Random Notes

Yes, Edna, the days pass, and finally it is Saturday — or Sunday, if one does not wake up in enough time

Artwork © VainillaSketches (@vainillasketches)

Think Like a Cat

The sky over 上海 (Shànghǎi) as transcendental metaphor: in a city exhausted by a draconian month-long lockdown, a cat shelters from rain under an umbrella. Photo courtesy of 韓熣燦 (Hán Suīcàn).

Yeah, Edna, you’re so strong that you don’t even need to prove it

Artwork © Eric Lillieberg (@unicorn_wizard_369)

Plays One

Fabiano Caruana – Levon Grigori Aronian
1st American Cup — Championship Match; game 2; Saint Louis, April 28, 2022
English Opening A29

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Nd4 5. Bg2 Nxf3+ 6. Bxf3 Bc5 7. d3 0-0 8. 0-0 a5 9. Bg2 c6 10. Bd2 d6 11. a3 Be6 12. Qc2 h6 13. Na4 Ba7 14. c5 dxc5 15. Nxc5 Bxc5 16. Qxc5 Bd5 17. f3!? So much for the Bishop pair. 17. ... a4 18. e4 Nd7 19. Qe3 Bb3

20. f4! Qb6? The decision to exchange Queens was a responsible one, since it leaves White with a lasting advantage in the resulting simplified position. 21. Qxb6 Nxb6 22. Rac1 Rfd8 23. Rf3 Nd7 24. Bh3 Be6 25. Bxe6 fxe6 26. Kf2 c5 27. Ke2 b6 28. Bc3 Rac8 29. Rff1 Rf8. Here and on the next move, Black could still maintain material equality by exchanging Pawns on f4, but Aronian, hoping to set a blockade, decides instead to give up the Pawn, only to be disillusioned by an impressive technique display from Caruana. 30. Ke3 Rc7 31. fxe5 Rxf1 32. Rxf1 Nb8

33. d4! cxd4 34. Bxd4 Rc2 35. Rd1 Nc6 36. Bc3 Rxh2 37. Rd6 Na5 38. Kf3! Of course taking the e6-Pawn would have cost White his Rook after 38. ... Kf7. 38. ... Kf7 39. Rxb6 Nc4 40. Rb7+ Ke8 41. Rxg7 Nxb2 42. Bb4 Kd8 43. Re7 Nc4 44. Rxe6 h5

45. Bd6! h4 46. Rg6 Rh3 47. Rg8+ Kd7 48. Rg7+ Ke8 49. Rc7 Rxg3+ 50. Kf4 Nxd6 51. exd6 Rxa3 52. Kf5 Rg3 53. e5 1 : 0.

Back in Saint Louis to win the inaugual American Cup. Photo: Bryan Adams/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Nothing to Add

Alice Teresa Lee – Irina Borisivna Krush
1st American Cup — Women’s Championship Match; game 2; Saint Louis, April 28, 2022
Slav Defence D16

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 6. e3 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. exd4 Nc6 9. 0-0 Be7. A typical isolated Queen’s Pawn position, something analogous to a Queen’s Gambit Accepted where White has an extra tempo (a2-a4) which is more harmful than useful. 10. Re1 0-0 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bh4 b6 13. Rc1. In such a situation, an objective evaluation may also result in an early armistice: 13. Qd2 Bb7 ½ : ½ Cebalo – C. Horváth, 13th Croatian Team Chess Championship, Rabac 2004. 13. ... Bb7

14. Bf1?! An unpretentious move, strategically antithetical, which only aims at turning a must-win game into a fight of nerves and endurance. In a not-too-recent past, White carried out an artificial regrouping by 14. Bd3 Nb4 15. Bb1 Nh5 16. Re5, but after 16. ... Bxh4 17. Rxh5 g6! 18. Rb5 Nd5 Black neutralised and rejected every attacking thought his opponent had, Korobov – Papin, 10th Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2011. 14. ... Rc8 15. Bg3 Nb4 16. Ne5 Nfd5 17. Qb3 Bg5 18. Rcd1 Qe7 19. Nc4 Bf4 20. Nb5 Bxg3 21. hxg3 Ba8 22. Be2 Rfd8 23. Rc1 a6 24. Nc3. If 24. Nbd6?! then 24. ... Rc7 25. Ne4 Nf4 would get Black closer to her dreams. 24. ... Rc7 25. Red1 Rdc8 26. Ne5 Bb7 27. Bh5 g6 28. Bf3 Kg7 29. Rb1 h5 30. Ne2 a5

