No, Edna, no one can really know what anyone else is reading and thinking within one’s own four walls

Artwork © 💀alyssa💀 (@old_man_mom)

Uncle Vanya Goes East

丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), the only one World Chess Champion from China, appeared as a guest of honour at the T-Bank’s seminar “One Move Ahead” in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, March 17, 2025, in which he advocated the importance of chess as a means to develop strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
In the free time, 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) gave a long interview to Sport24, in which, once again, he vindicated his affection for Moscow, “where I’ve been so many times that I can’t recollect”.
The interview conveys a portrait of 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) as cultured and sensitive, questing for meanings and spiritual growth while wandering in and around the Moscow Metro stations of the Soviet era. With a thought for Boris Vasilievich Spassky, the king who did not want to become king and who was rejected as king by Caïssa. “His death deeply upset me”, said 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén). “The more I read of him, the more I recognise myself in him”.
Finally, he is an avid reader of literature, not only Chinese, but Russian as well. “I really like Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya — a masterpiece”.

Blue Bleu

To be sure, Edna, life is a gift, but also a burden

AI illustration via Shutterstock

African Sky

Here is the first batch of photos from the Rocchini family trip to Kenya. More to come soon! Below, from top to bottom, are pictured some of the highlights: Maestro Geppetto, Kilimanjaro, children of Maasai Village, elephants of Amboseli (it means dust), zebras. Caption & photos: Viola Rocchini.

Still Lives

Very true, Edna, only music has the power to make the world go round

Artwork © kell (@_kellymai)

Heart and Soul

Flaounes

朱锦尔 (Zhū Jǐn’ěr) – Olga Sergeevna Badelka
FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2024–25; 4th stage; Nicosia, March 15, 2025
Spanish Game C65

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Nbd2 Re8!? By her own admission, 朱锦尔 (Zhū Jǐn’ěr)’s theoretical knowings did not include this move.
8. b4. She also considered 8. d4, but wasn’t sure it worked.
8. ... Bb6 9. Nc4 a6 10. Nxb6 cxb6 11. Ba4 d5 12. Qe2 Bg4 13. h3 Bh5 14. Bg5 b5 15. Bb3 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 d4

According to 朱锦尔 (Zhū Jǐn’ěr) this was the critical moment in the game. By her next move White takes the upper hand and holds it till the end of the game.
17. c4!± h6. If 17. ... Nxb4 then 18. cxb5 axb5 19. Qg3 (Δ f2-f4) with powerful compensation for the Pawn.
18. cxb5 axb5 19. Bd2 Qe7 20. h4 Nh7 21. Rac1 Nd8 22. Qg3 Kh8 23. Rc5 Ra6 24. h5 Nf6 25. Qh3 Ne6 26. Rxb5 Rc6 27. Qf5 Nd8 28. Rc1 Rxc1+ 29. Bxc1 b6 30. Bd2 Qc7 31. f4 exf4 32. Qxf4 Qc6 33. Rf5 Nh7 34. b5 Qc8 35. Qd6 Ne6 36. Qxb6 Nhg5 37. a4 Re7 38. Qd6 Rc7 39. Rf1 Nc5 40. Bxg5 hxg5 41. Rc1 Kh7 42. Bd5 Ne6 43. Rxc7 Nxc7 44. Bxf7 g4 45. Qg6+ Kh8 46. h6 Ne8 47. hxg7+ 1–0.

A Compassionate Veil

林志鹏 (Lín Zhìpéng), Untitled, 2013. Photo © 林志鹏 (Lín Zhìpéng). Courtesy of the artist.

Whoa, Edna! You really did look like an absolute knockout!

Photo credit: T. Scott/Getty Images

Hard Rain Falling

You know, Edna, some have big burdens, others smaller, but in the end, everyone has their own burden

生命中不能承受之轻 (The Unbearable Lightness of Being)

廖逸君 (Liào Yìjūn), How to build a relationship with layered meanings, 2008. Photo © 廖逸君 (Liào Yìjūn). Courtesy of British Journal of Photography.

Don’t worry, Edna, no gentleman will ever ask a lady as to what was said in the confessional booth

Photo © Michelle Linett (@disneymichellerealtor)

Snake necklace

Avant-garde artist 陈漫 (Chén Màn) transforms a Pomellato necklace into a symbol of empowerment, positioning it along a dancer’s muscular back . Photo © 陈漫 (Chén Màn). Courtesy of the artist.

Yeah, Edna, after all he couldn’t help but buy a driverless car cuz he never passed his driving test

Photo © BlogMickey.com

Hellos and Goodbyes

Delegates leave the 人民大会堂 (Great Hall of the People) after attending the closing ceremony of the 中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会 (National People’s Congress) in 北京 (Běijīng), China. Photo: 王身敦 (Andy Wong)/AP.

You see, Edna, they are too low level to keep up with you

Courtesy of LinkedIn

Dark Red Silk

Attendants prepare for the closing session of a conference at the 人民大会堂 (Great Hall of the People) in 北京 (Běijīng), China. Photo: Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images.

Come on, Edna, do not pretend to be who you are not

Courtesy of Dina Cardona

The In-Betweens

許安榮 (Ān Róng Xǔ), Grand Park Girls, 2011. Photo © 許安榮 (Ān Róng Xǔ). Courtesy of Dazed.

