Well, Edna, to say it in four words, the more, the better

Courtesy of Cleanpng.com

Good blood does not lie

Oksana Yuryevna Goriachkina has apparently wanted to differentiate herself from her more famous elder sibling, Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina, by transliterating her surname without y, but, as they say, “good blood does not lie”. That’s how, starting from the position in the diagram, she cracked and crushed an International Master in the ongoing 2nd Russian Team Cup:

Erik Igorevich Obgolts – Oksana Yuryevna Goriachkina
2nd Russian Team Cup; Sochi, November 30, 2024
2r2rk1/pp4p1/1q2p2p/1b1p2b1/6Q1/2N1P3/PP1R1PPP/1B2R1K1 b - - 5 24

Position after 24. Rc1-e1

24. ... Bxe3! 25. Rxe3 Or 25. fxe3 Qxe3+! 26. Rxe3 Rf1#.
25, ... Qxe3! 26. h3 (26. fxe3 Rf1#)
26. ... Qe1+ 27. Kh2

27. ... Rxc3 28. bxc3 Qxd2 29. Qxe6+ Kh8 30. Qg6 Qf4+ 31. Kh1 Qc1+ 32. Kh2 Qf4+ 33. Kh1 Kg8 34. Qh7+ Kf7 35. Qg6+ Ke7 36. Qxg7+ Rf7 37. Qh8 Qc1+ 38. Kh2 Qxb1 39. Qe5+ Kd8 40. Qb8+ Kd7 41. Qxb7+ Ke6 42. Qb8 Qd3 43. f4 Qc4 0–1.

Nothing Daunted

Dommaraju Gukesh – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
World Chess Championship 2024; match game 5; Sentosa, November 30, 2024
French Defence C01

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5. Fear can work miracles.
3. ... exd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 c4 7. Bc2 Bd6 8. Qe2+ Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Kxe7 10. 0-0 Re8 11. Re1+ Kf8 12. Rxe8+ Kxe8 13. Bg5 Nbd7 14. Nbd2 h6 15. Bh4 Nh5 16. Re1+ Kf8

17. g4!? A bold venture, apparently trying to squeeze blood from a turnip. On the other hand, if 17. Nf1 then 17. ... g5 18. Bg3 Nxg3 19. Nxg3 Bxg3 20. hxg3 Nf6= 21. a4 Bd7 22. Ne5 Be8 23. Nf3 Rc8 24. Nd2 b6 25. Nf1 Bd7 26. Ne3 Rb8 27. Ra1 Ke7 28. f3 h5 29. Kf2 Kd6 30. Ke2 Re8 31. Kd2 Rg8 32. Ke2 Re8 33. Kd2 Rg8 34. Ke2 Re8 ½–½ V. Damjanović – J. Kramer, 24th European Individual Chess Championship, Petrovac 2024.
17. ... Nf4 18. Bg3 Nb6 19. g5 hxg5 20. Nxg5. With the brutal threat of 21. Nh7+ Kg8 22. Re8+ followed by mate.
20. ... Bd7 21. Ngf3 Re8 22. Ne5 Bxe5 23. dxe5? Dazed and frustrated by his own poverty of theory, Gukesh committs an error of bad judgment, putting himself in trouble for no reason. He should have retaken with the Rook.

23. ... Nd3! 24. Bxd3 cxd3 25. f3 (25. b3 Rc8∓)
25. ... Nc4 26. Nxc4 dxc4 27. Re4

27. ... Bc6. “I don’t know why my opponent did not play 27. ... Be6 28. Rd4 Rc8”, Gukesh said afterwards. “I was very worried about this position”. 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) has the answer ready: “I didn’t see the ... Re8-c8, ... Rc8-c5 and move the King to the Kingside like some kind of Berlin Pawn structure. I didn’t realize that it’s a big advantage for me”.
28. Rd4. Of course, the Pawn is taboo (28. Rxc4?? Rd8 winning decisive material).
28. ... Bxf3 29. Kf2 Bc6. A tacit draw offer, probably not so out of place. “I knew that I should be slightly worse after 29. ... Bh5 but I thought with an active Rook, I should be able to hold”, Gukesh said.
30. Rxc4 Rd8 31. Rd4 Rxd4 32. cxd4 Bd5 33. b3 Ke7 34. Ke3 Ke6 35. Kxd3 g6 36. Kc3 a6 37. Kd3 Kf5 38. Ke3 Ke6 39. Kd3 Kf5 40. Ke3 Ke6 ½–½.