31. Rbc1. White did nothing, after all, and Krush contents herself with exchanging as many pieces as possible, thus heading for a draw that means the win for her. 31. ... Rxc1 32. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 33. Nxc1 Qc7 34. Ne2 Nf6 35. Bxb7 Qxb7 36. Qc4 Ng4 37. Nxg4 hxg4 38. Nc3 Nd5 39. Nxd5 Qxd5 40. Qxd5 exd5

The last ditch is a dead drawn King and Pawn ending. 41. Kf1 f5 42. Ke2 g5 43. f4 gxf3+ 44. Kxf3. With a last desperate hope for 44. ... g4+?? 45. Kf4 Kf6 46. b3 and Black is in zugzwang. But no. 44. ... Kf6 45. g4 f4 46. Ke2 Ke6 47. Kf3 Kf6 48. Ke2 Ke6 49. Kf3 Kf6 50. Ke2 ½ : ½.

Krush’s resilience proved to be an insurmountable disillusionment for her opponent. Photo: Crystal Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Ethically Correct

Russian Grandmaster Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin, who was banned by the International Chess Federation for 6 months because of his pro-Russia stance, announced the filing of a complaint against FIDE Director General Emil Davidovich Sutovsky charging him with abuses of power and of language. The object of the dispute is what Sutovsky said by phone to Russian prankster duo Vladimir Alexandrovich Kuznetsov and Aleksei Vladimirovich Stolyarov, a.k.a. Vovan and Lexus, who then, for Karjakin’s sake, shared footage of them fooling Herr Direktor into thinking he was speaking to the Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Vadym Markovich Gutzeit. Indeed, in the fictional conversation, Sutovsky said he hoped for a longer ban than six months, and that he is ready to resign his post if Karjakin should win his appeal. On the other hand, instead, it goes without saying that FIDE will dismiss Karjakin’s complaint against Sutovsky because, ethically speaking, it would be too unethical to render admissible as evidence a prank call.

Sure, Edna, no one can measure your greatness and no one can even think of taking the crown away from you

Artwork © izamar (@artbyizamar)

Interval

The Eighth Day of the Week

Irina Borisivna Krush – Alice Teresa Lee
1st American Cup — Women’s Championship Match; game 1; Saint Louis, April 27, 2022
English Opening A13

1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 a6 4. b3 d4 5. e3 c5 6. exd4 cxd4 7. Bg2 Nc6 8. 0-0 Bc5 (8. ... Nf6 9. d3 Be7 10. Na3 0-0 11. Qe2 Nd7 12. Nc2 e5 13. Rb1 a5 14. a3 Re8 15. Nd2 Bf8 ½ : ½ Contin – Lalić, 21st Bratto Chess Open, Castione della Presolana 2001) 9. d3

9. ... h6? An ugly move which weakens the light squares and the Pawn skeleton without providing anything in return. It is only the inexperience of youth that can have induced Lee to concede to her opponent — an eight-time U.S. Women’s Champion — such a big strategic advantage for the mere chimera of something messed up. Much better seems to be 9. ... Nf6 10. Ba3 Bxa3 11. Nxa3 0-0 with reasonable play. 10. Ba3 Bxa3 11. Nxa3 Nge7 12. Nc2 Qd6 13. Qd2 e5 14. b4

14. ... g5? The corollary to 9. ... h6 implies new weaknesses and nothing that resembles a counter-attack, but Black’s situation was already uncomfortable enough, since even a move like ... f7-f6 — which is in itself congruent — would lay bare the weakness of the light squares. 15. a4 Ng6 16. c5 Qc7 17. Na3 Be6 18. Qb2 0-0 19. Nd2

