Like Never and Ever

Daniele Vocaturo – Magnus Carlsen
44th Chess Olympiad; Mamallapuram, July 31, 2022
Caro-Kann Defence B13

“For Norway, it looked like Magnus (Carlsen) might do one of his usual things but in the end, Daniele Vocaturo held on to a fighting draw. Italy literally broke through on the two lower boards. I wouldn’t call it a big upset, though, as Italy won this match quite comfortably”, 15th World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand wrote in his recap of round three for Sportstar of July 31, 2022.

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 e6 6. Bf4 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. Nf3 Nge7 9. 0-0 Bd7

10. Re1. Or by transposition: 10. Nbd2 Ng6 11. Re1 Nf4 12. Bf1 0-0-0 (“He is more liable to a strong attack on this wing than on the other”) 13. b4 f6 14. Nb3 e5? (“An error that costs a Pawn”) 15. b5 Ne7 16. dxe5 fxe5 17. Nxe5 Rdf8 18. Nxd7 Qxd7 19. g3 Nfg6 20. Qd4 Kb8 21. Nc5 Qc8 22. Bg2 h5 23. h4 Rd8 24. Ne6 Rd6 25. Bh3 Qc4 26. Nxg7 Nxh4? (“Another worse blunder, costing a clear piece, but the game was lost anyhow, as White was two Pawns ahead already, and if 26. ... Qxb5 27. Rxe7 Nxe7 28. Nf5 and wins a piece. The game ceases to be of much interest after this and requires no further comment”) 27. Qxc4 dxc4 28. Rxe7 Nf3+ 29. Kg2 Ng5 30. Rae1 Rd2 31. R1e2 Rd3 32. Ne6 Nxh3 33. Kxh3 h4 34. Re3 hxg3 35. Kxg3 Rd2 36. a4 Rg8+ 37. Rg7 Re8 38. Nc5 Rxe3+ 39. fxe3 Rc2 40. Rxb7+ Ka8 41. Rc7 a6 42. b6 1 : 0 Weiss – Delmar, 6th American Chess Congress, New York 1889. Comments in quotation marks by Wilhelm Steinitz, “The Book of the Sixth American Chess Congress: Containing the Games of the International Chess Tournament Held at New York in 1889”, Committee of the Sixth American Chess Congress, New York, 1891, p. 81. 10. ... 0-0 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Qb6 13. Qb3 Qxb3 14. axb3 Rfd8 15. Na3 f6 16. Nc2 Nc6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bb5 Kf7 19. Bxc6 Bxc6 20. f4 a5 21. Re3 h5 22. Rae1 Bd7 23. Nd4 Ra6

The game is dead equal, but it is not yet time for dinner. 24. Kf2 b5 25. g3 Re8 26. h3 Rh8 27. Kg2 b4 28. Ra1 Re8 29. Rae1 a4 30. bxa4 Rxa4 31. R1e2 Ra2 32. cxb4. Vocaturo eventually won a Pawn, which, however, will prove quite meaningless. 32. ... Ra4 33. Nc2 Raa8. Probably simpler is 33. ... Ra2 34. Nd4 Ra4 repeating moves. 34. Kf2 Reb8 35. Ra3 Ke7 36. Rd2 Kd6 37. Ne3 Bc6 38. Nc4+ Ke7 39. Na5 Bd7 40. Nb3 Kd6 41. Nc5 Bc6 42. Re3 e5 43. Ne4+ Ke7 44. Nc5 e4 45. Rd4 f5 46. Ra3 Rg8 47. Rxa8 Bxa8. Of course Black Black could also retake with the Rook, as White has hardly anything better than 48. Nb3 Ba4 49. Nc5 Bc6 with a likely draw by repetition. But even thus and even so, that is, after retaking with the Bishop, Black’s blockade works perfectly well. 48. Na4 Kd6 49. Nc3 Bc6

50. Nd1 Bd7 51. Ne3 Be6 52. Rd2 Rb8 53. Nc2 Bd7 54. Ne3 Be6 55. Nc2 Bd7 56. Ne3 Ke5 ½ : ½.

As far as one may guess from his first two days at Four Points by Sheraton Mahabalipuram Resort & Convention Centre, Carlsen, newly retired from the World Championship 2023, is in India not to target the 2900 record rating, as most insiders thought, nor to maintain the status quo, as some spin doctors seemed to think. So what is at stake? Photo © Lennart Ootes.

