Screen One

雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié) – 叶诗雯 (Carissa Yip)

1st Julius Bär Challengers Chess Tour; 3rd stage; Kramnik Challenge; time control: 10 minutes plus 5 seconds per move; chess24.com, August 15, 2021

King’s Indian Defence E91

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 0-0 5. Nf3 c6 6. e5 Ne8 7. Be2 d6 8. Bf4 Nd7 9. exd6 Nxd6 10. 0-0 c5 11. dxc5 (11. d5 Nb6 12. Qb3 Bg4 13. Nd2 Bxe2 14. Nxe2 Qd7 15. Rad1 Na4 16. Nc3 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Qf5 18. Bg3 Rfe8 19. Rfe1 b6 ½ : ½ Cao – Trois, “Parque Hotel” International Tournament, Montevideo 1976) 11. ... Nxc5 12. Rc1 Nf5 13. b4 Ne6 14. Bd2 b6 15. Qa4 Bd7 16. Qa3 a5 17. b5 Nc5 18. Rfd1

18. ... e6? A truly bad move which gives White even more than she wished. ⌓ 18. ... e5! was obviously the correct play. 19. Bf4 Re8 20. Ne5 Qc8 21. Nxd7 Nxd7 22. Ne4 e5 23. Be3 Qc7 24. c5! bxc5 25. Bxc5 Nxc5 26. Qxc5 Qb8? The exchange of Queens would also leave White with a very much better ending, but it was Black’s best chance.

Now White finishes in brilliant style: 27. Bc4 Nd4 28. b6 Qd8 29. Bxf7+! Kxf7 30. Nd6+ Kf8 31. Nxe8+ Kxe8 32. b7 Rb8 33. Qc7 Bh6 34. Qxb8! 1 : 0.

Yeah, Edna, as they say, “life is not a dress rehearsal”

Artwork © Joey Chen (@shubiduwa)

On the Road Again

Street artist Banksy has released a 3 minute long video clip, titled A Great British Spraycation, in which he himself, in solidarity with many Britons who cannot leave the country due to COVID-19 restrictions, took a summer road trip in an ageing camper along the available coastline in Norfolk and Suffolk, England. Photo: Julian Tallis/Getty Images.

Hidden Agenda

The highly awarded British filmmaker Ken Loach has revealed he has been expelled from the Labour Party on the ground that he showed no willingness to “disown those already expelled”. Inevitably a deluge of criticism by the Party base flooded the media. “I am proud to stand with the good friends and comrades victimised by the purge. There is indeed a witch hunt”, Loach said. “Starmer and his clique will never lead a party of the people. We are many, they are few. Solidarity”.

LEGOmetry

Vincent Keymer – 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié)

1st Julius Bär Challengers Chess Tour; 3rd stage; Kramnik Challenge; time control: 10 minutes plus 5 seconds per move; chess24.com, August 14, 2021

English Opening A14

1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 Nf6 3. Bb2 e6 4. c4 b6 5. g3 Be7 6. Bg2 0-0 7. 0-0 Bb7 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. d4 Nd7 10. Re1 c5 11. e4 N5f6 12. Nc3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Ne5. 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié) is following along the lines of his preparation. One of her games continued instead 13. ... Bc5 14. Re2 Ne5 15. Rd2 Qe7 16. Qe2 Rfd8 17. Rad1 Rac8 18. Na4? (⌓ 18. a3!) 18. ... Bb4 19. Rc2? (⌓ 19. Bc3) 19. ... Ba6! 20. Nb5 Rxd1+ 21. Qxd1 Rd8 22. Qa1 Nd3 23. Bxf6 gxf6 24. Nd4 Ne5 25. f4 (25. Nf3 Nd3−+) 25. ... Qd6! 26. Ne2 Qd3 27. Qc1 Nf3+ 28. Bxf3 Qxf3 29. Nec3 b5 30. Rf2 Qd3 31. a3 bxa4 32. axb4 Rc8 0 : 1 Khotenashvili – 雷挺婕 (Léi Tǐngjié), 15th “映美杯” (“Yìngměi Cup”) Chinese Chess League, 嘉兴 (Jiāxīng) 2019. 14. h3!? Ba6 15. Ncb5 Bxb5 (15. ... Bc5!? 16. a4 Bb7) 16. Nxb5 Nd3 17. e5 Nxb2 18. Qe2 Nd5 19. Qxb2 Qd7 20. a4 Rac8 21. Rad1

21. ... a6? An unfortunate mistake, which not only loses a Pawn, but also leaves White in full command of the centre files. 21. ... Bb4! at once was called for. 22. Nc3 Bb4. 22. ... Ba3!? 23. Qa1! Bb4 24. Nxd5 exd5 25. Rxd5 makes no substantial difference. 23. Nxd5 exd5 24. Rxd5 Qe7 25. Red1 Rc3 26. Qe2 Rxb3. Black has won back the Pawn, but there’s no satisfaction in it.