From a strategic standpoint, it is already a “cat and mouse” game, but Black’s next move makes it become a “big game”. 19. ... a5? Another impatient kick which hastens the collapse of the Queenside. On the other hand, White would maintain her manifest advantage against most plausible moves at Black’s disposal by means of Na3-c4. 20. Nb5 Qd7 21. bxa5 Rxa5 22. Nd6 Rb8. Clearly not 22. ... Rxc5?? on account of 23. Ne4 with the double threat of Ne4-f6+ and Ne4xc5. 23. Rfb1 Ra7. If 23. ... Nge7 there might follow 24. N2c4 Bxc4 25. Nxc4 Rxc5?! 26. Qa3 (or also 26. Qb6) winning the Exchange. 24. N2c4 Bxc4 25. Nxc4 Nce7. 25. .. Nge7 26. a5 is very discouraging, too. 26. Qb6. Also strong is 26. Qb5 Qxb5 (26. ... Qe6 27. c6+−) 27. Rxb5 and the b7-Pawn falls in a few moves. 26. .. Nc8 27. Qf6 Qe8 28. a5 Kh7 29. a6 Nf8 30. axb7 Rxa1 31. Rxa1 Ne7 32. Nd6

32. ... Qd7 33. Qxf7+ Kh8 34. Qf6+ Kg8 35. Qxe5 Nfg6 36. Qxd4 Kh7 37. Ra8 Nf4 38. Qe4+ Neg6 39. gxf4 1 : 0.

The mission has become (almost) impossible, but who knows? Photo: Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

But after all, Edna, no one knows what makes sense, including those who think they’re the smartest

Artwork © e1venbeauty

The Arts

Order No. 2 to the Army of Arts This is to you, well-fed baritones, from Adam to the present day shaking the dives called theatres with the groans of Romeo and Juliet or some such child’s play. To you, maitres painters fattening like ponies, guzzling and guffawing salt of the earth, secluded in your studios, forever spawning flowers and girlflesh for all you are worth. To you, fig-leaf-camouflaged mystics, foreheads dug over with furrows sublime, futuristic, imagistic, acmeistic, stuck tight in the cobwebs of rhyme. To you, who abandoned smooth haircuts for matted, slick shoes for bast clogs a-la-russki, proletcultists sewing your patches on the faded frock-coat of Alexander Pushkin. To you, dancing or playing the tune, now openly betraying, now sinning in secret, picturing the future as an opportune academic salary for every nitwit! I say to you, I, whether genius or not, working in ROSTA, abandoning trilles: quit your rot before you’re debunked with the butts of rilles! Quit it, forget and spit on rhymes, arias, roses, hearts and all other suchlike shit out of the arsenals of the arts. Whoever cares that “Ah, poor creature, how he loved, how his heart did bleed!” Master-craftsmen, not long-haired preachers, that is what we need. Hark! Locomotives groan, draughts through their floors and windows blow; “Give us coal from the Don, mechanics, fitters for the depot!” On every river, from source to mouth, with holes in their sides, river-boats too lie idle, dismally howling out: “Give us oil from Baku!” While we kill time, debating the innermost essence of life, “Give us new forms, we’re waiting!” everything seems to cry. We’re nobody’s fools till your lips come apart to stare, expectant, like cows chewing cud. Comrades, wake up, give us new art to haul the Republic out of the mud! Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky, 1921 English translation by Dorian Rottenberg

River Delta, 2018. Photo © Jeffrey Conley.

Wow, Edna, what a sublime pleasure it must be, to say no to one who has just spent $44 billion to buy a yes

Artwork © レン🥑 (@sleepyhum4n)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Of course, Edna, nothing is more chic than taking a cup of coffee from the vending machine in a laundromat

Artwork © Sammontz

Tick Tack

Fabiano Caruana – Leinier Domínguez Pérez
1st American Cup — Champions Bracket; match game 1; Saint Louis, April 24, 2022
English Opening A33

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. g3 Qb6 7. Ndb5 Ne5 8. Bf4 Nfg4 9. e3 a6 10. h3 axb5 11. hxg4 Nxc4 12. g5!? A powerful novelty by Caruana, who is clearly fighting for something more than 12. Qb3 d5= Giri – Vachier-Lagrave, 6th Grand Chess Tour, 3rd stage, Blitz Tournament, Zagreb 2021 (time control: 5 minutes plus 2 seconds per move). 12. ... d5 13. a4 bxa4 14. Bxc4 dxc4 15. Rxa4 Rxa4 16. Qxa4+ Qc6 17. Qxc6+ bxc6 18. Be5 Ke7 19. Ne4 Bb7

