Daily Rome Shot 1022: different kinds of matches

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White to move. Mate in 2.

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

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In chessy news, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (MVL) won Division II of the Champions Chess Tour Chess.com Classic 2024 ($15K) defeating, alas, my guy Wesley So who had fought his way back through 6 opponents in matches in the lower bracket. Wesley even fought back hard against MVL, winning an Armageddon and forcing a reset. Division I concludes today with, I hope, Magnus mopping the board with Alireza Firouzja.

My attention was caught by the new of a the 2024 Speed Chess Championship which will be held 25 July to 9 August. However the final will in Paris 6-8 September and people can be in the e-area to watch in person. This is all e-sport, not over the board. 5+1 and 3+1 blitz with 1+1 bullet in a double-elimination knockout format tournament. They will be present, but with screens between them (I think). That should make for faster play, although it is rather fun to see pieces flying and clocks banging rather than mouse slips and pre-moves. It looks like Magnus and Hikaru (speed rivals who have really battled in the past) will be in it, along with world #2 Fabiano Caruana, Firoujza (who must be defeated), MVL, world champ Ding Liren and, yay, Wesley So who is quite the dangerous speed chess player. More qualifications will be filled through chess.com Titles Tuesday dust ups.

In my own life.  I was at OTB yesterday.  Pain.  I analyzed one of my games and found that I was doing quite well into the middle game.  Then, disaster.  Not only did I completely miss my opponent’s hanging piece, I made a move that allowed him to gain tempo and get me reacting.   I did, however, use a zwischenzug effectively.  I been trying to work on in between moves.  I have a small book in a graduating series, containing puzzles which a reader sent from my wishlist.  The complier directs us to set up the position on a board and give it about 10 minutes.  I’m feeling quite sluggish.

In any event, Lord, thank you for this day.

Meanwhile, have you been following the “chess match” between “Beans” and Bp. Barron and his World On Fire empire on account of Bean’s ghastly piece in lib Commonweal?  It has Fishwrap‘s (aka National Sodomitic Reporter) full attention.  The puzzling Larry Chapp even stuck his nose into it, opining in an embarrassing way at Catholic World Report.  I can’t figure him out.  Anyway, Beans, in his usual tedious style of bomb-throwing and non sequiturs linked conservative Catholics with “Trumpism” (whatever that is… I think it is mostly patriotism, which completely confounds and terrifies the Left).  Beans smeared Bp. Strickland and Bp. Barron with the same besmirching brush, provoking Word on Fire to threaten a defamation lawsuit if Commonweal didn’t amend Bean’s piece.  I suspect that this can’t go anywhere in the courts because the bar is really high for public figures.  This will probably wind up in mutual zugzwang and a draw.