They seem to ignore the fact that the choice of a format is the last of your thoughts, Edna

Artwork © Emily’s Art (@the.artist.empasta)

Lexicon

Speaking with the press yesterday, 15th World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, the deus ex machina of India chess boom, said that FIDE will likely revisit the format of the World Chess Championship, provided that the incumbent government remains in office — that is, if Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich will be re-elected for a second term and Anand himself will be appointed as his Deputy. Whether the announced changes will adequately address Magnus Carlsen’s requests, however, remains to be seen.

Seven Pagodas

Magnus Carlsen – Georg Meier
44th Chess Olympiad; Mamallapuram, July 30, 2022
French Defence C10

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. c3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 Nxe4 7. Bxe4 Nf6 8. Bc2 c5 9. Nf3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Bc5 11. 0-0 Bxd4 12. cxd4 b6. Of course Meier knows very well what he’s doing and where’s he’s going. In short, he would very happy to make a draw against the World Champion. The text is only a minor alternative route to 12. ... Bd7 13. a4 Bc6 that brought Meier the desired result after 14. Ra3 Nd5 15. Qg4 g6 16. Bh6 Qe7 17. Bg5 f6 18. Re1 0-0-0 19. Bd2 Rhe8 20. Rh3 Rd7 21. Qg3 Red8 22. Bb3 Nc7 23. Bc3 Bd5 24. Bc2 Na6 25. Bd3 Nb4 26. Bxb4 Qxb4 27. Rc1+ Bc6 28. Rxc6+ bxc6 29. Ba6+ Rb7 30. Qe3 Qxd4 31. Qxe6+ Qd7 32. Bxb7+ Kxb7 ½ : ½ 李瑞峰 (Lǐ Ruìfēng) – Meier, 1st Fall Chess Classic, Saint Louis 2017. 13. Qd3 Bb7 14. Ba4+ Kf8 15. Bd2 h5. An original way to develop his King’s Rook, via h6. 16. Rac1 h4 17. h3 Qd6 18. Bd1 Rd8 19. Re1 Kg8 20. Be3 Nd5 21. Qd2 Nxe3 22. fxe3 Rh6 23. Rf1 Rg6 24. Bg4 f5 25. Bf3 Bxf3 26. Rxf3 Rg3 27. Qf2

27. ... e5!? Meier feels himself, more than ever, determined to dynamically pursue his object. 28. Rxf5 exd4 29. exd4 Qxd4. 29. ... Qg6!? also seems perfectly playable (threatening both ... Rg3xg2+ and ... Rg3xh3). 30. Rf8+ Kh7 31. Rxd8 Qxd8 32. Qf5+ g6 33. Qf4 Rd3 34. Rc7+ Rd7 35. Rxd7+ Qxd7 36. Qxh4+. The most Carlsen’s got is a Queen ending a Pawn ahead, but with almost no chance of a win. And yet once again His will shall triumph. 36. ... Kg7 37. Qf4 Qd5 38. a3 b5 39. Qc7+ Kh6 40. Qxa7 Qd1+ 41. Kh2 Qd6+ 42. Kh1 Qd2 43. b4 Qc1+ 44. Qg1 Qxa3 45. Qe1 Qd3 46. Qh4+ Kg7 47. Qe7+ Kh6 48. Kh2 Qd4 49. h4 Qf4+ 50. Kh3 Qf5+ 51. Kg3 Qd5 52. Qc5 Qd3+ 53. Kh2 Qe4 54. Qg5+ Kh7 55. h5

55. ... Qxb4 56. Qxg6+ Kh8 57. Qf6+ Kh7 58. Qf5+ Kg8 59. Qe6+ Kh7 60. Qf7+ Kh8 61. Qf6+ Kh7 62. Kh3 Qe4 63. g4 Qe3+ 64. Kg2 Qe2+ 65. Kg3 Qe1+ 66. Qf2 Qc3+ 67. Kh4 b4 68. Qf7+ Kh8 69. Qe8+ Kg7 70. Qe7+ Kh8 71. h6 b3 72. Kh5 b2 73. Qe8+ Kh7 74. Qe4+ Kh8. The “dual” is 74. ... Kg8 75. Kg6 Qg7+! 76. hxg7 b1=Q! (now the underpromotion does not work: 76. ... b1=B?? 77. Qf5!+−) 77. Qf5 Qe4! with a draw. 75. Kg6 b1=B! What aesthetic satisfaction! 76. Qxb1 Qc6+ 77. Kg5 Qc5+ 78. Qf5

