Life
Chess borders
In the 1800s, several chess matches were conducted by telegraph. Modern technology ought to make long-distance matches easier than ever,…
Cartoonists have a right to free speech
I’m no fan of Steve Bell, the Guardiancartoonist. I can’t say I’ve ever laughed at one of his squibs, which…
dear mary your problems solved
Q. How can I stop a member of the household from glutting out on the chocolate supply I have stockpiled?…
2447: No small matter
One clued light can be associated with ten unclued ones. Ignore accents. One solution is an IVR. Across 4 Thrills…
The Battle for Britain
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No more Spanish eggshells
It is time to begin with an apology, and hope. In the course of these columns, I have already admitted…
My night in A&E
I wish I shared the Prime Minister’s confidence about the ability of the NHS to cope with coronavirus. ‘I have…
High Life
Gstaad I shoulda been a weatherman: no sooner had I announced snow to be a Gstaad rarity than it…
The Turf
Every time the Cheltenham Festival looms, I recall a remarkable experience. It was already 25 years since Dawn Run’s recovery…
Dear Mary
Q. I am arranging the seating plan for my daughter’s wedding and have a problem with one of her guests…
Real Life
One of the many technological things I don’t understand is, how come I’m paying to watch television? I know why…
Low Life
On a hard chair next to the waiting-room door, I sat for an hour defusing thoughts of my own demise,…
Peasants’ revolt
The German word for pawn, ‘bauer’, can also be translated as peasant, or farmer. There are many spectacular games in…
Bridge
I love the French expression esprit de l’escalier (‘wit of the staircase’); it perfectly captures that moment of frustration when…
Behaviours
‘Somebody loves me,’ said my husband, waving a copy of The Spectator above his head as though pursued by wasps.…
Why the BBC licence fee makes sense
A consensus seems to be forming that the BBC licence fee is for the chop. In a digital age, the…
Solution to 2444: Ones in the country
The unclued answers are all words inChambers, having their origin in Indonesia (clued by wordplay in the title). First prize…
Instapoetry
In Competition No. 3138 you were invited to submit a poem entitled ‘Lines on a Young Lady’s Instagram’. Thanks to…
puzzle no. 594
Black to play. Puranik–Sjugirov, another spectacular game played at the Aeroflot Open. Puranik was perhaps counting on 1…Rc1 2 Qa3…
High Life
Gstaad It feels like a sepia-tinged melodrama, one directed by the great schlock master Sam Wood. Driving along the winding…
Low life
Joyce Marriott of Pyrton, Oxford, has written a letter to the Times on the subject of how a person’s imagination…
Real life
Nice of the NHS to send an advisory text about coronavirus, because I was wondering. Is it possible to have…
Bridge
Bridge experts are a lovely lot. They give their time freely and generously to encourage and teach students and bring…
Increment and excrement
The science-fiction writer Douglas Adams ridiculed our primitive species for considering digital watches to be ‘a pretty neat idea’. Digital…
no. 593
White to play, a variation from McShane–-Kamsky. In the game above, I was hoping to see 31…Qa5, as I had…