“The results are not ideal because I have some chances in some games to lead by some points, and it’s even”, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) said. “Also today after some quick check I had some advantage which I didn’t realize, so there is something to improve”. Photo: Eng Chin An.

You know, Edna, filling one’s heart is almost as invigorating as filling one’s purse

Artwork © Leo Batic

Long Way Home

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Dommaraju Gukesh
World Chess Championship 2024; match game 4; Sentosa, November 29, 2024
Réti Opening A06

1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. b3 Bf5 4. Be2 h6 5. Ba3. By his own admission, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) was thinking of a Queen’s Indian reversed with a tempo ahead. As Dutch Grandmaster Jan Timman pointed out, “The idea of 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)’s 5. Ba3 is known from Petrosian – Tal, Curaçao ’62”.

5. ... Nbd7 6. 0-0 e6 7. Bxf8 Nxf8 8. c4 N8d7 9. Nc3 0-0 10. cxd5 exd5 11. b4 c6 12. Nd4 Bh7 13. Qb3 (13. Nb3 Qe7 14. a3 Rfc8 15. Rc1 a5 16. Nxa5 b6 17. Nxc6 Rxc6 18. Nxd5 Nxd5 19. Rxc6 Ne5 20. Rc1 Nd3 21. Rc6 Ne5 22. Rc1 Nd3 23. Ra1 Rd8 24. Bxd3 Bxd3 25. Re1 b5 26. Rc1 Nb6 27. Qh5 ½–½ Flores – Real de Azúa, 90th Argentine Chess Championship, Buenos Aires 2015)
13. ... Ne5 14. a4 Rc8 15. a5 b6

16. Nf3. In absence of any meaningful analytical challenge, most of the post-game commentary focused on the possibility for White to advance his Pawn to f4 somewhere between moves 14 and 16. “f2-f4 was one of the ideas that I always had to consider, here I think after 16. ... Nc4, I am just at least slightly better”, Gukesh said. “I considered f2-f4 but I thought it involved some risk for White and he was not ready to take that risk”.
16. ... Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 d4 18. Ne2 dxe3 19. dxe3 Be4 20. Rfd1 Qe7 21. Bxe4 Nxe4 22. axb6 axb6 23. Nc3 Rfd8 24. Nxe4 Qxe4 25. h3 c5 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. bxc5 bxc5 28. Rc1 Qe5 29. Qc2 Rd5 30. g3 f5 31. Kg2 Kh7 32. Qc4 Qd6 33. e4 Re5 34. exf5 Rxf5 35. Qe4 Qd5 36. Qxd5 Rxd5 37. Kf3 Kg6 38. Ke4 Rd4+ 39. Ke3 Rd5 40. Ke4 Rd4+ 41. Ke3 Rd5 42. Ke4 Rd4+ ½–½. The moral is plain: 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) did nothing and got nothing.

Four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 谢军 (Xiè Jūn) gives her tender loving care to 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) in the hope to restore his peace and favour to Caïssa. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.

Hey, Edna, it’s been only five years now since you knocked them sideways by stealing the stage from their starlet at CHIJMES Hall

Artwork © Isabela Fernandes

Autumn Leaves

No doubt, Aretha would be proud to do the chorus for you, Edna!

