LABIRINTI E CASEMATTE

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Touched by Grace

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) – Anne Haast
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 24, 2015
Sicilian Defence B48

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qf3 Ne5 8. Qg3 h5 9. 0-0-0 h4 10. Qh3 b5 11. f4 Nc4 12. Bxc4 Qxc4 13. f5 Bb7 14. Rhf1 e5!? Giri’s move, improving on 14. ... Rc8? 15. fxe6? (since 15. Nf3! – threatening Nf3-e5 – would have ensured White excellent prospects) 15. ... dxe6 16. Rxf7 Kxf7 17. b3 Ba3+ 18. Kb1 Qxc3 19. Qxe6+ Kf8 20. Rf1+ Nf6 21. Rxf6+ gxf6 22. Qxf6+ Kg8 23. Qg6+ Kf8 24. Qf6+ Kg8 25. Qg6+ Kf8 26. Qf6+ ½ : ½ Radjabov – Giri, 77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2015. 15. Nb3 Qc7 16. Kb1. For 16. Bg5 Rc8 17. Rf2 Be7 18. Bxe7 Kxe7!! see Šarić – Giri, 77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, The Hague 2015. 16. ... Rc8? Anne’s only one mistake, but it is enough to lose the game! Black’s position would have been tenable after 16. ... Be7.

17. f6! The first of a series of stunning moves. 17. ... Nxf6. On 17. ... gxf6 18. Bb6 Qc6 19. Na5 would have made no difference. 18. Rxf6! gxf6 19. Bb6! Qc6 20. Na5! Qe6 21. Nxb7 Rb8 22. Nd5! Rxb7. If 22. ... Qxh3 then 23. Nc7+ Ke7 24. Bc5+ d6 25. Rxd6 f5 26. Nd5+ Ke8 27. Rd8+! Rxd8 28. Nf6 mate. 23. Qc3! Qc6 24. Nxf6+! Ke7 25. Bd8+! Ke6 26. Qh3 mate. A display of brilliancy which is reminiscent of the elegant style of Paul Charles Morphy.

Andrey Deviatkin (@AndreyDeviatkin)

韦奕 (Wéi Yì) vs. Anne Haast
Photo: Alina l’Ami

啊朋友再见

Francesco Merlo, Tutto il mondo (Italia esclusa) canta in piazza “Bella ciao”, R.it, 24 gennaio 2015
Andrea Punzo, Alexīs Tsipras, comizio di chiusura ad Atene. L’abbraccio con il leader di Podemos sulle note di “Bella ciao”, L’Huffington Post, 23 gennaio 2015
Flavia Cappellini, La piazza di SYRIZA canta Bella ciao, Left, 24 gennaio 2015

Saturday, January 24, 2015

The Way Back

Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 24, 2015
Catalan Opening E06

“Radjabov seems to really enjoy positions with symmetrical structure in which he holds the tiniest of pressures. This is what happened today in his Catalan against Hóu Yìfán, but his initiative quickly dissolved into nothing in a rook endgame that was promptly drawn”, Grandmaster Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez writes.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 0-0 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Ne5 c5 8. dxc5 Qxd1+ 9. Nxd1 Bxc5 10. Nxc4 Rd8. For 10. ... Nc6 11. Be3 Bb4+ 12. Bd2 Bxd2+ 13. Nxd2 Bd7 see Kortschnoi – Petrossiàn, Castelvecchio Pascoli 1977, match game 9. 11. Be3 Bb4+ 12. Nc3 Nc6 13. Rc1 Nd5 14. Bd2 Bxc3 15. Bxc3 Nxc3 16. Rxc3 Bd7 17. f4 Kf8 18. Kf2 Ke7 19. Rhc1 f6 20. a3. “ White’s position is very pleasant, but he has yet to create a weakness in Hóu’s camp”, Dennis Monokroussos writes. 20. ... Rab8 21. Nd2 Nd4

