Life
Four puzzles in one
Four puzzles in one, composed by Werner Speckmann, 1963. In each case, White to play and mate in two. (a)…
The Battle for Britain | 12 December 2020
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Bridge | 12 December 2020
It’s surprising how quickly we adapt to things: nine months ago, most of us had never played bridge online before,…
What French women want
Considering the subject of compatibility, experienced British expats in France maintain that a French man and an English woman might…
2484: Troubled - solution
The unclued lights are characters in Much Ado about Nothing. First prize Keith Norcott, Cheltenham, GlosRunners-up Mrs E. Knights, Wisbech,…
Birthday surprise
The Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour is back. This time, the series of online events is rebranded as the Champions Chess…
Kiwi Life / Language
David Cohen I often used to ask myself what the ultimate secret is of playing great chess, and I suppose…
What Mr Micawber thinks of Charles Dickens
In Competition No. 3177 you were invited to submit a well-known fictional person’s view of their author. Highlights in a…
The battle for Eton’s soul
When trying to get my head around the row that has engulfed Eton College in the past two weeks I…
Was endorsing Boris one of my worst misjudgments ever?
Now that our social lives are a Venn diagram that only mathematicians can understand I am officially becoming a recluse.…
A magical field hospital for vegetables: Turnips reviewed
Turnips is an haute cuisine restaurant inside a greengrocer in Borough Market in London. I suspect others will try this…
Dear Mary: How do I stop the cleaner ‘helping’ with my jigsaw?
Q. Unlike my wife, I am tiring of Netflix. Wanting a project to occupy me during these long dark nights,…
The strange language of this year
‘Forget coronavirus,’ said my husband, ‘the word of the year is strange.’ The strange thing is he’s right. This wasn’t…
2483: In my soup - solution
Unclued lights are anagrams of animals: PRAENOMINA (1A: Pomeranian), MARTIAN (18: tamarin), LARBOARD (21: Labrador), SHORE (28: horse), PROTEIN (42:…
Chess improvement
The juicy prospect of improvement constantly dangles above a chess player. Those morsels of knowledge one has acquired whet the…
Bridge | 05 December 2020
Many years ago I remember Tor Helness, the great Norwegian champion, going into the semi-final of a world championship saying:…
I found a confused elderly man in my bedroom
There are several cave houses built into the cliff. Ours is the highest and can be reached only by a…
2486: Ghost companions
In this anniversary year, unclued lights (one of two words) are of a kind. Ignore four accents. Across 1 Regularly…
No. 633
White to play. A position taken from Chess Improvement (perhaps from Luchowski–Gridnew, Moscow 1992.) Black’s menacing pieces make the situation…
The Battle for Britain | 5 December 2020
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Why I stopped reading novels
New York I received a letter from a long-time Spectatorreader, James Hackett, enquiring about books I am reading. It is…
Rugby must try harder
Remember those lazy, hazy, crazy days of last year’s rugby World Cup, when as perfect a performance by England as…
Aussie Life / Language
Simon Collins Things must be getting back to normal again in Australia if we’re arguing about the wording of the…
2485: Triplets
The unclued lights (all but one either hyphened or of two words) share a distinctive feature. Across 1 Fun and…
Forbidden pairings
Put yourself in the shoes of Aryan Gholami, the teenage master from Iran who was paired with an Israeli opponent…