78. ... Qe3+?? A final blunder — most probably due to tiredness and/or lack of time — which makes Carlsen obtain the victory. The only move was 78. ... Qc7!= 79. Kg6 Qf7+! forcing a draw. 79. Qf4 Qc5+ 80. Kg6 1 : 0.

In the absence of China and Russia, Carlsen is the main attraction of the 44th Chess Olympiad — the first-ever one to be held in India. Photo © Lennart Ootes.

Well, Edna, August 1 is Raspberry Cream Pie Day — which is no doubt a good omen

Artwork © HulkGamer

Roar of the Tiger

Yes, Edna, it may happen exceptionally that luck favours the unprepared

Artwork © 11011997panic

The Lucky One

The clash of the Queens ended in a victory for four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) by three points, who thus goes forward to the semifinals of the 4th Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event. In a subsequent interview by Woman Grandmasters Jennifer Shahade and Keti Tsatsalashvili for ChesscomLive, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) said she really didn’t do any systematic preparation for this event; and so, whether true or not, one cannot but believe her — even when she humbly suggested that “I was lucky at some moments”. Screenshot from the live stream.

Quadrature of the Parabola

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk

4th Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event; Quarterfinal match game 9; time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move; chess.com, July 28, 2022

Caro-Kann Defence B13

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3. Bobby Fischer called it “An old variation to get off the beaten track”.
4. ... Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 Qc8. A move credited to Vlastimil Hort, “with the idea of ... Bg4-h5 and ... Bh5-g6”, writes Fischer. But it looks like Kosteniuk has other intentions.
8. Nd2 g6!? 9. Ngf3 Bg7 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Rfe1 Bf5 (11. ... Bxf3 12. Nxf3 e6 13. h3 a6 14. a4⩲ Pacis – Wharton, 24th Chess Olympiad, La Valletta 1980)
12. Ne5 Bxd3 13. Nxd3 e6 14. h3 Nd7 15. a4 Na5 16. Qa2 Re8 17. Rac1 Nb6 18. b3!

18. ... f6? Weakening the a2-g8 diagonal for no return as Black will have no time to play ... e6-e5. Comparatively better was 18. ... Nd7 and if 19. c4 then 19. ... Qd8 with a tenable game.
19. c4!

19. ... Nc6? The clumsy placement of Black’s Knights is almost reminiscent of that seen in Borochow – Fine, Pasadena 1932. A little better was 19. ... dxc4 20. bxc4 Qd7, but after 21. Nc5 Qc6 22. Nce4 White dominates the board.
20. a5 Nd7 21. cxd5. Or at once 21. b4 with the same effect.
21. ... exd5 22. b4 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Qf8 24. b5 Nd8

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)’s concluding attack is entertaining in style and effect:
25. Ne4! f5 26. Bd6! Qf7 27. Ng5 Qf6 28. Qxd5+ 1 : 0.

“Gimme a mouse quick enough and I’ll lift the world”. Screenshot from the live stream.

The War of Two Queens

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk

4th Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event; Quarterfinal match game 5; time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move; chess.com, July 28, 2022

Spanish Game C89

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Re1 0-0 8. c3 d5 9. d3 Bg4 10. Nbd2 dxe4. Varying from the first game, in which Kosteniuk played 10. ... Na5 without luck.
11. dxe4 Bc5 12. h3 Be6 13. Qe2 Nh5 14. Nf1 Qf6? In hindsight, it would have been preferable for Black to first exchange Bishops.

15. Bd5! Bd7 16. Bg5 Qg6 17. b4. 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. Nxe5 Qxg5 19. Nxc6 Nf4 20. Qf3 leaves White a clear Pawn up, but 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) pursues a more dynamic approach.
17. ... Bb6 18. Rad1 Rae8 19. Kh2 h6 20. Bc1

20. ... Nf4? (⌓ 20. ... Qf6 21. g3±)
21. Bxf4 exf4 22. e5 Nb8 23. Be4 Qh5? Her Majesty seeks for trouble where there is plenty of it. If 23. ... Qe6 then 24. Bc2! with scary mating threats on the b1-h7 diagonal. Hence, Black ought to try 23. ... f5, which at least for a while avoids worse outcomes.