Artwork © LeMew (@LeMew)

Conundrums

3÷2

Dommaraju Gukesh – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
World Chess Championship 2024; match game 3; Sentosa, November 27, 2024
Queen’s Gambit Declined D35

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 c6 6. Qc2 g6 7. h3 Bf5 8. Qb3 Qb6 9. g4 Qxb3 10. axb3 Bc2 11. Bf4 h5 12. Rg1 hxg4 13. hxg4

13. ... Nbd7!? 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) then complained he didn’t well know what to do after 7. h3, yet the text move is a clear improvement on 13. ... Bxb3? 14. Nd2! Bc4 15. Nxc4 dxc4 16. e3± Kramnik – Erigaisi, 1st FIDE World Rapid Team Championship, Düsseldorf 2023 (time control: 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move).
14. Nd2 Rg8 15. g5!? (15. Be3 g5 16. Rc1⩲)
15. ... Nh5 16. Bh2 Rh8 17. f3 Ng7 18. Bg3

18. ... Rh5? The question arises about whether it is an oversight or a non-oversight, but 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)’s explaination leaves no room for doubt: “I knew my Bishop on c2 was a weakness so I tried to come up with some idea to save it. I calculated a long line with 18. ... Be7, and I thought I was worse. Now I see that it’s not so clear, according to the computer. In the line that I played with 18. ... Rh5, I missed his move 23. Ne2”.
19. e4! “I am winning a piece but he gets a couple of Pawns”, Gukesh then said. “The dark squares are a bit soft. I didn’t think I was completely winning. I knew that I should be better or close to winning”.
19. ... dxe4 20. fxe4 Ne6 21. Rc1 Nxd4 22. Bf2 Bg7

23. Ne2! White’s only and best move. Gukesh is careful enough to make his material advantage tell.
23. ... Nxb3 24. Rxc2 Nxd2 25. Kxd2 Ne5 26. Nd4 Rd8 27. Ke2 Rh2 28. Bg2 a6 29. b3 Rd7 30. Rcc1 Ke7 31. Rcd1 Ke8 32. Bg3 Rh5 33. Nf3 Nxf3 34. Kxf3 Bd4 35. Rh1 Rxg5 36. Bh3 f5 37. Bf4 Rh5 1–0. Black flagged. But if not, after 37. Bxf5 he ought to resign.

“I guess during the game we both thought White is doing well which is what matters”, Gukesh eventually said. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.

Well, you know, Edna, as a rule, perfect is the enemy of good

Artwork © DressToImpressRoblox

Day by Day

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) – Dommaraju Gukesh
World Chess Championship 2024; match game 2; Sentosa, November 26, 2024
Giuoco Piano C50

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. a4 d6 7. 0-0 h6 8. Be3 Be6 9. a5 Bxc4 10. dxc4 0-0

Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi, the previous challenger to 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), has time now to amuse himself with splitting hairs: “... Be6xc4 and ... 0-0 is a bit strange. If you don’t want to get this structure you normally take on e3 and play ... 0-0. If you don’t want to take a tough decision, you just castle and see what happens. But to accept such an unpleasnt structure voluntarily... not practical to say the least”.
11. Bxc5 dxc5 12. b3 Qxd1 13. Rfxd1 Rad8

14. Rdc1!? An ugly move, in true computer style, but that’s now how chess works. Yet 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) himself, afterwards, was not impressed by it at all: “The move Rd1-c1 is a typical idea in this kind of structure, but I don’t think it’s a good move in the game because I didn’t know how to develop while he has such a strong Knight on d4. In fact, later on, I moved the Rook back to d1”.
14. ... Nd4! 15. Ne1. If 15. Nxe5 then 15. ... Rfe8 16. f4 Nxe4 17. Nxe4 Ne2+ 18. Kf1 Nxf4! (not 18. ... Nxc1? on account of 19. Nc3! trapping the Black Knight) 19. Nxf7 Kxf7= with equality.
15. ... Rd6 16. Kf1

16. ... g6 (16. ... g5!?)
17. Rd1 Rfd8 18. f3 Kg7 19. Kf2 h5 20. Ne2 Nc6 21. Nc3 Nd4 22. Ne2 Nc6 23. Nc3 Nd4 ½–½.

At the end, both had what they wanted, waiting for more to come. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.

