In Rome the sun rose at 06:14.
It set quite a while ago at 20:03.
The Ave Maria Bells is still listed in the 20:15 cycle.
Welcome Regstrant:
CRM
Among others, today was the Feast of Sts. Maria Cleope and Salome, disciples of the Lord.
It is also the Feast of Maria Elisabeth Hesselbald, foundress of the Brigidines, who are just up the street from me.
Here’s there little bell tower around sunset.
I had a fascinating day.
A taxi took me out of the Centro to an obviously affluent area of residential Rome where I met to consult with an expert on 18th century chess sets. Yes, you read right. I am doing some research for a book and progress is being made. It was enlightening. He had hundreds of complete sets from around the world, mostly antique, not much modern.
He had sets which fit precisely in the period I am looking at that would have been used in this region. Not only, he had precious volumes, first editions etc., of the Modenese Masters and others. I was pretty excited to be able to look at a 1st edition of Domenico Ponziani’s great work, at first published anonymously in the amazing year 1769.
Then I had an amazing taxi ride back to the Centro. The driver gabbed on and on in great detail about how Benedict was forced to resign by pressure from outside and how Pres. Trump could help clear it up by releasing documents involving Hilary and Podesta, about how the munus and ministerium problem in the resignation speech made the resignation invalid, how Francis was an anti-Pope etc. His knowledge of details was exact and fluid. I suspect that he delivers it often, and probably to every single priest he conveys. It was a tour-de-force.
Then Mass and then shopping for supper.
That was it, and a can of sardines with a piece of bread before I went to see the chess collectionist. However, it was a new bottle of oil and, since I just finished the other one, what a difference.
CLICK
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Black to move. Don’t move until you see it. Then you can’t unsee it.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
It’s KxQ — the King is not moving into check, because the knight cannot move.
Missed the edit window — but RxQ leads to checkmate in 2 moves for white.
R×g8, even though Jabba Pappa is correct about White’s mate in 2.
Black’s King cannot take White’s Queen, because the rule againt moving into check applies even though White’s Knight is pinned.
I asked the question on Google and got precise answers from multiple sources — not just AI
“about how the munus and ministerium problem in the resignation speech made the resignation valid“
You mean invalid. I never correct grammar or typos in posts, but this should be fixed for obvious reasons.
Your cab driver is correct, you know. He has more common sense and courage than most priests these days. And. Bishops. And Cardinals. And popes.
pxQ
Promote to Q
anj: I’m not sure which board you are looking at, but I don’t think it is this one.
My apologies for the late reply. I was traveling. As the above commenters noted, king takes queen is forbidden by the knight. Even though it is pinned – knight would take black king first before the rook takes white king. No good.
Seemingly the only other option is for the rook to take the queen. But that leads to Ng6+, forcing pxN, followed by Rh1#. So no good, again.
So it seems there is no solution to this puzzle. Unless!! The board is laid out backwards, and all of the black pawns and white pawns are about to promote.
Then pxQ, promote to Q is the winning move.