27. Rd7 Qc5. This loses straightforwardly, but neither 27. ... Qe6 28. Rxf7! Rxf7 29. Bd5 nor 27. ... Qe8 28. Rb7 would give Black any hope. 28. e6! Rxg3 29. e7 Re8 30. Rd8 1 : 0.

And yet, Edna, one must always continue to believe that in the end good people will win

Artwork © niqyolk.mix (@niqyolk.mix)

A World As One

• Lizzy Davies, “Maestro of humanity”: Italian surgeon Gino Strada dies at 73, The Guardian, August 13, 2021

“If you think of medicine as a human right, then you cannot have some hospitals that offer sophisticated, very effective, hi-tech medicine, and then go to Africa and think, ‘OK, here’s a couple of vaccinations and a few shots’”, he said. “Do we think that we human beings... are all equal in rights and dignity, or not? We say, ‘Yes, we are’”. [Read more].

Seeing Through Arithmetic

On Friday, August 13, 2021, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), through her 新浪微博 (Sina Wēibó) microblogging account, appealed to her fellow sisters in chess to make their voices heard in the world:

Another research by Dr. David Smerdon and his project team: Impact of marriage and parenthood on competitive chess players. At present the ratio between male and female respondents to questionnaire is 10 to 1, so chess girls you are urgently needed 🎺🎺 The survey will take no more than 3–5 minutes to fill out. If you would consider giving it a chance, it would be greatly appreciated: please click here

Of course, Edna, a non-profit association, also in accordance with its statute, should have the antibodies necessary to reject discriminatory restrictive norms and resist the bullying of the collaborationists

Artwork © Azzedinho Dolce (@azzedinhodolcestudio)

The Queen’s Cup

Just like a gem, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) has many facets to her personality: she is not only a mentor and a guide, not only a chess celebrity, but a cultural icon as well. Screenshot from the live stream.

In the Blink of an Eye

Volodar Arturovich Murzin – Jonas Buhl Bjerre

1st Julius Bär Challengers Chess Tour; 3rd stage; Kramnik Challenge; time control: 10 minutes plus 5 seconds per move; chess24.com, August 12, 2021

2r1q1k1/5ppp/Q3pn1b/2r1N3/3Nn2P/2P2R2/P4PPB/4R1K1 w - - 1 32

Position after 31. ... Rd5-c5

The 3rd stage of the 1st Julius Bär Challengers Chess Tour has started today with much work for the teams’ coaches who have to do their best to get the best out of their pupils. If nothing else, Danish Grandmaster Bjerre, who’s tutored by four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), in his game against Russian prodigy Murzin, managed to miraculously escape being checkmated. And yet, from the position of diagram, White began well: 32. Nxf7! Nd2? After 32. ... Kxf7 33. Rxe4 Rxc3 34. Rxc3 Rxc3 35. Re1 White’s extra passed Pawn on the Queenside is enough to guarantee a win. 33. Nxh6+ Kh8 (33. ... gxh6 34. Rxf6 Rxc3 35. Qe2+−) 34. Rxf6! gxf6 35. Rxe6 Qg6 36. Bf4 Qb1+ 37. Kh2 Nf1+ 38. Kh3 Rxc3+ 39. g3 Nd2 40. Re8+ Kg7 41. Ndf5+ Kg6

42. h5+!? White goes King hunting, apparently overlooking that His Majesty was already in a mating net: 42. Qxf6+!! Kxf6 43. Be5+ Kg6 44. Re6+ Kh5 45. Ng7#. 42. ... Kxh5 43. Qe2+? Actually, Murzin overlooked it. White was still in time for 43. Ng7+ Kg6 44. Qxf6+!! Kxf6 45. Be5+ Kg5 (or 45. ... Kg6 46. Re6+ Kg5 47. Nf7#) 46. Nf7+ Kg6 47. Nh8+ Kg5 (or 47. ... Kh6 48. Re6+ Kg5 49. Nf7#) 48. f4+ Kh6 49. Re6+ Qg6 50. Nf7#. 43. ... Nf3 44. g4+ Kg6. Now White’s two Knights cannot checkmate: 45. Ne7+ Kg7 46. Nhf5+ Kf7 47. Nd6+ Kg7 48. Nef5+ Kg6 49. Ne7+ Kg7 50. Ndf5+ Kf7 51. Nh6+ Kg7 52. Nhf5+ ½ : ½.

