Meanwhile,… white to move and mate in 2.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
The battle in Fischer Random is underway in St. Louis. Legend Garry Kasparov (the oldest by far and the only non-American) did really well! Action continues today. Crazy openings.
The traditional Benedictine monks of Norcia make terrific beer. Three kinds! I’ll be your parish priest would like some!
I think we often forget how much of a dump Rome had become and how much work many of the Popes did to restore it. (Indietrismo! Backward from the courts at Avingon!)
From the pen of Petrarch:
“Qui enim hodie magis ignari rerum romanarum sunt, quam romani cives? Invitus dico: nunquam minus Roma cognoscitur quam Romae.”
“For who today is more ignorant of roman things than roman citzens? Unwillingly I say: never was Rome less known than at Rome.”
He could have written that this morning, actually. Hmm…
[That comment was so good it deserves a device.]
pd5+
1. Pd4 to d5+, …
If … Bxd5
Or if … K to f4
Then
2. QxPf5 mate
There is a copy of the statue in Providence, RI:
Marcus Aurelius statue and Lyman Hall at Brown University
Rome Shot: More about this statue on the Capitoline Hill:
https://www.througheternity.com/en/blog/things-to-do/equestrian_monument_marcus_aurelius_capitoline_hill.html
TheCavalierHatherly: Sadly, I think the same sentiment could be expressed today about Americans and America.
1. d4-d5+
If either Bxd5 or K-f5
2. Q×f6#