爱不释手

Artwork: Soul-Daemon

Finito.
Sfinito.
Infinito.

The White Tiger

Magnus Carlsen – Viswanathan Anand
World Chess Championship; match game 7; Sochi, November 17, 2014
Spanish Game C67

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. g3 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Nxh4 19. f3 Rd8 20. Kf2 Rxd1 21. Nxd1 Nf5 22. Rh1 Bxa2 23. Rxh5 Be6 24. g4. Another try is 24. Bxc7 Rh6 25. Rxh6 Nxh6 26. g4 Nf7 27. Ke3 Kd7 28. Bb8 a5 29. Nc3 b5 30. Ne4 Ke7 31. Bc7 a4 32. Ba5 Ne5 33. Bc3 Nd7 34. Kd4 c5+ 35. Nxc5 Nxc5 36. Kxc5 Bc4 37. b3 axb3 38. cxb3 Bxb3 39. Bxf6+ Kxf6 40. g5+ Kxg5 41. f4+ Kxf4 42. Kxb5 Ke5 ½ : ½ Solak – Bacrot, 15th European Individual Chess Championship, Yerevan 2014. 24. ... Nd6 25. Rh7 Nf7. Possibly an improvement over 25. ... f5 26. g5 (much more to the point is 26. Rxc7! Nb5 27. gxf5 Bxf5 28. Rxb7 Bxc2 29. Ne3 Bb3 30. Ng4 with advantage to White) 26. ... Nf7 27. Rh5 Rg8 28. Kg3 Rh8 29. Rxh8+ Nxh8 30. Bxc7 Ng6 31. Nc3 Kd7 32. Bb8 a5 33. Na4 Kc8 34. Bf4 b5 35. Nc5 Ba2 36. c3 a4 37. Bd6 Bd5 38. f4 Kd8 39. Kf2 Nh4 40. Ke3 Ke8 41. Nd3 Be4 42. Nf2 Bd5 43. Ba3 Kf7 44. Kd4 Ke6 45. Nd3 Ng6 46. Nc5+ Kf7 47. Na6 Nxf4 48. Ke5 Nd3+ 49. Kxf5 c5 50. g6+ Kg8 51. Nxc5 Nxc5 52. Bxc5 ½ : ½ Giri – Radjabov, FIDE Grand Prix, Tashkent 2014. 26. Ne3 Kd8 27. Nf5 c5 28. Ng3. “Magnus is playing safe and solid – slight edge and a bit of suffering for Black, but usually this ends in a draw”, Fabiano Caruana tweeted. 28. ... Ne5. “28. ... Ne5 is a bold solution from Vishy. After 29. Bxe5 fxe5 30. Rh5 his idea might be 30. ... Bxg4 drawing, but 30. Ne4!? looks unpleasant”, Jonathan Rowson tweeted. 29. Rh8+ Rg8 30. Bxe5 fxe5 31. Rh5. The Climax.