24. Rxd7! Nxd7 25. g4 fxg3+ 26. Nxg3 1 : 0. The Black Queen is trapped and lost.

It’s like saying that there cannot be two Queens on one throne. Screenshot from the live stream.

Combinatorics

Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)

4th Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event; Quarterfinal match game 4; time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move; chess.com, July 28, 2022

Sicilian Defence B53

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. Qd3 Nf6 7. Bg5 e6 8. Nc3 Be7 9. 0-0-0 a6 10. Bxc6 Bxc6 11. Nd4 Qa5?! Sounder seems 12. ... Rc8 12. f4 h6 13. Bh4 (13. Qh3!? 0-0 14. Bxh6 Bxe4∞) 13. ... 0-0 14. f5 Ng4 with approximately even chances, Gipslis – Kupreichik, 15th Sportland NRW Cup, Senden 1999.
12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. f4 Bd7 14. f5 0-0-0 15. Qh3. Later on Kosteniuk preferred 15. Qc4+ Qc5 16. Qb3 Qe5 17. g3 which, indeed, seems more promising for White, Kosteniuk – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 4th Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event, chess.com, July 28, 2022, Quarterfinal match game 10 (time control: 3 minutes plus 1 second per move).
15. ... Kb8 16. Kb1 Qe5 17. Rhe1 h5 18. g3 Qc5

19. Nce2? Kosteniuk goes astray in her convoluted logistics. Instead she should have consolidated by 19. Rd3! maintaining her positional edge.
19. ... Rc8 20. c3 e5 21. Nc2 Bc6 22. Nc1? Allowing Black’s advance is very unadvisable. White ought first to have played 22. Qg2 — and only then follow up with Ne2-c1.

22. ... d5! 23. Nd3 Qa5 24. Ndb4? It’s impressive how quickly White’s situation deteriorated. Paraphrasing Bobby Fischer, add another to those melancholy case histories entitled “the wrong Knight”.
24. ... d4 25. Nxc6+ Rxc6 26. cxd4? As they say, mistakes never come alone.

26. ... Rxc2! A devastating Exchange sacrifice.
27. Kxc2 Qxa2 28. Rd3 Rc8+ 29. Kd1 Qxb2 30. Rd2 Rc1+ 31. Ke2 Rxe1+ 0 : 1. For after 32. Kxe1 Bb4 there is nothing left for White.

And 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) finally said, says she, “Rook takes Knight”. Screenshot from the live stream.

Firmly by the Tail

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Alexandra Konstantinovna Kosteniuk

4th Online Women’s Speed Chess Championship Main Event; Quarterfinal match game 1; time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move; chess.com, July 28, 2022

Spanish Game C89

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. c3 d5 9. d3. Solidly on the sidelines.
9. ... Bg4. More than one theoretician could be tempted to give it a question mark.
10. Nbd2 Na5 11. Bc2 dxe4. Or by transposition: 11. ... Nc6 12. h3 Bh5 13. Qe2 Bd6 14. Nf1 Qd7 14. Ng3 Bg6 15. Nh4 with advantage for White, H. Wolf – Spielmann, International Tournament, Teplitz-Schönau 1922.
12. dxe4

12. ... c5? (⌓ 12. ... Nd7!)
13. h3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 g6 15. Nf1 Nh5 16. Bh6 Re8 17. Rad1 Qb6 18. Ne3 Qf6 19. Qg4 Qe6. If 19. ... Qc6 then 20. Nf5! with powerful attack.
20. Nd5

20. ... Rac8? A mistake which costs Black the game. After 20. ... Bd8 21. b3 White is obviously much better, but the game goes on.
21. Qxe6 fxe6 22. Nxe7+ Rxe7 23. Rd6 Nc4 24. Rxa6 Nxb2 25. Rb1 Na4 26. Rxb5 Nxc3

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) finishes brilliantly, taking advantage of Black’s back-rank weakness:
27. Rxc5! Rxc5 28. Ra8+ Re8 (28. ... Kf7 29. Rf8#) 29. Rxe8+ Kf7 30. Rf8+ Ke7 31. Bb3 Nf4 (31. ... Nxe4 32. Rh8+−)
32. Rh8 Ra5 33. Rxh7+ Kf6 34. Bg7+ Kg5 35. Kh2 Nh5 36. Bh6+ Kf6 37. g4 Nxe4 (37. ... Nf4 38. g5#)
38. gxh5 gxh5 39. Be3 Nc3 40. Rxh5 1 : 0.

