Looking for Peace

A fox runs away from barking dogs in Tunceli, Turkey. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images.

You know, Edna, business fiction is often the least original and the most predictable

Artwork © Jerrell A Wiley (@jerrellawiley)

Two pieces of news (not among others)

Two pieces of news (not among others)

Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, December 30, 2023

The authoritative journal Nature has published the results of a research^(*) carried out by a group of scientists from the University of Cambridge led by Anne Willis which demonstrates that mRNA vaccines, such as those used in the recent pandemic, produce unwanted proteins, whose effects on the body can be harmful. Even if the casistic of often serious and even lethal pathologies suffered by vaccinated people was already sufficient evidence for us, the research offers a scientific demonstration of it for the first time.
The second piece of news is that there is a remarkable increase compared to previous years in the number of people sick from flu syndromes and COVID (around 2,552,000 since the start of the season). We do not think it illegitimate to suggest that this increase could be related to the results of the research just cited.
It is unlikely that, although it would be their duty to do so, the doctors, politicians and experts who incautiously forced the majority of the population to be vaccinated will question themselves about these two facts.

---

^(*) Ulises’ note: see https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06800-3.

(English translation by I, Robot)

René Magritte, The sensational news, 1926. Courtesy of WikiArt.

Silk and Empire

Valentina Evgenyevna Gunina – 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn)

9th Women’s World Blitz Chess Championship; time control: 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move; Samarkand, December 30, 2023

Semi-Tarrasch Defence D41

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Bg5 Be7 8. e3 0-0 9. Rd1 Nc6 10. Qa4 Qb6 11. Bb5. Gunina has her word in the theoretical debate. 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nxd5 Qxb2 13. Bd3 is similar and also good: 13. ... Nb4 14. Nxf6+ gxf6 15. 0-0 Nxd3 16. Rxd3 Be6 17. Rd2 Qc3 18. Rfd1 Qc4 19. Qa3 with White standing better, V. Ivić – Budisavljević, 15th Serbian Chess Championship, Stara Planina 2021.
11. ... a6 12. Bd3 Qxb2 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nxd5 Ne7? This allows White to take the offensive. 14. ... b5! 15. Qe4 Bc3+ was a much better solution, for after 16. Kf1?! g6 17. Ne7+ Nxe7 18. Qxa8 Rd8! Black gets the best of it.

15. Rb1! Bc3+ 16. Kf1 Qxb1+ 17. Bxb1 Nxd5 18. Ng5. Very strong is also 18. Qc2 (threatening both Qc2xh7# and e3-e4) 18. ... Rd8 19. Qxh7+ Kf8 20. h3 further consolidating her advantage.
18. ... h6 19. Ne4. 19. Bh7+ Kh8 20. h4! f6 21. Qe4 fxg5 22. hxg5 is the engine line with a strong attack for White.
19. ... Be5 20. h3 Be6 21. g3 Rac8 22. Kg2 Rc4 23. Qd1 b5 24. Qh5 Bb8 25. Rd1 Ne7

26. Qe2. 26. Ng5! Bf5 27. Rd8! hxg5 28. Rxf8+ Kxf8 29. Qh8+ Ng8 30. Bxf5 should win for White.
26. ... Bd5 27. f3 Rfc8 28. Nf2 Be6 29. g4 Ba7 30. Qd3 g6 31. Qd6 Nc6? Best seems 31. ... Bc5! 32. Qxa6 Rb8 (Δ ... Rc4-a4) 33. Nd3 Ra4 34. Nxc5 Rxa6 35. Nxa6 leaving White with only a (likely meaningless) Pawn ahead.
32. Ne4? (32. f4)
32. ... Rd8

