn speech said that “Chess has never been and never can be aught but a recreation. It should not be indulged it to the detriment of other and more serious avocations” — just such as her academic career. That being said, and the sin being expiated, there are still two games left, and the woman in the coat may still be able to flaunt her crown jewel, considering her physique du rôle and the great talent she possesses. Photo: 郑志鹏 (Zhèng Zhìpéng)/深圳晚报 (Shēnzhèn Evening News). |
Monday, February 21, 2022
The Great Humanity
Second-class citizens
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, July 16, 2021
As happens whenever a despotic emergency regime is established and constitutional guarantees are suspended, the result is, such as occurred to the Jews under fascism, the discrimination of a category of people, who automatically become second-class citizens. This is the aim of the creation of the so-called green pass. That it is a discrimination based on personal convictions rather than on an objective scientific certainty is proven by the fact that the debate about the safety and efficacy of vaccines is still ongoing in the scientific community, given that according to the opinion of doctors and scientists — that are worth being taken seriously — such vaccines were produced quickly and without adequate testing.
Despite this, those who stick to their free and well-founded conviction and refuse to get vaccinated will be excluded from social life. That the vaccine is thus transformed in a sort of political-religious symbol aimed at creating discrimination among citizens is evident in the irresponsible statement of a politician, who, referring to those who do not get vaccinated, said, apparently oblivious of his fascist jargon: “we will purge them with the green pass”. The “green card” constitutes those who do not have it in bearers of a virtual yellow star.
It is a fact whose political gravity could not be overstated. What does a country become by creating a discriminated class? How can one accept living together with second-class citizens? The need to discriminate is as ancient as society and forms of discrimination were certainly present also in our so-called democratic societies, but that these factual discriminations are sanctioned by law is a barbarism that we cannot accept.
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, July 16, 2021
As happens whenever a despotic emergency regime is established and constitutional guarantees are suspended, the result is, such as occurred to the Jews under fascism, the discrimination of a category of people, who automatically become second-class citizens. This is the aim of the creation of the so-called green pass. That it is a discrimination based on personal convictions rather than on an objective scientific certainty is proven by the fact that the debate about the safety and efficacy of vaccines is still ongoing in the scientific community, given that according to the opinion of doctors and scientists — that are worth being taken seriously — such vaccines were produced quickly and without adequate testing.
Despite this, those who stick to their free and well-founded conviction and refuse to get vaccinated will be excluded from social life. That the vaccine is thus transformed in a sort of political-religious symbol aimed at creating discrimination among citizens is evident in the irresponsible statement of a politician, who, referring to those who do not get vaccinated, said, apparently oblivious of his fascist jargon: “we will purge them with the green pass”. The “green card” constitutes those who do not have it in bearers of a virtual yellow star.
It is a fact whose political gravity could not be overstated. What does a country become by creating a discriminated class? How can one accept living together with second-class citizens? The need to discriminate is as ancient as society and forms of discrimination were certainly present also in our so-called democratic societies, but that these factual discriminations are sanctioned by law is a barbarism that we cannot accept.
(English translation by Nobody’s Perfect)
Enrico Baj, Kiss Me I’m Italian, 1972. Courtesy of WikiArt.
Four Days
卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
2022 深圳 (Shēnzhèn) Grandmaster Chess Match game 1; 深圳 (Shēnzhèn), February 21, 2022
Queen’s Gambit Declined D38
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4. Another line is 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 Nbd7 8. e3 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. Qb3 c5 11. Rc1 Qa5 12. Nd2 Nxg3 13. hxg3 cxd4 14. exd4 Nf6 15. Bd3 Be6 16. a3 Bxc3 17. Rxc3 Rc8 18. Rxc8+ Bxc8 19. Qb4 Qxb4 20. axb4 Ke7 21. Nb1 Bd7 22. Nc3 a6 23. f3 Kd6 24. Kf2 Ng8 25. Ra1 Ne7 26. Ra5 Rc8 27. g4 Rc6= 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2016. 6. ... Ne4. The transposition to the Exchange Variation of the Queen’s Gambit with 6. ... 0-0 7. Rc1 c6 8. e3 Bd6 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. Qc2 Re8 11. Bd3 Nbd7 12. 0-0 Nf8 13. h3 g6 14. Ne5 Nh5 15. Rfe1 Re7 16. Qa4 Nd7 17. Nf3 Ndf6 18. b4 left Black at the mercy of White’s minority attack in Svidler – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 80th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Hilversum 2018. 7. Rc1 Nc6
8. g3 Bf5 9. Qb3 a5 10. a4!? A providential improvement on 10. a3? a4! 11. Qa2 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Na5! which gave Black a crushing advantage in Glud – Hammer, 37th Politiken Cup, Helsingør 2015. 10. ... Bg4 11. Bg2 Bxf3 12. exf3
12. ... Nxd4!? An interesting tactical skirmish, by means of which Black manages to liquidate into a drawish endgame, though at the cost of a Pawn. 13. Qd1 Ne6 14.
