Simultaneous exhibition by WGM Olga Zimina in Soliera

On Monday 13 July, at the Parco della Resistenza in Soliera, the Chess Simultaneous took place in which the strong WGM Olga Zimina, recent gold medallist at the 2015 Mitropa Cup played in Austria, faced 15 players: 2 Candidate Masters, 6 U16 youngsters, a few willing parents and other enthusiasts of black-and-white competition. There was no shortage of onlookers who, in respectful silence, watched the spectacle of a single (!) player dancing confidently between the boards, and of the children playing with the same commitment and concentration as the most titled players. After about an hour of play, out of the various openings and in the full heat of competition, the collective mood of the players began to change. These were the groans coming from the various by-now compromised positions: "disaster! ... years of study wiped out in a single evening ...", "I have to go and check in the openings book where I went wrong ...", "I'm going into the endgame 2 pawns down!", "it feels like my first ever game of chess!", "I can't believe it ... I'm forced to make the moves she wants and they're the worst ones for me!". Someone, particularly plucky, having finished the first game badly, asked for a rematch. Luckily, as is the tradition at this event, around 23:00 a boy arrives from the kitchen with pieces of gnocco fritto: hot, good, fragrant, not greasy and crisp, generous, consoling ... like a mother's caress for the child who got a bad mark at school. This is Chess, this is life!

• Galleria fotografica