Ding's Gonna Win

As always, opinions are my own, not those of Lichess.org.
(More about Ding as underdog, here - HT: Allen Becker via Dennis Monokroussos.)

This isn't a modern phenomenon, however stigmatization of mental illness/ailment challenges the ability of doctors, ill people, and society to advance meaningful conversation about such a taboo subject. If a football player has a broken leg, or a basketball player a broken arm, treatment for these conditions is well-understood. It is reasonable for doctors to respectfully not disclose details of patients' conditions, and it is respectful for society not to pretend to be doctors, even as we are hopeful for Ding's full recovery (for his sake and for the sake of having an exceptional match).

I hold out hope that victims of illness can overcome it, as humanists such as Carl Rogers expand our worldview with such works as On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy. There is a tremendous amount our society has to learn to more effectively communicate with each other, and I am hopeful that in such learning we can advance the useful arts and sciences. Gens una sumus.

Yesterday I drew a 2000 at a local chess club, thanks in large part to having watched FM Dennis Monokroussos' deeply engaging instructional content! I have a terrible memory (or perhaps motivation) for openings, and yet my chess speaks for itself:

Whenever there’s a World Championship match (since Anand-Gelfand 2012), Dennis has offered special, bonus coverage for subscribers, in which he deeply analyzes the games and provides video coverage as well. Purchase details can be found at The Chess Mind.

Photo credit: Kyle Glenn