fxe4 d4 15. 0-0 dxc3 16. bxc3 Nxf4 17. gxf4 Bc5 18. e5 Qxd1 19. Rfxd1 Rd8
20. Bxb7 Ke7 21. Be4 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1
22. ... Rb8. 22. ... Rd8!? 23. Rxd8 Kxd8 24. Bxh7 just leaves Black two Pawns down, but the Bishops of opposite colours could eventually save her. 23. Rd5 Bb6 24. Kf1 (24. Bxh7?! g6) 24. ... h6 25. Ke2
25. ... c6? This should lose. 25. ... f6 26. f5 Rd8 27. Rb5± was probably her best chance of holding the Pawn-down endgame. 26. Rd6 Bc7 27. Rd2? White now returns the courtesy. Apparently he overlooked that after 27. Rxc6+− Rb2+ 28. Kf3 Bb6 29. Bd3! the ending is hopeless for Black. 27. ... Rb6 28. Bf5 Bb8 29. h4 g6 30. Bg4 g5 31. Kf3 gxf4 Not 31. ... gxh4? on account of 32. Ke4 with an easy way for White. 32.
Rd7+ Ke8 33. e6 fxe6 34. Bxe6 c5 35. Bf5 Be5 36. Rd5 Bxc3 37. Rxc5 Rb3 38.
Kxf4 Bd2+ 39. Ke5 Bc3+ 40. Kd5 Be1 41. Rc2 Kf7 42. Re2 Bb4 43. h5 Ra3 44.
Bc2 Rf3 45. Bg6+ Kf8 46. Rc2 Rc3 47. Re2 Ra3 48. Bc2 Rh3 49. f4 Rxh5+ 50.
f5 Rh1 51. Re6 Rc1 52. Rc6 Kf7 53. Ke5 Ba3 54. Bb3+ Kf8 55. Rxh6 Bb2+ 56.
Kd6
56. ... Ba3+? An unfortunate slip which throws away the draw. Correct is 56. ... Rf1! 57. Ke6 Bg7 58. Rg6 Re1+ 59. Kd7 Rf1 60. Ra6 Bc3 and Black saves the day. 57. Kd7 Rc3. Now 57. ... Rf1?? runs into 58. Rg6! forcing mate. 58. Rf6+ Kg7 59. Rg6+ Kh7. 59. ... Kh8 might be a little better, but then after 60. Be6 Rf3 61. Ke8 Kh7 62. Kf7 sooner or later White should get what he wants anyway. 60. Bg8+ Kh8 61. f6 Re3 62.
Be6 Kh7 63. Bf5 Re5 64. Bb1 Rd5+ 65. Ke8 Re5+ 66. Kf7 1 : 0.
After almost two years of full-time university teaching experience, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) has come back to her throne again. Photos: 郑志鹏 (Zhèng Zhìpéng)/深圳晚报 (Shēnzhèn Evening News). |
Frankenstein
Communist capitalism
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, December 15, 2020
The capitalism that is being consolidated on a global scale is not capitalism in its Western form, but, rather, capitalism in its communist variation, which combines an extremely rapid development of production with a totalitarian political regime. This is the historical significance of the leading role that China is taking over not only in the economy in the strict sense, but also — as the political use of the pandemic has eloquently showed — like a paradigm of government. That the regimes established in the so-called communist countries were a particular form of capitalism, especially suited to economically backward countries and hence labelled as state capitalism, was perfectly well-known to anyone able to read history. What was entirely unexpected, however, was that this form of capitalism, apparently exhausted and obsolete, were instead destined to become — in a technologically updated layout — the dominant principle at this stage of global capitalism. In fact it is possible that we are now witnessing a conflict between Western capitalism, which used to coexist with the rule of law and bourgeois democracies, and the new communist capitalism, with the latter appearing to emerge victorious. But what is certain is that the new regime will merge the most inhumane side of capitalism with the worst of state communism, combining the extreme alienation of human relationships with an unprecedented social control.