Apparently Kosteniuk’s Marshall Counter-Attack did not catch 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) by surprise. Screenshot from the live stream.

Uhm, Edna, after all Thursday is better than Monday

Artwork © Megan (@musings_of_megan)

Holy Lands

Robert James Fischer – Uzi Geller
4th International Tournament; Netanya, June 29, 1968
King’s Indian Attack A07

Notes by Fischer, Shamat, August 1968, pp. 1–2.

1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 Be7 6. Ngf3 0-0 7. 0-0. These first few moves needed no comment since all this has been played many times before. White is playing a King’s Indian with a tempo in hand and against a rather passive setup of the Black pieces.
7. ... Nc6 8. Re1 Qc7! This is better than 8. ... b5 9. e5 Nd7 10. Nf1 as in the game Fischer – Myagmarsuren, Sousse 1967.
9. e5 Nd7 10. Qe2. Now White’s Queen may become subject to threats on this square, for example ... Nc6-d4.
10. ... b5 11. h4 a5 12. Nf1 Nd4 13. Nxd4 cxd4. Now both sides have weaknesses: White a backward Pawn on the c-file, Black an artificially isolated Pawn on d4. White, with latent Kingside attacking chances, however, still has an edge.
14. Bf4

14. ... Ra6!? Black decides to bring immediate pressure on White’s helpless Pawn c2, ignoring or overlooking, White’s threat of 15. Bg2xd5. But after some consideration I rejected this combination because after 15. Bxd5 Bb4! 16. Rc1? (16. Reb1 is better) 16. ... exd5 17. e6 Rxe6 18. Qxe6 Qxf4 19. Qxd7 Qxc1 and wins.
15. Nh2. 15. Bxd5 Bb4 16. Rec1 exd5 17. e6 Rxe6 18. Qxe6 Qxf4 19. Qxd7 Qxc1.
15. ... Rc6 16. Rac1 Ba6? It turns out Black was not ware of White’s tactical possibilities on d5. Correct was 16. ... Qb6.

17. Bxd5 exd5? Makes it easy, 17. ... Rc5! followed by ... Rf8-c8 still offered chances of saving the game.
18. e6 Qd8 19. exd7 Re6 20. Qg4 f5. After 20. ... Qxd7 21. Be5 wins a Pawn and eventually the game. Now the weakened “e” file proves Black’s downfall.
21. Qh5 Qxd7 22. Nf3 g6 23. Qh6 Bf6 24. Rxe6 Qxe6

25. Be5! Forcing by a little combination the exchange of Bishops, creating numerous holes on Black’s dark squares. This factor is decisive. Geller’s last hope was 25. Re1? Qxe1+!! 26. Nxe1 Bg7 27. Qg5 Bf6 and draws.
25. ... Bxe5 26. Re1 f4 27. Rxe5 Qd7 28. h5! Cracks Black wide open. If 28. ... gxh5 then 29.Rg5+.
28. ... fxg3

29. hxg6! gxf2+. Or 29. ... Rxf3 30. Re8+!! and the g-Pawn queens.
30. Kxf2 hxg6 31. Qxg6+ Qg7 32. Rg5. The finishing touch: exchanging Queen’s costs Black his Bishop on a6.
32. ... Rf7. And here, while I was trying to decide on 33. Qh6 or 33. Qh5 Black resigned. 1 : 0.