20. Rh4 (20. Nf6!?) 20. .. Ke8 21. Nd2 h6 22. Nxc4 Ba6 23. Nd6+ Bxd6 24. Bxd6 Bb5 25. Be5 Kf8 26. f3 Kg8

27. g6! fxg6 (27. ... f6?? 28. Rd4+−) 28. Rd4 g5 29. Rd8+ Kh7 30. Rd7 Rg8 31. Kf2 h5 32. e4 Kh6 33. Ke3 Kg6 34. b3 h4 35. g4 Kh7 36. Kf2 Kg6 37. Bc3 Kh7 38. Re7 Ra8 39. Rxg7+ Kh6 40. Bf6 Ra2+ 41. Ke3 e5! 42. Bxe5 h3 43. Rg8 c5 44. f4 gxf4+ 45. Kxf4 Rf2+ 46. Kg3 Re2 47. Kf3

47. ... Rd2? Domínguez Pérez had defended tooth and nail so far, but with almost no time on the clock he inevitably ends up slipping. Both 47. ... Rg2! 48. Rh8+ Kg6 49. Rxh3 Rg1 and 47. ... Re1! 48. g5+ Kh5 49. g6 h2! 50. Bxh2 Rb1 should draw. 48. g5+! And, of course, Caruana does not let slip his chance. 48. ... Kh5 49. Rh8+ Kg6 50. Rh6+! Kf7 51. g6+ Ke7 52. g7 Rg2 53. Rxh3 1 : 0.

Once again Caruana showed his deep theoretical preparation and his determination in pursuing his goals. Photo: Bryan Adams/Saint Louis Chess Club.

The Kaspersky Gambit

Not a day has passed since chess.com, the most popular and cosmopolitan chess platform in the world, was blacklisted and banned (in Russia) by Roskomnadzor, the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, that it is already time to resume the debate about who invented the radio first: Marconi or Popov. Thus 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov who, speaking with Sport-Express, heralded the arrival of a surrogate: “We’ll develop a chess portal of our own. Regardless of the fact that chess.com got blacklisted, two weeks ago we sealed an agreement with Kaspersky Lab for their company to become our provider, including for organising competitions and defining an information system”, he said. “Details will be disclosed at a press conference as soon as possible. I think by September the company will have already created a Russian chess platform, and we will not depend on anyone”.

Dragon Ball

Ioannis “Yanis” Varoufakis, Secretary-General of MeRA25 (European Realistic Disobedience Front) and former Greek Minister of Finance, will be one of the guests of honour of the “Commissione Du.Pre (Dubbio e Precauzione)” (“Doubt and Precaution Commission”) at a conference titled The government of pandemic and the war economy to be held in Milan, Italy on Saturday, May 7, 2022 10 P.M. with interventions, among others, by Mariano Bizzarri, Massimo Cacciari, Joseph Halevi, Ugo Mattei, and Nello Preterossi. For further details and information, click here.

Yeah, Edna, they already feel like old warmongers who will not know what to do with themselves in time of peace

Artwork © Simplo Creations (@simplocreations)

Alice in Wonderland

Tatev Abrahamyan – Alice Teresa Lee

1st American Cup — Women’s Champions Bracket; match game 2; Saint Louis, April 23, 2022