31. ... Bxg4! “I called the piece sacrifice correctly about 20 mins. ago. Now I don’t know whether a win for Magnus or draw is more likely”, Nigel Short tweeted. 32. fxg4 Rxg4 33. Rxe5 b6 34. Ne4. “Interesting option for Magnus was to play 34. Re4 where 34. ... Rxe4 is dangerous, otherwise White plays Re4-a4 forcing a7-a5 wich is very good for White”, Sergey Karjakin tweeted. 34. ... Rh4 35. Ke2 Rh6 36. b3 Kd7 37. Kd2 Kc6 38. Nc3 a6 39. Re4 Rh2+ 40. Kc1 Rh1+ 41. Kb2 Rh6 42. Nd1 Rg6 43. Ne3 Rh6 44. Re7 Rh2 45. Re6+ Kb7 46. Kc3 Rh4 47. Kb2 Rh2 48. Nd5 Rd2 49. Nf6 Rf2 50. Kc3 Rf4. “White has made no progress at all, but at any moment he may set up a disguised threat. Black must not be lulled into sleeping”, Short said. 51. Ne4 Rh4 52. Nf2 Rh2 53. Rf6 Rh7 54. Nd3 Rh3 55. Kd2 Rh2+ 56. Rf2 Rh4 57. c4 Rh3 58. Kc2 Rh7 59. Nb2 Rh5 60. Re2 Rg5 61. Nd1 b5 62. Nc3 c6 63. Ne4 Rh5 64. Nf6. “I am also expecting Magnus will eventually play on with R+N v. R. It is pretty drawn, but why not go for the 5% chance?”, asked Short. 64. ... Rg5 65. Re7+ Kb6 66. Nd7+ Ka5 67. Re4 Rg2+ 68. Kc1. Perhaps Vishy was hoping for 68. Kc3 b4+ 69. Kd3 Rd2+! 70. Kxd2 stalemate. The text doesn’t look better. 68. ... Rg1+. A way even more direct is 68. ... Kb4! 69. cxb5+ Kc3! 70. Re3+ Kd4 71. Re5 cxb5 72. Rxc5 a5 73. Rxb5 Kc3! with a draw in sight. 69. Kd2 Rg2+ 70. Ke1 bxc4! 71. Rxc4 (71. bxc4 Kb4=) 71. ... Rg3! 72. Nxc5 Kb5! 73. Rc2 a5 74. Kf2 Rh3 75. Rc1 Kb4 76. Ke2 Rc3 77. Nd3+ Kxb3 78. Ra1 Kc4 79. Nf2 Kb5 80. Rb1+ Kc4 81. Ne4 Ra3 82. Nd2+ Kd5 83. Rh1 a4 84. Rh5+ Kd4 85. Rh4+ Kc5 86. Kd1 Kb5 87. Kc2 Rg3 88. Ne4 Rg2+ 89. Kd3 a3 90. Nc3+ Kb6 91. Ra4 a2 92. Nxa2 Rg3+ 93. Kc2 Rg2+ 94. Kb3 Rg3+ 95. Nc3 Rh3 96. Rb4+ Kc7 97. Rg4 Rh7 98. Kc4 Rf7 99. Rg5 Kb6 100. Na4+ Kc7 101. Kc5 Kd7 102. Kb6 Rf1 103. Nc5+ Ke7 104. Kxc6 Rd1 105. Rg6 Kf7 106. Rh6 Rg1 107. Kd5 Rg5+ 108. Kd4 Rg6 109. Rh1 Rg2 110. Ne4 Ra2 111. Rf1+ Ke7 112. Nc3 Rh2 113. Nd5+ Kd6 114. Rf6+ Kd7 115. Nf4 Rh1 116. Rg6 Rd1+ 117. Nd3 Ke7 118. Ra6 Kd7 119. Ke4 Ke7 120. Rc6 Kd7 121. Rc1 Rxc1 122. Nxc1 ½ : ½. A monumental defence by Anand!

Zsuzsa Polgár (@SusanPolgar)

开心果 (Pistachio)

Artwork: BUGbeesama

开心果
kāi xīn guǒ
Pistachio

Meaning: You can describe someone as 开心果 (kāi xīn guǒ) – pistachio and it means she (he) is a very happy, high mood person who makes other people happy. The reason is that in Chinese, pistachio is 开心果 (kāi xīn guǒ). 开心 (kāi xīn) is to be happy and 果 (guǒ) implies the nut. So quite literally works as referring to someone as a happy nut. Also interesting that 开心 kāi xīn is close to 开 (kāi) open/start your 心 (xīn) heart.

麦克白夫人的心血结晶
(Da un’idea di Lady Macbeth)

心理史學

Capo grosso, cervello magro. Proverbio toscano

招財貓

Artwork: 黃永玉 (Huáng Yǒngyù)

复印机

L’è come levassi la sete co’ i’ pprosciutto. Proverbio fiorentino

Dotto的

No thanks, we are not interested in your services.

