Lessons of Life

On Monday, October 27, 2025, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Peking University’s Professor 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) gave a lecture and a 34-board simultaneous exhibition for the students of the 丹堤实验学校 (Dāndī Experimental School) in 龙华区 (Lónghuá District), 深圳 (Shēnzhèn), 广东省 (Guǎngdōng province), China. “I wish to tell everyone that playing chess is not just about learning to ‘win’, but more importantly, learning how to think”, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) said in her lecture. “It trains our logic, improves our concentration, and allows us to remain calm and find the best solution when facing complex situations. These abilities will be invaluable assets, both on the board and in our future studies and life”. Photos: 郑志鹏 (Zhèng Zhìpéng)/深圳晚报 (Shēnzhèn Evening News).

Just so, Edna; you are bound to give your audiences encore after encore, just as a pastry chef, in answer to your cry of bis, couldn’t help but encore his delivery of a bowl of tiramisu

Artwork © Serge Birault (@sergebirault)

Second Thoughts

Sword and Fairy

11.1深圳人才日 (November 1: Shēnzhèn Talent Day) "我的战场在64格 我的目标是赢" “My stage is 64 squares, my goal is to win” 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) 13th Women’s World Chess Champion

Yeah, Edna, only a supernatural being like you knows how, when, and where to find a balance between dancin’ in the moonlight and walkin’ in the sunshine

Artwork © Beats2Dance2 (@beats2dance2)

Game of Dominos

Because, Edna, as Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky said, “A book read by a thousand different people is a thousand different books”

Artwork © Rei (@akumi_so)

Romance in F minor

Ah, Edna, it’s a refined way of saying you’d like to be incognito sometimes

Artwork © RinzlerNetwork

Singapore interlude

Oh yes, Edna, eating a tiramisu is not a diet, but it is not a sin either

Artwork © TeddyGems

Pilgrimage Panda

On the evening of Tuesday, October 21, 2025, on the next-to-last day of her tour of 甘肃省 (Gānsù), four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) gave a simultaneous display at 道甘家巷社区新时代文明实践站 (Gānjiāxiàng Community New Era Civilization Practice Centre), 白银路街道 (Báiyín Road Subdistrict), 城关区 (Chéngguān District), 兰州 (Lánzhōu), China. Photo: Chinese Chess Association.

Fanya The Wednesday Fairy

On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and her long-time mentor, Grandmaster 叶江川 (Yè Jiāngchuān), concluded their tour of 甘肃省 (Gānsù) with a sold-out lecture and simultaneous exhibition for pupils in the 火星街小学 (Huǒxīngjiē Elementary School), 七里河区 (Qīlǐhé District), 兰州 (Lánzhōu), China. Photos: 中国国际象棋协会 (Chinese Chess Association).

Sliding Doors

War is peace

Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, October 23, 2025

Among the horrors of war which are often forgotten is its surviving in peacetime through its industrial transformations. It is known — but forgotten — that the barbed wires with which many still fence off their fields and properties come from the trenches of the First World War and are stained with the blood of countless dead soldiers; it is known — but forgotten — that the dinghies which crowd our beaches were invented for the landing of troops in Normandy in the Second World War; it is known — but forgotten — that the herbicides used in agriculture derive from those used by the Americans to deforest Vietnam; and, last and worst consequence of all, nuclear power plants with their indestructible waste are the “peaceful” transformation of atomic bombs. And it is well to remember, as Simone Weil comprehended, that external war is always also a civil war, that foreign policy is, in thruth, a domestic policy. Reversing Clausewitz’s formula, now politics is nothing but a continuation of war by other means.

(English translation by I, Robot)

Cagnaccio di San Pietro, Primo denaro (Money first), 1928. Courtesy of WikiArt.

Yes, Edna, as George Herbert said, “The best mirror is an old friend”

Courtesy of Tany Barb (@tanybarb_dolls)

Power of Performance: 9m88

Powdered sugar

On Tuesday, October 21, 2025, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) gave a 16-board simultaneous exhibition in 兰州 (Lánzhōu), 甘肃省 (Gānsù province), China, as part of the institutional program “奋进新征程 运动促健康” (“Strive for a New Journey, Exercise Promotes Health”). Photo: 中国国际象棋协会 (Chinese Chess Association).

Oh! Sorry, Edna. I thought you were someone else for a moment

Artwork © Huyền Trang

Stuck in the Sixties

Alberto Mario Giustolisi – Giorgio Porreca
25th Italian Chess Championship; Naples, August 1964
Sicilian Defence B30

Notes by International Master Francesco Scafarelli, Ajedrez Español, No. 1, January 1965, pp. 36-37.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. 0-0 d5? A move that has the disadvantage of weakening the c-Pawn.