Sicilian Defence B33

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c4 b4 12. Nc2 0-0 (12. ... Rb8 13. Qd3 Bg5 14. g3 0-0 15. Bg2 Be6 16. 0-0 Bh6 17. Rfd1 Qd7 18. a3 b3 19. Ncb4 Nd4 20. Nxa6 Rbc8 21. Nab4 Rc5 22. Na6 ½ : ½ Tatai – Jongsma, 7th IBM–B International Tournament, Amsterdam 1967) 13. Qf3 Bg5 14. h4 Bh6 15. g4 f6 (15. ... Bf4 16. Nxf4 exf4 17. Qxf4 Ne5 18. Be2 Bxg4 19. Ne3 Be6 20. h5 f6 21. Rg1 Qe7 22. Qh4 Rae8 23. f4 Nc6 24. 0-0-0 b3 25. axb3 Rb8 26. Rg3 Rxb3 27. Rdg1 Kh8 28. Rxg7 Qxg7 29. Rxg7 Kxg7 30. Qg3+ Kh8 31. f5 Rg8 32. Qh4 Rg5 33. fxe6 1 : 0 Ponkratov – So, 8th Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2009) 16. Rg1 Qa5!? Likewise 16. ... Be6 17. Bd3 Ra7 18. Kf1 g6 19. Rd1 Kh8 20. Be2 Qa5 seems satisfactory for Black, Kantans – Shirov, 5th Vladimir Mikhailovich Petrov Memorial, Jūrmala 2016 (time control: 15 minutes plus 5 seconds per move). 17. b3 Qc5 18. Be2 Ra7 19. Qg3 g6 20. Rd1 Be6 21. Rh1 Nd4 22. Nxd4 exd4 23. Nxf6+!? It should be noted that there was no option for Abrahamyan other than to win, which explains much of her moves. Here she prefers a tricky petite combinaison rather than to pursue a binding strategy with 23. h5!? g5 (Black cannot allow the opening of the h-file) 24. Kf1 followed by Kf1-g2. 23. ... Rxf6 24. g5 Bxg5 25. hxg5 Rf8 26. f4

26. ... Re7! Lee suddenly reminds her opponent that the White King is still in the centre. 27. Rh4 Bd7 28. Qh2!? Objectively speaking, there was probably nothing better than 28. Qd3! Rfe8 29. Qxd4 Rxe4! liquidating to a very drawish endgame, but that was not enough for Abrahamyan. 28. ... Bc6 29. f5 Rxe4! 30. fxg6? White finally immolates herself in a last, desperate attempt to win. 30. Rxh7 was obviously called for, but after 30. ... Qe5 Black forces the exchange of Queens with at least equality.

30. ... Rxe2+! 31. Kxe2. 31. Qxe2 Re8−+ leads to the same result (if a little more prosaically). 31. ... Bf3+ 32. Ke1

32. ... Re8+? 32. ... Qxg5! wins on the spot, or, perhaps, did Lee want to offer a draw? 33. Kd2? No or don’t know. 33. Kf1! Bxd1 34. Qf4! hxg6 35. Rh8+! Kxh8 36. Qf6+ would have drawn by perpetual check. Abrahamyan is not given a second chance: 33. ... Re2+! 34. Qxe2 Qxg5+ 0 : 1.

A formidable score for the American teen prodigy as she continues her climb to the top. Photo: Austin Fuller/Saint Louis Chess Club.

The Long March

It does not matter whether you speak to Poe’s raven or a messenger pigeon, Edna — just never say “nevermore”!

Artwork © Ramachandran (@frozen_fire_art)

Blazing Saddles

Levon Grigori Aronian – Leinier Domínguez Pérez
1st American Cup — Champions Bracket; match game 1; Saint Louis, April 22, 2022
Russian Defence C42

