ROME SHOT 888

Please remember me when  CHRISTMAS  shopping online. Thanks in advance. US HERE – UK HERE  These links take you to a generic “catholic” search in Amazon. Amazon remembers that you used my link and I get the credit.  WHY?  This helps to pay for insurance (massively hiked for next year), utilities, groceries, all the necessities.  You get the items you need and, at no extra cost to you, you provide important help for which I am grateful.

More great news here…. if you can see it.  I understand that on 21 Dec Twitter/X had a global timeline melt down.  Maybe it is fixed, maybe not.  I got the code for this embed before it happened.

The French Diocese of Quimper has decided to ask the Fraternity of St Peter to leave, points to tensions with traditionalists within diocese without blaming FFSP priests. Asks diocesan priests to take over pastoral care for traditional Catholics. Right before Christmas. https://t.co/GUVwKdelrM

— Dr. Maike Hickson (@HicksonMaike) December 19, 2023

And there’s this…

White to move and mate in 3.

1. Rf6+ Kc5 2. Rc7+ Qc6 3. Rxc6#
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE

Use FATHERZ10 at checkout

I think the tide of public opinion is turning against young Alireza Firouza and his last minute bid to raise his ELO (rating) in order to gain a slot in the next Candidates Tournament (to play for the World Champ title – whatever that means without Magnus in it)… at the expense of Wesley So.   His local club in Chartres put together a tournament of some players with lower ratings who have been rather inactive (ratings don’t drop with inactivity) who were chosen, I’m just guessing, perhaps they don’t mind losing and thus losing rating and they want Firouza to win.  There was a curious resignation of one of his opponents in a pretty much even position with 40 seconds on the clock.  I don’t understand that entirely.

I read a fantastic story in The Guardian about an 8-yr old girl of Indian heritage in England who WON in the women’s section at the European rapid and blitz championship in Zagreb, Croatia last weekend. She won 8.5/13 against a field of highly rated and experienced grandmasters, international masters and experts, and came 73rd in a round of 555 players. Her father says she got into chess “accidently”. In the open section seeh beat an 39-yr old IM and drew a 54 yr-old GM, twice the Romanian national champion. Lemme tell ya’ somethin’. When I go to play OTB and some little kid shows up, I don’t make assumptions other than: I assume I’d better bring it. And I am really rooting for Alice Lee, of my native place in the Minnesota. She’s 14 and wiping the floor with all sorts of top players.