Zugzwang in Palliative Care

You never truly know who your next patient will be, and sometimes it turns out to be someone who left a lasting mark on your life.

I was stunned when I saw his name on the ward chart today. Standing before me was a prominent figure from our local chess fraternity - a stern educator and team leader from our fiercest rival school 20 years ago. Truth be told, back then, we didn't particularly like him. He was an alpha male who is tough, uncompromising, and determined to win.

Fast forward two decades, and the boards have completely flipped. Our palliative care team was called in to support him as he faces a life-limiting illness, having exhausted most treatment options.

When I first walked in and greeted him, I honestly didn’t know what to say. The room felt heavy with uncomfortable silence. I have been doing serious illness conversations for years, but this caught me off guard. How to bridge the gap between a stern rival mentor from my youth with a proud man facing his quietest, hardest trial is still the question lingering in my mind.

We exchanged a few moments and had a very simple chat on how I could make him feel better. No long stories, no chit chat, just straight to the point. His face suggested that he was keeping all his thoughts to himself.

I left in a jiffy, looking forward to meeting his son coming back from overseas on Monday to talk about future care plans.

Medicine constantly reminds us that life comes full circle. You never know who will be sitting on the other side of the consultation room.

World Chess Championship 2023

         Had the chance to watch the world chess championship today. Am oncall today, and had some time to watch in hospital

         After 14 games of classical matches which tied at 7 all, with each winning 3 games
        - look at the clutch of game 12 which Ding snatched victory from jaws of defeat

        Rapid games ensued, and with first 3 games ending in a draw, the 4th and final game was the spotlight before going into blitz. Ding started with a bold 4e thrust, and the refusing the 3 fold repetition with Rg6. Despite being down on the clock for most of the game, he managed to grind out a win while burning down Ian's clock as well. And in the end the queenside pawns prevailed

       First Chinese to be crowned world chess champion. The 17th World Champion

      What a pride!

Right after Ian pulled out his hand and resigned the game

Watching the live commentary from Chess.com youtube channel

Ding with his second, Richard Rapport

Moving to the press conference 

And Ding speaks quite good English, for chinese standards

- He played 30 classical games in a month in order to qualify for the candidates, because Karjakin was not allowed to play. 

- Finished 2nd in the candidates and only qualified for the world championship because Magnus Carlsen refused to defend his title. 

- Was down one point from the beginning of the match, managed to equalize a couple of times, almost lost in game 12 but then made a huge comeback and won that game equalizing the match again. 

- Went to the tie breaks and won his first game against Nepo with the black pieces in the last game of the rapid section. 

- And finally became the first Chinese world champion

Congratulations Ding!!!