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 0-0 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. 0-0-0 Nf6 10. Bd3. 10. h3 c5 11. Bf4 Be6 12. a3 d5 13. Ng5 Bd7 14. g4 Bc6 15. Bg2 Re8 looks fine for Black, Caruana – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 5th GRENKE Chess Classic, Baden-Baden 2018. 10. ... Re8 11. h4 d5 12. Ng5. The alternative is 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Qf4 Be6 15. g4 Qd6 16. Qxd6 cxd6 17. Rdg1 Kf8 18. Nd4 Bd7 19. g5 Bxd4 20. cxd4 h5 21. Kd2 g6 22. Re1 Rxe1 23. Rxe1 Re8 24. Rxe8+ Kxe8 25. f4 Bf5 26. Bxf5 gxf5 27. Kc3 Kd7 28. Kb4 Kc6 29. Ka5 Kc7 30. Kb5 Kd7 31. Ka5 Kc7 32. Kb5 Kd7 33. a3 Kc7 34. Ka5 Kc6 35. a4 Kd7 36. Kb4 Kc6 37. Ka5 Kd7 38. Kb5 Kc7 39. b3 Kd7 40. a5 Kc8 41. a6 Kc7 42. Ka4 b6 43. Kb5 Kd7 44. c3 Kc7 45. c4 dxc4 46. bxc4 Kd7 47. c5 bxc5 48. dxc5 d5 49. c6+ Kd6 50. c7 Kxc7 51. Kc5 d4 52. Kxd4 Kd6 53. Kc4 Kc6 54. Kd4 Kd6 55. Kc4 Kc6 56. Kd4 ½ : ½ 韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – 余泱漪 (Yú Yāngyī), 10th 海南 (Hǎinán) 儋州 (Dānzhōu) Super Grandmaster Chess Tournament, 儋州 (Dānzhōu) 2019. 12. ... h6 13. f3 c5. Not 13. ... hxg5? on account of 14. hxg5 Nd7 15. g4! with deadly threats. 14. Bb5!? The first new move of the game whereas theory gave 14. g4 Qa5 15. Kb1 c4 16. Be2 Bc5 17. Bxc5 Qxc5 18. Nh3 Qe3 19. Nf4 Qxd2 20. Rxd2 Re5 21. g5 Rf5 22. Rd4 hxg5 23. hxg5 Rxg5 24. Bxc4 Be6 25. Nxd5?? (the losing blunder) 25. ... Rxd5 26. Bxd5 Bxd5 27. Rdh4 Kf8 28. Rf1 Re8 29. c4 Bxf3 0 : 1 Borišek – Bogner, 43rd Chess Olympiad, Batumi 2018. 14. ... Bd7 15. Bxd7 Qxd7 16. Nh3 Rad8 17. Nf4 Bd6 18. Kb1 Qb5

19. Qc1? Presumably, here is the beginning of White’s calvary. Instead after 19. Rhe1! was still anyone’s game. 19. ... d4! 20. cxd4 c4! 21. g3. 21. g4 makes little or no difference, as Black continues as in the game: 21. ... c3! 22. b3 Qa5 23. Rde1 Ba3 24. Qd1 Rd6! 25. Bc1 Ra6 with powerful attack.

21. ... c3! Threat: ... Re8xe3. 22. b3 Qa5 23. Rde1 Ba3 24. Qd1

24. ... Rd6! 25. Bf2? This loses at once. Comparatively best was 25. Bc1 Ra6 leaving Black with his attack in hand, but not yet a forced mate. 25. ... Rxe1 26. Rxe1 Bb2! Threatening ... Qa5xa2+ followed by ... Rd6-a6+ and ... Ra6-a1#. 27. Qd3!? Naïvely hoping for 27. ... Qxa2+?? 28. Kxa2 Ra6+ 29. Qxa6! turning the tables. But no: 27. ... b5! Renewing the threat. 28. a4 Qb4! 0 : 1.

Domínguez Pérez finally defeated Aronian in a game which rushed straight from the opening to a mating attack. Photo © Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club.

Standstill

In an exclusive “chat” interview with Prasad Ramasubramanian for The Times of India of April 22, 2022, Norway’s World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen reiterated his indecisiveness regarding his will to defend the title next year: “I haven’t decided yet. I’m not 100% sure that I will play. What’s holding me back — at this point — is that I want to see how I feel when the Candidates tournament is going on. When that tournament finishes — how I feel at that point — will decide if I want to play”, he said. Among other issues, Carlsen also touched on the ongoing geopolitical conflict, suggesting — with regard to chess — a draft of compromise for a gentlemen’s agreement: “Personally, I have been trying to support Ukraine — financially as well. I feel we should encourage the Russians to take a stand against something that I don’t think a lot of them vouch for. I know that there are exceptions like Karjakin, but I think we should give Russian players the opportunity to take a stand and not just automatically ban them because of nationality”.

Of course, Edna, your wish is law — it’s even redundant talking about it!

Artwork © Jiuwell Sunzhou (@jiuwell.cloudart)

瑶族舞曲 (Dance of the Yáo People)

Eye of the Needle

A person in protective suit squeezes through a locked gate of a residential compound in 上海 (Shànghǎi), China. Photo: Andrew Galbraith/Reuters.