6. Qe2! e6. If 6. ... Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. g4.
7. d3 Bd6 8. b3 Ne7 9. e5. Better than 9. Bb2 right away, which would be answered by 9. ... f6!.
9. ... Bb8 10. Ba3 Qa5. Against 10. ... Ba7 there would simply follow 11. Nc3 and 12. Nc3-a4.
11. Qe1 Qxe1 12. Rxe1 c4 13. dxc4 dxc4 14. bxc4. The alternative 14. Bxe7 Kxe7 15. Nbd2 was interesting, since the Black Bishops would be blocked.
14. ... f6 15. Nc3 Ng6

16. Bd6 Nxe5. 16. ... Bxd6 17. exd6 e5 offers greater resistance, although after 18. c5 White’s advantage is evident.
17. Bxe5 fxe5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. Rxe5 0-0 20. Rb1 Ra7 21. Ne4 Rc7 22. c5 Kf7 23. Nd6+ Ke7 24. Rb4 Bd7 25. h4 Be8 26. Re3 Bg6 27. Rg4 Rg8 28. c4 Rd7 29. Ra3 Ra7 30. Rgg3 Kd7 31. Rgb3 Kc7 32. Rb6 Bc2 33. Re3 Kd7 34. Rf3 Bg6 35. Rfb3 Ke7 36. Rxc6 1–0. Excellent positional play by the new Champion in this game.

Rollerball

To be sure, Edna, being a source of inspiration is a gratifying responsibility

Artwork © La Diseñadora

A Sunday Kind of Magic

On Sunday afternoon, October 19, 2025, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and her long-time mentor, Grandmaster 叶江川 (Yè Jiāngchuān), gave a special lecture and then interacted with a crowd of enthusiasts gathered on the third-floor conference room of 敦煌市综合体育馆 (Dūnhuáng Gymnasium) in 敦煌 (Dūnhuáng), 甘肃省 (Gānsù province), China. Photo: 敦煌市体育活动中心 (Dūnhuáng Sports Centre).

Rome–Naples Direttissima

Professor Mauro Berni (Genoa, Italy) sent me today from his historical paper archive a not-yet-known (at least in Italy) game by International Master Alberto Mario Giustolisi from the 25th Italian Chess Championship (Naples, August 20-30, 1964), which was originally published in Ajedrez Español, No. 1, January 1965, p. 37.
Here it is, with my light annotations.

Alberto Mario Giustolisi – Giuseppe Primavera
25th Italian Chess Championship; Naples, August 1964
Pirc Defence B07

1. d4 Nf6 2. g3 d6 3. Bg2 g6 4. e4 Bg7 5. Ne2 0-0 6. h3. Or 6. 0-0 e5 7. Nbc3 exd4 8. Nxd4 Nbd7 9. h3⩲ with a slight edge for White, Giustolisi – Palmiotto, 27th Italian Chess Championship, Rovigo 1966.
6. ... e5 7. Nbc3 Nc6 8. Be3 Re8 9. 0-0 Bd7. This is strategically critical, as it hands White a clear space advantage. 9. ... exd4 10. Nxd4 Bd7 seems to be preferable.
10. d5! Ne7 11. Qd2 Qc8 12. Kh2

12. ... Nh5? A useless move that serves no purpose but to leave White free hand in the carrying on of his Kingside crescendo. 12. ... b5!? 13. b4 c6!? was at least worth a try.
13. g4! Nf6 14. Ng3 Kh8 15. f4! exf4 16. Rxf4 Rf8 17. Raf1 Neg8 18. Bd4 Qd8 19. g5 Nh5 20. Nxh5 gxh5 21. Rxf7 Rxf7 22. Rxf7 Be5+ 23. Bxe5+ dxe5 24. Qf2 Be8 25. Rf5 Bg6

26. Qg3! Qd6. If 26. ... Bxf5 then 27. Qxe5+ Nf6 28. gxf6 Qd6 29. Qxd6 cxd6 30. exf5 with an easy win.
27. Nb5 Qe7 28. Rxe5 Qg7 29. h4 h6 30. Nd4 1–0.

You know, Edna, the longer the summer nights, the sweeter the autumn days

Courtesy of julia

Social Housing in Nowhere

A polar bear rests on steps at an abandoned research station on Kolyuchin Island, Russia. Photo: Vadim Makhorov/AP.