DAILY ROME SHOT 944

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Meanwhile, white to move and mate in 4.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

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I am now a chess.com affiliate.   So, click and join!   Maybe we can build a fun and active Catholic Chess Club within Chess.com.  Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE

Dear readers… I am experimenting with a Catholic ad service that inserts ads into my posts. I like to support groups like the Summit Dominicans and the different Benedictines, etc., and I try to keep those things to one daily post. They need help and I like to give it. Those are a joy.  I have ads for while I am an affiliate.  Those are okay: you get things you want and I get a percentage.  Everyone wins.  On the other hand, the ad service sticks ads into my posts.  It’s like this: I have to get my income up. View = payment. This is all part of being “cancelled”, or semi-cancelled, I guess. It’s both affirming and humiliating at the same time. As long as I am where I am, and I don’t have a lot of choice in the matter, I have to get my income up.  So… ads.  I’m sorry.  I am suppose to have a measure of control over them.  I saw one that was sort of political and darn near cancelled the whole thing.  I saw another that had a rotating image, which annoyed me.   Please, if they annoy you, be annoyed along with me rather than with me.

In chessy news, world #1 Carlsen defeated world #2 Caruana in the 2024 Freestyle (aka 960 or Fischer Random) Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge to win the $60,000 top prize. I was so sad about Ding Liren. Not a single win in the entire event.

Another interesting tournament is coming up on 21 February. A 2v2 team match, during which pairs of players can confer with each other about the moves. I see that my guy Wesley So is paired up with young super talent Alice Lee (they are in the same town, my native place). It looks fun. The format is an eight team knockout with two game matches and a bidding armageddon tiebreak if necessary. 10+10 time control. The final will be played over a four game match. Prize pool: $25,000.