No, Edna, it can’t be excluded that they will go so far as to say that expired vaccines are even safer and more effective than the non-expired ones

Artwork © Roberto Arzola (@drawingsandsomethingelse)

A World After

On the right to resistance

Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, June 2, 2022

I will try to share with you some thoughts on resistance and civil war. I am not to remind you that a right of resistance already exists in the ancient world, which knows a tradition of praising tyrannicide, and in the Middle Ages. Thomas Aquinas summarised the stance of scholastic theology in the principle that the tyrannical regime, insofar as it substitutes a partisan interest for the common good, cannot be iustum. The resistance — perturbatio, as Thomas says it — against this regime is not therefore a seditio.
It goes without saying that the matter necessarily involves a degree of ambiguity as to the definition of the tyrannical character of a given regime, as evidenced by the cautions of Bartolus, who in his Treatise Concerning Guelphs and Ghibellines, distinguishes a tyrant ex defectu tituli from a tyrant ex parte exercitii, but then has difficulty in identifying a iusta causa resistendi.
This ambiguity reappears in the discussions of 1947 on the inclusion of a right of resistance in the Constitution of Italy. Dossetti proposed, as you know, that the text included an article reading: “Individual and collective resistance to acts of public power which violate fundamental freedoms and rights guaranteed by this consitution is a right and a duty of citizens”.
The text, which had also been backed by Aldo Moro, was not inserted, and Meuccio Ruini, who chaired the so-called Commission of 75 which was to prepare the text of the consitution and who, some years later, as President of the Senate, was to distinguish himself for the way he tried to prevent parliamentary discussion of the so-called “scam law”, preferred to postpone the decision to the the assembly’s vote, which he knew would be negative.
It cannot be denied, however, that the hesitations and objections of jurists — including Costantino Mortati — were not ungrounded, when they have been noting that the relationship between positive law and revolution cannot be legally regulated. That is the problem that, with regard to the figure of the partisan, so important in modernity, Schmitt defined as the problem of the “regulation of the irregular”. It is curious that jurists had been speaking of the relationship between positive law and “revolution”: it would appear to me more proper to speak of “civil war”. How, indeed, to draw a limit between right of resistance and civil war? Isn’t civil war the inevitable outcome of a seriously meant right of resistance?
The hypothesis that I intend to propose to you now is that this way of setting the problem of resistance does not catch the essential point, and, that is, a radical change that concerns the very nature of the modern state — i.e., so to speak, the post-Napoleonic state. One cannot speak of resistance without first thinking about this transformation.
European public law is essentially a right of war. The modern state defines itself not only, in general, through its monopoly of violence, but, more concretely, through its monopoly of the ius belli. The state cannot renounce this right, even at the cost — as we see today — of inventing new forms of war.
The ius belli is not only the right to make and wage wars, but also the right to legally regulate the conduct of war. It thus distinguished between state of war and state of peace, between public enemy and criminal, between civil population and combatant army, between soldier and partisan.
Now we know that just these essential features of the ius belli have long since disappeared and my hypothesis is precisely that this implies an equally essential change in the nature of the state. Already during the World War II the distinction between civil population and combatant army had been gradually obliterating itself.
One indicator is that the Geneva Conventions of 1949 acknowledge a legal status for the population participating in the war without belonging to the regular army, provided, however, that commanders could be identified, weapons were displayed and there was some visible mark.
Once again, I am not interested in these provisions as they lead to an acknowledgement of the right of resistance — on the other hand, as you’ve seen, well limited: a partisan who displays weapons is not a partisan, he is an unconscious partisan — but because they imply a transformation of the state itself, as holder of the ius belli.
As we have seen and continue to see, the state, which from a strictly juridical viewpoint, has now steadily entered the state of exception, does not abolish the ius belli, but ipso facto loses the possibility to distinguish between regular and civil war. We are now facing a state that conducts a sort of planetary civil war, which it cannot in any way recognise as such.
Resistance and civil war are hence rubricated as acts of terrorism and it will not be inappropriate here to recall that the first appearance of terrorism after the war was the doing of a French army general, Raoul Salan, supreme commander of French armed forces in Algeria, who had created in 1961 the OAS, which means: Organisation armée secrète. Just think about the formula “secret army”: the regular army becomes irregular, the soldier gets mixed up with the terrorist.
It seems clear to me that, facing such a state, one cannot speak of a “right to resistance”, eventually codifiable in the consitution or obtainable from it. At least for two reasons: the first is that civil war cannot be regulated, as the state for its part is instead trying to do through an indefinite series of decrees, which altered the principle of stability of law from top to bottom. We are faced with a state which conducts and seeks to code a masked form of civil war.
The second, which constitutes for me an irrenunciable thesis, is that under the current conditions resistance cannot be a separate activity: it cannot but become a form of life.
There will be true resistance, only if and when each one is able to draw from this thesis the consequences that concern her/him.

