Fr. Z's Blog

Last night from The World’s Best Sacristan™.  In a few short days, I’ll be walking through this piazza probably several times a day.  Thank you Roman Donors.

Welcome new registrants:

johnnyg
sddave

Meanwhile, as for yesterday’s puzzle commentator anj opined:

Impossible configuration.

Black pawn structure cannot arise in play.

Puzzle Abuse.

Reminds me of the upcoming Synod on synodality. Or whatever they call it.

I respond, saying…

Dear anj:

Puzzles or problems come in all sizes and shapes. Some are from real games and somet are imaginative constructs. The same principles of chess apply.

Try this one. Not, perhaps, impossible but not very probable.

White to move and mate in 3.

This was one of 42 compositions by the “Mark Twain of the Chess World,” P.H. Williams which appeared in 777 “Chess Miniatures in Three” by E. Wallis (1908). Williams wrote the Preface.

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

Here is a comment by Williams on 3 move mate puzzles from 1904:

‘Regarding the relative merits of slender and ponderous three-movers much may be said. Your readers may notice that my three-movers are always of slight build, and, while I do not claim much difficulty, I do, I believe, secure a fair amount of neatness. When solving the work of others, I put elegance a long way ahead of difficulty. The miniature seems to me the essence of problematic beauty, and though there are, of course, many splendid compositions of heavy build, they do not, as a class, appeal to me. (I speak of three-movers only.) Take, for instance, Loyd’s famous Checkmate prize-winner; the main play is undoubtedly brilliant, but, if the outlying pieces are touched, mating positions will result which are positively hideous, to say nothing of duals. The more ugly the by-play the more is the beauty of the main-play discounted. Not so with a good miniature; play any move of Black, and a beautiful mating position is or should be produced. Duals in a miniature are, to my mind, inexcusable, and I would rather abandon a position than cure a defect by additions, since every added piece seems to weaken the charm of the initial position.’

Here is Williams cordial shredding of a turgid book on chess, Franklin Young’s famously impenetrable The Grand Tactics of Chess.

This fellow could have worked for the Synod on Synodality (“walking together on walking togetherity”) … or whatever they call it.

Use FATHERZ10 at checkout

In chess news, in OTB I won my two games yesterday.

After that, you may need some wine:

10% off with code FATHERZ10

OPPORTUNITY
10% off with code:
FATHERZ10

Photo by The Great Roman™

Please remember me when shopping online. Thanks in advance. US HERE – UK HERE  These links take you to a generic “catholic” search in Amazon, but, once in and browsing or searching, Amazon remembers that you used my link and I get the credit.

Meanwhile, white to play and mate in two.

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

Interested in learning?  Try THIS.

In the AI Cup Magnus defeated Nakamura in rapid.  In Amsterdam for the Levitov Chess Week, Peter Svidler and Ian Nepomniachtchi have a 2-point lead over their closest rivals. Four rounds to go.

Meanwhile, 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.

Interested in learning?  Try THIS.

Please remember me when shopping online. Thanks in advance. US HERE – UK HERE  These links take you to a generic “catholic” search in Amazon, but, once in and browsing or searching, Amazon remembers that you used my link and I get the credit.

Visit the shop of the Summit Dominicans! Give them a hand.

In entertaining, but rather intimidating chessy news, here is a video of two of the super-strong super-young Super GMs, Prag and Duda, playing bullet WITHOUT A BOARD. They are using only pieces and internal board visualization.

Sky is the limit! @rpragchess and @GM_JKDuda showed us that the mind of a genius knows no bounds! #chess #mind pic.twitter.com/TWzvPefBNV

— WR_Chess_Masters (@wr_chess) August 29, 2023

Sigh.

Share the good stuff.

It’s the 17th Sunday after Pentecost in the Vetus Ordo and the 25th Sunday of the Novus Ordo.

Elsewhere I guess its the 4th Sunday in the Season of Creation.  HERE  Did you get any of that in your parish today?

More importantly, was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Sunday Mass of obligation?

Tell about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass. I hear that it is growing. Of COURSE.

Any local changes or (hopefully good) news?

I have some thoughts about the Sunday Epistle reading posted at One Peter Five.

A taste:

Of our Sunday Lesson Bl. Ildefonso Schuster remarks:

The passage from the Epistle to the Ephesians (iv, 1-6) vigorously impresses upon us the idea of the unity of the Christian family, a unity founded on the identity of the Spirit which inspires all the members of the mystical body of Jesus Christ. God is one, the faith is one ; there is one baptism and one bishop. With these words in olden days the Romans, making a tumult in the Circus, answered the heretical Emperor Constantius, when he proposed to allow the Antipope Felix II, whom he himself had appointed, to reside in peace beside Liberius, the staunch defender of the Nicene faith.

What is Schuster talking about. Tumult? Antipope? Two Popes?

Welcome new registrant:

twe

Welcome back!

StCorbiniansBear

Meanwhile, white to move.  Mate in two.