泡泡糖

糖宝宝

Artwork: patchow

一口吃不成个胖子。
Yī kǒu chī bù chéng gè pàngzi.
Un boccone di cibo nessuno fa grasso.

少年Pi的奇幻漂流

---

Just two lines by Miss Lonelyhearts

---

Magnus Carlsen – Viswanathan Anand
World Chess Championship; match game 6; Sochi, November 15, 2014
Sicilian Defence B41

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Qd3!? Nc6 8. Nxc6 dxc6 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. e5 Nd7. If 10. ...Ne4 then 11. a3! Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Kc7 13. Be3 b6 14. Bd3 Nc5 15. Bxc5 bxc5 16. 0–0–0 with a lasting advantage for White, Flores Rios – Lemos, Villa Martelli 2008. 11. Bf4 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Kc7 13. h4! “I remember looking at 11. Bf4 and this h-Pawn push and it’s miserable for Black. Especially against Magnus, bizarre blunder today aside”, Garry Kimovich Kasparov said. 13. ... b6 14. h5 h6 15. 0-0-0 Bb7 16. Rd3! c5 17. Rg3 Rag8 18. Bd3 Nf8 19. Be3! “I’m pretty happy with the position I got out of the opening. He doesn’t have to play 19. ... g6, but anyway he can go something like ... Bb7-c6-e8, but it’s really not very nice”, Carlsen said afterwards. 19. ... g6 20. hxg6 Nxg6 21. Rh5! “21. Rh5! is impressive, mostly because most weaker Grandmasters like me would have wasted time with 21. Rh3 or 21. Rh4 by this point”, Jonathan Rowson tweeted. 21. ... Bc6 22. Bc2! Kb7 23. Rg4! a5 24. Bd1 Rd8 25. Bc2 Rdg8 26. Kd2?? “26. Kd2 must be a transmission error, right?”, joked Hikaru Nakamura.

26. ... a4?? Vishy misses the simple 26. ... Nxe5! as 27. Rxg8 is answered by the zwischenzug 27. ... Nxc4+ 28. Kd3 Nb2+ 29. Ke2 Rxg8 and Black is nearly winning. 27. Ke2 a3 28. f3 Rd8 29. Ke1 Rd7 30. Bc1 Ra8 31. Ke2 Ba4 32. Be4+ Bc6? The losing move! The last chance was 32. ... Ka7!! 33. Bxa8 Kxa8 34. Bxa3 Rd1 35. Rxh6 Ra1 and, although Black is down the Exchange and two Pawns, it is not not clear at all that White may win... 33. Bxg6 fxg6 34. Rxg6 Ba4 35. Rxe6 Rd1 36. Bxa3 Ra1 37. Ke3 Bc2 38. Re7+ 1 : 0. “Shocking blunders... Vishy won’t be able to sleep tonight”, Fabiano Caruana tweeted.

反物质

Boris Vasilievich Spassky – Larry Melvyn Evans
15th Chess Olympiad; Varna, October 7, 1962
King’s Indian Defence E80