Well, Edna, when you hear someone who says “we are a team”, be quite sure that it is better for you to play alone

Artwork © Janet 🙋 (@blushhehe)

War of the Sixth Coalition

12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov has responded to the Swiss Minister of Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport, Viola Patricia Amherd, who called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to expel Russia and Belarus from the list of its members, exhorting her to study the history of her own country. “Just remind this Minister that, if not for Russia, she wouldn’t even be born in Switzerland. Switzerland as a state exists thanks to the intransigency of the Emperor of Russia Alexander I. After the Napoleonic Wars, Switzerland was to be torn apart by all its neighbours. Alexander I was the only one who defended their rights and insisted upon the creation of the state of Switzerland”, Karpov said in a conversation with RBC. “This was in 1814. I understand that the Swiss Minister of Sport does not know world history, but at least she ought to have studied her own country’s history. Then, perhaps, she would have deserved the post of Minister”.

The Ice Witch

A letter of complaint has been addressed to the Governor of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Dmitry Andreevich Artyukhov, on behalf of Yury Alekseevich Goryachkin, father and coach of three-time Russian Women’s Chess Champion and world’s woman No. 2 Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina. In particular, the author of the letter laments that Goryachkin is suffering from being “mobbed” and threatened with dismissal by the managing director of the Polar Chess School named after Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov in Salekhard. An excerpt was quoted by Yamal 1 news agency as saying, “Even balanced people may find it difficult to work with a tyrant boss and endure his unprofessional antics. [The school director] apparently thinks that his position and social status authorises him to humiliate the dignity of those who depend on him. If one disagrees with his policy, then one has to resign, whilst he is always ready to welcome ‘recommended’ people. Now, under the threat of dismissal, Yuri Alekseevich Goryachkin, labour veteran, Honoured Coach of Russia, 35 years of coaching experience — Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina’s coach”.

Oh no, there’s no reason to worry, Edna. They just want the flu to go on indefinitely and a lot more people fall sick and ill so their jobs will keep going

Artwork © Kira Read🌹 (@la_vie.art)

Just Saying

In an interview with VG (Verdens Gang), Norway’s World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has once again “threatened” not to defend his title anymore, but not for sure and if or not if means nothing more than “I will make that decision later. But if there are some who expect and hope that I shall say yes to playing, then I have to prepare them for a disappointment”, he said. In any event, Carlsen is not thinking of retiring, and is still on the top. His coach, Peter Heine Nielsen, is still in the family entourage. Unibet has renewed its sponsorship. Thus, whether it is a poker bluff or a threat stronger than its execution, one cannot but note that the timing of the shocking announcement is perfect to set new and high challenges — not necessarily only financial — before the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

Yeah, Edna, but Einstein said time is an illusion, so you should not worry too much about the clock

Artwork © michidibujando (@coucoushittyart)

The Thoughts of the Emperor

To quote Marcus Aurelius, “The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane”. Photo: Mado Flynn.

So happy Easter to you, Edna!

Courtesy of Heritage Auctions

AlphaGo

Come on, Edna, to quasi-quote Dylan, “there must be some kind of way outta there”

Artwork © Millie Espinoza E. 🍁🌼 (@millieespinoza)

Zero to One

Where Nowhere Begins

FIDE President Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich gave his second interview since the outbreak of the war, in Reykjavík to NRK journalists Oddvar Sagbakken Saanum and Christian Nitschke Smith, and he spoke about his tough reelection campaign between West and East. Indeed, due to circumstances beyond his control, Dvorkovich ended up being only one of the (too) many nemo propheta in patria, amidst the conflict (not only) of interest between FIDE and Chess Federation of Russia. Last month he shared his anti-war stance with an American magazine, which costed him dearly — politically as well as personally. By this time, he spoke through a Norwegian media outlet. “As FIDE President, I must find a way to unite people without taking a side”, he said. His problem is, however, that his fellow countrypeople are asking him — and even quite vehemently — to take a stand a little out of the Western “politically correct”. On the other hand, some of the Westerners who, whether pretendedly or not, acknowledge him as their President do not cease to ask him insistently for harsh reprisals and purges of Russian people. The ones and the others — although apparently antipodes — do wish him to be like Harlequin, servant of two masters. For him, “East or West, Home’s Best” is not a magic abracadabra since home is at war. And so, apparently, he has no other choice than staying where it is, in the alternate fictional world of FIDE. “As a Russian, I have to do it that way, I care about my country. I think there are ways to unite the world again”, he said. Quod cuncti gens una sumus.