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

Use FATHERZ10 at checkout

Your use of my Amazon affiliate link is a major part of my income. It helps to pay for insurance, groceries, everything. Please remember me when shopping online. Thanks in advance.  US HERE – UK HERE

My Roman Sojourn is coming up, so I am very busy taking care of many things.  One thing I am reviewing is my comms.  I have had an Italian mobile number since the day that the Italian Bishops Conference said that priests should not have cellphones.  I laughed and got one that very day.  At first it was Omnitel, which was absorbed by Vodafone.

In any event, in those days when it was difficult to use your mobile for the internet, I got a mobile “hot spot” through Keepgo, which is still listed as one of the best services of its type.  I have a data plan on my Italian phone.

Also, with ATT (gotta review that) you can use your phone as if you were in these USA for $10/day.  But I am not interested in a $400 phone bill, as you can imagine.  I tend not to turn on cellular on my US phone when in Rome, maybe once a week.   Also, my US phone is still locked into ATT. My older Italian phone is unlocked.  It doesn’t have the best camera however.  Which means carrying more gadgets – two phones – than I would like when I hit the streets for those daily Rome pics.  I feel like a drug dealer.  I’m going to update my Keepgo as a backup for internet right now.  Also I may get an ESIM for my US phone.  I’ve never used an ESIM.  I’ll dedicate one of my reader donations today to find out!    So…

Thank you DD.  You are one of the famous “200!” who has been so kind and faithful all this time.  You “200!”s were a life boat in a storm.  My gratitude to all the “200!”s who are left, and “100!”s, too.  All you regular donors have my daily prayers.

The other option is buy an unlocked phone with a better camera for my Italian number.  Unlocked phones can be spendy.

If you want to try Keepgo, a mobile hotspot, for travel, here is my referral code.  Each time someone gets some data through Keepgo, I get some data too: 3GB.  That helps.

http://keepgo.refr.cc/S2BDR7V

Photo by The Great Roman™

Welcome new registrant:

Ranchoseco

I can’t push Benedictine wine all the time.  So, let’s break it up with Benedictine BEER. I can personally attest that it is really good, and I am not much of a beer drinker.

Your use of my Amazon affiliate link is a major part of my income. It helps to pay for insurance, groceries, everything. Please remember me when shopping online. Thanks in advance.  US HERE – UK HERE

This isn’t all that hard, but it has a fun feature.  BLACK to move and win.

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

Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE

Chess news… Magnus beat Hikaru 3.5-12.5 in the Final of the 2023 Chess.com Speed Chess Championship.

My chess news… I played like a moron today, losing three straight, each time with an avoidable blunder. In my defense there were a lot of distractions. Frustrating.

On another note, I am grateful to a reader who sent, some time ago, a set of tech tools. I fixed something today and thought of you.

Also, thanks to CG who sent TOMATOES and a few other things which helpful. You are very kind.

Meanwhile,….

Black to move (despite board orientation).  White has made a bad move with h4. Punish it.

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

Interested in learning?  Try THIS.

I checked the “Earth Labora” page of the traditional Benedictine monks of Le Barroux, who are making good wines from the ancient vineyards left by the Avignon popes.  They have 10 and 20 and 40 year PORTS.  HERE  I haven’t had any yet.

For 10% off at their store use the code FATHERZ10

They also have an assortment:

Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalis Wine Assortment

Of course it is mostly red.  I’ve had all three of these wines.  Very good.  HERE

Featuring 10 bottles of Via Caritatis Lux Red wine, this wine assortment was created in honor of his eminence Cardinal Mueller’s recent visit to Washington, D.C. It also includes one bottle each of the Via Caritatis Lux White and Lux Rosé wines, as an additional gift.

Remember that Card. Müller has been pretty vocal lately with a) his concerns about the upcoming “walking together” (toward the cliff) and b) pressure on Bp. Strickland.  A toast to Card. Müller!

I’ve been hearing more and more about ChatGPT, which is an online A.I. site.  You can ask questions or even put it to tasks.  About a year ago, one of you readers had ChatGPT write a poem about “walking together about walking together-ity” upcoming in October.  Since I will be in Roma at that time, I hope the air quality isn’t reduced because of their gaseous emissions.  I digress.  That eerily accurate and pretty good A.I. generated poem is HERE: It ran…

Synod on Synodality: A Poem by ChatGPT

In chambers where agendas play,
A Synod’s dance begins its sway,
A masquerade of “dialogue” they say,
Yet veils are thin, truth’s price to pay.

Synod on synodality, a modern scene,
Where liberal dreams may intervene,
A clever ruse, a cunning scheme,
In name of progress, they convene.

With every vote and subtle nod,
A liberal agenda seeks to prod,
Traditional hearts, they aim to sway,
But through the haze, we see their play.

Oh, Synod’s charade, you’re quite the show,
A liberal fest, with pomp aglow,
They whisper change and “open minds,”
Yet core beliefs, they leave behind.

Synod on synodality, a circus grand,
Where principles shift like shifting sand,
Tradition’s voice they try to drown,
While “tolerance” is their new crown.

But we’re no fools, we see the game,
Behind the curtain, it’s all the same,
A liberal masquerade, oh what a sight,
Where truth and orthodoxy take their flight.

So Synod, dance with your intent,
Your liberal leanings, blatant and bent,
A spectacle of “dialogue” and “new,”
Yet through it all, tradition rings true.