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 c6 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 b5 8. 0-0-0 bxc4? Black facilitates the enemy’s attack. More to the point was 8. ... Qa5, e.g. 9. e5 b4 10. exf6 bxc3 11. fxg7 cxd2+ 12. Bxd2 Qxd2+ 13. Rxd2 Rg8 14. h4 Rxg7 15. Ne2 Nd7 16. Nc3 Bb7 17. Bd3 c5 18. Be4 ½ : ½ Sherwin – R. Byrne, New York 1962. 9. Bxc4 0-0 10. h4! Far sharper than 10. Bh6 as in the game Moiseev – Kremenietsky, Pärnu 1973. 10. ... d5!? 11. Bb3! dxe4 12. h5! Opening up the h-line without delay! 12. ... exf3. Clearly not 12. ... Nxh5 on account of 13. g4! Nf6 14. Bh6 with an overwhelming attack. 13. hxg6 hxg6 14. Bh6! fxg2 15. Rh4! Rightly Boris Vasilievich is indifferent to his Kingside Pawns! 15. ... Ng4. Also after 15. ... Nd5 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qh6+ Kf6 18. Ne4+ Ke6 19. Qg5 White’s attack is vehement. 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qxg2 Nh6 18. Nf3! Nf5 19. Rh2. Another way is 19. Rh5! Rh8 20. Bxf7! Kxf7 21. Ne5+ Ke6 22. Qxg6 mate. 19. ... Qd6 20. Ne5 Nd7 21. Ne4 Qc7 22. Rdh1 Rg8. On 22. ... Nf6 23. Bxf7 wins outright. 23. Rh7+ Kf8 24. Rxf7+ Ke8

25. Qxg6! Nxe5. Of course Her Majesty is taboo, for after 25. ... Rxg6 26. Rh8+ White mates in two moves. 26. Rf8+. A dual is 26. Nf6+ and mate next move. 1 : 0.

I’ guadagno d’i’ Lica

Fa’ come i’ moscondoro, che gira gira e poi ’asca sempre nella merda. He acts like the rose chafer: he turns, twists and loops, but in the end he always falls in the shit. Livorno’s proverb

心地好

Gallina vecchia fa buon brodo. Proverbio italiano

摩菲定理

Artwork: GaluSs

最艰难的道路经常通往最高处。

Zuì jiānnán de dàolù jīngcháng tōng wǎng zuìgāo chù.

The roughest road often leads to the top.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

Viswanathan Anand – Magnus Carlsen
World Chess Championship; match game 5; Sochi, November 14, 2014
Queen’s Indian Defence E16

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Nc3 Bb7 7. Bg2 c6 8. e4 d5 9. exd5 cxd5 10. Ne5 0-0 11. 0-0 Nc6 12. cxd5. The fleeting theoretical background is 12. Bf4 Na5 13. Bg5 Rc8 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. cxd5 Bxd5 16. Nxd5 exd5 17. Re1 Qd6 18. Qa4 Nc4 19. Qxa7 Nxe5 20. dxe5 Bxe5 21. Rad1 Bxb2 22. Bxd5 Qf6 23. Re7 g6 24. Rd3 Rc2 25. Rf3 Qd4 26. Rexf7 1 : 0 van Wely – Tkachiev, FIDE World Blitz Championship, Dubai 2014. 12. ... Nxe5

13. d6!? Nc6 14. dxe7 Qxe7 15. Bg5 h6 16. d5 Na5. “16. ... Na5 was a very good practical (and maybe objective) choice from @MagnusCarlsen. If he stands worse, it is not very much” Nigel Short tweeted. The spontaneous 16. ... Rad8 could have been seriously met by the astonishing Queen sacrifice 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. dxc6. 17. Bxf6. After 17. d6 Qd8 18. Bxf6 Qxf6 the d-Pawn doesn’t look so impressive. 17. ... Qxf6 18. dxe6. If 18. Qe2 then 18. ... exd5 19. Nxd5 Bxd5 20. Bxd5 Nc6 is roughly equal. 18. ... Qxe6. “18. ... Qxe6?! unexpected”, Teimour Radjabov said. The controversial alternative was 18. ... Bxg2 19. exf7+ Qxf7 20. Kxg2 Nc4 with a vague compensation for the Pawn. 19. Re1 Qf6 20. Nd5. “Wow, 20. Nd5 is gutsy!”, Anish Giri tweeted. 20. ... Bxd5. 20. ... Qxb2 21. Re2 Qa3 22. Re3 Qb2 23. Rb1 Qxa2 24. Ra1! Qc4 25. Rxa5 bxa5 26. Ne7+ “is certainly a way to spice it up in”, Jan Gustafsson said. 21. Bxd5 Rad8 22. Qf3 Qxb2. Fearless. On 22. ... Qxf3 23. Bxf3 Nc4 24. b3 White stands better. 23. Rad1. “Normally, Magnus should defend a position such as this, yet still impressive how Vishy manages to put pressure in each game”, Fabiano Caruana tweeted. 23. ... Qf6 24. Qxf6 gxf6 25. Re7 Kg7 26. Rxa7. Anish Giri suggests 26. Kg2!? (threatening Bd5xf7), but 26. ... Nc6 27. Rc7 Ne5 28. Rxa7 Rd6 29. Bb3 Rxd1 30. Bxd1 Rd8 31. Bh5 Rd2 seems seems enough to survive. 26. ... Nc6! 27. Rb7. Also after 27. Ra4 Rd6 28. Bb3 Rxd1 29. Bxd1 Rd8 a draw seems very likely. 27. ... Nb4 28. Bb3 Rxd1+ 29. Bxd1 Nxa2 30. Rxb6 Nc3 31. Bf3 f5 32. Kg2 Rd8 33. Rc6 Ne4 34. Bxe4 fxe4 35. Rc4 f5 36. g4 Rd2 37. gxf5 e3 38. Re4 Rxf2+ 39. Kg3 Rxf5 ½ : ½.