33. Qf4? Objectively speaking, White should have played to draw by 33. Qa3! Rxd1 34. Nf6+ Kg7 35. Ne8+ with perpetual check, but, as often happens with such formats and time controls, a wrong move turns out to be the best one.
33. ... g5?? Apparently, 居文君 (Jū Wénjūn) rejected 33. ... Rxd1 by reason of 34. Qxh6, without noticing that 34. ... Rxe4! 35. Bxe4 Ne5 would have neutralised all White’s threats, leaving her with an overwhelming superiority. Now, instead, White forces mate:
34. Nf6+ Kf8. Or 34. ... Kg7 25. Nh5+ Kg8 36. Rxd8+ Nxd8 37. Qf6 with mate in two moves.
35. Rxd8+ Nxd8 36. Qd6+ Kg7 37. Nh5+ 1 : 0.

Not unsurprisingly, in Samarkand, Russia celebrated its passage to Asian hands in the most gratifying way. Photo: Anastasia Korolkova/FIDE.

Nay, Edna, traffic law does not require a driver’s licence to operate Santa’s sleigh

Photo © Ольга Нуарэ / Olga Noiret 🍀 (@noiret.dolls)

符号链接 (Symbolic link)

Peking University Student Organisation Awards Ceremony for the year 2012: the queen of chess, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), arrives or leaves, sitting in a smart. Photo: Peking University Student Organisation Awards Ceremony.

Great News from Ithaca

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Mercedes-Benz “smart car” ambassador 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) is announced to be back on the smart for Friday, December 29, 2023 in 天津 (Tiānjīn), China. Video: smart 天津 (Tiānjīn). My thanks to Ulises for the information.

Solaris

Yes, Edna, she should have known that the saying “rules are made to be broken” is true only to a certain extent

Courtesy of Craiyon LLC

Moonshot

Anastasia Mikhailovna Bodnaruk – 朱锦尔 (Zhū Jǐn’ěr)

9th Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Samarkand, December 27, 2023

Sicilian Defence B23

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Bc4 e6 5. Nge2 Qc7 6. d3 a6 7. Nxd4 cxd4 8. Ne2 b5 9. Bb3 Bc5. Less convincing is 9. ... Qb6 10. 0-0 Bb7 on account of 11. c3! dxc3 12. Be3 regaining the Pawn with the better game, Goryachkina – Osinenko, Titled Tuesday Blitz October 11 Early 2022, chess.com, October 11, 2022 (time control: 3 minutes plus 1 second per move).
10. c3 dxc3 11. bxc3 Ne7 12. 0-0 Bb7 13. d4 Bb6 14. Bc2 d6 15. Be3 0-0 16. Rc1 e5 17. Ng3 Rad8 18. Qh5 Ng6?! Better was 18. ... Kh8 19. Bb3 f6 with a solid defence.
19. Nf5. Intending Qh5-g4 followed by h2-h4-h5.
19. ... Rfe8 20. Qg4

20. ... Qxc3? Such greed cannot be condoned by a predestined elect. Comparatively better was still 20. ... Kh8, though now, after 21. h4 Rg8 22. Bb3 d5 23. h5 Ne7 24. Nh4! Bc8 25. Qg3 White’s initiative bites and stings.
21. Bb3 Qb4 22. dxe5 Bxe3. If 22. ... Bc5 then 23. Bd4! (Δ e5-e6) 23. ... Bxd4 (23. ... Bc8 24. Bc3! Qa3 25. exd6+−) 24. Bxf7+! Kxf7 25. Rc7+ Kf8 26. Nxd4! with irresistible attack.

23. Bxf7+! Kxf7 24. Rc7+ Kg8. Or 24. ... Kf8 25. fxe3! with a mating attack — one of the rare cases in which tripled Pawns serve.
25. Rxg7+ Kf8. If 25. ... Kh8 then 26. Rxh7+! Kxh7 27. Qh5+ with mate in two moves.
26. fxe3 Qxe4

27. Rxg6. Bodnaruk contents herself with a prosaic win rather than play for mate with 27. Rxh7; for, as they say, the end justifies the means.
27. ... Qxg4 28. Rxg4 Rxe5 29. Nxd6+ Ke7 30. Nxb7 Rd2 31. e4 h5 32. Rg7+ Ke6 33. Rgf7 Rg5 34. R7f2 Rd7 35. Rf6+ Ke5 36. Nc5 Rd2 37. Re6+ Kd4 38. Nb3+ 1 : 0.

