Fr. Z's Blog

From The Great Roman™

And I will have bonus pic later.

First… a commercial… Please remember me when shopping online. US HERE – UK HERE  WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance (massively hiked for this new year of surprises), utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

WELCOME REGISTRANT:
albert1953

In chessy news, at Tata Steel in the Netherlands, Nodirbek is in the lead!    There was a CRAZY game between Gukesh and Max Warmerdam.  It was NUTS.  I am happy to report that Vidit defeated The Boy, Alireza Firouzja.  Vidit’s post game comment: “A win is like two draws, so it’s better than a draw.”  Maybe not a word smith, but he sure can play chess.  Ju drew against Donchenko.

Fun photo… from ChessBase.

From the Piazza Navona and the beautiful Church of St. Agnes, comes this shot of “Agnesina” and her wonderful Roman “Ci penso io!” stance…

“I’ve got this… leave it to me!”

One of the things you can get, is wonderful BEER from the traditional Benedictine monks of Norcia. It is really good. Three different kinds. You get great beer. The monks get to build their monastery. I get a small percentage. Win. Win. Win.

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.

Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE

Interested in learning?  Try THIS.

Ceterum censeo Puerum esse delendum.

Too many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff.

It is the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time in the Novus Ordo and the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany in the Vetus Ordo.

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 a few thoughts about the orations in the Vetus Ordo for this Sunday: HERE

Heaping hot coals on someone’s head doesn’t sound very charitable.  What could this mean?  In ancient times it was critically important to keep a fire going in the home.  Great effort was made to bank coals in ashes over night and get the fire going again later.  Providing food and drink and fire were ways to tend to your neighbors’ true needs.  For the Romans a sentence of exile was given with a decree of aquae et ignis interdictio… privation of water and fire.  You were to be denied the essentials of life precisely so that you were forced to leave the area or die.  The reverse of this is how on the day of her marriage a bride would be received by her husband with fire and water, which represented that he would care for her needs.  Hence, heaping coals on a person’s head is the opposite of cruelty.  It is a way of waking them up to their true selves.  As St. Augustine put it, your kindness will burn away your enemy’s hatred.

Please remember me when  shopping online. US HERE – UK HERE  WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance (massively hiked for this new year of surprises), utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

Photo by The World’s Best Sacristan™.

I was delighted to see “my” vestment in use at the parish today.  It was just one of seven beautiful red vestments which some of you readers help to buy.  Only one of the new ones has my coat-of-arms.  The other reds there were in bad shape and all mismatched.  Now there are lovely Roman chasubles in red that match.

Thank you, again.  Next … BLACK!   Those of you who couldn’t get in on the red, can get in on the BLACK sets.

In churchy news I noted with interest that the DUTCH Bishops – yes, you read that right – have uttered a collective “No” to blessings SS couples.  It’s not a 110% repudiation, but we are talking about the Dutch!  Also, in ITALY Archbishop Giacomo Morandi, 58, who – once secretary of the CDF – was sacked by Francis after the CDF’s document in 2021 against blessings for SS couples was just elected as the head of the Bishops’ Conference of Emilia-Romagna, a key region around heavily communist Bologna.  That’s 15 dioceses including little San Marino-Montefeltro.

You are probably now thinking of the duplicitous denizen of the Inferno with the fraudulent Guido da Montefeltro, whom Dante encounters in canto 27.   Guido, formerly a military leader who got himself excommunicated.  Boniface lifts it and Guido become a friar.   Then Boniface asks Guido’s advice about how to get rid of political enemies – inducing him to break a promise to stay out of things, with a promise to absolve the sin before Guido commits it.  Nice.  In the Italian, there is a fantastic sibilance when Guido speaks to imitate the sound of a rustling flame.    The souls are like flames.

S’i’ credesse che mia risposta fosse
a persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
questa fiamma staria sanza più scosse;
ma però che già mai di questo fondo
non tornò vivo alcun, s’i’ odo il vero,
sanza tema d’infamia ti rispondo.

Click!

If I thought my answer was
to someone who might return to the world,
this flame would move no more;
but since from this depth it never happened
that anyone alive returned (if I hear right),
without fear of infamy I’ll answer you

Guido only says anything to Dante, because he doesn’t think anyone could leave the Inferno.

The 86th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament is taking place on January 13-28 in Wijk aan Zee.  It’s Round 7.  I’m just tuning in because I was at OTB from 8-Noon getting my butt kicked.  It was not pleasant but it was instructive.   I have another opening to work on now, because this particular guy plays it a lot and it catches me off base.    At Tata, however, I am delighted to report that, staying on theme, Vidit beat Puer.

My gal Ju drew.  Nodirbeck beat Anish, which is interesting.  He’s tough.  In the Challengers Section, IM Eline Roebers (2381) beat GM Mustafa Yilmaz (2666) but today lost to Saleh Salem (2630)     Maurizzi beat Niemann.  Yay.  Alas, Niemann drew today.  Boo.