Twelve Seconds

Yes, Edna, that’s more or less in line with 孙子 (Sūn Zǐ)’s precept that when one is strong, one pretends to be weak

Artwork © MCCToonsfan1999

Holograms

A Modest Certainty

Dommaraju Gukesh – 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén)
World Chess Championship 2024; match game 1; Sentosa, November 25, 2024
French Defence C11

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nce2 Nc6 7. c3 a5. If 7. ... Qb6 8. Nf3 h5!? (Alexander – Castaldi, West-European Zonal Tournament, Hilversum 1947) then 9. f5!↑ with the initiative.
8. Nf3 a4 9. Be3 Be7

10. g4!? A novelty by Gukesh which claims to be better than 10. Qd2 0-0 11. h4 b5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Bxc5 Bxc5 14. Ned4 Nxd4 15. cxd4 Be7 16. Kf2 b4 17. Rc1 Qb6 18. g4 Bd7 19. Kg3 Rfc8 20. Bd3 b3 21. a3 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Rc8 23. Re1 Bb5 24. Bb1 Qc7 25. h5 Bd8 26. Kf2 Qa5 27. Qe3 Qa7 28. Rg1 Bb6 29. f5 Rc4 30. Rd1 exf5 31. gxf5 Rc6 32. f6 Qd7 33. Qg5 1–0 Duda – Caruana, 5th Speed Chess Championship Main Event, chess.com, November 15, 2020, round of 16 match game 9 (time control: 5 minutes plus 1 second per move).
10. ... Qa5 11. Bg2 a3 12. b3 cxd4 13. b4 Qc7 14. Nexd4 Nb6 15. 0-0 Nc4 16. Bf2 Bd7. White has got nothing out from the opening.
17. Qe2 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Nb2 19. Qe3 Rc8 20. Rac1 Qc4

21. f5! Boldly going all out for the attack.
21. ... Qd3! 22. Qe1!? The engines do not like this move, but Gukesh’s decision not to exchange Queens is, from the relative standpoint of a finite human being, both coherent and understandable. On the other hand, 22. Qf4 g5! does not seem any better.
22. ... Bg5 23. Rc2 Rc4 24. h4 Bf4 25. Qb1. Now Rc2xb2 is a not so hidden threat.
25. ... Rxc3 26. Rxc3 Qxc3 27. fxe6 fxe6. Retaking with the Bishop was, nevertheless, the right continuation, because after the text White may still put up a fight.
28. Ne2 Qxe5 29. Nxf4 Qxf4

30. Qc2?? An absurd move which defies any logic except that Gukesh paid for his inexperience a dear price. Naturally, 30. Bc5! was the only consistent way of justifying White’s sacrificial policy, as after 31. ... Qxg4 32. Rf3! (32. Qxh7?! is spectacular but ultimately ineffective on account of 32. ... Qd4+!) 32. ... Nc4 (32. ... Na4!? 33. Qxh7! Qd4+! 34. Bxd4 Rxh7 35. Bf2 Ke7 36. Rxa3 b5 37. Re3 should hold for White) 33. Qf1 Kd8 34. Qf2! Black, in spite of his three extra Pawns, still has to struggle for his life.
30. ... Qc4 31. Qd2 0-0 32. Bd4
32. ... Nd3! 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) concludes brilliantly.
33. Qe3 Rxf1+ 34. Bxf1 e5! 35. Bxe5 Qxg4+ 36. Bg2 Bf5 37. Bg3 Be4 38. Kh2 h6 39. Bh3 Qd1 40. Bd6 Qc2+ 41. Kg3 Qxa2 42. Be6+ Kh8! 0–1. White was still hoping for 42. ... Kh7?? 43. Qxe4+! winning a piece and saving the game. “For sure I was nervous,” Gukesh said afterwards. “And I think it would be surprising if I said I wasn’t nervous. I was surely nervous, but after the game started I calmed down. I obviously surprised him in the opening. I was playing some good chess. But unfortunately then the momentum kind of slipped”.