Bodnaruk was not among the favourites to win a gold medal. Much to everyone’s surprise, however, she won. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili/Chess Federation of Russia.

And yet you know, Edna, reunions with high school friends can often be disappointing, especially if you’re still dreaming of the impossible

Courtesy of Craiyon LLC

Halfway the Silk Road

Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina – Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova

9th Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Samarkand, December 27, 2023

Queen’s Gambit Declined D38

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 0-0 9. Be2 dxc4 10. 0-0 a6 11. Bxc4 Bxc3 12. bxc3 e5. It can be interesting to note that, eleven years ago, as Black, Goryachkina preferred a more prudent course: 12. ... Bd7 13. Bd3 Rfe8 14. Rab1 b5 15. Qc2 Qe7 16. Bh7+ Kh8 17. Be4 Rab8 18. Qe2 Na5 19. Ne5 Kg8 20. f4 c5 21. dxc5 Rbc8 22. Rbd1 Bc6 23. Nxc6 Nxc6 24. Rd6 Nb8 25. Qh5 Nd7 26. Bc6 Nf6 27. Qf3 Rf8 28. e4 Ne8 29. Bxe8 Rfxe8 30. Qf2 Qc7 31. Rxa6 Qxc5 32. Qxc5 Rxc5 33. Rf3 Rec8 34. Ra3 Rd8 35. Rb3 Rd1+ 36. Rf1 Rd2 37. Rf2 Rd1+ 38. Rf1 Rd2 39. Rf2 Rd1+ 40. Rf1 ½ : ½ Girya – Goryachkina, 2012 Russian Women’s Cup Final, Khanty-Mansiysk 2012.
13. Bd5 Bd7 14. Qa3 Qg6 15. dxe5 Rfe8 16. Qb3 Rab8

17. Nh4 Qh5 18. f4 Ne7. If 18. ... Qxh4 then 19. Bxf7+ Kh8 20. Bxe8 Bxe8 21. Rad1 with an unbalanced game (Rook and two Pawns against Bishop and Knight) where White has perhaps slightly better chances due to her Pawn preponderance.
19. Nf3 Nxd5 20. Qxd5 Bc6 21. Qb3 Qg6 22. Rf2 Rbd8 23. Nd4 Qe4. The alternative was 23. ... Be4 24. Qc4 Rd7 with strong play on the light squares.
24. c4 Bd7 25. c5! Bc6. On second thought.
26. Raf1 Rd5 27. Qc3 Red8 28. Rf3 Bb5 29. Re1. In hindsight, it would seem that the Rook would be better placed at c1.

29. ... Bc4?! Very interesting was 29. ... b6! 30. cxb6 c5!⇄ with wild play and chances for dynamic equilibrium.
30. Rg3! 30. Qxc4 Rxd4 is the tactical justification for Black’s 29th move.
30. ... Kh8? A grave error that puts Black on the ropes. Also unadvisable is 30. ... Rxc5?! because of 31. e6! g6 32. exf7+ Kxf7 33. Nf3! followed by the jump to e5. The best defence seems to be 30. ... R8d7, for after 31. Qxc4 Rxd4 32. Qe2 Rd2 33. Qg4 g6 34. h4⩲ White’s initiative is not easily transformable into more tangible advantages.
31. Qxc4 Rxd4 32. Qxf7. As a consequence of Black’s erroneous 30th move, the f7-Pawn has fallen.
32. ... R4d7 33. Qg6 Qb4. With two Pawns less, and no compensation, Black obviously cannot afford to exchange Queens.
34. Rf1 Qxc5 35. e6 Re7 36. f5 Qc2 37. Qh5 Rf8. 37. ... Qc5 38. Qg6 Qc2 39. Qg4 ends in the same way as the game.

