The Check is the Mail: “Players can take days or even weeks to take a turn, and they have embraced the use of software to find the best moves.” NYT: Why Correspondence Chess Is Still Popular Among Elite Players.

+ Putin Perspective: “The most senior US general estimates that around 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the war in Ukraine. Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, also suggested that around 40,000 civilians had died after being caught up in the conflict.” Look at the insane amount of damage one madman can inflict. Meanwhile, Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit. Forget punishing him, can we at least excise this monster from the guest list?

+ Green Day: You may not still recognize those green symbols in your stock portfolio, so here’s a refresher. They mean the share price is going up. And they’re back today after a report showed inflation in the United States slowed last month by even more than expected.

+ Gogh Fund Me: “The auction house said works by Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne and Gustav Klimt each sold for more than $100m, breaking individual records for those artists.” Paul Allen had good taste when it came to art. And that’s lucky for the charities that will benefit from a record-breaking $1.5bn art sale.

+ Watermelon Sugar Low: What’s it like being a former One Direction member and watching Harry Styles become a global solo superstar? Louis Tomlinson explains.