日出

Besides his serious health problems, Spassky has other grave concerns: “My French wife has taken all my properties, my archives, everything. And the tragedy of the war in Ukraine affect me much, but I try to be happy writing my memoirs, watching the sun raising every day, looking at my plants growing. Today more than ever we need chess. Move the pieces and think about a strategy lets us forget the misfortunes of the world”. [Read more].

• Leontxo García, Spassky aún sueña con Fischer, El País, November 11, 2014

Sochi, November 8, 2014. Boris Vasilievich Spassky with the FIDE President Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov. Photo: Chess-News.ru.

包办婚姻

马多·弗林的心血结晶
(Da un’idea di Mado Flynn)

Candy Crush Saga

Eccolo qui finalmente il fratello minore di Candy Crush Saga il gioco della King Digital Entertainment da oltre 45 milioni di utenti al mese. Si chiama Candy Crush Soda Saga ed è una sorta di spin off del game caramelloso. [Read More].

• Alessandra Roncato, Arriva Candy Crush Soda, la nuova saga per gli amanti delle caramelle che scoppiano, la Repubblica.it, 11 novembre 2014

科学方法

求職信

红字

The Tiger and the Snow

---

Expressly annotated by Miss Lonelyhearts

---

Magnus Carlsen – Viswanathan Anand
World Chess Championship; match game 4; Sochi, November 12, 2014
Sicilian Defence B40

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 d5 5. exd5 exd5 6. 0-0 Nf6 7. d4 Be7 8. Be3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bg4. A laborious earlier reference is 9. ... 0-0 10. h3 Re8 11. Re1 h6 12. Nd2 Bd6 13. c3 Bd7 14. Qb3 a6 15. Rad1 Qc7 16. Nf1 Re7 17. Qc2 Rae8 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. Qxf5 Qa5 20. Qb1 Qb5 21. b3 Bc5 22. Qd3 Bxe3 23. Rxe3 Qa5 24. Qd2 Rc8 25. Bxd5 Nxd5 26. Qxd5 Rxe3 27. Qxa5 Rxg3+ 28. Nxg3 Nxa5 29. c4 Rc7 30. Rd8+ Kh7 31. Ne4 Nc6 32. Rf8 Kg6 33. Kg2 Nb4 34. Nc3 Rd7 35. Rb8 Kf5 36. Na4 Rc7 37. Nc3 ½ : ½ Short – Caruana, Wijk aan Zee 2010. 10. Qd3 Qd7 11. Nd2 0-0 12. N2f3 Rfe8 13. Rfe1 Bd6! The Dilemma: the Hypermodern Aron Nimzowitsch considered the blockade a “refutation” to the isolani, while for the Classic Siegbert Tarrasch the isolani was a source of dynamism. Well, they’re both right! 14. c3 h6