38. f6 Rxf6 39. Rxf6 gxf6 40. Qxh6+ 1 : 0.

Goryachkina has to wait until tomorrow to know whether here her nobility shall be manifest. Photo: Eteri Kublashvili/Chess Federation of Russia.

What Next After School?

In her capacity as Professor in the Physical Education and Research Department at Peking University, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) (pictured above second from left) attended and shared her experience at a reading and sharing meeting for international students based on the book 《习近平与大学生朋友们》 [“习近平 (Xí Jìnpíng) and College Students Friends”], which was held at 北京科技大学 (University of Science and Technology Běijīng) in 北京 (Běijīng), China, on Tuesday, December 26, 2023. Photo: International Student Centre/Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Well, Edna, one must enjoy what one is doing even when what one is doing is not always done in the best way

Artwork © JP/JPG_pincadet (@thepincadet)

Squaring the circle

Nazerke Nurgali – Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina

9th Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Samarkand, December 26, 2023

Slav Defence D12

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. h3. Many of Goryachkina’s adversaries, both online and offline, preferred here 6. Nh4, which is certainly more ambitious than the text.
6. ... Nbd7 7. Bd3 Bg6 8. Bxg6. A model strategy for White is 8. 0-0 Bb4 9. Bxg6 hxg6 10. Qb3 a5 11. Ne2 dxc4 12. Qxc4 0-0 13. Qc2 Qe7 14. b3 Rfe8 15. Bb2 Ba3 16. Bc3 Bb4 17. Bb2 Ba3 18. Bc3 Bb4 19. Bb2 ½ : ½ Nakamura – Giri, 6th Online Speed Chess Championship Main Event, chess.com, December 6, 2021, Quarterfinal match game 1 (time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move)
8. ... hxg6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Rb1. If 10. Qb3 then 10. ... Qb6 with easy play for Black.
10. ... Bd6 11. Qc2 Qe7 12. a3 a5 13. Bd2 Nb6 14. a4?! White insists on her undeveloping policy, with consequences easy to guess.

14. ... Nbd7 15. Na2?! Ne4 16. Nc3?! f5 17. Bc1?! g5 18. Nxe4 fxe4 19. Ng1. Nearly all White’s pieces came back home.

19. ... g4 20. Qd1 g3 21. f4 exf3 22. Nxf3 Bb4+ 23. Ke2 If 23. Bd2 then 23. ... Qxe3+ winning a Pawn and remaining with a crushing positional superiority.

23. ... 0-0-0. One can note that both castles were good for Black.
24. Qd3 Nf6 25. Bd2 Ne4 26. Bxb4 Qxb4 27. Nd2 Rhf8 28. Rhf1. Obviously not 28. Nxe4? dxe4 29. Qxe4?? on account of 29. ... Rf2+ followed by mate.
28. ... Rxf1 29. Rxf1 Qxb2 30. Rf4 Rd6. White is more or less in zugzwang.

31. Rxe4 dxe4 32. Qxe4 Qa2 33. Qg4+ Rd7 34. Qxg3 Qxa4 35. Qf3 Qb5+ 36. Ke1 a4 37. Ne4 Kb8 38. Qf8+ Ka7 39. Nc5 Qb4+ 40. Kf1 a3 41. Qg8 Rd5 0 : 1.