“I feel very good”, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) said. “I haven’t won a single classical game for a long time and today I managed to do that. But this game, I think to be fair, it’s very lucky for me because I missed two tactics”. Photo: Maria Alekseevna Emelianova.

Tasseography

Fortunately, Edna, there are others; and fortunately, also, no one can live without others

Artwork © That Whimsy Gift Shop | Brianna Castro (@thatwhimsygiftshop)

“Here like leaves / on autumn trees”

A thought for today, while wandering around Sesto Fiorentino, Metropolitan City of Florence, Italy — to all who make art either their life or their salvation.

Oh, yes, Edna, with such a voice one should never stop singing!

Artwork © HolyGlori (@holyglori)

The Afterthoughts

On the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards which was being held today (November 23) at Taipei Music Centre, jazz-R&B-pop artist 9m88 performed her own interpretation of George and Ira Gershwin’s song They Can’t Take That Away from Me (1937), in memoriam of departed filmmakers and actresses/actors such as 司馬中原 (Sīmǎ Zhōngyuán), 鄭佩佩 (Cheng Pei-pei), and 周海媚 (Kathy Chow).

A New Day

Hello Goodbye Hello

With only two days left before his Singapore match with Dommaraju Gukesh, the World Chess Champion pro tempore, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), shares his last thoughts with a favourite interviewer, 谷笑冰 (Gǔ Xiàobīng).

Naturally, Edna. Journalistically speaking, it is wise never to take an answer for granted

Artwork © little miss joyness (@littlemissjoyness)

The Red Thread

According to what Melvyn Teoh wrote in his article “A chess extravaganza awaits as Singapore hosts World Chess Championship” on The Strait Times of Thursday, November 21, 2024, among the celebrities who will grace the Sino-Indian showdown with their presence will be two former Women’s World Champions from China, 谢军 (Xiè Jūn) and 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán).
Thus the question arises inevitably: who will they be rooting for?

Dolls and Puppets

Between actors and puppets

Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, November 19, 2024

Theatre and politics, as the ancients used to know, are strictly bound and it is improbable that the theatrical scene is alive when the political one dies or disappears. And yet, in a country where politics now seems to be made up only of mummies who claim to direct their own exhumation, it was possible in the last few days to watch in a small Venetian theatre a performance so full of life and intelligence that the members of the audience — as should always happen at theatre — came away more aware and almost regenerated physically. Such a miracle did not happen by chance. Piermario Vescovo, in his exemplary knowledge of the history of theatre, has clearly resorted to a tradition that is apparently minor, but in truth, especially in Italy, certainly major, that of puppets. But he did it — and here is the novelty — combining the presence of the bodies of six actressses with that of the puppets which they hold and move, so that between the living and dead, between the imposing bodies of the actresses who act and the gaunt but no less present bodies of the puppets an incommensurable exchange occurs, in which life passes incessantly in both senses and it is not clear whether, in the end, it is the actresses who move the puppets or the puppets who shake and animate the actresses. Nunzio Zappella, one of the last great Neapolitan guaratellari [puppeteers — translator’s note], showing his small, now worn out Pulcinella once said: “he is my father!”. Perhaps the mystery which occurs between the puppeteer and his puppet could not be more effectively defined. But Vescovo, by ingeniously grafting the Japanese bunraku onto the tradition of Italian comedy, has done more: he has transfigured a minor text by Goldoni (L’Incognita/The Unknown Woman — which had no longer been performed since the author’s death) into something provocative and fiercely topical. The lesson that can be drawn from this is that the debacle of every institution, not only political, that we are experiencing not necessarily does make us impotent: it is always possible to find in the past and keep even in the most adverse conditions the vernalised seed which, in proper time, will not fail to disclose itself.

(English translation by I, Robot)

橫尾忠則 (Tadanori Yokoo), 文樂《椿說弓張月》 (The Bunraku Play, Chinsetsu Yumihari-Zuki), 1970. Courtesy of M+.