No, Edna, no one knows where Cinderella’s shoe fell down but her who let it slip, waiting for a prince to pick it up

Artwork © Fanartka🇺🇦 (@fanartka_inst)

Devilishly angelic

Allegory of politics

Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, March 8, 2025

We are all in hell, but some seem to think that there is nothing else to do here but to study and minutely describe the devils, their hideous appearance, their ferocious behaviors, their treacherous plots. Perhaps they thus delude themselves that they can escape hell and do not realise that what fully engages them is nothing but the worst of the punishments that the devils conceived to torment them. Like the peasant in Kafka’s parable, they do nothing but count the fleas on the doorkeeper’s collar. It goes without saying that even those who spend their time in hell describing the angels of heaven are not in the right — this too is a punishment, apparently less cruel, but not less heinous than the other.
True politics stands between these two punishments. It begins, first of all, with knowing where we are and that we are not given to escape so easily the infernal machine which surrounds us. We know what there is to know about demons and angels, but we also know that hell was created with a fallacious imagination of paradise and that any consolidation of the walls of Eden corresponds to a deepening of the abyss of Gehenna. We know little about good and it is not a theme we can develop; about evil we only know that we ourselves had built the infernal machine with which we torment ourselves. Perhaps a science of good and evil has never existed, and in any case, it doesn’t interest us here and now. True knowledge is not a science — it is, rather, a way out. And it is possible that this coincides now with a tenacious, lucid, alert resistance on the spot.

(English translation by I, Robot)

邸可新 (Dǐ Kěxīn), 伊甸园系列 夏娃的诱惑 (The Eden Series—Eve’s Temptation), 2016. Courtesy of WikiArt.

A Date to Play Subbuteo

Spartak Moscow defender Srđan Babić from Serbia played a friendly chess game with three-time Russian Women’s Champion Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina. On the occasion Babić, who grew interested in chess thanks to Netflix’s Queen’s Gambit, gallantly gave Goryachkina, reportedly a fan of the Red-Whites, his autographed jersey. Inevitably, however, the game was won by the “weak sex”, who nevertheless spent words of praise for her opponent.

Yeah, Edna, nothing in life is like the flavour of a double chocolate tiramisu

Artwork © Fanartka🇺🇦 (@fanartka_inst)

The Drive for Knowledge

On Friday afternoon, February 28, 2025, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), in her capacity as Professor in the PKU Physical Education and Research Department, held a special chess class for teachers as a didactic program of collective lesson preparation for the spring semester of 2025. Photos: Department of PE, Peking University.

And so, Edna, may it be sweet for you to live in such a world

Artwork © Fanartka🇺🇦 (@fanartka_inst)

Gravitation and Inertia

黎雨诗 (Lí Yǔshī) & Chad Browne photographed by Eleonora Agostini for Vogue Italia, No. 857, February 2022. Photo: Eleonora Agostini/Vogue Italia.

Don’t worry, Edna — I won’t tell anyone if you won’t

Artwork © MikeMoon1990

High and Mighty

陈秋林 (Chén Qiūlín), I am an angel No.3, 2006. Photo © 陈秋林 (Chén Qiūlín). Courtesy of Christie’s.

And of course, Edna, you were there as well

Artwork © Streaming

Gone But Not Forgotten

The funeral of 10th World Chess Champion Boris Vasilievich Spassky was celebrated today with utmost splendour and solemnity at the Transfiguration Church of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia; and honoured by the presence of the higher chess authorities of the country, including FIDE President Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich and Chess Federation of Russia President Andrey Vasilievich Filatov.

Over 200 people came to honour Spassky’s funeral. Photos: Andrey Ivanovich Lyubimov/RBK.

A Bed of Fireweed

Polar bear amid fireweed blooms. Photo: Christopher Paetkau.

Yes, Edna, it seems that spring will be coming soon

Artwork © Anthony Helmer🍺🏰🎨 (anthony.helmer)

Blossom Time

Plum blossoms flower at a wetland park in 杭州 (Hángzhōu), 浙江省 (Zhèjiāng province), China. Photo: AFP/Getty Images.

Well, Edna, one may say that it is always better too late than never

Artwork © Jose-Ramiro

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Much thanks to Ulises for sharing his information about a Reddit user who “regularly post updates about 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén) and translates content from Chinese sources”.
Inevitably, the death of 10th World Chess Champion Boris Vasilievich Spassky, is uppermost in the heart of 丁立人 (Dīng Lìrén), who, on his 新浪微博 (Sina Wēibó) microblogging account, commented on his illustrious predecessor’s passing with a melancholic reflection upon the meaning of life:

“It may be a consolation to know that, when one dies, one will be known and loved again...”.

On the other hand, Edna, the line between generosity and self-interest may be very thin and quite difficult to discern

Artwork © Krystel Kouyoumdjis

Never Ever

After all, Edna, as Philip Mason said, “a gentleman is always a man in a mask”

Artwork © BluegirlWoomy

The Weight of Being

Alternate Score and Podium

Not all heroes wear capes.

Yes, indeed, Edna, it is quite painful that it takes forever to realise life goes by in a flash

Artwork © ❤ Dana ❤

The Neverending Story

Alice in Wonderland

Across the Technosphere