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, December 15, 2020
The capitalism that is being consolidated on a global scale is not capitalism in its Western form, but, rather, capitalism in its communist variation, which combines an extremely rapid development of production with a totalitarian political regime. This is the historical significance of the leading role that China is taking over not only in the economy in the strict sense, but also — as the political use of the pandemic has eloquently showed — like a paradigm of government. That the regimes established in the so-called communist countries were a particular form of capitalism, especially suited to economically backward countries and hence labelled as state capitalism, was perfectly well-known to anyone able to read history. What was entirely unexpected, however, was that this form of capitalism, apparently exhausted and obsolete, were instead destined to become — in a technologically updated layout — the dominant principle at this stage of global capitalism. In fact it is possible that we are now witnessing a conflict between Western capitalism, which used to coexist with the rule of law and bourgeois democracies, and the new communist capitalism, with the latter appearing to emerge victorious. But what is certain is that the new regime will merge the most inhumane side of capitalism with the worst of state communism, combining the extreme alienation of human relationships with an unprecedented social control.
(English translation by Nobody’s Perfect)
František Kupka, Equality (Money), 1902. Courtesy of WikiArt.
Sunday, February 20, 2022
The Lost Painting
Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and world’s woman No. 1 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is to come back to classical chess! In fact she will play a four games’ inter-gender match against 卜祥志 (Bǔ Xiángzhì) which will be taking place at 南山博物馆 (Nánshān Museum) in 深圳 (Shēnzhèn), China from February 21–24, 2022, with classic time control: 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move. If the score is tied after four games, they’ll play two blitz games and, if still tied, an Armageddon tie-breaker. |
Qualis pater, talis filius
- The Editorial Board, Trudeau’s Destructive “Emergency”, The Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2022
When former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked emergency powers in peacetime in 1970, he was accused of “using a sledgehammer to crack a peanut”. Fifty-two years later, his son, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has repeated the mistake. [Read more]. |
Raphael, Deliverance of Saint Peter, 1514. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Half note
Stockfish – Pedone
Top Chess Engine Championship Season 19 — FRC2 Semileague 1; tcec-chess.com, November 19, 2020
rkqnbnrb/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RKQNBNRB w GAga - 0 1
Position #715
1. d4 d5 2. g4 g5 3. e3 e6. Holding on to the symmetry as long as possible, but 3. ... Bc6 also came into consideration, in order to reply to 4. c4 with 4. ... dxc4 5. Bxc6 Nxc6 6. Qxc4 Qe8 followed by a-side castling (... 0-0-0). 4. c4 f6 (4. ... dxc4!? 5. Qxc4 Nd7) 5. a3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 h5?! The immediate ... Nf8-d7-b6 seems more to the point. 7. h3 hxg4 8. hxg4
8. ... Nf7? 8. ... Nd7 was still Black’s best play and probably the last opportunity of coordinating its development plans; after 9. Nc3 Nb6 10. Qb3 a5 11. Ng3 Bg7 12. 0-0-0 Bf8 13. Kb1 Nc6 White stands better but Black has its fighting chances (14. d5 Nb4!?). 9. Ba5! Nd6 10. Qb3! Nd7 11. Nc3 Nb6 12. Bb4 Qd7?!
13. Bxd6! cxd6 14. a4 Bg6+ 15. e4 0-0-0. 15. ... d5 is equally met by 16. Ne3 with a crushing bind — moreover, White can still castle on both wings. 16. Ne3 Kb8 17. a5 Na8. 17. ... Nc8 does not make much difference as after 18. Ra4 d5 19. Ka2 White’s attack develops easily and smoothly. 18. Ra4 Nc7 19. a6 b6 20. Nc4 Na8. After 20. ... Nd5 21. Nxd5 exd5 22. Nxb6! everything falls apart. 21. d5! Rc8 22. Rd1 e5 23. Na5 Bf7 24. Bf3 Nc7 25. Be2 Ka8 26. Rc1 Be8 27. Rb4 Qd8 28. Na4. Threatening to take on b6 either with the Rook or with the Knight. 28. ... Bxa4 29. Qxa4 Qe8
30. Qb3! Rg7. Or 30. ... bxa5 31. Rb7+− with the threat of 32. Rxa7+ Kxa7 33. Qb7# 31. Rbc4 Rh7 32. R4c3 Kb8 33. Bb5 Nxa6. Desperation, but if 33. ... Qf7 then 34. Qc4 forcing mate in a few moves. 34. Bxa6 Rc5 35. Rxc5 dxc5 36. d6 Rc7 37. Qd5 Qd7 38. Rd1 Rc8 39. Bxc8 Qxc8 40. d7 Qxd7 41. Qxd7 bxa5 42. Qe7 a4 43. Rd8# 1 : 0.
