Life
Puzzle 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
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High life
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…
The turf
Why hasn’t Bristol De Mai become as beloved by the racing public as his fellow greys Desert Orchid and One…
High life
New York There are times, living in this here dump, when I doubt if anyone’s heard of the word magnanimity.…
Ghosts of Christmas pissed
I feel like a prisoner, making daily marks on the cell wall to chart the approach of freedom. But will…
Robust
‘Why do they keep saying they need Brazilians?’ asked my husband, coming up for air from a hazy mixture of…
Meal kits have changed my life
Ford’s Kumar Galhotra once remarked that carmaking is 100,000 rational decisions in search of one emotional decision. You spend five…
Dear Mary
Q. For many years my boss gave each member of his small team a very generous Christmas gift voucher from…
A shed of one’s own
I’ve moved out of my home. No, Caroline and I haven’t broken up. It’s just that we’re having the house…
The Battle for Britain
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to 2482: Perm all five
The unclued lights each contain all five vowels once only, but in different orders. First prize Dr Stephen Clarkson, Hadleigh,…
To the city
In Competition No. 3176 you were invited to write a poem to a city. This challenge was inspired by both…
Puzzle no. 632
White to play and win. E. Pogosjants, Shakhmaty v SSSR 1976. Promoting the a-pawn allows Black a perpetual check. Which…
Low life
I regained consciousness on a trolley in a recovery ward. A masked porter wheeled me from there back to my…
Real life
Pretty Man was a plump white pony in the forefront of a sad picture. The photograph showed the seizure by…
Bridge
Each November, Paula Leslie organises the Young Chelsea Women’s Teams — a fantastic event, attracting many of Europe’s best players…
Kiwi Life / Language
Amy Brooke Once you have paid the Danegeld… We seem to have ingrained in us a sense of fair play,…
Me, myself and Thai
Lockdown is hurting everyone except the chickens. I have bought them a conservatory because Philippa, a Light Sussex, looks like…
Puzzle no. 631
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Sam Loyd, 1857. Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by…
Bridge
The rubber bridge world has lost one of its best and most flamboyant players; David Herman was an emaciated, elegant…
