DAILY ROME SHOT 967 – And a video with a heck of a lot of common sense

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And so it begins in Rome.  Passiontide.  Photo from The Great Roman™.

Welcome registrants:

T.R
Little Lady
Ilonabologna

Meanwhile, a priest friend texted this puzzle. Black to move and mate in three.  Tricky.   How long did it take you?  I puzzled over this one for about 5 minutes until I got my head around the position.

Click!

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

CLICK!

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.

Yesterday I had a note from a deacon in WI who plays.  And from RR.  Brick by brick.

Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE

Interested in learning?  Try THIS.

In St. Louis at the American Cup there was big drama yesterday. Fabiano Caruana and my guy Wesley So had advanced to the final of the Elimination Bracket (it’s a double elimination tournament whereby losers of matches in the upper bracket, drop down to another – but if they prevail in that bracket, they (there’s women’s and open) will play the winner of the upper in the Final). In the upper Levon Aronian won the upper. In the lower, world #7 Wesley So sent home #2 Fabiano Caruana in blitz tiebreakers. Exciting stuff. Wesley had lost the second game, and so he had to win on demand to stay in. He came back from rough positions in his next games to beat Fabi and advance to the Final of the Elimination bracket. The winner will face Levon for the brass ring. On the women’s side, Irina Krush defeated 14-yr old Alice Lee (from my native place) in two classical games. But Alice will now face Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova in the Elimination final for a shot at Krush in the championship. Hostilities resume today at 1420 EST/1920 CET.

Two notable things in the interviews of the winners yesterday. As usual Wesley thanked the Lord for the victory. HERE Irina was happy that she would have a day off before the championship match because, as she said, today is the beginning of Orthodox Lent and she planned to go to Church because “the Lord made it happen for me”. HERE Irina Borisivna Krush was born in the Ukraine to Jewish parents, who immigrated to these USA.  She says that she is a Christian Jew.

BTW… today, Clean Monday, is indeed the beginning of Great Lent in the Orthodox Churches which follow the Julian calendar.   Easter for them will be 5 May this year.

Finally, this video has a lot packed into it.  Biretta tip to Fr. RJ.  o{]:¬)