22. Nb3 Nxb3 23. Rxb3 Rdc8 24. Rxc8 Bxc8. “White still has more space, but there isn’t enough material left for it to matter, since Black has no weaknesses. She’ll finish her development one step at a time, and the draw will be agreed”, Monokroussos writes. 25. g4 h6 26. h4 b6 27. Rc3 Kd6 28. Rd3+ Kc7 29. g5 hxg5 30. hxg5 Bb7 31. Bxb7 Rxb7 32. e4 fxg5 33. fxg5 Kc6 34. Ke3 ½ : ½.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
Photo: Alina l’Ami

Friday, January 23, 2015

无法满足 (I Can’t Get No Satisfaction)

13th Women’s World Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) speaks after winning her first game of the tournament: “I’m satisfied with the quality of my play”.

涅墨西斯 (Nemesis)

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) – Baadur Jobava
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 23, 2015
Caro-Kann Defence B15

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. c3 Qd5!? 7. Nf3 (7. Ne2!? Bd6 8. Nf4 Qe4+ 9. Qe2 Qxe2+ 10. Bxe2 0-0 11. Be3 Re8 12. Kd2 Nd7 13. Rae1 c5!=) 7. ... Bd6 8. Be2 (8. Bd3 0-0 9. 0-0 Bg4! Δ 10. Qc2? Bxf3 11. Bxh7+ Kh8 12. gxf3 g6 13. Bxg6 Rg8−+) 8. ... 0-0 9. 0-0 Bc7 10. h3 Bf5! 11. Re1 Nd7 12. Nh4 Be4 13. g3 Rfe8 14. c4 Qa5 15. Bd2 Qb6 16. Bc3 Rad8 17. Bg4 Nf8 18. Re3 c5 19. d5 Bg6 20. Qe2 Rxe3 21. Qxe3 Bd6 22. f4 Qc7 23. a4 Qb8 24. Re1 Bc2 25. Bd1 Bxd1 26. Rxd1 Qc8 27. Kg2 Re8 28. Qd3 Ng6 29. Nxg6 fxg6 30. b3 Kf7 31. Re1 h5 32. Rxe8 Qxe8 33. Bd2 b6 34. a5 bxa5 35. Qe3 Qd7 36. Bxa5 Qf5 37. Be1 h4 38. g4 Qc2+ 39. Kf1

39. ... Kg8?? This is indeed an inexplicable mistake, especially since Jobava wasn’t in zeitnot. After 39. ... Kf8 40. Bxh4 a5 41. Be1 a4! Black should be able to hold his own in the ending. 40. Qe6+ Kh7 41. Qxd6. Sic et simpliciter, as Black has no perpetual check. 41. ... Qxb3 42. Kg2 Qxc4 43. Qe6 a5 44. f5 gxf5 45. Qxf5+ g6 1 : 0.

侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Alina l’Ami.

Verantwortungsethik

http://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2015/01/23/news/brescia_condannati_i_responsabili_dell_allevamento_green_hill-105575340/?ref=HREC1-8

La prima sezione penale del tribunale di Brescia ha condannato per maltrattamento e uccisione di animali tre dei quattro imputati nel processo Green Hill. Condannati a un anno e sei mesi Ghislane Rondot, co-gestore di Green Hill 2001 della Marshall Bioresources e della Marshall Farms Group, e il veterinario Renzo Graziosi. Un anno anche al direttore Roberto Bravi. “È una sentenza storica – commenta Gianluca Felicetti, presidente della Lega Antivivisezione (LAV) – È il riconoscimento a tutte e tutti coloro che in tanti anni hanno partecipato a manifestazioni a Montichiari e in tante altre parti d’Italia e del mondo, hanno digiunato, firmato petizioni, realizzato inchieste giornalistiche, presentato denunce, scavalcato barriere fisiche e ideologiche che difendevano l’indifendibile”. [Read more].