Yes, Edna, the only infallible criterion by which to distinguish culture from society and creativity from cultural stereotypes lies in the binary dichotomy that pits art against science, love against marriage, sacred against profane, equality against inequality, red against green, Don Quixote against the windmills, Peter Pan against Captain Hook — and so on

Artwork © 虹 (@natasha365231)

Venus and Mars

Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and one of the richest people in the world, paid a surprise visit to Florence, Italy, on Tuesday evening. He has flown in on his private jet, accompanied by his partner Grimes and other family members — and one of his first public acts was to visit the Uffizi. Photo: Galleria degli Uffizi/dpa.

Queen of Kings

Due to the strict COVID-19 restrictions in place in the Isle of Man, United Kingdom, FIDE finally has come to the resolution to relocate the 2nd Grand Swiss Tournament and the 1st Women’s Grand Swiss Tournament from Douglas to the city of Riga, the capital of Latvia. Both Grand Swisses will be held on the originally scheduled date, from October 25 to November 8, 2021. FIDE also published the lists of qualified female and male players, plus the reserves, for a total of 180 names. It should be noted that, once again, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán), at present engaged as full Professor at 深圳大学 (Shēnzhèn University), by virtue of her ranking as the only woman among the hundred best players in the world, is also the only woman eligible to take part in either men’s or women’s Grand Swiss, regardless of her gender.

Better take it easy, Edna — because now newspapers and TV news give headline prominence to advertising and teleshopping spots commissioned by multinational corporations with holdings in outer space

Artwork © amaruwalker (@amaruwalker)

The Starry Night

A woman looks up at the Milky Way galaxy in the night sky from the Al-Salmi desert area, in southwest Kuwait. Photo: Yasser Al-Zayyat/AFP/Getty Images.

Америка (Amerika)

New York City, NY — MARCH 1972: A tinted portrait of chess Grandmaster Bobby Fischer on the cover of a special issue of Amerika magazine, right before Fischer’s World Championship match against Boris Vasilievich Spassky. Amerika, also known as America Illustrated, was published by the now-defunct United States Information Agency (USIA) during the Cold War, for distribution in the Soviet Union as a form of cultural exchange. The original portrait itself was shot in David Attie’s studio in New York City, United States on August 10, 1971. Photo © David Attie/Getty Images.

Yeah, Edna, a democratic dictatorship of a self-proclaimed majority could be summed up like this: no one likes them, and no one believes them, but at least they like each other

Artwork © 𝒜𝒩𝒥𝒜𝐿𝐼 𝐿𝒜𝐿𝒪𝒫𝒰🌙 (@anjali_c.xxi)

虎眼石 (Tiger’s eye)

One could debate endlessly whether it is the model herself or the eye of the photographer to give a fresh boost to fashion culture without ever reaching a conclusion. So maybe a good way to seek an answer to this crucial question might be to read the article by Louisa Thomas, 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) and the Wait for Chess’s First Woman World Champion, The New Yorker, July 26, 2021 (Published in the print edition of the August 2, 2021 issue with the headline “Queenside”). Photo © 李文嘉（Amiko Lǐ）for The New Yorker.

All in the Same Boat

A stencil of children pretending to be sailors, bearing the hallmarks of the street artist Banksy, has appeared on the wall of a bridge in Nicholas Everitt Park in Lowestoft, England. Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images.

Yeah, Edna, now the Trinity is warning young people that they will miss out on their youth forever if they will not enthusiastically devote several years of their lives to being volunteer guinea pigs to a demographic experiment in which love’s lifespan is an app offering a way in or a way out, but not both, depending upon which mobile phone brand they have purchased

Artwork © Laah (@laah54)

Touching the Waves

Dolphins swim in the Tagus at Lisbon, Portugal, where the water is calmer and less polluted than before thanks to restrictions that have reduced maritime traffic. Photo: Patrícia de Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images.

Yes, Edna, there are so many combinations of life lines on the human hand, which, in their sinusoidal irregularity, may resemble sand dunes shaped by the wind and ocean waves

Artwork © Type_art (@type_art_)

A Book to Read

A large crowd of monkeys has been filmed brawling over a pot of yoghurt in a street in the “monkey city” of Lopburi, Thailand. The collapse of tourists amid the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in far fewer people offering them food. However, even in better times, when monkeys were well fed, it was an uneasy walking in Lopburi: monkeys everywhere and houses closed behind bars till the top. I can’t forget when one time while waiting for the crosslight, a big monkey gently but firmly tried to take away my Lonely Planet.

Yes, Edna, however you shuffle them, they will always form the same herd array

Artwork © 🥥𝕊𝕥𝕦𝕕𝕪𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕣𝕤🥥 (@letteringnottes.428)