Two Men in a Boat

Fabiano Caruana – Magnus Carlsen

Freestyle Chess Summit; match game 2; time control: 60 minutes plus 30 seconds per move; Singapore, November 22, 2024

nbbrnkrq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NBBRNKRQ w KQkq - 0 1

Position #180

1. c4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. c5 h5 4. h4 Nf6 5. g3 g6 6. Nb3 Ng4 7. Nd3 Bf5 8. f3 Nh6 9. Bg5 Nc7 10. 0-0-0 Ne6 11. Bd2 Bxd3 12. Bxd3 Nf5 13. e3 b6!? If 13. ... Nxg3 then 14. Qh3⩲ regaining the Pawn with the better game. But Carlsen, even at risk of error, prefers a messy vitality.
14. f4 Nh6 15. Kb1 Ng4 16. Qf3 Qf6 17. Rc1!? 17. cxb6 axb6 18. Rc1 seems to be more consonant with what White aimed for.
17. ... bxc5 18. Nxc5 Nxc5 19. Rxc5

19. ... e5! An intriguing resource, which may have been overlooked (or not well appreciated in its details) by Caruana when he played his 17. Rc1.
20. dxe5 Bxe5 21. Rgc1 Bxb2 22. Rxc6 Ne5 23. Rxf6 Nxf3 24. Kxb2 Nxd2 25. Rc7 0-0! A providential “short” castling on the h-side, which allows Black, at the cost of a Pawn, to liquidate into a very drawish Rook endgame.
26. f5 Ne4 27. Bxe4 dxe4 28. fxg6 Rd2+ 29. Kc1 Rd3 30. gxf7+ Kg7 31. Rf4 Rxe3 32. g4 hxg4 33. Rxg4+ Kf6 34. h5 Rf3 35. Rxe4 Rxf7 36. Rxf7+ Kxf7 37. Ra4 Rc3+ 38. Kd2 Rc7 39. Ra6 Kg7 40. Kd3 Kh7 41. a4 Rf7 42. Ke4 Rg7 43. Kd5 Rf7 44. Re6

44. ... Rf4? The only thrill in an otherwise planned and scheduled space cruise for rich people only. There was only one move to draw, and was not a difficult one to find! In fact, 44. ... a5!= saves the day in all variations; for example: 45. h6 Rf4 46. Re4 Rxe4 47. Kxe4 Kxh6 48. Kd5 Kg5 49. Kc5 Kf6 50. Kb5 Ke7 51. Kxa5 Kd8 52. Kb6 Kc8 with a book draw.
45. a5 Rf5+ 46. Re5 Rf6 47. Re7+!? There’s nothing wrong with this move, but it makes things less easy for White. 47. Rg5+− appears to be much stronger, for if 47. ... Kh6? then there would follow 48. Rg6+! forcing a won Pawn ending.
47. ... Kg8

48. Rxa7? A strange mistake which re-evokes — with reversed colours — the ending of the game Botvinnik – R. J. Fischer, 15th Chess Olympiad, Varna 1962, in which Fischer played right into his opponent’s hands, or to say it with the words of Botvinnik, “Now Black is left with two RP’s and the draw becomes a question of theory”. Instead, as scientifically shown by the tablebases, White had five winning moves to choose from (48. Ke4, 48. Re5, 48. Re6, 48. Re8+, and 48. Kd4).
48. ... Rf5+ 49. Kc4 Kh8 50. a6 Rf6 51. Kd4 Rc6 52. Ke4 Rf6 53. Ke5 Rc6 54. Kf5 Rb6 55. Kg5 Rc6 56. Kf5 Rd6 57. Ke5 Rc6 58. Ra8+ Kh7 59. Kd5 Rf6 60. Kc5 Rf5+ 61. Kd6 Rf6+ 62. Ke7 Rc6 63. Ra7 Kh8 64. Kf7 Rb6 65. Ke8 Rd6 66. Ra8 Kh7 67. Ke7 Rc6 68. Ke8 Rd6 69. Ke7 Rc6 70. Kd7 Rf6 71. h6 Rxh6 72. Ra7 Kg8 73. Kc7 Rf6 74. Ra8+ Kg7 75. Rf8 Rxf8 76. a7 Rf7+ 77. Kb6 Rxa7 78. Kxa7 ½–½.