(English translation by I, Robot)

Charlie Chaplin stands on Douglas Fairbanks’ shoulders at a Liberty bonds rally on April 1918. They are at the foot of George Washington’s statue in front of the Sub-Treasury (now Federal Hall National Memorial). Photo: Underwood & Underwood. Courtesy of The New York Times Photo Archives.

So, whatchu gonna what, Edna?

Credit: Disney Store

Say Not to Say

Summer Holidays

This evening, on the last class day before summer holidays, Mado Flynn offered Letizia and Viola an exclusive preview of her new beauty bags!

Remember, Edna, getting noticed is the only way to go unnoticed

Artwork © 亥塗鴉 (@hidrawing2022)

Spot the Difference

A Letter without an Address

THE NATIONAL LIBERATION COMMITTEE (CLN) HAS CONSTITUTED ITSELF TO UNITE PEOPLE AND MAKES AN APPEAL TO BROTHERS FOR A POPULAR FRONT Ugo Mattei, Generazioni Future, July 22, 2022 Friends, whom history has made brothers, a time has come, and it won’t be the last one, which puts us to the test. The violent and outlaw regime, that occupies the highest institutions, strikes while it is pretending to retreat. To dissolve Parliament on July 21, in order to impose sham elections in September, prevents participation by anyone who is not a member of their gang. We constituted ourselves as National Liberation Committee to unite people and kick the tyrant away, not to compete with our brothers. The time has come, for whoever believes in the Law, in Humanity, and even in the Miraculous, to recognise the opening glimmer: Sara, Francesco, Luca, Marco, Gianluigi, Pino, the National Liberation Committee intends to organise free elections in a liberated country; if you are to participate today, join a popular front, call upon those forces and numbers which exist deep within the country, and that can be awakened. It needs to be done in these hours, in this Now, so that each one may help the other, and everyone be welcome. Do it, and the people will recognise wisdom in you as opposed to violence. Do what is necessary in order to make the possible happen, so that one day we can tell our sons, our grandsons, our fathers and our grandparents, that the tyrant united us, and we have not allowed ourselves to be divided. Solidarity Ugo Mattei National Liberation Committee

Joseph Beuys, Hearts of the Revolutionaries: Passage of the Planets of the Future, 1955. Courtesy of WikiArt.

Well, Edna, it goes without saying that he must have felt like Jack when he tells Rose that winning the ticket for the Titanic was “the best thing that ever happened to me”

Artwork © Héctor Manuel Guerrero Herrera

In a Boat in the Middle of a Lake

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 7th Women’s World Chess Champion 谢军 (Xiè Jūn), and International Master 沈阳 (Shěn Yáng) were among the special guests invited to the celebration ceremony of the “7.20 World Chess Day” Chess Culture Festival and the 2022 China Chess Super League Rookies, which took place in 聊城 (Liáochéng), 山东省 (Shāndōng province), China on Friday, July 22, 2022. After the ceremony ended, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), 沈阳 (Shěn Yáng), Olympic diver 王峰 (Wáng Fēng), and sports shooter 谭宗亮 (Tán Zōngliàng) took a boat cruise of 东昌湖 (Dōngchāng Lake) — and, for the sake of the other passengers, enjoyed a friendly mixed doubles match. Photos: 樊璐璐 (Fán Lùlù).

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It was a hot Saturday afternoon in Florence today, but not hot enough to dissuade the aficionados of Fischerandom chess from planting the flag of the Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” on the summit of nowhere.

Yeah, Edna, they are doing their best to demonstrate that even an outlaw government can be a legitimate government provided it is democratically elected by a free electoral coup d’etat

Artwork © Karoll Daniella Sanchez (@karollpicasso)

Transcendence

A Day at the Museum

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) commenting on the games from the 2022 深圳南山 (Shēnzhèn Nánshān) Master Tournament held July 15–16 at 南山博物馆 (Nánshān Museum) in 深圳 (Shēnzhèn), China.

Another Autumn

Needless to say — but let’s say it anyway, Edna: no one can’t go wrong with you on his side

Artwork © Сонета Соиль (@lana_banana_m)