Shadowing

Just two lines by King Lear

Ivan Šarić – Anish Giri
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; The Hague, January 21, 2015
Sicilian Defence B48

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qf3 Ne5 8. Qg3 h5 9. f4. For 9. f3 b5 10. 0-0-0 see Karjakin – Giri, FIDE Grand Prix, Tashkent 2014. 9. ... h4 10. Qh3 Nc4 11. Bxc4 Qxc4 12. 0-0-0 b5 13. f5 Bb7 14. Rhf1 e5!? An important theoretical novelty. Five days earlier Anish preferred 14. ... Rc8? 15. fxe6? (but 15. Nf3! would have ensured White excellent prospects) 15. ... dxe6 16. Rxf7 Kxf7 17. b3 Ba3+ 18. Kb1 Qxc3 19. Qxe6+ Kf8 20. Rf1+ Nf6 21. Rxf6+ gxf6 22. Qxf6+ Kg8 23. Qg6+ Kf8 24. Qf6+ Kg8 25. Qg6+ Kf8 26. Qf6+ ½ : ½ Radjabov – Giri, 77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 2015. 15. Nb3 Qc7 16. Bg5 Rc8 17. Rf2 Be7 18. Bxe7

18. ... Kxe7!! Just like jumping over his own shadow – Fischer’s style (it reminds us of 13. ... Kxe7 as in the game Matulović – R. J. Fischer, Vinkovci 1968). After 18. ... Nxe7 19. Rfd2 White’s position would be imposing. 19. Rfd2 Nf6 20. a3 Rh6 21. Qe3 Kf8 22. Kb1 Kg8 23. Rg1 Ng4 24. Qf3 Qb6 25. Re1 Nf6 26. g4 hxg3 27. Qxg3 d6 28. Rg2 Rh7 29. Qg5 Kf8 30. Qd2 Rxc3! Lively play by Giri! 31. Qxc3 Nxe4 32. Qd3? Maybe White’s only mistake in the game! After 32. Qb4 Nc3+ 33. bxc3 Bxg2 34. Rxe5 Rxh2 35. Re2! (Ramírez Álvarez) 35. ... Rh1+ 36. Kb2 Bd5 Black keeps the upper hand, but White has survived the worst. 32. ... Nc3+! 33. Qxc3 Bxg2 34. Qc8+ Ke7 35. Qg8 Qf2! 36. Rd1 Be4! 37. Rd2 Qg1+ 38. Ka2 Bxf5. Black is two Pawns ahead and his King is safe enough. Giri concludes the game elegantly and efficiently. 39. Qb8 Rh6 40. Rd5 Bd7 41. Qb7 Qg4 42. Na5 Kf6 43. b3 Rxh2 44. Rxd6+ Be6 45. Kb2 Qf4 46. Nc6 Rh1 47. Qe7+ Kf5! 0 : 1.

Ivan Šarić vs. Anish Giri
Photo: Alina l’Ami

Thursday, January 22, 2015

四號坦克

索拉里斯星

Alexīs Tsipras

向日葵

Artwork: 劉勃麟 (Liú Bólín)

劳动节

Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk
Photo: Alina l’Ami

Meisje met de parel

The Hague, January 22, 2015

商品虛偽標示 (False advertising)

Banksy, Life is Beautiful. Courtesy of the artist.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

It Ain’t Necessarily So

密码 (Password)

Johannes Vermeer, 《戴珍珠耳環的少女》 (Girl with a Pearl Earring), c. 1665. Photo: Alina l’Ami.

做什么，在哪里，怎样其实都不重要，重要是和谁一起。
Zuò shénme, zài nǎlǐ, zěnyàng qíshí dōu bù chóng yào, zhòngyào shi hé shuí yīqǐ.
It’s not what, where or how that matters but who.