Theory for a Dead End

Mariam Mkrtchyan – 朱锦尔 (Zhū Jǐn’ěr)

9th Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Samarkand, December 26, 2023

Catalan Opening E04

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. Qc2 Bxd2+ 8. Qxd2 c6 9. a4 b5 10. axb5 cxb5 11. Qg5 0-0 12. Qxb5 Ba6 13. Qa4 Qb6 14. Nbd2 Bb5 15. Qc2 Nc6

16. Nxc4? A theoretical black hole which means material loss. White ought to castle: 16. 0-0 Rac8 17. Rfc1 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Qxd4 19. Rxa5 c3 20. bxc3 Qb6 21. Raa1 Bxe2 22. Ne4 Bc4 23. Nxf6+ gxf6 24. Qd2 Qc5 25. h4 Kg7 26. Ra4 Rfd8 27. Qf4 Bd5 28. Rd4 Bxg2 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. Kxg2 h6 31. Qf3 Qc4 32. Rb1 Rd3 33. Rb4 Qd5 34. Qxd5 exd5 35. Rg4+ Kf8 36. Rd4 Rxc3 ½ : ½ V. Nielsen – Hacker, Øbro & CXU International 2023, Copenhagen 2023.
16. ... Nb4 17. Qxh7+ Kxh7 18. Nxb6 Rab8 19. Na4 Nc2+ 20. Kd2 Nxa1 21. Nc5? From bad to worse. Comparatively best is 21. Rxa1, although after 21. ... Bxa4 22. Rxa4 Rxb2+ 23. Kd3 Ng4 Black has the Exchange ahead in return for a Pawn.
21. ... Bxe2 22. Ng5+ Kg6

23. Nh3? Falling into a mating net. However, 23. Rxa1 Rxb2+ 24. Kc3 Rb5 leaves Black with an overwhelming advantage.
23. ... Rxb2+ 24. Ke3 Ng4+ 25. Kf4 Nb3 26. Na4

26. ... Rd2 27. Nc3 Rxd4+ 28. Be4+ f5 0 : 1. There may follow: 29. Nxe2 Nd2! 30. Nxd4 e5#.

From Stonehenge to Samarkand

Mariya Olehivna Muzychuk – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú)

9th Women’s World Rapid Chess Championship; time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move; Samarkand, December 26, 2023

Queen’s Gambit Declined D31

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 a6!? A sideline introduced into praxis by Dawid Janowsky around 1899, and only recently rediscovered.
4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 Bd6. From a strategic standpoint, it might not be wise for Black to offer the exchange of her better Bishop, yet great firms such as Alekhine played just this way.
7. Bg5. The critical alternative is 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. Bd3 0-0 (8. ... Nc6 9. Nge2 0-0 10. a3 Ne7 11. Qc2 is at most only a a tad better for White, Euwe – Alekhine, International Chess Tournament, Zürich 1934) 9. h3 b6 10. Nf3 c5 11. 0-0 Nc6 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. Rc1 Be6?! 14. Na4± Krush – 于润荷 (Jennifer Yú), 59th U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, lichess.org, October 22, 2020 (time control: 25 minutes plus 5 seconds per move).
7. ... c6 8. Bd3 Be6 9. Nge2 h6 10. Bh4 Nbd7 11. h3 Qc7 12. 0-0. Of course, after 12. f4 Black would not hesitate to give up a Pawn with 12. ... g5! to open lines on the Kingside.
12. ... g5 13. Bg3 Bxg3 14. Nxg3 h5 15. Rc1 h4 16. Nf5 Rg8 17. f3 Nb6 18. Na4 Nxa4 19. Qxa4 Nh5 20. Rfe1 Bxf5 21. Bxf5 Ng3 22. Bd3 Kf8. Clearly not 22. ... 0-0-0? because of 23. Bxa6! winning a Pawn and (at least potentially) targeting the Black King.
23. Qb4+ Qe7 24. Qd2. White avoids the exchange of Queens as the ending would be definitely more favourable to Black.
24. ... f5 25. Qc2 g4 26. fxg4 fxg4

27. hxg4? Here White’s trouble begins. The correct continuation was 27. e4! dxe4 28. Bxe4 Re8 29. Qf2+ Qf7 with rough equality.
27. ... Rxg4 28. Bf5 Rg5 29. Bh3 Kg7 30. Qd2 Rf8 31. Rc2 Qf6. Also strong seems to be 31. ... Ne4 followed by ... Rg5-g3.
32. Qd3