Saturday, February 19, 2022
Governing Without Consensus
The Invention of an Epidemic
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, February 26, 2020
As we face the frenetic, irrational, and unprovoked emergency measures adopted against a supposed epidemic, we should turn to the National Research Council (CNR). The CNR not only confirms that “an epidemic of SARS-CoV-2 is not present in Italy”, but that, in any case, “the infection, according to the epidemiological data available today for tens of thousands of cases, causes mild/moderate symptoms (a sort of influenza) in 80–90% of cases. Ten to fifteen per cent can develop pneumonia, but even then, the progress in most cases is benign. It is calculated that only four per cent of incidents need to be hospitalized in intensive care”.
If this is the case, why do the media and the authorities go out of their way to cultivate a climate of panic, establishing a state of exception which imposes severe limitations on mobility and suspends the normal functioning of life and work?
Two clues might explain this disproportionate response. Firstly, we are dealing with a growing tendency to trigger a state of exception as the standard paradigm of governance. The legislative decree immediately approved by the government “for public health and security reasons” resulted in an actual militarisation “of the municipalities and the areas where at least one person is positive and where the source of transmission is unknown, or in any instance where there is a case not ascribable to a person coming from an area already affected by the virus”.
Such a vague and indeterminate formula will allow for the rapid diffusion of the state of exception to all regions, given that other cases are bound to occur elsewhere.
Let us look at the severe limitations on freedom levied by the decree:
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, February 26, 2020
As we face the frenetic, irrational, and unprovoked emergency measures adopted against a supposed epidemic, we should turn to the National Research Council (CNR). The CNR not only confirms that “an epidemic of SARS-CoV-2 is not present in Italy”, but that, in any case, “the infection, according to the epidemiological data available today for tens of thousands of cases, causes mild/moderate symptoms (a sort of influenza) in 80–90% of cases. Ten to fifteen per cent can develop pneumonia, but even then, the progress in most cases is benign. It is calculated that only four per cent of incidents need to be hospitalized in intensive care”.
If this is the case, why do the media and the authorities go out of their way to cultivate a climate of panic, establishing a state of exception which imposes severe limitations on mobility and suspends the normal functioning of life and work?
Two clues might explain this disproportionate response. Firstly, we are dealing with a growing tendency to trigger a state of exception as the standard paradigm of governance. The legislative decree immediately approved by the government “for public health and security reasons” resulted in an actual militarisation “of the municipalities and the areas where at least one person is positive and where the source of transmission is unknown, or in any instance where there is a case not ascribable to a person coming from an area already affected by the virus”.
Such a vague and indeterminate formula will allow for the rapid diffusion of the state of exception to all regions, given that other cases are bound to occur elsewhere.
Let us look at the severe limitations on freedom levied by the decree:
- Prohibition on exiting the municipality or affected area for all individuals present there.
- Prohibition on accessing the municipality or affected area.
- Suspension of events or initiatives of any nature, and of any kind of assembly in a public or private space, even if of a cultural, recreational, athletic, or religious nature, and even if carried out in enclosed spaces open to the public.
- Suspension of childcare services and closure of every school, as well as suspension of attendance for academic activities and higher education, unless these educational activities are carried out remotely.
- Closure of museums and other cultural institutions and places listed in Article 101 of the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape (see the legislative decree no. 42 of 22 January 2004), as well as suspension of open and free admission to those institutions and places.
- Suspension of any educational trips on national or international territory.
- Suspension of open competitive exams and closure of state offices, except for the supply of essential services and for public utility.
- Application of quarantine measures, with active surveillance of individuals who have been in close contact with confirmed cases of the disease.
This disproportionate response to something the CNR considers to be a normal flu, not too dissimilar to the ones that recur every year, is absurd. We could argue that, once terrorism ceased to exist as a cause for measures of exception, the invention of an epidemic offers the ideal pretext for widening them beyond all known limits.
Secondly, and no less disquietingly, we have to consider the state of precarity and fear that has been in recent years systematically cultivated in people's minds — a state which has resulted in a natural propensity for mass panic, for which an epidemic offers the ideal pretext. We could say that a massive wave of fear caused by a microscopic parasite is traversing humanity, and that the world’s rulers guide and orient it towards their own ends. Limitations on freedom are thus being willingly accepted, in a perverse and vicious cycle, in the name of a desire for security — a desire that has been generated by the same governments that are now intervening to satisfy it.
