Mark Dvoretzky News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The finish of the 6th game of the World Championship match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi was impressive. In a tense and complicated position, Ding surprisingly advanced his d-pawn, and this small pawn advance was crucial to a spectacular mate that could have occurred in the game. The audience was impressed, the study composers were inspired. In his last "Study of the Month" column Siegfried Hornecker had a look at "Ding's Theme" in studies, in his current column he returns to this theme with further insights. | Photo: Ding Liren | Photo: Amruta Mokal

In this second part of an "understanding chess composition competition" trilogy, Study of the Month columnist SIEGFRIED HORNECKER surveys the official FIDE Album, an anthology of the best chess compositions. His selections include a study co-composed by Levon Aronian. | Photo: Arves.org

Humans formed belief systems based on stellar bodies. If you ask an astrologer about it, he might tell you his beliefs which of those have the most influence on your life. If you ask a scientist, he will likely name at least two: Sun and Earth. Ancient cultures already measured a phenomenon that - relative to each other - Earth rotates around the sun as well as around its own axis. A full rotation around itself is called a "day", a full rotation around the sun a "year". Relatively speaking, that is in relation to the sun, Earth returns to its current position after one year...