Making Time

Magnus Carlsen – Fabiano Caruana

Freestyle Chess Summit; match game 1; time control: 60 minutes plus 30 seconds per move; Singapore, November 21, 2024

nnbrkrqb/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NNBRKRQB w FDfd - 0 1

Position #87

1. f4 Nb6 2. Nc3 f5 3. Nb3 Na6 4. d3 c6 5. Be3 g5!? A promising Pawn sacrifice, which should give Black a sizable compensation.

6. fxg5 e5 7. g4 f4 8. Bxb6 axb6 9. Qxb6 Qxg5 10. Na5 0-0 11. Be4 Qh4+. It only helps the White King to get to c1, “long” castling on the a-side. 11. ... d5 came here into consideration, with the possible follow-up 12. Bf5 Qe7 13. Bxc8 Rxc8 14. Qxb7 Qh4+ 15. Kd2 Nc5 16. Qb6 Nd7 offering a draw by repetition.
12. Kd2 Qe7 13. Bf5 Nc5 (13. ... Bg7 14. Kc1⩲)
14. Ne4 Ne6 15. Bxe6+ Qxe6 16. Nxb7. Concrete and greed.
16. ... Bxb7 17. Qxb7

17. ... Rb8? (17. ... Bg7! 18. g5 Rb8 19. Qc7 Rxb2 20. Rb1 Qxa2 21. Rxb2 Qxb2 22. Qxd7 Qb4+ 23. c3 Qb2+ 24. Ke1 Qc1+ 25. Kf2 Qe3+ 26. Kg2 Qxe2+ 27. Rf2 f3+ 28. Kg3 Kh8! 29. Qg4 Qe1∞)
18. Qc7 Rxb2!? A very ugly take, but 18. ... d5 19. Qxh7+! would cost Black a third Pawn.
19. Rb1 Qxa2 20. Rxb2 Qxb2 21. Qxd7 Qb4+ 22. c3 Qb2+ 23. Ke1 Bg7. The check at c1, by analogy with the variation given above, does not work because after 23. ... Qc1+ 24. Kf2 Qe3+ 25. Kg2 Qxe2+ 26. Rf2 f3+ 27. Kg3 Black is a tempo behind, which makes a substantial difference for him: 27. ... Bg7 28. Qe6+ Kh8 29. Ng5 with an easy win for White.
24. Qe6+ Kh8 25. Rf3 Qc1+ 26. Kf2 Qh1 27. Rh3 f3!? A last hope, though vain.
28. exf3 Rb8

29. g5! Rb2+ 30. Kg3 Qg1+ 31. Kh4 Rb8 32. Nd6 1–0.

And yet, Edna, the more one remembers, the more there is to remember

Artwork © lleodesign 𝕷𝖊𝖔 🎨 (@lleoboneti)

Memories of the Future

On being asked in a recent interview what was his advice to elderly people to maintan a healthy brain and memory, 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov said: “Think! Try to be aware of everything you do. That’s not so easy. Some people are even afraid to think. However, if you think, memory comes back. If you don’t, it goes away. But if you reflect, you will remember even what you seemed to have forgotten forever. And the picture of life will be restored in your memory. I am working on myself in this regard now. I have always been praised for my good memory — I got it from my father”.

The man seated on the left has put Karpov to a hard test by allowing him to play a Spanish Game, for indeed it takes an elephant’s memory to remember all the Ruy López masterpieces he played throughout his career. Photo: Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov’s archive.

Wuthering Heights

Remade in Bollywood

The Queen’s Coronation Oath

Four-time Womem’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) takes the oath as referee on opening day of the 2nd China Chess King Tournament in 成都 (Chéngdū), 四川省 (Sìchuān province), Sunday, November 3, 2024. Photo: 山西省 (Shānxī).

In summary, Edna, everything makes one believe that beauty never fades where journey never ends

Artwork © _YORU_