Elsewhere, a 14 yr old Ukrainian kid of Kyiv – perhaps ethically more mature than Puer – has become the world’s youngest grandmaster.  This underscores just how low my spirits are in my pursuit, eventually, of a rating of 2000.  I am ancient, in chess terms.  The youngest ever GM was Abhimanyu Mishra, who was 12 in 2021.

Meanwhile, try this on for size!

White to play and mate in 2.

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

Interested in learning?  Try THIS.

Ceterum censeo Puerum esse delendum.

Please remember me when  shopping online. US HERE – UK HERE  WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance (massively hiked for this new year of surprises), utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

Photo from The World’s Best Sacristan™.

WELCOME REGISTRANT:
PHurley

Also, thanks to CB a “100!” and EA a “200!”.  It’s always a boost to see those.

I am thrilled at yesterday’s results.

The most unlikable characters at the Tata Steel chess tournament, Alireza “the Boy” Firouzja and Hans Niemann, both got their asses kicked by girls.

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As far as Firouzja is concerned, at the moment he is unlikable because of the spoiled-brat behavior he exhibited at the end of the year to “farm” rating points and take the Candidate slot away from Wesley So.  I may relent on that eventually.  Niemann… just unlikable.  Sorry.

Firouza (2759), who has been doing well, dropped to 4th after his drubbing by Women World Champion Ju Wenjun (2549).  She had fought Ian Nepomniachtchi to an 80 move draw.  Against the Boy she brought an end game that left the commentators flabbergasted at the calculation.  It’s worth watching.  People will talk about it for a long time and it’ll wind up in a book or two.  Here’s the link – about over 5.5 hours into the coverage – where the end game is really getting to be something.  Puer is toast at this point, but Ju has to play precisely.  HERE

That was in the Masters section.  In the Challengers section Eline Roebers (2391) beat Niemann (2692) – video of the end HERE.

Click!

It usually happens that women and men play in different sections.  There are reasons for that, including women and girls space where they are less likely to be treated badly.  That is – or was – a serious issue according to Judith Polgar, whom I believe.  Also, the women’s section and the open section (in which, I suppose, women should be able to play) sometimes have different rules, which is … wrong.  There should be level playing fields.  However, yesterday’s victories by Roebers and Ju show that their presence among the men isn’t a sop or a stunt.  Even if it were, they have demonstrated that they belong there.

Yesterday’s results will increase my anxiety level the next time at our Club’s OTB a mom brings her 12 year old daughter to play.  That happened a while back and I didn’t assume anything except that she could be rated 2400 online.  It didn’t turn out that way, but you never know with these darn kids.   Some time ago I wrote about an 8 year old girl at the European Blitz Championship. Brrrr.  A fun video about her playing a 79-year old British champ in one of the most prestigious clubs in London. HERE

I feel like raising a slightly chilled glass of Norcia Beer in honor of Ju and Roebers. I’ll bet you do to! You can make that happen!

Ju plays Vidit today.  Nepo v. Prag. Ding v. Nodirbek.  Puer v. Wei Yi.  GO WEI!

Meanwhile, try this one!

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.

Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE

Interested in learning?  Try THIS.

Ceterum censeo Firouza esse delendum.  Heh heh.

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If you are interested in some commentary…

Damian Thompson of perhaps the best audio podcast title ever, Holy Smoke, HERE. He’s brutal.

Gerhard Card. Müller gave an interview to Crisis Magazine about papal authority, HERE  Refreshing clarity.

Also from Crisis….

A prayer for imploring holy popes, from Bishop Athanasius Schneider: pic.twitter.com/MeuNf4iCCv

— Crisis Magazine (@CrisisMag) January 18, 2024

At The Catholic Thing there is a piece about Card. Fernandez and his “idée fixe”, HERE.  Ouch.

Here is a fine new translation of St. Augustine’s Confessions by Anthony Esolen.  Beautifully printed and bound by the good folks at TAN.  It is a lovely volume.

US HERE – UK HERE

UPDATE:

Very cool… NASA says they successfully bounced light of a cookie-sized reflector on the Indian Moon lander from an orbiting laser 62 miles away. HERE

Please remember me when  shopping online. US HERE – UK HERE  WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance (massively hiked for this new year of surprises), utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

Photo from The Great Roman™.

Meanwhile, white to move and mate in two.

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

Interested in learning?  Try THIS.

The 86th edition of the “Wimbledon of Chess”, the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, is taking place on 13-28 January in Wijk aan Zee.   Round 5 today.   I’m rooting for Women’s World Champ Ju Wenjun against World Champ Rating Farmer Alireza “the Boy” Firouzja.

Ceterum censeo Firoujza esse delendum.

Have some lovely wine from traditional monks of Le Barroux, made from the revived papal vineyards of the Avignon Popes.

The “Federated Computer” post has generated some interest, so I am told. This is a terrific idea that could save people a lot of money while protecting their data. If I were a diocesan bishop, I would move away from the costly big corporate “SaaS” to Federated like a shot. If I had anything going online and had any concern about getting cancelled because of content… Federated!

Check it out HERE

And I like their groovy retro look.

UPDATE:

Since this is #915, I should give honorable mention to canon 915 from the 1983 Code of Canon Law:

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