Secondly, and no less disquietingly, we have to consider the state of precarity and fear that has been in recent years systematically cultivated in people's minds — a state which has resulted in a natural propensity for mass panic, for which an epidemic offers the ideal pretext. We could say that a massive wave of fear caused by a microscopic parasite is traversing humanity, and that the world’s rulers guide and orient it towards their own ends. Limitations on freedom are thus being willingly accepted, in a perverse and vicious cycle, in the name of a desire for security — a desire that has been generated by the same governments that are now intervening to satisfy it.
(English translation by Valeria Dani)
Vincent van Gogh, Prisoners’ Round (after Gustave Doré), 1890. Courtesy of WikiArt. |
Untitled
Pio d’Emilia, GiapponeGiappone, March 29, 2005
TOKYO — I can’t believe it, now he pisses against the airport wall, in front of everyone. And so they arrest him again. Fischer is before us, free at last. In seeing the firing squad of local journalists and photographers, he makes a gesture of anger (“Where the fuck were you all these months? Assholes!”, he yells at them) and approaches the building. His long denim shirt spares us the vision of the backside, but his breeches are down, lower and lower. The Icelandic ambassador, who escorted him in his diplomatic car to avoid bad surprises, puts his hands in his hair, but he cannot hold back a laugh. And among the many local and foreign fans who flocked to the spot are people who applaud and cheer him on. “Come on Bobby, show us your ass. Piss on the Empire!”. But Robert James Fischer, known as “Bobby”, is not certainly a fool. A little crazy, quite a bit paranoid, maybe. But definitely not a fool. No uniforms in sight (after the poor figure they cut in the affair, Japanese authorities have literally disappeared, as Fischer, from a dangerous terror suspect became a free Icelandic citizen — in theory he could even change his mind and not leave at once, and apparently he also gave a thought about it). But no one doubts that at the slightest hint of an infraction, the empire would react intransigently. “No, I did not want to piss — he explains to us in the airport lounge, just before leaving — I only wanted to settle down a bit, and put my fucking belt on. It had been eight months that I had to keep my breeches up. I lost 15 kilos, and those assholes took my belt off of me. They were afraid that I would commit suicide. Fuck it. Rather, I would have strangled them one by one, oh yes...”. Thus, Bobby pulls out a black belt from a plastic bag containing his personal belongings, he slowly slips it into his pants, he adjusts his shirt and gets back to the small committee that has come to greet him and wish him good luck. He hugs us one by one, from John Bosnitch, a Serbian colleague who immediately took his case to heart and with a couple of phone calls to opposition politicians managed to block instant deportation, which has already been agreed at high government levels, to Socialist parliamentarian Mizuho Fukushima, who first ridiculed the Japanese goverment with her interpellations, and then nailed it to its responsibilities, forcing it to respect the laws that exist even in a state with limited sovereignty like Japan. A strong hug to me too, il manifesto: after meeting him a couple of times in prison, Fischer asked to be able to follow, through our newspaper, the story of Giuliana Sgrena. Since then, we faxed him the front page every day, often receiving comments and requests for explanations on the meaning of the titles and satirical vignettes. “It is no accident” — he says to us on the fly — “Americans stop at nothing, they killed Allende, they kidnapped Milošević, they slaughtered, through their Israeli servants, thousands of Palestinians. Fortunately they’re also inept, once upon a time it was intelligent Jews going to govern, but now they are gone and the world is in the hands of a bunch of stupid motherfuckers. Like Bush, Koizumi and their criminal allies. Try them and hang them!”. He was like this even before he was “kidnapped” by the “yellow Jews”, as he says. After eight months of solitary confinement, it was quite unlikely that he would have improved. Who knows, maybe once in the heat of Icelandic ice he will want to play again. And maybe, once free again, he will end up following the advice of one of his Japanese supporters, author of this e-mail: “Dear Bobby, you are my myth, my maestro. You gave meaning to my life, first by making me passionate about classical chess, and then opening up new horizons for me with the genial Fischerandom chess. Now allow me to help you. Give up your Western ego, embrace oriental philosophy, Buddhism. The bigger your ego, the longer and harder the suffering. Do not fight against the world, of which you are an integral part, and accept instead all its contradictions. You’ll feel better. You’ll see”. I asked him if he had read it: “I have it here with me, in this folder. I have received thousands of e-mails — but indeed I have kept this one”. Miyoko Watai, President of Japan Chess Association and his betrothed bride, moved and happy, pulls him away, after a short but voracious stop at the duty free shop to rummage among the latest electronic gadgets. “I did not think my country could sink to such a level of inhumanity. And frankly, I am seriously thinking that I’ll never set foot in here again”. Fischer too, we guess. But you never know.