Hey, Edna, beware of those who call themselves Einstein and are not

Photo © Héctor Azaña Tavara (@directedbyhector)

The East in the West

President of Chess Federation of Russia, Andrey Vasilievich Filatov, expressed full satisfaction at the unanimous vote by the Supervisory Board on his proposal to transfer the Chess Federation of Russia’s membership from the European Chess Union to the Asian Chess Federation. “We noted that not one single important competition has ever been held in Russia in 30 years. Now chess life has just come back to Asia, and our future is there. We technically agreed on the membership switch issue. The Asian Chess Federation’s Assembly will vote in favour of our joining in the very near future”, Filatov told Матч ТВ (Match TV). “It would be great if all companies operating in the sports sector, especially small and medium-sized businesses, were exempt from taxes”.

Oh, but be sure, Edna, one way or another, no matter whether Hollywood or Bollywood you — and you only — will be a star

Photo © disney Ally (@disney194342)

Asiatika

Asian Odyssey

On April 14, 2022, the Supervisory Board of Chess Federation of Russia unanimously voted in favour of the switch of the Chess Federation of Russia from the European Chess Union to the Asian Chess Federation. The transfer procedure will be initiated immediately, and it will take all the time it needs, for, as Albert Azarapetovich Stepanyan, one of the members of the Board, said to Матч ТВ (Match TV), “We still do not know what the deadlines are. I do not remember such a case before”.

State of exception and civil war

State of exception and civil war

Giorgio Agamben, (Intervention at the “Doubt and Precaution Commission”), Quodlibet, April 9, 2022

In a book published a few years ago, “Stasis: Civil War as a Political Paradigm”, I tried to show that in classical Greece the possibility — and I underline the term “possibility” — of civil war served as a threshold of politicisation between the oikos and the polis, without which political life would have been inconceivable. Without stasis — the rising of citizens up to the extreme form of dissent — the polis is no longer such. This constitutive link between stasis and politics was so inescapable that even for the thinker who seems to have based his conception of politics upon the exclusion of civil war, namely Hobbes, instead this remains virtually possible until the very end.
Thus the hypothesis that I would like to propose is that if we have reached the situation of absolute depoliticisation in which now we find ourselves, this is precisely because in the last few decades the very possibility of stasis has been progressively and completely excluded from political reflection, also through its surreptitious identification with terrorism. A society in which the possibility of civil war — i.e., of the extreme form of dissent — is excluded, is a society that cannot but slip into totalitarism. I call totalitarian a thought which does not contemplate the possibility of confronting itself with the extreme form of dissent — a thought, i.e., which only admits the possibility of consensus. And it is no coincidence that it is just through the constitution of consensus as the only criterion of politics that democracies, as history teaches, have fallen into totalitarianism.
As often happens, what has been removed from consciousness reappears in pathological forms and what is now happening around us is that oblivion and carelessness towards stasis go hand in hand — as Roman Schnur observed in one of the few serious studies on the matter — with the progress of a sort of world civil war. It is not just the fact, yet not to be neglected, that wars, as jurists and political scientists long ago noted, are no longer formally declared and, once transformed into police operations, acquire the characteristics that were usually attributed to civil wars. It’s crucial today that civil war, making system with the state of exception, like it transforms itself into an instrument of government policy.
If we analyse the decrees and orders enacted by governments in the last two years, it is clear that they are aimed at dividing people into two opposing groups, between which a sort of ineliminable conflict is posited. Infected and healthy, vaccinated and unvaccinated, with vaccine pass and without vaccine pass, socially integrated or socially excluded — in any case, unity amongst citizens, as happens in a civil war, fell away. What happened before our eyes without us realizing is, i.e., that the two limit forms of law and politics have been utilised without any scruples as normal forms of government. And while in classical Greece, stasis, insofar as it marked an interruption of political life, could not for any reason be hidden and turned into rule, now it becomes, like the state of exception, the paradigm par excellence of mankind’s government.

(English translation by I, Robot)

Theo van Doesburg, Dancers, 1916. Courtesy of WikiArt.