32. ... Qe7. Black sees no clear way to strengthen her attack and contents herself with what she has — which is not a little thing. But much stronger seems 32. ... Rg6! intending ... Qf6-g5 eventually followed by ... Rg6-f6-f1+.
33. Rf2 Rxf2 34. Kxf2 Rg6 35. Kg1 Rf6 36. Bg4 Qf7

37. Qc2?? A blunder that loses at once. After 37. Qd1 Qe7 Black stands much better, but the win still has to be achieved.

37. ... Rf1+ 0 : 1.

Time is a Frenemy

You know, Edna, they too have a dream: the more people they kill, the more arms they sell

Artwork © Art By Mike

So, This Is Christmas

Indeed, Edna, one cannot but be surprised at how subliminally pop culture shaped fashion trends over one day only

Photo © Veruca, loves Riddim💜🏳️‍⚧️ (@LuckyVeruca)

新灵魂乐 (Neo Soul)

To be sure, Edna, whether Santa Claus comes or not this year, one can be reasonably certain that Christmas holidays are a tough time for dieting

Artwork © J. Shari Ewing

Two Lines

The Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna”’s weekly chess and chess960 classes stop for Christmas holidays and will reopen Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 3.30 P.M.
Have a Happy Christmas and New Year!

Easy Rider

Hiding in Plain Sight

刘勃麟 (Liú Bólín), Hiding in Florence, Sala di Venere, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy, 2022. Courtesy of 刘勃麟 (Liú Bólín).

In this case, Edna, the absent are always right

Artwork © Katelyn (@artofkates)

Adam and Eve

In an interview with Timur Airatovich Ganeev for Sport-Express of December 22, 2023, three-time Russian Women’s Chess Champion Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina said she does not feel very ambitious of conquering the world in Samarkand, mainly due to her dislike of the blitz and rapid formats, which “absolutely are not my favourite discipline”. Apparently she is already thinking of another thing, much more important for her career, that is, the Women’s Candidates Tournament 2024 in Canada. A long way to go, but she already starts to worry whether she will get the visa. It’s noteworthy that, if she had free time, she would spend it before the TV rather than at the board. And not surprisingly one of her favourite TV series is, in compliance with gender equality principles, Why Women Kill. In other ways, however, Goryachkina prefers reality to fiction, and she is not attracted at all by virtual reality as a surrogate of original concreteness. So finally, who are the best players in history according to her? Do not expect surprises, reticence, hints, or half words. She has no doubts: the best are Magnus Carlsen and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). The question arises spontaneous: what about Judit Polgár? Her answer may sound a bit paradoxical: “She didn’t play that much in women’s competitions, she didn’t win that much. In men’s, she reached the top 10. It deserves most respect. But, in my opinion, if you play only with men, then you need to win something significant”. For the same reason, she does not consider permanently moving to the other half of the sky: “It’s too late for me. I’m not competitive in men’s chess. I should have started played only men from the very beginning. And I never considered unisex tournaments seriously; I played them exclusively for training purposes, although sometimes I even won something”. The interviewer eventually asked her a provocative question about whether it is right that 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) should hold her number one ranking though she rarely plays chess anymore. But Goryachkina doesn’t take the bait and as always sticks to hard facts: “She plays three game a year, and that’s enough for her to hold her ranking. Is this weird? Yes. But no one is able to reach up to her numbers on the rating list. So everything is objective”.

Goryachkina at the gala dinner of the “PE✪PLETALK Heroes” awarding ceremony held December 12 in Moscow, Russia. Photo: Alexey Rodin and Denis Shumov.