TOKYO — I can’t believe it, now he pisses against the airport wall, in front of everyone. And so they arrest him again. Fischer is before us, free at last. In seeing the firing squad of local journalists and photographers, he makes a gesture of anger (“Where the fuck were you all these months? Assholes!”, he yells at them) and approaches the building. His long denim shirt spares us the vision of the backside, but his breeches are down, lower and lower. The Icelandic ambassador, who escorted him in his diplomatic car to avoid bad surprises, puts his hands in his hair, but he cannot hold back a laugh. And among the many local and foreign fans who flocked to the spot are people who applaud and cheer him on. “Come on Bobby, show us your ass. Piss on the Empire!”. But Robert James Fischer, known as “Bobby”, is not certainly a fool. A little crazy, quite a bit paranoid, maybe. But definitely not a fool. No uniforms in sight (after the poor figure they cut in the affair, Japanese authorities have literally disappeared, as Fischer, from a dangerous terror suspect became a free Icelandic citizen — in theory he could even change his mind and not leave at once, and apparently he also gave a thought about it). But no one doubts that at the slightest hint of an infraction, the empire would react intransigently. “No, I did not want to piss — he explains to us in the airport lounge, just before leaving — I only wanted to settle down a bit, and put my fucking belt on. It had been eight months that I had to keep my breeches up. I lost 15 kilos, and those assholes took my belt off of me. They were afraid that I would commit suicide. Fuck it. Rather, I would have strangled them one by one, oh yes...”. Thus, Bobby pulls out a black belt from a plastic bag containing his personal belongings, he slowly slips it into his pants, he adjusts his shirt and gets back to the small committee that has come to greet him and wish him good luck. He hugs us one by one, from John Bosnitch, a Serbian colleague who immediately took his case to heart and with a couple of phone calls to opposition politicians managed to block instant deportation, which has already been agreed at high government levels, to Socialist parliamentarian Mizuho Fukushima, who first ridiculed the Japanese goverment with her interpellations, and then nailed it to its responsibilities, forcing it to respect the laws that exist even in a state with limited sovereignty like Japan. A strong hug to me too, il manifesto: after meeting him a couple of times in prison, Fischer asked to be able to follow, through our newspaper, the story of Giuliana Sgrena. Since then, we faxed him the front page every day, often receiving comments and requests for explanations on the meaning of the titles and satirical vignettes. “It is no accident” — he says to us on the fly — “Americans stop at nothing, they killed Allende, they kidnapped Milošević, they slaughtered, through their Israeli servants, thousands of Palestinians. Fortunately they’re also inept, once upon a time it was intelligent Jews going to govern, but now they are gone and the world is in the hands of a bunch of stupid motherfuckers. Like Bush, Koizumi and their criminal allies. Try them and hang them!”. He was like this even before he was “kidnapped” by the “yellow Jews”, as he says. After eight months of solitary confinement, it was quite unlikely that he would have improved. Who knows, maybe once in the heat of Icelandic ice he will want to play again. And maybe, once free again, he will end up following the advice of one of his Japanese supporters, author of this e-mail: “Dear Bobby, you are my myth, my maestro. You gave meaning to my life, first by making me passionate about classical chess, and then opening up new horizons for me with the genial Fischerandom chess. Now allow me to help you. Give up your Western ego, embrace oriental philosophy, Buddhism. The bigger your ego, the longer and harder the suffering. Do not fight against the world, of which you are an integral part, and accept instead all its contradictions. You’ll feel better. You’ll see”. I asked him if he had read it: “I have it here with me, in this folder. I have received thousands of e-mails — but indeed I have kept this one”. Miyoko Watai, President of Japan Chess Association and his betrothed bride, moved and happy, pulls him away, after a short but voracious stop at the duty free shop to rummage among the latest electronic gadgets. “I did not think my country could sink to such a level of inhumanity. And frankly, I am seriously thinking that I’ll never set foot in here again”. Fischer too, we guess. But you never know.
Fischer, finally free, chats with Pio d’Emilia and John Bosnitch. Photo: Pio d’Emilia. |
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