月食 (Lunar eclipse)

Loek van Wely – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; The Hague, January 21, 2015
Sicilian Defence B31

1. e4. “Loek told me he wanted to catch the 1st bus home. I told him to play 1. e4 but I didn’t expect him to take me seriously!”, Magnus Carlsen said. 1. ... c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. 0-0 Bg7 6. Re1 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 8. c4 Nc7 9. d4 cxd4 10. Qxd4 0-0 11. Qh4 f6 12. Nc3 Ne6 13. Ne4 fxe5 14. Nfg5 Nxg5 15. Bxg5 Qb6

16. c5! Sharp play on the part of White. For 16. Rad1 Qxb2 17. Rd2 (17. c5 transposes to the game, while if 17. g3 then 17. ... d5!?) 17. ... Qb6 18. c5 Qa5 19. f3 d5 20. cxd6 exd6 21. Rxd6 Bf5 22. Red1 Rab8 23. Be7 Bxe4 24. Bxf8 Bd5 25. Be7 Qxa2 26. Re1 Qd2 27. Rd7 Rb2 28. Qg3 Bh6 29. Rd8+ Kf7 30. Ba3 Rc2 31. Rd7+ Kg8 32. Rd8+ Kf7 33. Rd7+ Kg8 34. Kh1 Bf4 35. Rb1 Rc1+ 36. Rxc1 Bxg3 37. Rb1 e4 38. fxe4 Qd3 39. Rd8+ Kg7 40. Rb7+ Kh6 41. Bf8+ Kg5 42. hxg3 Qxe4 43. Rb2 Qe5 44. Rdb8 Qxg3 45. R8b4 a5 46. Rb7 a4 47. Be7+ Kh5 48. Bc5 h6 49. Rf2 Qc3 50. Bb4 Qe3 51. Kg1 a3 52. Re7 Qd4 53. Bxa3 Qa1+ 54. Kh2 Qxa3 55. Re5+ g5 56. Ref5 Qe3 57. Rf6 Qe5+ 58. Kg1 c5 59. R6f5 Qd4 60. Kh2 c4 61. g3 Qe4 0 : 1 Naiditsch – Sutovsky, 30th European Club Cup, Bilbao 2014. 16. ... Qxb2 17. Rad1 d5?! Black gives back one of her two extra Pawns in the vain hope to slow down the opponent’s initiative. Grandmaster Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez suggests 17. ... Qxa2 18. Bxe7 (18. g3!?) 18. ... Rf4 19. Qg3 a5!? with a double-edged position in which “Black could even consider sacrificing the Exchange on e4”. 18. cxd6 exd6 19. Rxd6. As a matter of fact the Black King’s position remains precarious. 19. ... Bf5 20. Nf6+ Bxf6 21. Bxf6 (21. Qc4+ Rf7 22. Rxf6 Rf8 23. Bh6) 21. ... Rab8?? A careless blunder, which is punished dramatically. The last hope of saving the game lay in 21. ... Qxa2 22. h3 a5, as pointed out by Ramírez Álvarez. 22. Qc4+. Sic et simpliciter. 22. ... Rf7 23. Red1! Black is doomed. 23. ... Qb1!? Sheer desperation, but also after 23. ... Rf8 24. Rd8 les jeux sont faits. 24. h3! Mercilessly. 1 : 0. “When you are Black, you normally should be worried about your King”, then Loek van Wely said.

Traveling by bus from Wijk aan Zee to The Hague. Photo: Evgeny Anatolyevich Surov.

Loek van Wely vs. 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Alina l’Ami.

海牙 (The Hague)

The fourteen participants at the 77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament arrived today in The Hague. In the centre of the picture stands the only woman — 13th Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán). Photo: Chess-News.ru.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

太陽帝國

Fabiano Caruana – 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán)
77th Tata Steel Chess Tournament; Wijk aan Zee, January 20, 2015
Sicilian Defence B90

