Tuesday, April 30, 2024

California Dreamin’

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) will be visiting King’s Land Centre (KLC) summer camps, July 15–18 in Fremont, California, United States, and July 22–25, 2024 in Pleasanton, California, United States. Seats are limited so sign up early! For further details and information, click here.

One to Many

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) performing a simultaneous exhibition of her skills at The “SCO Kazakhstan Rotating President’s Cup” Chess Tournament in 北京 (Běijīng), China, April 29, 2024. Photos: Chinese Chess Association and Press service of the SCO Secretariat.

Suddenly, Last Spring


Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) was invited as the guest of honour at The “SCO Kazakhstan Rotating President’s Cup” Chess Tournament in 北京 (Běijīng), China, April 29, 2024.

客串 (Guest appearance)

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) appeared yesterday as guest of honour at The “SCO Kazakhstan Rotating President’s Cup” Chess Tournament which was being held in 北京 (Běijīng), China, on April 29, 2024.

Speaking with the 北京日报 (Běijīng Daily) correspondent, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) emphasized and praised the opportunity for the SCO countries to enhance and broaden their relations through a highly educational metalanguage such as chess. Photo: 北京日报 (Běijīng Daily).

Birthdays and non-seasonal gifts

In alphabetical order, Arianna, Letizia and Viola enjoying a belated birthday pizza dinner together.

No, Edna, no one was born the best dancer without the help of a teacher

A Long Blue Monday

In alphabetical order, from top to bottom, Arianna, Letizia and Viola enjoying a belated birthday pizza dinner together.

Sunday, April 28, 2024

Copacabana at Midnight


Outra jogadora que dá esperanças é a “signorina” Clarice Benini, colocada em 2° lugar em Semmering. È filha de um antigo jogador italiano, de fama, e promete multo, pela vivacidade de seu jogo.

Another player with great hopes is “Miss” [In italian in the text] Clarice Benini, who finished second at Semmering. She is the daughter of a famous old Italian player and promises much due to the vivacity of her play.

Jornal do Brasil, Sunday, October 4, 1936, p. 15.

The Secrets She Shares

Guess, Edna; guess and don’t mind if you don’t get it right

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Nevertheless

A picture taken from the Hungarian periodical A Hét (The Week), No. 12, Friday, March 18, 1994, p. 6, shows Zita Rajcsányi, the woman who brought Bobby Fischer back to chess, in the foreground at the board. The caption reads, “The marriage proposal is just a journalists’ boutade”. Photo: László Polgár’s Archive.

An April After

A pro-Palestinian activist looks on as she participates in the celebrations of the 79th Anniversary of Italy’s Liberation Day from nazism and fascism, in Rome, April 25, 2024. Photo: Yara Nardi/Reuters.

So is life, Edna; it took another thirty years to realise that, whatever the cost, it was well worth it

Courtesy of Supercoloring.com

An Overdue Goodbye

In an in-depth interview with ChessBase, Ukrainian Grandmaster Adrian Bohdanovych Mikhalchishin called The World Chess Championship. The Chess Champion Bobby Fischer vs. the Challenger Boris Vasilievich Spassky. The Revenge Match of the Twentieth Century “a fantastic match, though it was, at the time, underestimated because Yugoslavia was under sanctions, and it wasn’t widely publicised. It was even criticised by Kasparov and Karpov for the level, but the level was much higher — as we now realise — than some of their matches”.

Fischer and Spassky shake hands before their first game in the World Chess Championship Revenge Match of the Twentieth Century in Sveti Stefan, Yugoslavia, September 2 1992. Photo: Dragan Filpović/Getty Images.

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

King Kong

“Love, which, when one is loved, does not allow that it be refused”

In the Serbian magazine Borba of September 19, 2023, Dobrica Jovičić published a biographical article on 11th World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer, titled “Сјај и беда генија” (“The glory and misery of genius”), which, if on the one hand says little or nothing new about him, yet on the other hand it features some little known pictorial material covering his journeys to his most beloved Yugoslavia:

Fischer in Yugoslavia in July 1958 with Belgrade TV journalist Miodrag Ilić. Photo: Borba Archive.

Fischer in Belgrade in 1968. Photo: Borba Archive.

Fischer in Yugoslavia, undated. Photo: Borba Archive.

Sveti Stefan and Belgrade, 1992: The World Chess Championship. The Chess Champion Bobby Fischer vs. the Challenger Boris Vasilievich Spassky. The Revenge Match of the Twentieth Century. The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a cease and desist order to enjoin Fischer from any further violation of President George H. W. Bush’s Executive Order 12810 imposing sanctions on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). In response, during the inaugural press conference on September 1, 1992, in front of the world’s press, Fischer spat on the U.S. order, saying “This is my reply to the order not to defend my title here”. United States issued a warrant for Fischer’s arrest, and he will never return to his home country. Photo: Borba Archive.