ROME (NOT!) SHOT 914 – The Terminator v. The Hulk

Please remember me when  shopping online. US HERE – UK HERE  WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance (massively hiked for this new year of surprises), utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

We are in Venice, today.  I’m thinking of St. Jude, Patron of the “Impossible”.  My friend Fr. Carlos Martins has a major relic of the Apostle which he is bringing to parishes around these USA.  Also, Sts. Simon and Jude’s Feast is my birthday.  Also, I have an intention in their queue for my mother.  This is Santi Simone e Giuda Apostoli, or “San Simone Piccolo” on the Grand Canal, probably the first thing that catches your eye when you get off the train and leave through the front of the station.

WELCOME REGISTRANT:
Robbie the Pict

Meanwhile, its white’s move.  Mate in 2.

Click!

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

Interested in learning?  Try THIS.

The “Wimbeldon of Chess” is going on, Tata Steel in Wijk aan Zee.   After Round Three Anish has caught up to “the Boy” at 2.5.   Nepo and Ding and Nodirbek 2.0.  The female champ Ju Wenjun is struggling with .5 but there’s a lot of chess to be played.  Ding handled Gukesh with relative ease, if anything at this level can be considered easy.

At my level, however, yesterday at OTB I had a mixed day.  I played like a  blockhead for two games, one with a truly stupid blunder which I made because I was way ahead and forgot one of my first principles in my complacency: “Ask yourself if this move makes sense.”  In the second game, against a strong player, I tried a new opening.  Ohhhh boy was that a disaster!   It turned into a hilariously irritating miniature.  I took that page from my score book and put it on my bathroom mirror.  It might migrate the door of the microwave during the day.  However, in my final game of the morning, I reverted to a tried and tested (no, not e4) approach and swiftly overwhelmed my opponent with aggressive play on all three “sides”.

Meanwhile, speaking of overwhelming, The Terminator v. The Hulk…

We never stop competing! It was fantastic to hang with my friend @LouFerrigno and play chess yesterday. He’s a fantastic player! pic.twitter.com/GakSgw3N2I

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 12, 2024

Chess is enjoying an explosion of popularity in the whole world.

Will the Catholic Church’s entities be – once again – behind the curve?

Fathers! Bishops! Start youth chess clubs and intergenerational clubs in your parishes and schools! I’ll bet you that strong and dependable adults will come out of the woodwork to teach the young. There are many older people who would like to have an activity and maybe contact with young people. This is really a THING.

Ceterum censeo Firoujza esse delendum.