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nde2 h5 8. g3 Be7 9. Bg2 b5 10. Nd5 Nbd7 11. Nxe7 Qxe7 12. Bg5 Bb7 13. Nc3 Qe6 14. a3. For 14. h4 b4 see Shirov – Palliser, 4NCL Division 1c, Hinckley 2013, whereas for 14. Nd5 Rc8 15. c3 Nxd5 16. exd5 Qg6 17. h4 see Shirov – Sjugirov, Loo 2013. 14. ... 0-0 15. 0-0. After about 42 minutes’ thought. 15. ... Rfc8 16. Re1 Rab8 17. Re2 Nb6 18. Qe1 Nc4 19. Bc1 Nb6 20. b3 Nbd7 21. h4 d5. Black has finally succeeded in playing her thematic counter! 22. exd5 Nxd5 23. Ne4 N5f6 24. Nxf6+ Qxf6 25. Bg5 Qf5 26. Bxb7 Rxb7 27. Qa5 Rbc7. Black decides on a drastic step, sacrificing her Pawns on the Queenside for a powerful initiative on the Kingside. 28. Qxa6 Rxc2 29. Be3 Nf6 30. Qxb5 Ng4 31. Rf1 Rxe2 32. Qxe2 Rc2. “It’s a pity Hóu didn’t continue her series of power moves with 32. ... Rc3!=/+, when White’s position is getting very uncomfortable. Aside from taking aim at White’s Queenside passers, Black may also play ... Qf5-e4 and pile up on the Bishop, or play ... e5-e4 and ... Ng4-e5”, Dennis Monokroussos writes. 33. Qd1 Rb2 34. Bc5 e4 35. Bd4 Ra2 36. a4 Kh7. “A move that reminds me of Kasparov: always improving the King before looking for final blows”, Grandmaster Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez writes. 37. b4

37. ... Ra3! Initiating a most original horizontal attack. 38. a5? White underestimates Black’s initiative. Better was 38. Qc2 Qf3 39. a5 Rd3 40. Bb6 Ne5∞ (Ramírez Álvarez’s analysis). 38. ... Rf3? “38. ... Rd3! This move is a winner! 39. Qa1 Qf3 (threatening ... e4-e3) 40. Qb2□ g5! Black’s attack on the Kingside is too fast and too strong. White collapses. 41. Bh8 (41. hxg5 h4 42. gxh4 Qf4!-+; 41. a6 gxh4 42. a7 h3 is too slow for White) 41. ... f6-+”, Ramírez Álvarez writes. 39. Qb1 Rd3 40. Qb2 Qd5 41. Bc5. “41. Be3 is worse for White, but survivable”, Ramírez Álvarez argues. 41. ... Ne5 42. Be3 Nf3+. “42. ... f5! This move first! It would have prevented the counterplay in the game. 43. Rc1 f4 44. Bxf4 Nf3+ 45. Kf1 (45. Kg2 e3-+ 46. Bxe3 Nxh4+ 47. Kh3 Qg2+ 48. Kxh4 Kg6!! and White is helpless against ... Qg2-h2 mate. A very difficult thing to see, for sure) 45. ... Rd1+ 46. Kg2 Ne1+ 47. Kh2 e3! 48. Qb1+ Kg8 49. Rc8+ Kf7 50. Rc7+ Ke8! 51. Qg6+ Kd8-+”, Ramírez Álvarez writes. The casting out nines is, however, 42. Qc2 (instead of 43. Rc1) 42. ... Ne5 43. Be3 Nf3+ 44. Kg2 f4 45. Qc5 fxe3 46. Qxd5 Rxd5 47. fxe3 Rd2+ 48. Rf2 Ne1+ 49. Kf1 Rxf2+ 50. Kxf2 Nd3+ and although Black wins the b4-Pawn, it appears impossible to win: 51. Ke2 Nxb4 52. Kd2 Kg6 53. Kc3 Nc6 54. a6 Kf5 55. Kc4 Ke6 56. Kc5 Kd7 57. Kb6 Kd6 58. Kb5 Kc7= and no win is in sight! 43. Kg2 f5 44. Rc1! The saving clause! 44. ... f4 45. Rc7! Nxh4+! 46. gxh4 f3+ 47. Kg3 Qd6+ 48. Bf4 Qg6+ 49. Bg5 Qd6+ ½ : ½.