15. Qf1! “15. Qf1! was a real @MagnusCarlsen move. It is not even doing that much, but it just makes things a bit harder for Vishy”, Nigel Short tweeted. 15. ... Bh5 16. h3 Bg6 17. Rad1. Focusing on the isolated d-Pawn. “Vishy’s position looks slightly uncomfortable. I remember suffering quite a bit in this line years ago vs @nigelshortchess”, Fabiano Caruana tweeted. 17. ... Rad8 18. Nxc6 bxc6 19. c4 Be4. “Frankly it looks quite dull, but maybe Magnus will come up with something interesting, as he often manages to”, Anish Giri said. Black should consider 19. ... Qb7 20. Bd4 Ne4 as a little more dynamic strategy. 20. Bd4 Nh7 21. cxd5 Bxd5. “Strange decision, I would prefer 21. ... cxd5 as I see no problem in 22. Qa6 Re6 23. Qxa7 Qxa7 24. Bxa7 Ra8”, Grandmaster Alexander Delchev says in his live commentary. 22. Rxe8+ Rxe8 23. Qd3. “Vishy’s potential problem is his isolated Pawns. This is far from being fatal, but may be a long-term headache”, Short said. 23. ... Nf8! Reculer pour mieux sauter. 24. Nh4 Be5! An inspired defence! It demonstrates the resourcefulness of such positions. 25. Bxd5 Qxd5 26. Bxe5 Qxe5 27. b3 Ne6 28. Nf3 Qf6 29. Kg2 Rd8 30. Qe2 Rd5 31. Rxd5 cxd5 32. Ne5 Qf5 33. Nd3, Suddenly Magnus realizes that 33. Nc6? is met by 33. ... Nf4+! 34. gxf4 Qg6+ winning back the Knight with advantage. 33. ... Nd4 34. g4 Qd7 35. Qe5 Ne6 36. Kg3 Qb5 37. Nf4 Nxf4 38. Kxf4 Qb4+ 39. Kf3. “The Pawn endgame is completely winning for Magnus. Unluckily for him there are still Qs on :)”, Short joked. 39. ... d4 40. Qe8+ Kh7 41. Qxf7 Qd2. Practically forced. On 41. ... Qc3+? 42. Ke4! d3 43. Qf3! Qc6+ 44. Ke3! Black is in trouble. 42. Qf5+ Kh8 43. h4. “In case you’ve lost interest, Magnus just launched a mating attack with 43. h4, intending to put a Pawn on g6 before Black Queens”, Jonathan Rowson tweeted. 43. ... Qxa2! 44. Qe6. Jonathan Rowson suggests 44. Qd3, but after 44. ... Qb2 Black survives. 44. ... Qd2! 45. Qe8+ Kh7 46. Qe4+ Kh8 47. Qe8+ Kh7 ½ : ½. Chennai Tiger is alive and well!

金奈虎 Viswanathan Anand
Photo: Vladimir Barsky

羅密歐與茱麗葉

Une idée de la sorcière Vianne Rocher

Eja, Eja, Alalà!

La pesca di’ Giunti, acqua fino alle palle e pesci punti. Proverbio fiorentino

鳥人

Yesterday tenth World Chess Champion Boris Vasilievich Spassky was meeting with the young participants of the Champions and Award Winners children’s tournament in the Dvorkovich Drawing Room.

“I never belonged to those who feel comfortable in the corner. When I, at the age of 5, saw the chess board for the first time and learned how to move a Rook, the first thing I did was removing the Black a7-Pawn off the board and releasing the a8-Rook from its prison. Then I swept away all the White pieces by playing Ra8-a2-a1-h1-h2-a2...”, Boris Vasilievich said.

• Sochi, Day 3. Freedom for Vishy?, Chess-News.ru, November 12, 2014