Love Conquers All

The stage is set, the die is cast: the 44th Chess Olympiad will take place next summer in Chennai, India, but Russia and Belarus shall be cut off as a war reprisal, or as a punishment over the Russo–Ukrainian war. Such an unprecedented and unilateral conventio ad excludendum is aimed at holding unguilty people responsible for what their government is doing and, like all reprisals, it is as unjust as any war is horrible. But as they say, all’s fair in love and war. Thus at present the only curiosity is — what will the Russian chess community do? A new world chess association? A counter-Olympiad? A Women’s World Chess Championship Match of the Millennium? A “battle-of-sexes” showdown? A mixed classical/contemporary format? Whatever it is, may it be a peaceful summer.

Wanda Koop, Untitled (Red), 2009. Courtesy of WikiArt.