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MargaretAnn
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In churchy news…
This is worth a read. At the UK’s Catholic Herald, an article about how Francis wrote to the Cardinals telling them to tighten the belt and work for zero deficit. They are going to have to resort to “seek external resources to cover operating costs” and then those who do well should “contribute to cover the general deficit”. Also, he has urged “mutual collaboration and synergies”. There’s a really interesting point at the end of the article about a “Council for Inclusive Capitalism with the Vatican”. Check it out.
Card. Pell was not available for comment.
Something popped across my screen that I did four years ago, namely, my reading of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 44, from my daily Twitter series of all of the Bard’s Sonnets. Yup, I did them all, 154. I threw in some other poets too, for variety, like GK Chesterton, and That was a fun project. I was challenged my one of you readers to do it because Patrick Stewart was doing it during COVID Theater.
#ASonnetADay – 44. “If the dull substance of my flesh were thought…” pic.twitter.com/M3r3Hb0pDv
— Fr. John Zuhlsdorf (@fatherz) September 25, 2020
In chessy news…
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FIDE had a meeting in Budapest. Overall, in 2023, FIDE had a net income of 1,044,592 euros and, at the end of the year, had 6.9 million euros in bank accounts. Also, FIDE rejected a proposal to readmit Russia. Greenland has newly been approved. There is also now a new Turkik-speaking association.
White to move and mate in 2.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
For a moment I thought you were quoting a Babylon Bee article.
This was a very good, and tricky, chess problem. The key to it lies in realizing that each of Black’s pieces (except the imprisoned Bishop on h5) is needed for a very specific defensive function, right where each stands, so that Black moves them at his peril. Then the solver has to discover the one move White can make which keeps the pressure on Black. After much trial and error, this move emerged as the clear winner:
1. Qh1 There is no obvious, immediate threat. But the move preserves all of White’s options while forcing Black to move one of four pieces, and no matter what he chooses, his goose is cooked. This is the essence of Zugzwang!
a. If Black moves his Rook, say, RxN (or to any other square), he allows White’s Bishop to attack the King’s only exit square (f5), so that 2. pxN+ is mate.
b. If Black moves his Knight from f6, say to e4, then he uncovers f5 for White’s Rook on f8, and mate follows again with 2. pxN+.
c. If Black moves his other Knight, say to h3, then he uncovers his defense of e6, while exposing f5 to White’s other Rook, so that White can mate by 2. Ne6+.
d. And finally, if Black moves his King to f5, then he pins both of Knights and his Rook, so that they cannot prevent White from mating his King by 2. Qd5+.
All in all, a very rewarding problem that took a good while to figure out its complexities. Thanks for posting it.
Initial observstions:
(a) White’s king is not threatened
(b) Black’s availsble moves are very limoted.
1. Q-a1
Black can avoid 2, Q×f6# by N(either)-d5 or R-d6 or N-e8 or N-g8 or N-e4, but any of those allows:
2. Q- e5#
2. Q-e5#
Itailian deli…delicious. Growing up my Mother and I would walk downtown to go shopping. Three differant Butcher shops, Irish, Lebanese and Sicilian. The Sicilian would hand slice veal or beef cutlets while I watched. In later years that Butcher sang at our wedding.
On Vatican banking..I read the book on the assasination of John Paul the First. Realized when I viewed the Godfather Part 3, the Coppola read the book too and turned it into a movie.