Randomness

Yes, Edna, war is the worst of all crimes

Artwork © Kai B. Parker -Artist

To Hurt and To Hold

As they say, Edna, the more the ignorance, the better the slave

Artwork © Brian Oakley Art

East by West

East and West

Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, December 20, 2023

The history of mankind always has a theological signature, and it can therefore be instructive to look at the current conflict between East and West from the perspective of the schism which, many centuries ago, divided the Romam Church from the Orthodox one. As is known, the basis of the schism was the question of the Filioque: the Roman creed asserted that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son (ex Patre Filioque), while for the Orthodox Church the Holy Spirit proceeded only from the Father.
If we translate the theological language into concrete historical terms, this means — since the Son incarnates the divine economy of salvation on the level of earthly history — that for the Greek Orthodox East the spiritual life of believers was not directly involved on the level of historical economy. The denial of the Filioque separates the celestial world from the earthly one, theology from historical economy. And this — without the prejudice of other factors — may explain why the West — especially in its protestant version — gives the development of historical economy an attention that is at all unknown to the Greek Orthodox world, which seems to ignore the industrial revolution and remain anchored to feudal models. Translated into theological terms, even the Marxist primacy of economy over spiritual life perfectly corresponds to the nexus of the Holy Spirit with the Son which defines the Creed of the West.
All the more fraught with consequences is the reversal produced by the Russian Revolution, when the Western model of the primacy of historical economy is forcibly grafted onto a world spiritually completely unprepared to receive it. Once again, from this perspective, the failure of the Soviet model and the manifest re-proposition of theological motifs in post-Soviet Russia let itself be explained as the return of the removed independence of the Holy Spirit, which recovers that central position that the Communist regime had not been able to erase.
It seems all the more absurd that — while in recent decades the Roman and Orthodox Churches had been getting back closer together — the West, not incidentally under the guidance of a protestant country, now re-proposes — more or less unconsciously in the name of the Filioque — a war without quarter with Orthodox Russia.

(English translation by I, Robot)

Pavel Nikolayevich Filonov, East and West, 1912–1913. Courtesy of WikiArt.

You know, Edna, basically pandemics end when people stop believing it and wars when men get tired of killing each other

Artwork © 𝕷𝖊𝖔 🎨 (@lleoboneti)

Not An Obituary

In memory of Toni Negri

Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, December 18, 2023

Two nights before the news of Antonio — Toni — Negri’s death came to me, I dreamed of him for a long time and his presence was so alive that, upon awakening, I felt the need to write to him. My message to the old e-mail address — to which I hadn’t written for years — couldn’t reach him. When I told her of my dream, a friend said to me: “he wanted to say goodbye to you before leaving”. Even in the divergences of our thoughts, clearer and clearer over time, something stubbornly bound us together, something that, first and foremost, had to do with his generous, restless, punctilious vitality, which I immediately felt when I met him for the first time in Paris in 1987.
With Toni’s passing I feel like I’m missing something — inside me, under my feet, perhaps above all behind me, as if a part of my past made it abruptly present and addressed me by missing. And this missing does not concern only me, but our whole country and its history, more and more false, more and more oblivious, as it is shown by the odious obituaries, which only remember the bad teacher and not the bad, atrocious country where he was given to live in and which he tried, perhaps mistakenly, to make better. Because Toni, starting from the Marxist tradition to which he belonged and which perhaps conditioned and betrayed him, has certainly tried to measure himself with the destiny of Italy and the world in the extreme phase of capitalism we are going through towards who knows what wretched destination. And this is what those who continue to outrage his memory neither dare nor would they ever be capable to do.

(English translation by I, Robot)

René Magritte, Clear ideas, 1958. Courtesy of WikiArt.

H2O

Snow-covered rooftops on 连岛 (Lián Island), 连云港 (Liányúngǎng), 江苏省 (Jiāngsū province), China. Photo: AFP/Getty Images.

The answer is, Edna, that good things come to those who believe in you

Artwork © DisneyCruiseLine (@DisneyCruiseLine)

A Christmas Carol

Christmas is coming and as always Mado Flynn provided gifts to her beloved dancers.